Her Frozen Cry (Detective Amanda Steele)

From the cavalier way in which he said his name, it was apparent Tony didn’t view Seth as a threat to Alicia. “We understand there was about to be a custody battle between him and Alicia.”

“Seth has been threatening that for months, but he’s never pursued it. Alicia did her best to work with him.”

“That’s not what he told us,” Amanda said, sickening of the misdirection and lies.

“Let me guess. He told you they were at each other’s throats, and Alicia was a bad mom. At least one who was never there for her kids, right? Well, Alicia was a good mom, and that’s why she did whatever necessary to keep this from hitting the courts. She didn’t want to put Leo through a tug of war, like he was a possession to be fought over.”

Was Tony just seeing Alicia as he wanted to, or was the picture that Seth had painted from a warped perspective? Either way, it didn’t change the fact there was a dispute between Alicia and Seth, and from Seth’s standpoint, he was heated about the custody matter. “I was surprised that you never mentioned the tenuous relationship between Alicia and Seth when we spoke. You told us they were amicable.” She didn’t come right out and accuse Tony of lying, but it was right there beneath the surface; it would barely take a scratch to sniff it.

“Fine. Things between them could have been better, but like I said, Seth is a big talker.” His brow pressed as he met her gaze. “Why are you so interested in Seth? Did he… Do you think he…”

Amanda shook her head, and Tony let out a deep sigh.

“I would have sent you his way if I thought he had anything to do with her death. But he’s not a horrible man. Sure, he speaks a big game, but he’s a decent person. He loves Leo.” Pain wormed into Tony’s eyes, and a few tears fell. “He’s coming for full custody of Leo now. There, how’s that for disclosure?” His face knotted with anguish.

“I’m sorry,” Amanda offered, not sure if this would end up working out in Tony’s favor.

“I don’t know what to do. Would Alicia have wanted me to fight him, or is it better for Leo to be with his dad?” He ran a hand over his face. “Seth isn’t a bad person, and I know he’ll provide for Leo.”

“Make the decision you want.” Her voice was small as she spoke.

Tony rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know. I really feel I need to consider what Alicia would have wanted.”

“She’s gone,” Amanda said softly.

“So days after you lost Kevin and Lindsey, you were able to just move on? You never gave any consideration to, ‘Hey, what would Kev think about this?’” he snapped.

She stiffened. “Life for me was a living hell for a very long time.” She resisted the urge to point out how things might have been made a bit easier if she had the shoulders of all her friends to lean on. She took a steadying breath and added, “But eventually I came to realize there was no bringing them back. And life moves forward. We just get to have them in our memories.”

A tear snaked down his cheek, and he wiped it away. “Excuse me if I’m not there yet.”

“You won’t be. Not for a long time.” Amanda softened her tone. “I just wouldn’t want to see you making a decision that will change not only your future, but Leo’s, based on what you think Alicia would say. Whatever you decide, it will be something you have to live with for the rest of your life.”

Tony dipped his head as if in silent thanks for her concern.

“There’s more we need to discuss, though.” This was her chance to prove to Trent just how objective she could be—she’d hit Tony while he was already down. “We asked who all came into the house. You didn’t mention Tina Nash, the nanny,” she said, her insides quaking.

“Well, she wouldn’t have access to Alicia’s sleeping aid.”

“Conceivably, it would be easy enough for her to get to it if she wanted to.”

“Oh my God, Amanda.”

“Detective.”

“Detective, Tina would have no reason to want Alicia dead. Just like with Seth. Why would I waste your time—prolong my wife getting justice—by pointing you all over the place?”

“That is something that Detective Stenson and I need to figure out, as part of the investigation.” She wasn’t going to tell him just yet that they had every intention of leaving here to talk to her, but that was the plan. She’d need to call Libby yet again to let her know she’d be home late.

“Tina’s worked for Alicia for several years now. Alicia came to rely on her. Why would she kill her?”

“For one, Alicia was planning to sell New Belle to spend more time with the family. That’s what you told us,” she said, pausing just a second to see if he wanted to amend that. He was silent. She went on. “If Alicia proceeded with her intention, she’d have been home more, what need would there be of Tina Nash’s services?”

“No way. She was still going to need her help from time to time.”

“Sure, but most people need more than ‘from time to time’ to pay the bills. We were told by someone that they’d overheard Alicia yelling at Tina about not giving her a good reference.”

“Who?” he spat.

“Bethany.”

“You…” He clamped his mouth shut, scowled. “You should leave her out of this.”

“Why is that?” she said through clenched teeth. “Did you go into the room where the drugs are stored at your daughter’s clinic?”

“Why would I?”

Amanda didn’t want to bring up the missing pentobarbital until she heard from Bethany that it was confirmed. But she filed away Tony’s response. She might come back around to it. There was more ugly business to attend to. She’d work things a little backward. “Eve Kelley filed a lawsuit against New Belle, suing for compensation regarding intellectual property theft on Friday. Did you know that?”

“Of course.”

“Why didn’t you inform us of that?”