LeMarcus pauses, pretending that’s the first time he’s heard this bit of information. His quizzical expression conveys that he finds the prospect of Richard Trofino vomiting to be very odd. His head is cocked to the side, as if he’s thinking through what it all means.

“And so . . . you just . . . sent him home?”

“Yes.”

“Really? You decided not to question the man who, I assume you would agree, would be the most likely suspect in the first few hours after the murder. Didn’t Ms. Goodwin disagree with that approach? Didn’t she say that she thought Richard Trofino was being treated differently because of his money or his relationship with the mayor?”

“That’s a lot of questions you’ve just posed. Allow me to answer your last one, because it’s the one I remember. I don’t recall Dana objecting to letting Richard go home, no. He had already been questioned by uniformed police officers at the scene, so we knew his version of events.”

“Did Mr. Trofino vomit when the uniformed officers questioned him?”

“No.”

“But there was something about the fact that you and Ms. Goodwin were questioning him that made the man sick.”

“I’m not sure I would reach the conclusion that the people questioning him were the only variable. It was hours later. Everything was sinking in for him at that time. We were in an interrogation room, which is unpleasant and somewhat musty. Lots of factors contributed. I didn’t take it personally.”

“Who’d he throw up on? You or Ms. Goodwin?”

“I don’t think he was aiming for either of us,” Gabriel says.

“My question didn’t call for you to speculate about the man’s mental calculations, Lieutenant. Who did the vomit hit—you or Ms. Goodwin?”

“Mostly Ms. Goodwin.”

“So you’re saying that it never occurred to you that the violent reaction Mr. Trofino experienced upon the sight of Dana Goodwin—throwing up on her—was because he knew at that time that Ms. Goodwin was Ms. Wright’s lover?”

“No. That did not occur to me.”

Gabriel shows no sign of being outmaneuvered, but I’m certain he knows that LeMarcus has won the fight. Our sole objective is to remind the jury at every turn that Richard Trofino killed his wife. A key predicate we need to establish is that he knew about Lauren’s infidelity. Even though Gabriel didn’t say it, I’d wager that every juror now thinks the vomiting supports that conclusion.

“Lieutenant, you knew, did you not, that the day before Ms. Wright’s murder, her husband met her at her office. In fact, he was meeting his wife there so that the two of them could go together to dinner with you and Ms. Broden.”

“I am aware of that, yes,” Gabriel replies.