“What else did you do?” “Well, I cleaned out the ashtray and—” “Were there any cigarette butts in it?”
She stopped to remember. “One. I put it in the trash basket in the kitchen.” “Let’s take a look at it.”
He followed her to the kitchen, and she pointed to a wastebasket. Inside was a cigarette butt with lipstick on it.
Carefully, Deputy Blake scooped it up in a coin envelope. He led her back to the living room.
“Maria, do you know if anything is missing from the apartment? Does it look as if any valuables are gone?”
She looked around. “I don’t think so. Mr. Tibble, he liked to collect those little statues.”
“He spent a lot of money on them. It looks like they’re all here.” So the motive was not robbery. Drugs? Revenge?
A love affair gone wrong? “What did you do after you tidied up here, Maria?” “I vacuumed in here, the way I always do.”
“And then—” Her voice faltered. “I walked into the bedroom and… I saw him.” She looked at Deputy Blake. “I swear I didn’t do it.”
The coroner and his assistants arrived in a coroner's wagon, with a body bag.
Three hours later, Deputy Sam Blake was back in the sheriff's office.
“What have you got, Sam?” “Not much.” Deputy Blake sat down across from Sheriff Dowling.
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