Tai interrupted. “My husband rarely drinks. The occasional beer or glass of wine, and that’s all. On Tuesday, I made Filipino food for dinner, and we had salabat with it. That’s ginger tea.”

I was surprised to learn that, in this world, Dylan Moran had no problems with alcohol. He’d also shut down his emotions and his temper. And he’d married Tai. Different man. Different choices.

“Do you usually follow a particular route when you walk?” Bushing asked.

“No, not really.”

“Did you see anyone?”

“I already told you, I don’t remember. If Tai says I left the house to go for a walk, that’s what I did. But after that, I have no memory until I found myself on that bench near the lake.”

Detective Bushing dug into the inside pocket of his ill-fitting sport coat and extracted a piece of paper. He unfolded it and handed it to me, and I saw a photograph that matched the picture I’d seen on the front page of the Tribune. It was the woman who’d been killed in River Park.

“Do you recognize this woman?” he asked me.

I shook my head. “No.”

“She doesn’t look familiar at all?”

“No.”

“Have you ever seen her around the neighborhood?”

“I told you, no. Who is she?”

Tai murmured near my ear. “She was murdered.”

I pasted surprise on my face. “Murdered? That’s terrible.”

“In fact, she was stabbed to death in River Park on Tuesday night, Mr. Moran,” Detective Bushing went on. “Her roommate said she went out for a run, right around the same time that you took a walk. Same time, same night, same park. Her body was found the next morning. You can understand why your disappearance was of considerable concern to us, Mr. Moran. Two people in the park, one dead, one missing. I can’t help but wonder if whatever happened to you was somehow connected to the murder.”

“I wish I could help you, Detective. I didn’t know this woman, and I don’t remember anything about Tuesday night.”

The detective’s eyes shifted to my left hand. He took note of the purplish bruises. “What happened to your hand, Mr. Moran?”

I wiggled my fingers, because they still hurt. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t remember how you injured yourself?”

“No.”

“It looks like you hit someone.”

Next to me, Tai laughed. “Dylan? Hit someone? That’s ridiculous.”

“I wish I could tell you what happened, Detective, but I can’t.” Then I added impatiently, “Is that all?”

“Yes, that’s all I have for now. If you do remember anything, please call me right away. Oh, and I wonder if you’d mind if I bagged the clothes you’re wearing and took them with me for analysis.”

“My clothes? Why?”