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As soon as Marcy went in the house, Kara turned to Madelyn. “Are you pregnant?”
Madelyn looked stricken. “How did you know?”
Kara gestured to Madelyn’s hand that was on her stomach. “Did your husband know?”
“Yes,” she squeaked. “We found out last month. I’m thirteen weeks now. It’s why we went back to Montana for our anniversary, to quietly celebrate. I wanted to keep it a secret as long as possible, but—”
“But what?”
“A week ago Pierce’s children found out. I don’t know how. Maybe I left something on my desk they might have seen. They were not happy—I should say, Kimberly and Josh weren’t happy. Justin was nice about it, to be honest. After a rocky beginning, he and I, I guess, developed a mutual respect. His fiancée had a lot to do with it, I believe. She and I became friends and she’s...well, Robin is a wonderful person. Or maybe he decided that whatever made his father happy wasn’t something he wanted to mess with.”
When Madelyn saidwhatever made his father happy, Kara saw a hint of steel in Madelyn. Kara wasn’t going to judge the marriage or the age difference or whether Madelyn was a gold digger. Unlikely or not, it seemed that Madelyn and Pierce had a relationship that had worked for them.
Kara knew a thing or two about unlikely relationships.
“Madelyn,” Kara asked, “did you know of any threats against your husband or his business? A disgruntled employee or an investor who wasn’t happy?”
She shook her head. “Justin would know. He and his father were very close. They worked together, talked almost every day.”
Justin Jeffries moved up on Kara’s to-talk-to list.
Before she could ask another question, Marcy returned, followed by a man and woman in their late twenties.
“You are a piece of work,” said the woman—Kimberly, Kara surmised.
Marcy stepped toward her. “Ms. Jeffries, remember what I said?”
“You don’t know—”
“I mean it,” warned Marcy. “This house belongs to Madelyn Jeffries and you are here at her pleasure. This is a difficult situation, and we’re going to act like adults.”
The young man said, “I hope you’re asking her about what she had to gain from our father’s death!”
“I’ve gained nothing, Josh,” Madelyn said, “and lost everything.”
“You liar!” Kimberly said. “Daddy changed his will, and you havehalf of everything! And to top it off, you get a quarter of what should be split between my brothers and me because you got yourself knocked up! Is that why you killed him now? So you get more money? I’ll prove you set this up, you bitch!”
Marcy whistled between her fingers with such shrieking power that Kara was genuinely impressed. She had always wanted to be able to do that.
Kara said to Marcy, “Can you take Madelyn and her mother inside, get all contact information for family and friends and personal lawyer? I’d like to talk to Ms. and Mr. Jeffries.”
“And who the fuck are you?” Kimberly said.
Kara took out her badge. She loved this part of her job. “Quinn, FBI. Sit.”
“You can’t be a fed.”
Her badge said LAPD, so she handed Kimberly her new business card.
“Sit. Now.”
Kimberly sat, staring at the card. Her brother joined her on the cushioned wooden couch.
After Marcy led the others inside and slid the door shut, Kara said, “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“That’s rich,” Kimberly snorted.
“Nine people died Friday night and my team came from DC to find out who did it and why.” Kara was determined to be patient with this unpleasant woman. “We are pursuing all leads. We do not know at this time whether your father was a specific target or an innocent bystander, but it would help greatly if you could leave your animosity toward your stepmother outside of this investigation.”
