“I think he had the means, the motive, and the opportunity.”

“What are you talking about? This isn’t a television drama.”

“Karen was Ethan’s friend. She’d been to the house more than once.”

“So what?”

“I could see Terrence took a shine to her. I never had any proof, but I wasn’t at all shocked when the police came to the door and asked to speak to him. He looked terrible. His skin was gray. He was sweating and his hands shook. That’s not the demeanor of an innocent man.”

Mamie looked at her mother-in-law with disbelief. “Are you serious? He shook and turned gray anytime a drink was overdue.”

Evelyn was still focused on me. “I don’t know where in the world you got the idea I turned the children against him. I’d never do such a thing,” she said.

“I heard it from Anna. She told me last night.”

“Told you what?” Mamie asked, annoyed at being out of the loop.

“Nothing,” Evelyn said.

This was beginning to feel like politics, consisting as it did almost entirely of finger-pointing and accusations.

I turned to Mamie. “Anna told me the day her father called to say he’d been released, Evelyn confessed that she lied on the witness stand. She said he went out that night and was gone until the wee hours.”

Mamie looked at Evelyn with dismay. “You did that?”

I said, “Oh, yes, indeed. She also told the three of them not to mention it to anyone for fear she’d be charged with perjury, which is a criminal act. Ask Ethan. He’ll tell you the same thing. Ellen, too.”

Mamie was staring at her mother-in-law. “I don’t believe it. You said he was there at the house when he wasn’t?”

I wagged a finger, correcting her. “It was the other way around. She told the truth on the witness stand and lied about it later.”

“But why would she do that? She’d have to be nuts.”

Evelyn leaned toward me. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Were you there?”

“Of course I wasn’t, but I’ll tell you who was. An hour ago I talked to Lolly Brandle.”

Mamie wrinkled her nose in confusion. “Who?”

“The woman who lived next door to Evelyn and Terrence back then. She was at the Daces’ house the night Karen Coffey disappeared. She says Terrence was home the entire evening except for a brief trip to the store to pick up ice cream.”

Evelyn’s tone was prim. “You can hardly credit her account. She has dementia.”

“She may not remember what happened yesterday, but she remembers that night, right down to the flavor of the ice cream he went out to buy. Here’s a question for you, Evelyn. Who was the president of the United States at that time?”

“I have no idea. How is that relevant?”