Imani looked into Philip’s now-dry eyes. “Melissa didn’t kill Nate.”

“I’m not saying she murdered him, honey. Maybe there was an accident, they were arguing—”

“And what? She pulled out a gun and shot him?” Imani arched her back, signaling to Philip that she wanted out of his vise grip.

He released her. “I don’t know. Maybe he had the gun and—”

“Nate wasn’t abusive.”

Philip reached for his whiskey. “Who knows what really goes on in a marriage?” He punctuated his statement with a sip of his drink, inhaling the alcohol like a smoker taking a pull off a cigarette.

Instinctively, Imani crossed her arms over her chest. “Melissa would have told me if Nate had ever gotten violent with her.”

Philip set down his glass. Amber liquid sloshed over the side. Clearly he’d poured himself a double. “There’s a first time for everything. I mean, they’re stuck in a house together day in and day out, unable to cool off from an argument in their normal ways by having a cocktail with a friend or whatever.”

The last word was loaded. “I don’t know what you’re implying.”

Philip turned his attention to the fridge. “Okay, then. Never mind.”

The fridge’s fluorescent bulbs added a yellow glow to the shadowed surroundings, highlighting the tight line of Philip’s lips. His face showed a strain that Imani swore hadn’t been there before. The therapist inside of her noted it and said to tread lightly. But Imani the wife wanted Philip to explain himself. If even her husband thought her best friend guilty, then what chance did Melissa have of the police taking her safety seriously?

“You clearly have something to say,” Imani snapped.

Philip considered the scant selection on the fridge’s shelves before withdrawing a jar of kimchi. “I wouldn’t be telling you anything you don’t know.”

“What do I know, Philip?”

He opened the container, wrinkled his nose, and then capped it, shaking his head the whole while.

“What do I know?” she repeated.

“You know that Nate had a wandering eye and Melissa could be…”

“What?”

Philip sighed. “Flirtatious.”