by Boone, Lisa
She didn’t notice him at first. There had been a couple of looky-loos standing around watching the police work for an hour or so. All but one had left as the temperature dropped.
It was that one lone figure huddled by the gate to the park that caught her attention.
She threw open the door and hurried across the street where Jamie waited.
He nodded toward the police crime scene van parked near the apartment building as she approached. “The neighborhood is getting dangerous,” he said unzipping his coat. “And it used to be so safe.” He reached underneath his coat causing Madison to take an instinctive step back.
She stopped when he moved his coat back far enough to reveal Rory.
“Where did you find him?” she asked with a relieved smile as she took the puppy from him.
“Wandering around behind the hamburger joint down the street. First place I looked after I heard he was missing.”
“Lucky,” she said wrinkling her nose at the smell.
“Smart,” he corrected. “A dog will follow his nose. He’s been cuddling up to the garbage for the last couple of hours. He needs a bath.”
“Well, thank you.”
“No problem. I’m just glad I found him before some creep in a blue car ran over him.”
Madison stiffened. “Did you see what happened here?” When he didn’t answer, she said, “If you saw what happened, then the police are going to want to speak to you.”
Chuckling, he held up his hands and backed up a step. “Nah, I don’t think so.” He pressed a hand to his heart. “I didn’t say I saw anything.”
“Well, that’s a pretty shrewd guess you just made. Psychic, by any chance?”
“I’ve seen that blue car driving around here for the last month. It just circles around the park when you get home and then it drives away. He’s been coming back more often. Sometimes, I see the car late at night when you girls turn off your lights.” He looked around. “He’s not here now. I guess your guardian angel didn’t want to be around when the police arrived.”
Madison frowned. “My guardian angel? What makes you think the guy in the car is my guardian angel?”
“He did you a favor by taking out that guy who was harassing you, didn’t he? He ran him down a few minutes after your little altercation.”
Madison felt her throat constrict. She held the puppy tighter. “I doubt he did it for me.”
Jamie cocked his head to the side. “Do you know the driver?”
“No, I don’t. It doesn’t make any sense. Why would he kill Paul? I’m the one he’s after.” She glanced down the street. “What could be his motive?”
Jamie looked at her strangely for a moment. “There are many reasons to kill a man. Maybe this Paul guy owed the driver money. He seemed like the type. Cheap suit. Horrible taste in hotels. I should know. I live at the Waverly.”
Madison shook her head. “It’s not about money.”
“No? Hmm… Maybe he knew too much. Like in the movies. He overheard something he shouldn’t have and he had to go.” He made a face before shaking his head, immediately dismissing his own theory. “Nah, he looked like the self-centered type. They almost never overhear anything of interest unless it’s about them.” He snapped his fingers. “I know. I bet Paul was messing around with someone’s girl. Men hate that. I’ll let you in on a little secret. Some men can be very possessive. They don’t like it when someone gets between them and what they want.”
A gust of cold air hit them and she felt a small tremor go through the dog.
Despite the smell, she opened her coat and shifted the puppy closer to her chest. “You seem to know a lot about the subject.”
“Apparently, not enough.” He reached out a hand and began to scratch Rory behind the ears. “You should take the pup inside. It’s freezing out here.”
“Wait,” she called out as he started to walk away. “Have you seen Sarah?”
He jerked his chin towards the park. “Here she comes. Goodnight, Madison.” He held up a finger as he started to back away. “Don’t forget, watch out for blue cars, they’ll kill you.”
Madison turned toward the park. She held Rory above her head, smiling at Sarah’s squeal of delight.
Rory, for his part practically leapt out of Madison’s hands in his effort to get to Sarah.
“Where have you been?” Sarah asked as she cuddled the puppy to her chest. She closed her eyes as she pressed her hand to her nose.
“Jamie found him down the street behind Freddie’s Grill.”
Sarah’s eyes flew wide. “Jamie was here?”
“He just left.” She wrapped her arms around her middle. “Come on; let’s get inside before we freeze to death.”
She stepped to the side as the police van pulled from the curb. Once it had passed by, they dashed across the street and entered the lobby.
“Are the police done investigating already?” Sarah asked.
“I think some of them are still upstairs.”
“Has Ethan called yet?”
“No, not yet,” she said as they walked towards the elevator. “I’m really starting to get worried.”
Sarah leaned back against the wall. “Well, you can stop now.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s here.” Sarah pushed herself away from the wall and opened the door just in time for Ethan to stride forward.
He gave Madison an apologetic look as he walked up to her.
“Where have you been?” she asked, as he gave her a quick hug.
“Hiding in the woods.”
“What happened?” she asked, reaching up to wipe away a smudge of dirt from one of his cheekbones.
He jerked his thumb toward the door. “What’s with the crime scene tape outside?”
“There was an accident,” Madison said. “I’ll tell you about it later. Why were you hiding in the woods?”
“I went to the Berkshire to look around the spot where they found Quincy’s body.”
