Her Frozen Cry (Detective Amanda Steele)

“Did you slip up to the cabin to visit her since she checked in on Monday?” Trent asked.

Amanda was grateful Trent had assumed the lead in trying to obtain an alibi—a necessary step, especially if Alicia had been murdered. That still didn’t make it any easier to be witness to this conversation when it pertained to an old friend.

“I was here with the boys,” Tony pushed out, his cheeks flushed with irritation.

“This is just procedure,” she told him.

“He was here,” Brad said. “We had Chinese food delivered. Tony’s not a cook.” He offered Tony the briefest glimmer of a smile.

“No need for that.” Tony attempted to play along, but any joviality fell short.

Her gaze flicked to Brad. They should mention the photograph and explore the possibility of suicide more, but she didn’t feel comfortable doing that in front of Brad. It might be best if he left the room at this point. “Brad, would you be able to give us time alone with Tony?”

“Ah, sure.” Spoken as if he were questioning why he had to leave, but not pushing the issue. He got up and left.

After Amanda heard his footsteps go up the stairs and fade away, she asked her next question. “You told us Alicia needed to get away, that she had some business matters to think about. But Alicia had a family portrait with her at the cabin, and it seems she was looking at it just before she died. Do you know why that might have been? Were the two of you having problems?”

“She had a picture of us?” Tony’s voice cracked.

“She did. We thought maybe she was reminiscing about better days,” Trent inserted.

“No.” Tony shook his head. “We weren’t having any issues. I don’t know why she would have had the photo.”

Amanda considered another option that occurred to her earlier. Alicia was using the picture to remind herself why she was giving up her business. Surely it wouldn’t have been an easy decision for her. “Alicia never took your last name. Why was that?” It didn’t necessarily mean anything, but Amanda wanted to hear the answer and gauge for herself.

“You never took Kevin’s either, but you two were happy.”

You two were happy… Now there was a twisted blade to her heart. “We were.”

“So why didn’t you take on the surname James?” Tony’s lashes were soaked with tears.

Tony knew the answer to that. She’d idolized her father growing up and wanted to follow in his footsteps to become police chief for the PWCPD. Keeping the last name of Steele could only help as she climbed the ranks. Now her father was retired—for about seven years—and Kevin was dead. If she could go back, she’d have taken her husband’s name. “Due to professional reasons,” she pushed out, making eye contact with him as she did.

He gestured with an open hand. “Same for Alicia. When I met her, which was only a year ago, may I remind you, she’d already built her cosmetics empire. Why would I expect her to take my last name?”

“Understandable,” Amanda said. “I need to ask again. You are certain that Alicia wouldn’t have taken her own life?”

He pierced her gaze with his. “There is no way.”

There would likely be more questions they’d need to ask in the days ahead, and she might even need to press harder on the subject of suicide, but they’d covered enough for today. “There will be an autopsy conducted to determine what exactly caused her death.”

“And when will that be?”

“Soon. I’ll let you know more as soon as I do. Is there anyone you need me to call? We could get someone from the department to sit with you…” Victim Services, from the police department, would spend time with those who were affected by crime.

“No, we’ll be…” Tony didn’t finish.

If he was going to say fine, he wouldn’t befor a long time to come. “I’m so very sorry for your loss.” She stood and started for the door before anyone could see the tears in her eyes. Despite the distance between them in the last seven years, she felt Tony’s pain as if it were her own.

“Ah, Mandy?”

The abbreviation of her name stopped her short. She spun and faced Tony. “Yeah?”

He stepped outside with them, shutting the door behind him. “I didn’t want to make a huge deal of this in front of Brad, but you think someone killed Alicia, don’t you? I mean, that’s why you were asking about who hated her and where we were, right?” His focus was solely on Amanda, wanting to pull on their personal history so she’d level with him. “Is there more you’re not telling me?” he added when she had yet to respond.

“If I knew more, I would tell you,” she said.

He scanned her eyes. “You really don’t know?”

She shook her head. “As I said, the autopsy should bring us more answers.” She put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Just hang in there, okay?” Such a stupid thing to say, and she could hit herself for it.

He pulled her in for a hug. It was long and uncomfortable, but he clung to her, desperate. She rubbed his back, not wanting to give in to the embrace.

He withdrew. “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have done that. It was just seeing you after all this time and”—he sniffled—“you know what I’m going through.” He didn’t voice an apology, but it seemed unspoken. “Please find out what happened to her.”

“I will.” She licked her lips, instantly regretting her words. They spoke of a promise, and there were to be none of those in this line of work. It made things easier, didn’t set high expectations or give more cause for disappointment. She’d crossed a line. This was a prime example of why police business and a personal connection didn’t mix—it messed with the mind and the heart.