Mad Love: Madison (16 page)

Sarah and Madison exchanged amused looks.

Sarah was the first to respond. “Who’s been
naughty, Grandpa? Surely, not us.”

Madison turned onto the interstate. She glanced
back into the rearview mirror as Ethan turned in the opposite direction.

Lee held up a crumpled up piece of paper. “Got
me. This was on the floor back here.”

Madison’s eyes widened as she glanced at the red
piece of paper she had mistaken for a flyer the night before.

Lee grunted as he reached for something else. “So
is this.” He held up a shiny rectangular black wrapped box with a black bow. “Kind
of ugly wrapping for Christmas. Where did you get this from?”

Madison stiffened. “I-I don’t know. I’ve never
seen it before in my life.”

Sarah looked at her sister worriedly. “Neither
have I.”

They both flinched as Madison’s cell phone began
to ring.

“Who is it?” Sarah asked as Madison glanced down
at her phone. The name Quincy Sullivan appeared on the screen. She lifted the
phone to her ear. “Hello, Quincy. How are you?”

As usual, Quincy didn’t say anything. The only
sound was a harsh intake of breath followed by a groan of pain.

Her voice softened. “Where are you?”

She winced as he finally said, “Seven,” before
disconnecting the line.

~S
IX
~

T
UESDAY
, D
ECEMBER
26
^TH

10:48
A.M.

“A
doll?” Keith’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of doll?”

Madison sat down at the conference table next to
Keith. “Just your normal, average, everyday baby doll. She had long black hair,
blue eyes, a red-stained white dress and a small pocketknife stuck in her chest.
The knife and the red stain were my secret admirer’s own special enhancements. According
to the mall toy store the doll was on sale for fifteen ninety-nine.”

“Cheapskate,” Becca snorted as she glanced down
at the file laying in front of her.

Derek leaned across the desk and picked up a
jelly donut out of the box of donuts Keith had brought in that morning. He
turned away quickly and let out a series of sneezes.

Keith scowled. “Go home.”

“I’m fine,” Derek said.

“You are not fine,” Keith said. “You are sick. Go
home.”

“It’s allergies,” Derek insisted before biting
into his donut. “You said the doll’s dress was stained red.” He pulled the
donut back a bit and stared into the strawberry center. “Blood?”

“No,” Madison said with a shudder. “Thankfully, it
was just fingernail polish. I figure the doll was bought in the mall that day
and placed in my car while Sarah and I were shopping.”

“My money’s on the creepy Santa. He was the one
following you.” Derek pushed the box toward Becca, who shook her head a tad too
quickly as she scooted her chair away from him. “I’m not sick,” he said
testily. He turned back to Madison. “Did the store clerk remember who bought
it?”

“I have no idea,” Madison said as she glanced
down at the box. Feeling nauseous, she closed the box and set it to the side. “I
called the police as soon as I came home. I gave them Quincy and Paul’s pictures,
so hopefully they’re checking the surveillance cameras now. I kind of doubt it
though. They didn’t seem the slightest bit worried.”

Becca made a notation on the folder before
snapping it shut and leaning back in her chair. “If either one was wearing that
Santa suit, they’re not going to be able to identify him.”

“No,” Madison agreed, “but maybe they’ll
recognize that girl he was with. She called him Alex but she might have only
done that to hide his identity.” Madison frowned. “I know I’ve seen her
before.”

“Where?” Keith asked.

Madison pushed back her hair with a sigh. “I
don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it all night but I haven’t been able to
come up with anything. I keep trying but my memory just won’t cooperate.”

“Then stop trying,”
Keith
said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Relax and then it’ll probably come to
you when you least expect it.”

“You’re probably right.”

“Of course I am,” Keith said confidently. “Don’t
worry. You don’t even need her. Paul is the one who is obviously doing these
things. Quincy’s probably just playing with you.”

“He’s right, Madison,” Becca said. “I bet you
anything that Quincy is going to surprise you at the New Year’s party. This is
just some weird joke of his.”

“Ethan thinks something may have happened to him,”
she said with a sad shake of her head.

Keith snorted. “If Ethan thinks that, he’s a…”
Catching Madison’s expression, he bit off whatever he was about to say. “He
doesn’t even know Quincy. Quincy’s just being annoying. Paul is clearly the one
messing with you.”

Derek reached into his pocket and unwrapped a
cough drop. “Are you sure?” he said popping the medicine in his mouth.

Keith’s scowl deepened but whether from the cough
drop or Derek’s question, Madison wasn’t sure. “Oh, you don’t think so?” he
said in a mocking tone. “I’m sure you’re absolutely right. Paul’s completely
innocent. She doesn’t need to worry about him. Naw, better to worry about some
old guy whose idea of a joke consists of slipping a whoopee cushion under you
right before you sit down in a conference meeting in front of the managing
partner.”

Becca lightly slapped her hand on the table as
she laughed. “I remember that. Your face got so red.”

“No, I’m not saying Paul’s innocent,” Derek said
over Becca’s laughter. “It’s just that Paul Harris isn’t the one calling her.
Quincy is, and from what Madison’s saying, it doesn’t sound like he’s playing a
simple practical joke. It sounds like he’s trying to scare her.”

“So, what are you going to do about it, Madison?”
Becca asked.

