Lucy stepped back, allowing the men to enter, and followed them into the kitchen. Officer Culpepper sat right down at the kitchen table as if he belonged there. Indeed, he had often sat at Lucy’s table planning Cub Scout and PTA activities. Detective Horowitz was more self-contained. He took off his coat and folded it carefully, then laid it across the back of one of the chairs. He placed his briefcase on the table just so, opened it, and took out a manila folder. Then he closed it and placed it on the floor next to the chair with his coat. Finally he sat down, drawing his chair up to the table and sitting stiffly with his hands on the folder. Lucy herself had collapsed on the corner chair, leaning her elbows on the table and trying to hold up her head.

“Gee, Lucy, you look beat. Let me make some coffee for you.”

“What time is it?” she asked.

“About eleven. Do you have to pick up the kids or something?”

“Not till twelve. I slept longer than I thought.”

“Not surprising. You had quite a night.” Culpepper slipped three mugs of water into the microwave and pushed the start button.

“The instant coffee’s in the cabinet over the sink. Excuse me for a minute.”

Looking in the bathroom mirror, Lucy decided she’d rarely looked worse. Quickly she washed her face, brushed her teeth, and ran a comb through her hair. She smoothed a dab of moisturizer under her eyes, straightened her sweat suit, gave herself a quick spritz of Charlie, and returned to the kitchen.

A cup of hot coffee was waiting for her, and she sipped it carefully. Detective Horowitz, she noticed, had opened his folder and was clearly ready to begin.

“Now, Mrs. Stone, about last night. What made you decide to go outside? Wasn’t that unusual?”

“Not really. The calls had slowed down, I was feeling sluggish, and I didn’t want to drink coffee so close to quitting time. I thought a breath of fresh air might perk me up,”

“I see. You weren’t drawn outside by any unusual noise or occurrence?”

“Oh, no. In fact, the phone room has no windows. When you’re in there you have no idea what’s going on outside. Sometimes we’ll be completely surprised if a storm has blown up during our shift.”

“So it was just a normal night for you. There was nothing out of the ordinary until you discovered the car.”

“That’s right. When I looked out I knew something was wrong, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Then I realized it was the car motor running.”

“Was that unusual?”

“Oh, yes.”

“You didn’t think it might be someone arriving for the next shift or picking up one of the girls?”