Deadline

“Good. That makes me feel better.”

“About what?”

“About what he’s up to.”

“Look, if you’re a reporter—”

“Reporter?”

“The magazine has no comment other than to say that Dawson was questioned by the police, but it was pro forma, nothing came of it, and he was released. That’s it. Okay?”

“I know all that. I’m not a reporter. Just an ordinary person who wants to know if Mr. Scott is, well, safe to talk to.”

“Safe? Maybe you’d better back up and start at the beginning, Mr. Clarkson.”

“Well, I was walking on the beach, which I do twice a day. The exercise helps my hips.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Mr. Scott approached me and struck up a conversation. Seemed to be a nice enough fellow. We chatted about this and that, then he asked if he could interview me.”

“Why would he want to interview you?”

“That’s why I’m calling you, to ask why he would want to interview me.”

“He didn’t tell you?”

“He said he was working on a story for the magazine.”

“He’s covering the Willard Strong trial. Are you familiar with it?”

“It’s big news down here.”

“Well, Dawson is writing a story about the double murder of Strong’s wife and her lover.”

“Jeremy Wesson.”

“You knew him?”

“I never met him, but I know his ex-wife very well. Amelia and her children spend summers next door to me on the island.”

“Well, there you go. That’s the connection. The last time I spoke to Dawson, he was hoping to get an interview with her.”

“Why?”

“Because typically an ex-wife is a great source of information on a subject. If you’re well acquainted with the former Mrs. Wesson, it makes sense that Dawson would want to talk to you, possibly as an inroad to her. Okay? Now if there’s nothing—”

“I don’t know that I’d want to be quoted.”

“If you ask Dawson not to quote you, he won’t. Or he’ll refer to you as ‘an unnamed source.’”

“I wouldn’t want to hurt Amelia’s feelings by talking behind her back.”

“That’s very noble of you, but I can vouch for Dawson’s journalistic integrity. He treats his subjects with sensitivity. Sometimes to an irritating degree, if I’m being honest.”

“What made him want to write about this particular crime?”

“I don’t know.”