Page 94 of Deception

Madison stood and paced the room. Did she? A square envelope on the floor beside the IV pole caught her eye, and she stooped to pick it up. When she turned it over, her name was handprinted on the front. She showed it to Dani. “Is this yours?”

Her eyes widened. “I’ve never seen it before.”

Madison winced. Picking it up had been a dumb move, but she’d thought it was trash. She dropped the envelope on the table and grabbed a pair of gloves from the box on the wall and pulled them on.

The ivory-colored envelope was good quality. She turned it over. The flap was barely stuck at the tip.Possible DNA site?Her fingers shook as she carefully tugged where it was sealed. Inside was a single sheet, the same quality as the envelope, and she slipped it out. More hand lettering.

Now you know how it feels to have people you love taken from you. Revenge is mine, not the Lord’s.

Sound faded as blood drained from her face, taking with it her peripheral vision. Her legs buckled and she stumbled to the chair and fell into it, barely hanging on to consciousness.

When she came to herself, Dani was on her phone, telling Clayton to come quick. Madison sucked in air, trying to regain her equilibrium.

She hadn’t had a panic attack in three and a half years.

51

With the police chief on his heels, Clayton burst through the door to Dani’s room. It’d taken him less than three minutes to dash up the stairs from the cafeteria, but it’d seemed like an hour. Especially since all he could get from Dani was that Madison needed him.

One of the RNs he’d seen earlier was taking Madison’s blood pressure, and another had a wet washcloth to her forehead. He looked from Madison to Dani. “What happened?”

“She found that card on the floor and almost fainted when she opened it.”

“This one?” Chief Nelson asked as he pointed to an ivory envelope and a folded sheet of paper on the rolling over-the-bed table.

“Yes.”

He looked over the chief’s shoulder as Pete used his pen to flip the paper open and slide the card out. Clayton’s hands curled into fists as he read the handwritten words.

The nurse removed the blood pressure cuff. “It’s better,” she said. “Just sit there a minute.”

Clayton knelt beside the chair. “Are you okay?”

Madison removed the wet cloth. “Physically—yeah. Did you see the note?”

“I did.”

“Whoever did it thought Dani would be dead when I read it. Who would do such a thing? And why?”

He squeezed her hand. “I don’t know, but it’s their first mistake.”

She stared at him, then comprehension lit her eyes. “We have a motive,” Madison whispered.

“Yes. It’s more important than ever for you to go through your files. See who might blame you for a loved one’s death ... or even incarceration.”

Clayton stood as Pete Nelson slid the envelope into a plastic bag. “Do either of you recognize the handwriting?” the chief asked.

Both shook their heads. Madison pressed her lips together. “Someone wants to make me suffer. Is it possible the person who wrote this killed my grandfather? Because if it is, they’ve certainly made me suffer.”

One killer instead of two? Clayton wasn’t ready to combine the two cases. A glance at Nelson indicated he wasn’t either. The police chief rested his hand on his gun. “I have an appointment, but I’ll be in touch.”

“You’ll have an officer at the door?” Madison’s voice held a touch of panic in it.

“Definitely. I wish I had the manpower to put someone inside the room too, but ...” With a nod, he walked out, closing the door behind him.

Clayton searched his memory for someone they could hire. Hargrove. He turned to Madison. “Why don’t you give James Hargrove a call—he probably has someone he can send or knows of someone.”

Relief flooded her face. “Yes.”

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