Calhoun went on to explain the Traynor-Hodges-Van Slyke triangle, concluding with the suicide of Sunny Traynor, Traynor’s sister.
“What a terrible story,” Angela said.
“It’s like a TV melodrama,” Calhoun agreed. “But you’d think that if Traynor felt compelled to do anything about Hodges, he would have done it back then, not now. Besides, Hodges had hand-picked Traynor to take over the hospital board well after the suicide. I doubt he’d have done that if he and Traynor were still at odds. And Van Slyke’s child, Werner, works for the hospital today.”
“Werner Van Slyke is related to Traynor?” David questioned with surprise. “Now that smacks of nepotism.”
“Could be,” Calhoun said. “But Werner Van Slyke, Junior, had a long-term friendly relationship with Hodges. He’d taken care of this house for Hodges for years. His position at the hospital is probably more a result of Hodges’ doing than Traynor’s. At any rate, I don’t suspect Traynor of murder.”
“How can you be sure?” Angela questioned.
“Can’t be sure of anything except Hodges’ murder,” Calhoun said. “After that we can only deal in probabilities.”
“This is all very interesting,” David said, “but have you come up with a suspect or at least narrowed the list down?”
“No, not yet,” Calhoun said.
“How much have we spent to get to this dubious crossroad?” David asked.
“David!” Angela snapped. “I think you’re being unfair. I think Mr. Calhoun has learned a lot in a short period of time. I think the important question now is whether he believes the case is solvable.”
“I’ll buy that,” David said. “What’s your professional assessment, Mr. Calhoun?”
“I think I need a cigar,” Calhoun said. “Would you folks mind if we were to sit outside?”
A few minutes later they assembled on the terrace. Calhoun was utterly content with his smoke and another beer.
“I think the case is definitely solvable,” he said. His broad, doughy face intermittently lit up as he puffed on his cigar. “You have to know something about small New England towns: they are more the same than they are different. I know these people and I understand the dynamics. The characters are generally the same from town to town, only the names are different. Anybody’s business is everybody else’s. In other words I’m sure that some people know who the killer is. The problem is getting somebody to talk. My hunch is that the hospital is involved on some level, and no one wants it to get hurt. And there’s a chance it could get hurt because Hodges made the hospital his life’s work.”
“How have you gotten your information so far?” Angela asked. “I thought New Englanders were closed-mouthed, reluctant to talk.”
“Generally true,” Calhoun said. “But some of the best people for town gossip happen to be friends of mine: the bookstore owner, the pharmacist, the bartender, and the librarian. They’ve been my sources so far. Now, I just have to start eliminating suspects. But before I begin I have to ask you a question: Do you want me to continue?”
“No,” David said.
“Wait a minute,” Angela said. “You’ve told us that the case is definitely solvable. How long do you think it will take?”
“Not too long,” Calhoun said.
“That’s too vague,” David said.
Calhoun lifted his cap and scratched his scalp. “I’d say within a week,” he said.
“That’s a lot of money,” David said.
“I think it’s worth it,” Angela said.
“Angela!” David pleaded. “You told me you were going to drop this Hodges affair.”
“I will,” Angela said. “I’ll let Mr. Calhoun do everything. I won’t talk to a soul.”
“Good Lord,” David said dejectedly as he rolled his eyes in exasperation.
“Come on, David,” Angela said. “If you expect me to live in this house then you have to support me in this.”
David hesitated, then thought of a compromise. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll make a deal. One week, then it’s over no matter what.”
“All right,” Angela said. “It’s a deal.” Then she turned to Calhoun. “Now that we have a time constraint, what’s the next move?”
“First I’ll continue interviewing my list of suspects,” Calhoun said. “At the same time there are two other major goals. One is to reconstruct Dr. Hodges’ last day, assuming he was killed on the day he disappeared. To do this I want to interview Hodges’ secretary-nurse who’d worked for him for thirty-five years. The second goal is to get copies of the medical papers that were found with Hodges.”