"No."

"She was a waitress at MoMo's, where Judge Palmer often had lunch. There were pictures of him in her condo."

The woman hung her head. "Damn it, George!" she said. "Damn you."

"You had no idea?" Juhle asked.

"I had no idea. I honestly thought George and Jeannette were the one couple I'd ever known…" Shaking her head from side to side, she swore again. "You try to keep a little faith in the human race, you know? But it tends to let you down."

Shiu said, "So you had no indication that your sister knew anything about this, either?"

"None. She didn't know. She may not know yet. Not for sure, anyway. Although, of course, she suspects it. But why would they have been there in their house? Especially if she had a condo nearby. Was he just trying to insult Jeannette by bringing his little chippie home?" She shook her head again. "I mean, that would just be so out of character. I know George didn't hate Jeannette, and that's what it would take for him to do something that cruel. Even if he was having this…relationship. Okay, he's a man and men do that. But he respected her. He just wouldn't have brought another woman home. He wouldn't have insulted Jeannette like that."

"We don't know why he did bring her there yet, ma'am," Shiu said, "or even if he brought her at all. It's entirely possible she came over on her own. Somebody could have dropped her off. Maybe she had another boyfriend, and that's their killer. Maybe she took a cab. Maybe she wanted a showdown with your sister or with the judge. We just don't know."

Somewhat to Juhle's surprise, Shiu was doing a decent job, talking to this woman, keeping her interested, informed, motivated to respond back to them. It was almost more of a surprise that he had such an apparently keen understanding of the various scenarios that could have resulted in the double murder. Maybe he'd actually thought about it in some detail. Would wonders never cease?

And beyond that, Shiu wasn't giving away the store at random, either, as often seemed to be his habit. For example, there was no reason to tell Vanessa Waverly, as they'd discovered from the medical examiner's office that morning, that Staci Rosalier's diaphragm had been inside her and that she'd recently had sex, probably with the judge, maybe even in the bed upstairs, although there'd be no corroboration of that until the DNA results from the diaphragm and the sheets came in later.

After a little silence, Juhle spoke. "Your sister told us she was with you that whole night." Juhle and Shiu had carefully avoided any intimation in their earlier interview with Jeannette that she was a suspect-and in fact the prime suspect-in the slayings. Perhaps there would be a crack in the respective stories. "I wonder if you'd mind going over those hours again with us."

"What on earth for?" Her reaction of shock and even disbelief as it dawned on her that her sister might be under suspicion was in some way gratifying. Whatever other subjects the two sisters had talked about in the time since the murders, Juhle was suddenly certain that Jeannette's alibi hadn't been one of them.

It left a clear field, and he stepped into it. "Jeannette told us she left the city at around four to avoid the traffic. Do you remember what time you met up with her?"

"This is ridiculous," Waverly said, angry eyes flashing. "Jeannette did not kill George. She didn't know he was seeing this girl." She flung her hair, ran her hand through it. "But all right. It was…I got home at my usual time, which is around seven."

"And you met her there? At your home?" Juhle asked.

"Yes."

"So she was there when you got home?" Shiu wanted to lock it down.

"No." She threw them both a challenging look. "I work all day. Usually I don't keep much food at home, and when Jeannette comes, she often goes shopping so we can cook something together."

Juhle kept up the press. "Is that what she did the other night?"

"Yes."

Shiu: "And what time did she come home, then? From shopping?"

"I don't know for sure."

Juhle: "But she wasn't there when you arrived?"

"I've already said that."

Shiu: "You'd been working. Did you pour yourself a drink when you got home? Or take a shower? Read your mail? Do you remember?"

Still obviously frustrated by this line of questioning, Waverly nevertheless sat back on the couch and gave it some thought. Finally, she opened her water and took a long drink. "I pulled into the driveway, got my mail, went inside, and made myself some iced coffee from the morning leftovers. Jeannette called me from her cell."

Juhle met his partner's eye for an instant. "What did she want?"

"She didn't know if I had any wine chilled, and she'd forgotten to pick it up at the grocery. She called and asked me to check, which I did, and we didn't have any, so she said she'd swing by Adriano's and pick up a bottle. Adriano's is just up one-oh-one, the next exit."

"So ten minutes?" Juhle clarified.

"Maybe that, yes."

Shiu said, "And ten back. So she got to your home when?"

This brought a rise. "Well, if she left the city at around four as she said, then I'm sure she got there at about four forty-five. One of the neighbors might have seen her. You could ask them."

"We will do that." Juhle adopted a gentle tone. "Of course, we'll do that."

"Then, as I've just been explaining to you, she went out to do some shopping."

Juhle kept on. "But you didn't actually meet her and see her at your house until closer to eight, maybe eight thirty. Would that be about right? Was it dark out, do you recall?"

Waverly leaned back into the couch and closed her eyes. At last she said, "It was just dark. I remember because when she pulled up, I opened the door to say hi and saw that she'd forgotten to turn off her car lights."

On up to Novato, Shiu said, "So she forgot to check if they had wine, then forgot to buy it, then forgot to turn off her car lights…"

"Must have had something else on her mind."

It was a clear afternoon with high clouds. Juhle looked over at the bay and almost dared let himself think they were going to have some nice weather. But he said, "That woman-her sister-she's a force of nature."

"You shouldn't covet thy neighbor's wife," Shiu said.

"I got one for you," he said. "How about 'You shouldn't say shouldn't'? Besides, she's not married. Therefore, she's not anybody's neighbor's wife."

"You're married, though."

"Gee, thanks, Shiu, that had momentarily slipped my mind. I wasn't coveting her, whatever the hell that is. I was just commenting that she was a force of nature. This is our exit."

"I know."

Adriano's was a small boutique liquor store in yet another Marin County mall with an unreasonable percentage of luxury cars in its parking lot. Shiu parked directly in front of the door, and the two inspectors walked into the empty shop. Classical music was playing in the background, and a bell sounded as they crossed the threshold. A well-dressed, short, white-haired man with a neat mustache came out of the back.

After introductions, it appeared that for once things might be simple. Mr. Adriano told them that he worked the outer store alone. Noon to nine, six days a week. It wasn't difficult at all, and he'd been here twenty-seven years. No one got into the cash register except him.

Of course, he knew Mrs. Palmer on sight. She had been in here many, many times with Vanessa Waverly. "Her sister, right?"

But he'd rather talk about Vanessa. Just between them-had they met her? Mamma mia! "I would gladly give up my left nut for one night, you know what I'm saying? Although I'm afraid I would have to get in a very long line. But what is it you want to know about her sister. Mrs. Palmer? Jeanne, is it?"