Chapter 9

* * * *

Quint had just arrived back at the precinct when Lou came in to work. “Anything?” he asked Lou.

“Seaver didn’t go to New York as part of his job.” Lou went on to relate his conversation with Mr. Johnson.

When Lou finished, Quint said, “That makes me wonder if he left work early so he could catch Ms. Garland with her other boyfriend, presuming she has one.”

“My thought, too. If he walked in on them and there was a fight—”

“And, in the process, he tried to strangle Ms. Garland. Possible. But if that’s the case, why didn’t she tell us? Why lie and say he’d been out of town since Thursday?”

“Because they killed him?” Lou suggested.

“If there was a ‘they’. On the other hand, that could hold true if it was only her, if she managed to turn the tables on him.”

“Either way, from what we know and don’t know, I’d say there’s a good possibility he’s dead.”