Inspector Alleyn - When in Rome - video Dailymotion

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When in Rome 1970s Rome. Chief Detective Inspector Alleyn is incognito and on the trail of a vast drugs syndicate - and some exceptionally unsavoury blackmail. But he hasn't reckoned on murder...  CDI Alleyn …. Jeremy Clyde Nigel Bathgate …. Nick Waring Sonia, Lady Bracely …. Pauline Jameson Kenneth Dorne …. Tom George Baron Van der Veghel …. David Swift Baroness Van der Veghel …. Paula Jacobs Sophy Jason …. Annabelle Dowler Barnaby Grant …. Sean Arnold Major Sweet …. Derek Waring Sebastian Mailer …. Matthew Devereaux Father Denys …. James Greene Valdarno …. Stephen Critchlow Violetta/Receptionist …. Carolyn Jones Dramatised by Michael Bakewell. Director: Enyd Williams First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2003.  Do you enjoy the variety on Oldtuberadio? Like, Share and Subscribe to be notified of our new shows #radio #crime #thriller #drama To Support this channel please visit https://www.buymeacoffee.com/oldtuberadio https://ko-fi.com/oldtuberadio98 https://www.patreon.com/oldtuberadio https://locals.com/Oldtuberadio

Transcript

00:00Are you looking for something a little different, something off the beaten track?

00:10Why not try Il Ciccerone, personally conducted excursions, sophisticated visits to some of the least publicized and most fascinating places in the Eternal City, under the learned and highly individual guidance of Sebastian Mailer.

00:28Dinner at a most exclusive restaurant, and further, less conventional expeditions by arrangement, all tastes catered for, with a little gentle blackmail to follow.

00:42We present Jeremy Clyde as Chief Detective Inspector Alan, in When in Rome, by Niall Marsh.

01:00If I didn't know you better, Bathgate, I'd suspect you were following me.

01:30In the hope of an exclusive for your wretched rag.

01:33What the devil are you doing in Rome?

01:35Something tells me you're not just here on holiday.

01:38I'm supposed to be covering the student riots.

01:41We were told they were going to make what happened in Paris look like a meeting of the parish council, but so far I haven't even seen a defaced poster.

01:48And what are you doing in Rome?

01:50I can see from the casual attire that you're supposed to be on holiday, but I have a shrewd suspicion that you're not.

01:56Your shrewdness does you credit.

01:58But I don't know that I can tell you very much.

02:00Officially, everything's in the hands of the Rome police force.

02:03You couldn't manage to drop a small hint?

02:05Oh, I can do more than that. Traffic and illegal substances.

02:08Heroin? Cocaine?

02:09Of course, we can't hope to catch the really big boys.

02:11Yes. I'd heard that Otto Siegfeld is holed up in some phony castle in the Lebanon.

02:16You're obviously keeping yourself pretty well informed.

02:20But please, go on.

02:21Well, there's a chap here in Rome who may well be a key operator.

02:25Unfortunately, from my point of view, he happens to be a British subject.

02:28He's a man called Sebastian Mailer.

02:30The sightseeing chap? The one who runs an outfit called Il Ciccherone?

02:34The very same, yes.

02:36I noticed a card of his in my hotel.

02:38It all sounded rather intriguing.

02:40That's just what I thought.

02:41Anyway, I've signed on for one of his little tours tomorrow.

02:44They're devilishly expensive.

02:46He must cater for a very exclusive clientele.

02:49I've got the list here.

02:51Take a look at it.

02:53Baron and Baroness van der Wegel.

02:56That rings a bell. Dutch, I think, and something to do with a firm of fanatical religious publishers.

03:01Major Hamilton Sweet, never heard of him.

03:04Miss Sophie Jason, ditto.

03:06Ah, the Honourable Kenneth Dorn and his Aunt Lady Bracely.

03:11How very chic.

03:13You know her, then?

03:14Who doesn't?

03:15This Mailer person, is he the one who came to your rescue when you got in that awful mess in Perugia?

03:24Yes, Auntie. He practically saved my life.

03:27I do wish you wouldn't call me Auntie. So, what's he like?

03:32Oh, he's very clever, and he has contacts in all the right places.

03:35And these less conventional expeditions, he mentions. I trust they will be deliciously outrageous.

03:42Oh, yes. Beyond your wildest dreams. All sorts of gorgeous gents. And you can smoke as much as you please.

03:49Smoke?

03:50Oh, there's no need for the awestruck tone, sweetie. Do you mean to say you've never done it?

03:55Never.

03:56And I thought you'd tried everything. Do you want to give it a go?

04:00It's not habit-forming, is it, Kenneth?

04:03Of course it isn't. You don't get hooked. Not on pot. It'll cost a bit, of course, but that's not a problem with you, is it, darling?

04:10Look in my bag. I don't know how much I've got.

04:13There doesn't seem to be much here.

04:18Isn't there? They'll cash a check downstairs. I'll write one.

04:22Make it pretty generous. I need some cash in hand. It's fabulous having my rich auntie to take care of me.

04:30I don't imagine the intellectual side of the tour will have much appeal for her.

04:33Oh, but that's the most curious aspect of the whole enterprise. According to the brochure, the tour is under the distinguished patronage of the celebrated writer, Mr. Barnaby Grant, who has graciously consented to accompany the expedition.

04:46Barnaby Grant? The chap who wrote Simon in Latium?

04:49I imagine so.

04:50But it was top of the bestseller list for weeks. Why has Barnaby Grant got himself mixed up with a murky operator like Mailer?

04:57That's what I hope to find out.

04:59I suppose you can't get me onto the tour. I'm sure my paper would fork out.

05:03It's fully booked, I'm afraid. I was lucky to get a cancellation. But why don't we have a drink together before the tour sets out tomorrow afternoon?

05:11And then you can take a look at them all. We're meeting at the square by Trinita Del Monte.

05:32Two lancers. Mailer certainly does things in style. And that's Barnaby Grant getting out of the second car.

05:38And the man in the black alpaca suit, who looks rather like a priest, must be Mailer.

05:42Grant looks pretty grim. And rather embarrassed.

05:45And that pretty girl with the tish and hair can only be Sophie Jason. She looks as if Rome has rather gone to her head.

05:51Ah, Miss Jason. Allow me to introduce our guest of honour, Mr. Barnaby Grant.

05:56Oh, we've met before, actually. At the launch party for Simon. I work for Costa Publishing.

06:01Oh, really?

06:02That was a bit brusque. The poor girl's gone quite rad.

06:06Ah, Baron. Baroness. How very nice to see you again.

06:09Yeah, we are looking forward to our descent into antiquity.

06:13Don the archaeological rabbit hole.

06:15So, the sturdy couple in matching shady hats and sunglasses must be the Vagels. What enormous hands and feet they've got.

06:24It's time for me to join the party. I don't want to make myself conspicuous by arriving late. I'll ring you from the hotel.

06:33Ah, you must be Mr. Allen. So glad you could join us. May I introduce the Baron and Baroness Vagel.

