Nora stopped outside an interview room, and Ava glanced through the door’s window at the woman preening before the officer. And sighed.

“What’s her name?”

“Regina.”

“Of course it is.”

“Is there a problem, Special Agent McLane?” Nora asked, amusement dancing in her voice.

“I’m pretty certain she’s the clique leader from the Mean Girls movie, but twenty years older.” Guilt flashed through Ava for her instant stereotyping of Regina Zuch. But now she knew why Nora had put a good-looking officer in the room with Micah’s mother. She opened the door and followed Nora inside.

The officer popped up from his seat, excused himself with a quick good-bye to Regina, and darted out as if the room were on fire. Ava spotted the gold wedding band on his left hand and figured she knew why. Regina’s appreciative gaze followed his backside as he left, and Ava struggled not to roll her eyes.

“Ms. Zuch, this is Special Agent McLane from the FBI. She’s helping us with the case that Micah has volunteered information for,” said Nora.

Ava bit her lip at Nora’s description of Micah’s role and shook the woman’s hand. Regina analyzed her and sharp defenses rose in the woman’s eyes. She considered Ava a threat.

For what? There’s no one else in the room.

Unless we’re competing for Nora.

She choked back a laugh and gave the woman a big cheery smile. She’d learned long ago not to be sucked into emotional competition.

Ava couldn’t pinpoint Regina Zuch’s age. Her heavy but perfect eye makeup and trendy clothing indicated she was quite young. But hands don’t lie. Regina had an older woman’s lined hands and her neck had the softness and beginnings of folds that occur later in life. Her blonde hair looked freshly platinumed. She smiled, and Ava was blinded by her perfect teeth. She was the contrast to Micah’s dark, depressing colors and mood, and Ava wondered if he tried to counterbalance his mother.

Her competitive energy made Ava tired, and she hadn’t even spoken yet.

“That officer was such a nice man,” said Regina with a coy smile. “He did a good job keeping me company.”

“That’s nice,” said Nora noncommittally. She and Ava pulled out chairs and sat across from Regina. “Is there anything else you need?” she asked pleasantly. “I’m not certain when Micah will be ready to go home. He’s being very helpful in our investigation.”

“I could use some more coffee,” said Regina. “When Micah called me, he said he was under arrest and going to jail. That’s not true?” She blinked wide eyes.

There’s no way those lashes are real.

“Not exactly,” said Ava. “This is sort of an odd question, but can you tell me if Micah has some learning difficulties or perception troubles that would distort some of the information he’s giving us?” She winced at her word choices, but she didn’t want to make the woman any more defensive.

“Ohhh.” Regina’s face fell. “Did you catch him lying to you? He’s had problems in the past with telling the truth. He’s a good boy, but he’s fallen in with the wrong crowd.”

“I take it you’ve experienced this yourself? What have you had problems with?” Ava wasn’t ready to tell Regina that her good boy had confessed to four murders.

“Well, you know. School. He never could sit still and listen. He struggles with some OCD and the doctors gave him some medication for it. A typical boy.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “They claimed he brought weapons to school. I don’t know why they would try to pin that on him. Everyone at that school was against him. He didn’t do anything.”

Euzent’s words about Micah’s failure to accept responsibility rang in Ava’s head. Looks like he learned it from Mom.

“How is he at home?” asked Nora.

“He likes to keep to himself. He enjoys video games and movies.”

“Does he work anywhere?”

“We’ve tried to find a job that fits his personality,” Regina said earnestly. “But he’s a tough fit. Working with the public isn’t good for him. His patience level is rather low. It’s his father’s fault.”

Ava wondered if Regina had ever suggested Micah take responsibility for his actions.

“His father?” prodded Nora.

“Oh yes. He left us when Micah was four. Never communicates with Micah except to send him a birthday card. What kind of man does that to a child? It’s really affected him over the years.”

“Did you get counseling for Micah?” asked Ava. “I know the loss of a parental figure can have devastating effects. The child feels abandoned.” She mentally stomped on the memory of her mother explaining that her and Jayne’s father simply couldn’t handle raising a family.

“I couldn’t afford counseling.” Regina waved her hand airily. “I made certain to give him lots of attention and find other men to have strong roles in his life.”

Ava was scared to ask where she found these men.

“Ms. Zuch,” Nora started. “Micah came in because he had information on the recent murders of four law enforcement officers. Has he talked to you about this?” Nora leaned forward, her elbows on the table, her expression open and honest.

Regina’s jaw dropped. She stared at Nora and then Ava, looking for an indication that Nora was telling the truth. Her mouth closed and opened as she tried to speak. “Murder? Four of them?” she squeaked.