Page 121 of Two Marlboros

William was talking. It almost seemed to me that he was in a hurry to add information to prevent me from asking him more specific questions, but I didn’t need to. The economic motive was the one already assumed, and the speed with which Clide had poured out that information could only confirm what I had thought.

“Where is Michael now? Could you tell us?”

I thought back to the image on Rumors and to the night of William’s band concert, Wit Matrix. I couldn’t be certain that I had run into Michael himself that time, but I had an inkling that this was indeed the case.

“Yes, of course. I gave him a place to stay.”

My synapses crashed. “Excuse me?”

“As I said, Michael wanted to take a break from his life because he was having problems of various kinds. He asked me for a place to go to, so I gave him an apartment of mine in Chinatown to stay for a while.”

Something wasn’t quite right. Why had he admitted such a thing? It was the information I coveted most, and I had gotten it with so little effort. Perhaps it was just an impression, but his statement seemed weird to me. I asked Clide for the address of the house and jotted it down in my notebook.

“So, all this time, you knew where Mr. Cossner was? Why didn’t you say so right away?”

William shrugged. “Call it loyalty if you will. Michael didn’t want anyone to know about this break, much less where he’s holed up now.”

“You told us, though.”

“I had to. I don’t lie in front of a public official. You asked me where Michael is, and I answered.”

Yes, it was clear: If he had said he didn’t know anything, he would have perjured himself. Still, there was something eluding me, a subtle thought that I could not grasp.

“Well,” I concluded, wondering if I was forgetting something, “I’d say that’s all. Ash?”

I looked at my colleague, but he shook his head.

“Then thank you, William,” I said, shaking his hand and cuddling Arrow once more. We were escorted to the door, and I felt relaxed: maybe I would be able to avoid making a fool of myself with Church.

As soon as the door had closed, we got back into the car and silence fell.

William knew where Michael was and had admitted it without hesitation. So, it was very likely that the boy he had met on the night of the concert was indeed him, as well as the one who had appeared in Rumors. It was clear that, as William had implied, he was not hiding from the police, but from people with whom he was in trouble with - and it must have been big trouble if he had not come forward to press charges. That part was spinning pretty well, but William’s attitude continued to strike me as strange. I looked up at Ash, who still wouldn’t make up his mind to start up.

“You think it was all too easy, too, don’t you?” he asked.

I nodded, “There’s something I can’t quite get right. He admitted it too quickly.”

“Yes, I agree. Let’s think about it for a moment, though.”

I could feel my worries darting from one side of my head to the other, often colliding and thus generating some hint of a headache.

“Let’s try to put ourselves in his shoes for a moment,” Ash continued. “Michael went to him to tell him that he was having financial problems and needed a place to stay, possibly away from everyone. It’s clear that the problems mentioned are with other people, such as a debt, otherwise he would not have made such a specific request. Do you follow me so far?”

I nodded.

“William hides Michael, the robbery takes place, and he turns out to be missing.”

A detail crossed my mind. “Wait! The postmaster that day...”

I grabbed the file and flipped through it, looking for evidence.

“...Yes?”

When I found the page, I pointed to it with my index finger.

“Look at this. ‘The robber kept shouting ‘Where is he?’ and I didn’t know who he was referring to’.”

I ran my finger a little further down. “‘Important: Who was he referring to?’”

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