06:38How do you do?

06:39We are very pleased to meet you.

06:41We descend the rabbit hole together, yes?

06:43And this is Miss Sophie Jason.

06:45Hello.

06:46How do you do?

06:47And our guest of honour, Mr. Barnaby Grant.

06:50How do you do? Do you know Rome well?

06:53Virtually not at all. I've never been here for more than three or four days at a time. I'm not a systematic sightseer.

06:58No?

06:59Are we by any chance going to visit some of the scenes in your book? That would be a wonderful idea.

07:03There's some idea of it. Mayla will explain. Excuse me.

07:07Of course.

07:09Is this your first visit to Rome, Miss Jason?

07:12Yes, it is. I came here with a friend, but her father died the day we arrived and she had to fly home.

07:17I've been messing about on my own ever since.

07:20This tour looked rather intriguing, particularly since Barnaby Grant was attached to it.

07:24He doesn't seem very enthusiastic. He virtually edged me off a moment ago.

07:28Nothing to what he did to me. I work for his publishers. I write books for children.

07:33My editor introduced me to him at the launch party for Simon in Latium. I was silly enough to remind him just now and he took the news like a dose of poison.

07:41Very odd.

07:42But aren't we rather slow getting going? Mr. Mayla's looking at his watch.

07:46But Lady Bracely and her nephew are coming now.

07:48She hasn't worn very well, has she? I thought she was supposed to be the darling of the jet set. She looks positively decrepit.

07:54Lady Bracely, may I present our guest of honour, Mr. Barnaby Grant.

07:58Do you know, Mr. Grant, you're the sole reason for my coming to this party. Normally teams of wild horses wouldn't drag me out sightseeing at this ghastly hour. You're my sight.

08:11I don't know how I meant to answer that. Except that I'm sure you'll find the church of San Tommaso in Palaria much more rewarding.

08:18Is that where we're going? Is it a ruin?

08:21My aunt has a particular aversion to ruins.

08:23It's not exactly that. You see...

08:25It is an architectural palimpsest.

08:29It is the spiritual heart of Mr. Grant's novel.

08:32Really? I adored it, of course, though I haven't a clue what it's about. But shouldn't we be moving on, such a bore, having to hang about?

08:41Yes, I think we could make a start. Perhaps I should just outline our programme. We shall drive around the Coliseum and the Forum and then visit the Basilica of San Tommaso, which, as you all know, was the setting for the central scene of Mr. Grant's Simon in Latium.

08:58Wonderfully moving. Such depth of spirit.

09:01And I have prevailed upon our distinguished author to say a few words about the way the Basilica figures in his book.

09:06Bravo! Bravo!

09:08The afternoon will end with a picnic on the Palatine Hill. Then you will be driven to your hotels to change for dinner, and our cars will call for you at nine o'clock.

09:17And now, ladies and gentlemen...

09:19But what's happened to Major Sweet?

09:20The Major will join us at the Basilica. And now, if we are ready, let us go.

09:28Cartoline! Cartoline! Postcards!

09:33You're late! You're nearly 30 minutes late!

09:37Unfortunately, Major, we...

09:38It was all my fault, Major. I kept everyone waiting. I dare say you might call it a woman's privilege.

09:44Cartoline! Postcards!

09:46I think we should go inside the Basilica straight away.

09:48Cartoline! Postcards!

09:49Pay no attention, ladies and gentlemen. There are far better postcards on sale inside.

09:53Ladro brutto!

09:54Pay no attention to her.

09:56In far of me! In far of me!

09:57In we go! Follow me, ladies and gentlemen.

10:04Kenneth, darling, honestly. Hardly one's idea of a gay little outing.

10:09Hmm. Like something out of Trovatore.

10:11What she put in was an extra touch of atmosphere, Mr. Grant.

10:14I don't know anything about her. Mad, I should think.

10:17But if you translated all that into Anglo-Saxon terms, it would probably amount to no more than a cruel glance at the shrug of a shoulder.

10:23Oh, rather. You have to allow for their sense of drama.

10:26But I know who you are now. I didn't realize. We met at the launch party at Costa's, didn't we?

10:33Yes. That's right.

10:36The Basilica of San Tommaso is a unique experience. An opportunity to travel down the centuries into ancient Rome.

10:45At the top level, where we are now standing, is the church of the 12th century.

10:50We shall then pass through the ticket barrier and descend to the 3rd century church, which the Basilica replaced.

10:57And below that, just imagine.

11:00There has lain sleeping for over 1800 years a house of the Flavian period, with its own private temple dedicated to the god Mithras.

11:10Oh, fantastic. Oh, my God, that's my cue. God, how I hate this.

11:14Then why do it?

11:15You need to be so snappish.

11:16I'm sorry. It's none of my business.

11:18Not at all.

11:19But I will say no more. I shall hand you over to my distinguished colleague, Mr. Barnaby Grant.

11:25Oh, excellent. And are we not standing in the very place where your characters assembled?

11:31And might we not follow in their footsteps?

11:33Well, I imagine if you've read the book, you can sort it out pretty easily for yourselves.

11:38But while we're in this part of the Basilica, I'll show you one thing that might interest you.

11:44If you could come over to this railed enclosure.

11:47Oh, yes. Of course. Don't you remember, darling?

11:50Just listen now.

11:53The Cloaca Maxima, the great sewer of ancient Rome.

11:57A pure stream leading into it more than 60 feet below us.

12:02If you lean over the rail, you'll see there's an equivalent opening in the floor of the original choir immediately below us.

12:09And yet another 30 feet below that, you can't see it without a torch, there's a third opening, and far below that, the stream.

12:16You may remember in my book that Simon dropped a pebble from here and it fell down the centuries into the hidden water.

12:23Yeah, yeah. And on that image, the whole book was based.

12:26Exploring the deepest reaches of Simon's being. Oh, how exciting this is!

12:31I'm looking down through the centuries. Boom! Boom!

12:35Oh, God!

12:37It makes me feel sick. What a revolting place!

12:40Well, we'll go on down to the lower region, shall we? Follow me!

12:45Oh, be very careful, my darling.

12:47Take care that you do not sleep.

12:50If we could just pause here for a moment, later on some of you may wish to explore this place for yourselves.

13:04God forbid!

13:05You can't really get lost. Sooner or later you will end up at this point, and as you can see, there's a map.

13:11But, before we descend further, let me draw your attention to the terracotta sculpture on the opposite wall.

13:18Yes, it's thought to be of Apollo. Etruscan, of course.

13:22May we take a photograph?

13:24Naturally.

13:26And now we descend into the ancient church.

13:31I don't do much care for this. It's very stuffy in here.

13:35There are plenty of vents. The air seems quite fresh.

13:37Well, it doesn't to me. I'm not enjoying this at all, Major. I don't think I...

13:43What on earth are you on about, Aunty? It's just a statue.

13:46Out!

13:47What's the matter?

13:48It's the Major. He keeps pinching my bottom.

13:51What was that?

13:52Just a photograph, dear lady.

