“I didn’t want to believe it.”

“You still haven’t said what changed your mind.”

“I asked him.” She ran a trembling hand through her disheveled hair. “Straight out. ‘Did you kill John?’ He denied it of course, but I don’t believe him.” To Nick, she said, “I didn’t know what to do, so I came over here, hoping you’d put me in touch with Detective Holland.”

“Do you have somewhere you can go where you’ll be safe?” Sam asked.

Natalie nodded. “My parents’ home in Springfield.”

“Give me some time to look into this,” Sam said.

“He’s powerful,” Natalie said. “You’ll never be able to pin this on him.”

“If he did it, I’ll pin it on him,” Sam assured her.

Natalie stood up to leave. “I’m sorry to barge in on you. I heard about what happened earlier. I’m glad you weren’t seriously hurt.”

They walked her to the door. “Tomorrow, I’ll want to get all of this on the record.” Sam pulled her ever-present notebook from her back pocket. “Write down your parents’ address and a phone number where I can reach you.”

Natalie did as she asked. “Thank you for listening.” To Nick, she added, “I know I was never your favorite person—”

“That’s neither here nor there.”

“Anyway, thank you.”

They watched her walk to her car.

“She’s full of shit,” Nick said, his eyes intensely focused on Natalie’s car as it drove away. “I don’t believe her for one minute.”

“What don’t you believe? That her jealous husband could’ve killed the man his wife never stopped loving? That’s as good a motive as I’ve heard yet.”

“I know Noel Jordan. He’s not made of that kind of stuff. If you ask me, she is, though. I could very easily see her losing her shit with John and killing him for not loving her enough. After what we heard earlier about her ex-boyfriend dying in a suspicious fire, you believe it’s possible, too.”

“Why would she come here, seeking out the lead detective on the case, if she was the one who did it? Think about that, Nick.”

“Why didn’t you ask her about what happened to her boyfriend in Hawaii?”

“I didn’t want to tip my hand on that just yet. As long as she thinks we don’t know about it, she might be more forthcoming.”

“I don’t like her. I’ve never liked her, and I don’t care what you say, she’s lying. She’ll do anything it takes to advance her agenda, even if it means tossing her husband under the bus.”

Sam checked her watch. “I wonder what time Noel goes to bed.”

“You’re actually going to do something with that pile of bullshit she just fed you?”

“Of course I am. This could be the break we’ve been waiting for.”