“Because Mom always liked me best.”

When Ms. Powell looked blank, Manfred said, “Because his mother never got along with Lewis, and she did with me. She didn’t know me very well, so that made it easy. If she’d really spent a lot of time with me, it might have been a different story. But I didn’t want her possessions, I got along fine with her husband because he was dead, I listened to all her stories because she was a nice lady, and I believe in an afterlife, like she did.”

“Whereas Lewis . . . ?”

“Fought with her husband when he was alive, badgered her about anything she planned to leave her children, didn’t believe in any psychic help I could offer her, and wasn’t at all interested in his nieces and nephews. Plus, he doesn’t really believe in life after death.”

“So you think that’s all it takes to keep a woman’s attention and loyalty? Not coveting her possessions? Listening to her stories?”

“Whoa! I think we just veered off the course. I wasn’t saying that at all. I was saying that was why Rachel was glad to talk to me rather than her own son. I was less demanding and more accepting.”

Ms. Powell took a deep breath and visibly calmed herself. “Sorry,” she said.

“You’re going through a rough patch in your own life,” Manfred observed.

“Not hard to tell,” she said, and smiled ruefully. “Sorry for being unprofessional. I’m back in lawyer mode now.”

“Has Lewis actually accused me with the police?”

“Yes, he has.”

“So why haven’t I been arrested?”

“Because there’s no evidence to prove you took her jewelry.”

“Then why can’t his allegations be ignored?”

“Because her jewelry still isn’t around, and though they don’t really believe him, it’s possible he’s right.”

“So I’m over a barrel until the jewelry is found. My situation is completely the same. Why did they call me in here?”

She was looking off into the distance. Her eyes went to his face. “Fishing expedition,” she said. “A waste of my time and your money.”

Manfred looked at her doubtfully. “My time is money, too,” he pointed out. He couldn’t help but feel a little offended.

“I’ll bet it’s not as valuable as mine,” she said.

And he was sure that when he got his bill, he would agree.

As he drove back to Midnight, Manfred thought about the bottom line on this little “fishing expedition.” The detectives didn’t know anything new, he hadn’t completely dispelled their suspicions—though he was convinced he’d weakened them—and he’d lost hours of work time.

On the plus side, he’d gotten to know his lawyer, and he found himself much more confident he’d stay out of jail.