“You’re lying!” the detective insisted. “You made this whole story up. You think I’m stupid? Keep tryin’ to protect somebody. And when we find them, I bet they’ll roll over on you. You better be tellin’ the truth, young lady. Or you’re gonna be in a world of trouble ….”

“I’m not lyin’!” Kat cried. “Tellin’ da truth. I told y’all everything. …”

Now it was the other detective’s turn, his opportunity to play the good cop. It was classic police maneuver, divide and conquer theory. He pulled his partner to the side. He pretended to be whispering, but he made sure he talked loud enough for her to hear.

“Listen, Bob,” he began, “take it easy on her. For Christ sakes, she’s a woman. I think she’s tellin’ the truth. Now, why don’t you go cool down. Go get yaself a cup of coffee or somethin’ … Let me handle this. You’re about ta have a freakin’ heart attack, fa cryin’ out loud.”

“Alright, Josh,” his partner said, pretending to regain his composure. “You take it from here. I’ll be down the hall going over some files.”

“You do that,” he said, patting him on the back.

Then he turned his attention back toward Kat, who was nervously shifting in her chair.

“Is there anything I can get for you?” he asked politely. “Soda? Coffee? Tea? … How ’bout a bottled water?”

“No, thank you,” Kat stated. “Only thing I want iz outta here.”

“I hear you. Just hold ya horses. We’ll only be a few more minutes,” he assured her. “Now listen, the way this works is, you help me and I help you. Comprender?”

“Yeah,” she replied.

“Now, would you be willin’ to sign a sworn statement on everything you just told us?” he asked.

“If it’ll get me outta here. Yeah!” she admitted.

“Okay,” he said, pulling the form along with a pen out of a drawer. “Now, let’s take it from the top. You said that a person by the name of Gloria Cruz, I believe, is responsible for the murder. Am I correct?” The detective pushed several other pieces of paper in front of Kat for her to sign and write her statement. He smiled. Now all there was left to do was find the perpetrator.

As he prepared to wrap up this interrogation, his partner reentered the room. “How’s it goin’?” he asked.

“Everything is A-OK.” His partner beamed. “Do me a favor, Bob. Would you run down to the courthouse and ask the judge to issue a warrant for the arrest of a Gloria Cruz?”