Page 7 (1/2)

“I don’t knohere to start,” Madeline said

“Start wherever you’re most co every tell that Madeline displayed Ryan had run a preliround check on her, as he did on all their prospective clients But nothing beat an in-person assessment And, in this case, there was an additional—and very personal—nuance to observe

“We’ll ask questions as we need to” From Casey’s peripheral vision, she noticed that Marc had opened his portfolio and was ready to take notes Business as usual Marc preferred to go at it by hand, and then transfer his conclusions into the computer It also wasn’t a shock that he hadn’t done o into a firstwith just the facts and a clear mind

Evidently, that method had backfired this time

“Do you mind if we record this conversation?” Casey asked “It helps us refocus on any details that ht become important later on”

“Not at all,” Madeline replied “Just as long as everything remains confidential”

“Absolutely” Casey nodded “I assuered to you?”

“I did And I reviewed it with my attorney” Tentatively, Madeline leaned down, reached into her purse and extracted a folded docuinal,” she said, unfolding the page and handing it to Casey “I kept a copy for my records”

“Good Then let’s begin” Casey sipped at her coffee, then called out, “Yoda, please turn on Inspector Gadget”

Ryan grinned, proud of yet another of his accorammed into each team member’s iPhone, which turned the cell phones into secret listening devices With Yoda in control, the iPhoneaudio and video over the best available network, for live viewing and/or recording by the team

“Inspector Gadget activated,” Yoda announced

/>“Go, go, Gadget,” Ryan muttered under his breath with a quiet chuckle

Madeline was looking around, her eyes wide and puzzled

“Yoda is our artificial intelligence system,” Casey explained “Ryan built him, so he’s smart but safe”

A tentative nod “Okay” Madeline still looked bewildered Then again, everyone did the first time they heard Yoda