The Art of Madness

by A. J. Mayall

  “Everything looks good! Seriously though, it’s the craziest thing. Their house is cleared out. I went to Prescott Electronics and, overnight, their offices got the same treatment. No one will say a word. You would’ve known all this yesterday had you been willing to talk on the phone. Anything to say for yourself?”

  “Yeah, I’m being paid to care now. This just got interesting. That video may have been embarrassing, but this sounds like a clean-up job. Go check out the house, see what you can find.”

  “That was the plan. I’ll be heading there in a few minutes, anything you want me to grab while I’m out?”

  “Not that I can think of Phoenix. I better do some looking into Prescott Electronics. The Bentons were both there before the buyout?”

  “Yeah. What are you thinking?”

  “Just a hunch, but if something is going down with the company, they may have been working on something beforehand. I think I remember an old news story about Prescott, but don’t quote me on that, yet.”

  She brought up several browser windows, typing furiously.

  “You seem a lot more interested today.”

  “Well, you are paying me right now. Sorry for snapping at you yesterday,” she said, a slight frown on her face, brow furrowed into an expression of regret and worry.

  “No, you aren’t.”

  She scowled. “Saw right through it, didn’t you? Well, you are the detective here. Seriously though, I shouldn’t have snapped. I do hope they are okay.”

  Phoenix nodded and ran upstairs, sped through his morning routine, soon tugging on an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt, his jacket and necklace, and jumped out the loft window. He stayed in free-fall a second and swooped up, concentrating, trying to force himself higher and faster, rocketing across the sky toward the Benton residence.

  When he landed in the front lawn about 15 minutes later, the sight which greeted him stunned him more than the empty house he saw yesterday.

  The bright red and yellow logo of Palatine Realty topped with a “SOLD” sign met his gaze. Phoenix looked at the home, seeing figures move inside. He walked to the red door, knocking once he arrived. He stood there, hearing footsteps approach, the peephole shadowed for a second. Phoenix smiled and waved when he saw that. A lock was turned and the door was opened a crack, stopping only when the chain lock at the top caught.

  “Can I help you, sir?”

  “Yes. Sorry to be a bother, miss. I’m a detective, my name is Phoenix McGee.”

  He caught a glimpse of a green eye and long red hair. He placed the woman at about five feet and eight inches in height with a slim build.

  “Listen, whoever you’ve been sent here to investigate, you aren’t getting any info. So go back to whatever scumbag hired you and get out of here. You aren’t welcome.”

  Phoenix stepped back a moment, perplexed. He turned around, trying to figure what had just happened. Muttering to himself, he knocked again, but lighter this time, trying not to sound in any way angry or aggressive. He was left there for a good three minutes before the door swung open, catching on the chain once more. Phoenix put up his hands, taking a step back.

  “I’m investigating the people who lived here previously. I have no idea what you or your roommates are on about, okay? Nice couple, they’ve gone missing and overnight their house was stripped, put on market, sold and now is filled with new tenants. Can I please talk to the head of the household? I don’t need or want to know any personal data about anyone here unless it helps me find the Bentons.”

  He stood there, waiting, for what had seemed like forever as the red-haired woman glared at him and finally unchained the door, telling everyone inside to go upstairs.

  She turned to face the detective, slowly ushering him in.

  “I’m Fiona McIntyre, Matron of Second Dawn. If this is a trick, you’ll be hearing from my lawyers faster than you can blink. We take the security of our charges very seriously, Mr. McGee.”

  Phoenix stepped in and looked at the freshly painted walls, peeking around a corner, only to have Fiona step in front of him, glaring.

  “That’s strike one, Mr. Private Eye.”

  He was taken aback. “Sorry, I was just in here the other day.”

  “Uh huh. So you wanted to talk about the people who lived here before us, right. We don’t know anything about them. We were told we had been given an allowance for a new halfway home, and we needed to settle in quickly.”

