Page 22 of Child In Jeopardy

Marsh shook his head. “And I don’t recall Stephanie showing any interest in him.”

“Of course she wouldn’t,” Leonard snapped. “The man was scum. Stephanie wouldn’t have given him the time of day.”

Maybe. But there was that whole bad-boy, forbidden-attraction thing, and while Slater wasn’t certain if that would have appealed to Stephanie, he couldn’t rule out that the sex between them hadn’t been consensual.

“What about the two of you?” Slater continued, glancing at both Pamela and Leonard. “Did either of you know Buck?”

“No,” Pamela said, and Leonard repeated that, but it seemed to Slater there wasn’t a whole lot of conviction in the man’s answer.

“You’re sure?” Lana challenged. “Because as we speak, there are people combing through old social media and articles. If there’s any connection between Buck and the three of you, they’ll find it.”

“They won’t find anything,” Leonard snapped, and his glare had returned. But Slater thought he saw plenty of nerves beneath that steely stare.

“If I’ve crossed paths with Buck, I don’t recall,” Pamela muttered. “And I think I would have.”

So, she’d given herself an out. Maybe a genuine one, but Slater didn’t intend to trust any of them. His cop’s instincts told him that they knew more than they were admitting.

“Like I said, I think I saw Buck at parties,” Marsh spoke up. “It’s possible, too, that he was an acquaintance of my ex. I seem to recall Taylor mentioning Patrick, and that means she likely knew Buck, too.”

“Taylor?” Slater questioned, recalling the text Lana had gotten from a woman by that name.

Marsh nodded. “Taylor Galway,” he provided.

Leonard muttered the woman’s name like profanity. “She should be arrested for stalking and harassing both Stephanie and Marsh.”

That got Slater’s attention, and he also remembered Lana mentioning that Stephanie and Taylor had been friends but had a falling-out. “Stalking?” he prompted, aiming that at Marsh.

Marsh’s sigh was long and heavy as if he was tired of rehashing this particular subject. “I ended my relationship with Taylor two years ago when I started seeing Stephanie. It was never serious between Taylor and me,” he was quick to add. “Stephanie was always my one true love.” His voice trailed off, and he blinked back tears.

“I assume Taylor didn’t take the breakup well?” Slater asked.

“She didn’t,” Leonard snarled. “Like I said, she stalked and harassed Stephanie and Marsh. Always trying to tear them apart. I wouldn’t be surprised if Taylor was the reason Stephanie went into hiding.”

Slater considered that a moment. Maybe it had played into it, but his money was still on the pregnancy and Buck. “Did you report any of Taylor’s behavior to the police?” But he already knew the answer.

“No,” Leonard said, confirming Slater’s thoughts. The man wouldn’t have wanted that publicity. “Marsh kept a file with dates and stuff in case...well, in case things escalated,” Leonard explained.

“I’ll want to see that file,” Thayer was quick to interject.

Marsh nodded. “I’ll send it to you.” He swallowed hard. “I saw the photos of Stephanie that someone posted. I think Taylor might have done that.”

“Any proof?” Thayer asked.

“No, but it’s something Taylor would do. She hated Stephanie,” he added in a murmur. “Taylor hired a PI to look for Stephanie when she disappeared.”

“What?” Lana blurted. “Why would she do that?”

Slater had the same question. If Taylor hated Stephanie so much, she’d want her gone, not found.

Marsh gave another of those weary sighs. “Because Taylor said until I had a clean break with Stephanie that I could never move on. She wanted Stephanie to tell me to my face that it was over between us.”

Slater decided they were painting a picture of a deeply troubled woman. One who might not be emotionally stable.

Marsh took out his phone. “Yesterday, shortly before I learned that Stephanie had died, I got a text from Taylor,” he said, scrolling through his messages. “It was about Stephanie.”

“A text about Stephanie?” Lana said. “And you’re just now telling us?”

“I just now remembered,” Marsh muttered. “Once I heard Stephanie was dead, I forgot all about it. All I could think of was the woman I loved had been murdered.”