The Perfect Game Read Online Free PDF Page A

her. It looked like he had not shaved since the previous day and his hair was untidy. His tie knot had been loosened around his neck. Dark circles ringed his eyes. Lauren hoped his disheveled appearance meant he had been making good headway on the investigation.
    â€œWow. You made good time. I hope you didn’t pass any of our local traffic cops. They hand out speeding tickets like candy around here. It’s a nice little source of revenue for the city. Funds lots of donuts.” Lauren forced a polite smile and did not dispute his assumption that she had been speeding.
    He shook her hand and offered a warm smile. “How are you holding up?”
    Lauren’s eyes filled with tears and she shrugged her shoulders in response.
    â€œI know this must be a terribly difficult time for you,” he said. “Can I get you coffee or anything?”
    â€œNo, thank you.”
    As Boyd led Lauren down the building hallways, he said, “We’d like to tape the interview if you don’t mind. It allows us to review helpful information later if needed.”
    â€œSure. No problem.”
    They entered a small room with a table, two chairs, and a two-way mirror on one wall. Lauren doubted anybody cared enough to observe this mundane family member interview from the other side. The room was freezing and Lauren, who was wearing shorts and a T-shirt appropriate for the 107-degree day, wished she had thought to bring a sweater.
    Detective Boyd encouraged Lauren to take a seat. The metal chair was cold and uncomfortable. Boyd offered coffee again and Lauren, now shivering, asked for tea. He arranged for warm tea to be brought in and Lauren was grateful when he draped his own suit jacket around her shoulders.
    Despite the formality of the interview room and the whirring video camera in the corner, the conversation was comfortable. Boyd started by asking lots of questions about Liz. How did Liz spend her time? Who were her closest friends? What were her hobbies? Lauren answered to the best of her ability, uneasily realizing she no longer knew all the details of Liz’s personal life. Liz had often visited Lauren in California, but Lauren had not often had the time to make the trip to Arizona. And since starting her internship in Phoenix, Lauren had been too busy to spend much time in Liz’s world.
    â€œWas Liz cautious? Did she lock doors and set her security system?” Boyd asked.
    â€œShe wasn’t easily spooked. We grew up in a small town where nobody locked their doors. Jake worried about security, so Liz locked up and used the alarm, but she wasn’t obsessive about it.”
    â€œWould she have opened the door to a stranger?”
    â€œI don’t know. She might have.”
    â€œTell me about Liz’s relationship with Jake.”
    â€œThey met at Arizona State. He was on the baseball team, of course. And Liz was a cheerleader. They started dating when she was a sophomore and he was a junior. They were crazy about each other. When he got drafted by the Diamondbacks at the end of his senior year, Liz quit school so she could travel with him. They got married that summer. It would have been seven years this August.”
    â€œAnd they got along well?”
    â€œIncredibly. He was the Ken to her Barbie.”
    â€œExcept Ken and Barbie ended up splitting up.”
    Lauren almost smiled. “Wow, you have an impressive command of Barbie’s personal life. I just meant that they seemed perfect for one another.”
    â€œAnd what about the relationship between you and Liz?”
    â€œWe were exceptionally close. Losing our parents really bonded us. I wouldn’t have survived that without Liz. She’s always the first person I want to call when something significant happens in my life.” Lauren realized she had lapsed into the present tense when referring to Liz.
    â€œHave you had any arguments lately?”
    â€œNone.”
    Detective Boyd asked Lauren to