Page 92 of Deception

She shook her head. “I was only in Natchez during the summer. Other than you and Nadine’s family, I don’t know anyone.”

“Are there any photos of you and your grandfather on the web?”

She stilled. “He came to DC when I received the Medal of Valor. He could have been in the clips that were shown on the news outlets.” Madison rubbed the back of her neck. “And there were the photos Mom took of us together and put on her Facebook page. Knowing her, she would have tagged us in the post.”

“So maybe those photos would pop up for anyone searching Facebook for the judge’s name.”

A low groan escaped her lips. “Could Corbett have been at the Guest House that night you saw Dani and Bri?”

“I don’t know.” He hadn’t paid that much attention to the people other than Dani.

“How about your sister? Would she remember the people there?”

He clenched his jaw, feeling the muscle jump. Jen was a people watcher. If he had a photo of Corbett, she might remember him. Except they weren’t exactly talking to each other. This was something he needed to do in person, anyway. “I’ll print out a photo of him and show it to her.”

Clayton pulled under the pull-thru at the hospital, and Madison unbuckled her seat belt. “See you in a minute.”

When they got to Dani’s room, a deputy sat outside. They showed their ID and were allowed inside. Madison went straightto the bed that Dani had raised to a sitting position. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

She nodded. “Chief Nelson took the IV bag to get the contents tested, but I’m not sure how long that will take.”

“Did you recognize the nurse?”

“No. The person woke me up and their back was to me.”

“Did anything stand out?” Clayton asked.

“I’ve been lying here going over what happened, but all I keep seeing is that needle going into the IV bag.” She frowned, concentrating. “I have an impression the person was overweight, but the hands holding the syringe were thin. Cathy, the CNA, thought the person had blue-black hair.”

“Maybe he or she was wearing padding, and the blue-black hair sounds like the kind of wig I bought to wear to a costume party.” Madison turned to Clayton. “What do you think?”

Clayton shot an amused glance at Madison. “I haven’t gotten past that you went to a costume party.”

Her cheeks turned crimson. “I don’t normally, but it was for a friend’s thirty-fifth birthday. I do have fun sometimes—when people aren’t trying to kill me.” She glanced at Dani, who was laughing. “Or my newfound sister.”

Clayton smiled. “I wasn’t making fun of you, just glad that sometimes you relax.”

“You two kill me,” Dani said. “I can’t believe you’ve only known each other less than a week.”

Warmth filled his chest. She was right. It did seem as though he’d known Madison much longer. It hit him that hewantedto know her more, but it wasn’t at all like the way he’d felt about someone he was attracted to in the past. Then his goal hadn’t been about getting to know the woman. It’d been more about the thrill of the chase, and once that was gone, he’d move on to someone else.

Lately Clayton had been asking God for someone to share his life with ... Could it be Madison? His heart thudded againsthis ribs as it hit him that he wanted the house with the white picket fence and the kids. And he wanted it with Madison. But did she want that? She hadn’t given him any indication she did.

He looked up, and their gazes collided. Clayton could drown in her sea-blue eyes. Could Madison be the woman God had picked for him?

50

The hospital room faded as Clayton’s gaze held her prisoner. The last man who’d made her feel even remotely the way Clayton did had tried to kill her. She stepped back, breaking the connection. “Where were we before we got sidetracked?”

Clayton was slow to answer, as though he had to remember what they’d been talking about.

“He could’ve been wearing a wig,” Dani said.

“How about camera footage? Did the chief mention getting that?”

Dani shook her head. “He didn’t say, but one of the nurses told me the hospital is in the middle of changing companies, and the cameras haven’t been installed yet.”

The door opened and Chief Nelson entered the room carrying a small bag. “I got a local lab to run a sample from the bag before I sent it on to Jackson. It contained potassium chloride, a drug that shouldn’t have been there since none has been ordered for you.”

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