  “This place was empty yesterday, I was here. So, in less than a day, you’re fully furnished and settled in. Forgive my saying, but I gotta say that sounds mighty suspicious, Fiona.”

  She looked to Phoenix and then to her feet, nodding. “Go to the kitchen. If you’ve really been in here before, you’ll know the way,” she said, testing him.

  Phoenix shrugged and headed through the main hallway and then took the left through the study into the kitchen, Fiona keeping pace behind him. Once there, he went through a few cabinets. Fiona glowered at him as he pulled out a glass.

  “Just thirsty…is that strike two?”

  “No. But don’t push it.”

  “So,” he said, leaning back, “you think it seemed a bit odd that you had to get in the house this fast, too?”

  “Second Dawn helps a lot of women and children escape dangerous situations, and we have more people who need our help than places to put them. When I’m told I have a place lined up on the condition I get it set up overnight, I don’t ask questions.”

  “Did you find anything here when you moved in? Paperwork, anything left behind?”

  “No, place was immaculate when I got here.” She shrugged and went to the refrigerator, making herself a sandwich.

  Phoenix looked longingly at the sandwich, wishing he could afford a slawdog. He leaned back against the sink, finishing his water and refilling the glass from the tap.

  “Well, without any details you are uncomfortable giving, what can you tell me about how this whole thing came to be?”

  “We’ve been a struggling organization with a lot of unsuccessful fundraising. All I know is last evening I got a call from my sister, Melissa, Second Dawn’s founder. She said she got a sizable donation and it was coordinated with the realtor. Everything was done by them. My job was to get the people with the greatest need gathered up and moved in. Is there something about this property we need to know?”

  Phoenix shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m gonna give you my contact info. If you find anything odd, contact me. Not to be the bearer of bad news, but I’d wait a week or two before doing any gardening. Keep a nose out for odd smells.”

  Fiona had a mouthful of sandwich when he spoke that, her pallor turning a bit paler. She continued chewing at a slower pace, swallowing uncomfortably.

  “You think we may have bodies in the yard?”

  “I honestly don’t know, just a precaution.” Phoenix looked at his feet as he spoke, already fearing the worst for the Bentons. Under it all, he felt responsible for this. It was obvious something about that video going viral had made someone angry, someone with the ability to make a married couple disappear and make sure no one at their work answered prying questions.

  “Did you need anything else, sir?”

  “Would you tell me about your organization?”

  Fiona’s gaze became fierce.

  “Nothing about the people here, I mean, is there anything about your work that made Second Dawn chosen to take over this house?”

  The Matron calmed herself. “Nothing much to say. We’ve been active for the past fifteen years, setting up halfway homes for women and children in need. We’re about giving them a fresh start, that’s it. We’re a registered non-profit and we aren’t corporately sponsored. As far as I know, this is the first issue we’ve ever had with one of our homes.”

  “I’m not looking to dig up dirt on your group. I’m sure you’re above board. Heck, if I can donate, I will. I come from an abusive home myself. I just need to make sure I cover all my bases. I hope you understand.�
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  “I do, but…we get a lot of ladies who don’t want to be found. Having a private eye show up on our doorstep isn’t something we welcome. I’ll give you my card. If you need to meet again, call me; I don’t want to see you on our property again unless I’m inviting you.”

  “Understood. Seriously though, thanks for doing a good job for those ladies. Give them my apologies for disturbing their day.”

  “I will. I’ll escort you out.”

  She followed closely behind him as he walked to the front door and turned to say a silent goodbye to the Benton house.

  “If it’s any consolation,” Fiona said, a fleeting expression of worry on her face, “I hope you find your people.”

  “I’m sure I will, just need to find a clue, is all.”

  “Well, I’ll leave you to your job.”

  “Ms. McIntyre?”

  “Yes?”

  “I do have a request of you about your ladies.”

  “I thought I was clear.”

  “No. Not that. If you are comfortable with it, give me a list of the husbands these ladies are hiding from. If any of them contact me for hire, I’ll let you know someone is looking.”

