Beyond Secrets, The Art of Murder: A Madison Hart Mystery (Madison Hart Mysteries Book 1)

by DB Jones

  Kincaid's legs began to shake, and his voice quivered. No one had ever talked to him that way. Madison waited a moment for him to digest what she was saying and then calmly asked, “Is your memory coming back to you now?”

  “I keep a diary of every painting; when I start, where the location is, who the model is and when I finish. Unfortunately, Kim does take care of all of that so that I can focus on my work. However, I can tell you roughly when I started working on this exhibit.” He took in a big gulp of air and tried to compose himself. “I started the first painting around the beginning of June, and I think I completed it July 20th. I’d have to give more thought to the others, but I know I completed the final painting for my exhibit right before Thanksgiving. Honestly, that’s all I can remember under this pressure.”

  Josh finished writing everything Kincaid said in his logbook. “We’d like you to dig deeper for the rest of the information and call us as soon as you can remember the others. It’s important.”

  “I will, I will,” he said, standing up in front of Madison. “I’m sorry about your injuries. I was looking forward to using you for my collection.”

  Madison looked at him and shook her head wondering if he had heard a word she said about not working with him. He is so self-absorbed, I doubt it even registered that I didn’t want to work with him.

  Josh and Madison headed back to her office. She turned to Josh, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  “I sure am, but I want to check the timeline we have first.”

  Chapter 19

  As Madison added the new data to the board, the missing pieces of the case were quickly formulating a pattern. “This is no coincidence. I would sure like to get a look at Kim’s book to confirm our theory.”

  “I would, too. I have a meeting with the chief later, and I think you could use some rest. I’ll make some calls, and we can start fresh in the morning.”

  “As much as I would like to stay with this, I’m going to agree with you tonight. My head is throbbing, and I believe one of those pain pills is in order. Why don’t we meet here tomorrow for coffee, around 7:00? Will that work for you?”

  Josh nodded as he headed for the door. “Don’t bother to get up and make any coffee. I’ll pick some up on the way.”

  Madison walked him to the door, leaned toward him and kissed him on the cheek.

  “What was that for?”

  She looked up at him and smiled. “For putting up with me.”

  “My pleasure, Agent Hart. I’ll see you in the morning, now get some rest. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

  Madison smiled as she watched him drive off, then locked the door and turned toward her room. Her head was pounding, and the pain was intensifying. When she left the hospital, she didn’t think she would need to take any pills. Every muscle in her body was aching from the wreck. It was one of those evenings she desperately wished she had a tub. She dropped her clothes to the floor and stood in front of the full-length mirror. Her body looked like it had been painted black and blue. Bruises were emerging that weren’t there at the hospital, or at least she hadn’t noticed them. “No wonder I ache.” She wanted a glass of wine, but if she was going to take a pain pill, she decided against it. She popped one of the pills and crawled into bed.

  She was just about to doze off when her cell phone rang. She glanced down to see the caller ID. It read restricted. Thinking it might be Josh at the police station, she answered it. “Agent Hart.”

  There was only silence for a moment, and then a deep, muffled voice said, “whore” and then hung up before Madison could ask who was calling.

  The effects of the pain pill was rapidly working, and she was feeling groggy. Though she was curious about the call, she was dozing off.

  Her dreams ran rampant from living in her old apartment near DC to coming face to face with the killer in Maitland. She struggled to make out details of his face, but all she could focus on was a gun being pointed at her. Suddenly, the killer pulled the trigger and Madison went down, and she heard the muffled words, “Whore.”

  She woke up and looked at her clock. It was 3:30 a.m. She felt disconnected, and light headed from the medication, but the aches and pains weren’t as bad as earlier. She realized she had fallen asleep naked. She tried going back to sleep, but the dreams and call had set her mind spinning. “Could my dreams be trying to tell me something about the caller?” She fought it as long as she could, but sleep was not going to return.

  Madison turned on the shower and gently wrapped a towel around her head, to keep her wounds from getting wet and then let the hot water slowly run over her body easing her tension until the water started to cool.

  She wrapped up in her flannel bathrobe after drying off and decided to make coffee though Josh said he’d be bringing some. That wouldn’t be for hours, and she needed some right away. The outside light hadn’t been fixed yet, so the only light was that from her bedroom area. Maneuvering herself through the office to the light switch at the door, she flipped it on. It cast a dim light toward the parking lot and out of the corner of her eye, someone ran from the sidewalk in front of her office. Her instinct was to run outside and see who it was, but she was in no condition to do any running nor was she dressed for it. She struggled to watch in what direction they retreated and noticed the person ran towards the back parking lot of the abandoned bank. It was too dark to investigate, but as soon as morning came, she intended to check out the area. Forgetting what time it was, she called Josh.

  “Logan,” he answered, half asleep.

  “Josh, it’s Madison.”

  “Didn’t we talk about you getting some rest?” He sat up on the side of his bed.

  “I did get some sleep. Oh, crap. I didn’t realize what time it was.” She looked up at the clock. “Well, now that you’re up, I just wanted to tell you someone was out front again. Only this time I saw the direction they were running. When you come over later, we can take a look.”

