Mentally, I flipped a coin. Tell Theodore what I knew? I decided yes and took a deep diaphragm breath.

“Caroline told me Theo killed his first wife.” It came out abruptly, more brutally than I intended.

The old man winced, as if I’d kicked him. “I knew she’d found out. We talked about it.” He sighed. “Do you mind if we sit down? It’s hard going over this territory.”

I moved to take a seat in Caro’s chair behind her desk. Her father-in-law sat down in the cushioned chair in front.

“I can tell you what I know and what I believe,” Theodore said. “There was a period in his life—early on in college—when Theo was using drugs and engaging in . . . destructive behaviors, let’s call them that. First, you should know that the woman’s death wasn’t intentional. I truly believe that. Theo and she were participating in some kind of, ah, game . . . while they were high. That was how she died.”

He clearly meant a sex game, and I was torn between wanting details and needing to vomit. “What was her name?”

“She went by Mirelle and Marianne and a couple of other aliases. I never knew her last name. She was a gold digger who got her hooks into Theo. But then she died.”

I couldn’t exactly blame him for taking his son’s side, but the cold way he dismissed the woman as a gold digger set my teeth on edge. “What happened afterward?”

“I put him into rehab.”

“What about the dead woman?”

“What about her?”

He sounded surprised, and I stared at him in horror. His son had killed someone—accidentally or not—and the life of the dead woman was irrelevant to him. He didn’t even think about it.

“What happened to her body?” I asked. “People must’ve wondered about her. About where she went, and if she was okay.”

“I don’t really know,” Theodore said. “I believe the police looked at it as a break-in. My son had cash and drugs in the apartment . . .” He heaved out a long sigh. “I put Theo in rehab hundreds of miles away. I’m ashamed of that now. I helped Theo evade responsibility for that girl.”

“Do you want to do that now?”

Theodore’s eyes caught on mine. Neither of us could look away.

“If Theo had something to do with my sister’s death, would you help him get away with it?”

“No,” Theodore said firmly. “I thought he’d settled down when he married Caroline. I hoped he had. I believe he did, for a certain time. Then he reverted to form.”

“Caro wasn’t killed in a game,” I said. “Do you think Theo did something to her?”

“It doesn’t seem possible, but . . .” He closed his eyes. “Caroline wanted a divorce. I understood why. Theo wanted custody of Teddy. That’s why . . .” His voice trailed off.

“What?”