“Sea creatures that glow in the dark?” Miano asked.
“That’s right. Very good,” Pete said.
“Gee, thanks,” Miano said. She glanced at Reid. “I got it right!”
“One up on me,” Reid said. He saw Pete grin.
“Let’s go, Pete,” Green said.
“Did you ever do, that thing—I forget what it’s called?” Reid asked, tapping his forehead as if he was trying to come up with the word. “You know, when you point that instrument at the sky to figure out where you are?”
“Celestial navigation,” Pete said. “And thatinstrumentis a sextant. Yes, I’ve done it. It’s very mathematical. Really just angles. If you can do geometry, you can steer by the stars.”
“Steer by the stars,” Reid said. “I like that. Really nice way to describe it. Easier than celestial navigation! Well, enjoy the rest of your day, gentlemen.”
Green shook hands with both detectives. Pete stood back, then turned to go.
“Hey, Pete,” Reid said. “I almost forgot. I met your friend Martin.”
“Who?” Pete asked.
“Martin Harris. You know, the astronomy expert.”
“I have absolutely no idea who you’re talking about,” Pete said. He and Mac Green left the building. Reid wiped the gee-whiz expression off his face and narrowed his eyes as Pete walked away.
“That was genius,” Miano said. “That bit about sailing at night. Steer by the stars.” She punched Reid’s upper arm. “Too bad he didn’t admit to knowing Harris. Think he was telling the truth about that?”
“Hard to say.”
“Then again, he just beat the lie detector,” Miano said.
“It didn’t show deception, that’s for sure,” Reid said.
“Come on—like any good narcissist, he doesn’t register emotion the way normal people do. Cool as a cucumber.”
“He never got riled,” Reid said.
“Let’s get a warrant for his computer, look for articles on how to outsmart the machine. He probably researched it!”
Reid stood still, thinking. He pictured Pete sitting across from the examiner, strapped to the machine. Pete had stared straight ahead, no change of affect no matter what he was asked. He’d barely blinked.
“We still have time of death going for us,” Miano said. “Other than body temp, everything points to Beth having died the morning Pete left. Thank God for stomach contents.”
“You’re right,” Reid said. The autopsy had shown that Beth’s last meal had been eggs, melon, and blueberries—exactly what Pete had said they had had for breakfast before Ackerley picked him up.
“Those polygraph questions,” Miano said, giving an exaggerated shiver.
“What about them?”
“The way he recounted their last minutes together. That he hugged and kissed her, that he told her he loved her, and then left.”
“Shit,” Reid said, suddenly getting it. “That’s exactly what hediddo.”
“But if she was already dead ...”
“Jennifer, I think you’re right. Hedidresearch the polygraph.”
“Okay ...”
