“Marco got really mad. My whole family was mad with us.”

“That must’ve made things awkward between you and Willie.”

She cast her gaze downward. “Yes.”

“I know this is very difficult for you, Carmen, but I need to know what was going on in Willie’s life so I can rule out people he knew as possible suspects.”

“What do you need to know?” she asked, her chin quivering.

“Were you and Willie fighting?”

Nodding, she said, “A lot. I wanted to give Marco the money so my family would stop being so angry with us.”

“Was the fighting unusual for you and Willie?”

“We never fought about anything except for my brother and money. We have so much of it,” she said, gesturing at the opulently furnished room. “What would it have mattered to us to give him some of it?”

“What led to the restraining order?”

“I don’t know what that is.”

“It’s a court order that forces Marco to stay away from you and Willie and your family.”

“He... I... I didn’t know about that.”

Sam wanted to shoot herself for being so ham-handed. “I’m sorry. I assumed you knew, which was insensitive of me.”

Carmen broke down, shaking her head as tears spilled down her cheeks. “He went to court to keep my brother away from us?”

“I’m so sorry you had to hear it that way.”

She continued to shake her head. “How could he have done that and not even told me about it? Marco made some mistakes, but he is my brother. He is family.”

Sam could easily see both sides of the issue but didn’t share the thought.

“I’ll never get to ask him why he did it. The last time I talked to him...” She choked on a sob. “We fought about the money. He said we’d talk about it after the game, but I knew we wouldn’t. He never wanted to talk about it.”

“Did you have a joint checking account?” Sam asked.

“Yes. Why?”

“Could you have written a check to your brother without Willie knowing about it?”

“I suppose so, but I wouldn’t have done that. Willie would’ve been mad at me.”

“Carmen, I know this is so painful, but I have to ask if Willie was ever violent with you.”

“No! Never! He wouldn’t do that. He loved me. We had a bad time over the situation lately with Marco, but before that, we were always happy. Always.”

“One last question. Could you tell me who his agent and manager were?”

“His agent was George McPhearson. I’m trying to remember his manager’s name. Charlie something. George would know.”

“Do you know how we can reach George?”

“His agency is in New York. I think his name is the name of the company.”