“Don’t say that too loud. I don’t think Detective Kim would like that very much. He told me you were supposed to restrict your investigation to the outside of the hotel.”
“Well, it’s all right because I never made it inside.”
Madison looked down at his clothes, which were stained with some kind of black grime.
“What happened to your clothes?” Sarah stood on her tiptoes and stared at his neck. “Are you bleeding?”
He pressed a hand to the back of his head. “Probably. I took a pretty big hit.”
Madison turned him around to inspect his wound. “What happened?”
“Someone tried to run me over,” he said ushering them into the elevator.
Madison paled. “What?”
“I got out of my car and was walking towards the sanitarium when that blue car that’s been following you came barreling through the gate straight at me. I had just enough time to jump into the old fountain in front of the sanitarium, practically knocking myself unconscious when I did. Then that…” He snapped his mouth together, as he struggled to describe what he wanted to say without cursing. “Moron took a shot at me. Missed me by a mile but he didn’t seem to have any trouble emptying his gun into my car. Shot my front tires out. I managed to get a couple of shots off before he drove away.”
“You wouldn’t have happened to hit his rear window and his tail light, would you?” Madison asked.
He looked at her in surprise. “How did you know that?”
“He drove by here earlier. Why didn’t you answer your phone when I called you?”
They stepped out of the elevator and walked down the short hallway towards the apartment.
Ethan pressed his hand to the small of her back as they walked. “I’m sorry, baby, my phone fell out of my pocket and is somewhere at the bottom of the fountain. It took me an hour just to walk to the main road, then another couple of hours just to get someone to stop.”
“Were you able to see the driver’s face when he tried to run you ov
er?” Madison asked.
“I was trying not to drown at the time.”
“We need to find Detective Kim and tell him what happened.”
“I called the police when I got picked up,” Ethan said. “They’re probably out there now. I thought I was going to freeze.” His mouth fell open when he looked inside their apartment. “What the hell happened here?”
“We’ve had a busy afternoon too.” She turned to one of the uniformed officers standing by the door. “We’re not staying here tonight. Can we get some of our things?”
Ethan’s hand gently touched her elbow. “What happened?”
“Someone ran Paul Harris down outside.”
“Dead?”
She nodded.
He ran a hand through his dark thick hair, pushing it back away from his face. “Well then, we need to sit down and figure out what’s going on and soon, because our primary suspect is dead and we’re running out of time.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
FIVE
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27TH
2:39 A.M.
Madison rolled over onto her side and faced her sister who was sound asleep. Watching the clock had become too depressing. No matter how hard she tried, sleep wouldn’t come.
Last night had been a nightmare. Between Paul’s murder, the bad weather, and the mess at her apartment, all she wanted to do was to crawl into bed.
Ethan had other ideas. As soon as they arrived at his apartment, she had spent the next few hours going over every boyfriend, serious or otherwise, she had dated. Paying particular attention to the ones she dated after she met Quincy, before moving on to all the co-workers she had ever worked with, attorneys she had gone up against and then lastly, difficult clients she had dealt with since passing the bar six years ago.
It was only after her voice grew raw from talking that they decided to call it a night and begin again in the morning. This time, they would focus on anyone that had shown any personal interest in her through the years.
Mentally drained, she had dragged herself into Ethan’s bedroom and slipped into bed next to Sarah and Rory where she stared at the ceiling for most of the night.
Probably just as well, she thought. What little sleep she had gotten hours ago had been filled with disturbing images and scenes featuring Quincy. One in particular kept coming to mind as she laid there.
Quincy and she were in court, sitting next to one another. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, “That’s her,” but when she turned to look, she was back in the mall. Not the brightly lit crowded mall full of Christmas shoppers and joyful Christmas music, but a dark, empty place, full of shadows and foreboding. She woke up with a start and this time stayed awake, trying to make sense of the dream.
Rory suddenly lifted his head. He stared at the door for a few seconds, his ears up. After a moment, he settled back down and closed his eyes.
Unnerved, Madison swung her legs over the side of the bed and walked to the door. A soft glow suddenly appeared under the doorway. She grabbed her blue silk robe and quietly padded out of the room.
Her breath caught in her throat. Ethan stood in front of the living room window, his back to her, dressed only in a pair of striped pajama bottoms, hanging low on his hips. A dark angry bruise on his shoulder marred an otherwise beautiful strong back.
“Can’t sleep?”
He looked over his shoulder and smiled softly. “Too restless. How about you?”
“Same.”
He turned off the lamp next to the fireplace and motioned for her to come closer. He pushed the curtains open a few inches before taking her shoulders and bringing her to stand in front of him. “Look.”
Madison glanced outside. “At what? I don’t see anything but snow.”
He leaned closer and pointed to the glass door of the all night laundromat across the street. “Wait for it.”
She took a breath as his hands slipped from her shoulders and wrapped themselves around her waist. She leaned back against his chest.
She turned her head slightly, her gaze falling to his mouth, which was now inches from hers. “What am I looking for?” she asked softly.
