Free For All to See (Bureau Series Book 1) by Megan Mitcham Page B

sank onto the chair. “How…” She paused searching for courage. “How did she die?”
    “Well now, Maddy,” Chief began, “don’t trouble yourself with the details. That’s what we’re here for. You just need to take some time and grieve.”
    Nathan stepped from his wall post and leveled her gaze.
    Madelyn tightened every muscle in her body, bracing for the impact of his words. Because she knew he would tell her what she needed to hear. He would tell her the truth.
    In a surprisingly caring, yet firm, voice, he said, “Her death was quick, but before that she was raped repeatedly and beaten.”
    The news was a sucker-punch to the gut. Oxygen fled her lungs. Agony, instantaneous and fierce, radiated through her middle. Yet she hunched only slightly from its decimation.
    Both men gave her silence. If they expected the news to settle, they ought to think again. Madelyn knew her friend was gone, but she couldn’t make the reality fit into her brain. She’d seen Nichole alive, happy, and vibrant days ago. Damnit, she still had things to talk to her about.
    There were confessions of her heart and secrets to share that now had no recipient. There were drinks to be had and a lifetime of friendship’s memories to be made...that never would be.
    Someone ended Nichole’s life incomplete in its possibilities. She would never laugh or cry again. She would never feel her abdomen swell full with a child, something she’d always longed for. She would never come to terms with wrinkles, sagging boobs, or varicose veins, things she’d always dreaded.
    Dead at twenty-five. The notion paralyzed, but Madelyn wouldn’t remain immobile. She couldn’t. Not now. She straightened to her full height. Her head rose and her gaze found Agent Brewer’s. “I want to see her. I need to…say goodbye.”
    “You wouldn’t recognize her,” he said.
    Understanding seeped into her bones like a cancer, eroding every good memory, tainting her present, and destroying her future. But still. She needed closure. No matter how painful.
    Madelyn set her jaw and stared into the storm of Agent Brewer’s eyes.
    “She’s with forensics now. I’ll take you as soon as she’s ready.”
    Chief began again, “Maddie, I will be looking in to other possibilities, while Agent Brewer here chases his ghost.” Chief stubbornly continued even when his gaze met the agent’s stalling glare. “I believe Jim Gallow is a person of interest and should not be overlooked in this case. They have a history, as you pointed out.”
    “My team will look into every possibility, Inspector. You’re officially off the case. This is now a federal investigation.” With the calm of a lapping surf and the tumult of its unseen riptide, Nathan stole the man’s footing. Chief folded his arms and glowered, but gave no indication of his willingness to cooperate. Yet, she got the impression he would abide and not like it one darn bit.
    Madelyn’s gaze jumped back and forth between the two men. Then a light bulb exploded in her head. “What if Jim heard about the other murders and made Nichole’s murder out to look like the others. You know, to cover the murder?”
    As Agent Brewer inhaled to state his case a chirp stopped him. After a glance at the display he headed for the office door. “Let’s go, Ms. Garrett.”
    With her heart wedged between her ribs, Madelyn stood.
    “Madelyn, I don’t agree with this,” Chief gruffed. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.”
    She inhaled a shallow breath. It hurt less. “I know what I’m doing.”
    He aimed a hammy finger toward her chest. “You may have seen a dead body at a funeral, but you haven’t seen one carved up. It’s a whole other deal.”
    “Actually, Chief,” she said, “I have.”

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    S he turned on her heels and sauntered through the door Nathan held open as though she hadn’t just pulled the pin on a grenade. From the slack jaw and near cross-eyed expression on Chief’s face, he