[He shook his head softly, and leant back against the sink,] "No, Elle, people have reasons for killing. Even killers."

[He guessed this went back to her initial statement, and there were two things he thought about saying. Instead of picking between them, he just went for both,] "Only by believing nothing can change do you make it true. It might sound kind of cheesy, but it's true."

[He paused, then asked the second, much more important question,] "How did you think he'd changed?"