Confer, Lorelei - Deadly Deception (Siren Publishing Classic) by Lorelei Confer Page B

don’t understand how this could possibly be of any relevance,” she retorted snootily.
    “Maybe you and Michael had a falling out and he wants revenge. How would you know?” Wyatt asked.
    She acquiesced and said, “When I first started dating Michael, he wowed me with kindness, and devotion. He quit his job after I moved in with him, leaving me to figure out how to pay all the bills. He also became very demanding and controlling of who I saw, when I saw them and even what I said to them. And then one day I came home…I left and never looked back.”
    “Did he threaten you?” Wyatt asked.
    “Oh yes. Telling me I owed him, I’d pay, that sort of thing.”
    “Did he say how you’d pay?” Wyatt asked.
    “Of course not. He doesn’t have a clue. He was too angry with himself for getting caught and losing his meal ticket,” Isabella replied, once again crossing her arms over her chest in a huff.
    “After you left, did Michael try to contact you?” Wyatt tapped his pencil on the table.
    “Yes, a couple of times. He called and threatened to get me fired from work and thrown out of my apartment. I had to get a restraining order. Then I moved into an apartment building with a security guard. Oh, I also change my phone number to an unlisted number.”
    “When did you hear from him last?” Dave asked.
    “I haven’t heard from him in months.”
    “What about your parents and siblings? Are they still living? If so we’ll need their personal info as well.”
    “I only have my mother. My father’s gone, and I don’t have any brothers or sisters.”
    “What your mother’s full name and address? We’ll need to check with her and make sure she’s safe,” Wyatt said.
    After relaying all the pertinent information to them regarding her mother Isabella asked Dave, “Will you let her know I’m okay? I’m sure she’s frantic with worry about me.”
    He looked at her with raised eyebrows, tilting his head to the side. After a minute or so of unspoken words, his implication dawned on her.
    “You can’t possibly think my mother had anything to do with this, can you? She loves me. She tries to look out for me. She never liked Michael. We argued about him many times, especially when I moved out of her house and in with him. She told me many times he was trouble. But she’d never do anything to hurt me, ever.”
    “Did your mother need any money, or did she recently take out a loan? Maybe receive a large sum of money?”
    “No, no, to everything. You’re wrong, way wrong to even think it! It’s absurd! When my father died about ten years ago, he left us both with enough money to live on comfortably for quite some time. I told you my mother has nothing to do with this. I think we’re wasting valuable time here.” She stood and walked over to the sink.
    “You’re probably right, Isabella, but we need to check out every angle, and of course, we need to make sure your mother isn’t a victim or in any kind of trouble, remember?” Dave asked.
    She nodded. “Okay.”
    “So, how did you get to Amanda’s house, if you didn’t know her address?” Dave asked.
    She explained how she followed her handwritten directions.
    “Where did you park your car at Amanda’s? Was it in a residential area? Did you notice any neighbors or anyone outside maybe walking the dog? Do you remember seeing a fire hydrant, a church, or a traffic light, any street signs?” Wyatt asked.
    Bombarded with questions by both Wyatt and Dave, she expected them to turn on the bright lights or hook her up to a lie detector machine at any moment.
    “What happened next?” Dave asked.
    She retold her story in its entirety as she stood with her back leaning against the sink. “I only remember bits and pieces of people, persons, and things after I left Amanda’s.”
    Dave and Wyatt looked at each other.
    “Do you remember what the date was when you went to Amanda’s house?” Wyatt asked.
    “I know it was a Thursday, because I didn’t want to