“He promised he would tell me more tonight… and now-” She grabbed another tissue and blew her nose. “I was really pissed. So I left.”

“The spa?”

“Yes.”

“And you came here, looking for him. Angry?”

“Anxious,” she whispered, rubbing her arms. “I mean, I was hurt and mad that he had known something about my dad he’d kept a secret… but I couldn’t sit still.” She rubbed her arms.

“What happened next?”

“I got here. Saw his car. The whole dinner setup. Read the note.”

“What did you think when you saw the table and champagne?”

She shrugged. “You have to know Tim. He doesn’t like entanglements. Doesn’t like messy emotional scenes. I figured he was managing me.”

“What does that mean?”

“Predisposing me not to be mad anymore.”

“So he wrote the note.” She nodded and reached for another tissue. “He said he had news, Alex. What about?”

“I don’t know.”

“Any guesses?”

“With Tim, it could be anything. That he’d taken the week off to help me, or gotten acknowledged by the dean at the faculty meeting.”

“Both of those are about him, Alex. What about you?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Could he have had news for you? About your father?”

She stared at him as if she hadn’t considered the possibility before this moment. Apparently, her ex was an all-about-me sort of guy. “My God, I never… Do you think… Could he have?”

“What happened next?”

“I poured a glass of the champagne and went out front to wait.”

“How long were you out there?”

“Thirty minutes. Maybe a little longer.” She cleared her throat. “I’d finished my drink and come inside for a refill. Margo came along… she jumped into my arms. That’s when I… when I saw…”

She began to tremble. Her eyes widened and he knew she was reliving the moment.

“You can do this,” he said softly. “You are up to it, Alex.”

She nodded, visibly struggling with her emotions. “I panicked and ran to the kitchen, I saw Tim… I fell, slipped and-” She held up her hands, her palms red, a look of horror on her face. “It was everywhere. They wouldn’t come clean.”

“Did you touch him, Alex?”

“Yes. I put my hands on his chest… then my ear. I didn’t hear his heart, so I checked his wrist. For a pulse. There was nothing.”

“And then?”

“Called you, I guess. I didn’t know what else to do.”

“You did the right thing, Alex. You did. I have just a couple more questions.

“What was your relationship with your ex-husband?”

“We were friends.”

“You weren’t in love with him?”

“No.” She shook her head.

“You weren’t reconciling?”

“No.” She lifted her gaze to his, pleading. “We were friends, that’s all. I called him.”

“Why?”

She hesitated; he wondered why. “Because of all the stuff that’s been happening. I was sort of… I knew he could help me put it in perspective.”

“And that’s it?”

“Yes.”

He didn’t buy that but didn’t push it. She clasped her hands in her lap.

“Okay,” he murmured, “here’s what happens next. I’m going to have to take you in for an official statement.”

“Take me in?”

“In a situation like this, there’s no way around it.”

She nodded as if she understood, but he sensed she didn’t. That she was still operating on autopilot.

“Can I change first? Get cleaned up?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do that. Not yet.”

For a fraction of a moment, he thought she was going to ask when. But then she understood. It moved across her features like a cloud. “Do I need a lawyer?”

“You have the right to one. You’re not under arrest, Alex. But because of the circumstances, you are a suspect.”

“A suspect?”

“Yes, in the murder of your ex-husband.”

“Oh, my God.” She brought a hand to her mouth. “But I didn’t do… I couldn’t do… this.”

“Because of our relationship, I can’t bring you in. But nice Deputy Jim here will do that. Right, Jim?”

“Yes, Detective.”

“I’ll be right behind you. With you all the way. Do you understand?”

“Yes. What about Margo?”

“She’ll be fine. I’ll have Tanner keep an eye on her, make certain she has food and water before they leave. I don’t think you’ll be gone that long.”

He smiled to reassure her, though he didn’t know how honest he was being. Depending on what went down at HQ, she could be charged and processed today.

He got to his feet and held out a hand to her. “Are you ready?”

“Some clothes?”

“Sure, tell me where.”

She did and he collected a fresh set, grabbing things that looked comfortable. Of course, if the worst case scenario came to pass, she wouldn’t be needing a change of clothes-she would be wearing a blue jumpsuit.

He slipped his jacket over her shoulders, as much for warmth as to shield her from the curious stares of the crowd that had surely gathered outside. It would include neighbors and passersby, tourists drawn by the flashing lights and the press.

A photograph of her drenched in blood would make a great front page, but innocent or not, it could harm her chances for a fair trial-in court, or in the court of public opinion.

When they reached the front door, he stopped and looked at her. “One last thing, Alex. From here on out, I can’t help you with this. Because of our relationship, I’m going to have to excuse myself from the case. And because of my badge, we won’t be able to see or even talk to each other. Do you understand?”

She did. He saw it in the panic that raced into her eyes. As if she had just realized how much trouble she might be in-and that she was completely alone.

And in that moment, he realized just how much he hated it being this way.

Tuesday, March 16

9:20 P.M.

Half a dozen people gathered around the video monitor, watching the interview in progress. They’d been going at Alex for some time and she looked a hairbreadth from falling apart.

When they’d arrived at the Barn, the deputy had gotten Alex set up in an interview room. Reed had connected with his sergeant, explained the situation and recused himself from the case. Unfortunately, because of the way current events crisscrossed and possibly linked to Alex, it left a new detective with a whole lot to familiarize himself with. Mac had not been happy about it.

Reed glanced at the sergeant now; he was frowning. “Her story hasn’t altered, Mac. Not from when she first relayed it to me.”

The assistant D.A. agreed. “You know the drill, boys, charge or release.”

“Okay,” Lieutenant Torres said, “let’s get Detective Saacks back in here.” While Mac retrieved the detective from the interview room, the lieutenant went on, “What’ve we got, Team? Lay it all out there.”

Tanner began. Mac and Saacks slipped into the room. “We’ve got a motive. She admits she was angry with him.”

“Spa employees confirmed. They overheard her leaving a nasty message for someone-”

“Clarkson, the deceased.”

“We’ve got that.” Tanner replayed it: “Dammit, Tim! Pick up! I can’t believe you would do thi-”

“That’s it, she didn’t finish,” Tanner said. “My guess is that’s when the spa attendants came in and busted her.”

“She sounded pretty upset.” Lieutenant Torres looked at the assistant D.A. “She left in a huff, before she’d even finished her prepaid services.”

“But she didn’t threaten him in any way,” Reed murmured. “And by her own account, she was angry. She didn’t try to hide that.”

Tanner went on. “And depending on the timeline, we’ve got opportunity.”

Detective Saacks jumped in. “We’re working on establishing a firm timeline.”

Bob Ware, the Coroner’s detective, spoke up. “He hadn’t been dead long when we got there. Lividity was under way, but just under way, and rigor mortis hadn’t even started. By the time I got him to the morgue, body temperature had only dropped by three degrees. Factoring in transporting the body and investigative time, that doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room.”