I agree, this mystery has been immensely intriguing with everyone being so easily implicated. It has been tough case of narrowing down and narrowing down from suspecting everyone at the outset.
As far as that SD chip goes, it hasn't turned up in the search. It is possible that there never was a chip. I have to admit I also get the repeated impression that Annette doesn't bring her lovers to her house, and not only that but she doesn't change lovers often. She might flirt a good deal, and use her wiles to connect with men, but going beyond that is something she does with extreme caution. Jeff was the guy she was very serious about but had her fears confirmed very quickly that she was too flawed for such a great guy. Darren was the guy she picked up one night trying to reaffirm her attractiveness as a woman. She needed to feel powerful again, but he was never what she would go for if she was aiming high. Kyle was a relationship where she could escape that Peyton Place drama tension in her life, and was perhaps the most real connection she ever had with anyone since Jeff. She had probably changed and matured a lot and was past the anxiety and mood swings she suffered from when she was younger.
As far as Megs fingerprints on the envelope, you could consider that when Annette tried to bribe Meg, she handed her the envelope, then Meg handed it back and Annette put it in her purse. This would be supported by the absence of Meg's fingerprints on any other items in and on the purse itself.
I can't imaging why Meg grabbed Annette's keys, but they did turn up in the search at Meg's in the box of photocopies that Annette was running when she was killed.
1. Agreed, it does show that Annette didn't have many guests at her house
2. Very interesting. Jeff might have had a rebound relationship with Tara, but what would have caused Jeff not to marry Tara all those years ago upon learning that she was carrying his child? Women often withhold the naming of the father if the relationship is abusive and she fears the father would be a danger to her child. There may be a few other reasons a woman would do that, but she would have to have gotten pregnant before Jeff married, and few women would lie to protect a marriage that hasn't happened yet. Financial support is a leveraging consideration, and there is usually a reason of safety that the name of the father would be kept secret. Jeff doesn't seem to be the abusive type.
3. Darren's story is ppure bologna, but it is hard to guess what really happened that day, what his motives were. He's just been so deluded for so long. You don't have love relationships with people you only see once or twice a month. It's not like they lived in different states.
4. I think Jeff had feelings of sympathy for Annette. He was able to move on but I think he could see that she wasn't making a lot of progress there. He would have liked to have seen her find love and have a happy life instead of measuring every man up to him. I don't think he knew about her pregnancy scare. She was having an affair with Kyle, and she probably never even told Kyle about the PT. But you're right, it might have been a wake up call, and Annette felt she had to do some moving on and the only way to do that would be to get away from Jeff. But she was going to have her pound of flesh, showing that she hadn't really gotten over being kept back for all those years. She was stealing client information from the other agents when Meg caught her, and trying to stop her, ended up killing her.
Evidence