‘It means you have the resources to hire people to do things for you. Things you might not do yourself.’

‘Are you suggesting I hired a hitman?’ Esther asked. She giggled, genuinely amused. ‘Well, I don’t deny that I could afford it. Or at least I assume I could, since I don’t know the going rate for such things. However, women in my circumstances don’t often come into contact with hired killers. People like that don’t exactly advertise on the bulletin board at temple, do they? And Ira was a trademark attorney, not a mob lawyer. We didn’t hobnob with criminals.’

‘I understand,’ Stride said.

‘You’re welcome to review my finances, if it puts your mind at ease.’

Stride smiled as he stood up. ‘Actually, that would be helpful. Just to cross things off my list.’

‘Consider it done. You can talk to my attorney, and he’ll arrange it for you. He’s here in Duluth. Peter Stanhope.’

‘As in the Stanhope law firm?’

‘Yes, they handle all my affairs. Is there a problem?’

He sat down again and leaned forward with his hands on his knees. ‘I’m sorry. I have to ask, Mrs. Rose, did you ever have any contact with Jay Ferris yourself?’

She shrugged. ‘No, I never met him. I knew who he was, because of his newspaper columns. To be honest, he seemed like rather a vile man. Handsome enough, but without much class. Why?’

‘Jay Ferris contacted someone at the Stanhope firm not long before he was murdered. Do you know anything about that?’

‘Peter never mentioned it to me.’

‘Jay called an attorney named Tamara Fellowes. Do you know her?’

‘I don’t. As I say, I work exclusively with Peter. He owns the firm, and he handles most of my matters personally. Peter is the attorney who is suing Dr. Snow for me.’

*

Stride planned to call Archie Gale when he returned to his City Hall office, but he found that he didn’t need to do so. Gale was already waiting for him in a police conference room. With Janine Snow.

The attorney, looking dapper, hopped to his feet. ‘Ah, Lieutenant, sorry to barge in like this. Your assistant said you were on your way back to the office.’

‘I’m a little surprised to see you here,’ Stride admitted.

Gale cocked his head. ‘Well, Dr. Snow has something she wants to share with you.’

Stride sat down. Janine, on the other side of the table, looked chastened, which wasn’t typical for her. She stared at the table in front of her, not at Stride. Her hands were folded together. A few blond hairs strayed across her face.

‘What did you want to tell me?’ he asked.