13:54Oh, it's too much. It's really too much.

13:57And here is the railing of the well again, directly under the one above.

14:01Gate! Look down there! Do you see? The sarcophagus, where Simon sat and meditated.

14:09Do be careful, my dear. Do not lean over too far, my darling.

14:14Look, there's that woman.

14:15What woman?

14:16The postcard seller. I saw her shadow bars across the sarcophagus.

14:20Are you sure?

14:21Yes. It was as if she was trying to find somewhere to hide.

14:24The letter is not permitted to enter the basilica. It must have been the shadow of someone in another party.

14:29But now let us descend into the Temple of Mithras. There is an iron spiral stairway just here.

14:36It's no good. I'm afraid you'll think it frightfully silly of me, but I can't stay in this awful place another minute.

14:42You must take me back, Kenneth. Kenneth! Kenneth! Where are you, Kenneth?

14:50It's perfectly all right, Lady Brasley. He went back to photograph the Apollo. I'll go and find him for you. It'll only take a minute or two.

14:56No! I can't stay down here another second. Major Sweet, please take me away, please!

15:02Well, of course, dear lady, if you insist.

15:05Just get me out of here!

15:07There's a continuation of this stairway that goes straight back up to the basilica.

15:11If you take Lady Brasley up that way, I'll go and find Mr. Dorn and send him to her.

15:15Shall we go, then?

15:18Will you carry on, Mr. Grant?

15:20Very well. I'll only be a few minutes.

15:23Right, then. If you'll follow me down.

15:26We are now in what would have been a Roman family home, built sometime in the first century A.D.

15:39And over here, we have their private temple, the Mithraeum.

15:43It's more like a private cave with benches for the family.

15:47I'm sure you all know about the Mithraeic cult, so there's no need for me to...

15:51Oh, please! We would so much like to hear you speak of him.

15:54Only if he wants to.

15:56Oh, the god Mithras was born...

15:58Forgive me, but my husband must not miss this.

16:01Get it!

16:02What is it, my love?

16:03Mr. Grant is about to tell us the story of Mithras.

16:06Oh, I come at once.

16:09The god Mithras was born of a rock.

16:12He was worshipped in many parts of the ancient world, including England, and was, above all, a god of light.

16:20Hence, his association with Apollo, who commanded him to kill the bull, which is the symbol of fertility.

16:26You can see him in the act of killing the bull on the carved altar there.

16:31It's such a pity that the others are missing all this.

16:34The curse of humanity!

16:36What is, Major?

16:37Religion!

16:38A lot of ballyhoo!

16:39How is Lady Bracely?

16:40I put her in the, what do you call it, the courtyard up top.

16:44The atrium?

16:45Whatever it is.

16:46She didn't like it much being left on her own.

16:48Was there any sign of young Dawn?

16:50The frightful specimen.

16:52A mailer?

16:53No sign of him either.

16:54Damn casual treatment, I call it.

16:56What do we do now?

16:57I understood it was thought you might like to look around the place under your own steam.

17:02But here is, Mr. Dawn.

17:04Hello.

17:06What have you done with my aunt?

17:07She felt faint.

17:08I escorted her up to the garden.

17:10Hadn't you better take a look at her?

17:12May she flourish like the Green Bay tree.

17:14Words fail me.

17:15Thank God for that.

17:16Would the author be so kind as to read us the passage in the book where Shimon finds

17:22in himself some equivalent to the Mithraic power?

17:25Yeah, yeah.

17:26We have our copy with us.

17:27Oh, my God.

17:28We understand, of course, the famous Anglo-Saxon reticent.

17:32Yeah, but after all, the brochure encouraged us to believe that...

17:36Hadn't you better?

17:37Well, if you really want me to, of course, it's only that I feel such an ass.

17:41Oh, wonderful.

17:42But first, we must have a photograph.

17:45Mr. Grant will stand in the center reading to us with the altar of Mithras in the background.

17:51If you would stand beside him, Mr. Allen, and Miss Jason on the other side.

17:55And you behind her, Major.

17:57I tell.

17:58And you behind Mr. Allen, Mr. Dawn.

18:01And you get it, my darling, behind the others because you are so large.

18:06Now, all look at the open page.

18:09We can't really see it in the dark.

18:12It does not matter.

18:13We must all concentrate on the book.

18:15All on the book.

18:17Garrett, you must step back a little.

18:19Now, freeze, please.

18:21I shoot.

18:22Oh, Garrett.

18:24What did I tell you?

18:25They are useless, the bulbs that we bought at that place.

18:28But I have another.

18:30Nobody must move.

18:31It is in my pocket.

18:33What are you doing, Mr. Dawn?

18:37Just taking a photo of Mithras.

18:40What was that?

18:41It sounded like someone shutting a heavy door.

18:43Now, please.

18:44Attention.

18:45I shoot again.

18:48And again, please.

18:51And now for the reading.

18:53I have my little torch.

18:54I will shine it on the page for you, Mr. Grant.

18:57Oh, thanks.

18:59Nothing had changed.

19:01In the presence of the statue of Mithras,

19:03Simon's ears heaved with the soundless roar of the sacrificial bull.

19:08His throat and the back of his nose were stung by blood

19:11that 19 centuries ago had boiled over white-hot stones.

19:18Bravo!

19:19We are so grateful, Mr. Grant.

19:21It was all we had hoped for.

19:23I think I'll go and take a look at Aunty.

19:25I'm going to find that fellow mailer of a bone to pick with him.

19:28Why don't we all meet up in the atrium?

19:31They'll be closing the place in about ten minutes' time.

19:33It's very odd.

19:45Where can Mr. Mailer have got to?

19:47I thought he went off to find young Dawes.

19:49Well, he didn't.

19:50I haven't set eyes on him.

19:51And he didn't join you, Lady Bracely, in the atrium?

19:54He didn't join me in the atrium.

19:56I wonder where else.

19:57I don't know why, but that sounds vaguely a problem.

20:00What a damn poor show, leaving us high and dry.

20:03Look here, Grant.

20:04You're on the strength, aren't you?

20:05Absolutely not.

20:06I have nothing to do with him.

20:07So what should we do?

20:08We can't hang around here indefinitely.

20:10The best thing would be to carry on as planned

20:12and go off to the picnic on the Palatine Hill.

20:15The drivers will take you there

20:16and the one called Giovanni speaks quite good English.

20:19And in the meantime,

20:20I'll go and have a word with the people who run this place.

20:22Look, why don't I do that?

20:24You get the rest of the party over to the picnic

20:25and I'll try to find out what's become of Mailer.

20:27Are you sure?

20:28Oh, perfectly sure.

20:29I'll join you at the Palatine Hill.

20:31What's the name of the person in charge here?

20:33The place is in the care of a group of Irish Dominicans.

20:35Father Dennis is the man to talk to.

20:37He'll help if anyone can.

20:40Well, your man's not below, that's for sure.

20:43We had the full power of the lating on.

20:45That's enough to dazzle the eyes out of your head.

20:48He must have slipped out while no one was looking.

