“I assumed it was Christine,” Melanie rushed out. “I didn’t understand why she wasn’t answering the door.”
It sounded like Melanie hadn’t lost respect for Christine despite thinking she was being ignored. She also hadn’t called her cell phone again. “Did you call the real estate office this morning to try reaching her?”
Melanie shook her head. “I assumed something must have come up, and she’d get back to me as soon as she could. I certainly never imagined this.” She rubbed her arms as if frozen by a sudden chill.
This woman had likely seen the killer. That was enough to give anyone goosebumps. “Where did you see the figure?”
“All the lights in the house were on. I justsaw them moving around inside through the glass in the front door, but it’s obscured so…”
“You didn’t get a good look?” Amanda guessed.
“No.”
Amanda’s mind regurgitated what Melanie had said a moment ago.I assumed it was Christine.That was one thing that might keep Spencer off the suspect list. “This person looked like a woman, though?”
Melanie bit her bottom lip. “Yes, that’s why I thought it was Christine. Now, I’m not so sure. It could have been a man about her size.”
Because of the obscured glass…Amanda’s stomach sank because Spencer was of comparable size to Christine. “And when you rang the bell, this person did nothing?”
“Nope. Not even when I banged on the front door. They just walked upstairs.”
Melanie had witnessed the killer after the murder, possibly when they were cleaning up. Just for the record, Amanda asked, “Can you tell us where you went after Christine didn’t answer the door?”
“We came straight home,” Kent said. “I still had to pack some things for the conference.”
“And can anyone corroborate that?” Trent asked.
The couple shook their heads.
“Please know we’d have no reason to want to harm Christine,” Melanie said. “She was just helping us find a new home.”
Amanda glanced at Trent, and he seemed to read her mind. He folded his notepad and tucked his pen away.
“Thank you for your time,” Amanda said while she stood. “If you could please keep any of what we discussed to yourselves for now.”
“We will.”
“And if you recall anything after we’ve left, please call me.” Amanda pressed her business card into Kent’s palm.
Back in the car, they did up their belts, and Amanda’s phone rang.
“It’s Riley Lane,” she told Trent before answering. “Detective Steele.”
After she said her name, Riley added, “I’m just returning your call.”
“Thank you. Would you by chance be home right now?”
“Yeah.”
“All right. Stay put, please. My partner, Detective Stenson, and I will be there soon.”
If Riley questioned how they knew wherehomewas, she didn’t ask. Amanda had to wonder if the girl had a sixth sense of the devastating news coming her way.
THIRTEEN
Amanda and Trent said little on the way to the Lane residence. They were in quick agreement the Schaefers were off the suspect list and that the mystery figure Melanie had seen was Christine’s killer. “Is it just me, or did it give you chills to hear Melanie say this person just ignored her and continued upstairs?”
“You’re not alone. Whoever this killer is, they are composed.”