  “I might as well get dressed. I think I need to talk with your doctor and see if he’ll prescribe sleeping pills for you so that I can get some sleep,” he snickered. “I’ll see you later, but do not go out there until I get there. You are in no condition to be wandering around in the dark.”

  “I’ll make us a pot of coffee.” Then she hung up.

  Madison set up the coffee pot and then headed back to get dressed. Josh would be there soon, in spite of his protesting.

  She inhaled the aroma of fresh brewing coffee and was ready for that first cup. She added a large splash of Caramel Macchiato creamer to the mug and then poured the coffee. Grasping the mug with both hands, she brought it up to her mouth, lingering for a second on the rich whiff of flavor.

  She carried her coffee to the board and lifted the cover off, then stood back and stared at the pieces of the puzzle that were evolving. The connection to the Art Center was no longer a mystery, but who the unsub was still perplexing, and there were still two women missing.

  She opened up her computer and typed in Kim’s name, hoping to find out who and where her sister lived. Using her FBI code, she was able to get the phone number of Kim’s sister. They had tried Kim’s number, but it kept going to voicemail. They needed to reach Kim as soon as possible. Getting that book on Kincaid’s models from her was crucial.

  There was loud car horn out front. She walked to the door, and there was Josh with his hands full of files and a large box of donuts. “You’ve got to stop bringing donuts, or I won’t be able to fit through the door. Is this a must thing for cops?”

  “Can’t do proper work in the morning without a Krispy Kreme donut. Why else would one drink coffee?” he chuckled, as he set the box on the table. He didn’t wait for her to make her selection.; he immediately grabbed the crème filled chocolate one and took a huge bite.

  Madison poured him a cup of coffee, and he took a sip to wash down the donut. “Damn, you make a good cup of Joe.”

  She smiled. “I do my best.”

  She walke
d back toward the board with her coffee. “Aren’t you going to have one of these donuts?”

  She stopped for a moment, “You already took the one I wanted.”

  “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “I couldn’t resist watching you shove that whole donut into your big mouth.”

  “I’m sure there must be another one in the box you’d enjoy.” He carried the box up beside her.

  “I’ll check them out later.”

  “Okay.” He laid the box down. “Now tell me about what happened this morning when you saw someone running from your door.”

  “I was heading to the front of the office to turn on the light. When I did, there was just enough light outside to see a body making a run toward the old bank building. The only thing I could see was that they went around to the back of the parking lot. That’s when I called you. To tell you the truth, I was still feeling a little out-of-sorts from the medication I took last night. My first thought was to chase after them. I think that’s one of the reasons I woke up so early. The damn pill gave me nightmares. I tried to go back to sleep, but I was too restless. So I decided to get up and fix some coffee.” Madison put her hand over the wound on her head.

  “Are you still in pain?”

  She sipped her coffee. “Not as much as last night. I’m okay, and as soon as it gets light, I’d like to check out the area where I saw the intruder.”

  “Yeah, I do, too. I’ve got an uneasy feeling about all the strange things going on around you lately, especially after someone tampered with your car. I had your car towed to the crime lab for testing. Hopefully, the person was sloppy and left some evidence.”

  “There’s something else I haven’t told you yet. I had an odd call in the middle of the night.”

  “Who was it?”

  “That’s the strange thing about it. It was a restricted number, and the voice was disguised. They hung up before I had a chance to ask who it was.”

  “What did they say?”

  “The only thing they said was whore, and then they quickly hung up. I couldn’t tell if it was a man or woman.”

  “Madison, do you think you should stay here? I know you can be stubborn, but I believe someone has it in for you. You may be in danger. If you won’t stay at my place then will you consider staying at your friend Jessie’s? No one would have to know where you are. We could move all this evidence to one of the back rooms at the station, and it would be safer there.”

  Madison was defiance and hardheaded, but her practical side agreed with Josh, at least about the evidence. She was a trained FBI agent and wasn’t going to let some prankster run her out of her office.

  “I think you’re right about the evidence, only because I don’t want us to lose any of this now. We’re getting so close, and I’m staying here. I can take care of myself.”

  To argue with her once she’s made her mind up would be a waste of time, but he was going to have someone patrol her place. “Okay. I know you’ve made up your mind and I’d be wasting my breath trying to persuade you otherwise.”

  “I do appreciate the offer to stay at your house, though.” She quickly changed the subject. “I have Kim’s sister’s number, and I’m going to call as soon as it gets light. I don’t want to call too soon if Kim’s sister is ill, but we need to move on this.”

  There was a hint of light coming in the front window, and they were eager to see if they could find anything outside. Madison poured them each another cup of coffee as they went over some of the new details in the case. Neither wanted to get tangled in the over-growth behind those old buildings in the dark. Finally, it looked as though there was enough light outside.

  “Show me exactly where you saw the person out front.” They walked to the edge of the curb on the sidewalk and scanned the area for anything that looked new or out of place, but there was nothing. Then Madison led him toward the back. It was clear where someone had trampled the tall grasses, and it led them straight to the back of the bank and fresh tire tracks in the mud.

