THIRTY
There wasn’t enough pizza in the world that could mend a broken heart. Only time was capable of that—well, maybe desire and resiliency too. When Amanda dropped Zoe at school the next morning, the girl was only a shadow of herself. It was about eight thirty when Amanda called the therapist’s office and left a message.
She was currently at her desk down at Central, sucking back on a coffee from Hannah’s Diner, wishing it could somehow perform a miracle and soothe the ache in her chest. But she was worried about Zoe. And criticizing herself. Did she have what it took to help Zoe face her demons?
Work was the only elixir that stood a chance of distracting Amanda today. Last night, Detective Briggs from Digital Crimes had sent an email to her and Trent. He had no luck cleaning the image of the mystery figure from Pixie Winks, but Briggs wasn’t without good news. He had successfully tracked the IP address on the threat to Lopez. It tied back to Caffeine Café, so that could be anyone who took advantage of their free Wi-Fi. Hopefully, video surveillance there would show them something useful.
Amanda tapped a foot waiting for Trent to get in. Not that she had nothing to keep her busy. She already had a verbal warrant for the coffee shop’s surveillance cameras. She even had time to call the lab, but there was no update on the tire treads or shoeprints—no match to a brand yet. Better news when it came to the bottles of Sleep Tight Amanda had collected from Tony. The foil seals on both bottles had been broken—something Amanda hadn’t noticed because of the lids—and both had tested positive for pentobarbital.
Next, she turned her attention to Alicia’s laptop and logged in using Abandon. She went straight to the email program and watched as some messages filtered in. So many were marked as spam.
Amanda looked at the senders and subject lines, but none made her curious enough to open the emails. An appointment reminder flashed up. It was for this past Monday and must have been set-up before her death.
F/up with change to will
Amanda opened the appointment, hoping there would be more details in the notes section, but nada. They might never know what Alicia had intended to change.
Trent walked in with a cheery “Good morning.”
“Hey.” Amanda signaled for him to come to her desk.
“Oh, Alicia’s laptop?”
“Yeah. She had a reminder to follow-up on the change to her will.”
“Do you know what that was now?”
She shook her head.
“All right, let’s think like a CEO.” Trent pressed his lips together. “She had a lot to balance and remember. I’d think she’d note everything down. Did you try looking at recently opened files?”
“Ah, no.” Amanda wheeled her chair aside to allow Trent access to the computer.
Trent set his coffee on her desk and opened the file manager. He arranged the files so they listed in date order, the most recent at the top.
“Right there.” Amanda pointed at a folder called Will. Inside was a copy of the current will as well as a Word document. It was dated about a week before her death.
Trent opened the file, and they both read it quickly. There wasn’t much there but the impact was significant.
Trent was the first to speak. Amanda couldn’t form words. Every time she tried to rally to Tony’s defense, something else led her right to him.
“Alicia was going to take Tony out of the will,” Trent said, speaking slowly.
“You don’t need to say any more. I know how this makes him look.” Guilty as hell.
“I know you want to build a strong case against Tony, but we’re getting there.”
“He still has an alibi for Eve’s murder.” She was still grappling to see him as innocent.
“One that could be contested.”
She hated how true that was. There was also the fact Tony had been unwilling to hand over Alicia’s laptop. Was it because he didn’t want them finding this? But if he knew the file was there, why hadn’t he deleted it? She and Trent hadn’t hidden the fact that at some point they’d be coming for Alicia’s computer. Tony would have had time. Amanda shut the lid. “Let’s go.”
Trent trailed her at first but quickly caught up. “Are we bringing him in?”
“Not quite yet. We’re heading to Caffeine Café.” As they walked to the lot, she updated him on the verbal warrant and the bottles of Sleep Tight.
“Every bottle? The killer wanted to ensure Alicia took the drug,” he said. “And it would prove that the killer had access to the primary suite.”
The summation had her chest tightening. That put Tony squarely in the frame again. But it could also be Tina, Claudia, or Bethany. Even Brad. She hadn’t really considered the son much, and he could be dismissed—from a financial angle anyway—couldn’t he? He was well provided for financially with Alicia alive.
They loaded into the department vehicle, and Trent drove, foot pressing the pedal to the floor. They were parked and heading into the coffee shop in no time.
The place was packed this morning. Carla was at the counter and sighed heavily when she saw them, then turned her back to them.
“Carla,” Amanda called out.
The woman’s movements stopped, and she spun again and came over. “I don’t have time for this today.” She flailed a hand toward the mass of people waiting to order some fancy concoction.
“We are here with a warrant for your video footage. Authorized by a judge,” Amanda said. “I can get him on the phone if you want to hear it for yourself.”
“It’s fine,” Carla mumbled and took them into the office. She sat at the desk, clicked on the keyboard, and got up. “Have at it.”
“You’re not going to help us?” Amanda was expecting the woman to assist them, not give them access to the computer and leave.
“You saw out front, right? I’ve got to get back. Besides, it’s a rather simple program. I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out.” She gestured to the now-vacant chair and swept out of the room.
Amanda stared at the empty doorway. “Unbelievable.”
Trent smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m sure I can figure it out.”
“I’ve got it.” She was determined to give it a try. She sat down, and Trent leaned over her shoulder. Cologne. She hadn’t noticed it in the car, but he smelled like cedarwood with notes of citrus and the sea. Focus, Amanda! Live video was playing out on a split screen. One feed was from the camera she had spotted the other day behind the counter. Its line of sight went all the way to the door. The other camera was directed at the parking lot. “Here goes nothing…” She clicked on a few spots and was impressed by how user-friendly the system was. “Okay, as Carla said, the program is rather straightforward.” She spotted folders along the side that were labeled with dates. “The email to Lopez was sent…?”
“Last Wednesday at eleven oh five,” Trent told her.
She picked that day’s folder. “Looks like there are two sub-files beneath that.” She clicked one, then the other. “They’re divided based on which camera—interior or exterior.”
“We’re interested primarily on inside first.”