The estate bequeathed to the right honourable Vincent Crutchley and his younger brother James was set in the rolling hills of Buckinghamshire, a modest twenty two roomed mansion left to the two young men by their father in his will, this also included the stables which contained ten of the finest thoroughbreds money could buy. To add to this a thriving Solicitors practice in the city had also been left to Vincent and his brother. Since he took a great interest in the world around him it seemed obvious that Vincent was to enter the world of politics; James it seemed was more interested in his father's horses and spent many a happy hour alone in the stables. The two young men had been brought up with a silver spoon in their mouths and had not wanted for anything, their nanny a Mrs Brown, had become more of a mother to them since their own mother had become bedridden for many years with cancer; although only thirty five she suddenly took a turn for the worse and died leaving Vincent his brother James and of course their father John - a sad and lonely old man, a man with everything except the love he wanted most in his life!. The money and the estate made the two boys the most eligible bachelors amongst not only the rich but also the famous. James got more involved amongst the racing fraternity and even purchased some Arab thoroughbreds, racing them all over the country leaving the London office to be run by his trusty managers. Meanwhile Vincent became a leading member of his local Conservative Club. John Crutchley had made sure his beloved sons were financial sound before his impending departure from this life. The local Hunt Ball seemed to be the place where marriages were made since the night Vincent and his brother attended word soon spread they were rich and available. Now, the sisters Bloomfield also came from a rich family and were also available, their father owned many jewellers’ shops in many countries including one in London. Vincent was immediately attracted to Julie whilst his brother danced the night away with her younger sister Justine. Her interest in horses instantly made her his dancing partner and as time went by Justine was to spend many days out riding with James whilst Vincent showed Julie around "The Crutchley’s", as the mansion had been aptly named by their father. Although politics did not really interest Julie she felt it her duty to be by Vincent’s side at each and every party meeting, and anyway he said "it does get your name in the papers and people notice you.” It soon became obvious to the servants of the household that there was to be at least one or even two marriages on the horizon and they did not have to wait too long as a double wedding was decided upon. Jack and Mary Bloomfield were overjoyed at the prospect of their two daughters marrying into nobility: mind you in comparison to the Bloomfield’s' mansion in Essex the Crutchley’s looked small. After the weddings James decided to buy a house in Devonshire, a house with stables and many other animals, whilst Vincent stayed on with Julie at the Crutchley’s. Jack Bloomfield had met Vincent's father many times and although he was proud of Justine and her love for James he secretly hoped he might have a future M.P. as a son-in -Law; he had visions of maybe the gentry buying their

It all began when as teenager I failed to understand why I was always called by the name of “EL”. My two older brothers “KYLAN” and “JAHID” would continually taunt me with this name until as I got older I began to understand why?. At my local school the name seemed to stick with me like glue, and throughout my schooldays I was always to be known as “EL”.Born to Indian parents in the predominant Muslim area of Stepney in the East end of London, I was named “ELHAJ RAHID ELVIS KHAN”, it seems “EL” was short for either Elhaj or Elvis. Yes, you have guessed, my father had each and every one of his records, and indeed many times on my way home from school a rendition of Heartbreak hotel could be heard coming from the Newsagents my father had inherited from our dear departed Grandparents. My father Hajid Khan came from a small village called Giran in Southern India, as did my mother Jinda, brought up in the same village she was given no choice but to marry my father, this was known as an arranged marriage. Eight Cows were given as a dowry for my mothers hand in marriage. Kylan my brother was almost eighteen and spent most of his time in the shop, whilst Jahid stayed on at school studying for a Degree in Maths of all things. I myself, although still only fifteen had ambitions of joining London’s finest i.e. the Metropolitan Police Force. . All three of us boys were born in England, so unlike our parents we had different family values, this became clear when Kylan brought home his first girlfriend. I myself had only a few more months before I was to leave school and pop (as we called him) wanted me to also work in the shop.”Elhaj” he would say,” one day all of this will be yours”, as he spoke he began to wave his arms around,” Gee pop I cannot wait”, I would reply as he went into a rendition of Love me Tender, another of Elvis’s songs.”Pop”, I would say as he changed the tune to,” all I want is to be cop?” I had my own dreams, dreams of driving fast cars etc, but soon found out how wrong I was. Religion play a big part in our lives, and as much as us boys protested pop would insist we go to the Mosque to pray each and every morning. The short drive to the Mosque took approx ten minutes, and most times us boys would be asleep before we arrived.”Kylan!”Pop would say,” you are the eldest so it’s up to you to set an example to the other two?”, with a grin on our faces we would reply,” If you say so pop”. Up until that fateful day the only dead person I had seen was on T.V. so it came as a shock to us on that cold damp morning. As we entered the Mosque we removed our shoes and began to kneel for prayers. With our heads hung low we were unaware of what was going on around us, that is until the guy next to us rolled over and we thought he had had a heart attack. But it soon became apparent he had been stabbed in the back, the half moon shaped blade was protruding from his back, and the handle was inset in gold. I myself began to feel sick as pop ushered us towards the door.”Kylan you drive the boys home whilst I phone the police” he said as Kylan replied,” But pop”,” No buts please Kylan just drive home and tell your mother what happened” Pop said as we ran towards the car. The drive home was very traumatic in that all three of us were unable to stop shaking; the talk was of course the stabbing.” Don’t you be sick in pops car El he will bloody kill you?”Kylan said as he took his foot off the pedal to reduce his speed.  

One year on from his encounter with murder our intrepid ex Metropolitan policeman turned private detective Jimmy Bent was beginning to find life a little dull following unfaithful husbands and wives was not his cup of tea but it did help pay the bills. Dismissing it from his mind Jim set about opening his daily post which consisted mainly of junk mail. He began reflecting on whether it was time he showed Mrs Bragg the photos of her husband Jack entering one of those sleazy back street hotels with a young woman half his age on his arm, when suddenly the postcard slipped from his hand and fell to the floor. Retrieving it, Jim was taken aback by the picture of a lake with the sun going down behind it and printed in bold letters the words "LAKE GUARDA BY NIGHT". Turning it over he was confronted by writing which was in Italian; the only word he understood was the signature at the bottom. "Franco” a name Jim had never heard of, so without further ado he put the card in his jacket pocket and phoned his client Mrs Bragg. "Mrs Bragg?" Jim asked when she answered the phone, “It’s Jim Bent.” Please, Jim call me Mary," she answered. “I, er, have those photos you asked me to get you and they show you were right, he is in fact playing away should I send them to you?" Jim enquired. Now Jim had experienced a lot of unfaithful hus¬band and wife cases and in most cases he had kept himself at a distance since it did not pay to get too involved with a client. When Mary suggested he bring the photos to her house Jim knew he must resist or get in a tangle he would find hard to get out of especially if Maria were to find out.