Honest Doubt Read Free Page A

whole department agree about hiring you?”
    â€œNot the whole department, no. I think it was only one or two of them. The accusation seemed to be focused upon a woman in the department whom Charles had frustrated at every turn. I guess my being a woman helped here too; they thought I might understand the feelings of the suspect better than a man. And I didn’t have to investigate the case all over again from the beginning, as a new detective would have been obliged to do.”
    â€œLet me guess,” Kate said. “Charles was anti-feminist, misogynistic, and generally the worst sort of old boy who devoutly wished women had never been admitted to higher education in the first place. It had been such a comfortable, chummy, male world before the female intrusion.”
    â€œYou got it. I guess Claire Wiseman was right about your being the person who could help me with this case. She knew this other woman who’d formerly been in the department, and when she heard I was taking on the case, she suggested that I get in touch with you for stuff about academic departments that puzzled me. I’m afraid that’s just about everything.”
    â€œIf I can unravel the syntax, I may be able to help. Pronouns are the main problem; it takes a while for the listener to attach them to the right person. I’ve tried talking about cases to someone who didn’t know the cast of characters, and I was always saying, not that one, the other one who . . . You’re doing very well so far.”
    I heaved a great sigh and plunged in again. “Anyway, two men in the department had decided to hire me to find the murderer, before Claire heard about it. These two men are the only ones who can afford my price, though maybe there are other sympathizers. Investigating the family was right up my alley. But what do I know about English departments? Are they really likely to harbor a murderer, and is resenting female professors and graduate students a sane motive?”
    â€œYes to the first question,” Kate said, “but they usually go about it in less physical ways: murdering the spirit, you might say. There was a case like that that I was involved in many years ago. Yes also to the second question; if any motive for murder can be considered sane, there are endless possibilities once you’ve eliminated relatives. Most murders happen between members of the family, so Hallam may turn out to be right after all. But academic departments are as likely to harbor a lunatic, or a fanatic, as are banks, law offices, the stock exchange, or anywhere else you can mention. I will admit, however, that most professors prefer less physical murder if it is available to them.”
    â€œDoes that mean you think it was likelier to be the family, or that some professor may have been pushed too far?” I realized that a plaintive note had crept into my voice. “Not that you can decide on the basis of what I’ve told you so far; I do understand that. I just wondered what your first reactions were.”
    â€œTo you or to the case?” Kate asked, her smile softening the directness of the question.
    â€œBoth, I guess. If we join forces, we can call ourselves Jack Sprat and wife. I do have trouble eating lean.”
    â€œWoody, listen to me. I’m not lean. Like everyone else my age, I’m dealing with gravity, which is to say one’s body keeps migrating downward. I haven’t gained weight, but the jeans I used to wear are now too tight for me over the butt, so I suggest we avoid comparisons. I don’t mind your talking about your size, if it eases life for you, but I’d prefer not to discuss mine. Is it a bargain?”
    â€œNot if you don’t help me with the case,” I said. “If you don’t help, I’ll turn up every other day on your doorstep and comment on your leanness. That’s a threat and a promise.”
    â€œOkay, I’ll help; you must have figured out