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They reached the precinct without any trouble. By tacit agreement, he and Steele kept Elly between them as they headed inside.
“Hey, Delaney, Gabrielle’s parents are in interview one,” an officer called out.
“Great,” Steele said. He looked at Joe, then added, “Let’s get Elly in a cubicle.”
“I’d rather listen to the interview,” she protested.
“Afraid not,” Joe said. “I’ll let you know if we learn anything interesting.”
She didn’t look happy, but he couldn’t let that prevent him from doing his job.
He took a moment to change into his uniform, to make it official that he was on duty. Then he and Steele entered the interview room.
“Mr. and Mrs. St. John, I’m Officer Joe Kingsley, and this is Officer Steele Delaney. We are very sorry for your loss.”
“It’s been awful.” Gabrielle’s mother had clearly been crying. “We’ll do anything to help you find our Gabby’s killer.”
“Thanks, we appreciate that.” He and Steele sat across from the couple. “We need to know if your daughter had any enemies? Or maybe a jealous boyfriend?”
The parents exchanged a look. “There was one guy, Bart Shaw,” her father said. “He went off the deep end when Gabby broke up with him.”
“Can you be more specific?” Joe leaned forward. “We need to make sure he’s not involved in this.”
“Oh, he doesn’t look like that sketch on the news,” Gabby’s mother said with a sniffle. “I’m sure about that.”
“Bart called Gabby for weeks, showed up at rehearsals, and generally made a nuisance of himself,” her father said. “But after I confronted him and let him know Gabby was going to get a restraining order, he backed off.”
“Bart short for Bartholomew?” Steele asked. “Not a very common name.”
“I think he was named after his grandfather,” her mother said. “But I’m telling you, he doesn’t look anything like that sketch.”
“Okay, we appreciate the information. What about anyone else bothering your daughter?” Joe pressed. “I saw something about a rivalry between Gabrielle and Henry and another pair of skaters.”
“Oh, that’s nothing.” Gabby’s father waved a hand. “A publicity stunt dreamed up by their PR teams.”
Joe glanced at Steele, who shrugged. He turned back to Gabby’s parents. “Are you sure about that? With Gabrielle and Henry out of the competition, Alicia and Thomas White are likely to be ranked in first place.”
Gabby’s father frowned. “Anything is possible, but Gabrielle and Henry didn’t think the rivalry was anything serious. I can’t imagine Alicia and Thomas White hiring someone to kill our daughter.”
“But what if they did?” Gabby’s mother’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Rob, do you think it’s possible?”
“I don’t know.” Gabby’s father put his arm around his wife’s shoulders.
“I was the one who pushed Gabby to skate,” her mother said between sobs. “If I hadn’t, she’d still be alive...”
“You can’t think like that,” Gabby’s father said. He looked at Joe with tired, grieving eyes. “If the rivalry between the skaters was a big deal, Gabby didn’t let on. She downplayed it, much the way she did her breakup with Bart. She was so sweet and innocent...” It was his turn to break down, closing his eyes and pressing his face into Gabby’s mother’s hair.
Their overwhelming grief was tangible. He glanced at Steele who didn’t seem to have any more questions for them either.
“Thank you for your time,” Joe said. “Again, we’re very sorry for your loss.”
The older couple managed to pull themselves together long enough to leave the interview room.
Joe shook his head. “That was rough.”
“Yeah,” Steele agreed. “I doubt the interview with Henry’s parents will be much easier.”
“We need to check out Bartholomew Shaw,” Joe said. “He should be relatively easy to find.”
