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“It was big…and black…a Cadillac I think.”
Gus nodded. “Right…so what did you do then?”
Theo told him about the unlocked door, and the cat, and then what she’d found after she’d slipped in the kitchen. Gus stared silently at her for a moment. “Don’t ever do anything like that again.”
“Like what?”
“Like walking into a strange house alone, with no idea who’s in there. This isn’t Hobart, Theo. People here have guns, and if you wander into their house, a lot of them would be quite happy to shoot you.”
“It wasn’t a strange house…it was Dan’s house.”
“He wasn’t expecting you. Americans respond to surprises by shooting.”
Theo smiled. She wasn’t sure if Gus was trying to cheer her up with his ridiculous warnings. “Clearly, Dan wasn’t like that… He might still be alive if he had been.”
Gus pondered that. “Maybe he was killed by someone who didn’t surprise him.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just that maybe he knew this guy in the black Caddie.”
Theo swallowed. She felt cold suddenly, reminded again that the man she’d seen leaving Dan’s house was probably his killer. Not just probably…definitely. She had been standing right there, just feet away when the man who slit Dan Murdoch’s throat had walked out.
Gus looked at her. “Sorry. You don’t want to talk about this.”
Theo shook her head. She didn’t.
“The police will ask you about this again tomorrow,” he warned gently.
“I haven’t any idea who that man was, Gus.” Theo rubbed her face. “To be truthful, I’m not even sure I’d recognize him again.”
“Try telling me what he looked like,” Gus suggested. “You may remember more than you think.”
Theo closed her eyes, trying to conjure the man she’d seen. But the image wouldn’t hold. “He was ordinary, I think,” she said frustrated. “If he’d had a big nose, or a scar, or a moustache, I would have had something to notice, to lock onto. But everything was ordinary. I’m so useless!”
Gus shrugged. “Not entirely useless. The police can rule out men with big noses, scars, or facial hair. That narrows it down a little.”
Theo shuddered. “Gus…what if he saw me after all?”
Gus’s eyes darkened. “Sweetheart, if he’d seen you, he probably would have followed you into the house and killed you too—”
“Don’t!”
“I’m not trying to scare you, Theo.” Gus sighed. “Whoever killed your friend Dan knew what he was doing. He knew when Dan was home; he got into the house, cut his throat, and walked out as if nothing had happened… Oh, God, Theo, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to—”
Theo wiped her eyes fiercely.
“I’m sorry.” Gus put down his takeout. “I’m an idiot. I was just trying to analyze the facts… I’ll shut up now. I promise.” He took the half-eaten container of moo shu pork out of her hand. “Go to bed.”
“Sleep won’t change anything Gus.”
“No, but it might help you deal with tomorrow.”
CHAPTER 6
Where is Primus?
Frodo 14
