Page 177 of Murder in the Family

ALAN CANNING

I agree with the logic, though actuallydoingthat will be much easier said than done.

(gesturing at the picture)

I mean look at it – it could be anywhere.

HUGO FRASER

(to JJ)

You’re thinking that the water tower could be identifiable?

JJ NORTON

(smiling)

Not could be.

Is.

He goes back to his seat and taps his keyboard; a close-up of the water tower appears on the screen. The image has been digitally enhanced, and as a result it’s now possible to see a fragment of lettering on the left-hand side: the end of a word.

MITCHELL CLARKE

(sitting forward)

What is that? GH?

JJ NORTON

UGH.

LAILA FURNESS

So the name of the town ends in UGH? Like something-borough?

JJ NORTON

That was our working assumption, yes.

ALAN CANNING

Good luck narrowing that down. Must be hundreds of places with names like that.

JJ NORTON

(evenly)

If you’re thinking of the UK, then yes, obviously. But there are very few water towers over here, so a UK location is pretty unlikely. Towers like that are far more common in the US – you only need to watch a few old movies to know that. On the other hand, the vast majority of American towns with that sort of name actually end ‘B-O-R-O’ not ‘B-O-R-O-U-G-H’.

BILL SERAFINI

I can attest to that.

No one acknowledges him.

JJ NORTON

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