“I don’t understand what our temporary separation has to do with Troy’s murder, but I left because we weren’t getting along, and I didn’t think it was good for my children to see us constantly fighting. We needed a breather.”

“And you were pregnant when you left Knoxville?”

Judging by the stunned expression on her face, she hadn’t expected that question. “I... No, I wasn’t pregnant.”

“Your children told our lieutenant that they remember you being pregnant when you moved back to Virginia,” Jeannie said.

“They’re wrong. They were four and five years old.”

“They have distinct memories of you being pregnant with their younger brother Josh, but you told my captain and chief the other night that Josh was adopted. Can you explain that discrepancy?”

“I... Do I need a lawyer?”

“I don’t know, Mrs. Hamilton, do you?”

She thought about that for a long moment, long enough that Jeannie began to believe she would lawyer up, effectively ending the conversation until her lawyer arrived. “I... I was pregnant,” she said softly. “I miscarried at six months.”

“And this was after you left Knoxville?”

She nodded. “The loss was devastating. Until yesterday, I’d never experienced anything so painful or heartbreaking. Thank goodness my mother was there to care for Mark and Maura because I couldn’t do it. For a long time, I couldn’t do a thing for them.”

Jeannie waited to see if she would say more, and her patience was rewarded.

“Troy knew how upset I was to have lost the baby, so when the admin in his office got pregnant out of wedlock he offered to adopt the child.”

“The administrative assistant in your husband’s Knoxville office was Danielle Koch, is that correct?”

“Yes, Koch. That was her last name. I’d forgotten it.”

“Mrs. Koch told our officers this week that she’s never been pregnant. She and her husband were unable to conceive.”

Courtney’s mouth opened, and her lips twitched. “That... That’s not possible. Josh, he was hers. He was Danielle’s.”

“He was not Danielle’s child. She’s never given birth.”

“That’s what she wants people to believe! She was ashamed. You aren’t going to take her word over mine, are you?”

“Um, yes, Mrs. Hamilton, we are. She would have no reason to lie to us about whether she’d ever given birth to a child.”

“What reason do I have to lie to you?”

“I’m not sure, but I do know who actually gave birth to the child you raised as Josh.”

“Who?”

“Chauncey and Micki Rollings.”

“Who are they?”

Jeannie placed copies of several newspaper articles about Taylor’s abduction on the table in front of Mrs. Hamilton and let them speak for her.