20:51Oh, that woman who sells the postcards.

20:53She might have noticed him.

20:54Is she still here?

20:55Violetta, do you mean?

20:56I haven't seen her since you all went down into the depths.

20:59Terrible pest, that one.

21:01Touched in her wits, poor creature.

21:03She seems to rather have it in for Mr. Mail.

21:05She's been in a terrible state since he first came here

21:08to discuss arrangements for his sightseeing trips.

21:12The poor soul has got it into her head that he's her husband

21:15or something of the sort.

21:16Says he deserted her and betrayed her to the police.

21:19For doing what?

21:20Oh, she never lets on exactly.

21:23Something to do with passing prohibited articles.

21:27She's very wild.

21:28And the saints themselves wouldn't know which was fact

21:31and which was fantasy.

21:33Little wonder your man has gone to ground.

21:37He's done a bunk.

21:38He must have recognized you.

21:39That's what the police think.

21:41I was on the phone to them first thing this morning.

21:43And they gave some very curious information about this Violetta woman.

21:48She and Mailer had some kind of racket going on in Sicily three years ago.

21:52And then he dumped her.

21:53And Palermo, of course, is a port of transit for the heroin smuggling trade.

21:58And you reckon that Mailer's mixed up in it all?

22:00Obviously.

22:01But what I can't fathom is the purpose of these little tours of his.

22:04He's clearly up to something.

22:06But what?

22:07Was the evening all the brochure promised?

22:09An exclusive restaurant and less conventional entertainment to follow?

22:14Yes.

22:15The restaurant was exclusive, all right.

22:17It was La Gioconda.

22:18Good God!

22:19That must have cost you a packet.

22:21It's the most expensive place in Rome.

22:23Well, that's what makes it even more mystifying.

22:25We were told it was all included in the cost of the tour.

22:28We paid for nothing.

22:30Mailer's oily little assistant, Giovanni Vecchi, saw to everything.

22:34The Major was pouring drink down his throat like there was no tomorrow.

22:38Well, I must say, this is quite an order world.

22:43Here's to old Chicharonia.

22:46Nobody seemed to be missing Mailer very much.

22:49Although the manager of the Gioconda did turn a very unhealthy looking color.

22:53When I told him he'd vanished without trace.

22:56But that wasn't the end of your evening, I take it?

22:59Now we are gay. Now we dance and all is hip and nightlife.

23:04To the cost more, is it not?

23:06An abominably noisy place.

23:08Lavish floor show, bottles of champagne plonked down on all the tables.

23:12And all on Mailer's Il Chicharoni?

23:14Everything.

23:15Lady Bracely was in her element.

23:18She's very persona grata with the management.

23:20Here I am.

23:22High as a kite and ready for anything.

23:25Bring on the dancing girls.

23:27All things considered, she danced with considerable expertise.

23:32And did you take to the floor yourself?

23:34Oh yes, with the Baroness.

23:36She was remarkably forthcoming on the subject of her marriage.

23:40In all things we are in absolute accord.

23:43We are sure of ourselves.

23:45Always we are happy together and agreeing in our views.

23:48Like twins, is it not?

23:51And then, after we returned to our tables, Giovanni Vecchi approached us all one by one and asked very discreetly whether we wished to go on a further expedition that Mailer had arranged to extend our knowledge of Roman nightlife.

24:06But that we would have to pay a little extra for the privilege.

24:10Well, Lady Bracely was all for it.

24:12And so was the Major.

24:13Better be good.

24:15Mind you, I've seen some curious things in my time.

24:19All as up to experience.

24:21Not a word to the ladies.

24:23What they can't grieve about, they won't see.

24:27And Kenneth Dorn was working himself up into a frightful lather of expectancy.

24:32I fear he rather fancies me.

24:34You're simply fabulous, you know, but let's face it, sweetheart.

24:38You're a bit of a square.

24:39I was rather hoping that Mailer might have been able to change all that.

24:43Don't you worry about anything.

24:45Tony's pad, the place where we're going, is simply out of this world.

24:49Grass.

24:50Hard stuff.

24:51Whatever takes your fancy.

24:52There'll be a perfectly psychedelic freak-out.

24:55And was there?

24:57And was there what?

24:58A freak-out.

25:00Well, there was a disgusting performance by some people who call themselves the Kinky Kicks,

25:05which I can only describe as infamous.

25:07I can imagine.

25:08I sincerely hope that you cannot.

25:10And while it was going on, I went to have a quiet word with the doorman,

25:14gave a very decent impression of desperate withdrawal symptoms,

25:17and told him that I'd counted on meeting Mr. Mailer.

25:20That was a bit chancy, wasn't it?

25:22What did he come up with?

25:24A sealed package, wrapped in glossy blue paper.

25:27From Senior Mailer's Special Supply, he said.

25:30Heroin.

25:31And cocaine.

25:32At 30% more than British black market prices.

25:35Just as well you're being funded by the yard.

25:38And did all the rest of your party go on to Tony's pad?

25:40Well, the vagals didn't.

25:42My husband thinks he would not suit us to go.

25:45He did not very much care for the style of the suggestion.

25:48It is more for the men, he said.

25:51So I tease him and say he's a big square, and I am not so unsophisticated.

25:57But he remains firm.

25:58So we return to our hotel.

26:00And Grant and Sophie Jason left the Cosmo quite early.

26:04They'd been getting on together at a distinctly alarming rate.

26:07Gazing into one another's eyes.

26:09Dancing.

26:10Admittedly, not very well.

26:12I only hope Grant isn't a predatory animal.

26:15But they discovered they were staying at the same pensione.

26:18A place with a very romantic roof garden.

26:32There's something I have to tell you.

26:34Yes?

26:35About how I came to be mixed up in this ill Ciccerone business.

26:38I was wondering when you were going to get round to that.

26:40It happened last year.

26:41I was sitting at a curbside table in the Piazza Colonna.

26:44There was a storm coming on.

26:46And?

26:47There were a couple of lovers at the next table,

26:49and three rather heavy types on the other side of me.

26:51And coming towards me, across the piazza, I noticed this Englishman.

26:55I don't know how I was so sure he was English.

26:57His clothes, probably.

26:59And this was Mailer?

27:00Don't anticipate.

27:01Suddenly there was a gigantic clap of thunder,

27:04and a very thorough-going cloudburst.

27:06Everyone started to run for cover.

27:08The lovers collided with the heavy types,

27:10and there was a bit of a fracas.

27:11And then somebody slammed into my back and knocked me over the table.

27:15I picked myself up and realized that my briefcase was gone.

27:19And there was something valuable in it?

27:21Simon.

27:22Simon?

27:23You lost Simon?

27:24Yes.

27:25The second draft and my only copy.

27:27I went to the consulate, but they couldn't help much.

27:29I put advertisements in the papers offering a reward.

27:31But obviously you got it back.

27:32Yes.

27:33Mailer brought it to the cafe where I'd lost it.

27:35How did he get hold of it?

27:37I need to go back a bit.

