Page 34 of The Girl He Crowned

“I remember,”Paige said. It seemed that the reporter was everywhere, and ahead of her mostof the time.

“Well, Agent King,do you have any comment for the people of Eddis on the murders in their town?Are you any closer to catching the serial killer?”

Paige knew thatshe had to be careful now. The last time Paige had spoken to the press, she’ddone it deliberately to provoke a serial killer, and her boss had been anythingbut happy about it. It was probably one of the main reasons behind theperformance review she was facing.

At the same time,Sauer was very conscious of the FBI’s image on cases like this, so he probablywouldn’t want Paige to just push past the reporters without answering any questionsat all. It was a delicate balancing act, one that Paige wasn’t entirely surethat she was up to.

“We’re makingprogress, Lucille,” Paige said, deliberately using the reporter’s first name.

“Whatkindofprogress? Don’t you think the people of this town deserve to know what you’redoing to keep us safe?”

Paige did her bestto smile and look professional. “You know as well as I do that the FBI isn’tgoing to reveal details of an active investigation in case it gives the killera chance to run. Iwillsay that we are investigating a promising lineof inquiry.”

“That’s all you’regoing to say?” the reporter demanded. “Do you think that’s good enough? Wouldit have been good enough if an agent said that about your father’s murder?”

Paige almostsnapped back at the reporter automatically, and then realized that was exactlywhat she was hoping for. She wanted to get a reaction, and had guessed that wasthe safest way to do so. Getting a reaction was probably the reason why she’dtried to beat Paige here. This reporter thought that Paige was the story, notthe murders, and Paige definitely didn’t like that.

“You want to talkabout my past, Lucille?” Paige said, keeping her voice deliberately calm. “Allright then, yes, I would have wanted as many answers as I could get. But thatwas me as a fourteen-year-old girl. As an adult, and as a federal agent, I knowthat the most important thing is catching the killer.”

“Well, how does itfeel to know that the man who killed your father still hasn’t been caught?”Lucille asked.

“If you want toask about the Exsanguination Killer, you’ll have to ask agents who are workingon that particular case, or better yet, put in a request to the FBI’s pressoffice for an official comment. I do know that the FBI is working hard to catchthat killer, just as we’re working hard here to catch the killer in Eddis.”

Paige walked awayfrom the reporter then, feeling slightly proud of herself. She didn’t thinkthat she’d given her too much, but more than that, she hadn’t let Lucille Baleof theEddis Gazettegoad her into the kind of angry response that wouldonly upset Agent Sauer when he saw it, and which she had been so obviouslyfishing for.

As she approachedthe door to Debbie Danton’s house, it opened, revealing a young, dark haired womanwho looked enough like Debbie that they had to be related.

“I told youreporters before, I don’t want to talk to you,” she said as Paige approached.

Paige couldunderstand that worry about the press. She showed the young woman her badge.“I’m Agent King, with the FBI. I’m working on Debbie’s case. You’re her…sister?”

The young womannodded. “I’m Eliza. You’d better come in.”

To Paige, theinterior of the house looked a lot more modern than the exterior, as if someonehad been through it, gutted it, and then replaced most of it within the lastten years. The whole place was bright with white paint, with plenty of mirrorson the walls to reflect even more light, and metal fittings here and there.There were patches of exposed brickwork too, while most of the furniture Paigesaw looked as though it had been repurposed from other things. There was a lampin the hallway that looked as though it had once been a piece of gym equipment,and a small table that seemed to be made from reclaimed pieces of metal.

“I’m just lookingafter things here until we work out what to do with it all,” Eliza said. Shesounded a little overwhelmed. “Our parents are on their way back from Cancun, butour family lawyers have been helpful, at least.”

Paige nodded, asif she could begin to understand the process of dealing with the affairs ofsomeone so wealthy after she died.

“Is there a lot todo?” Paige asked. She guessed that there would be a thousand and one things totake care of.

She saw Eliza nod.“More than you can imagine. Come on through.”

She led the wayinto a vast living room, a whole section of which had green screens set uparound it, and cameras pointing at it. That section of the room looked morelike a recording studio than somewhere someone might actually live.

“All of this wasfor your sister’s work?” Paige said.

Eliza nodded. “Althoughdon’t call it work around my father. He made his money in pharmaceuticals, so Idon’t think he got that being an influencer could be an actual job. Or thatthere was any work involved. He was pretty angry when I started helping Debbie lastyear rather than just jumping into the business.”

“Did Debbie workhard at what she did?” Paige asked.

That got anothernod from the young woman. “She was always coming up with ideas, or working out,or trying to get sponsors to send new clothes for her shoots. She put in thiswhole green screen setup so that she could have different backdrops, and shewould spendhourson hair and makeup. Then there was the thing of havingto always be on, always ready to interact with her followers. That was whatthey bought into: that sense of authenticity.”

Eliza’s tone madeit sound like the most difficult job in the world, even as there was a note ofenvy there in her voice. Paige was also interested in one word there that Elizahad used about her sister’s job.

“Authenticity?”She gestured to the green screen.

Eliza shrugged.“Oh, I know it can seem pretty fake from the outside, but that’s not theimportant part. The important part is that Debbie was always there for herfans. She didn’t hold back. In a lot of ways, she created something that wasmore real than the real world.”

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