Free Key Witness by Christy Barritt

white shirt. Worry showed in the crinkles at the corners of his eyes. “I’m not convinced that all of this isn’t connected.”
    “If you don’t mind me asking, sir, when was that picture taken?”
    “Last week.”
    “Then it can’t be the same people. This has to be someone else who’s targeting your campaign.”
    His shoulders sagged slightly, and he paced back toward his desk. “Well, that’s a relief, I suppose, at least in one sense. I just want to make sure my little girl is safe. That’s my biggest concern right now.” Denton was glad to hear it.
    “Did you check in with the detectives on the case today? Are there any updates I should know about?”
    “They’re tracking down a couple leads. They don’t know anything definitive yet.”
    The senator paused, a hand going to his hip. “I heard about someone taking the picture of Emily from Elle’s place. What does that mean exactly?”
    “I wish I knew. I think these guys are more calculating than we’re giving them credit for. They’re planning something, and I don’t like it.”
    “I don’t understand why they’re coming after Elle. They did the crime. They should be running from the police right now, not trying to chase down my daughter.”
    “Until we understand their motivation, we won’t know why they’re doing this. Is it just revenge? It could be. But you’re right, Elle isn’t the one to blame for what they did. The only thing she did was call 9–1–1.”
    “But then that article ran and they figured out she was a politician’s daughter. People have tried to manipulate me by manipulating my family for years. Why they decided to target Jimmy in the middle of all of this, I don’t understand.”
    “Coincidences are rarely that. There may be more at play here than we realize. I’m going to look into all of your staff and volunteers.”
    The senator froze, his eyes going ice cold. “You think someone on my staff is behind these incidents?”
    “I just want to check every lead.”
    The senator’s gaze locked on his. “I trust you won’t let anything happen to Elle.”
    “I’ll give up my life to protect her if I have to.”
    * * *
    Elle rapped on the door to her mother’s bedroom and heard “Go away” from the other side. She pushed open the door anyway. “It’s me.”
    Her mother said nothing, so Elle stepped inside. She spotted her mother sitting in a chair by the window, staring absently outside. The room was dim and too large to feel comfortable. The only light came from the rays of the early afternoon sun that filtered in through the gauzy window shades. Elle crossed the room and lowered herself into the chair across from her mom.
    Her mother’s face was absent of tears. Her eyes weren’t even red-rimmed. But her absence of emotions said far more than weeping would have.
    Elle touched her mother’s hand, trying not to flinch when she noticed the coolness of her skin. “How are you?”
    She continued looking out the window, not breaking her gaze for even a moment. “Another allegation.”
    Most people didn’t see this side of her mother. She appeared so strong whenever she was in public, putting on the perfect facade for everyone watching. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
    “Marriage isn’t all that it’s made out to be, Elle. I gave up years ago. I just hate the embarrassment this brings to the family.”
    Elle’s heart lurched. Certainly marriage could be good, couldn’t it? Not all unions ended in heartbreak and brokenness. Sadly, Elle was beginning to believe her mom’s words more with each passing moment. Nearly all the marriages she’d seen had dissolved over time. Dissolved was probably too nice of a word. Most had ended with a tragic—but figurative—explosion.
    “I hate that this hurts you, Mom.”
    “He claims they’re just friends. It doesn’t even matter.”
    What did Elle say? What were the right words, words that would bring healing and not pain? “Is it worth fighting for, Mom?”
    Her mom