Page 98 of Deception

Madison tilted her head at the housekeeper. “Do you think you would recognize the woman’s voice if you heard it again?”

“Yes. After you left, I thought about it, and there was something familiar about the voice ... like I’ve heard it before.”

That eliminated only about half of Natchez.

After she’d eaten, Madison looked for something to do. She couldn’t help Hugh, so she went to her room to sort through the papers Deon Cox had sent her. She paired the purchase orders with the receipt of goods that employees had signed off on.

A pattern emerged. One particular employee regularly signed off on the receipt of goods that did not match the purchase order. However, the final cost never changed from the original order. Did the man think they were stupid? That no one would notice? But there was no telling how long he’d been getting away with it.

She raised her head at a soft knock. “Come in.”

Clayton stuck his head in the door. “It’s 6:30, and since Hugh said he’d be here another hour, I thought I’d run home and shave and change.”

That meant she’d have to change as well. Her gaze went to his now almost two-day beard. She could get used to the sexy look. Heat flushed her face. Where had that thought come from? “Uh, sure,” she mumbled.

“Okay ... see you around 7:45,” he said, winking at her.

Her face grew even hotter. What if he’d noticed? He mightthink she viewed tonight as an actual date. She barely managed to give him a thumbs-up and tell him she’d be ready.

After Clayton left, Madison searched through her closet for something to wear, discarding first one outfit, then another. Not that she had that many to choose from. Maybe she should’ve picked up something at one of the boutiques downtown. Like she’d had time. She finally settled on cropped jeans and a casual linen shirt.

Why was she dithering? Then it hit her. Because down deep, she had begun to think of tonight as a real date.

53

Clayton couldn’t deny he was looking forward to spending time with Madison away from their problems. Well, his problems, anyway. Her problems with her father still existed, and he’d only been invited to be a buffer between Madison and her father ... and the woman he was bringing.

Still, Clayton was glad she wanted even that. He got the impression Madison didn’t trust many men. And after meeting her father, he could understand why. And then there was the FBI agent who tried to kill her. Rather than ask her about it, Clayton had looked it up on the internet. One article had talked about them being romantically involved. If it was true, it was no wonder she didn’t trust men.

After he showered and shaved, he pulled on a pair of dark jeans and a red checkered shirt and rolled the sleeves to just below his elbow. Only 7:20. Still twenty minutes before time to pick Madison up. He drummed his fingers against his leg, not believing how nervous he was.

Do something to kill the time ...His gaze settled on a photo of him kneeling beside Ava.Call your sister.

His stomach clenched. He hadn’t gotten around to stopping by. Would she even answer, and if she did, what would he say? He did have an excuse to call her and ask if she remembered seeing Aaron Corbett at the Guest House Wednesday night. Not just an excuse, but a responsibility.

He took out his phone and opened the favorites menu and tapped Jen’s number. After the fourth ring, he decided she wasn’t going to answer and started to press the end button.

“What do you want?”

“I, ah...”Apologize.“How are you?”

“I’ve been better.”

“Look, I know you don’t want to talk to me, but I need to ask you something.”

After a brief silence, she said, “What?”

“It’s about a case. Do you remember any of the people who were at the Guest House the night we ate there?”

“No. Is that what you want?” Disappointment laced her voice.

“You didn’t know any of the guests there? It’s important.”

Silence answered him, then Jen drew in a deep breath. “I remember seeing Mrs.... I can’t remember her name. Mom volunteers at her place.”

“Mrs. Winslow?”

“Yes. Her.”

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