Vanishing Acts

Chapter 13

Spying

Madison was nervous all day Monday because The Grove was going to scrimmage Prescott-Mather on Tuesday. Knowing she wouldn’t get much playing time as a reserve, she hoped she would at least have a chance to show the coach her stuff.

Prescott-Mather was a private school attended by rich kids. Since it was private, Prescott-Mather could recruit. Lewis and Clark Elementary School and Prescott-Mather had squared off in two of the last three elementary school championships, and Lewis and Clark had always played extra hard against any prep school because they resented the edge recruiting gave them. Beating Prescott-Mather for the state championship felt extra sweet. But Madison also knew many of the girls on Prescott-Mather’s team because they were her teammates on the elite team she played on after the school season was over.

Adding to Madison’s nervousness was the fact that it was her first big game without Ann. Jessi, Lacey, and Becca were starting to get as concerned as Madison by Ann’s absence. Becca had told Madison that she’d called Ann several times and hadn’t gotten through, and Lacey had checked Ann’s Facebook page and found it still unchanged.

As soon as practice was over, Madison walked across town to the law office.

“Hi, Peggy, is Dad in?” Madison asked.

“He is, but he’s with Mark Shelby.”

Madison’s heartbeat accelerated and she started to perspire. What if Mr. Shelby came out of her father’s office while she was talking to Peggy? He would recognize her and tell her father that Madison had been in his house. Madison grabbed her duffel bag and sped toward her office.

“I’ll work on my homework,” she said over her shoulder. “Why don’t you wait until Mr. Shelby is gone before you tell Dad I’m here?”

Madison knew not much got past Peggy, so she ran quickly down the hall. She didn’t want Peggy to notice that the mention of Mark Shelby’s name made her nervous.

Madison shut the door to her office so Mr. Shelby wouldn’t see her. She tried to do her homework, but it was hard to concentrate knowing that her father and his murder-suspect client were just down the hall talking about the case.

There was a restroom next to her father’s office. Once, years ago, when Madison was using it, she heard noises. When she looked up, she’d seen a heating vent over her head and realized that she was hearing people talking. She had never been able to make out the words that people in Hamilton’s office were saying, but she thought that she might be able to hear them more distinctly if she climbed onto the toilet seat and pressed her ear to the vent.

Madison debated the pros and cons of listening in on her father’s meeting with Mark Shelby. Her father had told her many times what a client told his lawyer was confidential. He would go ballistic if he caught her eavesdropping and would probably ground her for life. But she was helping her father, even if her help was unofficial. What if she heard something that she could use to solve the case?

Madison peeked out of her office to make sure that no one was in the hall. Then she scurried down to the bathroom and locked herself in. Opening the stall, she climbed on top of the toilet seat. Muffled voices floated toward her through the vent. When she pressed her ear to the metal covering, she could just make out what was being said. Her father was talking, and he sounded annoyed.

“We have a good chance of winning your case,” Hamilton was saying, “but I’ve got to know all of the facts. If you’re hiding something from me and the DA finds out before I do, he’ll spring it on us during the trial and you could go to prison.”

“I’ve told you everything,” Mr. Shelby said.

“Let’s go over what happened on the morning your wife disappeared one more time.”

“It’s like I told you. I got up and took a shower. When I was dressed I went downstairs. Ruth was in the kitchen. I told her I had a long drive and I appreciated her making breakfast for me. Ruth looked surprised, and she asked me what I meant. I told her I was spending the weekend with my buddies at a golf resort. She looked furious and asked me if I’d forgotten something. I didn’t understand what she was talking about. She reminded me that this was our wedding anniversary weekend.

“I felt terrible and I apologized, but I said I couldn’t let the guys down. Plus, we were staying at an expensive resort and I wouldn’t be able to get my money back. That’s when Ruth threw the coffee pot at me and started screaming. I didn’t want to put up with her temper tantrum, so I left. She was alive when I drove away.”

“What about the blood?”

“I have no idea how that got on the knife and the other stuff. There wasn’t any blood when I left.”

“And that’s it, that’s everything that happened?” Hamilton asked.

“Yeah, I swear,” Mark Shelby said, but Madison didn’t think that he sounded convincing. When her father spoke, she could tell he didn’t think so, either.

“I hope so,” Hamilton said. “I think that’s enough for today.”

Madison didn’t wait to hear anything else. She jumped off the toilet and raced back to her office. She heard the door to her father’s office open just before she closed her door. Then she fell onto her chair and took deep breaths. That was close, but it had been worth it. Madison was certain that Mr. Shelby had a secret, and she was determined to find out what it was.

Minutes later, Madison heard her father say good-bye to Shelby. She waited a minute before leaving her office. Peggy was alone.

“Did I just hear Dad?” Madison asked.

“He was showing his client out. I told him you were here. He said to tell you that he’d be another half hour. Then he’ll take you home for dinner.”

“Great.”

Madison was about to return to her office when she remembered something.

“Peggy, what would you think of if I told you that I was in someone’s kitchen and saw eggs, a green bell pepper, an onion, and ham on their counter?”

Peggy didn’t expect the question, but it only took a moment for her to answer.

“That’s easy. I’d think someone was making a Western omelet. Why?”

Of course, a Western omelet! Madison smiled. She was suddenly certain that she had just solved one of the mysteries in the Shelby case.