Someone to watch over me

I can,“ Walker said.
    The Brewsters and Walker got in the Duesie and drove off. “The next job is going to be a lot harder,“ Howard said.

    Walker returned to the jail, checked with Harry on the progress of Eugene’s confession, and, satisfied that it was almost exactly the things he’d said before, went back to the Duesie, where Robert and Lily were waiting.
    “All right. Let’s finish this up.”
    A few minutes later, they arrived at Edith and Henry White’s home. Walker asked the maid if he and his temporary deputy (indicating Robert, who looked surprised at this description) and Miss Brewster could see Mr. White for a few moments.
    Henry White didn’t look the least alarmed to see the Chief of Police in his front parlor. “Gentle- men and ma’am, will you sit down? What have you called on me for?”
    He took the best chair by the fireplace. Lily and Robert sat together on a delicate pink velvet sofa, and Howard remained standing.
    “Have you heard about the body that was found on the Brewsters’ property last week?“
    “Who hasn’t?“ Henry said pleasantly. “The town’s abuzz about it. I’m frankly surprised that no one found it earlier.“
    “Then you knew about it all along?“ Walker said, astonished at this remark.
    “I put it there years ago. Would you excuse me a moment while I fetch my wife? She’ll need to hear this from me.“
    “I’ll come with you,“ Walker said.
    “Don’t worry, Chief Walker. I’m not leaving the house.”
    He was still behaving as though this were a purely social call. Walker stood at the bottom of the stairs and waited. A few minutes later, Henry came back, arm in arm with Edith, who was asking questions. “Is this about Mr. Anderson? Neither of us knows anything about it.“
    “No, my dear. It’s about me. And you. And Bernard.“
    “Bernard?“ she said, thoroughly confused.
    Henry took her to the parlor and made her sit in the best chair while he stood slightly behind her with his hand on her shoulder. “Tell my wife what you’re asking me about.“
    “It’s about the body found in the abandoned icehouse at the Brewsters’ place,“ Walker said, every bit as confused as Edith was for the moment.
    Edith glanced up at her husband and then back to Walker. “What can that possibly have to do with us?“
    “Quite a lot, my dear,“ Henry said. “This is going to be hard on you. So buck up, my dear.“
    “Sir, did I understand you to say that you put that body in the icehouse?“ Howard asked.
    “I did.“
    “Would you mind telling us why?“ Howard was falling in with the social aspect of this bizarre conversation.
    “Because he was dead,“ Henry said, “and I didn’t know where else to put him.”
    Edith tried to stand and face him, but he kept his hand on her shoulder. “What in the world are you people talking about?“ she said, outraged.
    Henry sighed. “This is a rather long story and I’ll start at the very beginning. Edith doesn’t know about this and it will be a shock to her, but I think it’s time she learns that I fell deeply in love with her at first sight.“
    “Oh, Henry—“ she began.
    “And I’ve never changed my mind.”
    Lily and Robert exchanged glances. Robert whispered, “What the hell is going on here?“ Lily shushed him.
    “I also admired her husband, Bernard VanZillen, when we first met,“ Henry continued. “But not for long. He was a harsh man. Brilliant, an excellent businessman at the top of his own heap, but personally as mean as a wolverine. No, Edith, don’t say anything yet. When I first met Mrs. VanZillen, she had a cast on her arm—“
    “I broke it when I slipped in the kitchen on some spilt coffee and hit my elbow on the counter,“ Edith said.
    “No, darling, you didn’t. That’s just what you told people. Bernard broke your arm, didn’t he.“ It wasn’t a question.
    She turned her face away from all of them, deeply embarrassed, and said nothing.
    “And six months later, she had a broken leg. She told everyone she’d been in a taxicab accident in New York City, but that wasn’t true either.”
    Lily realized her jaw had dropped, and closed her mouth. “You mean he beat her?“ she blurted out.
    “Brutally,“ Henry said, no longer smiling. “And repeatedly. Every time his sister’s daughter was away from home. Never in front of the child, isn’t that right, my dear?”
    Edith had tears in her eyes and her handkerchief to her nose. She nodded.
    “My father beat my