go boil your head in cooking oil. I'm an overworked, underpaid union official, not a ruddy clairvoyant."
Deacon laughed. "Okay. Point taken. It was a bad idea."
"What's so important about him, anyway? You didn't really explain that."
"Maybe nothing."
"Then why the pressure to find out who he was?"
"I'm curious about what drives an educated man to self-destruct."
"Oh, I see," said the other sympathetically. "It's a personal thing then."
----
THE STREET, FLEET STREET, LONDON EC4
Dr. Henry Irvine,
St. Peter's Hospital
London SW10
10th December, 1995
Dear Dr. Irvine,
Your name has been given to me in connection with a prisoner you interviewed at Brixton prison in 1991. His name was Billy Blake, and you may have read about his death by starvation in a garage in London's docklands in June of this year. I have become interested in his story, which seems a tragic one, and I wonder if you have any information that might help me establish who he was and where he came from.
I believe he chose the alias William Blake because there were echoes of the poet's life in his own. Like William, Billy was obsessed with God (and/or gods), and while he preached their importance to anyone who would listen, his message was too arcane to be understood; both men were artists and visionaries, and both died in poverty and destitution. It might interest you to know that I wrote my MA thesis on William Blake, so I find these echoes particularly interesting.
From the little information I have been able to gather so far, Billy was clearly a tortured individual who may or may not have been schizophrenic. In addition, one of my informants (not very reliable) says that Billy confessed to strangling a man or woman in the past. Is there anything you can tell me that would confirm or refute that statement?
Whilst I fully accept that your interview(s) with Billy were of a confidential nature, I do believe his death demands investigation, and anything you can tell me will be greatly appreciated. I have no desire to compromise your professional reputation and will only use what you send me to further my research into Billy's story.
You may already know my work but, in case you do not, I enclose some examples. I hope they will give you the confidence to trust me.
Yours sincerely,
Michael Deacon
Michael Deacon
----
DR. HENRY IRVINE MB, FRCP,
ST. PETER'S HOSPITAL,
LONDON
17th December, 1995
Dear Michael Deacon,
Thank you for your letter of 10th December. My report on Billy Blake has been in the public domain since 1991 so I cannot see that it's a breach of confidence to give you the information you want. Also, I agree that his death demands investigation. I was upset when my further access to him was denied after I advised that Billy's self-mutilation was more likely the result of private trauma than criminal offense, because I firmly believe that further sessions would have allowed me to help him. While I offered him free treatment when he left prison, I could not force him to accept it and, inevitably, I lost touch with him. Your letter is the only follow-up on his case that I have ever had.
To put my role into perspective, the police were not satisfied that Billy Blake's first crime was the theft of bread and ham from a supermarket. They recognized that he was using an alias, and they were suspicious of his mutilated hands which defied fingerprint analysis. However, despite lengthy questioning, they failed to "break" him and fell back on the charge of shoplifting to which he had already admitted. I was asked to write a psychological report prior to sentencing because of the bizarre nature of the man. In simple terms my brief was to discover if Billy was a danger to the community, the argument being that he would not have scarred his fingers so badly unless he was afraid of a previous, violent crime being brought home to him.
Despite having only three meetings with him, Billy made an extraordinary impact on me. He was
Deacon laughed. "Okay. Point taken. It was a bad idea."
"What's so important about him, anyway? You didn't really explain that."
"Maybe nothing."
"Then why the pressure to find out who he was?"
"I'm curious about what drives an educated man to self-destruct."
"Oh, I see," said the other sympathetically. "It's a personal thing then."
----
THE STREET, FLEET STREET, LONDON EC4
Dr. Henry Irvine,
St. Peter's Hospital
London SW10
10th December, 1995
Dear Dr. Irvine,
Your name has been given to me in connection with a prisoner you interviewed at Brixton prison in 1991. His name was Billy Blake, and you may have read about his death by starvation in a garage in London's docklands in June of this year. I have become interested in his story, which seems a tragic one, and I wonder if you have any information that might help me establish who he was and where he came from.
I believe he chose the alias William Blake because there were echoes of the poet's life in his own. Like William, Billy was obsessed with God (and/or gods), and while he preached their importance to anyone who would listen, his message was too arcane to be understood; both men were artists and visionaries, and both died in poverty and destitution. It might interest you to know that I wrote my MA thesis on William Blake, so I find these echoes particularly interesting.
From the little information I have been able to gather so far, Billy was clearly a tortured individual who may or may not have been schizophrenic. In addition, one of my informants (not very reliable) says that Billy confessed to strangling a man or woman in the past. Is there anything you can tell me that would confirm or refute that statement?
Whilst I fully accept that your interview(s) with Billy were of a confidential nature, I do believe his death demands investigation, and anything you can tell me will be greatly appreciated. I have no desire to compromise your professional reputation and will only use what you send me to further my research into Billy's story.
You may already know my work but, in case you do not, I enclose some examples. I hope they will give you the confidence to trust me.
Yours sincerely,
Michael Deacon
Michael Deacon
----
DR. HENRY IRVINE MB, FRCP,
ST. PETER'S HOSPITAL,
LONDON
17th December, 1995
Dear Michael Deacon,
Thank you for your letter of 10th December. My report on Billy Blake has been in the public domain since 1991 so I cannot see that it's a breach of confidence to give you the information you want. Also, I agree that his death demands investigation. I was upset when my further access to him was denied after I advised that Billy's self-mutilation was more likely the result of private trauma than criminal offense, because I firmly believe that further sessions would have allowed me to help him. While I offered him free treatment when he left prison, I could not force him to accept it and, inevitably, I lost touch with him. Your letter is the only follow-up on his case that I have ever had.
To put my role into perspective, the police were not satisfied that Billy Blake's first crime was the theft of bread and ham from a supermarket. They recognized that he was using an alias, and they were suspicious of his mutilated hands which defied fingerprint analysis. However, despite lengthy questioning, they failed to "break" him and fell back on the charge of shoplifting to which he had already admitted. I was asked to write a psychological report prior to sentencing because of the bizarre nature of the man. In simple terms my brief was to discover if Billy was a danger to the community, the argument being that he would not have scarred his fingers so badly unless he was afraid of a previous, violent crime being brought home to him.
Despite having only three meetings with him, Billy made an extraordinary impact on me. He was
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