“He was being all pawsy. He wouldn’t listen when she told him to back off. I stepped in. End of story.”
Maybe Seth wasn’t the monster she was building up in her mind. After all, Alicia had stayed with Seth even after his arrest. But Amanda had to see this through, see if her first instincts about the guy were right or not. “Given all your history, and spending some time in jail—because you defended her—it must have been really hard when she left you. And then she gets together with Tony five or six months after that. Marries him not long after.”
He glared at her but said nothing.
“I’m thinking if you fought to possess Alicia in the past, you might have lost it when she took up with another man.”
“Why would I? I’d lose Leo forever.”
“Not if you got away with it,” she stamped out, watching his body language, but it wasn’t giving her anything. She let some time pass in silence, and it sank in how he never said anything much about Brad. He’d only said he’d raised him like his own son, but he would have known Brad for most of his life. Had he just let Brad go? She clasped her hands on the table. “You told us that you went to pick Leo up a couple of weeks ago at her house.”
“Yeah, so what?”
“Is this the house you two shared?” Amanda was thinking he’d know his way around and where Alicia kept her Sleep Tight. Seth had motive: jealousy. And he’d likely gain full custody of Leo with Alicia dead. He had opportunity, possibly: he knew Alicia took Sleep Tight and could have followed her to the cabin and watched from outside. But when did he get the Sleep Tight bottle to tamper with it? As for means, where did he get pentobarbital?
“No. We both found new places.”
Amanda nodded. “Did you go into their bedroom, though? Either a couple of weeks ago or another time. You know, maybe just out of curiosity?” She suggested that, thinking about Claudia’s justification for trespassing.
“No.”
“And you’re absolutely sure of that?”
“I’d have no reason at all to go in there.”
“All right. You said Alicia took Sleep Tight every night when you were together. You know if she still took it?”
“Like I said earlier—wouldn’t have a clue.”
The calm manner in which he’d replied had Amanda believing him. Still, she said, “Pentobarbital.” It was one word that would hopefully get him to talk.
“You brought that up at my house. Why are you asking about it? Did it kill her?”
“Alicia’s Sleep Tight was contaminated with the drug.”
Seth swallowed roughly.
“Do you see where I’m going with this?”
He met her gaze. “You think I killed her, but I swear I didn’t. Was I freaking pissed that she was trying to take Leo from me? Absolutely, but I didn’t kill her to stop it. I was prepared to fight her in court if it came to that.”
“Which you said you couldn’t afford.”
“I would have gone broke if it meant getting my son back.”
“Only the real world doesn’t work that way. You’d need to prove to a judge you have the means to care for Leo.”
Seth was staring at her, and a single tear slid down his cheek.
There was a knock on the door. She closed the folder and answered. It was Trent, and he was shaking his head. She stepped into the hall with him. “Talk to me.”
“The shoeprints from outside the cabin.” He handed her a colored photo. A diamond-grid pattern, and there was one distinct slash in the middle of the sole, across the width, like the shoe had been cut by something.
“All right…?”
“The soles of Rossi’s running shoes.” He gave her another picture. Another diamond-grid pattern, but not the same one.
“Not a match,” she huffed out.
“Nope. And the same for the mystery tire treads from the cabin. This is what they look like, FYI.” He gave her a picture, and she committed the grooves to memory. Trent continued. “I went a step further, and the fingerprints lifted from the wineglass and bottle aren’t a match to the ones on file for Rossi either.”
“We need to cut him loose.”
“He could have used another vehicle or worn another pair of shoes.”
She shook her head. “He’s jealous and hurting, but I really don’t think he did this. If he did, we have a lot more to prove.”
“Back to square one.”
She looked him in the eye. “That being Tony Bishop?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“No, but I am. He’s not been forthcoming about much of anything. Lying about the state of Alicia’s relationship with her ex. Things are far from amicable.”
“We could question the nanny,” Trent suggested.
Amanda flailed a hand. “Another thing that Tony failed to mention to us, and we even asked who else was in the family home.” Her heart was thumping rapidly as anger flushed through her system.
“There could be an explanation for his—”
“Lying,” she cut in.