Page 77 of State of Alert

“Fine. I didn’t always agree with her, but after witnessing the battles with Zoe, I didn’t want that for myself. I hated the fighting. It made me sick with anxiety.”

“Where was your dad in all of this?”

“He tended to avoid the fighting by staying late at work or finding excuses to be somewhere else.”

Sam took copious notes as Jada spoke.

“Can you think of anyone who might want to harm your mom?”

Jada’s eyes filled with tears as she shook her head. “People loved her.”

“You didn’t know of any concerns she had with anyone?”

“I never heard anyone say a bad word about her, except for Zoe.”

“Stay here. I’ll be back.”

Freddie had positioned Frank in Gonzo’s empty cubicle with a bottle of Coke and a bag of pretzels.

“How’s it going?” Freddie asked her.

“Some interesting revelations. How do we get playback of the recordings in the interrogation rooms?”

Freddie gave her a curious look.

“What? I usually write down everything they say so I don’t need them.”

Smiling, Freddie said, “Which one do you want?”

“The last five minutes of Zoe’s.”

“I’ll get that for you.”

“Put Patrol officers outside the rooms where the girls are. Bring the recording, Frank and the lawyer into the conference room when you’re ready.”

“Got it.”

Sam went into her office and took a sip of water from an abandoned bottle on her desk and then sat to think about her next move. Earlier, she’d picked up a vibe about Zoe that had changed after she talked to the girl one-on-one. That didn’t happen very often, so it had thrown her. People usually were exactly as they initially seemed, and few of them surprised her the way Zoe had with what she’d said at the end of their conversation.

She took the rest of the water with her to the conference room.

Freddie came in with Frank and Dunning a few minutes later. They sat in the chairs across the table from her.

“Mr. Myerson, I’ve spoken to both your daughters and learned that the conflict between your wife and Zoe was quite significant and impacted every member of the family. Would you agree with that assessment?”

“Yes. They were constantly at odds. It was a very difficult situation.”

“How did you feel about the way your wife parented Zoe?”

“I thought she went too far in trying to control her. Zoe will be a legal adult this summer, but Elaine treated her like she was still a little kid. My wife and I fought over that for years, but after a while, I gave up trying to change her mind. She lost her sister to murder years ago. It messed her up.”

“Zoe mentioned that. What can you tell us about what happened to her sister?”

“Elaine and her family didn’t often talk about what happened to Sarah.”

“What was Elaine’s maiden name?”

“Corrigan.”

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