CHAPTER FOUR

Gavin Ingersoll looked much older than his seventeen years. He stood as Angus and Amy walked into the living room, escorted by Gavin's mother. The kid was tall, towering over Angus. If he passed Gavin on the streets, he would have put him well into his twenties.

"It's nice to meet you, Gavin." Amy shook his hand. "We're so sorry for your loss. Thanks for taking the time to speak with us."

"I'll do whatever I can to help," Gavin told them. His eyes were red as if he'd been crying and he looked exhausted.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" Gavin's mother asked.

"No, thank you," Angus said as Amy shook her head as well. "We just have a few questions for you. We won't take long."

Gavin sat down on the couch. "I wish I knew how to help you."

Amy sat down in a chair across from Gavin and Angus continued to stand since the only other seat was on the couch with Gavin, and he wanted to leave that for his mother.

"You can help by telling us about Liz. Help us understand who she was, tell us about her friends." Amy pulled out her notebook and pen. "You two were dating?"

"We've always been together. We met in seventh grade and started dating right after that." Gavin stared out the living room window. "I was going to propose to her after we graduated."

"Do you know anyone who was angry with Liz or might have wanted to hurt her?" Angus asked.

Gavin shook his head. "Everyone liked her. She was nice to everyone. I don't have a clue who would want to hurt her."

"Was she fighting with her family or anyone that you knew of?" Amy asked.

"No. She got along with her parents for the most part. They'd argue over things like curfew but never anything major. We did everything together. If someone was angry with her, I'd know. The only time we weren't together was when we were at work." Gavin took a deep breath.

"When was the last time you spoke to her?" Angus asked.

Gavin looked up at him, his eyes glistening with tears. "She sent me a text around midnight, but if you mean talking, I called her around ten. We didn't talk about anything important. Just about how our day was."

"What was her text about later?" Amy asked.

"Just to let me know she was going to sleep. She always sent one right before she went to bed." Gavin's shoulders slumped. "I was already asleep, so I didn't respond."

"What about close friends? Who did the two of you hang out with?" Amy asked softly.

"There is a group of us that hang out a lot. Terrance Jefferies. He's my best friend. And Tom Eckhart. We are all on the basketball team together. Then Liz's best friend is Gail Smith, but we also hang around with Fiona Bloomquist a lot. The girls are all on the dance team."

Angus exchanged a look with Amy at the mention of Fiona.

"So you all knew Fiona?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, sure. We've been friends with her since our freshman year. Liz knows her better than I do, but she hangs around with us all the time." Gavin looked confused. "You don't think Fiona killed Liz, do you? She'd have no reason."

Amy shook her head. "No, we don't think that. I guess you've been grieving and haven't had the news on this morning." Amy glanced at Gavin's mother, then at Gavin. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but Fiona died last night."

"What? How?" Gavin's mother threw her hand over her mouth.

"It appears she was also murdered. We're waiting for the medical examiner to confirm everything." Angus watched Gavin closely, looking for any signs of guilt, but the poor kid looked crushed and genuinely upset at the news.

The unshed tears finally leaked from his eyes, and he quickly wiped them away. "How?" Gavin asked. "Was she strangled too?"

"No, she was drowned," Amy said softly. "She was found in the family pool last night."

Gavin's eyes widened and he shook his head. "Do you know who did it?"

Amy shook her head. "Not yet."

"Do you think that Liz and Fiona's deaths are related?" Gavin's mother asked as she wiped tears from her eyes.

"We're not sure yet. It is interesting that they were friends. How close was Liz to Fiona?" Amy asked.

"Close. They talked almost every day and any time we went out as a group, Fiona was with us. She was dating a friend of mine until he moved away a few months ago. Liz was closer to Gail than Fiona, but they were still really good friends." Gavin looked over at Angus. "Does this mean Gail's in danger? Is someone going after the girls?"

"We don't know right now, but we'd like to speak to Gail if you know how to get hold of her," Angus said.

"Sure. She tried to call me this morning, but I wasn't up to talking so I didn't answer. I bet she was calling to tell me about Fiona." Gavin reached for his phone. He scrolled through some things, then looked back at Angus. "I have her number." He read it to Angus.

Angus quickly wrote it in his notebook. "You said her last name is Smith?"

"Yeah." Gavin set his phone down.

"Can you think of anyone who would have been upset with both girls?" Amy asked.

"No, seriously, everyone liked them. Fiona could be a bit snobbish at times, but not mean. And lately, we haven't been hanging around other people. We usually just head over to Terrance's house and kick back in his basement to watch movies or play video games." Gavin shook his head. "Someone has to let Gail know to be careful."

"We'll call her as soon as we finish here," Angus promised. They'd have to talk to the girl's parents first since she was underage. He didn't like that the two murdered girls were close friends. That meant the likelihood of their killer being the same person was high. What happened to make someone want them dead? Gavin was definitely strong enough to strangle someone and lift the bucket of cement, but Angus just didn't get that feeling from Gavin. His grief was real. Still, he couldn't check him off the suspect list yet. There were still too many unknowns.

