Page 45 of Deception

“Lindsey was shot near the restroom,” he said as they walked toward his field ranger.

The only response he received was a curt nod. Madison was already scanning the area, her whole demeanor tense. She reminded him of a bloodhound on the scent. He sensed she had the natural instincts to investigate a crime like this, so why had she stopped?

The lady had a story, and he wanted to hear it.

25

Even though Clayton knew what had happened in Texas, Madison did not want to discuss why she’d joined the white-collar crime division. It was hard enough being drawn into this case without reliving an old one.

Instead, she focused on the introduction he was making and smiled and nodded to the field ranger. “I look forward to working with you,” Madison said.

“Same here. You’ll be the first ISB ranger I’ve worked with other than my husband,” Brooke said, her smile genuine.

Madison had almost forgotten that Brooke was married to Luke Fereday, since Brooke had kept her maiden name professionally.

“What can you tell me about last night?” Madison asked as Clayton walked away from them. Brooke took out her iPad and read the report she’d written.

“Thanks. Can you send that to me?”

“Sure, but take my tablet for now so you can refer back to my notes.”

Madison nodded. “Let me have a few minutes to process everything.” Once Brooke joined Clayton, who was in the shade of the brick building, Madison scanned the area. In her mind’s eye, she could see Lindsey Tremont pulling off the Trace and parking.

Madison walked inside the building. One working stall, one with an out-of-order sign. Since the girl had called 911, she was with her and may have offered for Lindsey to go first. Going on that assumption, Madison retraced the victim’s steps, exiting the restroom.

From Brooke’s notes, it appeared Lindsey was facing the door, probably trying to return to the building when she was shot. Madison stilled herself and focused on how the crime may have gone down. What she could “see” was Lindsey exiting the building, maybe realizing something was wrong, and running back to the restroom when someone shot her in the back.

She glanced around and tried to recall if there’d been a moon visible last night. No. Madison distinctly remembered looking for one when she arrived at the hospital. She approached the two rangers.

“Was this light working last night?” Madison thumbed toward the light on a wooden post in front of the restroom.

“Yes,” Brooke said. “But it’s the only one here. Anyone could have hidden in the shadows beyond the light’s reach, and the victim wouldn’t have seen them when she came out of the restroom. I figure she came out alone to wait for Bri—that’s the name the girl gave the 911 operator.”

“What’s your take on her? Do you think she shot our victim and stole her car?”

“I don’t think so. The 911 operator indicated she was scared and tried to help.”

They had so little to go on. Was she a relative? Or someone Lindsey had picked up, maybe doing a good deed? Madison glanced at her phone, willing the FBI analyst to call with information on this Lindsey Tremont. Only one bar? “Is there no phone service here?”

“Very little,” Clayton said. “You might get a text through. Or I can contact dispatch on the radio to make a call for you.”

“I’ll wait.” Even if she had Allyson’s report, there was nothingshe could do with it out here. She searched Brooke’s notes to see if there was anything about how far away the assailant had been and didn’t find anything. “Any guesstimate on the distance between the victim and shooter?”

“It was really overcast last night so it was very dark. I’m thinking ten, twenty feet at most.” Brooke turned to her boss. “What do you think?”

Clayton nodded. “I agree.”

A gun that used 9mm ammo was accurate to thirty yards, but that was with daylight conditions. Madison was inclined to agree with Brooke as well. “Did you find any casings?”

“Nothing last night. I had just started sweeping the area again when you arrived.” She pointed to the metal detector leaning against the brick building.

Madison waved her away. “By all means, go back to it, and let me know if you find anything.”

“Are you ready to leave?” Clayton asked.

“As soon as I take some photos.” Madison took out her phone and quickly snapped shots of the area. Having a visual would help when she wrote her report.

Once they were in Clayton’s SUV and headed south again, she leaned back against the seat.

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