“The only thing you can do for Spencer now is help us catch whoever killed him,” Todd said.
Brandy’s head bobbed in an enthusiastic nod. “Of course.”
Todd began. “How long did Spencer work here?”
“Six years,” she said without needing to look up his personal information. “He’s been with the store longer than I have.”
“Did he start out as the assistant manager?”
“No.” Brandy looked down at her keyboard. Her blonde bangs dropped into her eyes. She brushed them away with a fingertip as she tapped on the keys. She lifted her face to read the monitor. “He worked as an associate for two years, then was promoted to assistant manager just before I started here.”
“Was he a good employee?” Todd asked.
Brandy gave him a weak nod. “He was generally punctual, and we didn’t have any customer complaints about him. He never stole anything.”
That bar felt low, but Todd knew little about running a retail store. “But?”
“But he wasn’t what you would call a go-getter, if you know what I mean.”
Todd did, but he didn’t want to assume her definition matched his. So he waited for her to explain. He’d learned from watching Bree and Matt conduct interviews that people disliked silence and tended to fill it. They often gave up more—or different—information than when asked a direct question.
“I don’t mean to say he wasn’t a good employee. His reviews are all just fine.” Guilt softened her features. “He did his job, but he never went the extra distance. He wasn’t personable. He didn’t relate to customers. He didn’t connect with coworkers. Spencer came and left with almost zero social interaction, not even a how are you?” She looked puzzled. “I could never quite figure him out, but retail is a tough industry. Employee turnover is expensive. So, I was content to keep him as one of the assistant managers, but I didn’t consider him promotable. His job performance was . . . average.”
“Have you noticed any strange behavior lately?” Todd asked.
“No. He seemed normal all day yesterday.”
“What time did he leave work?”
“Four o’clock,” she said. “He was just as punctual about clocking out as in.”
“Did Spencer express any concerns for his safety in his personal life recently?”
Her lips flattened. “Not exactly.”
Todd waited.
“A week or two ago, this woman came into the store.” She hesitated, clearly looking for the right words. “She was wearing sunglasses and a hat pulled low on her face. One of the staff immediately flagged her as a potential shoplifter and notified me and security. Sometimes thieves try to shield their facial features from the security cameras.” She took a breath. “But she wasn’t a shoplifter. The security guard and I watched her on the monitor. She was acting very shifty. Hiding at the end of aisles, peering around displays. But we didn’t see her try to steal anything.”
Todd sensed the story wasn’t over.
Brandy seemed to mull over her next words. “Finally, by following her on the cameras, we determined she was following Spencer. I called him into the office, and the security guard went out to intercept her.”
“Do you remember her name?”
She looked at the ceiling and scrunched her face. “Farah something. The name stuck with me because it’s not common, and I’m old enough to remember Farrah Fawcett.” She turned back to her computer and clicked the mouse. “I filled out an incident report. Let me look.” Her eyes moved as she scanned the monitor. “Here. Her name is Farah Rock.”
“What happened after security intervened?” Todd asked.
“Spencer came out of the office and confronted her, and she went ballistic. Yelling about him lying to her and using her. She said, ‘I’ll get even with you. No one treats me like that.’”
“Wow.”
“Yeah.” Brandy lifted both eyebrows. “She stopped ranting when I told security to call the police.”
“Did you?”
Brandy looked regretful. “No. She immediately apologized, but it didn’t feel like she really meant it. She left the store without resisting, and Spencer said he didn’t want to make an issue out of it. He was mortified. It was the first time I’d ever seen him show real emotion. We filled out an incident report and let it go.” She met Todd’s gaze. “Maybe I should have made a bigger deal out of it, but at the time, I thought I was doing the right thing.”
“I don’t know what else you could have done,” Todd said. “Spencer could have filed for a restraining order. She didn’t physically attack him or anyone else?”
“No, she yelled, and then she cried. Once she calmed down, she cooperated with the security guard, giving him her name and ID, et cetera.”
“Do you have a copy of the security video?”
“I do.” Brandy’s mouth split in a satisfied smile. “I kept a copy with the report in case she ever came back to the store, which I expressly asked her not to do.”
“You banned her?”
“Not exactly.” Brandy huffed. “Technically, she didn’t commit a crime or attempt to commit a crime. Coming to the store and looking for an employee isn’t illegal. This is private property. The store could ban her, but I’m not sure corporate would have backed me up if she complained.”
“That’s sad.”
“That’s business.” She lifted both hands off the keyboard in a whatever gesture. “Anyway, I hoped the embarrassment and stern lecture would be enough to keep her away.”
“Did she come back?”
“Not that I know of,” Brandy said.
“Could I speak to Spencer’s coworkers?” Todd asked.
“Yes.” Brandy stood. “You can use my office. Should I send them in one by one?”
“That would be good. Thanks.”
Todd spoke with five store employees. None gave any more information than Brandy. Before he left, Brandy emailed him a copy of both the incident report and the security video of the confrontation.
He left the store with more energy and confidence than he’d had going in. In his vehicle, he used his computer to write up a quick set of interview notes before he forgot any details. Then he dialed the sheriff’s number.
Bree needed to know Farah Rock had stalked Spencer before she interviewed her.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Nice job, Todd.” Bree ended her call with her chief deputy and turned to Matt, who sat in the passenger seat of the SUV. “Well, that’s some interesting news. Todd is sending me an email. Would you open it?”
He took her phone and accessed the email. Skimming it, he summarized Todd’s interview with Spencer’s boss.
Excitement whirled in Bree’s belly. She loved the feeling of an investigation developing, shifting the small pieces around until the puzzle began to take shape.
“Good thing we’re headed to Farah Rock’s place,” Matt said.
The GPS chimed in, telling Bree to prepare for a turn. Farah lived outside the town limits. Bree followed the audible direction, taking a narrow country lane that cut through the forest. Twenty minutes later, she turned into a gravel driveway that led through the woods. The driveway ended in a large clearing occupied by a rustic cabin and matching barn. In most of the county, the dusting of snow had melted early that morning, but in the thick woods, white patches remained wherever the sun’s rays couldn’t penetrate.