asked Toby calmly as he tied me to a chair. Len Radstock was lying on the floor nearby, his thinning hair crusted with scarlet. He wasn’t moving. “‘Toby,’ she used to say, ‘You’re so sharp that one day you’re going to cut yourself.’ I never understood what she meant. I never thought it was possible for a person to be too smart. But then I met you, Poppy Fields, and now I get it. You’re so sharp you’re going to get yourself killed. Seems a pity when you were doing so well on my behalf, but there you go.” “How did you get here before me?” I demanded, desperately playing for time. “I could see from your face you weren’t planning to go for a swim. I figured you might work it out. So I made my excuses to your mother and drove straight here to finish the job. And now I’m almost through.” “You don’t need to kill me,” I protested. “Oh yes, I do,” said Toby. “Because if I don’t you’ll go blabbing to the police, I’ll get arrested and the whole beautiful plan will crumble into nothing.
