work. Furth and the others spent days and
nights going through everybody who was in the area. It
was Furth who came up with the material on
Doll. Didn't he tell you that?"
"No."
"I got friendly with him, got him to talk. That
wasn't a nice thing to do. So I don't know
what you're saying."
I took a slow sip of my coffee,
carefully not finishing it off. I didn't want
her to go yet. "I just want to get any information
about Michael Doll that I can. All right?"
She gave the smallest hint of a nod in
reply.
"So, Colette, what was your plan 93
once you got to know him?"
"I just wanted to get him to talk."
"About the murder?"
"That's right."
"But that's hard, isn't it? So could you tell
me about your conversations?"
A strand of hair had slipped down her forehead
and she pushed it up. It slipped again and she made
an effort to fasten it. "Doll hasn't exactly
got a lot of friends. I think he was desperate
for somebody to talk to."
"Or desperate for a friend."
"Same thing."
"Yes," I said. "How long have you known him?"
"Not long. Not more than a couple of weeks."
"I understand that there were three or four taped
conversations and that the one I heard came from the last
of them. Is that right?"
"That's right."
"What were the first ones like?"
"What do you mean?"
"Did he talk about the murder?"
"No."
"Did you raise the subject?"
"A bit."
"Did he talk about it straight away?"
"I had to get his trust."
"You mean he had to trust you before he told you that
he'd murdered someone?"
"He didn't exactly confess, did he?
That's why they brought you in."
I put both my elbows on the table, which brought
my face close to Colette's. "You know,
I've talked to lots of people with terrible problems,
who've done terrible things, and the barrier at the
beginning is to get them to feel that their interests will be
served by being honest with you, by telling you everything. How
did you do it?"
"Have you got a cigarette?" she asked.
"As it happens," I said, and took out of my
bag the packet I'd brought along for Doll.
"I encouraged him to talk freely," she said.
"I said I wanted to know his secrets."
"You said you wanted to know his secrets and he
told you he had committed murder."
"It wasn't like that. I was talking to him about his
fantasies."
"This wasn't in the pub, I take it. These
conversations were back at his flat."
"Yes." 95
"You steered the conversation towards areas of sex and
violence."
She took a drag of the cigarette. "I
encouraged him to talk. The way people do. The way
you do."
"Was it a sort of quid pro quo?
Did you provide him with fantasies and invite
him to respond with his own?"
"I tried to get him to talk. I needed to show
him that I wouldn't be shocked by anything he would
tell me."
"But the first couple of big conversations you had with
Doll didn't produce anything?"
"Not really."
"Obviously Furth and the rest listened to the
tapes."
"Obviously."
"And they said they weren't producing anything."
"They weren't producing anything."
"And they said, "Go back and get something
better.""
"Not exactly."
"And they said try harder."
"How do you mean?"
"I imagine they said something like "Why should
Doll tell you anything? You've got to encourage
him a bit more.""
"I don't know what you mean. I just got him
to talk."
"Absolutely. What I heard was great
stuff. Really disgusting. There's no question,
Colette, you went back in there and came away
with the goods."
"I did my job."
"You met this strange, disturbed, highly
unsocialized man and by the third or fourth
meeting he's giving you a lurid fantasy about
murdering a woman. You see where I'm heading,
don't you?"
"I did my job."
I leaned over so that our noses almost touched.
"Did you have sex with Michael Doll?"
She flinched. "No," she said, almost in a
whisper. Then, more loudly, "No."
I kept my eyes tightly on hers. "You were
wearing a wire. Maybe sex would be a problem.
Maybe it wasn't
nights going through everybody who was in the area. It
was Furth who came up with the material on
Doll. Didn't he tell you that?"
"No."
"I got friendly with him, got him to talk. That
wasn't a nice thing to do. So I don't know
what you're saying."
I took a slow sip of my coffee,
carefully not finishing it off. I didn't want
her to go yet. "I just want to get any information
about Michael Doll that I can. All right?"
She gave the smallest hint of a nod in
reply.
"So, Colette, what was your plan 93
once you got to know him?"
"I just wanted to get him to talk."
"About the murder?"
"That's right."
"But that's hard, isn't it? So could you tell
me about your conversations?"
A strand of hair had slipped down her forehead
and she pushed it up. It slipped again and she made
an effort to fasten it. "Doll hasn't exactly
got a lot of friends. I think he was desperate
for somebody to talk to."
"Or desperate for a friend."
"Same thing."
"Yes," I said. "How long have you known him?"
"Not long. Not more than a couple of weeks."
"I understand that there were three or four taped
conversations and that the one I heard came from the last
of them. Is that right?"
"That's right."
"What were the first ones like?"
"What do you mean?"
"Did he talk about the murder?"
"No."
"Did you raise the subject?"
"A bit."
"Did he talk about it straight away?"
"I had to get his trust."
"You mean he had to trust you before he told you that
he'd murdered someone?"
"He didn't exactly confess, did he?
That's why they brought you in."
I put both my elbows on the table, which brought
my face close to Colette's. "You know,
I've talked to lots of people with terrible problems,
who've done terrible things, and the barrier at the
beginning is to get them to feel that their interests will be
served by being honest with you, by telling you everything. How
did you do it?"
"Have you got a cigarette?" she asked.
"As it happens," I said, and took out of my
bag the packet I'd brought along for Doll.
"I encouraged him to talk freely," she said.
"I said I wanted to know his secrets."
"You said you wanted to know his secrets and he
told you he had committed murder."
"It wasn't like that. I was talking to him about his
fantasies."
"This wasn't in the pub, I take it. These
conversations were back at his flat."
"Yes." 95
"You steered the conversation towards areas of sex and
violence."
She took a drag of the cigarette. "I
encouraged him to talk. The way people do. The way
you do."
"Was it a sort of quid pro quo?
Did you provide him with fantasies and invite
him to respond with his own?"
"I tried to get him to talk. I needed to show
him that I wouldn't be shocked by anything he would
tell me."
"But the first couple of big conversations you had with
Doll didn't produce anything?"
"Not really."
"Obviously Furth and the rest listened to the
tapes."
"Obviously."
"And they said they weren't producing anything."
"They weren't producing anything."
"And they said, "Go back and get something
better.""
"Not exactly."
"And they said try harder."
"How do you mean?"
"I imagine they said something like "Why should
Doll tell you anything? You've got to encourage
him a bit more.""
"I don't know what you mean. I just got him
to talk."
"Absolutely. What I heard was great
stuff. Really disgusting. There's no question,
Colette, you went back in there and came away
with the goods."
"I did my job."
"You met this strange, disturbed, highly
unsocialized man and by the third or fourth
meeting he's giving you a lurid fantasy about
murdering a woman. You see where I'm heading,
don't you?"
"I did my job."
I leaned over so that our noses almost touched.
"Did you have sex with Michael Doll?"
She flinched. "No," she said, almost in a
whisper. Then, more loudly, "No."
I kept my eyes tightly on hers. "You were
wearing a wire. Maybe sex would be a problem.
Maybe it wasn't
Similar Books
