Page 81 of Deception

“Same difference.” He grinned. “Anyway, it’s one bite at a time. Or as I say, ‘Do the next thing.’ So what’s the next thing?”

“The funeral home.”

“There you have it. Are you certain you don’t want me to go with you?”

“Don’t you have work to do?”

“I want to take time to go with you.”

Madison’s eyes teared up again, and she waved her hand in front of her face. “Thanks.” She sniffed. “Sometimes it’s hard to accept kindness.”

He smiled. “I’d already committed to going to the private investigator’s office with you, and then I thought we might stop by and talk to Dani again. See if she’s remembered anything and let her know she’s not on any hit list. Are you ready?”

When she nodded, he stood. “No need to take two vehicles—you want to ride with me? We can drop your car at the judge’s house.”

She frowned, and it was easy to see the wheels turning in her mind. “Don’t forget,” he said, “if you need your car, we’re only ten minutes from anywhere in Natchez.”

Madison gave him a wry grin. “I’d forgotten.”

“I don’t want to overlook any possibilities,” Clayton said as they walked to their cars. “Be thinking about any past cases you’ve investigated where someone might hold a grudge.”

“I will, but I’ll need to go through my files to refresh my memory.”

“Do any cases jump out at you?”

She shook her head. “No, but anytime you arrest someone, there’s a possibility they’ll seek revenge.”

“True.” He opened her car door and ignored the pointed look she gave him. “Are you wearing a protective vest?”

Her eyes widened. “No. I was in such a hurry to get away from the house, I totally forgot.”

“Then you can run in and put one on when we drop your car off,” he said. “What rating is your vest?”

“IIIA.”

“Not enough.” He frowned. “You don’t have one with a higher rating?”

“Yes, but I don’t want to wear it all day.”

He held up his hand. “You have to wear one with a higher rating.”

Madison pressed her lips together. “How about a compromise? If we’re out in the open, like yesterday, I’ll wear an outer vest, otherwise it’ll just be the one under my shirt.” When he agreed, she tilted her head. “How about you?” she asked.

“I’m wearing one now under my uniform.”

“What rating is it?”

She knew as well as he did that any body armor that could be worn under clothes wouldn’t provide protection against a sniper. “IIIA, same as yours. But no one is shooting at me.”

“You don’t know that. Why couldn’t you have been the target yesterday?”

“I suppose I could’ve been. But ISB special agents investigate ten serious crimes to my one. Although I did give a certain ISB ranger a warning ticket for speeding.”

He got a grin with that. “All right. I’ll give you that,” she said grudgingly and started her car.

Clayton followed her to the judge’s house and waited in his SUV while she changed. Then they drove to the funeral home, where Madison finished making final arrangements for the judge’s funeral while Clayton waited in the lobby. When she came out, she informed him it would be held at two o’clock Monday afternoon at the Methodist church where her grandfather was a lifelong member.

“He would’ve liked having it at St. Matthews,” she said as they drove away. “And I need to call Buddy to let him know the funeral arrangements. I talked to him last night, and Joe is in Nicaragua so he definitely won’t be coming.”

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