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“They looked… I don’t know. Almost fake.”
“Can you be more specific?”
“I don’t know. I was staring down the barrel of a Glock, for God’s sake. They were just really blue.”
“All right.” Jones took a few more notes. “We’ll get in touch with you if we need more information, Mr. Steel. You’re free to go.”
Thank God.
All I wanted to do was go home. To Melanie.
But Melanie was no longer there.
Chapter Seven
Melanie
Had I just heard Ruby correctly? Gina’s parents knew?
I opened my mouth, but no words emerged.
“I see t
hat surprises you.”
“Hell, yes, I’m surprised. Right now, the two of them are blaming me for their daughter’s suicide. And quite frankly, I’m not exactly sure it was a suicide.”
Ruby nodded. “I’m not so sure either.”
My heart nearly jumped right out of my chest. Here was someone who maybe agreed with my theory? That Gina hadn’t committed suicide but had been murdered?
“Do you think her father and mother had anything to do with it? Her death, I mean.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me. I didn’t know either of them very well, but they were terrible parents. They really neglected Gina. So for the short time that I was in their lives, I tried to take her under my wing, but I was still a kid myself who had just lost her mother. There were limits to what I could do.”
“Understandable,” I said.
“Her mother—my father’s sister—she was a mess. In and out of mental hospitals her whole life.”
I shot my eyes open. “What?”
“Oh, yeah. She’s been committed several times.”
“Gina never told me anything about that.”
“She might not have known. She was still pretty young when all this was happening, and I’m sure her father covered it up. Said Mommy was on a vacation or something.”
“Then how did you know?”
“My father told me. Said his sister was crazy and out of her mind and that her husband was a psycho.”
“Well, coming from another psycho, I’m not sure how much value I put into that assessment.”
Ruby took a sip of her wine. “Agreed. Gina’s dad and my dad had a weird relationship. They had this love-hate thing going. I never quite knew what to make of it.”
“Have you had any contact with Gina’s parents lately?”
“When I found out about her death, I called to offer my condolences. Neither of them were very interested in talking to me. Probably because I was a police officer. That’s my best guess, anyway.”