  “I appreciate it, but that’s still giving out confidential information.”

  “In time, then. Just, I wish someone had given my mom and me a heads-up about my dad coming back.”

  The door closed and Phoenix looked to the sky. At this rate, the Bentons would’ve just slipped through the cracks. This wasn’t something he could let happen. As he rose into the air, he saw the tenants of the Second Dawn home filter in downstairs.

  He heard a beeping in his right ear. After double-tapping the Scarface to activate, Suzette was on the other line, with an uncharacteristic concern in her voice.

  “Phoenix, we have a problem.”

  “Speak to me.”

  “So, I was looking into Prescott Electronics, are you ready for this? Sitting down?”

  “I’m flying, so…”

  “Whatever. A few years back there was an investigation into Prescott, alleged money-laundering. Phoenix, Prescott was a shell corporation for the Bellacino Mafia family. They were using it as a subsidiary of one of their big companies, Oracle Optics. It looks like it was mostly legitimate, but it was hit pretty hard. Same with their other businesses. I’m seeing investigations into Bad Red Towing, Lancaster Construction, Lilac Blossom Landscaping and Gravel, Palatine Realty, and—”

  Suzette didn’t get to finish as she heard Phoenix scream, “Son of a bitch!”

  “What is it?”

  “Palatine had the Benton place on the market. No fucking wonder why they turned it over fast! Okay, lock up shop. I’m going to be a while.”

  “Phoenix, I know that tone. You are not going after the damn Mafia again. You hear me?”

  “Then get me as much info as you can on that damn family, and hurry.”

  “Jeez, this has you on edge. I’ll keep looking, but what you want isn’t exactly public knowledge. All I know about them is they’re on the east side of town.”

  “Yeah, Asylum District, I know. I remember when they got into a turf war with the O’Halloran family.”

  “Phoenix, call the cops on this. We’ll take this as a loss, no one will fault you.”

  “Suzette, those people are missing because of what we did. Cops aren’t going to help because we made them look bad, and definitely not The Pack.”

  “McGee, damn it. You aren’t going to be able to call in favors on this one.”

  “I know, Suzette. I gotta do something to make this right, though.”

  She heard a rising whine. He was pushing his flight speed limits, the wind rushing over the microphone. She sighed and looked over her shoulder to Angelique.

  “Okay, we do this together though, okay? Don’t go acting rash. I don’t need them coming after me and mine.”

  “You know I can stop them.”

  “I know that, but I can’t. Some of us are mere mortals, asshole.”

  There was an abrupt stop to the sound of rushing wind and, for a moment, she thought he had hung up on her, then it began again at a lower volume. He was changing direction, mid-air.

  “You win, Suzette.”

  CHAPTER 11

  Emma woke, removing the blindfold. Todd hadn’t lied; the room was dimmed. She took in her cellmates’ appearances for the first time.

  Joel lay there, snoring. She wanted to be angry at him and his piss-poor personality, but couldn’t bring herself to hold a grudge. They weren’t there by choice, and he found the toilet.

  The toilet. He had said the walls were cool when he touched them. She scooted sideways, careful not to wake anyone as she touched the walls. It had been so long since she felt cold she recoiled at first, mistaking it for heat, fearing she’d burn her fingertips.

  Emma slowly stood, pressing here and there, inspecting the edges of where the bathroom jutted out for clues. She circled the room, checking between every dimly lit panel for buttons. Joel had only been awake a few minutes before the room somehow knew he was discovering things. She stepped gently over Todd as her fingertips found a button. Her eyes widened; she pushed and heard it click. Another panel, this one square and at chest level, revealed a touch screen.

  She looked at the other three as the system loaded, revealing three glorious words.

  “Security System Operations,” she whispered. She hoped to learn where she was, and if she could escape. Her hopes halted as, instead of a menu, two input boxes appeared. “Username” and “Password”.

  “You’ve got to be shitting me…” she muttered.

