Influence

Chapter 12 - pt. 2

When the DeAngelises arrived, Sergeant Symons relayed his sympathies personally and then led them each to their interviewer. Ryan took Paul to room A. Maris introduced herself to Becca DeAngelis, a shapely woman in her mid-fifties with perfectly placed hair and makeup that was only slightly ruined. She'd cried—red eyes, puffy eyelids. But then she'd pulled herself together, reapplied her mascara and held herself up tall. Her lip quivered as Maris extended her hand.

"If you'd follow me please." She guided Goldie's mother to the same room she'd interrogated Tam in a few hours earlier. This wouldn't be an interrogation though. She had some softballs ready to throw, and a few to the point questions. If she had to watch Becca sob, her own composure would collapse.

Instead of sitting across from Becca, Maris moved a chair over so they could sit side by side. "Let me begin by saying how sorry I am, Mrs. DeAngelis."

Becca nodded. "Everyone is sorry. So very sorry. That's all anyone will ever say to me again. They're sorry. What does that change?"

"It's something people say because they don't know what else to do. And because it's true. It's an acknowledgement of someone else's suffering. Try not to assume they're being trite when they say it."

Becca looked up from her hands for the first time. "You sound as though you're speaking from experience."

A lump formed at the base of her throat. "I've had my fair share of loss."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Her eyes widened as she realized what she'd said. "Well, I see what you mean."

"I'd like to talk to you about your daughter. This may be difficult so if you have to take a break at any point, please tell me."

"If I'm being honest, I'd like to take a break from this whole day."

Maris nodded. "Understandable. Can you tell me about Goldie's upcoming makeup line?"

"Lucre? Oh, it was a big deal. Huge. Wonton Cosmetics, can you believe it? It was going to push her through from stardom to super stardom."

"Was she excited about it?"

"Why wouldn't she be? This was the sort of break she needed. Not that she wasn't already successful, but we wanted her to be a household name. This was a major step towards achieving that."

"We wanted her? Who's we?"

"I meant Goldie, of course. It's what she wanted. But Paul and I, naturally we wished to see her have that success."

"And Paul, how long has he been her manager?"

"Since she was about fifteen. They're..." she stopped and cleared her throat. "They were as close as any biological father and daughter. He loved her. So, you can understand how involved he was in helping her with Lucre, and how devastated he is now."

"Right." She could understand. They'd lost a daughter and a multi-million-dollar business deal all in one night. "I'd like the contact information for Goldie's Wonton Cosmetics contacts."

"Paul can provide that. I don't have anything to do with those sorts of things. I never really had a head for business. Yet somehow, I ended up in a family filled with moguls."

"Tell me about your stepson."

"Jasper." She squinted. "What about him?"

"I've heard he was close to your daughter."

"Yes, very close. They got along right from the start. I was almost jealous of her, how easily he took to her when I always struggled to connect with him. I did try. I wanted to be a good stepmother. But what can I say, I'm glad they had each other. He's absolutely crushed, by the way. This has ruined our whole family and for what?"