“Lamar said that according to the phone records, there wasn’t a lot of back and forth contact between Arlington and his old friends. Maybe Darnell kept in communication by carrier pigeon, but I didn’t have any way of exploring that option.” He checked his watch again. “Oliver, things were cold when I stepped in. And while I’m a good detective, I don’t like to work for pennies. I wrote up a report and covered her butt so that she could save face with her parents.”

“And you two were never sexually involved?”

“She wasn’t interested in me, and I didn’t want to push it. I was separated from my wife at the time, so it wasn’t a moral thing. I suppose I didn’t think it was a good idea for two gamblers to hook up even temporarily. Also, it would have destroyed any chance of reconciliation with my wife. For once, I was trying to act smart.”

He sighed and looked longingly at the golf course.

“I’d really like to catch that game.”

Oliver ignored him. “Let me ask you this, Shriner. If you knew that Melinda had been gambling all through her marriage and was in debt, do you think that she, in her darkest hour of despair, would kill for insurance money?”

“She didn’t kill him.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I know, Oliver. We were in GA together for over a year. You admit a lot of things to yourself and to the group. You get to know people pretty damn well.”

“She wouldn’t admit to murder.”

Shriner came in from the patio, went into the closet, and took out a bag of golf clubs. “I’m not saying she was an angel. She probably wasn’t a very good mother. She probably wasn’t a particularly good wife. She probably drank too much and maybe she ran around a little, but I don’t think she’s a murderer.”

“Ran around a little?” Oliver let go of a smile. “Why would you think she was loose if you two didn’t fuck?”

Shriner’s face grew pink. “She wasn’t loose. I don’t know why I said it.”

“What is it? Did she come on to you?”

“You think I’d turn her down?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you would.”

“I gotta go.”

Then it dawned on Oliver. “She admitted things in Gamblers Anonymous. That’s part of the program, to admit your past mistakes. Things like having an affair. So if she didn’t fuck you, who’d she fuck?”

“You know I can’t divulge confidences.”

“Shriner, I’m trying to solve a murder.”

“I can’t divulge confidences!”

“Okay, don’t tell me who she fucked. Just give me a list of possible names.”

“No—”

“Just a first name. How about that?”