by Maria Milot
The officers walked back to the main gate. Officer Terry made a decision. “Yeah, it’s all dark up there. He’s not here. Let’s go. Maybe they have a number for this guy at the station. We can try to get a location off his phone.”
SEVENTY-TWO
Maddie tried to move to her left but Winston sidestepped directly in front of her; the counter still pressed into her back.
“You’re not going to drop this, are you? Damn it Madison! I wanted it to be you. I wanted to build the life I am supposed to have with you! But you just won’t stop digging and I can’t have that. You want the truth?”
Maddie was terrified, but she needed to know what was going on. She swallowed hard, nodding her head up and down. She managed to get out the words. “I just want to know what happened.”
◆◆◆
Jared’s grip on the steering wheel had turned his knuckles white. He directed his car around the winding curves of Ocean Drive. He had a pretty good idea where they were, he just hoped he was in time.
◆◆◆
“I’ll tell you about what happened, Madison. I’ll also tell you about what’s going to happen.” Winston lurched forward, grabbed Maddie’s arm and spun her around. From behind, he rammed her chest into the counter and held her in place with his body. He snatched a piece of rope from the counter and tied her wrists together, behind her back.
Maddie cried out, “Winston, stop! What are you doing? I just want to talk!”
Winston turned her around to face him. His eyes were wide and intense. He bent closer to her face and hissed, “No, I’m going to talk. You’re going to listen. Someone has to listen!” He shoved Maddie toward a small wooden chair and forced her down onto it.
◆◆◆
Locked gate, thorny tight hedges, fortified with an iron fence, Jared noted as he surveyed the entrance to Seafair. He jumped down onto the beach at the head of a cove adjacent to the estate. This is the only way in, he thought. He would have to make his way over the jagged rocks along the shore to gain access to the property.
The clear night sky and bright moon allowed him some visibility. Jared kept his body hunched low and began the treacherous climb along slippery, seaweed clad spiky rocks.
◆◆◆
Winston composed himself as he glided a hand over his mouth. He nodded his head and looked down at Maddie. “Yes, I knew Ken. I met him years ago at Deerfield Academy. He was a year behind me. We always kept our association private. He and I had an arrangement, on and off, over the years. He understood my dating women was, well, necessary. You see, in order to inherit my family’s billions, I must comply with the terms of our family trust. I must be married, to a woman, and produce biological children. Otherwise, the money passes along to my cousins. Ken was my lover. And although times have changed, the terms of my inheritance have not. Ken knew all about you. I told him. I thought you, Madison, I thought you were that special woman. The woman I was to marry.”
Maddie held her breath and tried not to recoil as he ran a single finger down the side of her cheek. He spread his finger and thumb across the breadth of her neck. “Now, obviously, I’m going to need to start again!”
Maddie’s eyes wildly followed him as he moved about the boathouse. “What are you going to do, Winston?”
“See, Madison, you remind me of Ken. Always pushing me, questioning me. ‘Why can’t we be together?’ ‘I have enough money for the two of us.’ ” Winston skidded to a stop in front of her chair. “As if he knew what real money is. As if he had any idea of my lifestyle or the power.” Winston placed his hands on his hips, hinged at the waist and looked into Maddie’s terrified eyes. “He actually tried to blackmail me into staying with him!” Winston rose back up to his full height. “Ken thought he had been following me in my black Range Rover.” Winston smirked. “Turned out, my dad had been taking my car to visit whores working as massage therapists. When Ken figured it out he tried to use my father’s activities to trap me in a relationship. He threatened to leak information to the press about my father if I didn’t come out and be with him.” Winston dropped to squat and clenched Maddie’s knees. He pleaded his reasoning. “I tried to break it off, to control myself but he was going to ruin everything. I had to stop him.”
“So, you killed him the night of the party,” Maddie quietly said.
Winston seemed intent on making her understand. “I could manage Ken dancing with you. But when he approached my father, with you in tow, it was the final straw.”
Maddie’s disgust boiled up into her voice. “You murdered him. Then went right on pretending. You have no soul, Winston Cooper. You’re a monster!”
“Perhaps,” he said quietly. “Now let me think.” Winston popped back up to his feet again. He resumed his pacing around the room.
Maddie eyed the door. It was dark outside. She knew he was fast and strong. She wouldn’t be able to get far if she tried to run. Maybe she could reason with him. “Think about what, Winston? You can’t kill me. It’s not like the night you killed Ken. People know we were out on the boat together. There are witnesses.”
