She shook her head. "I'd met the deputy – the one who wrote up the report. I was new in California. My family hadn't been here six months. I hardly knew a soul. There'd been a prowler in our neighborhood, and this deputy was sent out to talk to us. He'd gone house to house, asking if anyone had seen anything strange or unusual. I was off work. I'd just had an emergency appendectomy and I was still recovering. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been home. We ended up having a long talk. I thought he was cute." She stopped. "Take your time," I said.

"A week later, the paper mentioned his name in reference to the murder investigation. I'd never told a lie in my life, but I picked up the phone and called the Sheriffs Department and asked for him. Once he got on the line, I said the first thing that came to mind."

"Your claim that you'd seen a girl whose description matched the victim's was completely false," I said, hoping I'd misunderstood.

"I just said that. A lot of people must have called in with information that didn't pan out. All I wanted was a chance to talk to him again."

I was silent for a moment, thinking, Shit, shit, shit. "Did it work?"

She shrugged. "I married him."

"Well, that part's good, at any rate."

Her eyes strayed to the window. I saw a car pass along the driveway, cruising toward the rear. I looked back at her.

She lowered her voice. "Do me a favor."

"Sure."

"Don't mention this to my husband. I never told him the truth."

"He doesn't know?"

She shook her head. "Would it really matter to him after eighteen years?" I heard the car door slam shut and her husband's hard-soled shoes tap-tapping across the pavement between the garage and the back porch. There was a pause while he checked his pansies and petunias. In my opinion, they needed watering. He apparently agreed. I heard the shriek and squawk of the faucet handle when he turned off the water, moved the sprinkler, and turned the water on again. He continued toward the back door while she went on rapidly. "Every time someone asks how we met he tells them the story of how I took the time to call in the report. He admired I was such a conscientious citizen. Says it's one of my best traits. He claims he fell in love with me on the phone. Then he said it seemed like fate since he'd seen me in person just the week before. He thinks I'm different. A cut above, he says."

"Tricky."