Her bottom lip trembled. “I still can’t believe it’s true.”
“No. I wouldn’t think it’s an easy thing to accept.” I shuffled some papers, giving her a moment to compose herself. “I need to ask you some questions, and I hope you understand that some of them might upset you.”
“I hope you don’t think I killed Archie?” A line formed between her brows.
I grimaced. “I have no idea what happened yet.”
“Well, you’re not going to catch Archie’s killer hounding me with accusatory questions.” Her tone was bitter.
I said patiently, “My questions are simply designed to gather facts. I don’t want you to feel that I’m accusing you of anything. But some of the questions might make you uncomfortable.”
She looked up, a spark of anger in her eyes. “This seems like a waste of time to me. I can’t help it, but that’s how I feel.”
“I get it. You’re grieving. You want me to go out and magically catch the killer. But this is my process. I ask people a lot of questions, and I listen. Then I comb through everything and find the holes and the things that don’t match up. That’s how I find the killer, Janelle. By talking toeveryone.”
“But I don’t know anything.”
“You might know more than you think you do.”
She frowned. “What does that mean?”
“You might have seen things. Heard things. At the time, they might not have meant anything to you. But they might mean something to me when I put it all together. Even the insignificant things you tell me could potentially help me solve the case.”
“But… I really don’t remember anything other than very mundane things.”
“That’s fine. Just tell me what you recall.” I gave her an encouraging smile. “Where did you go after Kobe made his drunken speech? You left the reception area, right?”
She nodded. “Yes. After Kobe gave that ridiculous tirade, I went outside. I needed to get away from everyone. They were all staring at me and feeling sorry for me.”
“They were concerned for you.”
“Well, I didn’t want or need their pity.”
“Okay.” She needed to vent, so I didn’t react to the anger in her voice. “So you left the restaurant, and then what?”
“I went outside, and I sat on the curb. You saw me there.”
“I surely did. But that doesn’t mean you were there the whole time.”
“Meaning what?” she demanded.
I said calmly, “I’m just figuring out where everyone was, Janelle.”
She shifted impatiently in her chair. “I loved Archie. I’d never have hurt him.”
“I’m not saying you would have. Remember, I’m just placing the pieces on the board right now. Don’t feel paranoid. I need to know everyone’s movements, not just yours.”
“Fine.” She crossed her arms, looking disgruntled. “Ask me questions.”
“Okay,” I said quietly. “Now, after you left the restaurant, did you run into anyone? Maybe you had a conversation with someone?”
“No.”
“No one at all?” She’d been visibly upset. It seemed odd that no one would have tried to comfort her.
“I didn’t want to talk to anybody.”
“That’s certainly understandable.” I nodded. “Didn’t Archie come after you?”
