Free Carnage on the Committee by Ruth Dudley Edwards

and was awarded the Chiddick Honorary Fellowship, whatever that is.'
    'Speed up, Ellis. I admire your thoroughness, but spare me too much academic detail. Especially since we're nearly in Islington.'
    'A couple of translations of French novels and one of her own while with Babcock, and then she seems to have taken to committees in a big way.'
    'All literary?'
    'Broadly cultural - authors' organisations, judging literary prizes, dishing out grants, British Council activities, that kind of thing. Edited a couple of anthologies of French short stories, did reviewing and broadcasting and churned out the odd novel as well. The last one, Virginia Falling, won the Warburton last year. She collected a couple of honorary degrees over the last decade or so and was given a peerage in 1997.'
    'Why do people want honorary degrees if they've already got one?'
    'I suppose some of them like the attention and others like being called Doctor.'
    'Even if they haven't earned it?'
    'I don't know much about that, sir. I'll consult Mary Lou.'
    'And Rawlinson? Hurry up. We're nearly there.'
    'Short entry. Babcock his second wife, first one died, no children, went into Graylings Bank straight from school and became CEO five years ago.'
    The car turned into a square and pulled up in front of a white, four-storey, double-fronted Georgian house. 'Unless you expect to be in there a long time, I'll wait
    here, sir,' said Detective Inspector (retired) Pike.
    Thanks, Sammy. I doubt if we'll be very long. Keep an ear to the news, will you? I'd like to know if any other members of the Warburton committee are sounding of.'
    'Will do, sir.'
    Milton pressed the bell. 'What do you reckon it's worth, Ellis? A couple of mill?'
    'Easily, sir. It's the most desirable part of Islington.'
    The door was opened by a tall, good-looking man with white hair so perfectly coiffed that its wings were utterly symmetrical. He led them through the narrow hall into a large sitting room and then held out his hand. 'I'm William Rawlinson. You, I presume, are Chieff Superintendent Milton.'
    'Yes, Sir. William. And this is my colleague. Detective Inspector Pooley. May I offer our sincere sympathy on this tragedy.'
    'Thank you.' Rawlinson waved towards one of the white sofas. 'Please sit down, gentlemen. Would you care for coffee?'
    'No, thank you, sir.'
    'Quite sure? I'm going to have some.'
    'Oh, well, in that case, thank you.'
    'And you, Inspector?'
    'Yes, thanks.'
    Rawlinson left calling, 'Alina.'
    Milton and Pooley surveyed the room. Apart from a large number of abstract paintings, most of which featured greys or black, it was exclusively decorated and furnished in white or chrome. Pooley jumped up and rushed around the room reading the plaques under the pictures. 'Ben Nicholsons and Victor Passmores,' he reported as he sat down again.
    'Mean anything to you?'
    'I've heard of Nicholson. He'll be expensive.'
    Rawlinson returned, threw himself into an armchair and took a packet of small cigars out of his pocket. 'Do either of you smoke?'
    'No, sir.'
    'Mind if I do?'
    'Good heavens, no, sir.'
    Rawlinson lit his cigar and looked around for a receptacle for his match. 'Damn.' He got up and went over to the mantelpiece, picked up a piece of metal, put it on the bare chrome table in front of him and dropped his match on it. He leaned back in his chair. 'So what do you want me to tell you? I've already been through the story of Hermione's illness twice.'
    'I realise that, sir. And I'm loath to ask you to go through it again, but it would be very helpful if you would.'
    'Hermione rang me at work on Tuesday afternoon to say she felt sick and was worried that she might be too ill to make the dinner party we were due to go to that evening if she didn't get some urgent medical help. I told her she should cancel immediately, but she didn't want to; there was some Romanian dramatist expected who's the toast of literary London and she didn't want to miss him.'
    'Did she go into any details about