Page 69 of Deception

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.” Was the two women’s tendency to clam up hereditary? “You’re a lot like Madison, you know.”

She raised the head of the bed. “What do you mean?”

“Neither of you show your cards.”

Her eyes twinkled. “And you know a lot about card playing?”

Clayton hadn’t meant to go there. “Unfortunately, I once did.”

“But no longer.”

“That’s right. You are evading my questions, Ms. Parker. May I ask why?” Seconds ticked by, and he tried to think of a way to reframe the question.

“Habit.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Habit?”

She sighed. “Yes. Partly because of what happened when I had to change my identity, and partly because I’m a social worker and accustomed to respecting my clients’ right to privacy.”

“I can understand that, but I wasn’t asking out of curiosity. I have a shooter to catch—your shooter—and any information you can give me will help.”

“You think someone might not have wanted Madison and me to connect?”

“It’s occurred to me.”

Her expression was thoughtful. “I’d hoped to explain all of this to Madison first, but you’re right. It may be days before she and I can talk. I need to be helpful, although I don’t believe the fact that Madison and I are twins has any bearing on my shooting.”

“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that.” He flipped the page on his notepad. “How long have you known about Madison?”

“Let’s see ... this is, March, right?” When he nodded, she said, “Four months. Right before Christmas.”

“Why didn’t you contact her then? Give her a call?”

“It wasn’t something I wanted to do over the phone.” Dani bit her bottom lip. “I didn’t know enough about her—not everyone wants relatives coming out of the woodwork. I didn’t know ifshe was aware she’d been adopted. I couldn’t barge into her life and say, ‘You have a twin sister.’”

“I suppose not.”

“It was only recently that I was comfortable with getting in contact with Madison and had planned to connect with her once I dropped Bri off.” She grabbed the cup of water and took a sip.

“Have you heard from Bri?”

Dani shook her head. “The girl is scared to death. I can’t imagine where she’s hiding out. I called Wings of Hope to let them know why we never made it to Jackson. As soon as I know where she is, I’ll call, and they’ll send someone to get her.”

Clayton nodded. “I snapped a photo of your car tag, and I’ll have Chief Nelson issue a BOLO for her. When she was here, did you discuss where she might find a safe place to stay?”

“No, but Madison gave her a card with her grandfather’s address on it. Bri was freaked out about the shooting, and then she freaked out about a marshal being here. I told her it was for Madison’s grandfather, that he was a judge, and the police thought someone might have shot him. That’s when I went into A-fib, and they asked her to leave.”

He leaned forward. “I hope this isn’t stressing you.”

“It’s not. Putting everything in order is actually helping me clear my mind.” She frowned. “But I’m not sure where I left off.”

“You planned to contact Madison once you dropped Bri off...”

“Oh yeah ... Bri and I had only gotten to Natchez when you saw us at the restaurant. By then I had decided to try and see Madison on my way back to Mobile.”

“Is that where WITSEC set you up to live?”

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