Adele had seenthe evidence missing, though, and had immediately reported the vanished files.After that, Sophie Paige had been investigated as well as Matthew. Herboyfriend had been cleared of murder charges, but had been fired from the DGSI.Paige would have been fired, but Foucault—for some reason Adele didn’tunderstand—had gone to bat for her and kept her on, demoting her in theprocess.
“I don’t likeyou,” Paige said, simply, all pretenses gone now, her expression once more ascowling, stony one. “I’m not ever going to like you. I didn’t ask for thisassignment. I have to bear it. As do you. Now how about you stop wasting mytime by dragging me to crime scenes that have already been investigated? Didyou find anything new?” she demanded.
Adelehesitated, glancing back toward the kitchen; she was loath to admit she hadn’t.So instead, she said, “When’s the witness coming?”
“You’reinsufferable,” Sophie snapped. She turned back to the window and stared outinto the city. Adele, her hands trembling from anger, moved to the door andinto the hallway, preferring to wait outside for the witness to arrive, ratherthan spend another moment with Agent Paige.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Adele wasstartled from her reverie by an officer in uniform tapping her shoulder. Sheglanced back, turning from the window in the hallway outside the victim’sapartment.
“Excuse me,” theofficer said, quietly.
Adele raised aneyebrow to show she’d heard.
The officercleared his throat and smoothed his mustache. “The witness refuses to comeinside. She says she’d rather talk on the sidewalk. Is that all right?”
Adele glanced atthe man, then toward the open door to the apartment. For a brief moment, shewas tempted to leave Agent Paige and go talk to Ms. Robinson on her own. But atlast, she sighed and nodded. She pointed toward the open door. “Would you mindtelling my partner?”
The policeofficer nodded once, then circled the banister, heading for the door. He gave apolite wave toward where the landlord still waited at the end of the hall, keysin hand. For all Adele cared, he could wait all day. They wouldn’t be rentingout the place anytime soon. Not yet at least.
She moved backdown the stairs, taking them two at a time, hoping to have a couple of momentsto speak with the witness without Agent Paige’s presence clouding her thoughts.
She reached theground floor, pushed open the door to the apartment building, and noticed athird car, this time a police vehicle, waiting at the curb. Adele glanced at thefront of the vehicle, where a second officer sat on the hood. She had acigarette in her hand and looked to be lighting it, but when she spotted Adele,she quickly tucked her lighter back in her pocket and flicked the cigarettetoward the grate beneath the car’s front wheel.
The officer pushedoff the hood just as quickly and nodded toward the back seat of the vehicle.
“She refuses toget out,” the officer said. “I can make her, if you’d like—”
“Of course not,”Adele retorted. “She’s not a suspect.” She moved toward the rear of the vehicleand peered inside. A dimple-faced young woman with curly brown hair sat in theback. She couldn’t have been older than Adele. Perhaps early thirties.
Adele tapped onthe door and looked toward the officer expectantly. The officer wavedapologetically and then reached into her pocket and clicked her key.
The police carlights flickered; there was a quiet ticking sound of the locks. Adeletugged on the handle and opened the door. She peered inside the cabin, duckinglow and meeting the eyes of the American woman.
“You’re MelissaRobinson?” she asked.
The curly-hairedwoman nodded once. “Yes, I am,” she replied in accented French.
“English or French?”Adele said. The woman hesitated, frowning, and began to speak, but Adeleinterrupted and said, “How about English? Easier for both of us I’d imagine.”
The seamless wayAdele switched from nearly perfect French to flawless English seemed to takethe woman with the curly hair back a bit. “Are you—” she began.
Adele said, “Onassignment. It’s a long story.” Normally people didn’t understand what it wasto be American, German, and French. The idea of having three citizenships waslost on most and Adele didn’t want to get into it.
She heardfootsteps behind her, and with a weary collapse of her shoulders, she glancedback to notice Paige approaching, glaring in her direction.
Adele returnedher attention to the police vehicle once more. She still didn’t enter thevehicle, figuring it might be perceived as threatening, so instead she leanedforward, her arms pressed on the top of the door, in a sort of shelteringposture, hoping the way she positioned herself would communicate protectivenessto the woman within.
Adele clearedher throat and said, “I’m very sorry you had to come back here, and I’m sorrythat we wanted to bring you back upstairs. That was my oversight.”
Melissa Robinsonnodded, smiling in a small, sad way as if accepting the apology. Adele felt abit of weight lift from her chest at the American’s expression as shecontinued, “But I was wondering if perhaps you could tell me anything about thevictim. Her name was Amanda, is that right?”
“Yes,” Melissasaid, her voice quavering.
Adele continuedto lean in, but she could now hear more footsteps, and could feel Agent Paigecoming even closer.
Melissa’s gazeflicked from Adele, over her shoulder toward the approaching agent.
“You mind givingus a moment?” Adele said, tight-lipped, to her partner.
Agent Paigeleaned against the front of the vehicle, though, peering into the back withoutgreeting the witness. “Go right ahead,” she said. Paige made no move to leave.The two officers watched the agents, but stayed where they were on thesidewalk.
With afrustrated sigh, Adele turned back, keeping her expression as pleasant aspossible. “Is there anything else you might be able to tell us about Amanda?”
Melissa shookher head almost immediately. “Nothing,” she said, stammering a bit. “I barelyknew her. We were going to meet for the second time today.”
Adele frowned. “Today?”
“I’m sorry, Imean yesterday. It’s been rough… Yesterday, early on, before she… when shedied.” The woman shook her head again, wincing, and she glanced back throughthe window, up toward the third floor of the apartment building.
“I’m very sorryto hear that,” said Adele. “But do you mind helping me out; what do you meanyou were going to meet yesterday?”
“I mean,” saidthe woman, “that we met
