Haylee grasped his arm again. “You can always ask us. We’re here for you.”
Laurel pushed a legal notepad across the table along with a pen. “I need you to think back for the last three weeks to where you were every day and night. Sometimes going in chronological order helps with memory.”
With a long-suffering sigh, Davie took the pen and started writing, chewing on his lip at the same time.
Jason moved into the hallway, running right into Abigail Caine. He stepped back. “I’m so sorry. Are you all right?”
Abigail wobbled and then nodded, brushing her hair away from her face.
What the heck was she doing at the office?
Jason sidestepped her, waved at Haylee through the window, and hurried down the hallway.
Abigail turned to watch him go, her gaze dropping the distance it would take to check out his butt.
Haylee frowned and partially rose from the chair. Abigail turned and caught Laurel’s gaze through the window before coming to stand in the doorway behind Davie. “Laurel, I need to speak with you. Right now.”
Davie jolted and dropped the pen. “Dr. Caine?”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Laurel stiffened. What in the world?
Davie turned his head to look at the doorway and then shook it. “Oh. Sorry. Your voice, I mean, I thought you were somebody else.” He looked back at Laurel. “Sorry.”
Abigail walked inside and stood behind Jason’s vacated chair, her red-painted nails curling over the white leather. “Mr. Tate? It is me.” She paused and then tugged on her hair. “That’s right. When I’m at the university, I hide my true colors. The blond wig and blue contact lenses are how I started the school year, so I thought I’d continue. Next year, I’ll decide if I want to choose a different color or go natural. Since meeting my sister, I have been tempted to reveal the real me.”
Davie’s mouth dropped open, and he looked from Abigail to Laurel. “Wow.”
Laurel frowned. “How do you two know each other?”
Davie shifted his weight again and seemed to shrink in his chair.
Abigail showed no expression. “Mr. Tate signed up for one of my research projects and participated for two weeks before I discovered that he’d lied on his application and was underage. I was thus forced to remove him from the endeavor.”
Haylee leaned toward Davie. “That’s her?”
Davie nodded, even his ears turning red. “I said I was sorry.” He looked imploringly at Laurel. “I was being paid, man. We don’t have much money, and the study looked easy, so I applied. It was really good money.”
“I understand.” Laurel looked up at Abigail. “As you can see, I’m in the middle of an interview. Please return to the reception area and wait for me.”
Abigail smiled; her lipstick matched her fingernails. “There’s nobody out there right now, so I’ll just go back to your office. Take your time.” She tapped Davie on his shoulder with a nail on her way out, and the kid jumped.
Laurel exhaled. Kate had probably gone downstairs in search of food, and Abigail had most likely waited until the receptionist was out. No way would Kate have just let the woman back into the office. “I’m sorry about that.” She tilted her head. “Tell me about the study with Dr. Caine.”
Davie straightened. “Oh. It was actually kind of fun. Dr. Caine teaches some classes about the brain and behavior, and why we do what we do. The study just involved meeting in her lab a few times a week, and I always signed up for after school, so it was like a job.” He picked up the pen again. “She asked me questions about my life and then gave me hypotheticals on how I’d handle situations or problems. Then she’d show me films or have me read something and ask me more questions.” He smiled at Haylee. “It was seriously easy money. It sucked when she found out my age.” He shook his head. “I wore a high school sweatshirt one day, and I gave myself away.”
Laurel nodded. “How did you feel when she removed you from the study?”
“Bummed. I needed the money.” He twirled the pen around in his fingers. “Plus, I was doing good at it. My age shouldn’t make a difference, right? I mean, in any scientific study, don’t they want the broadest range of subjects? You’d think age wouldn’t be part of it. Totally unfair, man.”
Not only that, but the study created a direct line from Davie to Abigail, who was a potential victim. “That would’ve made me angry, Davie.”
He nodded. “Yeah. She was all calm like and just dropped me as if I wasnothing. I told her everything about me. She knows me better than I know me, probably.” He stared at Laurel’s eyes. “And she’s a liar. She looked blond with blue eyes and she really was a redhead with freaky eyes. Who is she to judge anybody?” His throat moved as he swallowed. “No offense.”
“None taken.” So Davie had a connection to both Sharon and now Abigail. “Did Tommy take part in this study?”
“No. He doesn’t need money,” Davie muttered.
