Page 76 of State of Alert

Sam agreed with her, which was interesting. She’d come into this interview convinced the girl had had something to do with her mother’s murder. Now she wasn’t so sure. “Stay here. I’ll be back.”

Dunning followed her out of the room and into the one next door where Frank and Jada waited.

“May I speak to Jada?” Sam asked Frank. “You can wait outside with Detective Cruz.”

Freddie stood at the door and waited for Frank to come with him, which he did after giving his younger daughter a hesitant look.

Dunning sat next to Jada as Sam engaged the recording device.

“Lieutenant Holland with Jada Myerson and her attorney, Roland Dunning, in the Elaine Myerson case. Jada, when we were in the room with your sister, you mentioned that she often lied to your parents. Can you tell me more about that?”

“She lied to our mother mostly.”

“She said your mom wasn’t letting her do things that other kids were allowed to do. Is that true?”

“My mom had issues… Did Zoe tell you about her sister being murdered?”

“She did.”

“That made her crazy overprotective with us, which she often admitted wasn’t fair, but it was like she couldn’t help it. I tried to be understanding, but I like being home, so it didn’t bother me as much. Zoe wants to be out and about all the time, which messed with my mom’s need to keep her close.”

“It must’ve been tough for you to live with the fighting.”

“I hate it. I spend a lot of time in my room with my headphones on, so I won’t have to hear them.”

“Did you participate in the family therapy?”

“For a while, but it gave me anxiety, so I stopped going. Iwas really hoping it would help them to figure out a way for everyone to get what they wanted, but that never happened. It was World War III every day in our house, which led Zoe to being sneaky.”

“Were you angry with her for that?”

“Not really. I steer clear of her most of the time. We don’t get along either.”

“It seemed to me like she’s kind of mean to you…”

“Sometimes. It’s mostly that she has no use for me, which is fine. I don’t like being around her either.”

“Do you think Zoe could’ve had anything to do with your mom’s murder?”

Jada thought about that for a long moment. “I want to say no way, but honestly? I don’t know. Things between them were really bad and getting worse all the time. Zoe was counting down to her eighteenth birthday in July. She told my mom she’d never see her again after that.”

“What did your mom say to that?”

“She said, ‘Good luck with supporting yourself without our help.’”

“Do you think Zoe meant it?”

“I know she did. I heard her on the phone talking about getting an apartment with some friends and possibly Zeke to make it more affordable. She told our cousin that she couldn’t wait to get a job and run her own life.”

“What do you think of Zeke?”

“He seems okay. He really likes Zoe, which is the baffling part to me. She’s so unlikable.”

“Does she have friends?”

“A lot of them. I guess she saves all the ugly for her family. Lucky us.”

“How was your relationship with your mom?”

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