“And when you confronted Reverend Raleigh with the evidence that he had called Miss Goodfellow and that in her affidavit she admitted he came over, what did he say happened?”

“He said he went to her apartment to borrow relaxation tapes.”

“Relaxation tapes?” A few chortles of laughter followed Blackburn on this. Judge Sam eagle-eyed the gallery, ready to throw out the next person who made a peep.

“Yes, sir.”

“And how long was he at Miss Goodfellow’s apartment?”

“Forty minutes.”

“And just to be clear, how far is Miss Goodfellow’s apartment from SMU and the Raleigh residence?”

“They’re all within about five miles of each other, less than fifteen minutes driving.”

“So now it’s past eight p.m. that evening, correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And then where did he go?”

“To Bridwell Library.”

“And how did you verify that?”

“A librarian there”—Hume checked his notes—“Ms. Janice Singleton, saw Reverend Raleigh sometime after eight p.m. Also a call was placed from a pay phone in the library to the Raleigh residence at eight thirty.”

“Did Reverend Raleigh confirm he placed that call?”

“Yes. He said he spoke to his wife and told her to put the children to bed before he got home.”

Suspicious. He’s setting it up.

“How long did Reverend Raleigh say he stayed at the library?”

“For the next three hours, until close to midnight.”

“Did that prove to be the case as you investigated his whereabouts that evening?”

“No.” Hume rocked back in his chair.

“How do you know that?”

“Reverend Raleigh purchased gas with a credit card at a Texaco station on Greenville Avenue at eight fifty-three p.m. that night.”

“Did he purchase anything else at the gas station?”

“Yes, a pint bottle of vodka.”

Anne cringed as she thought about the empties of Smirnoff she had pulled out from under the seat of Pat’s Cougar these past few years.

“Detective, did you interview a Mr. Javier Esparza?”

“Yes. He was one of the two paramedics who attended to Mrs. Raleigh.”

“What did Mr. Esparza tell you about Reverend Raleigh?”

“That when he arrived at Credo Drive, the reverend was visibly intoxicated and he could smell alcohol on his breath.”

“Okay, so at eight fifty-three the defendant is at the Texaco. Where does he go after that?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“Reverend Raleigh claims to have been at the library at SMU the entire night, but I can’t place him there past eight thirty.”

“So from eight fifty-three p.m. until he places the 911 call, at”—Blackburn checks his notes—“eleven forty-three p.m., you don’t know where he is?”

“Well, he’s within the vicinity of his vehicle because he made two calls from the car phone.”

“Who did he call?”

“He called his house and left messages.”