Wheaton seemed fascinated by her reply and satisfied with her answer. Forrester seemed almost to be taking a transcript of the proceedings. Wheaton continued with questions about the sailing of the boat, and Allison grew visibly more relaxed. Then Wheaton changed tack, and Stone knew that the questions were not coming in the order in which they would appear in the edited version of the interview. Wheaton probed the depths of Allison’s marriage to Paul Manning, taking her over and over the same ground, looking for what might appear to be a motive for murder. To Stone’s surprise, Allison stood up to it beautifully, genuinely seeming to try to answer every question put to her, holding nothing back.

When a halt was called for the first change of tape, Wheaton turned to Stone. “You want a break?”

Stone looked at Allison and she shook her head imperceptibly. “No,” Stone replied. “Go ahead.”

Wheaton got the signal from her producer; she turned back to Allison. “Allison, how much life insurance did your husband have?”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Allison replied. “Ashore, the division of our lives was pretty much the same as at sea. He handled the business, I handled the house. I never made an investment, bought a life insurance policy, or even wrote a check, unless it was for groceries or clothes. Paul had people who handled the business end of his career, and they’re sorting out the estate now, I guess, and when they tell me where I stand, then I’ll know. I’m told it will be some weeks before it’s all figured out. I do know from what Paul said in passing that although he owned an expensive house and boat, they both have large mortgages on them, so I don’t know yet what will be left when everything is settled.”

“Are you going to keep the big house in Greenwich and this beautiful yacht?”

Allison shrugged. “The house was always too big for even the two of us, since we didn’t have any kids, and I don’t know if I would want to live there alone; I just haven’t thought that far ahead. As far as the boat is concerned, what would I do with it? Anyway, the memories are too painful; I don’t think I could ever sail on her again without Paul.” She brushed away a tear.

Perfect, Stone thought.

There were two more changes of tape before the interview ended, but Allison kept going. Apart from an occasional sip of orange juice, she never paused. Finally, they were done, and the crew began to pack up their equipment. Allison chatted idly with Chris Wheaton and Jim Forrester, answering questions about her yacht.