Design for Murder by Roy Lewis Read Free Book Online

at the barrister. Sharon’s features were stiff with dislike, but her eyes were resigned. Eric sighed. ‘All right. But where are you going to go?’
    ‘I’m sure you can arrange a temporary haven for me, Mr Ward,’ Conroy suggested coolly.
    Eric glowered at him. He was tempted to refuse, but then thought better of it. He wanted to wash his hands of any involvement with the man. ‘All right. Give me a few minutes. I’ll make a couple of phone calls.’
    He stepped outside, called his office, explained the situation. Susie made a couple of suggestions about accommodation. When Eric placed the second call on his mobile phone the two policemen came out of the holding room, nodded to him and made their way out to the corridor. They had given up the responsibility. When he concluded the call, Eric returned to the room where Sharonand Conroy waited for him. The room was silent; there had clearly been no conversation between them. She was staring out of the window. Conroy had an amused smirk on his lips as he contemplated her stiff back.
    ‘All right, I think it would be as well if we waited for a while before leaving,’ Eric said. ‘Let’s give the police time to disperse the crowds. Then I’ll take you to your hotel, Mr Conroy. I’ve booked you a room in a quiet place in Gosforth. I don’t know what your future plans might be, but I would suggest you lie low for a few days. We can conclude our business and then you can resume your life. Wherever you will.’
    Conroy nodded cheerfully. ‘That’s fine. As for your fees … would you like to take a couple of my paintings in payment?’
    When he saw the resentment in Eric’s eyes he lifted a contemptuous eyebrow. ‘Just joking, Mr Ward. Just joking.’
     
    Two hours later, after Conroy had been delivered to his hotel under an assumed name and Eric had made the necessary arrangements about the bill, Eric suggested that Sharon came back to his apartment to relax after the tension of the trial and the subsequent hubbub in the streets. Early editions of the evening newspaper already had news of the collapse of the trial in their late bulletins: Eric guessed the morning newspapers would carry banner headlines, reflecting upon the prosecution’s clumsiness and the possible repercussions now that it seemed the Zodiac Killer – whoever he might be – was still at large.
    ‘They’ll need to be careful what they write,’ Eric remarked as he handed a brandy and soda to Sharon. She took the glass, cradled it in both hands and settled in her easy chair with a sigh. Eric liked the way she seemed to fit into thesurroundings. He had lived alone here in the apartment for too long. But it was still early days.
    ‘I’ve no doubt Abernethy’s behaviour will come in for criticism,’ he said, ‘justified though it was. But if the newspapers imply that Conroy is the Zodiac Killer let free on the streets to kill again, our client could well bring an action for defamation, and earn quite a lot of money.’
    ‘Just as long as he doesn’t brief you and me to act on his behalf,’ Sharon replied.
    ‘You’ve had enough dealings with the man.’
    ‘More than enough. He gives me the shudders,’ Sharon admitted. ‘And you know, I have to admit that I’m left uneasy about this whole business. I know we’re not supposed to have a view about the guilt or otherwise of our clients, just to act on their behalf, do the best we can for them … but Raymond Conroy, well, he leaves a nasty taste in my mouth.’
    Eric sat down, sipped at his own brandy. ‘You think he might be the guilty man.’
    Sharon shrugged. ‘I think about the murdered women. And if we have helped Conroy escape, when he is the maniac responsible. …’
    ‘We’ve just done our job,’ Eric assured her. ‘The evidence against him had a thin crust, circumstantial, open to abuse … we just drew attention to the weakness of the prosecution case. Not least that business about him and Paula Gray. How the prosecution