Page 125 of Murder in the Family

That, Hugo, is what we need to find out.

LAILA FURNESS

Do you have a theory, Bill?

BILL SERAFINI

Well, yes, I do, as a matter of fact.

ALAN CANNING

(under his breath)

Why am I not surprised.

BILL SERAFINI

(ignoring him)

I think we’re dealing with a conman. A very clever conman, who always managed to stay one step ahead of law enforcement.

LAILA FURNESS

What sort of cons are we talking about?

BILL SERAFINI

The worst kind, at least in my book, i.e., up close andverypersonal.

I think he chose people who’d be either too ashamed or too humiliated to come forward to the police. People who would blame themselves for being duped.

JJ NORTON

But even so, they’d still have friends and family who’d want the perp caught. Caught and locked up.

BILL SERAFINI

Precisely. Which is exactly why I think our man kept having to disappear. And what better way to disappear than faking your own death?

ALAN CANNING

Just about plausible, I suppose. The whole idea is rather too Sunday-night-drama if you ask me, but I suppose stranger things have happened.

LAILA FURNESS

(to Bill)

I’m guessing you think most of his victims were women?

BILL SERAFINI

Yes, I do. And I suspect they were older than him, too, maybe even significantly older. Remember what Sylvia Carroll said about him being a charmer? That he knew just how to sweet-talk the old ladies in the care home?

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying all his victims were quitethatelderly, but all the same it speaks to a talent for gaining trust, for breaking down reserve.

MITCHELL CLARKE

Topped off with a truck-load of good old-fashioned laying it on thick. That famous ‘charm’ of his.