Simon Says Die

Don’t move from this spot until I tell you it’s all clear.” He gave her what she thought of as his FBI-agent stare and continued across the porch to the front door. When no one answered his repeated knocking, he crossed to the end of the porch to peer around the corner of the house to the side yard.
    She hurried forward and peeked in through the front window, cupping her hands against the glass to see past the glare. “It’s fairly clean inside. Doesn’t look abandoned.”
    â€œFor the love of . . . get away from the window.” He strode forward and grabbed her arm.
    â€œWait, I think I see Mr. Newsome.”
    A shadow, darker than the rest, appeared in the hallway.
    Madison waved a hand to get the man’s attention, then sucked in a sharp breath.
    Pierce yanked her away from the glass and pulled out his gun, every muscle in his body tense. “What?” He edged to the corner of the window. “What did you see?”
    She swallowed against the lump in her throat. “Damon. I think I just saw Damon.”
    â€œI ’M TELLING YOU, Damon was in there.” Madison leaned back against Pierce’s car in front of Newsome’s house, facing off against Lieutenant Hamilton. She didn’t understand why he was so inclined not to believe everything she told him.
    For once, Pierce wasn’t giving her one of his warning looks or telling her to be quiet. He was facing Hamilton next to her and looked just as puzzled as she was.
    Behind the lieutenant, two police cars sat in Newsome’s front yard, lights flashing.
    â€œDid you see anyone?” Hamilton asked Pierce.
    â€œNo, but I saw Madison’s reaction . . . her genuine reaction. She saw someone inside, and believes it was her husband. He wasn’t wearing a hood this time. She saw his face. That’s good enough for me.”
    She sidled closer to him and put her hand on his waist, lightly squeezing to let him know she appreciated his support.
    â€œIt was dark inside. No lights on,” Hamilton said, still sounding skeptical.
    â€œIt was him,” Madison insisted.
    â€œThere’s no one inside. I should know. My men just broke in Mr. Newsome’s front door, a door you, Mrs. McKinley, are going to have to pay for when Mr. Newsome comes home.”
    â€œNo problem,” she said. “I’ll take it out of my police benevolent donation this year.”
    That earned her one of Pierce’s warning looks, but it was worth it.
    â€œWhen your men spoke to Newsome, how did he look?” Pierce asked. “Was he anxious, worried about anything?”
    A light flush of red crept up the lieutenant’s neck. “Actually, they didn’t visit him in person. They spoke to him on the phone. I didn’t think it was worth their time driving over here, and it turns out it wasn’t. There’s no one here.”
    Now Madison understood why Hamilton was acting so defensive. He was embarrassed that his men had lied to him, but he wasn’t willing to admit they’d lied, not in front of another law-enforcement officer.
    Pierce swore beneath his breath. “I wouldn’t have brought Madison here if I’d known your men hadn’t seen Newsome for themselves, and verified his identity. For all you know, the man your officer spoke to on the phone could be Damon McKinley.”
    â€œHighly unlikely. I was doing you a favor, a courtesy to a fellow officer, by even having my men make the phone call. There was no evidence of foul play, no evidence of a crime to even warrant the wellness check. And in case you’ve somehow forgotten, we’re a bit busy with some real crimes right now, namely the ‘Simon says’ killer.”
    Madison pushed off Pierce’s car and stepped closer to the lieutenant. “I’m not likely to forget since I saw that poor young man after he was killed this morning. As for a crime to warrant that wellness check, how about that fake note to the property manager? The note I gave you weeks ago? That’s your evidence.”
    â€œA printed-out note, not a hand-written one. And no signature. For all I know, you typed that note.”
    She threw her hands in the air. “Why would I do that?”
    He waved his hand back toward the house. “Why would you do any of this? Mrs. McKinley, in the past few weeks we’ve responded to your calls on half-a-dozen occasions.” He held up a hand and began