had ever met novak, the man has a byzantine mind. >> reporter: she recalls all those supportive chats she had with novak after chris' arrest. >> turned out he was probably fishing for information. >> reporter: it reminded friend john fife of a conversation with novak one night after they dined together. john posed a question. he said, mostly in jest, of course, just hypothetical -- >> i said, david, have you ever contemplated committing the perfect murder? and he said yes. the key element to that is making sure that someone is caught and charged for the crime. once they have somebody, they'll stop looking, and that's how you can really get away. >> reporter: and now novak had taken off. and even though their questions didn't amount to hard evidence, of course, chris' defense attorneys wondered as they prepare fofrd the trial, why the