Abigail walked inside and stood behind Jason’s vacated chair, her red-painted nails curling over the white leather. “Mr. Tate? It is me.” She paused and then tugged on her hair. “That’s right. When I’m at the university, I hide my true colors. The blond wig and blue contact lenses are how I started the school year, so I thought I’d continue. Next year, I’ll decide if I want to choose a different color or go natural. Since meeting my sister, I have been tempted to reveal the real me.”

Davie’s mouth dropped open, and he looked from Abigail to Laurel. “Wow.”

Laurel frowned. “How do you two know each other?”

Davie shifted his weight again and seemed to shrink in his chair.

Abigail showed no expression. “Mr. Tate signed up for one of my research projects and participated for two weeks before I discovered that he’d lied on his application and was underage. I was thus forced to remove him from the endeavor.”

Haylee leaned toward Davie. “That’s her?”

Davie nodded, even his ears turning red. “I said I was sorry.” He looked imploringly at Laurel. “I was being paid, man. We don’t have much money, and the study looked easy, so I applied. It was really good money.”

“I understand.” Laurel looked up at Abigail. “As you can see, I’m in the middle of an interview. Please return to the reception area and wait for me.”

Abigail smiled; her lipstick matched her fingernails. “There’s nobody out there right now, so I’ll just go back to your office. Take your time.” She tapped Davie on his shoulder with a nail on her way out, and the kid jumped.

Laurel exhaled. Kate had probably gone downstairs in search of food, and Abigail had most likely waited until the receptionist was out. No way would Kate have just let the woman back into the office. “I’m sorry about that.” She tilted her head. “Tell me about the study with Dr. Caine.”

Davie straightened. “Oh. It was actually kind of fun. Dr. Caine teaches some classes about the brain and behavior, and why we do what we do. The study just involved meeting in her lab a few times a week, and I always signed up for after school, so it was like a job.” He picked up the pen again. “She asked me questions about my life and then gave me hypotheticals on how I’d handle situations or problems. Then she’d show me films or have me read something and ask me more questions.” He smiled at Haylee. “It was seriously easy money. It sucked when she found out my age.” He shook his head. “I wore a high school sweatshirt one day, and I gave myself away.”

Laurel nodded. “How did you feel when she removed you from the study?”