Page 37 of Deception

Why was Clayton giving them the third degree? “Steven was mistakenly told a friend had been brought here. How’s our patient?”

“Waking up. I thought I’d see if she could answer a few questions.”

“And I think that’s our cue to leave,” Steven said. “You have my number on your cell—call me if you need anything. I’m staying at the Grand, so I can quickly be here.”

“Thanks.”

“Are you staying at the Grand as well?” Clayton asked.

Terri hesitated. “No, I’m at the Hampton by the Mississippi bridge.” She turned to Madison. “It was good to meet you. I hope we run into each other again, under better circumstances, of course.”

“Me too.” Madison meant it. Terri was the kind of person she enjoyed being around.

After they left, she turned to him. “What was with the third degree?”

Clayton shrugged. “Just curious. This Steven Turner ... any relation to Chad Turner?”

Her breath caught in her chest. “How do you know about Chad?”

22

Clayton cringed. He’d planned to wait and let her bring up what happened in Texas and fished around for words to tell Madison he’d been discussing her past with Hugh.

She folded her arms across her chest. “You haven’t said how you know about Chad.”

“Hugh told me.”

“I see.”

“Madison, you had to do what you had to do.”

“Thank you.” She took a deep breath. “Okay. I’m glad it’s out in the open, then.”

“Good, but I still want to know why Chad’s brother is here.” Clayton turned and stared out the door the two had exited. His suspicion radar pinged off the charts.

“I told you about his friend.”

And that smelled like two-day-old fish. Clayton was certain Terri was the same woman who’d had a serious discussion with Judge Anderson at Coffee and More. The woman’s military background matched his impressions of the judge’s visitor, but he hadn’t wanted to question her about it with Madison present.

“How well do you know Steven?” He’d seemed pleasant enough ... except Clayton didn’t like the underlying tension he got from the man. Of course, since Steven was a former DeltaForce operator, that could be normal. But he didn’t get the same tension from the woman, and she was former Delta Force too.

“Until yesterday, I hadn’t said ten words to him.” Frown lines appeared on her forehead. “I thought he held me responsible for killing his brother.”

“Since he’s here, I assume he doesn’t, but if you haven’t had communication with him until yesterday, what happened to change that?”

“He called me, said he was in Natchez and needed to talk to me.”

“How’d he know you were in Natchez? Or get your number?”

“Chad’s phone on both accounts. I’d forgotten he had an app that kept up with my location. I was curious about what Steven wanted and agreed to meet him for lunch at the Camp Restaurant. I’m glad I did. Finding out the boy I saved that horrible day is doing well was worth any reservations I had in meeting Steven.”

Learning Turner’s reason for coming eased his suspicions somewhat.

The doors to the ICU opened, drawing their attention to a man in a lab coat scanning the room.

“It’s Grandfather’s doctor. I asked him for an update,” Madison said, raising her hand.

The doctor started toward them, and Clayton felt she needed privacy. “I’ll be in our Jane Doe’s room if you want to talk once you finish with the doctor.”

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