Winston snatched up a rag and stuffed it into Maddie’s mouth. “There. It’s so much better when you can’t talk.”
The oily cloth assaulted her senses. She tried to work her tongue to push the greasy rag from her throat and mouth.
“You’re right Madison, lots of people know we’re together. Lots of people also know you are a novice on a boat. Accidents happen all the time on boats.” A malevolent smirk turned up the corner of his mouth. Winston beamed with the brilliance of his plan. “Yes, boating accidents happen all the time. Tonight’s accident will just be more tragic than most. You see we are going to go on a romantic starlit cruise.” Winston’s face was instantly in front of hers. He continued speaking with mock drama. “When suddenly we hit a rock here in the cove. You’d been drinking, the toxicology report will back that up. You were thrown to the side of the boat on impact, where you hit your head.” Winston arched his back and was up again. His words excitedly flowed. “I was dealing with the hole that opened up in the hull from the crash, as it was causing us to take on water. Unfortunately, when I looked up I realized you must have fallen overboard. I search for you. I call loudly, for the benefit of anyone on shore to hear of course. I call a mayday on the boat’s radio for help—‘The boat is sinking and a passenger is missing!’ I dive into the water with a flashlight, trying desperately to find you. I will still be frantically searching when the Coast Guard arrives. Sadly, they find you dead.” The edge of Winston’s finger again grazed Maddie’s cheek. This time she winced. Winston’s story continued in a self-satisfied tone. “What they will never know is that you were already dead when I brought you on board. Then all I have to do is ram my boat onto a rock, throw you over, and wait it out. Salt water tends to muddy up even the best coroner’s timeline. And the rope marks on your wrist are easily explained by your dangerous handling of the lines. Bad sailor, wrapping them around your palms and wrist for leverage, rookie mistake on a boat.”
Maddie’s horror reached a fever pitch. She knew his plan would work.
◆◆◆
Jared clambered onto the grass from the rocks below. He could see light radiating from the boathouse. As he swiftly closed in he could hear Winston’s voice. He ducked low and silently approached an open window.
◆◆◆
Winston loomed over Maddie with a bottle of wine. He ripped the rag from her mouth. Before she could take a deep breath she was choking on the wine Winston was pouring down her throat. “Can’t have fibers in your mouth, might mess with my story. Let’s go!” Winston yanked Maddie up from the chair.
Maddie was spitting, coughing and gasping. She struggled to get out her words. “I thought you were going to kill me?”
“Yes, but not until we get down to the boat. Ties the forensic evidence together and saves me having to haul your dead weight around.” Winston pushed Maddie in front of him toward the door.
Jared needed to act
fast. His hands darted along the ground. He grabbed a loose rock, wound his arm back and prayed his pitching skills would not fail him.
“AHHH!” Winston doubled over in pain grabbing his shattered elbow.
Maddie did not know what had just happened but she knew she needed to move. She lurched for the door but felt herself toppling forward. Winston had reached out and caught her leg. With no hands to break her fall her head slammed onto the hard wood floor. Winston was on her, his body weight cemented her to the floor. His one hand gripped the front of her throat and started to close like a vice. Suddenly air exploded out of her lungs and she could breathe. She rolled over and saw Jared’s fist crash into Winston’s face. Winston lay motionless.
Aftermath:
Jack, Kelly, Jared, and Maddie sat around the table in the station’s fishbowl.
Jack smiled at Maddie and Jared. “You two are very credible witnesses. The judge is holding Winston without bail. I think our case is pretty tight now,” Jack said. “I also wanted to let you know we checked up on the account at the Royal Cayman Bank that Ken had opened. We spoke to the bank manager, he said he personally closed out Ken’s account after Ken died. Apparently, Ken had opened the account to help out his family. Two of his cousins came in and closed the account out. The bank manager said they were headed back to Tuscany.”
Jared let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead.
Jack continued. “It’s your call Jared do you want us pursue this?”
“No. I know Ken’s family, they’re a proud people. It’s just sad to me Ken felt like he had to steal the money to help them out. If he had just come to me I would’ve given it to him, but I understand when pride gets in the way. Besides, his family’s been through enough and I don’t need the money.” He rubbed Maddie’s hand between his palms, “I’ve got everything I need right here.”
Maddie smiled and looked at each person at the table. “I have friends, I have money, I have you, but I might need a therapist.”