“Carrie,” I say, calling her by her first name, which she insisted on when she called me to meet her. “You were very upset on the phone.”

She sets down her cup. “I was. I am. I’m sorry about that. I don’t do upset very often. Most of the people who work with me—my team of superstars—think that I’m a rock and don’t have any feelings whatsoever, but I do. I really do.”

“That’s all right,” I tell her. “We all hide our feelings to get things done. I imagine that our jobs are somewhat alike. I need to be strong for people who have been victimized, and tough with those who do harm to others.”

Carrie smiles. “I guess we are. The corporate world asks a lot of women, just like I’m sure law enforcement does.”

I really don’t think the two are that related, but I give her a slight nod. She’s called me with something to say about Adam Warner, and I need to hear it. Though I would never admit it to anyone, especially Montrose, I’m there for myself as much as I am for Sophie. It feels terrible and selfish to think that, but I can’t help it. I know Adam never could hurt anyone, yet between Frank Flynn and now the woman across from me, I’m beginning to wonder how well I know him.

Or if I knew him at all. It has been a long time since I was twelve.

“I’m not sure if I need a lawyer here,” she says.

“Why would you need a lawyer?” I ask. “Have you committed a crime? Or been party to one?”

Carrie shifts her body in her chair to let a young man slip by.

“No,” she says. “Of course not. Never.”

“Then why would you think you need someone’s counsel to tell the truth?”

Her eyes flutter. “I don’t know. It’s a little complicated. I haven’t got a thing to do with what happened to Sophie, and really, I don’t think that Adam did, either.”

I feel a little relief come to me with that last remark.

I urge her to continue. “Something’s bothering you, Carrie. You need to tell me just what it is so that the investigation can cover all of its bases. All right?”

“Right,” she says. “I understand. That’s why we’re here.”

“Yes,” I say. “That’s the reason.”

“He won’t be happy with me.”

Her words are leading me to a place I don’t want to go. What she has is very personal, and it might rewrite what I think of Adam.

“His being happy with you isn’t crucial in the long run,” I finally say. “What’s important is that I get all the information I can for Mrs. Warner’s case.”

Carrie fidgets with the clasp on her Kate Spade purse.