27:39You're too young to remember when my first book came out.

27:42Aquarius.

27:43I was about 14.

27:44I thought it was marvelous.

27:46But afterwards, when you came to work for Costa Publishing,

27:49you must have heard about the scandal.

27:51Yes, I heard about the coincidence bit.

27:53Coincidence?

27:54Did you really believe that I could have repeated in exact detail

27:57the central theme of a book I'd never read?

28:00Certainly.

28:01Everybody at Costa said it was just an accident.

28:03It wasn't the opinion of Twelve Good Men and True.

28:05What's all this got to do with Mailer?

28:07Well, as I said, he turned up at the cafe three days later

28:11and he produced the briefcase from underneath his jacket.

28:14Mr. Barnaby Grant!

28:17I think you will be pleased to see me, will you not?

28:20But how on earth had he got hold of it?

28:23Oh, he had a perfectly plausible explanation.

28:26The fellow who'd snatched it was a well-known pickpocket.

28:29Mailer had been keeping his eye on him and he immediately gave chase.

28:33It was a long pursuit, but in the end I caught up with him

28:37at one of his habitual haunts, and by means with which I will not trouble you,

28:41recovered your briefcase.

28:43No doubt you'll be asking yourself why three days have elapsed

28:47before I have brought it back to you.

28:49Perhaps you would care to inspect my arm.

28:54You see the marks?

28:55Like mosquito bites.

28:57But I am sure you recognize them for what they are.

29:00I have an addiction for cocaine.

29:03After recovering the briefcase, I felt a little shaken

29:06and exceeded my usual dose.

29:08As a result, I have been out of circulation until this morning.

29:12What he'd actually been doing, though I didn't realize it at the time,

29:17was scribbling away at a book.

29:19He must have worked at it day and night.

29:22He asked me to read it as a kind of reward for recovering my briefcase.

29:27Neither a novel nor a novella in length, I'm afraid,

29:31but I would be grateful for your advice as to a possible publisher.

29:34I hope my handwriting does not present undue difficulties.

29:38Perhaps in two days or so you might.

29:41But I don't understand.

29:43What was the point?

29:44One of the minor episodes of his book bore a strong resemblance

29:49to the main theme of Simon.

29:51Oh.

29:52I didn't think anything of it at the time.

29:55I just put it down to coincidence.

29:57And did you mention it to him when you met again?

29:59Oh, yes.

30:00He seemed to be quite amused.

30:03We are told, are we not, that in literature there are only...

30:08How many is it?

30:10Three?

30:11Four basic themes?

30:13He took me out to a thoroughly disgusting club where I had far too much to drink.

30:18We met up with some friends of his.

30:20He'd obviously arranged for them to be there.

30:23And he told them the whole story.

30:25Including the resemblance bits?

30:27Oh, yes.

30:28He made a great joke of it all.

30:29And his cronies thought it was very funny.

30:31What I didn't realize at the time was that one of them was a journalist.

30:36So he tried a spot of blackmail?

30:38Not there and then.

30:39I went back to England.

30:41The book was published and it was a tremendous success.

30:44Three weeks ago I came back here to Rome to discuss the Italian edition and Mailer was waiting for me.

30:51I shall come straight to the point.

30:54Always best, don't you agree?

30:56He told me that he'd thoroughly rehashed his book so that it was blatantly like mine

31:02and that he had witnesses from that nightclub where we'd joked about it who'd swear that I'd swiped his story.

31:08The journalist was the Rome correspondent of one of the grubbiest British scandal sheets.

31:13But you could just have told him to go to hell.

31:15Not with the Aquarius scandal still hanging over my head.

31:18So what did he want?

31:19Not very much as it happens.

31:21He asked me to take on these unspeakable tours to lend my name to them and do the famous author bit.

31:27This is meant to be the first of them.

31:29Oh, he probably wouldn't have stopped there.

31:31That's just what I'm afraid of.

31:33I hope he doesn't turn up again in a hurry and I'm not very keen for the police to track him down.

31:38God knows what he might say.

31:43So, where do you go from here?

31:46Back to the Basilica.

31:47Charming, though Father Dennis may be, I'm not confident of his ability to carry out a really thorough search.

31:53I've persuaded the Rome police to lay on all the necessary facilities and the big chief is taking charge of it all in person.

32:00Il Castore Valdano.

32:05You have already met Chief Superintendent Dallin, I believe, Padre?

32:08I have indeed.

32:09But he didn't let on that he was a great man in the CID.

32:13I hope it was an innocent reservation, Father.

32:16Well, I let you off this time.

32:18So, we'd better be getting on with your wild goose chase.

32:21Was there anywhere particular you wanted to take a look, Signor Castore?

32:25My man will search through the whole Basilica, Padre.

32:27But as for particulars, you'd better ask the Chief Superintendent.

32:31I should like to go down to the railed enclosure on the second level.

32:34That's where Sophie Jason thought she caught sight of Violetta.

32:37The people at the lodging say that Violetta did not return home last night.

32:40She may have gone off with Mr. Mailer, of course.

32:43It is possible. If Mailer discovered the Superintendent's identity, he could have told her.

32:48Well, let's be a way down there.

32:50We'd best get this over before the tourist parties start to arrive.

32:57Well, this is the place.

32:59We were looking down into the well, and Miss Jason thought that she saw Violetta's shadow moving across the sarcophagus over there.

33:06But why should she come down here?

33:08She's not permitted inside in any case.

33:10Well, perhaps she was planning to bring about some kind of showdown with Mailer in front of us all.

33:14I'd like to take a closer look down there and try to work out where she was making for when she threw that shadow.

33:23Well, there are many places where she could have ridden herself away.

33:29The lid of the sarcophagus. It is not completely closed.

33:33There's some kind of black thread trailing out of it. Would you permit us to open it, Father?

33:37Well, you ought to be able to slade it off. Mind you, it's a fair weight.

33:53Poor woman. She won't be selling any more postcards. Strangled.

34:00I'd like to make a sketch. Actually, I'll make that to me if it's very possible.

34:07The situation is much more serious than I'd imagined.

34:13I will put every available man on to finding Mailer. A close watch will be kept on his apartment.

34:17And what are you proposing to do about his happy band of pilgrims?

34:20Sorry?

34:21For the people who were on the tour when the unfortunate woman was murdered.

34:25I think it might be best if you were to interview them yourself.

34:29You will have to explain to them who you are, of course.

34:32I do not think they will be happy to discover that they were letting down their hair last night

34:37in front of a chief superintendent from Scotland Yard.

34:43My God, I knew I'd seen you somewhere before.

34:46You're that bloody policeman that's always getting his name in the papers.

34:49Oh, but really? How too off-putting and peculiar.

34:52You might have told us what your job was.

34:54Why?

34:55You didn't tell us what you do for a living.

34:57So, let's get down to it, shall we?

34:58What we need to establish is when each of us last saw Mailer.

35:02Of course, of course.

35:03A crime has been committed.

35:04It is our duty to assist.

35:06Thank you, Baron.

