Rein was calm and friendly. For the first minutes of this interview, they made small talk and asked easy questions. She gave her birth date as August 1, 1953; she was fifty four but didn’t look it. She seemed to feel that she was the one in charge of the interview.

“We’re investigating a murder with ties to Alaska,” David Levin said.

“Oh, yes,” Rein said, “You mean my brother’s wife—”

“No,” the Pierce County sergeant said flatly. “We’re investigating the murder of Robert Cruz.

“Okay, Rein,” he began, “we’ve explained that we have your brother Neil in custody for his murder. We need to talk to you. I think...