Page 60 of Deception

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured against her hair. He repeated the words as he slowly patted her back.

When her tears were spent, she looked up. “I have to go to the hospital, but afterward could we go somewhere? Somewhere quiet and peaceful?”

He took her hand. “I’ll take you to the hospital, and then I know just the place.”

Madison allowed him to take her arm and guide her to his SUV and help her in. Once he pulled out of the drive, she held herself erect—it was the only way to keep her emotions together. Too soon they were pulling into Merit.

For the next hour, Madison operated on automatic pilot, sitting at a desk across from Rebecca, answering the charge nurse’s questions. When Rebecca asked which funeral home should be called, Madison stared blankly at her. Grandfather had never talked to her about his funeral, and she doubted he’d talked to her cousins either. Maybe she should call them. She scrolled through her phone, the names and numbers a blur.

Clayton had accompanied her inside the small room and spoke up. “Would Nadine know?”

Nadine. Of course. She would know everything. Madison should’ve already called her. No ... “She’s eighty years old. I-I can’t spring something like this on her over the phone.”

He turned to Rebecca. “Can we call you with that information as soon as we get it?”

“Absolutely.” She patted Madison’s hand. “Again, I’m so sorry.”

Barely acknowledging her sympathy, Madison stood and took Clayton’s hand again as they walked out of the office. “Do you mind taking me back to Grandfather’s?”

“Of course not.”

Within fifteen minutes, they were breaking the news to Nadine in her apartment.

“God rest his soul,” the older woman murmured, gripping the arm of the chair she sat in. Then Nadine sat straighter. “I heard you and your boss talking earlier. He’s wrong. William Anderson never would have taken his own life.”

Teary-eyed, Madison leaned over and hugged her. “I know. And it looks like I’ll have to prove it. But first I need to know what funeral home to call.”

“Peebles. That’s who handled the arrangements for getting your mama down here. Your grandfather left a letter for you.”

Madison raised a troubled gaze to Nadine’s. “It’s only been four months. How could I have forgotten Peebles handled my mom’s funeral?”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Clayton said. “A lot has happened since then.”

“Yes, chère,” Nadine said. “I doubt your father was much help in settling your mama’s estate.”

Madison’s heart warmed. Nadine had always been her champion, just like she’d been her mother’s. “Wait. Did you say Grandfather left me a letter?”

“Yes. Let me get it.” A few minutes later, the spry octogenarian handed her a large envelope.

“Do you know what’s in it?”

“Not from reading it, but your grandfather and I discussed what he would write. I’m sure he mentioned Peebles in it.”

Madison stared at the envelope. She’d thought it would be years before she had to deal with her grandfather’s funeral. When she didn’t reach for the letter, Nadine pressed it into her hands. If paper could burn, her hands would be on fire. She placed the envelope on the table near the door. “I’ll read it later. Right now, all I have to know is the name of the funeral home.”

Clayton took out his phone. “I can call Rebecca for you.”

“Would you?” One less thing for her to do. She still had Buddy and Joe and her father to notify.

Clayton glanced at Madison then Nadine. “Why don’t we step outside on the patio?”

Nadine seemed to have shrunk since they delivered the news. She probably needed time to herself. “I’ll check on you later,” Madison said and hugged the older woman again.

“My prayers go with you, chère.”

The patio was pleasantly warm when she sank into a black wrought-iron chair. While Clayton walked toward the house to call the hospital, Madison tried her father’s cell phone one more time before she resorted to calling the office. He answered just as she was about to hang up.

“I’m in a meeting. What is it?”

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