After the two men left the room, Sam focused in on Jamie. “You referred to your professional relationship, assisting Mr. Vasquez with his various injuries. Was your relationship with him strictly professional?”

Her gaze darted between Hill and Sam. “I’m not sure what you mean. I said we’d become friendly. We worked together closely all season.”

“What I’m asking,” Sam said as bone-deep fatigue set in, “is whether you were romantically involved with Mr. Vasquez.”

Clark’s face got very red, and her eyes widened.

When Jamie finally responded, her words were sputtered rather than spoken. “He was married with children.”

“So?”

“So, the answer to your disgusting question is no, we were not involved in any capacity other than professional and personal in the sense that we chatted during our training sessions.”

“Chatted about what?”

“The team, his performance on the field, the pain he was experiencing with the muscle pulls, his kids. The usual stuff people talk about.”

“The conversation was focused solely on him and his work, family, etcetera?”

“Most of the time, yes.”

“Are you married?” Sam asked.

“No.”

“Engaged, boyfriend, any of the above?”

“I’m not sure what relevance that has to what happened to Willie.”

“That’s for us to decide.”

“None of the above,” she said.

“Did you have feelings for Mr. Vasquez that went beyond your professional relationship?”

All at once, Jamie was crying again in deep sobs that made it impossible for her to speak. Sam wanted to yell at her to answer the questions so they could get the hell out of there. Instead she had to wait until Jamie could speak again.

“I cared about him as a friend,” she said between sobs. “He was my friend.”

“You can let the others back in,” Sam said to Hill.

He got up and opened the door for Ray and Bob.

“What happened after you left the stadium?” Hill asked when everyone was settled again.

“The traffic and the crowds were really bad. He’d have to go pretty far out of his way to take me all the way home and that was going to take a lot of time, so I got out at a Metro stop.”

“Which one?” Sam asked.

“I, um... I guess it was L’Enfant Plaza.”

Sam made a note to get video surveillance from the area around the Metro station. “Around what time would you say he dropped you off?”

“It was a little before midnight. I was worried about making the last train, but Willie said they’d probably keep them running later than usual because of the game.”

“Was he concerned about your safety in light of the rioting?” Hill asked.

She nodded. “He didn’t want to drop me off, but I knew he was anxious to get home to Carmen, so I insisted I’d be fine. I never imagined that he wouldn’t be.”

“Did you see him pull away from the curb?” Sam asked.