Touch of Red (Tracers #12)(58)

“When?”

“When she was a minor.” Farrah stared off into space. “That would have been . . . three years now?”

“She was twenty-two.”

“Four years ago, then.” Tears filled Farrah’s eyes and she looked down at her desk. “Excuse me, I’m just . . .”

“It’s okay.” Callie gave her a sympathetic look. “Take your time.”

Farrah plucked a tissue from the box on the file cabinet behind her. She dabbed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Sorry. Go ahead.”

“When was the last time you saw Jasmine before Samantha’s funeral?” Sean asked.

“It’s been years. Four, I guess. Around when she turned eighteen.”

Callie took out a notepad and jotted that down so Sean could focus on the questions.

“And how did she know Amy Doppler?” he asked.

“Who?”

“Amy Doppler. The woman she was sitting next to at the funeral.”

“I have no idea. I don’t know Amy.”

“She’s one of Samantha’s AA friends.”

“Oh. Well, that could explain it. Jasmine had a serious drinking problem.”

“At seventeen?” Callie asked.

“At fourteen. It got worse over the years.” Farrah sighed. “That was one reason she bounced around between foster families. She had a lot of issues, and no one could seem to handle her.”

Callie tried to imagine a fourteen-year-old with a serious drinking problem. She couldn’t. When she’d been fourteen, she’d been an honor student and a starter on the volleyball team.

“So, did Samantha know Jasmine through AA, too? Or foster care?”

“I don’t know.”

Sean paused, and Callie knew he was struggling for patience.

“Could you think back to her case? Were they ever placed in the same foster home at the same time?”

“I’d have to check.”

“Please do that. And the drinking problem she had, what was that a reaction to? Had she been abused, molested, anything like that?”

Farrah darted a look at Callie’s notepad. “Jasmine suffered sexual abuse when she lived with her biological mom. I suspect there was probably more abuse along the way, although I don’t remember anything documented.”

“I need a list of those families,” Sean said. “I need everyone in those households, and same for Samantha.”

Farrah nodded.

“What other kind of problems did she have? Drugs? School?”

“Well, she was in juvenile detention at least once. I remember that. She assaulted a teacher, and he pressed charges.”

“He?” Callie looked up from her notepad.

“A coach, I believe. She broke his nose with a lacrosse stick.”

“I want his name,” Sean said. “What was the deal with that? Why’d she assault him?”

“Supposedly, the assault was unprovoked, although I’m not sure I believe that. I always thought maybe he tried something with her, but that’s not what she reported. Anyway, she spent about six months in JD. I’d have to look at her file to be sure. And that was just the start of it. She had other incidents throughout high school.”

“Such as?”

Farrah sighed. “Booze in her locker. Vandalism. Shoplifting. I’d have to look up the rest of it, but she was constantly in trouble. Really, it’s a wonder she graduated. She would have spent all four years in juvenile detention, but Judge Mahoney kept giving her second chances.”

Callie’s gaze jerked up.

“Who?” Sean asked.

“Eric Mahoney. The juvenile-court judge. He’s a bleeding heart for troubled kids.”

Sean stood up.

“What’s wrong?” Farrah looked startled.

“We have to get back.” He looked at Callie. “Detective McLean and I have a staff meeting.” He turned to the social worker again. “I’m going to need the names of those foster families, as well as that coach. Can you email that over as soon as possible?”

“Sure.” Farrah looked flustered. “Whatever I can do.”

? ? ?

The tension was palpable as Brooke stepped into the conference room. She took an empty seat next to Jasper and glanced around the table. She’d expected to see Sean at this meeting, and she told herself she was relieved, not disappointed, that he wasn’t here.

“That’s not my point,” Ric was saying.

“I know it’s not,” the district attorney shot back. Rachel was smart and opinionated and a formidable opponent in the courtroom. She’d put Brooke on the witness stand on numerous occasions. “But it’s exactly the point a defense attorney is going to make at trial. I guarantee it.”

“She’s right,” Lieutenant Reynolds said from his end of the table. “It’ll get tossed.”

Rachel turned her attention to Brooke. “Thanks for joining us. I’ve got some questions for you about the forensic evidence in the Samantha Bonner case. I understand you processed the prints?”

“That’s correct.” Brooke looked at Ric, hoping he’d told the prosecutor about all the latest developments.

“The DNA lead from the victim’s fingernails didn’t pan out,” Ric said. By the edge in his voice, Brooke guessed that had been the subject of the argument she’d just interrupted. “Now we’re looking for something else we can use to focus in on a suspect.”