Chapter SixMary Soames's revelation shook Rafferty. It was only now he realised that all her references to Harry Mortimer had been in the present tense. He had just assumed she had not learned of his death. But she had been in regular contact with Clara Mortimer who might have been relied upon to know if the father of her only child was still alive or not.
Having shaken them once, Mrs Soames proceeded to shake them a second time.
‘Far from being dead,’ Mary Soames explained, ‘Clara told me Harry Mortimer had actually moved into one of the cheaper apartments in her block and was attempting to woo her all over again. Only for some reason he calls himself Hal Oliver.
‘I can only presume he’s trying to escape some creditors. Or perhaps the Child Support Agency – or whatever they call themse
