Situation Tragedy by Simon Brett

control.
    The scarred flower beds and uprooted shrubs charted its passage down the hill. The jack-knifed TIR lorry from Spain showed what it had met when it reached the main road.
    And, because there was nothing else in sight that could be it, the shapeless mass like crumpled kitchen foil must have been the silver Porsche.

CHAPTER SIX
    West End Television Ltd,
    W.E.T. House,
    235–9 Lisson Avenue, London NW1 3PQ.
    30th May, 1979.
    Dear Charles,
    Just a note to fill you in on developments on
The Strutters
front. Obviously we were all very shocked by what happened but we mustn’t let our imaginations run away with us. People are talking about our two misfortunes and saying they must be connected and that it’s a bad luck show and . . . All rubbish! The show must go on and the show will go on. There is no danger of anything stopping the advance of this very exciting project.
    I am delighted to be able to tell you that we now have a new Director for the series, and even more delighted to say that he’s Bob Tomlinson, whose work I’m sure you know from such hit series as
No Kidding, O’Reilly and Truly, Last, But Not Least
and, last but not least, that smashing show set in a municipal rubbish dump,
Hold Your Nose and Think of England!
From that list of credits, I don’t need to tell you that Bob certainly knows his stuff when it comes to sit com!
    I can’t think that Bob’s going to want to make major changes to the schedule, but I’m sure you’ll hear in plenty of time if any of your calls are different. I look forward to seeing you at the read-through next Monday, 4th June, and am confident that, after this rather unfortunate start, we are going to have a really exciting and successful series.
    With the warmest good wishes,
    Yours sincerely,
    Peter
    PETER LIPSCOMBE
    Producer
The Strutters
    The payphone on the landing at Hereford Road rang the morning Charles received the letter. The various Swedes were out at their various Swedish occupations, so he answered it.
    â€˜Hello, Charles, it’s Walter.’
    â€˜Oh, hello. How are things?’
    â€˜So-so. I hope you don’t mind my ringing, but I want to pick your brains.’
    â€˜You’re welcome to anything you can find there.’
    â€˜It’s a slightly ticklish thing, actually. I read in the paper about that poor boy’s terrible accident . . . you know, your Director. Obviously I was terribly shocked, but I couldn’t help thinking, you know, the way one does, that that must leave your series without a Director. So I thought I might give Peter Lipscombe a buzz and see what gives, but I though I’d check with you first, just to make sure nothing’s been sorted out yet.’
    Charles didn’t like the drift of the conversation, and said rather shortly, ‘I’ve just heard. We’ve got a new Director.’
    â€˜Oh. Who?’
    â€˜Bob . . . Tomlinson I think it was.’
    â€˜Ah, yes. He’s never out of work. Yes, of course. He would be free. He was going to do that series about the dance band called
Hands Off My Maracas
, but it’s been cancelled because of problems with the Musicians’ Union. Oh well, never mind . . . We must meet up for a drink again sometime, maybe.’
    â€˜Sure.’
    â€˜And you will let me know if you hear anything coming up, won’t you?’
    â€˜Yes. Of course.’
    Charles went back into his room feeling depressed. Of course Walter had to follow up any job possibility that might emerge, but it was unpleasant to hear him reduced to the role of professional vulture. For a moment suspicion of Walter returned. Certainly he was someone who might hope to gain from Scott Newton’s death, and he’d made no secret of his resentment of the young man’s success.
    But there were many arguments against casting Walter in the role of the director’s murderer. The first, and most potent, was that he hadn’t been at