  Josh knelt down at the impressions in the mud. “That rain made it good and muddy here. The forensic team should be able to cast a decent tire print.”

  While Josh scoped the area where the car had run through the mud, Madison walked around toward the front of the bank, which faced her parking lot. There appeared to be a small area where someone or something had been sitting. No one could be spotted in there from any passing cars. She called out to Josh. He looked around but couldn’t see where she had gone. She called again, and he heard her voice coming from the opposite side of the tire tracks. She was aiming her flashlight around the ground and then looked up at Josh. “I think someone has been watching me for some time. This grass is nearly dead. Somebody spent a great deal of time here, more than once. It’s a perfect view of the front of my office.”

  “Somebody is stalking you, Madison.”

  “I can see that, but why?”

  “Have you noticed anyone watching you when you’re out?”

  “Josh, this has nothing to do with me. It’s the case. We’re getting too close and they either want to know what we know, or they’re trying to halt this investigation. They obviously don’t know me very well, or they’d know this will only make me work harder to find them. I think it’s time we got back and call Kim. If we have to drive up to her sister’s, we will. I don’t want another day to go by without checking Kincaid’s schedule.” Madison stormed off toward the office, and Josh stayed with the tire tracks until the forensic team came to process the site. After the team had finished, Josh headed back to Madison’s, but she was on the phone when he came in.

  Josh sat waiting for her to finish the call and hoped that they would finally get what they needed from Kim. Madison hung up the phone and turned to Josh. “Kim never arrived at her sister’s.” She sat down at the table. “Her sister has been trying to call her for days and kept getting Kim’s voicemail, but last night when she tried, the machine said the voice mail was full. She’s very worried about Kim.”

  “Are you telling me we might have another missing woman?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s looking that way. Damn it! We haven’t found the last of our missing women and now this. I have an idea that maybe Kim’s things may be at the art center. She may have put that book with some of her personal items. I heard Alice tell someone that they each have a drawer they use in one of the closed studios to keep personal items. Let’s see if we can find anything there.”

  Josh scratched his head. “Madison, we know this case involves the models but how does your friend Aspen, and Kim, fit into this?”

  “That does add another element, but I still think Kincaid has the answers.”

  Madison started for the door and flung it open. “Hey, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s barely daylight. I doubt that anyone is at the center yet, and you didn’t eat your donuts.” He grinned as he raised his eyebrow.

  “Oh yeah, you’re right. I am hungry, but not for donuts. Since you’re the only one with a car right now, would you mind taking me to get a real breakfast?”

  Madison felt with every fiber of her being that they were closing in on the killer. Her adrenalin was pumping. It was that feeling she’d get each time she was in the process of capturing the unsub on a case with her colleagues in DC. It was hard to believe a case in this small town could arouse such passion in her.

  Madison was so excited she had forgotten about her appearance when she stepped through the doors of the restaurant. Lisa let out a holler from behind the counter. “Good grief, Madison! What happened to you? Were you the one in that wreck down the street the other day?”

  Madison was amazed at how perceptive Lisa was. Someone must have mentioned it to her, and she never forgets a thing. “Yes. My brakes gave out, and I skidded into the oncoming traffic.”

  “Are you okay? You look terrible.”

  “Gee, thanks,” Madison snickered.

  “I mean you look like you were really hurt. Are yo
u sure you shouldn’t be in the hospital or something?”

  “I’m fine, Lisa. Please, don’t make a fuss.” Madison hurried to the booth in the back but heard Lisa saying something to Josh as she sat down. “Detective Logan, is she going to be okay? She doesn’t look good.”

  “The doctors said she’d be her old self in no time, but I’m sure she appreciates your concern.”

  “I’ll bring your coffee right away,” Lisa said hurrying off to the back.

  “If I’d known I was going to cause such a stir, I’d have eaten your damn donuts.”

  “People care about you,” Josh whispered.

  “I know. I just didn’t want to make a scene.”

  Josh chuckled. “Honey, you’d make a scene anytime you entered a room.”

  Madison reached across the table and smacked him on the arm and then laughed, too.

  Lisa set down their coffee, and it was back to business, “Now what can I get you two lovebirds?” She winked. Madison just rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Lisa, just give me what I always have.”

  “Me, too,” Josh added.

  When Lisa left, Josh leaned across the table. “Lovebirds?”

  Madison just kept shaking her head.

  After they finished their meal, they drove toward the Art Center. Alice was just opening up. “Good morning. How are you feeling, Madison?”

  “Feeling much better, Alice. You mentioned the other day that some of the volunteers kept their personal things in the closed studio, and I was wondering if Kim kept any of her things in there?”

  “I’m not sure. I have seen her in there from time to time, but she’s all over this place.”

  “Would you mind if Josh and I have a look?”

  “No, not at all. Just let me get you the keys,” Alice reached into the drawer at the reception desk for the keys. “Do you need me to show you which one it is?”