Page 87 of Darkwater Lane

I’d want to laugh at the irony if it didn’t also make me want to cry. In my work for J.B., one of my specialties is vetting corporate bigwigs. My job is to ignore the bland banker exterior and dig deep until I find the weakness that some foreign government or corrupt official or greedy billionaire will exploit. I literally unearth secrets for a living.

I just can’t seem to do the same with my own family.

I stare at my reflection in the window over the sink. It’s a gray day outside, making me appear as little more than a blur. How would it ever be possible for the two loves of my life to have both been arrested for murder?

Sam isn’t a murderer. He’s not the one behind all of this.

But then, who is?

The next morning, a teaser for the upcoming episode ofThe Royal Murdersdrops. I’m in my office alone. Sam has already left for a job, and both kids are still in bed. Even so, I listen with my headphones on the off chance it includes another snippet from Melvin. I can’t stand the idea of that man’s voice filling the rooms of my house.

Instead, it’s Rowan Applegate’s voice I hear.

As many listeners are aware, when we released the first episode ofThe Royal Murders, we had the entire podcast recorded and ready to go. However, as we’ve been airing episodes, we’ve been getting feedback—alot of it—and many of you have had questions, thoughts, and even tips that have led us in some very interesting directions. In short: there’s a whole lot more to this story than we first realized. In fact, we’ve only been scratching the tip of the iceberg.

To that end, while we plan to continue airing the original episodes, we’ve decided to also start adding bonus episodes to explore this new information. Trust me, you won’t want to miss it.

First up: it looks like there’s a new serial killer out there. You won’t have heard of him yet—the FBI hasn’t released any information. But if you know where to look, you can see a pattern emerging.

Cooper Kuntz. Salem Adams. Forrester Blakeny. Devin Pedowitz. Names of guys you’ve probably never heard of. What do they have in common? They all crossed Gina Royal in one way or another. Every one of them wished Gina Royal dead.

They didn’t get their wish. Instead, they were the ones to die. And they weren’t the only ones. Two others who posted threats against Gwen on a Melvin Royal message board have gone missing and are presumed dead. Leo Varrus, whose own daughter was one of Melvin Royal’s victims and who was a known critic of Gina’s, was found murdered in Gina Royal’s living room.

You heard that right: a man was murdered in Gina’s own house.

You seeing the pattern here?

All of them enemies of Gina Royal. All of them dead.

Think that’s a coincidence?

Well, I asked the woman herself about it. “I think you have an enemies list and you’ve been working through them one by one, killing them all.”

“If I had an enemies list, Rowan, you’d be at the top of it.”

Straight from the mouth of Gina Royal.

I guess if something happens to me, you all know who the prime suspect is.

Listen to our first bonus episode ofThe Royal Murderswhen it airs on Tuesday to learn more.

My heart pounds in my ears. Anger flushes my cheeks while my stomach churns.

That line: “If I had an enemies list, Rowan, you’d be at the top of it.” That had been me from the dock the day before. I sound angry and threatening. I sound like the kind of woman who might kill her enemies.

I yank the earbuds free and throw them on my desk. Rowan set me up. She wanted to needle me and get some sort of response she could use in her podcast. She knew exactly what to say to get me to talk.

And I fell for it.

I call Sam, needing to vent, but it goes straight to voicemail. Damnit.

I shake my head. How did she even know where to find me? I mean, locating my address in Stillhouse Lake wouldn’t be that difficult. Property records are public information. But how did she know she would find methen? She didn’t look like a woman who’d been waiting outside in the cold for a long time on the off chance I might come jogging by.

“Madison.” I spit her name like a curse. She has a prime view of my house. She could have told Rowan how and where to find me. What if they’re still working together? What if her entire approach with me has been a ruse?

I push to my feet and storm through the house. Lanny’s in the kitchen, standing barefoot in pajama bottoms and one of my old T-shirts as she waits for the coffee maker. She must have gotten up while I was listening to the podcast teaser, which is why I didn’t hear her.

She looks at me sleepily and notices my agitation. “Everything okay?”

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