Charles Herderson (the nephew)

George Henderson’s nephew, Charles, had been warned by his uncle to change his “wild ways” or he would be cut out of the will. He had no keys to the mansion. He was secretly seeing Henderson's housemaid, Claudine. He says he was at home alone watching a sports programme on TV Channel 3 between 9 and 11 p.m.

Claudine Dupont (the maid)

George Henderson’s maid for the past two years, Claudine, was believed to be a reliable employee. She says she was washing Henderson’s supper dishes in the mansion’s kitchen at the time of the murder.

Charlotte Henderson (the wife)

Henderson and his wife Charlotte had been separated for seven months. She was not living in the mansion at the time of the murder, although she still had a key! The divorce was not yet final when the murder occurred. Charlotte believed she'd probably be awarded very little money in the divorce case. She says she was at the home of Henderson’s lawyer when the murder occurred.

Exercise 34. Fill in the correct idiom from the list below:

caught red-handedin cold bloodat largedoing timeon the alert

1. To avoid being mugged in large cities, one should be………at all times.

2. The burglar was……trying to break the window of the house.

3. He killed his enemy……….and claimed that he felt no regret afterwards.

4. The police announced that a dangerous criminal was…….and advised people to remain inside with their doors and windows locked.

5. After……for robbery, he swore he would never commit another crime.

Exercise 35. Complete each sentence with the correct word from the box.

bullies burglar dealers drink driving fine gangs graffiti hooligans judge mugged robbers shoplifting speeding theft violence

1. A _______ broke into our house while we were away this weekend and stole our video.

2. Drug ________ who sell heroin to teenagers are among the worst kind of criminals.

3. Car _______ in this area is increasing. Fifty cars were stolen last week.

4. Fourteen football ________ were arrested after the match. They were fighting and throwing bottles onto the pitch.

5. He should have taken a taxi home after the party. He got stopped by the police and lost his licence for _________.

6. He was doing 80 kilometres an hour in the centre of town. He was caught ________on a camera.

7. He’s scared to walk home from school on his own because last week some ________in the year above him broke his personal stereo.

8. If you park on a double yellow line, you might get a parking _______.

9. In court, the _______ said he should stay in prison for the rest of his life.

10. She was arrested for ________. She stole a pair of jeans and a sweater from a clothes shop.

11. Some people think that the _________ on TV and in films leads to crime.

12. The health centre wall has some big red ________ on it. They’ll have to repaint the wall.

13. There was a big fight between two ________ of teenagers outside the club. Seventeen people were hurt.

14. Two armed bank _______ got away with ₤ 50,000 yesterday.

15. Two guys _______ a friend of mine recently and ran off with her handbag.