Great. She’d probably made front-page news—Trey Becker’s Sister Runs Off Mountain Pass. She bit back a sigh.
“And I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be here,” Amy continued in a low, strained voice as she craned her head to glance over her shoulder.
In that split second Paige felt the anxiety in the room ratchet higher. She followed Amy’s glance to an open doorway at the rear of the shop.
Icy tingles skipped up Paige’s spine. “Is Mrs. Cramer in?”
“No.” A grimace took hold of Amy’s face. “Mrs. Cramer hasn’t worked since Madison’s death. She can’t even step into the shop. Everything around here reminds her of her daughter.”
Paige’s heart surged, touched by Mrs. Cramer’s grief. This wasn’t fair. A mother losing her daughter. No mother deserved that. She fought back the memories of Madison’s brutal murder, sudden tears biting her eyes. Lord, somehow bring Mrs. Cramer comfort. “I’m very sorry to hear about Mrs. Cramer. I know her heart is broken.”
“It has been hard for everyone,” Amy replied tightly as sadness crept into her hazel eyes. “And I’m sorry about your brother.”
The unexpected words wrapped around Paige like a hug. “Thank you,” she said, taking a long breath. Then she remembered something Trey had told her. A close friend of Madison’s, Amy Miles, had informed police that someone had been stalking Madison before she died. An allegation Trey was now suspected of. Was this the same Amy?
It was hard for Paige to keep the quaver out of her voice as she asked Amy about her relationship with Madison.
Grabbing a pair of pruning shears, Amy worked as she spoke in a hushed tone, pausing one time to glance back at the doorway. “We were close,” she started. “At times, like sisters. But there were things about Madison I just couldn’t figure out.”
Interest piqued, Paige took a step closer. “What kind of things?”
“Well—” Amy shrugged as she continued to snip brown tips off the leafy houseplant. “Madison’s impulsiveness, for one. She would jump feetfirst into something only to later try and backpedal out of the situation.”
“Like her relationship with my brother?” Paige muttered, mostly to herself. Madison and Trey’s whirlwind romance had gone from dating to married in a matter of weeks. They’d eloped without even planning a wedding. Less than a year later they were separated, her brother’s heart broken.
Amy stopped pruning, and she met Paige’s gaze. “Yes, Madison jumped into the marriage. But Trey wasn’t the problem. Being committed to anything or anyone scared Madison to death.” She set down the shears. “But Madison did love Trey. I’d hoped things would work out for them.”
The words slashed through Paige. After Trey and Madison separated, Paige rallied around Trey, struck by the hurt he was dealing with, never considering his wife’s pain. Madison had suffered the loss of her father when she was a teen. A traumatic loss that could affect a victim’s ability to form healthy relationships throughout a lifetime.
A deep sadness swept through Paige, trailed by guilt. She’d counseled women with similar issues. Why hadn’t she thought to reach out to Madison?
Before regret got the best of her, Paige took a calming breath. The past couldn’t be erased. She needed to concentrate on the future. Trey’s future. She cleared her throat. “Amy, do you believe my brother killed Madison?”
Amy’s eyes went wide, and her pale complexion turned impossibly paler. “I don’t know what to believe.”
Hope wrapped around Paige’s heart and squeezed. I don’t know meant there was some doubt in Amy’s mind. Unlike other narrow-minded, judgmental townsfolk who already had her brother tried and sentenced. Seth included.
Hiking her purse strap higher on her shoulder, Paige pressed on. “Did Madison ever tell you she thought someone was stalking her?”
Amy grimaced and shook her head. “Miss Becker, you really should go. Madison’s brother will be in soon and wouldn’t be happy to see you here.”
She could understand Gentry having hard feelings. He believed Trey had killed his sister, but hopefully he’d understand that she was just looking for the truth. “Amy, if you’ll just answer a few more questions, I’d be so appreciative.”
“I’ve already said more than I should have.”
Actually, she hadn’t said enough. Paige hesitated a moment and then shrugged. “I’m just trying to make sense of it all. Trey is my brother and—”
“I get it,” Amy cut her off with a harsh whisper. “To answer your question, yes, Madison mentioned a couple weeks before she was killed that at times she felt like she was being followed.”
“Why didn’t she go to the police?” Whoa. Paige took a deep, bracing breath. She was starting to sound like Seth.
Amy locked eyes with Paige. A kind of impatient stare that said, listen closely. I’m only going to say this once. “Madison second-guessed everything in her life and in this case, she kept going back to the notion that she was just being paranoid.” Amy started clipping again. “I guess I didn’t take it serious enough, either. Otherwise, I would have pressed her to contact law enforcement.”
“Amy, it’s not your fault.” Paige was also good at second-guessing. A dangerous practice, as she was finding out. She sighed and crossed her arms. “Did Madison ever convey to you that she thought Trey might be stalking her?”
A quick wag of Amy’s head sent adrenaline skipping through Paige. “No, she never implied anything like that to me, and I told the detectives the same thing.” Picking up the shears, she pointed them at Paige. “Miss Becker, please understand, Trey was the one person Madison did trust.”
A mixture of sorrow and confusion flooded through Paige. Madison loved and trusted Trey but she’d walked away from their relationship. No wonder Trey was depressed.
But, if Madison didn’t think of Trey as a threat, had there been someone else she was afraid of?
Paige took a step even closer. “Amy, was there anyone you can think of that Madison had an issue with? Or maybe had an issue with her?”
“Really, Miss Becker, you should leave now.” Amy stopped clipping. She didn’t make eye contact. “I’ve told the detectives everything I—”
“Paige, what are you doing here?” The gruff male voice boomed from the back of the store, silencing Amy and sending Paige’s heart into spasms.
Paige jerked her gaze back to the doorway, freezing on Gentry Cramer’s face. His dark stare drilled her as he shoved his phone in his pocket and came nearer, not breaking his stride as he stalked around old pieces of furniture and display cases, chest puffed out, muscles flexed. A taller, stocky man she didn’t recognize followed him.
“Gentry, how are you?” Paige asked in a strained voice. The sick feeling in her gut just intensified. She hadn’t expected a warm reception—Gentry had never been overly friendly to her, even before his sister’s death—but his anger was even deeper than she’d suspected. But as he was fighting for justice for his sibling, she was also fighting for hers. Maybe he could understand that?
“Good morning, Gentry. Good morning, Eli.” Amy spoke up, a slight quiver in her voice. “Miss Becker just stopped in to see Mrs. Cramer. I told her your mother wasn’t here and she was just getting ready to leave.”
“My mother?” Gentry growled, his mouth hardening to a straight line. “She can barely get out of bed these days. The last thing she needs is to be confronted by the sister of her daughter’s killer.”
Paige’s heart nearly burst wide-open, just hearing the word killer. The one word she hated to be used in conjunction with her brother. What happened