Bube, you might take a leaf from Lou's book, thusly... put a question to her, one that clearly requires a response, and then sit in silence. Don't succumb to the temptation to fill in the silence. Just sit. Give her about five minutes, then repeat the question in the same words. Then wait some more. That silence is a very effective weapon on her part-- it's almost impossible to resist the impulse to say something, anything. Just bring her back to the question with infinite patience.
I used to have a professor in graduate school who would do something like that... you'd go in his office to say something and he would reply briefly, then this silence would descend. As a student, you'd be uncomfortable and start to babble. He would just sit there and listen while you spilled your guts-- anything to fill the silence. By this tactic, he knew ALL of the gossip that was going around in the department.
I'm curious as to how you would handle an employee at work if they came in and you asked about a project and then simply sat in silence.
