“Did Samantha ever tell you who the father of her baby was?”
“No, but she might not have known.”
That could mean Sam had slept with more than one man. “Sam knew she was pregnant, right?”
“Of course, she knew.”
The fact Sam didn’t tell Trent implied he might not be the father. “I know you want justice for your friend. If Trent didn’t kill her, can you think of someone who might have?”
Sherry pressed her lips together, probably debating if she should walk away or say something. “If I had to point a finger, I’d say Preston Daniels.”
That was the second time his name had popped up. “The owner of Hard Body Gym. Why him?” She wasn’t aware that Daniels had been questioned during the trial. Then again, he was Benson Granger’s roommate. Ariel would have to add his name to the list of people she needed to speak with.
“Sam had the hots for him.”
That was news. “Could he be the father of her child?”
“Not a chance. I would have known if she’d done the nasty with the likes of him.”
“Then why point a finger at Daniels?” Ariel asked.
Sherry leaned over as if someone was finally asking for her opinion. “Because she kept pestering him to go out with her.”
Even though Sam was living with Trent? She wondered if her brother had known about Sam’s wandering eye.
“That’s not exactly a motive for murder.” Unfortunately, the one person to have the means, motive, and opportunity to kill Sam was Trent. “If anything, Sam should have tried to kill Prestonfor turning her down, not the other way around.” Okay, Ariel was being ridiculous, but Sherry’s logic wasn’t any more sound.
“I guess, but don’t forget he was spotted at Trent and Sam’s place the night of the murder.”
“What? Why wasn’t that brought out in court?” In all honesty, it might have been, but Ariel had to work for much of the trial.
“It was. Preston explained that he was returning Sam’s wallet that she’d left at the gym that evening. He turned it in the next day to the sheriff’s office—after he found out she was dead.”
That seemed innocent enough, but maybe he did kill her and used the wallet as an excuse in case someone saw him at Trent’s rental.
“Last question since I know you have to work. Trent said he and Sam fought the night she died, saying she planned to leave Trent for Walter Winston. Do you know if that was true?”
Sherry shrugged. “She had set her sights on Walter all right—him being a business owner and all—but he’s been dating Peggy Hartwood for a long time. I don’t see him leaving Peggy for Sam.”
Ariel didn’t know either of them. “Why?”
“Peggy might work at a nail salon, but her daddy is the loan officer at the bank. I heard that Walter’s hardware store is not in great shape financially. He had a loan on the place already.”
Ariel tried to put the pieces together. “Are you saying that if Walter dumped Peggy, she might ask her father to cut off the loan to the store?”
Sherry waved a hand. “It’s just a guess. Look, I have to get back to work. Enjoy your meal.”
Ariel had already lost her appetite, but she needed to eat. At some point, she had to go to Trent’s place to finish packing up his things since his lease would be up at the end of the month. Her big decision was what to do with his belongings. If she couldn’t learn who really killed Samantha, Trent wouldn’t be needing any of his stuff, and that would suck.
CHAPTERTWO
Benson Granger’s roommate,Preston Daniels, arrived home late as usual. His friend worked almost as many hours as he did.
“Hard day?” Benson asked.
“Frustrating would be a better description.” Preston walked over to the open kitchen and grabbed a beer.
Benson wasn’t sure how running a gym could be as hard as preparing for trial, but Preston often mentioned that some of his clients were unusually demanding. “Frustrating how?”