35:07Now, for my part, it was when we were still on the middle level,

35:10just after Major Sweet and Lady Bracely had left to go up to the atrium.

35:14Mr Grant, Miss Jason and the Baron and Baroness were with me,

35:17and we all went down to the Mithraic Temple together.

35:20Major Sweet and Mr Dorn joined us there separately some time later.

35:26May I ask, Lady Bracely, whether you saw anything of Mailer or of Violetta after you left us?

35:32No.

35:33No, of course I didn't.

35:34No.

35:35No.

35:36What about you, Major?

35:37No, I met nobody.

35:38Now, Mr Dorn, according to Mailer, you had gone back to photograph the Apollo.

35:43Is that right?

35:44Certainly.

35:45And did you photograph it?

35:46As it happened, no.

35:47I'd run out of film.

35:48Oh, no, you hadn't.

35:49You hadn't done any such thing.

35:51You took a photograph of Mithras while we were all poodle-faking around Grant and his book.

35:56There's such a thing as putting in a new film, Major Sweet.

35:59Yes, of course there is.

36:00Which reminds me, I'd like to take a look at all the photos that were taken in the Basilica.

36:05If you, Mr Dorn, and you, Baron, would be so good as to hand them over to me, I will arrange for the police to develop them.

36:11Of course.

36:12Now, Mr Dorn, tell me, did Mailer rejoin you while you were not photographing Apollo?

36:18No.

36:19No, no, he didn't turn up.

36:21You were expecting him, then?

36:22No.

36:23No, I wasn't.

36:24Well, do you recognize this piece of blue paper, Mr Dorn?

36:27No.

36:28I found it behind the statue of Apollo during our search this morning.

36:32And last night, I was sold a packet containing heroin and cocaine at Tony's pad in exactly the same paper.

36:40Look, what the hell is all this? Why are you picking on me?

36:42I'm not going to run you in for making a mess of yourself with drugs, you silly chap.

36:46I simply want to know if, for whatever reason, you met Mailer by the statue of Apollo.

36:52Kenneth, darling, please, you mustn't.

36:54Aunty, do you mind? I've told him. No, no, no.

36:59So why is he making such a fuss?

37:01Well, my guess would be that he met up with Mailer so that he could get his fix.

37:05But there's something else going on, something that Lady Bracely is very agitated about, but I'm damned if I know what it is.

37:12Still, there doesn't seem to be much mystery about who killed Violetta.

37:15Must have been Mailer, surely.

37:17Everything would appear to point to that.

37:19Anyway, I've told them all they must remain in Rome for the time being.

37:23After our meeting broke up, Grant said he wanted to have a quiet word.

37:27I suspect he was rather pushed into it by Miss Jason.

37:30And did he explain to you how he got involved in all this?

37:33He was being blackmailed by Mailer. Not because of anything criminal, of course, but enough to put his reputation in jeopardy.

37:41And that set me thinking. If Mailer was blackmailing Grant, was he trying the same trick with any of the others? The Vagels, perhaps?

37:49Or Major Sweet.

37:50That's so funny you should mention him.

37:52I wanted to think the whole business through, so I took a leisurely stroll and I caught sight of Sweet in a cafe, having a rather earnest conversation with Giovanni Vecchi, Mailer's second in command.

38:04I managed to get close enough to hear a word or two without being observed.

38:07And?

38:08Sweet was talking about Siegfeld.

38:11The drug baron.

38:13And if the Major's got himself mixed up with Siegfeld, he's playing a very dangerous game.

38:18I've asked the police to keep a close watch on his apartment, and I'm going to pay him a surprise visit there this evening.

38:27Siegfeld? Who's he? Some sort of day guy, I suppose?

38:30I think you know perfectly well who he is, Major.

38:33He imports drugs on a very large scale.

38:36He set up an agent in Naples whose job was to arrange and supervise the transshipment.

38:41And that agent was Sebastian Mailer.

38:43I knew he was a wrong one, straight off.

38:46It appears that at one time Mailer was married to the woman Violetta, and probably she worked for him in some minor capacity.

38:52And subsequently he deserted him.

38:54Now you're talking. Threatened to expose him?

38:56It's very likely.

38:57Killed her?

38:58Highly probable.

38:59There you are then.

39:00Siegfeld doesn't care for agents who do the dirty on him.

39:03As a general rule, he has them bumped off by another agent.

39:07What's that got to do with me?

39:09I overheard your conversation with Giovanni Vecchi at the Eremo Cafe this afternoon.

39:13I don't know what you're talking about.

39:15I have the advantage of you there.

39:16I do know what you and Giovanni Vecchi were talking about.

39:19Mailer had been helping himself to some of Siegfeld's drugs in transit, and setting up as a dealer on his own account.

39:25And where am I supposed to fit into all this?

39:27Well, you were sent to spy on Mailer and Vecchi by Siegfeld, and to report back to him on their activities.

39:34I think that you double-crossed Siegfeld, and played along with Mailer.

39:38And now that Mailer's disappeared, you're threatening to betray Vecchi to Siegfeld, unless he pays you off in a big way.

39:45And then you're planning to clear out when the going's good.

39:48You haven't got a hope. You're in a pretty ugly situation one way or another, aren't you?

39:54The safest thing for you might be to ask the Rome police to lock you up.

39:57What do you want?

39:59A complete list of Siegfeld's agents, and a full account of his operation.

40:03With particular respect to Mailer.

40:05I can't do that, Alan.

40:07You've no choice.

40:08You rot in hell.

40:10All right, but get me a drink, god damn you.

40:18Ah, Signor Allen, there is a note for you from Lady Bracely.

40:29Oh, thank you.

40:31Must see you.

40:33Please come to my apartment as soon as possible.

40:36If you see Kay, say nothing.

40:39Kenneth's been so naughty and stupid, and now he's landed me in the most frightful mess.

40:46Well, what's he done?

40:47I can't follow it all, but apparently he got into some perfectly grisly scrape in Perugia,

40:53and sold something that didn't belong to him.

40:56The Mailer person got him out of it at a cost, of course, but when we were in that ghastly church,

41:03Mailer took me to one side while the rest of you were gawping at all those statues and things,

41:08and told me that the police still weren't satisfied, and unless we could butter them up with a hefty bribe,

41:13it would all come out and Kenneth would be arrested.

41:16He wanted me to sign a blank check, and he would negotiate the whole thing.

41:21And did you give it to him?

41:22Not there then.

41:23He was going to call for it at midday today, and then there was that thing about him disappearing,

41:31and all that murder horror.

41:33But that Giovanni Vecchi, I used to think he was rather sweet, came here today and said the situation had got much more difficult.

41:42It might cost at least 800 pounds, and he suggested I let him have some jewellery instead.

41:50And did you give him any?

41:51Yes, I did.

41:53My diamond and emerald sunburst.

41:55I never really liked it, frightfully.

41:58Lady Bracely, why are you telling me all this?

42:01I'm out of my depth.

42:02I'm awfully fond of Kenneth, but I don't think it's fair for him to land me in such a mess.

