“They searched the Shelbys’ house, and the forensic experts would probably have found hair or some other fluid that can be used for a match. When you live somewhere, you leave your DNA all over—hairs from your head, eyelashes, snot on the Kleenex you always forget to throw out.”
“Yuck! And I do not leave my tissues all over! On TV they always take strands of hair from a hairbrush. That sounds easiest.”
“That’s true, but I didn’t see a hairbrush listed on the evidence sheet attached to the search warrant, so they must be using something else.”
“Well, if we find Mrs. Shelby alive we won’t need DNA or hairbrushes. Has Mark Shelby said if he knows where his wife went?”
“Madison, you know better than to ask that. A lawyer can’t reveal what a client tells him in confidence. But enough about the case,” Hamilton said, ending the conversation. “I have work to do, and you must, too. Why don’t you start your homework in your office?”
Madison was frustrated that her dad had shot her down, and even more frustrated that he forgot to ask about her first day at school and soccer tryouts and that she hadn’t gotten a chance to tell him about Ann. The Shelby case was absorbing him completely. Madison wished she knew a way for Hamilton to be as interested in her as he was in his cases.
Walking down the hall and through the file room, Madison came to the small, closet-sized room that had
Madison’s office wasn’t very far from the reception area. With the door open, she could hear people talking, though she couldn’t always make out what they were saying. Madison started on an essay for English class. She’d been working on it for half an hour when she heard Peggy ask her father about his visit to the jail to talk to Mark Shelby. Madison knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help herself. She got up and crept as quietly as she could into the file room, where the conversation between Peggy and her father would be easier to hear.
“How is Mr. Shelby holding up?” Peggy asked.
“He’s never been in jail before, and he’s scared. Murder is the only charge where you don’t automatically get bail, but I’ve scheduled a bail hearing for Friday and I think I have a good chance of getting him out.”
Friday was a scheduled teacher-training day, and there would be no school. Perfect, Madison thought.
“What does he say happened?” asked Peggy, who was covered by the attorney-client privilege because she was Hamilton’s employee. Unfortunately for Madison, the attorney-client privilege did not cover twelve-year-old volunteer file clerks.
“Exactly what the police reports say he told the detectives. He claims he forgot about his wedding anniversary and planned a golf outing with his friends. His wife was furious when she saw him getting ready to leave, and they had an argument. He says he was angry when he left and his wife was very much alive.”
“Do you believe him?” Peggy asked.
“Yes, but . . . ”
“But what?” Peggy pressed.
“I think he’s hiding something. I just don’t know what it is. But there’s something he’s not telling me. I have my investigator looking into it. There’s something about his story that just doesn’t add up.”
Madison heard Hamilton move toward the door. She scurried back into her office and pretended to be engrossed in her work in case he looked in on her. But she wasn’t thinking about her essay. She was thinking about Mark Shelby, and she was wondering what he was hiding from her father.
Chapter 6
“He’s Cute”
The next day Madison had her dad drop her at school extra early. Walking into the gym, she could already see a crowd of girls gathered around Coach Davis’s door, as well as a crowd of boys around Coach Chin’s door. Some of the girls were smiling, but others looked sad and a couple were even crying. Before Madison had a chance to read the list, Ashley, an eighth grader who had been on last year’s team, walked by her and said, “Nice job!”
Madison’s heart rate went way up as she studied the list of sixteen players: eleven starters and five alternates. Marci’s name was first on the list, and all but three of the names were eighth graders. None of the eleven starters were from the seventh grade, but Madison was number twelve, first alternate. Madison couldn’t help grinning. She was the top seventh-grade girl in the school and had the whole season to prove that she should really be a starter. Then Madison sobered. This was the first time she had seen a roster with her name on it and without Ann’s.
Before going to class, Madison took a quick look at the boys’ roster. Jake was not among the boys looking at this list, but his name was third among the starters. Wow, thought Madison, the third best player in the school was a seventh grader. She was impressed.
Madison was still excited about making the soccer team when lunch rolled around. She saw Becca, Jessi, and Lacey in the same seats on the lawn as the day before, but she didn’t join them. They’d always been more Ann’s friends than hers, and Madison usually found herself feeling shy and being quiet as the other girls chatted away about boys and clothes. She would want to join in, but she had no idea what to say. Where was Ann? Madison needed her to pave the way with her bubbly attitude, as she’d done since they were five. Just one more reason Madison was missing Ann so desperately.
Taking a seat alone at the far edge of the lawn, Madison pulled out the latest Max Stone novel and read as she ate her lunch. As she was finishing, Jake walked over. Sitting down, he pulled out the sketch pad he always carried with him. He tore off a piece of paper and handed it to Madison. It was a picture of Madison holding a soccer ball and watching the rest of her team play.
“Congrats on making the team!” he said with a smile as she looked at the picture. “First on the sub list is great.”
Madison blushed, embarrassed by the compliment. “Thanks! I saw you were third on the boys’ list. I’m sure a drawing of you would show you playing!”
“Yeah, well, I moved from Atlanta and I played on some pretty good teams back in Georgia. You must be less nervous today now that tryouts are over.”
“I’m still worried about my friend Ann.”
Becca, Lacey, and Jessi had been watching Madison talk to this new guy and had walked over. Madison wasn’t always comfortable around boys, but there was something about Jake that made her resent the intrusion.
Hearing Madison mention Ann, Becca took the opportunity to jump into the conversation.
“Ann hasn’t been kidnapped, Maddy.”
Becca turned to Jake and smiled. Madison found herself feeling worried.
“Maddy always thinks the worst has happened. Say, Maddy, why don’t you introduce us to your friend?”
“Sorry,” Madison mumbled, annoyed but not knowing what to do. “This is Jake. Jake, this is Becca, and my other friends are Lacey and Jessi.”
The girls smiled and waved.
“And I’m certain Ann is in danger,” Madison went on.
“What Maddy is trying to say,” Lacey interjected, “is that Ann hasn’t shown up since school started. But
