“Oh.” She turned her eyes away and then looked back. “She called me … It was after twelve … Maybe it was one in the morning. Actually, she called me twice. I didn’t hear the first time because I was asleep. I decided that I wasn’t going to answer the call. You want to do something stupid, go ahead. I don’t want to hear your sad story.”

“At some point you must have answered the phone,” McAdams said.

“I’ll tell you in a minute. You need background first.”

She was doing a dance around the crucial parts.

Decker said, “Whenever you’re ready.”

“Thank you,” Elsie said. “Anyway, she called me a third time. I thought maybe she’s in trouble. I did care about her.”

“I’m sure you did,” Decker said. “What happened after you picked up her call?”

Elsie thought a moment. “It was hard to make out what Pauline was saying. She was drunk. He was drunk too. In the background, I could hear him yelling, ‘Hang up the phone, hang up the phone.’ Eventually, the connection was lost.”

“Did you call back?”

“No. I figured Brock took the phone. Pauline would have called me back if she had it.”

Decker said, “You must have been panicked.”

“I don’t panic.” A pause. “But I was concerned.” She took in a breath and let it out slowly. “I didn’t know where she was. But I figured she couldn’t be far without the car.”

“You’re positive she didn’t have a car?” McAdams said.

Elsie said, “I had the car—her car. Mine was in the shop.”

“Maybe Baer had a car.”

“Impossible.” She dismissed the idea. “He didn’t have money. How would he have a car? Are you going to let me continue?”

“Go ahead,” Decker said.

“My car was in the shop, but I had a set of keys to her car. I took it and went out to look for her. My first mistake. I should have let her handle her terrible decisions.”

She stopped talking and the men waited.

“I found her by the road. The bastard was pulling on her arm. She was screaming at him to let go. I parked the car and got out. They were both drunk. He wouldn’t let her go. He just wouldn’t do it!”

“Stubborn,” Decker said.

“Like the jackass he was!” She shook her head. “When he tried to grab the knife, that’s when it really got messy.”

“Okay,” Decker said. “Let’s back it up, Elsie. What knife?”

“The knife I brought with me for protection. That man was evil. I had no idea what he was going to do. I had to protect myself.”

“Got it,” Decker said. “You took a knife with you for protection.”

“I just said that.”

“Yes, you did. Where’d you get it from? None of the knives were missing from your kitchen block.”