Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
Amanda made a quick call to Victim Services for Riley.
Afterward, her thoughts turned to Spencer and how things would go with him.
Would he lash out at her full of venom and denial, leveling accusations she was overcompensating by painting him the villain to prove she was doing her job?
Or worse yet, would he confess? Either way, she and Trent had to question him.
The ex-boyfriend was cleared with a quick background check.
Wes Galloway had a clean record, which didn’t sway her, but his California address was more convincing of his innocence.
Even if she could dismiss that, what would be his motive to kill Christine?
Also, how would he have known where to target her?
Riley said he was controlling, not a stalker, and it sure sounded like he’d moved on after the breakup.
And while he might not have killed Christine, that relationship could have primed her to be more reactive to Spencer’s explosive outburst.
Trent parked in Spencer’s driveway and looked over at her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Not in the least.” Amanda had called Malone just after leaving Riley, wanting to get him in the loop from the start.
A uniformed officer was expected to join them shortly.
Spencer would be taken into Central for a chat in an interrogation room just like anyone else in his position.
She had no choice but to approach this from an impartial standpoint.
She tried to convince herself it was for her good and Spencer’s.
Once she cleared him of the murder, there would be no doubts to circle back on.
Amanda knocked on Spencer’s door. When he opened it and saw her standing there with Trent, his knees buckled.
Trent moved in to assume some of Spencer’s weight, to save him from falling.
“She’s dead, isn’t she? That’s why you’re back. The body that you…” Spencer went limp again, but Trent retained his hold on him.
“Spencer, we’ll talk inside.” Amanda wanted him seated before they got into the nightmare conversation they needed to have.
“Just tell me, Amanda,” he spat, and batted Trent away from him. Spencer grabbed the doorframe to support himself.
Amanda also didn’t want to deliver the news on his doorstep. Not when she knew what the future held. That the plan was to take him to Central and put him through an interrogation like any other suspect. “It’s best we—”
“Amanda, talk to me.”
It was just the way Spencer looked at her with round, expressive eyes that she didn’t think she had much choice. “She’s dead. I’m sorry.”
Spencer cried out and wrapped his arms around her so tightly, it was as if he were holding on for dear life. She hugged him back, finding that she needed to buoy his weight, or he’d crumple to the ground. Only once she felt his legs steady beneath him did she draw back.
“Come on, let’s go inside,” she told him.
A police cruiser pulled up in front of the house, and Amanda cringed at its timing.
Spencer’s arms fell to his sides while his gaze traveled over her shoulder. “Amanda, what’s going on here?” His eyes met hers.
“It would be best if we spoke inside.” This time she used her firm cop tone. It made anything she said sound less like an option and more of an order.
Spencer turned and went into his home, and Amanda followed. Trent held a hand up to the officer behind the wheel to motion for him to stay put.
Amanda, Trent, and Spencer returned to the living room where they had been earlier that day and even claimed the same spots and sat.
Spencer rubbed his forehead. “Tell me what happened to her. Do you know who…”
“Christine was shot three times. Twice in the chest, once in the head.” Getting to the point might seem harsh, but it was kindness in disguise.
“Holy shit. So this… this really happened.” He swallowed roughly. “Someone killed her.”
“Yes. I’m sorry for your loss, Spencer.” Her heart was pounding as she debated her next words. How to put it to flesh and blood he was a murder suspect? She’d stick to some facts first. “She died around ten PM on Friday night.”
“I shouldn’t be surprised by any of this.” Spencer had the blank stare of shock. Even though adrenaline would be flooding his system and cushioning him from the full impact of this news. “I mean you had her car, her purse, her phone…”
“I need to ask where you were Friday night at that time.” There was nothing easy about making this request of her half-brother. But by putting it this way, it shifted some of the onus from her to the badge. At least she hoped he would see it that way.
“Are you being serious right now, Amanda? You think that I… that I…”
She went rigid. “Please, answer the question.”
“Here. And, no, no one can corroborate my alibi.”
She overlooked the snark in his voice, saddened by what this meant.
His whereabouts couldn’t be verified and rule him out.
“We spoke to Riley, Spencer. She told us you and Christine have been fighting.” She’d leave out the part that Riley said she didn’t think they had seen each other for two weeks.
After all, by the young woman’s own admission, she couldn’t be certain.
“It was nothing. We would have gotten past it.”
“Her daughter seems to think Christine was going to end things with you,” Trent wedged in. “Did that happen?”
Amanda appreciated Trent handled the tough question with compassion, but Spencer seemed to miss it. He shot Trent a frosty glare.
“No. And I had no idea she was considering ending things either.”
“It hurts when you’re on the wrong side of a breakup,” Amanda empathized, but she was also trying to draw him out.
“Except we didn’t break up. Why aren’t you listening to me?”
“I guess you lost your temper after a bad shift, and Christine sent you home. It was an incident with some steaks and the barbecue…” She hated being in this position, but she only had herself to blame.
She had told Malone she could handle things if Spencer became a serious suspect.
It was just time to live up to her word.
“You never have a bad day?” he tossed back at her.
Today ranks high among them… “They happen, but most of us don’t lash out or toss steaks in the garbage.”
“Was that the extent of it, Spencer?” Trent asked without allowing time for Spencer to respond to Amanda’s comment.
“Of course it was. It was nothing.”
Amanda wanted to believe him but didn’t have the luxury of doing so. “You ever lose your temper before? Do something more violent?”
Spencer shook his head. “I don’t need to sit here and listen to this.”
Amanda stiffened. “You do, actually. Why didn’t you mention any of this to us, Spencer?
You made it sound like your relationship with Christine was solid.
By not speaking up, you can see how that complicates things?
A lie by omission. Did you kill Christine?
Maybe she told you it was over, and you didn’t agree? ”
“You could have thought if you couldn’t have her, then no one could,” Trent said.
“It’s nothing like that, and if I killed her, that would be something I’d remember,” Spencer said.
His attitude was rousing her redhead temper. “Don’t get smart with us. We’re on your side.”
“It sure doesn’t feel like it.”
“We’re just doing our jobs,” she defended.
“I called you, or are you forgetting that? Why would I do that if I killed her?”
There were a few seconds of silence.
“Ah, I see. You think I did that to make myself look innocent,” Spencer eventually said, piecing it together.
She blinked slowly. Trent said nothing.
“Unbelievable,” Spencer muttered. “So that’s why the police car’s out front? Are you arresting me?”
“Not yet, but you are a suspect in the murder of Christine Lane.” Amanda stood. “You’re going to need to come with us for further questioning.”
“Go with you? Or be fed into the back of a police car like a criminal?”
“I’m sorry, Spencer, but we’ll need to talk in a more official manner. For the record.” The latter bit slipped out.
“Sure. Yeah, I get it, I’ll go with you. But once I’m cleared, promise me you’ll start putting your time and energy into finding her actual killer.”
Amanda would let go of the fact he made it sound like going to the station was a choice he was making. “We’ll need to collect your phone and laptop, as well. Stand up.”
Spencer let out a huff as he got to his feet. “I don’t know how we recover from this.”
She pinched her eyes shut. “You have pride in your job, Spencer. So do I. And you might not see it yet, but my treating you like any other suspect, in any other murder investigation, is my doing you a favor.”
“Excuse me for not seeing it that way.”
“Come on, grab your electronics and get your shoes on. Time to go.” Trent was standing there, shoulders squared.
The following moments broke Amanda’s heart. Guiding Spencer out the door and into the back of a squad car. Watching Officer Wyatt drive off with him. But the worst was when Spencer turned his face away from her.