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“How did you know?” she repeated coolly.
He wiped his brow and met her eyes. “She loved the snails, and I might have followed her there a couple of times. I… watched her and Josh have sex in the woods before.” His lips curled in disgust, and there was something in his gaze that chilled her.
The first time they’d spoken, Luke said he’d just heard that Chloe went to the park. Not seen it for himself. “You watched them have sex? Don’t you realize how wrong that is?” Her voice was strained, but she was revolted. It was clear Luke lacked a basic sense of right and wrong, on top of his volatile temper.
“It was only wrong that she was with him!” he roared.
Amanda was the first to stand, Trent not far behind.
“Where are you going?” Luke was shaking with anger.
“We’re leaving, and you’re spending the night in a holding cell.” She held the door for Trent, then went through after him.
In the hall, they could still hear Luke’s cries and claims of innocence.
“I don’t like the way any of this is working out,” Trent said.
“Makes two of us.” Malone came down the hall, having exited the observation room. His hands were in his pockets. “There’s a lot pointing at him, but I still wonder.”
She angled her head and leveled her gaze at her boss. His opinion kept flip-flopping. “About…?”
“He was so caught up—it would seem—with Chloe Somner, but there was no evidence of sexual assault?” Malone stopped there and pushed his lips together thoughtfully, and Amanda understood where he was headed.
“You’d think if he was going to kill her, he would have raped her too,” Amanda concluded.
“Bingo.” Malone snapped his fingers.
“Still, the guy watched Chloe, someone he had a thing for, have sex with someone else and had the strength to stay at a distance. Perverse, and it shows restraint. Just like Chloe’s killer,” Trent said.
Malone held up his hands. “No argument there.”
“Why didn’t he rape her, though?” Trent mumbled.
She thought back to the crime scene. “The killer presented Chloe as if she was clean and pure. He left her undefiled. Certainly not how Luke viewed Chloe, it would seem.” She faced Trent. “You saw his reaction when he told us he’d watched Chloe having sex with Josh. The act cheapened her in his eyes. Then factor in the bullying on Snap VidPic…”
“I’m not really confident we have enough to hold him,” Malone said.
“You must be kidding,” Amanda blurted out. “We still have his laptop to look at and we get his blood type and—”
“No. I’m making the call. We’re cutting Hogan loose. We get more evidence against him, something on his computer or”—Malone pointed at the protected swab in Trent’s hand—“a DNA match. Then we’ll discuss our next steps with Hogan.”
She didn’t respond, simply started walking down the hall. She could feel Malone’s and Trent’s gazes on her, but she kept moving. If she didn’t get the hell out of there, she’d say something she wouldn’t be able to take back. Besides, she had to get home for Zoe, and the sooner the better. Amanda wasn’t just going to be there for dinner, she was going to prepare it. She keyed a text to Libby to let her know, then peeled out of the lot. Deb Hibbert could wait until tomorrow. From here until home, she had to just breathe and shake the grief, the anger and the frustration that came with this case. The investigation had just hit a wall, and that was tough to accept.
