and wound around to a large staircase with a gleaming brass railing. Donny followed the railing up to a set of double
glass doors with a stenciled sign that read, OFFICES OF THE FBI — GRAND HAVEN BRANCH . Before pulling the doors open Donny paused with his palm on
the handle and said, “Remember, Maddie, don’t answer any question without looking to me to see if I approve; and if I do,
just
answer the question, okay? Nothing else.
Don’t elaborate beyond the simplest answer.”
My mouth had gone dry as we’d stepped onto the third floor, and I wanted a glass of water badly. My legs were trembling, and I found it hard to concentrate on what Donny was saying. Still,
I managed to nod when he looked at me and opened the door.
We walked in to find the place pretty busy for a Saturday. “They mostly monitor drug and weapons traffic coming in and out of New York City from here,” Donny whispered. That made
sense when I thought about it, as Grand Haven sits right next to I-87, which heads straight to Canada.
Donny pointed to a leather chair in the lobby and I sat while he checked in with the receptionist. After letting the feds know we were there, she came over to us. Her deathdate read 2-12-2061.
“Agents Faraday and Wallace will be with you shortly. Can I get you something to drink while you wait?”
“Coffee,” Donny said, flashing a smile. Donny’s a big flirt.
“I’ll take water please,” I told her.
After she came back with our drinks, Agent Faraday appeared and motioned for us to follow him.
He led us to a glass-enclosed office with an open ceiling where he pointed to the two chairs that faced his desk, and as we took our seats Wallace entered the office, pushing a chair in front of
him.
Faraday shut the door behind Wallace before taking his seat, and I moved my gaze to his desk. It was cluttered with papers and files, but one corner was fairly neat. Several picture frames were
arranged there with their backs to us. I assumed they were of his family, and I felt oddly curious about what his wife and kids looked like. Then I glanced at the wall behind Faraday and saw three
rows of mug shots of dangerous-looking felons. All of them had the word
CAPTURED
in bright red stamped across the top of their mug shots. I couldn’t help
noticing that a few were already dead.
Belatedly, I realized that Wallace and Faraday were both staring silently at me as if they were waiting for a full confession. I shifted in my seat and looked at Donny, who seemed impatient to
get things going.
“Do you guys have questions for us, or should we come back on a day without all this excitement?” Donny said.
Both Faraday and Wallace didn’t seem to like his attitude. Wallace glared, and Faraday asked, “You in a hurry, counselor?”
“Yeah, Agent Faraday. I am,” Donny replied, pulling at his shirt cuffs and tugging at his tie. He was playing up the hotshot lawyer.
Faraday rolled his eyes a little but turned his attention back to me. “You claimed when we spoke to you a few days ago that you never met Tevon Tibbolt. Is that right, Madelyn?”
I looked at Donny, and he nodded.
“I never met him,” I said. I thought I should make it perfectly clear to Faraday, so I added, “I’ve never met Tevon or talked to him or texted him or e-mailed him.
I’ve never met him in any way at all.”
Faraday looked confused. “See, this is what I don’t get: if you never met, or talked or texted or e-mailed Tevon, then how exactly could you know that he’d been murdered when
we didn’t even know that until yesterday?”
I glanced at Donny, a little exasperated. If this was the way it was going to go, then we were going to be here a really long time. Donny put a hand on my arm and said, “My niece and my
sister-in-law have both told you that Maddie has a special and unique talent. She has psychic abilities that allow her to accurately predict the deathdate of any individual. She didn’t know
that Tevon would be
glass doors with a stenciled sign that read, OFFICES OF THE FBI — GRAND HAVEN BRANCH . Before pulling the doors open Donny paused with his palm on
the handle and said, “Remember, Maddie, don’t answer any question without looking to me to see if I approve; and if I do,
just
answer the question, okay? Nothing else.
Don’t elaborate beyond the simplest answer.”
My mouth had gone dry as we’d stepped onto the third floor, and I wanted a glass of water badly. My legs were trembling, and I found it hard to concentrate on what Donny was saying. Still,
I managed to nod when he looked at me and opened the door.
We walked in to find the place pretty busy for a Saturday. “They mostly monitor drug and weapons traffic coming in and out of New York City from here,” Donny whispered. That made
sense when I thought about it, as Grand Haven sits right next to I-87, which heads straight to Canada.
Donny pointed to a leather chair in the lobby and I sat while he checked in with the receptionist. After letting the feds know we were there, she came over to us. Her deathdate read 2-12-2061.
“Agents Faraday and Wallace will be with you shortly. Can I get you something to drink while you wait?”
“Coffee,” Donny said, flashing a smile. Donny’s a big flirt.
“I’ll take water please,” I told her.
After she came back with our drinks, Agent Faraday appeared and motioned for us to follow him.
He led us to a glass-enclosed office with an open ceiling where he pointed to the two chairs that faced his desk, and as we took our seats Wallace entered the office, pushing a chair in front of
him.
Faraday shut the door behind Wallace before taking his seat, and I moved my gaze to his desk. It was cluttered with papers and files, but one corner was fairly neat. Several picture frames were
arranged there with their backs to us. I assumed they were of his family, and I felt oddly curious about what his wife and kids looked like. Then I glanced at the wall behind Faraday and saw three
rows of mug shots of dangerous-looking felons. All of them had the word
CAPTURED
in bright red stamped across the top of their mug shots. I couldn’t help
noticing that a few were already dead.
Belatedly, I realized that Wallace and Faraday were both staring silently at me as if they were waiting for a full confession. I shifted in my seat and looked at Donny, who seemed impatient to
get things going.
“Do you guys have questions for us, or should we come back on a day without all this excitement?” Donny said.
Both Faraday and Wallace didn’t seem to like his attitude. Wallace glared, and Faraday asked, “You in a hurry, counselor?”
“Yeah, Agent Faraday. I am,” Donny replied, pulling at his shirt cuffs and tugging at his tie. He was playing up the hotshot lawyer.
Faraday rolled his eyes a little but turned his attention back to me. “You claimed when we spoke to you a few days ago that you never met Tevon Tibbolt. Is that right, Madelyn?”
I looked at Donny, and he nodded.
“I never met him,” I said. I thought I should make it perfectly clear to Faraday, so I added, “I’ve never met Tevon or talked to him or texted him or e-mailed him.
I’ve never met him in any way at all.”
Faraday looked confused. “See, this is what I don’t get: if you never met, or talked or texted or e-mailed Tevon, then how exactly could you know that he’d been murdered when
we didn’t even know that until yesterday?”
I glanced at Donny, a little exasperated. If this was the way it was going to go, then we were going to be here a really long time. Donny put a hand on my arm and said, “My niece and my
sister-in-law have both told you that Maddie has a special and unique talent. She has psychic abilities that allow her to accurately predict the deathdate of any individual. She didn’t know
that Tevon would be
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