Free Truth Or Dare by Jayne Ann Krentz

Whispering Springs some sixty years ago. Does the title A Long, Cold Summer ring any bells?”
    He rummaged around among the handful of memories he retained from his short and extremely limited experience with higher education and found one that was relevant.
    “College,” he said. “Freshman English. We’re talking about that Walter Kirwan?”
    “Yes. As Bonnie told you, the Historical Society has just finished restoring his house. Kirwan’s death was big news in literary circles at the time and has since become something of a legend among Kirwan scholars.”
    “You say he was murdered?”
    “That’s part of the mystery. No one is quite sure what happened. According to the newspaper accounts, Kirwan and his housekeeper, a woman named Maria Torres, were alone together on the night of his death. Maria later told the authorities that everything was normal and routine that evening. After dinner, Kirwan retired to his study to work on a manuscript. Maria went to bed. She found his body in the study the next morning. He was slumped in his chair.”
    “Cause of death?”
    “It was ruled a heart attack. But the rumors that the housekeeper had poisoned Kirwan started almost immediately. They have persisted to this day. Most history buffs and Kirwan scholars assume that she was the killer.”
    The familiar curiosity started to uncoil deep in his gut. Reluctantly he reached for a notepad and picked up a pen. “Why was she a suspect?”
    “Kirwan had made a will.” Paloma’s elegant jaw tensed slightly. “In it he left the house to Maria.”

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    “So getting her hands on the house was supposedly the motive?”
    “Yes. She was a poor woman from a hardworking family that was barely getting by. There is no doubt but that the house would have been a godsend to the Torres family.”
    Something in her voice made Ethan look up from his notes. “Let me guess. She didn’t get it, right?”
    “Right,” Paloma replied. “Kirwan’s Boston relatives had no intention of allowing his housekeeper to inherit the property. They brought their lawyers out to Arizona and had no problem breaking the will.”
    Ethan contemplated that for a few seconds.
    “How is Maria supposed to have murdered Kirwan?” he asked.
    “They say she poisoned him with some substance that made it appear that he’d suffered a heart attack.”
    “Huh.” Slowly he put down his pen. “I have to tell you that, unless you want to go to the trouble and expense of exhuming the body and running some tests, I doubt that it will be possible to discover the truth. Even if you did dig up the body, there’s only a very slim chance that you could identify the poison at this late date.”
    “Exhumation is not an option,” Paloma said. “Kirwan’s relatives took the body back to Boston. Their descendants have no reason to cooperate with us.”
    “I’ve got to be honest with you. I don’t think there’s anything I can do that will give you the decisive answer you want,” Ethan said.
    “There’s more to this than the question of whether or not Kirwan was murdered,” Bonnie put in quickly.
    “There’s a missing manuscript. It disappeared the same night that Kirwan died, and everyone involved at the time was sure that there was a connection.”
    Ethan propped his elbows on the arms of his chair and steepled his fingers. “This would be the manuscript that Kirwan evidently took into his study to read that night?”
    “Yes.” Paloma was very intent. “The same people who say that Maria Torres poisoned Walter Kirwan also insist that she stole the manuscript.”
    “Why would she do that?”
    “Walter Kirwan was already a celebrated author at the time of his death. It had been five years since he’d published a book. His last manuscript would have been worth a great deal to the Kirwan estate.
    Maria Torres had to know that.”
    “Any theories on what happened to the