Daniel, Priya, the court-appointed examiner, and I arrived just after nine.
To my surprise, Madison was already there.
She stood near the entrance wearing dark trousers and a camel coat, her hair pulled back simply. Without the white dress, without Jason at her side, she looked younger. Tired. Human.
Daniel stepped slightly in front of me. “Ms. Brooks.”
Madison looked at him, then at me.
“I gave the address to your office,” she said.
Priya glanced down at her phone. “The anonymous tip?”
Madison nodded.
I studied her. “Why?”
She seemed to search for the version of herself that knew how to answer.
“Because last night Jason asked me to lie,” she said. “Not about the affair. Not about money. About you. He wanted me to say I’d seen you injure yourself. That you talked about ruining him. That you had forged documents before.”
The words struck, but not as deeply as they once might have. Perhaps there were only so many times a person could be surprised by cruelty before surprise became recognition.