42:09Please, Mr. Allen, please, be kind and help me.

42:13Very well.

42:14When your nephew appears, tell him I want to see him.

42:16I shall be in my room for the next hour.

42:19So, what's it all about this time?

42:23You're going to run me in for possessing dope?

42:25I've better things to do with my time.

42:27I want to tell you something.

42:28You were lying when you said you didn't see Mailer when you went off to photograph the Apollo.

42:32You met him by arrangement to collect your supply of heroin and cocaine.

42:36And you had one other reason for seeing him.

42:39And what's that supposed to be?

42:40You wanted to find out if he'd been successful in blackmailing your aunt on your behalf.

42:44You were encouraging him to keep on turning the screw.

42:47You were sharing the proceeds, I presume?

42:50No comment.

42:51And I suspect that now you're trying to carry on the good work with the help of Giovanni Vecchi.

42:55But we'll soon put a stop to that.

42:57Now, what I want to know is where Mailer went when he left you.

43:01He had a date with someone else.

43:03Who?

43:04He didn't say.

43:05It was somewhere in the church.

43:06That's all I know.

43:07PHONE RINGS

43:08Hello?

43:09Would that be Mr. Allen?

43:11It would, Father.

43:12Are you alone now?

43:13No.

43:14If it's not putting too much on you, I'd be greatly obliged if you'd be kind enough to look

43:19in at the Basilica.

43:20Of course.

43:21Is it...

43:22It may be, and then again it may not.

43:24To tell you the truth, I'm loath to call down a great concurrence of the police upon me,

43:29and then it turning out to be a rat.

43:31But to judge by the strength of the aroma, it's rather more than that.

43:36I'll be with you in 15 minutes.

43:39That'll be all, Mr. Dorn.

43:41I earnestly hope we never meet again.

43:46It's like enough a fool's errand I brought you on.

43:49And you may be not eaten yet.

43:51Shall we have a look where the trouble seems to be?

43:53A look?

43:54The smell more likely.

43:55But come along.

43:56We have to go down to the third level where the Mithraeim is.

43:59Mind your step now.

44:06There's no mistaking the smell.

44:08It's sickly sweet.

44:10What exactly is there down below?

44:12The remains of a stone grill, as old as the place itself.

44:16It lies over the surface of the water, and there's only a part of it still intact.

44:20Come on, get down there.

44:22There seems to be footholds in the wall.

44:24Oh, I wouldn't trust them.

44:25I'll get a couple of the brothers to bring a rope and a set of overalls and a headlamp.

44:29We're very well provided.

44:31Lower me down a bit further.

44:32A bit further, yes.

44:33Are you all right?

44:34Yes.

44:35A bit further.

44:36Hold on.

44:37I'm there.

44:38Slack off a little.

44:39Can you see anything?

44:40Yeah, there's a foot.

44:41It's caught in what's left of the old grill.

44:42The body's hanging over the water.

44:43The smell is simply disgusting.

44:56Here.

44:57Take a drop of this.

44:58We always keep a little something in case of emergencies.

44:59Oh, thanks.

45:00Oh, I needed that.

45:01Are you sure it's himself?

45:02Yes.

45:03I could tell by the shoes, but it was just possible to see his face.

45:04So, did someone kill both him and that poor woman, or did he kill her and then get himself killed?

45:10Either way, it's a terrible business.

45:13Would you like me to telephone the police?

45:14I'd be very grateful if you would.

45:15I need a little time to work things out.

45:18So, what is the verdict?

45:19Did he kill both him and that poor woman, or did he kill her and then get himself killed?

45:23Either way, it's a terrible business.

45:25Would you like me to telephone the police?

45:27I'd be very grateful if you would.

45:29I need a little time to work things out.

45:32So, what is the verdict?

45:48There isn't one.

45:49I'm still trying to decide exactly when the deaths took place.

45:53Sophie Jason said she heard a noise like a heavy door closing while the Baroness was fiddling about taking that photograph.

45:59It's a fair bet that that was the lid of the sarcophagus going down on Violetta's body.

46:04And Mailer himself must have been killed shortly afterwards.

46:08What the devil's that?

46:10It's the students.

46:12Thank God, at long last they got going.

46:14I'd better be off.

46:15Ciao!

46:22Pronto?

46:23Signor Allen, I'm afraid I have bad news.

46:26Major Sweet, he's dead.

46:28Dead?

46:29In a street accident.

46:31I would be greatly obliged if you would come over to my office.

46:44Ah, the students, eh?

46:46What do you suppose they achieve?

46:48Now they are burning the Vespas.

46:50And it is because of the students that Major Sweet was able to get away.

46:53How is that?

46:54My men were keeping a close watch on his apartment.

46:56But there were others who were also keeping their eyes on him.

47:00Zekefeld's man?

47:01Yes, so he does not dare to come out.

47:03And then in the afternoon I telephone him asking him to come to my office and sign a statement.

47:08Did you tell him that Mailer's body had been fired?

47:10Oh yes, yes, I tell him.

47:11And what did he say?

47:12He says nothing.

47:13And then the students come into his street, pushing over the cars, breaking the windows of the shops.

47:19And so the Major takes his chance and slips out.

47:22One of Zekefeld's men goes after him, but Sweet jumps into a taxi.

47:26And then a police car draws up by the side of the taxi.

47:29The Major leaps out and immediately he is run down by a car coming the other way.

47:34He did not regain consciousness.

47:35I see.

47:36There is no doubt in my mind that it was Major Sweet who murdered Mailer.

47:41Are you sure of that?

47:42I am certain.

47:43I have been questioning Mailer's assistant, Giovanni Vecchi.

47:46And he said that he saw Sweet standing on the railing of the whale, looking down.

47:51Vecchi was in the basilica?

47:52That's all he says, and I have no reason to doubt his word.

47:55Oh.

47:56And so, my friend, the case is at an end.

47:59The happy band of pilgrims are free to depart.

48:02Oh, and the photographs you asked us to develop have come back.

48:06Would you like to see them?

48:07Oh, very much.

48:08Here.

48:11Tell us nothing.

48:12Light got into the roll of pictures the Baroness took at the Mithraim.

48:15They're useless.

48:16And the ones taken by Mr. Dorn?

48:19Ah, yes.

48:21Some of the ones from Perugia are really quite indecent.

48:25So they are.

48:27Oh, and here's one of Lady Bracely taken on the Spanish steps.

48:30Ah, and a snap he took of us all standing in front of the statue of Mithras,

48:34looking at Barnaby Grant, reading his book.

48:36It is of no interest.

48:39As you say, of no interest.

48:41The members of your party are in the next office.

48:43They came to sign their statements.

48:45Perhaps you would care to say goodbye to them?

48:47Well, it's quite something to have been trotted about in the dark by a murderer.

48:55Even if he was a rude, common sort of man.

48:58We'll dine out on it, won't we, Kenny, darling?

49:01And are you staying on in Rome, Miss Jason?

