‘The adults in the photographs, on the other hand, appear immature, undeveloped, lost, and the juxtaposition of the two . . . I don’t know . . . in my limited experience with art, I would say the obvious thing, that the children represent the squandered potential of the adults, that the children are in some manner judging them, condemning them . . .’
‘This is all very interesting,’ Lorne interrupted, unable to conceal the fact that he was impressed, ‘but I fail to see the relevance.’
‘The relevance,’ David rejoined, ‘is the manner in which Skinner viewed children. He certainly didn’t see them as the little people they are. For him they were merely props for his work. He was a man of concepts, and his relationship to children was far removed from sexual deviance. If he exploited children, it was only that he did so to manipulate their appearance in order to make them suit his intellectual needs.
‘In short, if we’re to find any connexion at all between Archie Skinner and the murdered children, I believe that connexion will manifest itself somewhere in his workaday life.’
Lorne gave him a look. ‘You’ve already been looking into this! You should have let me know, Davie!’