I arrived at Allison's country estate at 20:34 Tuesday night. She lived in a 10,000 square foot villa on 130 acres of heavily wooded land. The long, winding drive was lined with sweeping oak trees that blocked the view of the home until it popped out behind a bend and towered over the landscape. A distinguished young woman answered the door. I introduced myself and was somewhat surprised to learn that Allison stood before me. She invited me in and led the way to a sitting room. I followed her noting the well-appointed furnishings and expensive art. Here's an abridged transcript of my interview.
Allison: Detective Zade, you mentioned Johannes Book on the phone. Is everything all right?
Zade: When was the last time you saw Mr. Book?
Allison: Well, it's been about six months.
Zade: And have you kept up with him in other ways?
Allison: We email each other pretty often. Johannes is a bit old-fashioned sometimes. He's always loved to write letters.
Zade: Where were you last night between eight and ten?
Allison: Why do you ask? Has something happened to him? (pause) OK. I was here. Alone.
Zade: Mr. Book was murdered last night. Someone poisoned him at home.
Allison: Oh, dear! That can't be!
Zade: Can you think of anyone who'd want him dead? Did he have any enemies?
Allison: Johannes was one-of-a-kind. Everyone liked him. I can't imagine anyone who would do this.
Zade: Why were you in love with him? You seem very young for someone his age.
Allison: Believe me, darling, I'm not as young as I seem. Take a look around. I can afford to look young.
Zade: That doesn't really answer my question.
Allison: I'm a rich woman, Detective Zade. There is very little in the world that I cannot have. Love for me has been nearly impossible. Johannes never saw the material part of my life. He respected me as a person. He saw wealth as a necessary evil and forgave me for having it. (pause) Why do I love Johannes? I always had to try with him. It was never a foregone conclusion with him like it was for every other man I've ever met. I liked the challenge, and I truly respected him for it.
Zade: Do you know anyone named Peter who may be connected to Mr. Book?
Allison: Peter? Why, yes. Peter is a long-time friend of Johannes'. They grew up together.
Zade: And your relationship with Peter?
Allison: Peter and I have had a (pause) complicated relationship. I'm ashamed to say that sometimes I led Peter on to get back at Johannes. Peter, in his way, has always been obsessed with me. (pause) Oh, no! Do you think Peter had anything to do with Johannes' death?
Zade: Do you think he could have?
Allison: No. I'm not sure. Peter and Johannes were like brothers. I suppose anything is possible.
Zade: Did Mr. Book want you to get back together with Peter?
Allison: I don't know. Why would he want that?
Zade: To save his life's work.
At this point, Allison's demeanor changed subtly. She became a little more aloof. She must have known that I had caught her in a lie, but I don't think that was the main reason her attitude had changed. When I could feel her cooperative spirit slipping away, I salvaged what I could of the interview.
Allison: What makes you say that? Johannes' work hardly needed saving.
Zade: I've read journal entries by Mr. Book that mention exactly that.
Allison: Johannes was simply being paranoid. Peter could never do such a thing.
Zade: Such a thing as what? Save him or destroy him?
Allison: Mmmm.
Zade: What does Mr. Book do?
Allison: He's quite a reader.
Zade: For a living?
Allison: His money was made a long time ago.
Zade: What does Peter do?
Allison: You'd have to ask him that.
Zade: Can you tell me how to reach him? What's his full name?
Allison: Peter Printer Publius. He's in the book.
Zade: Excuse me?
Allison: I'm sorry. You can find his number online.
After my interview with Allison, I headed back downtown to find out what the other detectives had learned from their interviews. On the drive, I thought about the case and let the facts swirl around in my head some more. Peter and Mr. Book had grown up together and were like brothers. They had fought over the same woman and may have been in business together. For some reason, Allison didn't want to talk about Mr. Book's work or Peter's relationship to whatever it may be. I only got one real question answered, but fortunately for me, it was the one I most wanted answered. Peter Printer Publius. Now I needed to put a face to that name.
The other detectives didn't learn much from their interviews either. Ms. Web was much like we had determined from her emails with Mr. Book. She never really cared for him and his "old-fashioned" ways and did not seem very sorry to hear that he was gone. She did provide some more information about Peter, however. He was in the business of matching readers with writers and extracting a profit from the transaction. Ms. Web claimed that he had approached her many times over the years, but she never required any assistance in that area. She had her own network of readers and writers, and they never had any trouble finding one another for free. She was less interested in making money and more interested in providing a marketplace where others could do what they wished, money or no. She had no alibi for the time of Mr. Book's death, having spent the night alone, and had no clue who may have wanted to kill him.
Mr. Tek was indeed an old friend of Mr. Book. He said he was older than Mr. Book but was very lively and fit for such a claim. He admitted that their relationship had become strained over a "misunderstanding" about his friendship with Mr. Reader. He was merely helping the young man with some minor troubles and not trying to interfere at all with the near father/son relationship Mr. Book had with Mr. Reader. Mr. Tek had a vague recollection of Peter but had not seen or heard of him in quite some time. As for his alibi, he said he was at a convention all night. Follow-ups on his alibi were being conducted.
Lastly, Mr. Reader spoke very highly of Mr. Book. He said that Mr. Book was a good mentor and had taught him a lot over the last couple years. He was particularly proud of some handwritten letters that Mr. Book had sent expressing his fondness for the young man. He also confirmed Mr. Book's accusations of betrayal but denied any such thing. When asked what Mr. Book could possibly have felt betrayed by, Mr. Reader guessed that Mr. Book may have misconstrued some friendly advice that Mr. Tek had been providing to him. Open and forthcoming for most of the interview, Mr. Reader suddenly became reticent when Peter was brought up. He was surprised that Peter was even mentioned in connection with himself and acted as if some secret had slipped out. All he would say on the subject was that he had been having dinner with Peter the night of Mr. Book's murder.
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