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David's mind raced, the pieces of the puzzle shifting in unexpected ways. "You're right," he muttered, his thoughts tangled in confusion. "The timeline doesn’t make sense. But... who said the book was finished just one or two weeks ago?"

Mr. Lay hesitated, then replied, "I’m not sure exactly, but then why didn’t he publish this book, and why didn’t Amelia receive this book earlier if it’s already finished?"

David shifted uncomfortably, his eyes darting briefly to the door before meeting Lay’s gaze. "Maybe he didn’t finish it at all. Maybe the person who completed it... wasn’t Julian at all."

Mr. Lay’s breath caught in his chest, the words hanging in the air between them like a heavy weight. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, as if speaking louder might shatter the fragile thread of understanding they were grasping at.

David hesitated, his fingers drumming nervously on the edge of the table. "I mean, maybe Julian didn't finish it. Maybe someone else did. Someone who knew how to write like him... or maybe someone who wanted to write it their way."

The room seemed to fall into a heavy silence as Mr Lay processed that possibility. Has someone else taken over? And if so, why? Who would have had the motive to finish Julian's work... and possibly alter the ending? The story in the book was starting to feel more like a key piece of a much darker puzzle. “So do you know who this editor is?” asked Mr Lay.

David glanced at the thick file on the table before pushing it forward. "Her name is Anna Raynott, born in 1960 in Birmingham. She began working with Julian in 1985 and continued until 1998. But we don’t know where she is right now."

Mr. Lay frowned, his fingers brushing the edge of the folder. “What do you mean? She disappeared?”

David exhaled slowly. “The only thing we know is that she moved to another country with her husband right after she left the editor’s job. For years, there was nothing — no trace of her in publishing, no records of employment, nothing.”

“Darling, Officer River is here!” shouted Mrs. Lay from the hallway.