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" r
ou sure no murder anyone."
"
You never
know,
Mr~:
Monteiro."
H~
Fenton lived up
00
his
prOffilse. He found for Philip
Callighan a very presentable flat
indeed. That was a simple
business~
It merely involved paying through
the nose-Callighan's nose. . The
business of furnishing was more
complicated. Harry fancied himself
as an interior decorator, and. he was
determined that this, the first
sample of
hi~
art, should be just
perfect. He spent nine afternoDns
.going comfortably
frDm
one interiDr
decoratDr to another in a hired
chauffeur-driven limousine, whieh
he cqarged up to Callighan's
account. He employed Groin, the
surrealist, to do the mural paintings.
He got Prosser in to create a special
scheme for the dining-room, and
Harry personally designed a differ–
ent kind of modem fireplace for '
every room in the flat. Wherever he
went he collected rake-offs from
the variDus -suppliers of gDod taste
and COmfDrt, and, in general,- he
had the time
.of
his life.
Callighan, on his first visit of
inspectiDn, was not altogether re–
assured by the extravagant designs
.of
his new hDme.
But Harry
assured him that it was all absD–
lutely "functiDnal," and . C-allighan
supposed vaguely that it was
modem.
AB
sDon as the place was theDreti–
cally fit
tD
be lived in, Harry insisted
on
Callig~an
giving a house-warm–
ing patty. Callighan agreed, pro–
vided that
Harry
would be good
enough to dD the stage-managing of
the party. Harry agreed
tD
be gDDd
enough. He invited all his brDken–
down playbDY friends and a discreet
selection
.of
his creditDrs. Mer all,
it was a heaven-sent DPPOrt:lJ?ity
tD
"repay hDSpitality." MDreover,
purely fDr Callighan's benefit, Harry
invited a discreet and likely selection
of his own ex-girl friends.
Harry prided himself that he
knew almost as much ab
.out
the
. technique of giving parties as he
knew about interior decDration. And
certainly this party went with a
. swing. .Harry saw to it that there
should be excellt:'nt "b
w~
anq."
sluicing" (as he put it
ind-
that
Callighan should be sui
y .
befDre the first glamo
arrived.
Callighan was
in
sple.
PICTURE POST
PUture Post ,
&pu:mber
9, 1939
To Harry's creditors the tDUgh
business man
frDm
Brazil gave an
excellent impression of substance
and sDlidity. While with Harry's
ex-girl friends, Callighan succeeded
in appearing virile, and even inter–
esting, in a rare Empire-building
way.
By midnight Harry nDticed with
satisfactiDn that Callighan was lean–
ing fDrward sympathetically over
the surrealist sofa in the direction of
Vera (March tD July,
1936).
Harry
went .over
tD
the sDfa, carrying a
bottle
.of
pink champagne. He filled
Vera's glass with a smile in which
reminiscence, tolerance and cDnspi–
ratorial understanding were blended
in the mDst attractive prDpDrtions
pDssible. He
was
just gDing
tD
fill
Callighail'sglassalso,whenCallighan
collapsed.
Off
the sofa he rolled,
with his hands working convulsively
at his own throat, and his face
turn–
ing the colour of cardbDard.
They got him round at 'last–
Harry's most substantial creditDr, a
distinguished dentist, haVing per–
formed a miracle
.of
artificial respira–
tiDn. Callighan excused himself
with a remark abDut his ".old tropical
trouble" and the members of the ·
party brDke up gracefully, carrying
away with them the impression that
their hDst had a trDpically light head.
Harry, after satisfying himself that
Callighan wDuld go quietly tD sleep,
generDusly saw Vera home in his
chauffeur-driven limDusine.
Callighan's first night in his new
hDme was cDnsiderably more agDni–
sing for him than any
.of
the nights
he had spent in his residential hDtel.
He dreamed
.or
half-dreamed, that
a hideDus pre-histDric mDnster was
crawling tDwards him out
.of
the
dark,
DDzy
distance. In his dream,
he cDnsDled himself with the idea
that prDbably this mDnster was only
a functional part of the surrealist
furniture, until a forke<;i tongue
licked his forehead, and he woke
himself up with a shout. There was,
of course, hD forked tongue
tD
be
seen in the purely functional bed–
room; but Callighan did not get to
sleep again till mDrning.
When he did get ,tD sleep the
telephDne wDke him again immedi–
ately,
"HallD," said a woman's vDice.
"Is that Philip Callighan ?"
"HallD. Yes. Callighan speak–
ing."
"WhD
d'you think this is ?"
"HDW shDuld I knDW?" said
Callighan rudely.
"It's Kathleen."
. "Kathleen ?"
"Kathleen Fenton.
D'yDu
know,
Harry's little sister."
"GDDd LDrd
!"
Callighan sat up
quickly in bed.
'.'t~
g{Kd LDrd.' Good
morn-
WI
ss,.,com
tng,
.
-r.a~l
,....h_an,,'
,...-~,
____
"I
'r
,~
0
short
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