“She’s a real estate agent. It’s not like she has set hours. He got it in his head that Mom was cheating on him.” Riley shook her head, grimaced.
The teen spoke about her mother in present tense and would do so for a while yet until the loss sank in. Before Amanda could respond, Trent did.
“What did he do about that?” he pushed.
“Just bitched. If you’re wondering if he ever hit her, then no.”
“Abuse is more than fists.” A small pulse ticked in Trent’s cheek.
“What is his name?” Amanda asked.
“Wes Galloway.”
All the guys named Wes that Amanda knew were slimy womanizers, though she was sure there were nice ones out there. Not that Galloway sounded like a trophy. “When did they break up?”
“Mom ended it about six months before she and Spencer met. I only know that because she read in some book that you should give yourself at least that amount of time after a breakup to be with yourself. Something about allowing a person time torediscover themselves. Apparently, we lose ourselves in our relationships, or some such nonsense.”
Amanda smiled at the teen, but what Riley saw as nonsense, Amanda saw as practical advice. It just so happened she broke things off with her previous boyfriend six months before she started seeing Carter.
Trent leaned forward. “You said your mom ended things. How did he take it? You know?”
“Fine, I guess. Mom said he moved out of state. California, if I remember right.”
Based on what Riley told them the relationship had ended eighteen months ago. Healthy people would have long moved on, but Riley had described Wes as controlling. What if he wasn’t happy that she’d ended things, and he’d kept tabs on her? “We’re going to leave now, Riley. Is there someone we could call to be with you?”
“Just my dad, but I can call him.”
“Okay, if you’re sure,” Amanda told her.
Riley nodded, and Trent closed his notepad and stood. Amanda followed his lead and handed Riley her business card before leaving. “The Prince William County PD also offers counselors who can be with you, to listen and talk. Would you like me to get someone from Victim Services to come over?”
“Okay.”
“All right. You need anything, call me at the number on the card.” Amanda turned to leave then, feeling as she often did after serving notifications. There was a gnawing in her gut that while she’d be moving on with her life, those in her wake would need to cobble together a new normal without their loved one in the picture. But as she was leaving the Lane residence, she was also full of dread. There was the ex-boyfriend, sure, but based on Riley’s words, Spencer might have been headed that way. But was Spencer the possessive and controlling type? Riley said he had a temper. Did he get angry at the imminent dissolving ofhis relationship with Christine and become violent? To the point of murder? And if so, how had he known Christine would be at Sharp’s house on Friday night? Amanda went cold with the answer. He’d know if he was stalking her. From the sound of it, he was guilty of holding back their recent troubles, so what else was he hiding?
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 afterleaving 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.”
