“If I may?”

“May what?”

“They got here at eight in the morning. You and I have been putting in almost twenty-hour days—this is what we signed on for. Quinn has her own reasons for doing it, but most anyone else is going to balk at working more than a twelve-hour shift.”

Matt hadn’t thought of that, maybe because he didn’t do much else except work. “I’ll have them relieve the Spokane detail in the morning.”

“Better.”

Matt called Andy, explained what he needed. Andy would make sure that not only was there a cop in the house with Corrigan, but that a patrol with two cops were watching her when she got home.

“My people will relieve them in the morning. How are they working out?” Matt said.

“Fine,” Andy said in a tone that suggested otherwise. “I wish I hadn’t made Kara mad. She’s really good at this.”

“She decided she’s protecting Maddox.” Matt said. “I don’t think anyone, even Maddox himself, can convince her to walk away from that assignment.”

38

Kennewick, Washington
3:10 p.m.

Nadine Montclair was sixty-one and worked as an administrative assistant for a paper product company. Matt decided not to call ahead because he didn’t know what to expect, though he had verified her employment and that she was in the office. Unfortunately, he’d seen too much during his career to make any assumptions about an individual’s guilt or innocence. He also found that when he wanted straight answers, it was best not to give a potential witness or suspect too much time to think. And if Montclair was still in contact with her brother-in-law or her nephew, Matt didn’t want her giving either of them a heads-up.

Montclair had her own office adjoining the CEO; she brought Matt and Michael inside. She was petite and casually dressed.

“FBI?” she asked. “I must have heard that wrong.”

Matt and Michael both showed their badges. “We won’t take too much of your time, Ms. Montclair. We’re here about your nephew, Glen Hamilton.”

“Glen?” She seemed confused. She motioned for them to sit, and she sat behind her desk. Her office was small but orderly, just enough room for two chairs, other than hers. She reached into a bowl of wrapped butterscotch candies and took one out. “Help yourself,” she said as she unwrapped hers and put it in her mouth.

“Thank you,” Matt said, but didn’t take one. He said, “Glen moved in with you when Zachary Hamilton went to prison for drunk driving. He was fourteen at the time?”

She nodded. “Zach would never admit that he was an alcoholic,” she said. “He drank when my sister Lorna was alive, but kept it under control. She threatened to leave him once, and he promised to do better. I think he did, for a while. He loved Lorna. It was probably his only redeeming quality. But everyone loved my sister. She was truly a kind and caring person.”

She looked from Matt to Michael and back to Matt. “I don’t understand what you want to know. Lorna has been dead for eighteen years. She died in a car accident—in fact, the anniversary of her death was only a few days ago.”