The famous chilli at Hogan’s Diner Sergeant Ellers told them about earlier was indeed quite exquisite. Kate used to love cooking, back when Matt was still in the picture. They would open a bottle of wine and spend the evening in the kitchen, enjoying some comfort food and each other’s company. Now there was no point in cooking for one. She shook her head to clear the memory of those times. Matt was gone for nearly a year now and it was for the better.

On the way to the diner Kate looked into the notes Ben took at the Havers’ house.

“Did you believe him?”, she said, looking directly at her partner.

“Not for a second. Your friend, Julian, caught on picture as they argued.”

“That he did”, she agreed, completely ignoring Ben’s insinuation about the journalist.

The two of them avoided discussing the case further while they ate, but as Kate was mopping up the last bites of her chilli with the best home made flat bread she’s ever tasted, she switched back to work mode.

“I think we need to speak to him alone. We can hardly expect him to confess to his love affair in front of his wife”, said Kate.

“I’ll ask Ellers to arrange an informal meeting down at the station”, Ben agreed as he leaned back in his seat, pushing his empty bowl away.

“What’s wrong?”, Kate asked as she leaned closer to her partner over the table, noticing the frown on Ben’s face.

Ben shook his head and let out a small, bitter laugh. “I just remembered how eager my ex wife was to tell me about her love affair when she left me. Like getting divorced and lose half of everything was not enough, she also made sure I knew that I was not paying enough attention to her and she found a much more suitable admirer. The worst part? She was probably right. I spent so much time at work, barely saw her.”

“I’m sorry”, Kate mumbled, and felt her cheeks turn red. She knew Ben was divorced and that his wife married not soon after, but seeing the regret in her partner’s eyes embarrassed her. At the age of forty-two he was still very attractive with his deep set blue eyes, flaxen hair, and broad shoulders. Although they only met a few months ago, she knew he’s one of those few whom she can always count on, wheather she needs advice for work, an ear to listen to her problems, or a friend who’d pick her up at dawn when she made the mistake of drinking too much, which only happened twice, but she was eternally grateful. Kate was hoping that his heart was not forever closed after such a disappointment with his marriage. She was surprised when she learnt that Ben Peterson was single ever since he got divorced. To stop her train of thoughts she quickly changed the subject. “Maybe we should check up on David Foster. It’s nearly 2 o’clock now, so I don’t think we would intrude on his lunch.”

“His girlfriend was just killed last night. Probably lunch is the last thing on his mind”, said Ben with a sigh as he rose from the table.

The rain finally stopped just when Kate and Ben arrived at the lovely, old fashioned farmhouse where, according to their information from the local police, David Foster lived with his mother, Anna.

“Is that the mother?” Kate nodded towards the scrawny woman sitting on the porch.

“Looks like it”, Ben said after consulting the pictures they got from Julian that morning.

At their approaching footsteps the woman looked up startled.

“Who are you?” she said before any of them could say anything. Her tone was hostile as she looked them up and down with her piercing eyes.

“Detectives Robbins and Petersen”, Ben said as he extended his hand to the woman, who continued looking at them suspiciously.

“I need to see some form of identification”, she said and crossed her arms in front of her flat chest.

Kate and Ben both showed her their badge and she took her sweet time to scrutinize them. When she was finally satisfied, her tone changed to a less icy one, but her face still looked like she was sucking on lemons. “What can I do for you?”

“We need to speak to your son, David”, Kate said, and noted the annoyance on the other woman’s face.

“Well, he’s not here.”

They waited, in case Anna was about to reveal the whereabouts of her son, but when she did not, Kate just asked the question. “Do you know where we can find him?”

“No idea”, the woman shrugged. “It’s about his girlfriend, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I’m afraid” Kate nodded.

“You think he had something to do with it?”

“At the moment we just need to talk to him, that’s all”, Kate said to reassure the other woman. “You know, to establish a time line. Do you happen to remember what time your son left the festival last night?”

Anna Foster seemed to consider the question for a moment. “Around half past ten, I’d say. I left not much later myself.”

“So you don’t know where your son went?”

“I have no idea”, said Anna and hugged herself even tighter.

“What time did he come home last night?”, Ben said.

“I don’t know. I went to bed at 11, and he was not here.”

“Did you see him this morning?”

The answer was just a shake of her head.

Kate and Ben looked at each other. Ben then turned to Anna and quietly asked his next question. “Do you know if he came home at all?”

“No idea.”

“Mrs. Foster, do you mind if we just take a look at his room? You know, just to see if he slept in his bed?”, Kate said and took a step towards the main door.

“I don’t think I would like that very much”, said Anna, as she blocked Ben’s way. “I know my rights, and I know I don’t have to show you anything unless you have a search warrant. I watched enough Law&Order to know your ways!”

“Of course Mrs. Foster, don’t worry. We are about to leave anyway” Ben said, trying to placate the woman.

They were halfway down the stairs when Anna spoke again. “She just got what she asked for, that woman.”

“Excuse me?”, Kate turned to look in to Anna’s hard face.

“We are all god-fearing folks here. She was evil. You should have seen her prancing around town in those clothes, trying to seduce all the men. My poor boy! I told him to stay away. But she had him under her thumb… and he was not the only one. There’s always a punishment for such wickedness!”, she spat the last words.

“If you know something”, Ben said, “you need to tell us.”

But Anna Foster just gave them another ice cold look, turned around and slammed the door behind her.