Last October, in an article in the Granite State News about my work on the book about the Stacey Burns murder, I was quoted as saying something like this.

“If I were the New Hampshire State Police, I would want to talk to me.” This may sound egotistical but I simply do not see what harm it would do  for the current detectives “working” on the case to interview me. I lived in Tuftonboro for almost forty years, taught in the Governor Wentworth School System, and have spent almost four years working on this book. I’ve interviewed many of Stacey’s friends, acquaintances, and colleagues. Obviously, I haven’t interviewed some key people who have chosen not to participate in my search for the truth of what happened to Stacey Burns but that doesn’t rule out some possibilities. Do I have any information that the police don’t have? Probably not. Notice, I said probably not. There is only one way to find out.

In my novelist’s mode, where I ask the question “What if?” a lot, I would ask it in this case. I have never claimed to a true investigative reporter, but what if someone has mentioned something to me that the police have not heard? Why not listen to the story from my perspective? I can come up with several reasons why not.

1. They do not feel that I have anything to offer. 2. I have no credibility nor standing in their eyes. 3. Their case needs no more information; they have their guy (or girl) and are not interested in anything that might confuse the issue.

I consider myself a fairly intelligent person who has approached this project fairly and honestly. It would seem a worthwhile endeavor for the investigators to squeeze me into their busy schedules for even a fifteen minute discussion. My guess is that they will not do that.

Duke