Her Frozen Cry (Detective Amanda Steele)

THIRTEEN

Amanda had barely convinced Trent to leave without interrogating Tony further. He drove them past Paws & Claws, but the clinic had already closed for the weekend. They even swung by the couple’s house, but it was dark. Amanda fell back on making a call. When a person needed to be questioned in a murder investigation, she preferred first contact be made in person. Murder investigation… Bethany… little Bethany. She used to babysit Lindsey sometimes. Bethany had only been sixteen on her last visit to the house.

The number rang to voicemail. Amanda listened to Bethany’s greeting but didn’t leave a message. Amanda put her phone in a pocket. “Bethany Wagner is off our list for today. Her voicemail greeting says she’s out of town for the weekend and back on Monday.”

“Really?” Trent shook his head. “People will never learn, will they? Telling anyone who calls your number that you’re not home, you might as well be screaming, ‘Feel free to blitz the joint.’ They deserve what they get, just like people who use one-two-three-four for their password.”

“That’s a little harsh.” Not that she disagreed with what he’d said.

“Just as bad as when people splash their comings and goings on social media. Actually, that’s worse.”

“I see you feel strongly on the matter.” Amanda laughed.

“You think? All right, so our next stop is Central?”

“Sounds good. We’ll get this sent up to the lab.” She lifted the bag with the sleeping aid bottles.

Trent drove them to the station, parked, and looked over at her. “Penny for your thoughts.”

She was thinking that she could do with some relaxation tonight. Anything to squeeze out the suspicions that Tony had killed his wife—that and how uncomfortable she’d felt upstairs with him. She might even ask her best friend, Becky Tulson, an officer with the Dumfries PD, over to the house to watch movies and eat comfort food. “We’ll meet tomorrow morning. You good with that?” She realized she’d brushed off his question, but she wasn’t in the mood to talk.

“I am. Do you think Malone will clear the overtime? It is Saturday.”

“Just leave it to me.”

Trent took a deep breath, seeming to consider his next words. “You sure he won’t want definitive proof that Alicia Gordon ingested the tampered sleep aid?”

“Listen, I don’t know what’s up with Malone lately. Just leave him to me, as I said.”

“All right, if you’re sure. What are you thinking for tomorrow?”

“Where to start? Tony’s ex, the other bidders for New Belle, take another look at the threats sent to Alicia and read the ones sent to Eve. See if we can find any that sound similar.”

“Right. And we should also have that list of numbers from Alicia’s phone.”

“Yep. We’ll look at them too.”

“All sounds good to me. What time?”

“Nine? I’ll need to line up someone to watch Zoe.” That wouldn’t be a hard feat. Amanda had numerous nieces and nephews, and Ava, one of her nieces, really clicked with Zoe. Then again, Ava was getting to that age when her social life could take priority at any minute, and babysitting might not hold as much appeal.

“Works for me.”

The two of them went in their separate directions. Amanda called Becky on the drive home, and her friend said she’d come over at six thirty. Amanda found Libby and Zoe on the couch in front of the TV.

“Mandy!” Zoe dropped a slice of apple onto her plate and ran over.

That greeting would never get old, but Amanda wasn’t naive enough to believe it would last forever. Especially once Zoe became a teenager and Amanda, the enemy. Of course it didn’t have to go that way, despite what Amanda remembered looking back at her own youth.

“Hey, sweetie.” Amanda rustled the girl’s hair and smiled at Libby who was getting off the couch, at a much slower rate of speed than Zoe had.

“This is a nice surprise. Home early and it’s a Friday night,” Libby said. “Penny will be happy too. We’ve got plans to go out for dinner.”

Penny Anderson was Libby’s life partner. “Enjoy! And thank you,” Amanda called out as Libby stepped outside.

“My pleasure.” Libby closed the door behind her.

Amanda turned to Zoe. “Good news for us… Becky’s coming over, and we’re going to eat cheeseburgers and french fries and watch movies. How does that sound?”

Zoe squealed and clapped her hands. “Awesome!”

And it was. Becky arrived right at six thirty, and they made the messiest cheeseburgers in the history of mankind. Zoe had so much ketchup dripping down her chin, she resembled a victim of some heinous crime. The thought had Amanda flashing back to the cabin and finding Alicia there, though it had been a rather clean scene.

The hazard of the job was that the ugliness of it could sneak in when it was least expected and most unwelcome. Now wasn’t the time. She’d be back on the job tomorrow; tonight was about fun, relaxation, and lightness.

After they ate, Zoe insisted on getting decked out in her Elsa costume and then convinced Amanda and Becky to play Frozen. It wasn’t hard for Amanda to participate—she’d watched the film with Zoe so many times—but Becky was less familiar. Instead of it upsetting Zoe, it had the girl laughing to tears, which infected Amanda and Becky and had them doubling over.

The party was then moved to the living room where they watched a warm-hearted romantic comedy, not Becky’s go-to movie genre, but it was PG for the younger audience present.

By the time it was over, Zoe was asleep on the couch, her head on Amanda’s lap, her feet on Becky’s.

Amanda held up her index finger to Becky and proceeded to slowly maneuver the girl and nudge her awake. “Come on, time for an adventure.”

“Oh, I’m awake.” Zoe pouted and rubbed her eyes.

Amanda smiled and kissed her forehead. “You don’t look very awake.”

“I am. Will you read to me? Then I’ll sleep.”

It had become a habit for Amanda to read from Alice in Wonderland before Zoe went to bed. Amanda looked at Becky.

“Go ahead. I’m not going anywhere.” Becky tucked her legs under her, pulled out her phone, and was instantly immersed.

Zoe led the way down the hall to her room with Amanda trailing close behind. She helped the girl out of the Elsa gown and into pajamas. She tucked her into bed with her favorite stuffed toy, a dog addressed formally as Sir Lucky, and read to her.

These small pockets of time were what Amanda had come to recognize as a reward at the end of the day. She had to be tough and strong to the world—her job demanded that—but here in her home with Zoe, Amanda could let her guard down, be herself. Breathe.

While she read the beloved tale, thoughts of Tony Bishop slithered in. First, profound empathy for what he was going through. This was followed by fear that he might have been behind his wife’s death. Next, all that morphed into being alone with him and how it had stirred up the past, again emphasizing how their timing had never been right and never would be.

“Man…dy?” Zoe yawned. “I’m sleepy now.”

“All right, sweetheart.” Amanda closed the book and tapped a kiss on the girl’s forehead. “Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

Her eyes sprang open. “The what?”

Amanda smiled. “Nothing. Besides, nothing can get to you. Not with Lucky by your side.”

The stuffed dog was tightly wedged under the girl’s arm.