Nathan smiled. If he was a liar, he was good at it, but so was Janine. Nathan obviously realized that Stride doubted his story, so he added: ‘Janine knew how to shoot, too. I taught her. We went to a range together once. It was over in Superior, where I figured no one would see us.’ He dug in the pocket of his vest for his flip-phone. ‘I got a pic of it, actually. I took it while she was firing. It was pretty hot. She was really into it.’

He pushed several buttons on his phone and turned it around so that Stride could see the small screen. He recognized Janine Snow, ear defenders over her head, goggles over her eyes, a Smith & Wesson revolver at the end of her outstretched arms. She aimed at a target, and her face was hard and focused. When Janine Snow did anything, she did it well.

‘I’ll send you a copy of the picture,’ Nathan added.

Stride nodded. ‘Tell me more about the affair.’

‘There’s not much to tell. I met her when I was doing security at the hospital last May. I figured I’d take my chances getting her into bed. It wasn’t hard.’

‘How often did you see her?’

‘Not often. A couple times a month. She’s a busy woman.’

‘Where did you meet?’

‘Hotels at first. Then she bought her chill place, and we’d meet there.’

Stride cocked his head. ‘Her what?’

‘She keeps an apartment downtown. It’s her getaway when she doesn’t want to be home with Jay.’ Nathan read the confusion in Stride’s face, and he grinned. ‘You didn’t know about it, did you? How’d you miss that one, Lieutenant? Well, I doubt it’s under her name, so don’t kick yourself too hard.’

Nathan rattled off a downtown address, and Stride wrote it down. He knew the location, and he was angry that they hadn’t discovered the condo before now. It was only a ten-minute drive from Janine’s house on the hill. If she were looking to stash a gun and jewels after the murder, it would have been an easy place to do so. And now she’d had time to dispose of them permanently.

‘Janine says you had sex at her house once,’ Stride went on.

Nathan shook his head firmly. ‘No. Definitely not.’

‘You never went there?’

‘Never.’

‘She was very specific about it. She did a striptease for you in her bedroom, and you saw where she keeps her jewelry.’

‘Well, give that woman extra credit, she’s clever. I guess you do what it takes when you’re trying to duck a murder charge. But come on, Lieutenant. You really think she’d take the risk of her friends or neighbors seeing me at her house? No way.’

‘When did the affair end?’ Stride asked.

‘December. Not long after Thanksgiving.’

‘Who broke it off?’ Stride asked.