Page 12 of The Advocate’s Ultimatum

“All right,” Sabre said. “Let’s try something different.”

Bay looked at her cautiously.

“Did you kill Todd Maddox?” Sabre asked softly.

Bay’s expression hardened again. “Yes.”

JP shifted in his chair.

Sabre held Bay’s gaze. “Why?”

“Because he deserved it.” The certainty in her voice was absolute.

Sabre felt the chill of something deeper moving beneath the surface of the case. Bay hadn’t spoken out of anger. She had said it like a fact, a simple truth.

Sabre was beginning to understand that Bay believed what she had done was justice. Sabre didn’t know yet where that belief came from, but the girl had answered the question too easily.

Because he deserved it.

Most teenagers accused of murder didn’t sound like that. They sounded scared, or defensive, sometimes angry. Bay had sounded certain.

Sabre folded her hands on the table. “Let’s talk about Todd Maddox.”

Bay didn’t move. “Okay.”

“You followed him.”

“Yes.”

“For how long?”

Bay shrugged. “A few days.”

JP shifted beside Sabre but said nothing.

Sabre kept her eyes on the teenager. “That sounds like planning.”

Bay was silent.

Sabre continued calmly. “You found out where he spent time, where he parked, what times he came and went.”

Bay’s expression stayed neutral.

“You were studying him.”

Bay looked at the table for a moment, then said quietly, “I needed to know where to find him.”

Sabre leaned forward. “Why?”

“Because he was dangerous.”

“Dangerous to who?”

Bay’s eyes flickered. For the first time, Sabre saw a flash of uncertainty.

Bay looked away. “People.”

“Which people?” Sabre asked gently.