He didn’t look down. Keeping his eyes on the window, he said, “You’ll know it when you see it. Can you take tomorrow off?”
“I have a hearing in the morning, but I’m free for the afternoon. What are we going to do?”
He finally looked down at her. She felt his breath catch in his throat as his hands tightened on her waist.
“What are we going to do tomorrow?” she asked again.
“We? Nothing. You are going to go visit family or something.” He reluctantly tore his gaze away from her and back to the window. “Cancel all your appointments. Take a vacation. Call in sick. Whatever you have to do, do it. Give me some time to figure out what’s going on.”
She rested her hands on top of his. “Ethan, you can’t protect me if we’re separated. Besides, you need me in order to figure out who from my past is doing this to me.”
He grimaced. “Unfortunately, I’m starting to wonder if you just picked up a stalker. I would rather it be someone from your past. Someone we can trace. If it’s just some loner psychopath that’s become fixated on you we might have to wait until he makes a move to figure out who he is.” He shifted his weight as he hugged her tighter. “We don’t have much time, Madison. For all we know, this guy may have changed his time schedule. We may not have until New Years to catch him and I can’t investigate with you trailing behind me.”
“Trailing behind?” she asked in mock outrage. “What makes you think I won’t be out in front of you?”
The corners of his lips quirked up. “Perhaps I should go on vacation and let you do the investigation.”
“I’d rather work as a team.”
He drew his attention back down to her. “So would I, but I don’t think that’s the best idea.”
“If you won’t protect me, then who will?” she asked turning her head in order to look up at him.
His gaze fell to her lips as his hands tightened around her. Her eyes fluttered closed the moment his lips touched hers. She wasn’t sure how long they stood there pressed together. She just knew that when she finally tore her mouth from his, her heart was pounding against her ribcage and she felt lightheaded.
He brought his hands to her head, gently threading his fingers through her hair as he trailed kisses down the side of her neck.
She reached around to grab the back of his head and pull his mouth back towards her when she felt him stiffen.
He pointed back to the window again. “There, look,” he said breathlessly.
Lost in a haze, she looked at him in confusion for a moment. Memory came back, shocking her into awareness.
She looked out to see a man in a leather coat standing in the laundromat staring out the glass door. He pushed open the door and stepped outside, but instead of moving on, he leaned back against the door and stared up at Ethan’s apartment building.
She tilted her head to the side hoping to get a glimpse of his face, but since the light was behind him and he was wearing a hoodie underneath his leather coat, which covered his head, she couldn’t get a clear picture of what he looked like.
“Do you know him?” Ethan asked.
“I can’t see his face but the coat seems familiar. I think I saw Jamie wear something similar the other day.”
“Who’s Jamie?”
“Jamie Murphy. He’s just one of the bar flies that hang around the pub where Sarah works.”
“What’s one of your sister’s bar flies doing out in front of my building this time of night?”
“I don’t know. He was the one who found Rory tonight.”
“That’s nice of him. And just where did he find the dog? In your apartment?”
“He said behind the burger joint down the street. It could be true. Rory smelled like he had been rolling around in the garbage. That’s why Sarah gave him a bath before turning in tonight.”
“W
hat does Sarah think about Jamie?”
“I don’t know. Every time I mention him she changes the subject.”
“She’s being evasive.”
“I didn’t say that.” She pulled out of his embrace and away from the window. “I don’t know why Jamie would go after Quincy or me. Last night was the first real conversation I’ve ever had with the man. I can’t even say that’s him out there. Lot’s of men have leather jackets like that.” She walked to the fireplace. “But, if it is a loner psychopath that’s after me, Jamie definitely has the loner part down.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “Can we turn on the fireplace? I’m cold.”
“Sure,” he said dropping the curtain. He turned around and flipped a switch on the wall.
The fireplace blazed to life.
Ethan turned away from the window to watch her. “Why don’t you go to bed? Get some sleep.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Maybe take a short walk.”
She swung her head towards him. “No.”
“I just want to talk to whoever it is standing out there. See if he’s the one we’re looking for. Figure out who’s watching my apartment building and why.”
She pushed back her hair as tears sprung to her eyes. “Ethan, please, he’s already tried to kill you once tonight. I’m scared. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
He covered the distance between them in two strides and took her in his arms. “Listen,” he said taking her face into his hands. His thumbs brushed away her tears. “It’s my job to figure out who’s doing this to you. The answer may be just outside. Trust me, Madison, I can take care of myself. I’ll be okay.”
She turned away from him, trying to think of another way to keep him inside and safe with her. He wasn’t worried about his life but she was pretty sure he was concerned about hers. “What if Quincy’s killer is working with someone? Hmm? That guy out there isn’t exactly hiding himself. What if he’s just a distraction? Someone who’s just there to draw you away from us? If you go out there, you’re basically leaving me and Sarah alone.” She turned back around and took his hands. “Please don’t leave me tonight.”
He dropped his chin to his chest.