Page 122 of Fatal Witness

Alex took out her pad and pen and flipped to a clean sheet as she quietly observed the woman. It was normal for someone to be uneasy when the police showed up at their door unannounced, but Crystal held herself so rigid Alex feared she might shatter. And her face was even paler than when she opened the door. Her red lipstick was like an angry slash across her face.

She needed Crystal to relax. “Lovely house you have here,”Alex said, glancing around. She nodded to a desert painting. “Is that a Georgia O’Keeffe?”

Crystal followed her gaze. “A print. She’s my favorite artist.”

Alex smiled and leaned toward her. “One of my favorites too. I’ve always wanted to go to Santa Fe, to see her house and the museum of her works.”

“Oh, so have I.” Crystal’s mouth softened. “I’ve been to the gallery in Cleveland, Ohio, but they only had six of her paintings. The one in New Mexico would be better.” She raised her chin, and her eyes narrowed. “But you didn’t come here to talk about Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings.”

“You’re right,” Alex said. She caught the other woman’s gaze and held it. “Are you still friends with Kyle?”

Crystal stilled like a marble statue. Alex waited her out. It was a few moments before she said, “I haven’t seen him in a long time.”

“Can you define ‘long’?” Nathan asked.

Crystal turned to him and lifted her shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “Twenty years, maybe?”

Themaybegave a lot of leeway, but Alex let it pass for now. “How long were you two together?”

She rubbed her tongue along her top lip as she looked up. “Four or five years—we weren’t that serious.”

“That’s a long time to date someone you’re not serious about,” Nathan said and shifted in his chair. “Do you mind telling us why you stopped seeing him?”

Again she shrugged. “Our relationship just ran its course.”

“No big problems?” he asked.

Crystal started to shake her head. “Well, just one. Kyle was ... he didn’t like kids, and I had a three-year-old. She got on his nerves.”

“That had to be difficult,” Alex said, softening her voice. If Kyle was the same then as now, everything probably got on his nerves.

She fingered the cross, sliding it back and forth on the chain. “Shelly didn’t like him, still doesn’t. Not that he ever comes around, just, you know how kids are.”

Alex glanced at Nathan, and he gave her a barely perceptible nod. “Having to decide between your child and someone you love...” she said. “I’m sure that had to be difficult.”

Crystal’s shoulders relaxed. “It was ... but it wasn’t just Shelly. Kyle could be very demanding and heavy-handed, and I got tired of it.”

“Understandable.” Alex glanced at her notes. “What can you tell us about the night the jewelry store was broken into?”

“Not a lot. Kyle was here that night when the police called him a little after midnight to come to the store. When he came home, he was really upset. The police had insinuated Kyle was involved in the crime because he was acquainted with the man they’d arrested—he was from Kyle’s hometown.

“They questioned me, and I told them the truth—Kyle was here from the time the store closed until they called.”

Alex made a few notes on her iPad and looked up. “How about the next day? Was he here then?”

She fingered the cross again. “Yes.”

“Did he ask you to give him an alibi?”

“No.” Crystal frowned. “I assume this is about those murders that happened after the robbery. Why are you opening a twenty-five-year-old case?”

“Someone is trying to kill the victims’ daughter.”

Crystal gaped at Alex. “Why?”

“We don’t know, other than the daughter probably saw the murderer that night.”

“Then why don’t you arrest him?”

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