Dr. Brewster's suicide took a particularly gruesome turn when the pathologist revealed that he had also been bound and gagged. The Brewsters, both medical doctors, ran a private clinic, and their son John, who lived at home, was a doctoral candidate in philosophy. One potential suspect was Michael Steppings, who had threatened the Brewsters and their nurse after his daughter suffered severe side effects following a botched operation two years prior. The forensics lab determined that one of Steppings' threatening letters had been altered. Morse learned that Dr. Brewster may have been having an affair, prompting him to consider another possible motive for murder.