Page 39 of Alibi for Murder
Potter flipped over to another page. “What about these?”
The photos were of her parents and the Madisons. With the mystery couple captured on the edge of one of three snapshots. Allie wondered how much the FBI knew about the couple. The Colby Agency had located the couple, but they refused to talk. The two were a dead end so far.
“I recognize my parents and the Madisons—only because of what has happened since Friday night.”
“This is the Regers.” Potter tapped the image of the mystery couple. “They were assets of the Bureau working at Ledwell at the time your father was employed there.”
Allie and Steve shared a look. No wonder the couple refused to speak with anyone from the Colby Agency.
Steve turned up his hands. “Ms. Foster has already explained that she has no knowledge of these photos or how they came to be in her home. I suggest we move on.”
Potter turned to the next page. This one showed a series of photos of a vehicle Allie didn’t recognize parked in front of her house. The photos appeared to have been taken at different times, maybe on different days. She couldn’t be certain, but the vehicle was parked at slightly different locations. The shade from a nearby tree hit the vehicle at barely perceptible variances in each photo.
She looked to Potter. “Someone has been watching my house?”
Potter nodded. “Thomas Madison.”
Allie shook her head. This made no sense. “He never came to the door. If that’s him, I had no idea he was there.” She looked Potter straight in the eyes. “Why would he be watching my house?”
“We have no idea,” Fraser admitted. “We hoped you might be able to tell us.”
Allie held up a hand. “This man was part of an investigation you were conducting prior to his death.” She looked from one to the other. “You mentioned this in our first meeting. Why didn’t you tell me he had been watching my house? And how did you get these photos?”
“We’re asking the questions here, Ms. Foster,” Potter pointed out.
“We can’t help you solve your case. We have no reason to believe any part of it is connected to Ms. Foster, and she had no prior knowledge of the details you’ve revealed.” Steve gestured to the binder. “My guess is someone is playing you. Trying to derail your investigation. For all we know, Thomas Madison was losing his grip on reality before he died. Whatever the case, I believe it’s pretty clear that Ms. Foster is not involved. You’re far too focused on a woman who has no idea who Thomas Madison was rather than the identity and motive of the person who wanted to take his life.”
Potter and Fraser exchanged a look.
“There’s one more thing,” Fraser said.
Allie couldn’t wait to hear this one.
“Thomas Madison,” he went on, “was murdered with an injection of phenobarbital into his IV fluids.”
A large enough dosage was one way to put someone down, certainly. It didn’t take a medical professional to understand how that sort of thing worked.
“You’re a nurse,” Potter pointed out. “You would know the drug to use and how to inject it.”
“So would anyone else who bothered to google it,” Allie countered. Now she was just angry. This was enough.
“Funny that you mention googling,” Potter said. “We found several searches on your laptop about the best ways to cause sudden death.”
Allie’s jaw dropped. That was impossible. “I didn’t do any such searches,” she argued. Her skin flushed, and a combination of fear and outrage roared through her.
Steve turned to her. “We’re done here, I think.”
Allie was more than happy to hear that.
“You’re going to have to do better than this,” he warned the agents, “if you plan to keep dragging my client through these emotional minefields.”
He stood. Allie did the same.
Potter pushed the box toward them. “Your laptop and other devices.”
Steve took the box. “Good day, agents.”
As they moved toward the door, Fraser spoke up. “Be careful where you step in this minefield, Ms. Foster.”
