He sat down on the sofa next to her, in the spot where Gale had been. The attorney leaned his wide backside on the corner of Janine’s desk and watched them with the fussy concern of a mother superior. Janine waited for Stride’s questions, and she was exactly the woman he remembered. Smart, beautiful, emotionally distant. She showed no tears. No pretense of sadness. For her, this was a practical exercise. Her husband had been murdered. Innocent or guilty, she needed to make sure that this incident didn’t steal away the rest of her life.

‘I’m surprised you felt the need to bring in an attorney so quickly,’ he said to her.

‘Oh, let’s not travel down that tired old road,’ Gale interjected before Janine could answer. ‘If you were hiking in the Alaskan wilderness for the first time, I imagine you’d want a guide, wouldn’t you, Lieutenant? There are always bears feeding in the shallows.’

Stride shrugged. Janine knew that hiring a lawyer made her look guilty. She was savvy enough not to care.

‘Tell me exactly what happened tonight,’ he said.

Janine glanced at Gale, who nodded his approval.

‘Cindy brought me home early from the party,’ she explained. ‘I wasn’t feeling well. In fact, we had to stop along the way for me to throw up. After she dropped me off, I talked to Jay for a while. Argued is more like it. I’m being candid with you about that.’

‘What did you argue about?’

‘Nothing of consequence. Jay and I could argue about anything, and we usually did. Mr. Gale probably wants me to pretend that everything was fine between us, but you wouldn’t believe me if I said that. I’m sure Cindy has told you that the relationship between me and Jay was strained. You knew my husband, Lieutenant. If you think he was difficult as a journalist, trust me, he was even more difficult to live with.’

‘How long did you argue?’ Stride asked.

‘I have no idea. Ten minutes? Fifteen? I had some wine.’

‘Even though you were feeling sick?’

‘Vomiting has a way of improving your outlook,’ Janine replied.

‘Then what?’

‘I took a shower.’

‘Where is the shower located in the house?’ Stride asked.

‘The lowest level, off the master bedroom. Jay and I have separate bathrooms. I built mine as something of a spa and retreat. Husbands have man caves. I have my bathroom.’

‘And when you got out?’

‘I noticed something strange.’

‘What was that?’ Stride asked.

‘The drawers of the jewelry case in the bedroom were open. I hadn’t left them that way. When I looked, several expensive pieces of jewelry were gone. I called for Jay but got no answer. I went back upstairs, and that was when I found him.’

It wasn’t a convincing story, but she told it as if it were gospel.