Page 25 of So Deadly
“Oh.”Amanda’s eyes widened.“Oh!ThatMargaret Hayes.She’s dead?”
“That Margaret Hayes,” Jessica confirmed.“The one you assaulted in a shopping mall two years ago.And yes, she’s dead.”
“Two years ago was self-defense,” Amanda said.“Her dog bit me.He was wearing a service dog vest, and I called her out on it.Told her he obviously wasn’t a service animal, and she should be ashamed of herself.The damned dog bit me, and she gave me this smug smile and said, ‘Serves you right.’”
“Must have made you really mad,” Faith said.
“Well, yeah, but I didn’t kill her.I didn’t even know she was dead.And come on, two years later?Why wouldn’t I have just murdered her two years ago?”
She chuckled as though that was the obvious answer that would make it clear she couldn’t possibly be the murderer.When Faith and Jessica didn’t laugh, her smile faded.“Look, I really didn’t kill her.We both dropped the charges.She agreed to train her dog and pay for my medical bills, and I agreed to drop my lawsuit.”
“And did she pay for your medical bills?”
“She did, believe it or not.Check cleared three days later.”
“But she didn’t train her dog.”
Amanda blinked.“I don’t know.I assume the court followed up and made sure.”
“How would you feel if you learned that she hadn’t?”
“Not bad enough to kill her.”
“Your YouTube videos suggest otherwise.”
Amanda flushed red, but she kept her eyes on Faith.“Saying that I think someone deserves to die isn’t the same as sayingIintend to kill them.I think the current U.S.President deserves to die.I’m not going to fly to Washington with a handgun.”
“Getting to Margaret Hayes is a lot easier than getting to the President,” Jessica pointed out.
Amanda rolled her eyes.“My point is that having angry YouTube videos doesn’t make me a killer.You’d have to arrest half of the content creators on that platform if that was the case.”
Faith tried another angle.“What about Thomas Webb?”
Amanda blinked again.“What about him?”
“You tell me.”
“Well… I don’t know who he is.”
A bark interrupted them, and a moment later, a gorgeous honey-colored Golden Retriever trotted onto the porch.She saw Turk and immediately nuzzled him, making a sound that could almost be described as a purr.Turk looked up at Faith, and she could have sworn she saw him blush.
“Roxy, behave,” Amanda fake-scolded.She grinned at Faith.“She thinks your dog is handsome.”
“I guess so,” Faith said.“But back to my question.You purchased a vest from Mr.Webb.”
“Thomas Webb is the guy from SerVest.com?”
“He was.He was also murdered.Torn to shreds by boxcutter blades.”
Amanda flinched.“What?Torn to shreds?”
“By boxcutter blades,” Faith repeated.
Amanda shuddered.Faith couldn’t tell for sure if her reaction was genuine or if she was just playing a part.Her eyes were too wide, almost like she was trying to look innocent.She didn’t give any clear signs of guilt either, though.
“The vest,” Jessica asked.“Was it for Roxy?”
“No.Oh no!”She shook her head rapidly back and forth as though the very idea was the most horrifying thing imaginable.“No, I bought it for a YouTube video.I wanted to show people how good scammers are getting at making fake vests.I want people to know that seeing a service dog vest on an animal doesn’t mean they’re safe.People need to be aware of the risks they’re facing.”
