Page 110 of Deception

When Vivian returned with the food, Madison held the door open for her. “Just set them on the island, and I’ll get something to put them in and you can take your platter back.”

“I’ll pick it up later.” Once Vivian set the plate down, she turned to Madison and gave her a hesitant smile. “I want to apologize to you. I think I’ve been rather rude.”

You think?But instead of voicing the question, Madison gave her a tentative smile. “I wondered what I’d done.”

“I thought you were investigating Paul, but when he gave me these files, he explained what was going on. Have you discovered who’s stealing money?”

The question caught her by surprise even more than the fact that Davidson had revealed the investigation to Vivian Hawkins. And Madison certainly wasn’t going to reveal details to his personal assistant before briefing the supervisor.

“It’s still an ongoing investigation.” Madison studied Vivian. Once again, she was struck with the sense that she’d met her somewhere before. “Did you know my grandfather long?”

Vivian blinked. “I remember him from when I was a little girl. He always gave me a sucker.”

“Have you lived in Natchez all your life?”

“Most of it. Lived in Dallas a while.”

“Really? I did too.” Her first white-collar investigations were in Dallas. “Why did you come back?”

For the briefest second, her eyes narrowed and then she tossed her head back slightly. “After the man I was going to marry died in an auto accident, there was nothing to keep me in Dallas. My family was here in Natchez.”

“I’m sorry about your fiancé,” Madison said.

Vivian’s fingers shook as she fished a tissue from her pocket and dabbed her eyes. After a minute she put away the tissue. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get emotional. You’d think after three and a half years, I’d be able to talk about it without crying.”

“I’m sure it’s very hard,” Madison said.

“How about you—are you moving to Natchez now?”

“I doubt it.” Madison had no reason to move here. The memory of Clayton taking her in his arms blindsided her, and herstomach did a backflip. Which was precisely why she would not move here. Love hurt too much to expose your heart. When things went wrong, the pain lingered—Vivian Hawkins was a perfect example.

Madison looked around as Bri wandered into the kitchen. “Hello, sleepyhead,” she said with a smile, then she introduced the two. “There’s cereal in the cabinet and milk in the fridge. Or you can make yourself bacon and eggs.”

“Cereal is fine.” Bri studied Vivian for a minute. “You look familiar.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever met you before.”

Her tone said that she would have remembered the thin girl with the spiky hair and silver balls lining her ears.

Bri’s brows lowered in concentration, then she held up her finger. “You were at that restaurant, reading a book.”

“Excuse me?”

“Last week. A friend and I stopped to eat. Downtown. Don’t remember the name of the place, but you were there.”

Vivian palmed her hand. “You must have me mistaken for someone else. I rarely eat out.”

Bri frowned. “I don’t think so...” Then she shrugged. “But who knows, maybe you’re like Madison here with a twin sister you didn’t know about.”

A dazed look crossed the woman’s face. “I’m not sure...”

“It’s nothing,” Madison said as the alarm on her phone buzzed. “I’m sorry, but that was the reminder that I have an appointment. Thank you so much for bringing the brownies and the files.”

“Anything I can do to help—just let me know.”

“Thank you,” she repeated and grabbed her purse before turning to Bri. “I should be back by ten to get ready, and then I’m going by to see Dani before the funeral if I have time.”

“Can I go with you to see Dani?”

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