  She stood there as the prompts taunted her. She looked at the on-screen keyboard and tried “Guest” / “Guest”, “Guest” “Password”, “Guest” “12345”, and “Username” / “Password” all in vain. An alert indicated another failed entry would lock the system for thirty minutes and alert a System Operator. She wasn’t sure if the last bit was a blessing or a curse.

  The text in the alert made her heart jump. “If you have forgotten your password, please click here….” she whispered as she tapped the box. A thin panel next to the touchscreen opened, revealing a keyhole. The text was replaced on her screen.

  Please enter user name.

  With a bit of hope she typed “Guest”, and the screen changed with a flash.

  Password hint: Name of Project

  She cursed at the keyhole, text at the bottom explaining a System Operator key would also grant access.

  She wanted to scream and kick, but she saw the others fast asleep and decided to let them have their rest. They needed rest and strength to break out successfully. She had to give it to Caroline; the young girl had been handling herself well, considering the strange and horrifying situation they were in.

  Emma sat against the wall, pushed near to her mental breaking limit. She felt eyes watching her, watching them all. The walls were heating against her flesh as the dim light intensified. She tapped her head back against the lit panel under the touch screen, staring at the ceiling, the shadow of the unfolded panel over her eyes.

  That was when she saw it, and she went pale. She stood quickly, moving around to look at the back of the touch pad, shaking her head.

  “You son of a bitch…the hell did I do to you?” she muttered as she looked at the other three.

  They couldn’t know. She could never let them know. She had wanted to know who had put her in this place, what depraved lunatic would subject her to this, and now she knew. She knew if she told the others know what she found, if they discovered her connection, the trust she had forged with them would be broken. She put her face in her hands, the tears beginning to flow against her will.

  Emma tried keeping quiet, but soon the lights becoming brighter accompanied her sobbing. She shielded her eyes, but found the light had not gone to its usual all-encompassing brightness. It was like a summer morning now, almost pleasant. Todd slowly stirred and sat up, taking off his blindfold, Emma reaching over to co
ver his mouth as he blinked in shock at the non-blinding room.

  He struggled against her, thinking at first she may have finally snapped. He stood and shook her off, and that’s when he saw the open panel. He paused and looked at it intently, silently moving her to the side, seeing how nervous she was about it.

  Todd looked at the text on the screen, security systems at his fingertips. He noted the lowered lights and how Emma was skittish.

  “Did you do this?” he asked.

  “I found it,” she whispered, “like how Joel found the toilet. I tried to see if I could access it.”

  “How come you didn’t wake us, tell us you found something?” He stepped up and pinned her against the wall. “Emma, it’s kind of funny when Caroline managed to crack the ceiling, you were quick to have her take a damn nap. You seemed pretty damned eager for us all to get some sleep. When Joel found the toilet, you tried to get him to not use the bodies to pin the fucking toilet down. Now I find you messing with fucking security systems. The fuck you think you’re doing? You behind this? You know something; I can see it in your face.”

  “Todd, I swear, I didn’t put us in here. I just tried to see if I could guess the password.”

  “Bullshit. You been sticking real close to Caroline, my guess is your fucking conscience is nagging you.” He kept his voice low. Emma was still in tears as he looked at her.

  “Todd, it’s not like that. I woke up a few minutes ago and I wanted to see if I could find things, like Joel did.”

  The security panel began to fold up after being ignored. Todd slammed his hand down and kept it from clicking shut.

  “Emma, I’m gonna tell you this once. Give me your damn blindfold, now.”

  “Why do you want my blindfold? I need it for sleep.”

  “Need to mark where that security panel is. You sleep when I tell you to sleep. Your face is telling me you know something; you might be connected to why we’re in here.”

  “Todd, please…”

  “I’m not fucking asking.”

  Emma stammered and regarded Todd’s eyes. It was the first time a second level of danger presented itself to her. Before, the danger was the room itself; now, Todd posed the greatest threat.