“For one thing, we’d like to know who might have ransacked your condo,” Barnes said. “Because it’s definitely an inside job.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“No valuables are missing.”

“I told you, some cash might be missing.”

“That’s just for show,” Amanda said. “Know how we know that?” No answer. “The ransacking was messy, but all of your dishes remained in the kitchen cabinets. None of that stuff was touched. A lot of disorder but almost no breakage.”

Barnes said, “Easier on whoever had to clean it up.”

Amanda said, “You know, Minette, if you have something to tell us, tell us now before it gets too far.”

Barnes said, “We know you’ve been under terrible stress.”

Amanda said, “We know you haven’t been yourself at all. We understand that it’s been an emotional time for you.”

Barnes smiled.

Amanda smiled.

Minette’s left cheek quivered. She hugged herself. Yanked at an errant strand of hair. “You have no idea.”

“How could we understand such loss?” Amanda said. “We can’t and we’re not even going to try. But we do have to get to the bottom of what happened in your condo. We do have to know what really happened.”

“What do you mean?” Minette sniffed. “If I knew what happened, I’d tell you.”

Barnes’s smile turned reptilian. “We think you know way more than you’re telling us.”

“So now’s the time to get it off your chest,” Amanda broke in.

“While we can still help you.”

“I don’t understand,” Minette whispered.

“If you tell us what happened, Minette, we can do something for you. You know, being so stressed out and all, we’ll understand.”

“But,” said Barnes, “if we waste valuable time trying to solve the ransacking and things begin to point in your direction…” He shook his head. “That’s going to look very bad, Minette. Very, very bad.”

Amanda leaned forward. “We think you know who did it, honey, and now’s the time to tell us. Because if you don’t tell us now, we can’t help you.”

“And we really want to help you.”

“Yes, we do want to help you. But first we’ve got to know what really happened.”

Minette cried silent tears. Amanda reached over and took her hand. “It’s all right, honey. You can tell us. It must be so hard for you. It must have always been so hard for you with Davida being away all the time.”

“I thought she was working.” Minette’s voice was clogged with emotion. “Now I realize she had someone else!” She burst into tears. “How could she do that to me! That bitch! A bitch that came from a bitch!”

“I’m so sorry,” Amanda said. “You must be terribly disillusioned with her.”

“Totally.” She sniffed back tears. “I thought she was working so hard.”

“You must be so angry.”

“I’m furious!”

“I bet,” Barnes said. “But you suspected the affair, didn’t you?”

Quickly, she made eye contact with Barnes, then broke it off. “I suppose I did.”

“You came home after the press conference, didn’t you?” Barnes said.

Minette hesitated. Gave a guilty-kid nod.

“You came home…alone, disillusioned, confused, upset…all those things, right?”

Nod, nod.

“Alone in the place that you once shared with Davida,” Amanda said. “You must have been beside yourself with confusion and anger.”

Barnes said, “So to get rid of those horrible feelings, maybe you threw something at the wall.”

“Just because you were so upset,” Amanda added.

“I was very upset.”

Barnes said, “And then it went from there.”

No answer.

“We need your help, Minette. We need the information straight-arrow truthful. You need to tell us what happened after you got home from the press conference.”

“I was upset,” Minette said softly. “I threw a pillow at the wall.” The two detectives waited for more. “And…then I threw another pillow…and another. And then I turned over one of the couches. I was surprised that it wasn’t all that heavy. So I turned over the other one.” She was breathing harder now. “And then I saw Davida’s office, looking all neat…like it hadn’t been used in ages because it hadn’t been used in ages. And I just knew in my heart of hearts that if she wanted to really work, she could have worked at home. So I began to take things out of her file cabinets…and tear them up…and toss them because it’s not like she needed them anymore…” Tears were streaming down her cheeks. “And then I went on to the closets. And I threw clothing all over the place…and then the dressers. And then…”

She was sobbing hard.

“I realized I had made a gigantic mess and that I’d have to clean it all up. And I was so alone and lonely and…”

More sobbing. Amanda offered her a tissue. “So then what did you do?”

“I turned the sofa back and put back a pillow, but that only made me angrier. And I felt so stupid. And scared…I don’t know who killed Davida, honestly, I swear I don’t know!”

“Okay, we believe you.” And Barnes did…sort of. She seemed too hysterical to pull it off. But he kept an open mind because he had been fooled before. “You were scared being alone. Then what?”

“I totally freaked myself out,” Minette said. “I started thinking- you know, like your mind gets hold of something and just keeps going? That’s what happened to me, the thoughts took over. Like whoever hurt Davida…maybe he’s coming to get me. And here I was alone in the place, which was now a total mess. I was so scared! I wanted to call the police. But I felt stupid telling them that I was freaked out and scared…you know?”

“That’s what we’re here for,” Barnes said.

“Yeah, right!” Minette dried her eyes with a tissue. “You guys are quick with traffic tickets, but if I told anyone I was scared, I bet not one cop would have come out to see me.”

She had a point, Barnes thought.

Amanda said, “You must have really felt alone.”

“I did.”

“So then what did you do?” Barnes prompted.

“I called the cops and told them that our place had been tossed. I needed people to stop already with Davida and focus on me. She was dead, but I wasn’t.”

Minette’s egotism took neither detective by surprise, but her admission did.

“In the future,” Barnes said, “if you feel scared again, there are people who can help you and you don’t have to fib to get them to talk to you.”

“That’s all it was meant to be,” she sobbed. “A stupid fib because I was desperate! Am I in trouble?”

“You filed a false police report,” Barnes said, “so that could be trouble, yes. But I think the judge will take into consideration your circumstances.”

Minette nodded. “I should probably contact my lawyer.”

“Probably,” Amanda said. “If you can’t afford one, the county will give you one free of charge.”

“I’m okay with money.” She stood up on wobbly feet. “Can I call my lawyer now?”

“First, we need to read you your rights.”

Minette sat through the beginning of the routine, numb, inert. When Barnes got to the part about an attorney being provided, she said, “You just said that. I know all of it anyway from TV. I watch a lot of TV because she left me all the time.”

“She’s vain and egotistical and self-centered,” Barnes said once they returned to the other side of the one-way mirror. “But the real question is, did she murder Davida? We went through her house and her clothes. No blood-spattered clothing, nothing with gunpowder residue, no shoes with trace evidence of blood or carpet fiber. No gun registration and there’s no evidence that she’s owned an illegal firearm.”

“She could have hired someone.”

“Why would she want Davida dead?”

“Because she was cheating on her. Because Davida left her alone once too often.”

“Minette dealt with that,” said Barnes. “Doing her own cheating.”

“Minette is a selfish little bitch who probably flew into a narcissistic rage when she found out that Davida had someone on the sly.”