She was a plump woman with a beautiful smile and naturally graying hair. She stared back at him in such shock that he was afraid that he might have caused her to have a stroke or a heart attack herself.
“Maddie, we don’t mean to upset you,” Meg said, reaching over to pat Maddie’s hand. “It’s just that...if something like that happened, it was a crime not just against your husband, you and your family, but against the American people.”
“But—but...how?” Maddie gasped out the words. “He was here. He was at home. I was making apple pie. He was in the bedroom. And when I went to get him...” She broke off, covering her face.
“He took digitalis, right?” Adam asked. “He didn’t have a severe condition, but he took digitalis.”
Maddie nodded. “There’s no reason to believe... Like I said, we were both at home. It had been a long day. He kept his pills in his pocket. But why would you think...?”
“Maddie, what I’m about to say must remain in this room,” Adam told her. “A young congressional employee is missing. She left a note for a friend that referred to your husband’s death. She was suspicious. We don’t know what she might have heard, but under the circumstances...”
“The woman Adam mentioned is my oldest friend, and she’s still missing, Maddie,” Meg said. “She adored your husband. She’s an idealist and a wonderful person and...she may still be alive.”
“I know we’re asking a lot,” Matt put in.
“Garth is dead and gone,” Maddie said softly. “He wouldn’t care what was done with his body. It’s nothing but a shell now.” She paused. “I still wish I could understand.”
“Can you tell me a little more about the day he died?” Matt asked.
Maddie lifted her hands. “It was a busy day. He’d worked on Capitol Hill in the morning, and there was a special picnic with disabled children in the afternoon. He was tired when he came home—which added to the stress on his heart, or so we all assumed. We had dinner. We used no salt, and he ate only fish and chicken, no red meat. He was careful. Such a good, sweet man, the best husband and father and... Why? Why would someone have killed him?”
“What if someone disagreed with him?” Adam asked.
“Good Lord, Adam Harrison. We’re in politics. Everyone disagrees with everyone else!” Maddie said. “But he knew how to compromise. He also knew how to say, ‘This is what I believe. It’s up to the voters.’”
Meg touched her hand again. “He’d been out all day, he came home and died. Did he take his pills?”
“I believe he did, but it was too late. The bottle was in his hand, and the pills were strewn across the floor.”
“Do you still have those pills?” Matt asked.
“Oh, no, of course not,” Maddie said. “I’ve heard it stressed far too many times, the importance of getting rid of someone else’s pills. So many people reminded me of that. They went down the toilet immediately.”
Meg and Adam both turned to Matt. “Who stressed this to you?” he asked carefully.
“My daughter, for one. And a number of the congressional wives who were here after the funeral. Ada Cutler, Kendra Walker, Leona Thomas—many of the women.”
“Any of the men?” Meg asked.
“Men?” Maddie repeated, sitting back. “I suppose so, but... I don’t really remember. I was upset. We were talking in the living room. My daughter is a physician. She asked if I’d made sure to get rid of all her father’s pills.”
Meg glanced at him and Matt knew they were thinking the same thing. They’d get nothing else along these lines, and even if they did, it wouldn’t matter. The pills were gone. They couldn’t be tested. The only truth regarding what might have been in his stomach or bloodstream lay in Congressman Hubbard being exhumed—and autopsied.
“I just don’t see how my husband could have been murdered,” Maddie said, not for the first time. She was going to refuse them, Matt thought. Despite her earlier remark about his remains being “nothing but a shell.”
But she didn’t.
“Garth is dead. I truly believe that his soul is in heaven. If anyone deserved paradise, it’s my husband. If you think the removal of his corpse might help someone else, I’m happy to sign whatever papers you need,” she said with finality.
She and Meg were looking at each other. They seemed to be sharing something.
“Thank you,” Meg said simply.
Adam rose. “Maddie, Garth loved you deeply. I believe he’d be very proud of you now.”
“Won’t you stay for coffee, tea, a drink...a bite to eat?” Maddie asked.
“You seem tired,” Adam said.
“I am a bit weary. No matter how darling children are, I’m only good with them for so long, but still...”
“Another time, Maddie, I shall be delighted to take you up on your offer,” Adam said.
Matt rose and Meg did the same. Maddie Hubbard smiled at him and slipped an arm around Meg. “And you must bring your agents back when they’re not working on a case like this. I may no longer be a power on the Hill, but I still enjoy good company.”