The police spoke to Fred next, while Dean strolled back toward his quarters, with Corday's question concerning his wife's return echoing in his mind. That, coupled with Cynthia's strange behavior at the news of Shipton's fall bothered him far more than he'd allowed himself to believe. Yes, Shipton whispered the name Dean to Jake Weller, but perhaps he didn't mean David Dean! He kept remembering Cynthia's earlier revelation that, in certain circumstances, killing someone wasn't a totally preposterous idea. But then he pictured his beautiful wife, her unfailingly sweet and kind nature, and refused his mind's picture of her kneeling there in the snow, calmly sawing Shipton's rope until it parted, plunging him to his bloody death.
Most of Bird Song's other guests remained, as requested, in their own rooms but Ryland hung around the kitchen, sharing a snack of take-out pizza with Donnie while Edith sat nearby, wringing her hands and looking petrified. Dean stuck his head in the room as he passed. He hadn't spoken to Edith Shipton since her husband's accident and felt, as the host of Bird Song, he owed the woman some sort of condolence. However, in view of the Shipton couple's unconventional estrangement, he wasn't sure what words might be appropriate.
"Sorry for your troubles." That sounded general enough, but her strange response set him back a beat.
"Do you think he's dead?" she asked, looking as if the words 'Boy, I hope so!' were on the tip of her tongue. She looked terrible-re-deyed, no makeup and dark roots beginning to show through her Annie Quincy blonde. She wore a tee shirt with no bra, perhaps in some vague attempt to emulate Penny, but with only a fraction of the appropriate equipment.
Dean caught his breath before answering her inelegant question. "I don't know if your husband is still alive. The police aren't being very candid with me. They're too busy trying to lock me up and toss the key."
"Oh, they can't be serious! You didn't do it!" Then, with a total change of subject she rambled forward, "I've been reading about Annie. My Donnie's been showing me her writings. Your wife let him make a copy. It's so sad. The poor woman is just like me. We both have a child in our bodies and don't know what to do about it." She turned to Ryland, who looked like he wanted to volunteer for disappearance in the witness protection program. Dean itched to ask her how she was so sure it wasn't Mr. David Dean who dropped her hubby into space but she began to sob anew, making any further conversation impossible.