Kanesha broke the tense silence that had fallen. “I have to ask you, Mrs. Wardlaw, if you would like to revise what you told me earlier. Is Mr. Clark correct? Did you see him as you were entering the hotel?”

“Perhaps I got it wrong, and I did see Willie as I was entering,” Julia said. “But he could have come back later and killed Godfrey.”

“I most certainly did not,” Willie said. “After I finished the meeting with the head of the history department, I walked over to the patisserie for something to eat, and then I went to the bookstore for a poetry reading. I didn’t have time to go to the hotel and kill anybody.”

All eyes appeared to be on Julia now. Except for Justin’s. He had his head against Diesel, hugging the cat closely to him.

“Mrs. Wardlaw, refresh my memory. What was it you did after you left the hotel and your interview with Mr. Priest?” Kanesha took a step closer to the sofa.

Julia watched Kanesha, the unease evident in her face. “I went to the bank to deposit a check Godfrey had given me. Then I went to the hospital. I got there in time for the shift change, a little after three.”

“Were you given a receipt for your deposit, Mrs. Wardlaw?”

What was going on here? From Kanesha’s demeanor I began to wonder if she had decided Julia was the murderer. My stomach began to knot up in distress.

“Yes, I suppose so,” Julia said, shrugging. “Don’t they always give you one?”

“They’re supposed to,” Kanesha said. “And generally those receipts record the time of the deposit. Were you aware of that, Mrs. Wardlaw?”

The relentless use of Mrs. Wardlaw was like a nail being slowly hammered into a coffin.

Julia stared at the deputy but didn’t respond. It was clear that she had never given a second thought to the time stamp on her bank receipt.

“I believe also that the bank is open until six P.M. during the week,” Kanesha said. “I can of course check with the bank, and I will, to determine at what time you made your deposit, Mrs. Wardlaw. I have already spoken with hospital personnel in order to verify your whereabouts.”

Kanesha paused, but there was only the sound of hard breathing. Julia was afraid, and the fear was almost palpable in the room.

“Do you have anything you wish to say about the time you made your bank deposit, Mrs. Wardlaw? It’s only a matter of time before I know the truth.”

Julia took a deep breath. “It was a few minutes before six.”

Justin raised his head and looked at his mother. “Mama, what’s going on? Why did you lie about the stupid bank deposit?”