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.” Madeline shot him a look—partly critical, partly amused, partly intrigued.“Hopefully, we’ll find her before then,” she said, swiveling around to face him.“I also called Sybil Wately and Susan Kellogg again to see if they remembered anything else that might be of help.”“No luck?”“No luck.”“So, what’s the plan now?”“I guess we split up and start handing out flyers.” Neither one of them was very enthusiastic about a day filled with accosting strangers, especially after a long, sleepless night.The private eye’s job was never glamorous, but it could be rewarding.They’d never get rich from it, but they both loved solving puzzles, righting wrongs and sorting out other people’s messes as a means of keeping their grey matter sharp.As they were shutting down the office, Madeline’s phone rang.It was Ross Alexander.“This is Madeline.”“They’re taking Cherie in for questioning,” Ross said.He sounded like he was just barely holding it together.Madeline put the call on speaker so Mike could hear the news.“Is she coherent enough to answer questions?”“I’ve never seen her so out of it.We had to literally pull her out of bed and pour coffee down her to get her eyes open.” Ross held his hand over the phone as he spoke to someone else.“I regret letting the doctor give her a sedative last night.God knows what else she had in her system.She looks like hell.”“Have the detectives already left the house?”“No.They’re waiting around for Cherie to get dressed.She’s completely distraught.Helen’s up there with her right now trying to get her pulled together.Oh Jesus.I can’t believe any of this,” Ross said weakly.“So, they’re actually taking her in?” Madeline asked, looking at Mike with alarm.“Apparently.”“Have you called an attorney?”“I just called Larry Sloan and got his assistant.” It didn’t surprise Madeline that Ross would seek out one of the most high-profile defense attorneys in the country.“Hopefully I’ll hear back soon.But what do I do in the meantime?” Ross asked, his voice quavering with emotion.Madeline exhaled slowly, her eyes glued to Mike’s.He shook his head and shrugged.“I can give you the name of a good local attorney who can cover things until you speak with Larry Sloan,” Madeline suggested.“Cherie needs legal representation immediately.”“Right.Okay, what’s his name?” Ross asked.They could hear the sound of frantic searching in the background.“Her name is Liz Sweet, but don’t let that fool you.She’s a barracuda.If I were ever on the wrong side of the law, she’s who I’d call,” Madeline said, regretting her choice of words as soon as they left her mouth.“Which detective did you speak to?”“Detective Ronald Pulaski of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department,” Ross read off mechanically.“This place is still crawling with uniforms.Do they honestly believe my wife would kill my mother with a houseful of people waiting for her downstairs? This is absolute insanity.”“Did they find…what was used…?” Madeline couldn’t bring herself to say “murder weapon” while speaking to the deceased’s son.“I assume so,” Ross replied hotly.“They’re not telling me a damn thing.The warrant said they were looking for a ‘silk cord.’ But that doesn’t really tell me a whole hell of lot.” Madeline immediately thought of the cords used to hold back the silk drapes adorning the dining pavilion.So many people could’ve had access to one of those.“Okay,” Madeline said, keeping her voice calm and soothing, “I’ll send you the contact info for Liz Sweet.”“Please do,” Ross said before ending the call.Madeline looked at Mike searchingly, though she didn’t know what she hoped to find on his features.“You have to admit, she was our pick for the murder,” he said.Madeline eased herself onto the corner of Lauren’s desk and searched her contacts until she found Detective Slovitch’s cell number.She placed the call.It went immediately to voicemail.She decided not to leave a message.“Yes, but if the cord was taken from outside the house, then that opens up the field to other possible suspects,” she said.“Then they would’ve had to have found another way upstairs,” Mike reminded her.“Right,” she agreed absently.She lost herself in thought for a minute as she tried to figure out their next move.“I wonder where they’re going to take her,” she mused out loud.“Eames had the warrant, but the sheriff’s office has the jurisdiction,” Mike answered.“Let me find Liz Sweet’s contact info.If Cherie doesn’t have counsel in there with her, it’s practically a guarantee she’ll incriminate herself, guilty or not.” Madeline shook her head at the thought.“Okay, here it is… I just forwarded it to Ross.So, let’s hit the streets, for whatever good it might yield.I’ll take downtown, you take Milpas.” Madeline could tell Mike would prefer to eat nails.“If you’ve got a better game plan, I’d love to hear it,” she said, taking a handful of fliers from each pile and letting Mike close up shop behind her.“I don’t like the idea of you out on the streets by yourself,” Mike said from the doorway.Madeline turned and gave him an annoyed look.“Usherwood could pick you off like a fly.”“Thanks for the comforting visual.”“I think we should stick together,” Mike urged.“You could take one side of the street and I’ll take the other.” Madeline didn’t even bother to reply.She gave him a backhanded wave and turned down the stairs.“Call me if you learn anything,” Mike yelled after her.“And be on the lookout for Usherwood!”Madeline checked her watch.She’d been on State Street for thirty-five minutes and still had most of her fliers.Her rudimentary Spanish seemed to confuse the Hispanic passersby and the rest took one look at Teresa’s photo and shook their heads.She hoped Mike was having better luck.At least he spoke the language and was in the right part of town.Temporarily giving up, she caved in to her craving for caffeine and joined the line that stretched out onto the sidewalk in front of The Roasted Bean.She retrieved her phone from her pocket, as if somehow the device would focus her scattered thoughts.It didn’t.As she inched her way forward, flashes of the previous night’s horrific events splashed across her mind’s eye, making her groan at the remembered terror.The young couple ahead of her turned around and she gave them an apologetic smile that came out more like a grimace
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