“How so?”

“She wasn’t friendly, for one thing. Her downstairs neighbor had a run-in with her about making too much noise late at night. Davida smoothed it over by assuring they would take off their shoes after ten.”

“Minette being difficult is a given, Mandy. Now we’ve got to get from there to murder.”

“Sure be nice if we had the shotgun.”

Barnes said. “We don’t even know if Minette has ever fired a gun. We should see if she has any permits on file.”

“I can do that.” Amanda regarded her partner. “You’re still skeptical about her.”

“She was with Kyle until early morning and both of them were more than a little looped. Davida was murdered with a dead-on, single shot. Even with a shotgun that requires coordination.”

“Hard to get it wrong when you’re a foot away from the person who’s sleeping.”

“I still say the murder looks male- more violent than it needed to be. It was done up close and personal by someone who knew how to use a gun. This was not the work of a hysterical drunken woman.”

“Another sexist no-no.” Amanda grinned. “Does male mean you’re back to Don Newell?”

“He called Davida and she called him back. We’re taking Donnie’s word what the conversation was about. I think I can justify speaking to him again.”

“Let’s say it’s Newell. Why would he kill Davida?”

“First thought is he was having an affair with her and she threatened to tell his wife.”

“The wife who hates Davida, quote unquote,” said Amanda.

“Meaning there’s another suspect. But if Davida knew about the resentment, why would she threaten to tell Newell’s wife? Also, from everything I’ve ever heard about her, she had a vested interest in being gay.”

“So maybe Donnie threatened to expose her.”

“Why would he do that? He’s got a wife and kids, he’s got a good position with Sacramento PD. Even if they screwed once in a while, he wasn’t in love with her and had to know there was no future in the relationship. Also, you yourself said he seemed shocked by the murder. Give me a reason why he’d drive down to Berkeley and blow her head off with a shotgun.”

“I don’t have a good reason, Amanda. And I’m not saying he did it. I’m just saying it looks like a man did it.” Barnes’s cell rang and he glanced at the number. “It’s Bosworth.” He depressed the green button.

“Barnes.”

“Kyle Bosworth, Detective.” There was lightness in the man’s voice.

“Thanks for calling back,” said Barnes.

“So far so good,” said Bosworth, as if talking to himself “A couple of the blood tests will take a little time, but my doctor’s nearly certain I’m clean.” His voice turned hard. “No thanks to that bitch!”

“Good to hear, Mr. Bosworth. For all we know, Minette may be clean, too.”

“Then how did Davida- oh, sure. Our late state rep wasn’t a saint. Sure, why not, we’re all human. Ta ta, Detective, I’m going to go out and have a wonderfully cholesterol-laden dinner- ”

“Did Minette ever talk to you about problems between Davida and her?”

No response on the other end. “Hello?”

“Yes, Detective, I’m still here. Anything Minette says needs to be taken with an entire quarry of salt.”

“What did she tell you, Mr. Bosworth?”

“I should preface what I’m about to tell you. Our fling- Minette and me- what we said and what we did was often the product of overindulgence.”

“You drank together.”

“Minette was a huge drinker and not a pleasant drunk. When she got pickled, she’d go into a litany of complaints about everyone and everything. She told me- while drunk- that she was sure that Davida was fooling around on her.”

“Did she suspect anyone specific?”

“I’m sure she suspected a lot of people. With enough bourbon in her, she could be downright paranoid.”

“Did she mention any names?”

“Nothing I recall.”

“Can you remember if Minette specified Davida’s paramour as being male or female?”

Again, Bosworth went silent, causing Barnes to ask if he was still on the line. “Yes, yes…Davida with a man? Well, that would be interesting. I’ve never heard anything about her swinging both ways but I’m not terribly surprised. We all have a bit of both yin and yang in us whether we admit it or not.”

The best place to reinterview Minette was the station. They flipped a coin. Amanda lost the toss and made the call.

To get Minette in, Amanda decided to appeal to the woman’s vanity. Minette picked the phone up on the third ring, whispered a boozy hello.

“Ms. Padgett, I’m so sorry to bother you again, but this is Detective Isis. If I could just a have a moment of your time, I’d be very grateful.”

“Wha-at?”

“My partner and I…we were discussing things and we both decided that we really needed your help. Would it be possible for you to come to our office to chat with us for a bit?”

“What about?”

“We’re making some headway, but you knew Davida better than anyone else and we could use your insight.”

“I did know Davida better’n anyone, so you tell me why tha’ bitch won’t let me do anythin’ at the memorial.”

There was no way the woman was fit to interview tonight, but maybe Amanda could set something up for tomorrow. “How about this, Minette: come in and help us out and I’ll call Lucille Grayson and make a personal appeal for you to be part of the service. How does that sound?”

“You’ll never change the hag’s mind. She’s a real bitch.”

“Let me try, Minette.” Amanda took in a silent breath and let it out. “When can you come in?”

“Not tonight. Too late.”

It was quarter to six. Lord only knew how long she’d been hitting the bottle. “You’re right. How about tomorrow, say ten AM?”

“Mebbe eleven.”

“Eleven would be perfect. I’ll call you at ten thirty to see if you’re on schedule?”

“Sure. Bye.”

“Oh, by the way, did you get tested yet?”

A long pause. “Good news. The doctor thinks I’m clean.”

“That’s very good news.”

“I suppose. Bye.”

Amanda placed the phone back in the cradle.

Being clean meant Minette realized that her worst fear had been true. Davida had been cheating on her. The big question was with whom? Minette must be wondering the same thing. That could explain her drinking this early.

She looked around the squad room for Barnes- tucked into a corner, facing the wall, talking on the phone. She went over and tapped him on the shoulder. Barnes whispered a “gotta go” into the receiver and disconnected his cell.

“Who were you talking to?” Amanda asked casually.

“No one.”

“On the phone, talking to no one. They’ve put people away for far less, Will.”

“It wasn’t business-related.”

Amanda’s smile widened to a grin. “You were talking to that cop in LA- ”

“Amanda- ”

“What was her name?” Amanda snapped her fingers. “Marge. Tall drink of water, but nice-looking, I’ll grant you that.”

“She adopted an orphan in her teens. The kid goes to Caltech. We were just talking about kids.”

“You’ve never had any.”

“I was doing the listening.”

“Willie and Margie sitting in a tree- are you going down south or is she coming up north?”

“She’s got a couple of days off. Can we move on to business?”

“Sure, because I took care of some. Minette’s coming down to the stationhouse tomorrow at eleven.”

“You got her to come in?” Barnes nodded with approval.

Amanda punched his shoulder lightly. “Call it the old charm. I’m going home now to work my magic on my husband. Unless you want my advice on something.”

“Like what?”

“Like where to take Margie. They’re predicting high sixties with sunshine. You should rent a convertible and take her to wine country. Spring for some bucks and stay at the Sonoma Mission Inn.”

That actually wasn’t a bad idea, but damn if Barnes would give her any satisfaction. “You can go now, Mandy. I’ll be in around nine tomorrow.”