administrative official; secretary; commissioner
government office; public office
talk about divorce or separation
living by oneself; living alone
beard (esp. on the chin); goatee
to laugh; to smile; to sneer; to ridicule; to be dumbfounded; to be flabbergasted
doubting; distrustful; incredulous; suspicious
exerting care; attention; consideration; thoughtfulness
to enquire of someone about something (inquire); to question; to interrogate; to grill (someone about a matter); to question in detail
support; participation; assistance; complicity; conspiracy
police officer; policeman; policewoman
hostile; adversarial; antagonistic
questioning; interrogation; examination (of a witness)
mystery novel; detective novel; whodunit
quarrel; fight; trouble; dispute; friction; discord
to break the ice; to broach a subject; to bring up a topic
daily routine; daily work; daily lesson
getting information (esp. by interviewing witnesses, etc. in a police investigation)
suspicious behavior; acting suspiciously
cannot (do); it is impossible that...; it is (highly) unlikely that...
to stop (plug) one's ears
democratic nation; democratic country
conclusive evidence; positive proof; definite proof; confirmation
to let (someone) take hold of your hand
to play with; to joke; to use (esp. trick, sophistry, etc.); to deride; to scoff at; to make fun of
smoothly; with a slipping or sliding motion