I pulled up to the large white house, and got out of my car. I stepped through the waist-high iron gate and walked up the few steps to the door. I knocked and was answered by a woman that wasn't Mrs. Bennett. "Can I help you?" she asked with a Spanish accent.

"I'm here to see Mrs. Ophelia Bennett."

"I'm sorry," she said before I could say anything else, "Ophelia isn't feeling well today, you'll have to come back later."

I flashed her my ID, "I'm Detective Phil Brooks, I was-"

I was interrupted again by a voice coming from another room, "It's okay Rosa. He can come in."

Rosa pulled the door open more and I stepped inside, she shut it behind me and I followed her to the small den where Ophelia sat. Her hair was down and hung in loose waves around her shoulders. The amount of frizz in her hair made it obvious that it hadn't been brushed in awhile. The make up she's had on was smeared and streaked, and her eyes were even more red and swollen. She still wore the clothes she'd had on the day before, minus the jacket, which was lying over a chair. Her skirt was wrinkled from being slept in, and her white satin blouse was untucked and just as wrinkled. An open bottle of wine sat on the table next to her.

The sight was a pathetic one. For one, I had never been the type to drink or smoke, or anything else of that nature, so the wine immediately turned me away. But it was the beautiful woman's appearance that struck my heart. I walked over to her and knelt down, "Are you okay, Mrs. Bennett?"

"I'm as okay as anyone in my position could possibly be," she said through sobs. "Rosa will show you where Stu's office was."

At the moment, my concern was my client, "Have you slept at all? You look terrible."

She shook her head.

"Why not?"

"I just...I can't. I can't bare to lay in that bed and not feel his arms around me."

I stopped for a moment to consider my words before I said anything. I often had a habit of speaking without really thinking first, and I didn't want to offend the woman. "You can't fall to pieces because of what's happened. You have to be strong, for your husband, don't you think that's what he'd want?" I reached over and grabbed her hand, "What do you think he'd say if he saw you like this?"

She thought for a moment then shrugged. Finally, she said, "I don't know, probably," deepening her voice and speaking with a fake British accent, "Darling, what do you think you're doing laying around moping. Get up and go get a shower. Wash your face. You'll be alright."

I smiled at her impression and said, "See there, he wouldn't want you lying there. Why don't you go upstairs and bathe, change your clothes, and I'll take you to get some lunch."

"I don't know."

"You need to get out of the house," Rosa urged her. "Your impression of Stu is right. You can just lay there all day."

She looked at the woman, then at me, then said, "Okay."

I smiled and told her I'd look around the office while she was bathing and getting dressed, Rosa stood in the doorway and watched. I sat at the desk and rummaged through the paperwork that was scattered over the top of it and in the drawers.

Sitting on top of the desk was a photograph of the couple. Ophelia's hair was pulled back and twisted into a bun, his dark hair was slicked back. They were both smiling, showing off their perfect teeth. It was obviously from their wedding day. He was dressed in a tuxedo, and she had a long, white, form-fitting, lace gown on. A white rose was pinned to his lapel and she was holding a bouquet of white roses. I picked it up and stared at the happy couple for a moment. There was a small crack in the glass as if it had been knocked down.

"Have you known Mrs. Bennett long?" I asked Rosa.

She nodded, "I've known her for many years, we're very good friends."

"Can I ask you what your thoughts on her husband were?"

"The same as everyone else's I suppose. He was a hothead, and he was arrogant." She shrugged, "Ophelia loved him though. She absolutely adored him, he couldn't do anything wrong in her eyes. She'd always find a way to defend him. And he doted on her. He'd give her anything she wanted. He would have tried to give her the moon if she asked."

"So they were very happy?"

Rosa nodded, "I've never seen a couple more in love than they were. You don't think she did it, do you?"

I shook my head, "No. I have an idea as who might have."

Ophelia finally appeared in the doorway. Her hair was cleaned, and smoothed. She had left it down to fall in perfect waves. She wore a plain black dress that fell just below her knees, with a matching black jacket. A large black sunhat rested on top of her head, and a pair of large sunglasses covered her reddened eyes. "I'm ready," she said solemnly. Have you found anything helpful?"

"I might have. I do have a few questions before we leave. Where did you find your husband, and how was he positioned?"

I watched as her muscles tightened and then released. "Well, he was in here. His chair had been knocked over, and he was lying over here," she crossed the room to where I was standing. "His head was here," she pointed to a spot right in front of the bookcase, "and he was lying with his feet in that direction." She pointed towards the opposite side of the room. "Most of the things on his desk were in the floor, but I picked them all up after the police finished their search of the room. Same with some of the books that had been thrown onto the floor."

"Do you know how he was murdered?"

She shrugged, "It looked as if he had been beaten. That's part of why I think it's just absurd that the police suspect me. I mean, look at me," she picked the picture up from the desk, "Look at him." He was at least a foot taller than her, and looked rather muscular. "Do you really think I could have hurt him. He could have broken me with just one hit."

"Anything else that you didn't tell me yesterday that might help? Anything at all? Was there anything in his hands?"

She thought for a moment, and even though I couldn't see her eyes, I knew from the slight parting of her lips that she had something. "There was a piece of cloth in his hand, like it had been ripped from something. The police brushed it off as if it was nothing though."

I smiled, "Alright, we can go to lunch now if you'd like. Rosa, you're welcome to join us."