I can’t think of anything more embarrassing than having someone—especially a man—go through the contents of my purse. I concocted a scene in False Impressions to depict such an intrusion, much to the dismay of my main character, ghostwriter Megan Scott.
Let me set up the scene.
In the days after Megan’s husband was found murdered at an out-of-town resort, Detective Lieutenant Moreau and his sergeant conduct a search of her condo apartment. Her lawyer Dan Cummings and crime reporter Michael Elliott are also present.
Megan describes the police undertaking in her own words:
He’d checked out the bathroom cabinets, kitchen cupboards, bookshelves, laundry basket, and ice cube containers. He’d even emptied the paper clip dispenser on my desk, so he must have been looking for a teensy, tiny piece of evidence.
The police conclude their search and are about to leave when Detective Moreau zeroes in on Megan’s oversized purse. Here’s an excerpt:
“Madam Scott, may I have your handbag, please?”
“Excuse me?” I asked, thinking I’d misunderstood the detective.
He pointed to my purse. “Your handbag. I would like to search it. May I have it, please?”
I glanced at Dan. He nodded yes.
“Merci.” The detective strode into the living room, holding my purse with both hands as if it contained loose eggs. He placed it on the coffee table and pulled on a pair of latex gloves.
I joined him, my curiosity changing to annoyance as he removed the items from my purse, one by one, as if he were recording the contents in his mind. Out came my sunglasses, a hairbrush, an agenda, a wallet, two pens, a phone, a notepad, a bag of chocolate almonds, a set of keys, a lipstick, two tampons, facial tissues, and a box of adhesive bandages—all lined up on the table like products displayed in a department store counter. I was mortified and didn’t dare glance over my shoulder at the three other men.
And then:
He hung onto my agenda, put everything else back into my purse, one by one, and handed it to me. “Thank you. I will keep your agenda for now, if you do not mind.”
A cold sweat rolled over me.
What is Megan afraid of? What does the detective find in her agenda that subsequently draws suspicion to her and turns her world upside down?
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