Love Can Be Murder

was a soybean farmer? What were soybeans, exactly? Her doubt must have been apparent because he smiled.
    "I'm not a trial lawyer, Ms. Ryder. I'll only advise you through the police interviews." Then he frowned. "How did you get those bruises on your neck?"
    "Carl Seger choked me."
    His face darkened. "Do you need medical attention?"
    She shook her head. "I just want to get this over with and go back to Baton Rouge."
    "Is that where you live?"
    "Yes."
    He wrote it down. "Are you married?"
    A lump formed in her throat, forcing her to swallow. "No."
    He took down a few more vitals, then withdrew a limp blue bandana and wiped his shiny forehead. "Ms. Ryder, I read the police report, and I have to tell you it doesn't look good."
    "But I didn't murder Carl."
    He nodded as if he didn't believe her. "It isn't murder if you killed him in self-defense."
    A rap on the door preceded the entry of two plainclothes cops. Mike told them his name, and they identified themselves as Detectives Jaffey and Warner.
    Jaffey looked at her as if she were a snack. "Are you ready to talk, Ms. Ryder?"
    She looked at Mike, who remained quiet, as if he wanted her to make the decision. Hm. She nodded.
    "No tape recorder," Mike said. "And I'll stop Ms. Ryder if I think the questioning is going against her best interests."
    The detectives shrugged. Jaffey leaned over and planted his hands on the table. "Ms. Ryder, did you kill Carl Seger?"
    "Stop," Mike said, placing his hand on her arm. His big fingers looked a bit grubby. "Let's start again, gentlemen."
    Jaffey sighed and pulled up a chair. "All right. Ms. Ryder, how do you know Carl Seger?"
    Mike removed his hand and nodded for her to answer.
    "He was a theology professor when I attended college at Notre Dame." Jaffey asked for the years and she told him.
    "Were you a student of his?"
    "Yes, for a few classes."
    "Were you ever involved with him sexually?"
    She shifted on the uncomfortable plastic seat. "Not involved, no."
    "Was there ever an encounter?"
    She glanced to Mike, but he only pushed his glasses higher. "Once," she murmured.
    "What happened?"
    "He invited me back to his office. I... gave him oral sex."
    "And that was it?"
    She nodded, hot from shame. "He barely acknowledged me after that."
    "Did that make you feel worthless? Angry?"
    Angora bit her tongue. "No one likes to be rejected, Officer."
    "Did Dr. Seger invite a lot of female students back to his office?"
    "I don't know."
    "Why didn't you report Dr. Seger to the school authorities?"
    She concentrated on the ugly fingerprint ink around her nails. "I don't know."
    "Is it because you were in love with Dr. Seger and were a willing participant?"
    Angora looked up. "I was young and stupid. Afterward I was so humiliated, I never told anyone what happened." She'd simply pretended it hadn't happened.
    "Were you in contact with Dr. Seger after you graduated?"
    "No."
    "But you never forgot him."
    "I sometimes read about him in the alumni newsletter."
    "Your cousin told us you were recently jilted at the altar."
    Tears stung her eyes. "So?"
    "So that would make a woman mighty angry. Angry enough to get even with the next man in her life that crossed her."
    Why had she told Roxann about her nasty urges? A feeling of betrayal flooded her chest, magnifying the odd pain radiating there. "Did Roxann tell you I said that?"
    "Did you say that?" Jaffey asked.
    "Don't answer," Mike warned her. "Next question."
    "When did you become reacquainted with Dr. Seger?"
    "When my cousin and I arrived in South Bend yesterday."
    "And you bid on a date with him at the bachelor auction last night?"
    "You know I did."
    Jaffey whistled. "Two thousand dollars is hefty sum for a little food and conversation. Did you have something else in mind?"
    "I don't know what you mean."
    "Maybe a little revenge for the way he treated you all those years ago."
    "Is that a question?" Mike asked.
    Jaffey frowned. "What happened after you and Dr. Seger left the auction?"
    "We went to Utopia for dinner, then dancing at a place called DeSoto's."
    Warner held up his hand and checked written notes he'd brought in. "Utopia? That's where your cousin and Dr. Oney had dinner last night."
    "I didn't see them there. We were in a private dining room."
    "Ms. Beadleman says she lost her scarf sometime during the evening. You didn't by chance find it at the restaurant, and decide to return it to her later?"
    "No. And it was a cheap scarf."
    Jaffey's eyebrow went up. "Cheap scarf—I'll make a