Page 59 of State of Grace (First Family 2)

“Not that I’m aware of. As far as I knew, she got along with everyone. People liked her. I never heard her say a bad word about anyone.”

Sam wanted to scream with frustration. Pam’s murder had been extremely personal. The person who killed her made sure she suffered before she died. Talking to the friends who’d loved her wasn’t getting them anywhere. “We appreciate your help.”

“I wish there was more I could do to find the person who did this to her.”

Sam placed her business card on the table. “If you think of anything that might be relevant, please call me.”

“I will.”

“Is there anyone you think we should talk to who’s not on this list?” She showed Paula the list of friends that the family had given her.

“Maybe Mark Ouellette, the boys’ football coach. She was the president of the boosters and worked closely with him on a number of projects.”

“Where can we find him?”

Paula reached for her phone, found his contact info and wrote it down on the pad that Sam provided. “He owns an insurance company.”

“Add that info, too, if you would.”

When Paula was finished, Sam retrieved the notebook. “Thank you very much for your time.”

“I wish there was more I could do.”

“This helped.”

Paula walked them to the door. “I hope you find the person who did this.”

“I hope so, too,” Sam said. When they were outside, Sam zipped up her coat and pulled on gloves. “Thoughts?”

“This one reminds me of the Woodmansee case.”

“How so?”

“Perfectly ordinary people turning up dead for no good reason.”

“Yeah, that’s true. How can she have had a beef with someone bad enough for that person to bind her, gag her and leave her to die a slow, torturous death in the cold, and no one in her life is aware of it?”

After they got into Sam’s car, she started it to get the heat going.

“What’s our next move?”

“Before we talk to Ouellette, I want to talk to Archie about what’s on her phone and computer.”

“Let’s do it.”

“I’ve been through everything on her computer and phone for the last month, and I didn’t see anything that would indicate a problem with anyone,” Archie said thirty minutes later when Sam found him in his office at HQ.

“There has to be something,” Sam said.

“If there is, it’s not on her phone or computer.”

Sam’s frustration threatened to boil over, but that wouldn’t help her find a murderer.

“Do you want me to go back further than a month?”

“Yeah, I guess so. There has to be something.”

“Will do,” Archie said, using his chin to point. “Did you see what’s happening across the hall?”