49:03No, I thought I might spend a few days in Florence, stopping off at Arezzo.

49:07And you, Mr. Grant?

49:08I thought I might take a look at Arezzo, too.

49:11I've always wanted to see the Piero frescoes.

49:13Forgive me, Mr. Allen, but the photographs that my wife took,

49:18if you have finished with them, may we see them?

49:21Of course, Baron, though I fear they will be rather a disappointment.

49:24Why don't you come along to my hotel an hour or so?

49:27We can have a drink together, and you can take a look at them.

49:29I do not think we need trouble, the Baroness.

49:35I cannot understand this.

49:37There is nothing wrong with Mathilde's camera,

49:39the man who processed the film.

49:41You say he was a police photographer?

49:44I'm sure he was very careful.

49:46Ah, well, it will all be a great relief to Mathilde.

49:48She wanted no record of that place.

49:50You may be interested to see the picture Kenneth Dorn took of us all.

49:55Oh, yes, it is a very clear picture.

50:03Allow me to top up your glass.

50:05I wonder if you could do me a favor.

50:08Certainly, if it is possible.

50:11This is a copy of a letter written in Dutch.

50:13Will you tell me what it says?

50:19Why do you do this?

50:21You ask me here to have a drink with you,

50:23and then you show me this?

50:25Where did you find it?

50:26It was among Mailer's papers.

50:28The police thought it of no importance,

50:29and I did not contradict them.

50:31My job here is at an end.

50:33Then why show it to me now?

50:34There is no reason for you to get angry, Baron.

50:36I assure you I am acting in good faith.

50:38You have my word that I shall take no further action.

50:42You leave me little choice.

50:44I must place myself in your hands.

50:50It is a letter to someone calling himself Silas J. Sebastian.

50:55It was Mailer.

50:56He didn't go to much trouble over his pseudonyms.

50:59It is written by the firm of publishers in which I am a partner.

51:03He had asked them if they could give him any information about my wife.

51:09He had told them he was writing a series of articles on the subject of the old nobilities.

51:14The letter...

51:16The letter is an answer to that inquiry.

51:18Yeah?

51:19It states...

51:20It states that the Baroness van der Wegel is a permanent invalid and lives in retirement.

51:30Ah.

51:31Like the first Mrs. Rochester?

51:32Yeah.

51:33Like Mrs. Rochester in Jane Eyre.

51:36When did you first encounter Sebastian Mailer?

51:39Eighteen months ago in Geneva.

51:42And he wrote his letter a few weeks later?

51:44He wrote others, extending his inquiries.

51:47And when you met him again in Rome this summer, had you any idea?

51:52None.

51:53Until a week ago.

51:55And then the blackmailing process began?

51:57Yes.

52:00You presented such a brave face, the pair of you.

52:03So much enthusiasm for the ancient world.

52:06Today, before yesterday, at Santa Masso, I was carrying the money demanded of me as the price of silence.

52:14The decision had been taken.

52:16I...

52:17I must confess, a lightness of spirit came over me and...

52:22And then there were the Etruscan works of art.

52:24I...

52:25I felt myself among friends.

52:27I believe that our family, which is of great antiquity, is descended from the Etruscans.

52:32And did you hand over the money?

52:34There was no opportunity.

52:36Well, it must have been a great relief when Mailer disappeared.

52:40You were not the only victim in his party, you know.

52:42So I understand.

52:44You may not believe me when I say that it would solace me to tell you what it was that he had discovered.

52:52But I cannot.

52:54I believe you, Baron.

52:56I...

53:00Mr. Allen, I appreciate your great forbearance in keeping my teal out of our little conversation.

53:07And, uh, now, I go.

53:13I know that I am your debtor to an indefinable extent.

53:18You would not wish me to say more?

53:21Not another syllable.

53:23May I, uh, may I shake your hand, Mr. Allen?

53:26I am truly grateful.

53:34By and large, he was the nicest murderer I've ever met.

53:37But how could you be so certain it was him?

53:40It was when I saw Kenneth Dorn's snapshot of us all standing round Grant and his book in front of the altar of Mithras.

53:46The Baron wasn't there.

53:48What?

53:49While we were all lined up in that preposterous group, scarcely able to see one another in the dark,

53:53the Baroness was talking to him, asking him to stand further back and so on, but he wasn't there.

53:59And that's why she made such a business of fiddling about with the flashbulbs

54:03and why she got Grant to read that long extract from his book.

54:07Ah, he'd gone off to have his rendezvous with Mailer to hand over the money.

54:11I think he came upon him with Violetta lying dead at his feet.

54:14Mailer tried to bolt.

54:16It was a struggle.

54:17The Baron throttled him and tipped him over the well head.

54:20And then he came back and stowed Violetta away in the sarcophagus.

54:24I presume he deliberately overexposed the reel of film taken by the Baroness.

54:28But he had no idea that Dorn had taken a snapshot of us all.

54:32So what was it all about?

54:34I can see that the Baron and Baroness weren't husband and wife, but...

54:38Well, here's one of the photographs on the Baroness's other reel.

54:41They must have asked someone to take a picture of them together.

54:45They've got exactly the same features.

54:48The nose, the jaw, the mouth.

54:51They might almost be...

54:53I think very probably they're half-siblings.

54:56And that wouldn't go down very well with the Baron's religious publishing company.

55:00The chairman is fanatically puritanical.

55:02Incest, in however remote a degree, would hardly be tolerated.

55:07So, what are you going to do?

55:09Well, Castori Valdano has already made his decision.

55:12Everything points to Major Sweet, and he is conveniently dead.

55:16Two very unsavoury characters at one blow, so to speak.

55:20And if that's what the Roman police choose to believe, well...

55:24When in Rome.

55:25Exactly, Bathgate.

55:26When in Rome.

55:27Exactly, Bathgate.

55:28When in Rome.

55:51In When in Rome, by Nio Marsh.

55:54Chief Detective Inspector Alan was played by Jeremy Clyde.

55:58Nigel Bathgate, Nick Waring.

56:01The Baron van der Wegel, David Swift.

56:04The Baroness, Paula Jacobs.

56:06Sonia, Lady Bracely, Pauline Jameson.

56:09Kenneth Dorn, Tom George.

56:12Barnaby Grant, Sean Arnold.

56:14Sophie Jason, Annabelle Dowler.

56:17Major Sweet, Derek Waring.

56:19Sebastian Mailer, Matthew Devereaux.

56:22Violetta, Carolyn Jones.

56:24Father Dennis, James Green.

56:26Il Castore Valdano, Stephen Critchlow.

56:30When in Rome was dramatised for radio by Michael Bakewell, and directed by Enid Williams.

56:45On the left.

56:48It wasанием berns, Geoffrey Gale, Robert.

56:50Yes, the-

56:52The-

56:54The-

56:55The-

56:56The-

56:59The-

57:00The-

57:01The-

57:02The-

57:05The-

57:06The-

57:07The-

57:08The-

57:09The-

57:10The-

57:11The-

57:12The-

Inspector Alleyn - When in Rome

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