Free Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell Page A

the way she was tied. Did you disturb anything, touch the cords or do anything else? Can you remember?"
    "No. I mean, I don't remember if I did. Uh, but I don't think I did. Something stopped me. I wanted to cover her. But something stopped me. Something told me not to touch anything."
    Marino: "Do you own a knife?"
    Silence.
    Marino: "A knife, Matt. We found a knife, a survival knife with a whetstone in the sheath and a compass in the handle."
    Confused: "Oh. Uh-huh. I got it several years ago. One of those mail-order knives you could get for five-ninety-five or something. Uh, I used to take it with me when I went hiking. It's got fishing line, matches inside the handle."
    Marino: "Where did you see it last?"
    "On the desk. It's been on the desk. I think Lori was using it as a letter opener. I don't know. It's just been sitting there for months. Maybe it made her feel better to have it out. Being alone at night and all. I told her we could get a dog. But she's allergic."
    Marino: "If I hear what you're saying, Matt, you're telling me the knife was on the desk last time you saw it. That would have been when? Last Saturday, Sunday, when you was home, the weekend when you replaced the screen in the bathroom window?"
    No response.
    Marino: "You know any reason your wife might've had to move the knife, like maybe tuck it in a drawer or something? She ever done that in the past?"
    "I don't think so. It's been on the desk, near the lamp for months."
    Marino: "Can you explain why we found this knife in the bottom dresser drawer, underneath some sweaters and beside a box of condoms? Your dresser drawer, I'm guessing?"
    Silence.
    "No. I can't explain it. That's where you found it?"
    Marino: "Yes."
    "The condoms. They've been in there a long time." A hollow laugh that was almost a gasp. "From before Lori went on the pill."
    Marino: "You sure about that? About the condoms?"
    "Of course I'm sure. She went on the pill about three months after we got married. We got married just before we moved here. Less than two years ago."
    Marino: "Now, Matt, I've got to ask you several questions of a personal nature, and I want you to understand I'm not picking on you or trying to embarrass you. But I have reasons. There's things we got to know, for your own good, too. Okay?"
    Silence.
    I could hear Marino lighting a cigarette. "All right then. The condoms. Did you have any relations outside your marriage, with anybody else, I'm saying?"
    "Absolutely not."
    Marino: "You was living out of town during the week. Now me, I would have been tempted-"
    "Well, I'm not you. Lori was everything to me. I had nothing with anybody else."
    Marino: "No one in the play with you, maybe?"
    "No."
    Marino: "See, the point is, we do these little things. I mean, they're human nature, okay? A good-looking guy like you. Hey, the women probably throw themselves at you. Who could blame you? But if you was seeing someone, we need to know. There could possibly be a connection."
    Almost inaudibly, "No. I've told you, no. There could be no connection unless you're accusing me of something."
    Becker: "No one's accusing you of anything, Matt."
    There was the sound of something sliding across the table. The ashtray, perhaps.
    And Marino was asking, "When was the last time you had sex with your wife?"
    Silence.
    Petersen's voice was shaking. "Jesus Christ."
    Marino: "I know it's your business, personal. But you need to tell us. We got our reasons."
    "Sunday morning. Last Sunday."
    Marino: "You know there will be tests run, Matt. Scientists will be examining everything so we can get blood types, make other comparisons. We need samples from you just like we needed your prints. So we can sort things out and know what's yours, what's hers, and what maybe's from-"
    The tape abruptly ended. I blinked and my eyes focused for what seemed the first time in hours.
    Marino reached for the recorder, turned it off and retrieved his tapes.
    He concluded, "After that we took him down to Richmond