“You’ve done well managing your money,” I said.

Tori sat forward. “Arlo—”

But Burch again missed the warning in her voice. He smiled with pride as if I’d congratulated him on his well-earned success. “I’ve done OK.”

“More than OK. The renovations you did on this place. That new Rubicon parked outside. All the cool toys you’ve got on the property. Bartending must pay well.”

“He thinks you deal drugs,” said Tiff.

“What?” He sounded more confused than insulted.

Tori bolted from the couch. “For fuck’s sake, Arlo! He thinks you bought all this with drug money.”

“No way,” he said, glancing from her to me. “I mean, in high school I sold some weed, which is legal now. But I’m no dealer, man. How could you think that?”

Poor Arlo; he had thought we were friends.

“When a place gets nicknamed Pill Hill, it’s not because someone is selling vitamins door to door.”

“Funny,” said Tiff.

“What about you two?” I asked the sisters. “What do you do for work?”

“We’re high-class escorts specializing in threesomes with older gentlemen,” said Tiff with characteristic flatness. “We draw the line at cops and guys with micropenises. So I guess you’re out of luck.”

“These two girls,” said Arlo, tossing his wooly head. “You never know what’s going to come out of their mouths. They’re just teasing you. They’re not hookers.”

“We’re home healthcare workers,” said Tori. “We look after old and sick people who can’t manage for themselves. But because we ride sleds and live in a trailer, we’re just white trash to you, right?”

“I’ve lived in plenty of trailers myself,” I said.

She made a miniature clapping motion with her two index fingers. “Good for you. Congratulations on pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.”

“Where do you work, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“We do mind,” said Tiff, flaring her pink nose.

“He’ll find out anyway,” said Tori. “We work at Aventa Home Health. Do you want to call our supervisor? I can give you her number.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Again I fastened my attention on Burch. “Getting back to Chamberlain, you said the first person you told about seeing him was Lieutenant Rivard?”

His eyes went blank. “I think so.”

“Three days after the professor was reported missing, it says in the report.”

“I didn’t put it together. That what I’d seen was important. I’d never been an eyewitness before.”

Burch could have been acting the idiot, but it’s hard to persuasively portray yourself as less intelligent than you are. Smart people have great difficulty playing dumb.

“What prompted you to come forward?”

Now he did something interesting; he cast a glance at Tori.

She nodded her head.