“She thinks that Colin wronged his first wife. That’s only my own guess. It was Colin who divorced her, you see. Her name is Betty. They had no children. Until he divorced her, there never had been a divorce in his family. Before our wedding, Colin came up here to ask his mother to attend—he never told me what was said or done, but I know that it wasn’t pleasant. That was the last time that she saw him alive.”

“Does she know that he’s dead?”

“Yes, I sent her a telegram. There was no answer, but she did receive it. I checked.”

“Do you want to meet her?”

“Definitely not,” she said. “If she knew I was pregnant, she might try to take the baby from me. Or else she would try to be my friend. I don’t want her near our baby.”

Leland had heard this before. “Do you know anything else about the relationship between your husband and his mother?”

“When he made the trip up here, he wasn’t happy about it. That seems to tell it all. All the things Mr. Miller said about my husband were true, Mr. Leland. He was thoughtful and fun-loving, but he was also moody and quiet and withdrawn. He kept his life to himself.”

“Maybe he wanted it that way, and didn’t want you to do this.”

“He died, Mr. Leland. Listen, he knew why. I don’t, and if I don’t find out, his child will never have the chance to know who his father was. I was a sick woman for years, and I’m not going to get sick again over this. It would be too easy. Do you have any idea of what he cheated us of?”

“I think so,” he said.

“Well, I’ve had the chance to think. He did it for a reason—if he did it. If for some reason it was murder, you know what I want then. An accident—he was on the roof of a racetrack. I want to know why. Mr. Leland, the dead have no rights—that’s a point of law. Colin’s privacy isn’t sacred anymore.”

“I think you’re absolutely right, Mrs. MacIver,” Leland said.

“Then you’ll do this for me?” she asked.