Page 39 of Deception

“I know that, but you’re there, and two well-qualified officers are better than one,” McCall said.

She swallowed hard. The last time she’d worked a violent crime had been a disaster, both personally and professionally, and if something went bad with this case, Madison didn’t know if she could take that again. “What about the kickback case with the supervisors?”

“Just do what you can on that,” Sowell said. “I understandDavidson pulled the necessary records for you to go over. You can do that in your sleep.”

She directed a question to Hugh. “What time will you arrive in Natchez?”

“Around noon,” he said. “Have you spoken to the Coles Creek victim?”

“No, she’s still on a vent.”

“Does she really look like you?” Hugh asked.

“She could be my twin,” she said. “Evan, are you sure you want me to take lead?” Seconds ticked off as she waited for him to answer. Surely, he was reconsidering this assignment.

Her ISB supervisor answered instead of Evan. “It’s not a matter of who takes lead. Just work with Clayton Bradshaw on this, Agent Thorn.”

Sowell wasn’t changing his mind, and by using her formal title, he was reminding her what she signed up for when she joined the Investigative Services Branch.

“You have what it takes to investigate this crime.” Sowell’s voice was soft but firm.

She appreciated his confidence. Madison stood taller and squared her shoulders. She would not blow this investigation and end her ISB career. “Okay. I’ll check back with you later.”

She glanced at her phone after the two supervisors had disconnected. “You still on the call, Hugh?”

“Yeah. I just wanted to pass along that Clayton’s a good investigator and you can trust him to have your back.”

She already knew that about him, especially with the way he reacted to learning what happened in Texas.

“Just be wary of his charm,” Hugh added.

That she didn’t get at all. “What do you mean?”

There was a brief pause. “He has quite the reputation with the ladies.”

On that note, Hugh ended the call, promising to keep her in the loop about the investigation into her grandfather’s shooting.

Madison pocketed her phone. Clayton was a ladies’ man? She hadn’t seen that side of him, but she probably wasn’t his type.

“Bad news?”

She turned. Clayton was leaning against the wall, apparently waiting for her to finish. Thank goodness the call hadn’t been on speaker. “Depends on how you look at it,” she said. “Looks like we’ll be working together—Evan McCall just assigned me to work with you.”

“I can use all the help I can get. Do you have any pull with the FBI analyst in Jackson? We need a background check.”

“On...?”

“Our patient. Says her name is Lindsey Tremont,” he said. “And she was concerned that the girl and her purse and car were missing.”

“I’ll call and see. When I met with Hugh at his office in Jackson on Tuesday, he introduced me to the rest of his team, and they all said they’d help in any way they could. The analyst was really nice, and while this has nothing to do with the investigation Hugh and I are working, maybe she can check Lindsey Tremont out. If she can, we should get a preliminary report back by this afternoon.”

“Sounds good. Did you get an update on your grandfather’s case?”

“Only that the crime scene response team will be here by noon. Right now I have to drive across town and pick up some files from the county supervisor’s office. Then I thought I might drive to Coles Creek.” If she had to investigate the crime, she needed a feel for what had happened, and the only place she could get that was at the crime scene.

“Are you sure you want to leave the hospital?”

“I can’t accomplish anything by staying here other than worrying. The doctor said Grandfather would probably be out of it all day.” She hesitated. “Want to ride to Coles Creek with me?”

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