“He seems like the kind of person who might have been working on a production with her,” Imani said. “What kind of messages did they exchange that make you think there was something going on between them?”

“They were very complimentary.”

“He’s a good-looking guy,” Imani said. “There’s no crime in telling someone that.”

“They’d exchanged phone numbers.”

“Maybe she thought he’d be good for a future project that she was attached to.” Imani said it, though she didn’t believe it. Melissa hadn’t worked on anything where she would have clout with the casting director in a long time.

Detective Calvente gave her a dubious look.

“I know you have this idea of Melissa because she played cheating characters,” Imani said, resuming folding. “But she loved her family. She wouldn’t have blown up her life for a pretty face.”

Detective Calvente rotated the phone so that the image faced her. “A young guy like this. Maybe she figured it was worth the risk.”

“No.” Imani shook her head. “She loved Nate.”

“How do you know?”

How did anyone know? Imani thought. It was an impression, she supposed, formed from little acts of kindness and longing. The admiring way that Melissa looked at her husband when he wasn’t watching. The frequency with which she laughed at jokes of his that were only marginally funny. The way that Nate had been able to upset her with words said or withheld, betraying that his opinion mattered. And a million other things. Imani simply knew what long-term love looked like. She’d been married for a long time.

“I’m a therapist,” she said. “I see dozens of couples a month.”

“Well, then you know that love is a leading cause of murder.”

The statement seemed flippant given the circumstances. “Well, what are the other ones?”

“Money,” Calvente said. “People kill to inherit everything or to take something they wouldn’t get otherwise. Safety. That’s a popular one with women in the cases of abuse. And, of course, mental breakdowns.” She glanced over her shoulder in the direction of Nate’s father. “People kill when they don’t understand a situation or assume something untrue because their mind is playing tricks.”

“Melissa didn’t snap. She’d called me the prior night looking to hang out. She sounded fine. Rational.” Imani pointed at the detective. “But Melissa could have had some crazy stalkers. Nate too. Are you looking into that?”

“It’s been a while since Melissa or Nate were on anyone’s radar like that,” Calvente said. “But we’re exploring the possibility.”

Imani doubted that the detectives were spending much time “exploring” given their focus on Melissa’s love life. If they were truly searching for her, they were looking in all the wrong places.