He was silent and uncertain. Scarpetta could tell he had a different answer than the one he wanted to give.

“I promise, there’s no judgment,” she said. “I’m trying to help. It doesn’t matter what consenting adults do as long as it’s all right for both of them.”

“She liked me to dominate,” he said. “Nothing painful. Just hold her down. To wrestle her down. She liked me to be strong.”

“Hold her down how? I’m asking because any information can help us figure out what happened.”

“Just hold her arms down on the bed. But I never hurt her. I never left a mark on her.”

“Ever used any types of bindings? Handcuffs? Anything like that? I’m just making sure.”

“Maybe her lingerie. She likes lingerie, to dress in very sexy ways. If I tie her hands with her bra, it’s very loose and I never hurt her. It’s just an idea, a suggestion, never real. I never spanked her or choked her or did anything real. We pretend, that’s all.”

“What about to you? Did she do these things to you?”

“No. I do them to her. I’m strong and powerful, and that’s what she likes, to be taken advantage of, but only the idea of it, never for real. She’s very, very sexy and exciting, and tells me exactly what she wants, and I do it, and it’s always amazing. We always have amazing sex.”

“Did you have sex last night? It’s important I ask.”

“How could I have? She was gone. It was so awful when I walked in and found her. Oh, God. Oh, God!”

“I’m sorry I have to ask you these questions. Do you understand why they’re important?”

He nodded, wiping his eyes and nose with the backs of his hands.

“It was cold last night,” Scarpetta said. “Why would you leave your coat in the car? Especially if all the lights were out and you were concerned.”

“I took my coat off to surprise her.”

“Surprise her?”

“She liked me in tight T-shirts. I already told you. I even thought about taking it off as she was opening the door. It was a sleeveless T-shirt. A white undershirt. I wanted her to open the door and see me in my undershirt.”

Too much explanation. His coat was in the car for another reason. He was lying, and doing it badly.

“I have a key to her building,” he said. “I went in and rang the bell to her apartment.”

Scarpetta asked, “Do you have a key to her apartment, or only to the building’s outer door?”