Simon Says Die

they had with each other. Something bad had happened. He knew it. He just prayed he could find her soon.
    He refused to even consider that he wouldn’t find her.
    Tessa sat down on one of the two couches in the family room to give her latest report to Lieutenant Hamilton and Pierce. Matt was out searching with the B&B crew. And Pierce had already updated Hamilton about the picture Tessa had from the motel.
    The lieutenant was eager for help closing the case, so he wasn’t upset at all that Tessa had been digging around. He was a little too happy, in Pierce’s opinion, because the evidence wasn’t backing up the abduction theory.
    â€œOkay,” Tessa said. “Here’s where things stand right now. I’ve spoken to several eyewitnesses who said a woman matching Mrs. McKinley’s description, driving Mrs. McKinley’s car—as confirmed by still images of the license plate—was seen at the Super 8 motel out on I-95, just south of town approximately thirty minutes after her disappearance. The subject used Mrs. McKinley’s credit card to rent a room.”
    She glanced at Pierce, an apologetic look on her face. “Subject was seen entering the motel room with a man closely matching the description of the man Mrs. McKinley recently chased through Forsyth Park, the same incident in which Special Agent Buchanan was shot. The subject and the unidentified man were seen leaving the motel room half an hour later, and they drove off in Mrs. McKinley’s vehicle.”
    Pierce tightened his hand around the arm of the couch. “If that woman was Madison, she was under duress. The man with her must have had a gun pointed at her.”
    She shook her head. “Not according to the eyewitnesses.”
    â€œHe could have had the gun hidden beneath his jacket. Just because they didn’t see a gun, doesn’t mean there wasn’t one.”
    She put her hand on Pierce’s shoulder. “They were seen kissing, passionately, in the parking lot. I saw the still photo from the security camera.”
    He shook off her hand. “I know everyone thinks my judgment’s clouded because of my past relationship with Madison. Maybe you’re right. But there are too many things that don’t add up here to ignore.”
    â€œLike what?” Hamilton asked. He held his hands up when Pierce frowned at him. “I’m serious. If there’s something I’ve overlooked, I want to know about it. You accused me of jumping to conclusions too quickly. I’m just as willing as you to admit I could be wrong. Give me something to go on. There’s been no ransom demand, no note, no phone call, nothing to suggest that Mrs. McKinley was taken against her will. And everything we’ve seen points to just the opposite. So, go ahead, please. Give me something to help me see your side.”
    Pierce blew out a frustrated breath. “Aside from the glaring fact that Madison has no motive to lie to the police—”
    â€œThat you know of,” Tessa said.
    â€œAll right. That we know of. Aside from no motive, everything else is too . . . perfect.”
    â€œLike what?” Tessa asked.
    â€œThe motel, for one. How did you find out about it in the first place?”
    â€œI traced her credit cards, found she’d made a charge and went to the motel to investigate. Standard operating procedure.”
    â€œExactly. Madison’s brother is a police chief. Before that, he was a detective in New York City. Madison and Logan are close. I know for a fact that he’s discussed police procedures with her on numerous occasions. She knows standard operating procedures. If she wanted to disappear, she wouldn’t use her credit cards. And she sure as hell wouldn’t drive a flashy, red sports car.”
    Hamilton looked thoughtful. “When you put it that way, it does sound far-fetched. Considering how carefully everything else was done, I wouldn’t expect these kinds of mistakes.”
    Pierce nodded, relieved to see that Hamilton was at least listening. “The sprinkler system was also overkill. If Madison wanted to create a diversion so she could get out of the house without anyone noticing, wouldn’t she have chosen something more reliable or predictable? She didn’t have any way of knowing the B-and-B contractors were coming out this morning, or how long it would take the water to go out to the street if they hadn’t