“Violet, we need to look through Ashley’s room,” I say.

“Why?”

“There may be something in there that might point to the person who took her,” I reply.

She wipes her eyes again. “Second floor. Third door on the right.”

I nod to Astra and Paige who head out to search the room, giving me a little time alone with Violet. The woman rakes her fingers through her hair, and she looks away. She looks lost… like she thinks she should be doing something but doesn’t know what.

“Wo—would you like a cup of coffee? A bottle of water?” she asks.

“Water would be great. Thank you.”

She nods and gives me a shaky smile, seeming to be grateful to be doing something, even if it’s as simple a task as that. Violet walks over to the refrigerator and opens the door. She stands there for a moment, though, eyes unfocused, almost like she forgot what she was doing there in the first place. She gives herself a little shake and pulls herself together. Reaching inside, she pulls out two bottles of water, then closes the door and walks over to the island again, setting one of the bottles down in front of me.

“Thank you,” I say.

“Of course.”

We both open our bottles of water and take a drink. The kitchen is filled with a silent tension that grows thicker and more awkward by the moment. As we stand there on opposite sides of the island not speaking to each other, I study her closely. Her emotional reactions seem genuine and appropriate for the situation. I don’t get the sense that she’s hiding anything.

“You and Ashley are close,” I say.

She nods and runs the cuff of her sweater across her nose as she sniffs back fresh tears. “We are. I almost feel like her big sister instead of her aunt.”

“Was she open with you?”

“Yeah. I liked to think she told me everything. I mean… I was her age once too. I know how teenage girls are,” Violet says with a wan smile. “But we spent a lot of time talking, and I don’t think she kept much from me. I hope she didn’t.”

“Did she ever mention any boys she was seeing? Did she have a boyfriend?”

“She’s had a crush on a boy at her school for a long time. But she said he didn’t know she was alive,” Violet replies. “She’s never gone out with him or anything, but I know she still likes him. His name is Tanner something or other.”

I jot the name down. “Was there anybody she did go out with?”

Violet shakes her head. “No. She’s really focused on her studies. She’s not like a lot of kids her age that way. She has a plan for her life. She has goals and dreams, and those take priority over everything else. She never goes out and parties or gets into trouble like other teenagers... Ash really seemed to stop being a kid after Sam died. It was like she grew up fast. Too fast.”

“How is her relationship with the Senator?” I ask.

“It’s fine. Great, actually. Ash and her father are super close. They’re closer than any kid and her father I’ve ever seen. Sam passing really bonded them together.”

“Violet, I know you’ve had some trouble in your past,” I say. “I know you’ve had a few arrests and some bad people in your life…”

I let my words trail off as Violet looks away. If she’s surprised that I dug into her past and know about her troubles, she hides it well. She probably expected it. To her credit, though, she raises her eyes to mine again, her jaw clenched, a steely gleam in her eye. She looks like a woman facing a firing squad without fear.

“Yeah, I had some issues of my own making. I did some terrible things and was in a really bad place,” she tells me. “Elliot could have cut me loose after Sam died. But he didn’t. He put me through rehab, then took me into his home. He gave me a job and a purpose. He let me get to know my niece and gave me a family again. Yeah, I had some bad people in my life, but I cut them off a long time ago and never looked back. I owe Elliot everything. So, if you’re asking me if I let those people back in, the answer is no. I didn’t.”

“Is it possible that some of these past connections—seeing how well you’re doing today and wanting a slice of that pie—might be responsible for Ashley’s abduction?” I ask. “Have you received any odd messages? Any phone calls from people you used to know?”

She shakes her head. “No. I haven’t. I haven’t spoken to anybody from my old life in years, Agent. I told you: I left that world behind when Elliot gave me a second chance.”

As I take another drink of water, I study Violet’s face, searching for any hints of deception. She either has no tells, which I doubt, or she’s telling me the truth. Given that she failed to land any meaningful roles as an actress, I have to assume her skills are limited and that I’d be able to see through her—that I’d know if she were lying to me. There’s sincerity in her voice. More than that, though, I can see it in her face. As near as I can tell, she’s telling me the truth.

“Tell me about Lieb Tal,” I say.

She seems caught off guard by the sudden change in tack. “Wh—what about him?”

“What do you know about him?”

“I know that he’s been with Elliot for years now. I know that he’s loyal. Dedicated. I know that he’d give his life to protect my brother-in-law and Ashley,” she tells me. “He could have farmed out this detail to one of his employees once his firm got off the ground, but he still insists on working it himself. You will not find a better man than Lieb.”

“You seem very fond of him.”

Violet’s cheeks flush brightly, and she tries to cover it by clearing her throat and looking down. It’s obvious she has feelings for him, and I wonder if they’re reciprocated. I don’t think it’s relevant, but I tuck that nugget of information away, just in case. You just never know what might prove relevant or useful later on down the road in any investigation.

“How is Lieb’s relationship with Ashley?” I ask.

“It’s fine. Respectful. They get along. He takes his job very seriously and does everything he can to protect her—”

“Then how is it that he wasn’t there to take her from school to her piano lesson?”

The corners of Violet’s mouth curled down. “Because her father lets Ashley walk the few blocks from the school to Aurelio’s studio. He doesn’t want her to feel like a prisoner. Lieb argued and said he doesn’t want to leave her unprotected, but Elliot wants to give her a little bit of freedom. It’s just a few blocks…”

Violet’s face colors again, and she scrubs her face with her hands emotions overcome her once again. It was just a few blocks, but it turned out to be enough for anybody who’d been watching Ashley to know her routine and know that she’d be unprotected for that brief window of time. I can’t fault the Senator for wanting to take the leash off his daughter, if only for a little while. Ashley’s life has been lived in a fishbowl. I can’t imagine how difficult that would be. Especially for a teenage girl who just wants to live a normal life.

But Barlow should have listened to his bodyguard. From a tactical standpoint, it was the dumbest decision he could have made. I’m not a security professional, but even I know that. However, doing what I’ve been doing for a living for as many years as I have now, I know that more often than not, the threats don’t come from without. In a vast majority of cases, the threat comes from within. It’s those people closest to us, who have our trust and we have the most faith in, who do the unspeakable. The real monsters in our lives are often the people we think we know best. The real monsters wear the masks of friendship and love.

“Violet, did you ever see anything strange or perhaps inappropriate in Lieb’s relationship with Ashley?” I ask.

“What? No!” she exclaims. “Of course not. Lieb is a good man. He handles his duties faithfully and professionally. He’s good with Ashley. And no, he’s never inappropriate with her. Never. Lieb is not like that. Like I said, he’s a good man.”

Maybe that’s true and maybe it’s not. Violet’s obvious feelings for the man could be clouding her judgment and keeping her from seeing his true nature. Or perhaps Lieb was able to keep any potentially inappropriate behavior secret from everybody. He wouldn’t be the first man to have a darker side to himself that nobody else ever saw. The only way I’m going to know who and what Lieb is or isn’t will be by talking to him myself.

Astra and Paige stand in the doorway of the kitchen behind Violet. She flashes me an envelope and motions for me to wrap it up and come with her. They head out, and I hear their footsteps receding as they head for the front door. I give Violet a small smile.

“Okay, we’re done here for now. But we may need to follow up with you at some point,” I tell her. “I’ll touch base with you later.”

She nods. “Okay.”

“Hang in there, Violet. We’re going to do our best to get some answers.”

“Please bring her home,” she says, her quaking voice barely more than a whisper.

“We’re going to do everything we can.”

I head out of the house and join Astra and Paige who are already standing by the SUV talking quietly. They turn as I step over to them.

“What did you find?” I ask.