"Really." I forced myself not to react. "She was your only daughter-in-law. Right?"

Ruth laughed, the sound coming out forced. "Yes, I suppose so, but that still made her my favorite."

"Did the two of you ever have any disagreements?"

"Jalinda and I?" she repeated the question back as if she couldn't believe I'd ask such a thing, but it was also a tactic of liars.

I wouldn't fall for it. "Yes, you and Jalinda."

Ruth shook her head and gave me another forced laugh. "No, never. We always had a great relationship. I thought the world of her."

Lies.

Five and a half minutes now.

"It's horrible what happened. Isn't it?"

Ruth glanced at me, and her eyes flashed just once. It was enough. "Yes, just tragic."

She took a seat on the chair and I extra regretted that missing coffee. It would have given me something to do with my hands.

"She and Jimmy had such plans for their lives together. Now he'll have to soldier on alone, I suppose."

"He could always remarry," I said, glancing at my ticking time bomb. Five minutes left. How did I get her on the right topic and confession in time?

Ruth shook her head. "I don't know. He seems to believe Jalinda was his soul mate."

"You disagree?" If she planned to open the door, I'd walk us right through it.

Her head shot up, and she shook it as if realizing what she'd said. "Well, of course they were a wonderful couple, but I've never been a believer in that soul mate stuff. I'm sure he'll be able to love again. It's what Jalinda would want."

"Uh-huh, I'm sure it is," I lied. Straight through my teeth.

Mrs. Jones tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair. "If I had been here, maybe Jimmy wouldn't be so despondent now."

"That's right. You said you weren't here. Were in you Nevada at the time of the murder?"

Ruth's face lit up, excited about the topic change. "Yes, you heard. I did some traveling this winter. It's too hot for me out west in the summer, so I figured January was the perfect time for a trip."

"Yes, I'm sure. I've never been out west myself, but all that desert. It has to get warm."

Ruth tugged on the collar of her sweater. "Yes, you wouldn't believe it and it's so cold in the evening."

"Did you do anything fun?"

She seemed to have an easier time talking about herself than the murder she committed. Imagine that.

"Oh, this and that. A few attractions here and there. My boyfriend and I did a day at the Grand Canyon and then the Hoover Dam before heading to California."

"Sounds exciting." This is the point I'd have taken a sip of coffee for dramatic effect. "Visit any post offices?"

Ruth visibly jerked in her seat, her neck and head flailed back as if I slapped her. "Um, no. I can't say we had any of those on our sight-seeing list."

"Any candy factories?" I leaned closer to her, almost sliding off the couch. With my cards now laid on the table, I wanted to catch her reaction gaze to gaze.

Now we both knew that I knew.

The only thing undecided was Mrs. Jones' response.

She jerked back again and raised a hand to her throat like she was clutching imaginary pearls. "What are you implying?"

Four minutes. Time to get a move on.

"I'm not implying anything, Mrs. Jones. In fact, I'm directly asking if you bought the candy you used to murder your daughter-in-law on vacation or here in Maine before you left on your trip?" I swear I heard Anderson's moan through my cameras, even though they were only one way.

If I had to guess, I'd say before she left. It would be hard to recreate a candy in a hotel room. That took time and planning. A well-stocked kitchen didn't hurt either.

Ruth laughed, but her eyes were beaming out different emotions. Fear. Worry. Panic. "You're absurd. I loved Jalinda."

"Don't lie. You were mad that she and Jimmy wouldn't give you the grandchildren you so desperately wanted."

She scoffed and stood up from her chair, circling around it to lean against the back. "That's not true at all. They had to live their lives, and I respected their choice."

It was my turn to laugh, and I did so boisterously. "I read your Christmas letter. You have resentment written all over your forehead. You hated Jalinda wouldn't pop out children for your legacy."

Ruth turned her back to me and made her way to the short desk on the far side of the room. She walked with a purpose, but I waited to see how she'd respond.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she whispered with the first crack of emotion.

Two minutes and twelve seconds.

"You wanted grandkids. Jalinda had already stolen your only son from you, but now she dared to keep you from carrying on the family line? She'd gone too far. If Jalinda wouldn't give them to you, you'd get rid of her so Jimmy could find someone who better fit your needs."

"Fine." Ruth spun to face me again as she leaned against the desk. "Yes, I was upset about Jalinda's decision to not have children. Jimmy always wanted them, but she changed his mind. I never liked her. Grandchildren are my right. My payment for the life I gave Jimmy as his mother. He owes me!"

I crinkled my nose. "No one owes you a child."

Children were important life decisions. They weren't currency.

We stared at one another until I glanced away first to check the phone. I'd applied pressure, but she hadn't cracked yet. I had to push harder.

One minute and two seconds remaining before Anderson pulled the plug on my "Get Ruth Jones to confess" operation. I refused to go down a loser.

"You couldn't handle the truth that Jimmy loved another woman. So you took her out. You created your own poisoned candies and then packaged them in with a genuine box of candy so no one would question them. On your trip out west, you mailed the box of candy to Jalinda, pretending they were from someone else."

She glared. "I would never poison my son."

Hook.

"No, that's why you laced them with coconut. You knew Jalinda had a severe allergy and you made them chocolate cherries to guarantee Jimmy wouldn't eat any of the tainted candy. It was the perfect crime."

Her eyes narrowed. "You can't prove that. There's no evidence of me ever mailing a heart box of candy to anyone. Maybe Jalinda had another lover."

No one mentioned the box of candy was a heart.

Line.

"I wonder if your boyfriend feels the same way about risking a prison sentence?" I took a chance, a small lie, to either push her over the edge or spell my doom. "Did he know the candies you asked him to mail were a murder weapon?"

"Shut up! Shut up!" She ripped open the drawer to her desk and withdrew her hand, holding a small caliber pistol aimed directly at my heart. "You don't understand!"

Sinker.