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Chapter 39

She had reached no conclusion by the time Tiernan came back a little while later. Getting to her feet, she went to him to lean against her lover. “Do you have any idea who did this?”

Tiernan hugged her tightly against him. “No, but I’ve asked Aidan to investigate. The shocking randomness of the crime makes no sense.”

“Maybe it wasn’t so random,” said Madison, convinced of at least one thing. Joan’s secret had been the reason for her death. Drawing Tiernan over to a loveseat away from Catherine’s cold gaze, she put her arm around his shoulder and told him what she had learned as gently as possible.

He sat in stunned silence for several minutes, before shaking his head. “No, that can’t be.”

Madison understood his reluctance to accept it. “I’m sure she was telling the truth, Tiernan. Somewhere, you have a twin brother.” And someone willing to kill to protect his location. She didn’t voice that thought, not wanting to upset him further.

His lips compressed. “How could she do it