"Help us get an idea of who Liz's life. What was her typical day?" Amy asked.

Gavin shrugged. "She'd work at the bakery until around one, then go home. Then she'd usually come over here after she'd changed. Sometimes I'd pick her up from work. We'd hang out here most of the time until everyone else got off work or done doing whatever they had to do, then head over to Terrance's house. He's got a really great set up in his basement. Kinda a theater setting. We could watch movies or game on the big screen. Other nights, we'd head over to the park and the girls would talk while Terrance, Tom, and I played basketball. It just depended on our mood." Gavin sighed. "I wish I could tell you something that would help, but seriously, we were kind of boring."

"Everything you tell us helps us get an idea of Liz's life," Angus assured him.

"And Fiona's," Amy added.

"Fiona didn't always come over to Terrance's. She had a lot going on. She's big into her dance stuff and would have practices or performances all the time." Gavin ran his fingers through his hair. "Gail could probably tell you more about her."

"So Fiona wasn't dating Terrance or Tom?" Angus asked.

"No, she hadn't seen anyone that I know of for a few months. Not since her old boyfriend moved. I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but you're bound to find out anyway. It's just that Tom's parents don't know, but Tom and Terrance are kind of a thing. I don't think anyone outside of our small group really knows about it though. Terrance's family knows, but Tom's would freak out."

Gavin's mother gasped, then covered her mouth for a second. "Sorry. That was news to me. I had no idea, and I see those boys together all the time. They hide it well."

Gavin blushed. "They didn't want anyone to know. I told them you and dad wouldn't care, but Tom is so scared his parents will find out." He looked at Amy and Angus. "You won't tell them, will you?"

"We'll do our best to keep their secret, but if it's important to the case, it may come out." Amy smiled. "I promise to do our best not to bring it to anyone's attention."

"Thanks. They'll hate me for telling you." Gavin sighed.

"It's easier if we know everything." Angus was sure they'd be able to tell if the boys had tried to keep something from them. It would make them appear guilty if they were withholding something like that. It was better to know upfront. Angus would do everything he could to keep Tom's parents from finding out.

"Any other secrets we should know?" Amy asked.

Gavin shook his head. "No. We really just sit around and game most nights. Nothing exciting. We all got along. I seriously don't think any of us would kill someone. The biggest fight we get into is who gets the last slice of pizza."

"Where were you last evening? Did you leave the house at all yesterday?" Angus asked.

Gavin shook his head. "I was here all day with my parents. After I heard about Liz, I sort of lost it. Terrance and Tom came over around four and stayed with me until about eight or so. Gail called to check on me earlier in the day. She was really upset. She didn't find out until she got off work and got a message someone had left her."

Amy nodded. "Anything else you can think of that we should know?"

"Not that I can think of." Gavin glanced over at his mother.

"If we think of anything, we will call you," his mother promised.

"Then we'll let you go. We might contact you again if we have questions. And you can call us anytime." Angus handed Gavin his card. "We're so sorry for your loss."

"Thanks." Gavin took the card.

Gavin's mother stood. "You'll contact Gail, right? Should I call her mother and warn her?"

"No, let us do that. We'll call her as soon as we leave here," Amy promised.

They said their goodbyes and headed out to the car. Once back on the road, Angus glanced over at Amy. "Give Gail a call and see if we can meet with her."

Amy pulled out her phone and took Angus's notebook to get the number. "What does your gut tell you?"

"Nothing, and I hate that." Angus frowned. "I don't think Gavin is our suspect, though he's strong enough to have killed either girl. His grief is too raw. Besides, he was home with his parents, and I don't think they'd lie for him. He also gave the two other boys alibies if they were with him last night when Fiona was killed."

"She was last heard from around three in the afternoon, right?" Amy asked as she dialed. She held up a finger as she focused on the call.

"Gail, this is Detective Amy Burns. We were hoping to be able to sit down and talk to you about Elizabeth Bradly and Fiona Bloomquist. Could you give me a call back as soon as you get this?" Amy left her number, then ended the call. "Voicemail. We'll give her a bit to call us back, but if she doesn't, I think we should head over to her place and at least talk to her parents."

"Agreed. Let's grab something for lunch, then head back to the station. We'll have to get Gail's address. I'd also like to set up interviews with Terrance and Tom as soon as possible." Angus sighed. "We should have gotten their numbers from Gavin as well."

"We'll call him if we can't get them on our own." Amy set her phone in the middle console drink holder. "Hit that taco stand near the station. I'm burned out on burgers."

Angus did as he was told, wishing he could grab lunch with Lance. He hoped he was having a better day than he was. The day was barely half-over and he still had a ton to do.