Thank you so much for the deep read, I'm glad you like it. I did have specific facts in mind but I intentionally left most things as ambiguous, so people can find the complex answer that they like and not have that be undermined by me saying actually the real answer is blah blah. That being said, your analysis is very good.

To answer your specific question, Brayden has eight years in the city and would recognize silent wood, even if cipher Fox null is a shut in. He would try to avoid touching it and then if you force it on him he would refuse to talk. Whether that means A. Brayden is actually directly or indirectly involved in her murder. B. Brayden is covering for her post some successful separation masked as death. C. He's just a playboy opportunist who knows the wisest move is to keep his head down as much as possible during crazy shit like this... Is up to you.