Page 83 of Deception

He sorted through the papers and frowned. “There should be a file on her included in this one.” He picked up his phone. “Maxine, could you bring me all the files for Judge William Anderson?”

A few minutes later, Hargrove’s personal assistant scurried in with an armful of files and placed them on his desk. He thanked her, then sorted through them. “The judge hired me to investigate several things for him. Here we go.” He pulled a thin folder from the stack and opened it. “Margo Ellington. Works for the same law firm as your dad as a paralegal. Age forty-two.”

Madison gasped. The woman was only seven years older than her. Surely this wasn’t the woman her father intended to marry. Why hadn’t she asked her name? Did she really need to? Her dad said he’d met her at the firm—that she worked there.

Madison’s stomach churned. She stood. “Your restroom? Could I—”

“Of course.” He stood and opened the side door that led into a hall. “Third room on the left.”

In the bathroom, she wet paper towels with cold water and pressed them to her face, managing to keep her breakfast down. This was like a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. Her legs shook, and she dropped onto a stool beside the sink. As soon as she felt her legs would hold her up, Madison stood and dried her face. Then she returned to Hargrove’s office.

“I think I’ve heard enough for today,” she said. “Could we come back another time?”

“Anytime. I made a copy of Ms. Ellington’s file and gave it to Clayton.”

“Thank you.”

“When is Judge Anderson’s funeral?” Hargrove asked.

“Monday at two.” She barely choked out the time.

Clayton filled him in on the funeral details, and then heslipped his arm in hers as they walked out of the building into the sunshine.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she said.

He squeezed her arm. “Madison, your world’s been rocked with one shock after another since Wednesday night. You’re not a robot without feelings.”

At least he hadn’t said that she was a woman and entitled to have an emotional breakdown. But normally she was neither emotional nor a crier. She had to get ahold of herself—she’d been on the verge of tears for the past two days.

When they reached his SUV, she grabbed the door handle and opened it before Clayton could.Time to buck up.Thorns don’t cry in public. How many times had she heard that as a kid whenever she hurt herself? As she thought about it, she realized her dad had raised her like a boy—telling her that crying was for sissies, telling her to be tough, to not let anyone know when they hurt her, to always win ... Suddenly it all made sense—it was obvious her dad had wanted to adopt a boy. Why hadn’t she seen it before?

Madison tried to wrap her mind around this revelation as she fastened her seat belt. Seconds later Clayton opened the driver’s side door and slid across the seat.

“Let’s grab a bite, and then if you’re up to it, we’ll go see Dani.”

“Let’s skip the food for right now.” She’d like to skip going to the hospital too. “And let’s keep our conversation with Dani strictly on the shooting. I don’t think I can take any more personal revelations.”

“We can do that if you’ll promise to eat once we leave the hospital—your body needs fuel to run on.”

“I’ll try.”

“I do want to say that if I’d been through what you have, I don’t know that I could handle it as well.”

He was only trying to make her feel better, and nothing but time would accomplish that. If only her mind would stop spinning.One more piece of information in her head, and it would explode.

The drive from the PI’s office to the hospital was short. Clayton stopped under the covered entrance. “So you won’t have to put on the heavier vest.”

“Thanks.” She drew a shaky breath and turned to him, drawing strength once more from his kindness. “I’m not usually this fragile.”

“I know that. You don’t rescue a small boy and get a Medal of Valor for doing nothing.”

Madison didn’t know how to respond to his statement, so she nodded and quickly climbed out of the vehicle. Saving Noah had been the only good thing to come out of that day four years ago. After Chad’s death, it was like she became a pariah—no one would work with her in the Texas office, not even on white-collar crimes. Their attitude had been the driving force for her relocation to the Hot Springs, Arkansas, office for her investigations. Dani’s was the first violent crime she’d investigated in four years.

Once inside, she adjusted the vest under her shirt, her mind still on the Texas debacle. Chad hadn’t worn a vest that day, and she’d often wondered why. If he had, he’d still be alive, albeit serving prison time. Maybe that was why.

She focused on Clayton as he jogged toward the building. He seemed different from other men she’d dated, not that there’d been that many or that she’d even dated him. But she wanted to. The thought took her breath.Don’t go there. He’ll only let you down.That had been her experience with men, starting with her dad.

But could Clayton be different?

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