"It's too soon to tell right now," I said. "We're gathering information, talking to staff and acquaintances. Just trying to get a picture of the situation."
"Was she killed in her office?”
"I'm not at liberty to discuss the details of the case.”
Stockton nodded. "I understand.”
He frowned and shook his head again.
"It's my understanding you wereclosewith Dr. Latham," I said.
His eyes narrowed as he tried to decipher what exactly I meant by the word close. "Yes, she was a valued colleague. I would often send clients to her and vice versa.”
"I think there was more to it than that.”
Dr. Stockton smiled and cleared his throat. "I see you've done your homework.”
I gave a guilty shrug and smiled.
"I'm hoping what's said in this office will remain in this office, as it pertains to my personal life.”
"I’m not looking to destroy anyone's marriage," I said.
After a pause, he said, "Yes, Laura and I had been seeing each other for a few months.”
"Was it serious?”
"I'm a married man, gentlemen. She was a married woman. We both knew the score. We were just having fun.” He smirked as he remembered better times. "And we had a lot of it.”
"I'm sure. Does your wife know about your extracurricular activities?" I asked.
"Not that I'm aware of. I prefer to keep it that way if at all possible.”
"Can you tell me where you were last night between 9 and 11:00 PM?”
"I was at home with my wife.”
"During that entire time?"
"Yes.”
"So you can account for her whereabouts as well?”
"Yes. What? Is she some kind of suspect?"
"In situations like this, yes.”
"I seriously doubt Elizabeth would kill Dr. Latham. She's not a violent person.”
"She might not be thrilled about your affair. People do crazy things when they're jealous.”
Dr. Stockton frowned. "What time was she murdered?"
"We think between 9:00 and 11:00 PM. The medical examiner should be able to lock it down to a tighter timeframe, but that's what we have to work with at the moment.”
Dr. Stockton sighed. "I hate to say this, but I want to be fully transparent. Elizabeth had a yoga class last night. I think she got home around 9:30 PM." He shook his head, dismissing the notion. "But there is no way she had any involvement in Dr. Latham's death. She had no idea we were having an affair. I'm very good at covering my tracks.”
"I'm sure.”
