Page 11 of Last Seen Alive

It seemed over-the-top considering who she was, but she said, “Wouldn’t expect otherwise.”

“Right then.” Fred opened a folder and clicked a pen.

Natalie wasn’t looking at her.

Again, a bad feeling.

“How do you know Logan Hunter?” Fred asked.

“We met last year.” She would do her best to keep everything succinct and on point. No allowance for detours and rambling. She had a feeling she was being treated as a suspect, which she didn’t like one freaking bit.

“Where was that?”

“I met him at the Tipsy Moose Alehouse in Woodbridge.”

“And since then how would you describe your relationship with him?”

Amanda’s mind went back in time, how there wasn’t supposed to be any sort of relationship between her and Logan. He had been a one-night stand, and that’s all he was ever supposed to be. But life had other plans, and they had dated for a while. They’d been separated for months though.

“Detective?” Fred prompted.

“We started dating.” There was no way she’d be sharing her initial indiscretion. Those in the department were quick about assigning nicknames and showed no mercy. Take Cougar here, for example. She was mid-forties, single, with an inclination toward men about half her age. What a cop did in their off time was never truly off the clock.

“How long did you date?”

“A couple of months.”

“Why did you break up?”

“He didn’t like the risks I faced with the job.” She’d leave it there without noting how she had other priorities weighing on her. Her heart was claimed by a little girl who needed a home—and she took precedence.

“I see. And while you were dating, did he tell you about his wife, Claire Hunter?”

“He mentioned her.” Technically, Logan mentioned Claire before he and Amanda started dating. Though her discovery of his marriage through a background check had prompted the conversation.

“What did he say?”

“Just that they were separated, and he didn’t know where she was.”

“Do you know a Deb Smith?”

“Ah, no.” Her brows furrowed. Confused. “Who is that?”

“She was the dead woman in Mr.Hunter’s bed.”

“No. It was his wife, Claire.”

“Yeah, that’s what he’s telling us too. Swearing by it, in fact. But ID from her wallet tells us her name was Deb Smith.”

That made no sense, but she hesitated to say as much out loud. She’d rather discuss this with Logan directly. Maybe he was mistaken about who the dead woman had been. It had been years since he’d seen his wife. But could he really forget what she looked like? Then again, Fred had just said Logan was adamant it was Claire.

“Why don’t you walk us through what happened last night… you know, from your perspective,” Fred said.

She did just that, not that there was a lot to tell. She left out the parts about her and Logan’s urgent rush to the bedroom.

“And she was just lying there when you walked into the room?” Natalie asked, her first time speaking during this interview.

“That’s right. I told Logan we had to get outside, call it in.”