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Madison turned,planting two feet on the concrete outside but remaining seated in the cruiser.She shoveled away a pool of tears with her forearm and then exhaled deeply.
‘I’ll try.’
‘Can you talk usthrough how you found Penelope?’
Penelope looked backat the office building where her dead mother lay. ‘I’d come to pick her up. Shetexted me an hour ago, saying she had a last-minute client booked in. Afterthat, she was free.’
‘Where were youheaded?’ Ella asked.
‘Shopping.’
‘Did you see anyonearound when you got here? Anyone that stood out?’
Madison sniveled. 'No.The whole place was deserted. All I saw was mom's car in the lot.'
Ripley spoke up. ‘Yourmom worked alone?’
‘Yes. Just her inhere. I told her it was dangerous, but…’ Madison trailed off.
Ella's heart tightenedat Madison's words. There was raw pain in every syllable. This was the part ofthe job that never got easier, the human element that cut through theprocedural and analytical.
‘Madison, did your momever talk about feeling unsafe? Any unusual interactions with her clients thatstuck with you?’
Madison wiped hernose. ‘No. Mom was tough as nails. She said she welcomed the freaks. They weremore interesting or something.’
‘Any freaks inparticular?’
Madison took a moment,then shook her head. 'No. Mom hardly talked about her work.'
Ripley, everpragmatic, shifted the focus. ‘Madison, about the last-minute client—did yourmom receive a call or an email? Anything that might help us trace them?’
‘I don’t know,’Madison said. ‘She did everything online.’
Ella thought back tothe chaos in Penelope’s office. Her computer might be in pieces, but hopefullythe hard drive was still functional.
'We'll look into it,'Ella said. Now, she had to deliver the worst question of all. The question shealways despised. 'Madison, do you know anyone who might want to do this toPenelope? Professional, personal, it doesn't matter. Is there anyone who mightwant to hurt her?'
Madison's facecrumbled. The grief that had been a constant presence in her expression nowmixed with a new, complex emotion—confusion, fear, maybe even guilt. Madisonlooked down, her fingers knotting together in her lap.
‘No,’ she whispered,so faintly Ella had to lean in to hear it.
But the hesitation inher voice, the slight catch before the word, said more than the word evercould.
Ella observed herclosely, noting the way Madison's eyes darted away, the way her breath caught.
‘Are you sure?’ Ellaasked.
Madison's eyes metElla's again, swirling with unsaid words, her lips parting as if she was aboutto speak. Then, she glanced away, silence winning whatever inner battle wasgoing on.
It was clear there wassomething more.
Ella reached out,placing a gentle hand on Madison's. ‘If you know someone who might have donethis, we need to know. You can trust us. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s safe toshare.’
Madison drew a deepbreath, as if pulling courage from the very air around her, then finally metElla's gaze with a newfound resolve. It was as though she had traversed aninternal chasm, coming to a decision that seemed to physically steel her spine.
‘Well,’ she began, ‘mymom... she didn't always work alone.’
Ella's curiositypiqued. ‘What do you mean?’
