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“Just his eyes,” I said. “His face and head were covered with a big scarf. But he had brown eyes.”
“That doesn't give us a whole lot. But maybe the security cameras caught something we can use,” he said, turning his large body around to face me. “Do you have any idea why these people are after you, Madison?”
Madison nodded but said nothing. I couldn't help but notice her skin was paler than normal, and her body still trembled. With lips that quivered and dark circles under her eyes, she looked utterly exhausted. Wrung out. Emotionally spent. I wanted to tell everyone to leave, to let her get some rest, but I knew they were just doing their job. Knew they were trying to help. I also knew they were likely the only hope we had of catching this guy.
“Could you explain that, Madison?” Fellows pressed. “You said you knew why they're after you.”
Madison nodded again, her tired eyes shifting from me to Fellows. “I was looking into some suspected arson cases on my podcast recently,” she said, her voice a little hoarse. “I have to believe the fact that I'm opening up some old cases struck a nerve with somebody.”
Fellows raised an eyebrow, the look of skepticism on his face open and obvious. He didn't strike me as the kind of man who listened to podcasts or knew much about the power of social media these days. The reach somebody with a popular podcast had, the many thousands if not millions of people who listened. The sort of influence they could have. Especially when they got the sort of results Madison had by doing the work she was doing.
I had no doubt the man who'd tried to kill her had heard her show. What else could it be? There didn't seem to be any other logical, rational reason for somebody to tie her up and leave her in a burning building – right after she'd talked about re-opening some of those old cases.
“Struck a nerve?” Fellows asked. “How so?”
She looked at me, and I answered for her. “We believe she got too close.”
I put an arm around Madison's shoulder and held her close to my body. She was still trembling, but with my arm around her, she seemed to settle down slightly – and only for a moment. I couldn't blame her for being scared. Terrified. Any normal, sane person would be, given what she'd been forced to endure.
“Too close?” Fellowes asked. “Like finding out who it was behind the arsons?”
“Yes.” Madison's voice was shaky as she answered.
“Mind sharing some of your information with us, Ms. Haywood?” Fellows asked. “Anything that might be able to help us figure this out.”
“I— umm, well, I can't,” she stammered. “It's gone. My memory is still gone, for the most part. Everything's still spotty and I'm missing whole sections of my memories. I'm trying to remember what I'd discovered though. I'm just not running at full capacity at the moment.”
“Is it possible,” Fellows asked, “that some bitter, angry ex-boyfriend is trying to hurt you?”
Madison shook her head quickly. “No, that's not possible.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“She just said she was sure,” I snapped. “Now, why don't you get to work trying to find out who's hunting her instead of creating some mysterious and bitter ex out of thin air?”
The cop shot me a look of irritation before turning back to Madison, his expression bordering on disbelief and hostility. He obviously didn't think this had anything to do with her podcast and, judging by the look in his eyes, he was probably inclined to believe it was some crazy ex-boyfriend behind it all.
“We'll take a look at the security cameras and get back to you.”
“That's it?” I stammered. “That's all you’re going to do for her?”
“We'll continue the surveillance outside the hotel as well, Mr. Miller—”
“Yeah, you guys did a real bang up job with that tonight,” I snapped, my insides boiling with rage. “Madison might have been killed if I hadn't been with her. Your surveillance team—”
“Well then, it was a very lucky thing were with her tonight, wasn't it?” the cop said, narrowing his eyes at me, his hostility becoming more obvious. “Might be a good idea to get another room – one without a broken doorknob.”
“Thank you, Captain Obvious.”
The cop and I stared each other down for a long moment before he sighed, shrugged and turned away from us. I watched him as he walked toward the door, and then through it, disappearing into the hallway beyond. If he thought I'd let Madison stay in this room – or any room at this hotel now – he was dead wrong. If they weren't going to lift a finger to help her, to keep her safe, then I guessed I’d have to. As soon as the cop left, I turned to her. Putting my hands on her shoulders, I looked her in the eye.
“Come on. Pack your stuff,” I said in a tone that brooked no argument. “You're coming to my place.”
“We can just—”
“Stop it,” I said, rubbing my temples. “I'm not in the mood to argue. It's settled. Done. You're staying with me until we figure out who is behind this and get his ass off the streets. Until this is over, I'm not letting you out of my sight. Not again.”
Madison opened her mouth to speak again but then closed it. Opting not to put up a fight. I think we were both too exhausted to fight about it. Or, she saw the reason in what I was saying. Either way, she gathered her things and followed me out of the hotel. The ride down in the elevator was silent, and there was a stiff, fear-fueled tension in the air as we walked out to my car.
