Simon Says Die

your husband just kill you if he wanted your money, rather than try to scare you away?”
    â€œI don’t know.”
    â€œThe police have already exhumed your father’s body and should have lab results any time.”
    She blinked and held her hand to her chest. “They dug up my father’s body?” Her voice was a shocked whisper.
    â€œYou didn’t tell her?” Alex asked Pierce.
    â€œI haven’t had a chance yet.” He watched her closely. The blood had drained from her face, leaving her deathly pale.
    He got out of his chair and crouched down beside her. He gently pushed her dark hair back from her face. “Are you okay?”
    She squeezed her eyes shut. “This is a nightmare.”
    â€œWe’ll get through it.” He squeezed her hand again. “I’m not going to let you go to prison for something you didn’t do. Okay?”
    She nodded, but he could tell she didn’t believe him.
    She tugged her hand away. “I’ll be okay. Let’s get this over with. Tell me everything.”
    Pierce sat back down in his chair next to her, across the table from Alex.
    â€œThe chief medical examiner in New York is reviewing your father’s case right now,” Alex said. “Your father had congestive heart failure. He was on Digoxin?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œThe medical examiner said your father’s EKG from the hospital had a specific pattern called torsade de pointes. He said that’s something he’d expect to see if there was some kind of drug interaction.”
    Her brow wrinkled in confusion. “Wait . . . that’s not . . . are you saying my father’s doctor made some kind of mistake? He gave my father medicine that caused his heart attack?”
    â€œI’m not saying that at all. I’m just stating what the report says. The medical examiner is reviewing the records and performing tests on your father’s body. We’ll find out more once he’s finished with his review.” He flipped a page. “Now, onto the next item. Metro PD has some fairly damning circumstantial evidence against you, but as long as the medical examiner rules your father’s death was indeed by natural causes, you have nothing to worry about, at least as far as that particular charge goes.”
    Pierce studied Madison’s every reaction, paying close attention to her body language. There was no sign of relief in her expression. If anything, she looked more worried than she had a moment ago. This was not the look of a woman who just heard that the medical examiner’s ruling would clear her of a murder charge.
    â€œWhat circumstantial evidence?” she whispered, staring down at the table.
    â€œIt seems that someone performed searches on your computer for a drug called Maxiodarone, a derivative of . . .” He squinted down at the paper. “Amiodarone.” He looked up at her. “A search warrant was executed against your home earlier today. The police found a bottle of Maxiodarone. When the medical examiner was asked about that drug, he said if it were mixed with Digoxin, it could cause the EKG pattern he saw. And it could cause a heart attack.” He put the paper down that he was reading. “Your fingerprints were found on the bottle.”
    Pierce waited for Madison to get mad, to jump up and argue about planted evidence, but she remained silent. She squeezed her hands together in front of her and wouldn’t meet his gaze.
    What the hell was going on?
    â€œIf you have any theories to explain those computer searches or your prints on that bottle, that might speed things up.” Alex took out a pen and waited.
    Pierce watched her, alarm bells going off in his mind the longer she remained silent. “Alex,” he finally said, “give us a minute alone.”
    Alex glanced at his watch. “We don’t have a lot of time if we’re going to try to catch a judge today—”
    â€œFive minutes.”
    â€œAll right. Five minutes. No more.”
    Alex got up, and closed the door behind him. Pierce continued to watch, and wait.
    Finally, Madison lifted her head. Her eyes were bleak, her skin still deathly pale. “I did perform those Internet searches. And the fingerprints on that pill bottle are mine.”

 
    Chapter Twenty-Two
    O F ALL THE outrageous things that Madison could have said, Pierce never would have expected this. He