“Good, now let’s begin at the beginning. How long did you know Paul Manning?”

“I first met him during our university years, more than twenty years ago, when we played on opposing basketball teams.”

“How well did you know him?”

“While we were not close friends, we had a very cordial relationship, and I knew him fairly well.”

“How would you describe Paul Manning?”

“I always found him to be a pleasant and friendly person, very bright, and a good athlete.”

“After your graduation from university, did some years pass before you saw him again?”

“Only two or three years passed before I saw him the first time,” Forrester said. “I ran into him in a restaurant in Miami, Florida. He was working as a journalist for the Miami Herald, and I was working for a travel magazine in New York.”

This was information new to Stone, and he wondered why Forrester had not brought it up before. “Did you renew your acquaintance on that occasion?”

“Yes, we had dinner together.”

“And when did you next see him?”

“At a baseball game in New York City, some five or six years later. Paul was covering sports for the Herald, and I visited the press box with a reporter friend.”

“And did you renew your acquaintance on that occasion?”

“Yes, we had dinner again after the game.”

“And when was the next time you saw Paul Manning?”

“Only a few weeks ago, in Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands.”

Stone felt relieved to be back on familiar ground. “And how did you come to meet him?”

“I was doing a travel story on the Canaries, and we were taking some photographs at the Las Palmas yacht club. I ran into Paul at the bar late in the afternoon.”

“And did you renew your acquaintance on that occasion?”

“Yes, we talked for an hour or so, and Paul invited me to have dinner with him and his wife aboard their yacht.”

“Did you detect any change in Paul Manning from your previous knowledge of him?”

“Only that he had grown much heavier and was sporting a full beard. Otherwise, he seemed the same happy person I had always known.”

“Did you, in fact, dine with Mr. and Mrs. Manning aboard their yacht?”

“Yes, I did.”

“How long did you spend in their company that evening?”

“I didn’t return to my hotel until nearly midnight, so I suppose I must have been there five or six hours.”

“What was your impression of the Mannings as a married couple?”

“They seemed very happy together; it was obviously a very successful marriage, by almost any measure.”

“Did they express affection for one another?”

“Almost constantly. They frequently held hands or kissed. I was impressed that they prepared the meal together and enjoyed doing so. I’ve not known many husbands and wives who could share the galley of a yacht successfully.”

“Did Paul Manning make mention of beginning to write a new novel?”