Page 5 of The Perfect Crime

The man was gorgeous.So any time he seemed slightly out of his element was a delight, one that made him even more attractive to her.Jessie shook the thought out of her head.She was used to being in situations like this but James Whitaker wasn’t and she didn’t want to be seen fawning over her husband in front of a victim.

The nurse nodded that it was okay to continue.Ryan, now back in control, held out his badge so the woman lying in bed could see it.

“Hello, Mrs.Whitaker,” he said softly.“I’m Detective Hernandez with the LAPD.This is Jessie Hunt.She works with us.We’re sorry for your loss.”

"Thank you," Whitaker said, her voice dry.The nurse handed her a cup of water, and she took it, sipping from the straw.

“We’d like to talk to you about what happened last night,” Ryan continued.

“I know her from TV,” Whitaker said, pointing weakly at Jessie.“She’s the one who catches serial killers.”

“That’s right,” Jessie said, taking a step forward, “but I also help on other kinds of cases, Mrs.Whitaker.And with your help, I’m hoping to catch the person who poisoned your husband.”

Hearing those words, Sarah Whitaker flinched and closed her eyes tight for a second.When she opened them again, they seemed more focused than before.

“I’ll do whatever I can,” she said firmly.

“Thank you,” Ryan said.“We’d like to start with your dinner last night.Where did you go?”

“A new place called Daddio,” she said.“It just opened last Thursday, and we were able to get in yesterday.We were really excited.”

“Did you notice anything unusual at dinner?”Jessie asked.“Did either of you have an argument with someone there or take note of anyone acting oddly?”

“No, nothing like that,” Whitaker said.

“Your interactions with the waitstaff were pleasant?”Ryan checked.

“Absolutely,” Whitaker said.“Everyone was wonderful to us.We agreed that the food wasn’t everything we hoped for, but we gave them a pass because the place was so new.And we certainly didn’t say anything negative to anyone while we were there.”

“What about anyone not affiliated with the restaurant?”Jessie wondered.“Did someone else possibly approach your table, engage you in conversation?”

“No, not that I recall.”

“Did either of you leave the table, maybe at the same time?”Ryan pressed.

“I don’t think so,” Whitaker said with less certainty.“We both went to the restroom, but at different times.”

Jessie was reluctant to ask the next question because it might sound like she was placing blame.

“A lot of times, when someone who I’m eating with steps away for a minute, I’ll check my phone and not really pay attention to what’s going on around me,” she said.“Any chance you did the same thing when James went to the restroom?”

Whitaker’s face sank.

"Yeah," she said."I do that all the time.I don't specifically remember doing it last night, but I'm sure I did.Are you saying that someone poisoned Jim's food or drink while I was sitting right there, oblivious to it?"

“I’m not saying that at all,” Jessie said quickly.“I don’t want you to think that.It’s our job to explore every possibility.That’s why we ask so many questions.Most of the time, it amounts to nothing.Tell us about the drive home.The sergeant at your house said that your husband started feeling bad then.”

From Whitaker’s expression, it appeared that Jessie had successfully short-circuited the guilt that the woman was starting to succumb to.

“Yeah, when we got home he told me he’d started feeling bad on the drive but that it had gotten much worse in the last few minutes,” she explained.“I had to help him inside.I guess that’s how the man got in.I wasn’t focused on lowering the garage door or locking the inside one.It’s my fault that he got in.”

“That’s not true,” Jessie assured her.“How could you have possibly envisioned what was going to happen?The fault here lies exclusively with the intruder.”

“Mrs.Whitaker,” Ryan said, “a moment ago, you said that ‘hegot in.’Are you sure it was a man?”

She nodded forcefully.“Absolutely.He was pretty big—easily six feet tall and when he talked, his voice was clearly male.”

Ryan looked over at Jessie.She knew his expression well.He was letting her know that he planned to get into the hard part now, and she should pay close attention to Whitaker.She nodded back at him.

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