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“You knew, didn’t you?” Theo accused.
“I suspected that there was more, or possibly less, to Burt Winslow from number 277. It’s hardly Holmesian-level deduction.”
“I told the police he lived at number 277… We should call them.”
“I assume they will have worked it out by now… They dispatch someone to inform next of kin pretty quickly.”
“Oh.” Theo rolled what she’d just learned over in her mind. The man who called himself Burt Winslow did not live at number 277. The letter could not have been delivered there accidentally; in fact, considering that the stamps on the envelope had not been cancelled, it had probably never been posted. So how did he get it? Did Dan give it to him to post…or did he take it? If he took it, why did he bring it to her in the end…? Was it a change of heart or guilt? And if he was just trying to salve his conscience, why did he need to hand-deliver the letter and linger afterwards? And then a thought occurred: could Burt Winslow have been the man she’d seen leave Dan Murdoch’s house? She shivered, suddenly feeling the cold.
CHAPTER 15
I called Dan Murdoch’s publishers and asked when they’ll be publishing his latest manuscript—said I was a fan. They wouldn’t tell me anything.
WKWWK
Wayward Son
What about the guy who said he had the manuscript?
The Watcher
He hasn’t posted since. He didn’t have shit!
Wayward Son
When he and Theo arrived at the house, Mac Etheridge was reading a text from his assistant that advised that the police wished to talk to him, and he was therefore not completely surprised to see Detective Mendes and two uniformed policemen waiting. Both he and Theodosia Benton were politely asked to come into the station to answer questions.
Theo met Mendes’s eye. “Certainly, Detective. We were just coming in to call the police.”
“We’ll put Horse inside, and I’ll drive us both in,” Mac said calmly.
“We have room for Miss Benton in the squad car,” Mendes insisted.
Theo glanced at Mac. “It’s all right,” she mouthed. It was probably standard procedure. She handed Mac the keys to the house. “Maybe ring Gus…his flight should have gotten in by now.”
Mac nodded. “I’ll be right behind you.”
Theo was aware that some of her neighbors were watching her get into the police car. She could see faces in the windows on either side. It was a couple of minutes to the station, where she was ushered into an interview room and invited to sit on one of the hard chairs positioned around a laminate table.
She volunteered what she knew about Burt Winslow before they asked.
“Where is this letter now, Miss Benton?”
“At home.”
“We’ll organize a search warrant—”
“You don’t have to do that. I’ll give it to you.”
“You reside with your brother, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, a warrant might the best course…to avoid any confusion.”
Theo shrugged. “Okay.”
They asked specific questions then. At what time had Cormac Etheridge left her house that evening? Cormac… Theo was aware of feeling mildly surprised. It hadn’t occurred to her that Mac was a nickname. “About half past ten, I think.” What time had he returned? What time had she seen the footprints in the snow, locked the gate, seen the man in plaid across the road? When had Cormac Etheridge left the second time? How long had she known Cormac Etheridge? Had she ever seen the man calling himself Burt Winslow before that day? Could she remember Dan Murdoch mentioning Burt Winslow at any point? Did Cormac Etheridge know Dan Murdoch?
