Page 205 of Murder in the Family

LAILA FURNESS

(exasperated now)

That’s utterly ridiculous, and you know it.

(turning to Canning)

And as for you, Alan, intheory, I suppose Icouldhave thought the culprit was Luke Ryder in 2003, but infactI didn’t – I didn’t even know he existed—

JJ NORTON

Can you prove that?

LAILA FURNESS

Of course I can’t prove it – how do you prove a negative?

ALAN CANNING

You were living in London by 2003—

LAILA FURNESS

(quickly)

So were a lot of us round this table – so wereyou,for that matter. And we’ve already established that you had onehellof a motive of your own for wanting Ryder dead.

(leaning towards him and pointing)

So why don’t you tell us,Detective InspectorCanning? Where wereyouon the night of October third, 2003?

ALAN CANNING

You are joking, right? You can’t seriously think—

BILL SERAFINI

Actually, I agree with Laila. After all, ‘It’s the obvious question’.

(raising an eyebrow)

Isn’t that whatyousaid whenIwas asked that exact same thing?

ALAN CANNING

Indeed it was. And I also remember that you never gave us an answer.

BILL SERAFINI

I was in New York that night – Itoldyou that.

ALAN CANNING

And I toldyouthat you were listed as a delegate at the same conference I was at in Berkshire. You could easily have got into London—

BILL SERAFINI

Not from Brooklyn, I couldn’t.

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