“Well, Lori isn’t blood,” Gerald said. “She was chosen family.”
“So she was mugged…?” Amanda prompted Stephanie to pick up where she’d left off.
“Yes, and she saw a therapist about it, and they helped her see she could use her traumatic experience for good.” The baby fussed, Stephanie swayed her, and soon after the child quieted again. “She volunteered with a local victims’ group and was a sounding board for people.”
“How selfless.” Amanda was impressed by how Christinehad made the best out of an ugly situation. When Amanda had lost her husband and daughter, she detested people saying there was a silver lining in everything. To find one in the death of a loved one was near impossible. But if she dug deep, she’d say that she discovered her strength and resilience. Qualities that she’d have preferred remained secret if that meant she kept her family.
“Do you have any idea who did this to her?” Stephanie asked.
“Not yet.” Amanda saw that as the truth. “We were wondering if either of you might know if Christine had any enemies or a beef with anyone.”
“No one I’m aware of,” Gerald said. “But I wasn’t in regular contact with her.”
“She never mentioned anyone to me,” Stephanie offered.
“Or me, except for what I already told you,” Riley put in. “Did you talk with Spencer?”
Amanda met the teen’s eyes when she responded. “We have.”
“And?” Riley dragged out.
“And that’s all I can say at this time,” Amanda said, standing behind the sanctity of the investigation and in defense of her half-brother.
“Riley, you can’t think that Spencer did this.” Stephanie was drilling Riley with a look that was hard to read. Her eyes were softened out of concern, but there was also judgment in them.
“They were fighting. He has a temper.” Riley thrust out her chin and shook her head.
This was the first time Amanda witnessed any discord between Riley and her stepmother.
“It takes more than a temper to kill someone,” Stephanie said.
Riley wasn’t even turning the woman’s way anymore. Hereyes were fixed across the room, and from what Amanda could tell, on nothing in particular.
“It sounds like you might know Spencer,” Trent said to Stephanie.
“I’ve met him on a few occasions. He seemed perfectly nice to me.”
“And that’s where you’re wrong. You weren’t always around.”
Amanda felt Trent bristle from across the room. She recoiled. “You don’t think Spencer’s a nice person?”
“He has a temper. I told you that,” Riley spat.
“That doesn’t mean he’s not a nice person. He must have made your mother happy. They were together for some time.” That was Amanda keeping her emotions in check, sticking to the facts as she knew them.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“People do disagree sometimes,” Stephanie wedged in. “Even your dad and I fight. We can get pretty loud too.”
“She’s right, sweetie.” Gerald reached for his daughter’s hand. Riley pulled back and stormed out of the room. “You’ll have to excuse her,” Gerald said.
Amanda shook her head. “It’s fine. She’s going through a lot right now. All of you are. We appreciate your time and are sorry for your loss.” She stood to leave, and Trent followed.
She loaded into the passenger seat and did up her belt while Trent turned on the vehicle.
“Well, we can rule them out,” Trent said. “There’s no apparent motive for them, and they don’t seem to think Spencer killed Christine.”
“Nope. They also made it sound like Christine was an incredible person. She helped victims of crimes despite her full schedule as a real estate agent. Which brings us to our next stop…”