“What can she do about it?” Derek asked before
Madison could answer.

“Well, number one, I’m no longer answering my
phone or anyone else’s. If he wants to get in touch with me, he’ll have to
figure out another way to do it. And number two, I’ve asked Ethan to
investigate,” Madison said. “I’m sure he’ll figure out what’s going on soon.”

Keith gave her an annoyed look. “How did Ethan
get involved?”

“He was there when I ran into Paul the other
night.” She lightly ran her fingers over her mouth. “And he’s taken it upon
himself to be my protector.”

Becca’s eyes lit up. “Oh, that’s right. I forgot
all about your date the other day. How did it turn out?”

“Wonderful,” she said with a dreamy tone. “Well,
right until Paul crashed it.”

 “Which proves my point,” Keith said, “that it’s Paul
who’s behind all of this. Honestly, what is there to investigate? If you ask me,
Ethan’s just wasting time. He should be out there building evidence that Paul’s
a wacko so when he does finally try to hurt you, they’ll have more than enough
evidence to put him behind bars.” Keith made a face at his empty coffee cup. He
shook his head as he stood up. “I’ve got a hearing to prepare for. I’ll see you
all later.”

Madison turned in her seat as Keith walked out. “What
was that?”

Derek dropped his voice to a whisper. “He hates
Ethan.”

Madison raised her eyebrows. “No kidding. I’m
kind of getting that impression, but why on earth would he hate him?”

Derek’s lips turned up as he exchanged a glance
with Becca.

“I don’t think he hates him necessarily,” Becca
said slowly. “He might be a bit jealous though. Did you see his face when you
told us that Ethan spent Christmas with you?”

“He went five shades of green right in front of
us,” Derek confirmed.

“Oh, nonsense,” Madison said dismissively.

Derek plucked another jelly donut out of the box.
“I personally think Ethan’s kind of cool. Have you seen his medals?” When they
shook their heads, he added, “He keeps them hidden in a cabinet behind his
desk. I saw them the last time I was in there. You should ask him about it.”

Becca patted Madison’s hand. “You couldn’t ask
for a better bodyguard.”

“Oh, is Ethan going to be your bodyguard?” Derek
raised his hand. “Because if Sarah needs a bodyguard, I’d be more than happy to
volunteer.”

Becca laughed. “I’m sure you would, Romeo.”

Madison’s lips quirked up. “We’ll keep you in
mind.”

“Thanks,” Derek said pressing his hand to his
heart. He looked thoughtfully at Madison. “I’m serious about Quincy. I don’t
think he’s playing around.” He looked thoughtful. “I’m actually surprised Keith
didn’t take my side on that.”

“Since when does Keith take anyone’s side,” Becca
said.

“Yeah, but Keith hated Quincy,” Derek whispered
across the table. “He didn’t think Quincy was funny at all. In fact, he thought
Quincy was seriously weird.” Derek made a face. “I think Keith’s seriously
weird.”

“Why on Earth would he not like Quincy?” Becca
asked. “He barely knew him. He had only worked here for a month before Quincy left.”

“That was apparently enough,” Derek said. “Keith
was the one who gave me a tour of the building when I started work. He
introduced me to everyone, including Quincy. Talk about awkward. Quincy was
trying to be funny and polite and Keith was cold as ice to him. Personally, I
thought Quincy was pretty funny. I only met him a couple of times but he
certainly made an impression. I remember him sitting there with his slicked
back black hair, twirling this pocket watch of his and just staring at me with
this wide eyed crazed expression.” He laughed. “He kept trying to get me to
give him legal advice. I told him a dozen times I was just a paralegal and that
I couldn’t do that, but he’d ignore me and just twirl that watch, then he would
ask me another legal question.”

Madison smiled at his description. “What pocket
watch?”

“You’ve never seen it?” Derek asked, his eyes
wide. “Belonged to his father. Said the watch saved his life once.”

Madison gave him an amused look as she shook her
head.

“It did,” Derek insisted. “I saw the watch. It
even had a place where it looked like a bullet hit it. There was even dried up
blood on it.” He made a face. “Which is actually kind of gross. He said it
happened while he was a police officer. Some guy he was chasing turned around
and shot him. The watch saved his life.” Derek paused before letting out a
large sneeze. Muttering, “Excuse me,” he reached into his pocket and pulled out
a tissue. “I hate these allergies.”

“I would take anything Quincy said with a grain
of salt,” Becca said. “I once asked him about a scar I noticed on his arm. He
told me some long story about being knifed in an alley.”

Madison nodded. “He told me he got the scar while
shark hunting in South Carolina. Quincy probably picked the watch up at a flea
market that morning.” She pursed her lips as she stared at the table. “I just
wish I knew what was going on with him.”

“Look,” Becca said, “in my opinion, you’re
allowing this thing with Quincy to distract you from the real danger. Paul.”
She pulled on one finger after the other. “He accosted you at the restaurant.
He made veiled threats. He moved down the block from where you live and he
tried to get past Derek in order to see you. Keith is a bit of a pain, but he’s
right. Quincy is not the one you have to worry about right now. We should have
a plan in place just in case Paul does something. An attorney at the last firm
I worked at was shot by her client’s ex-husband. He walked right into her
office and shot her.”

Derek pressed his fingers to his nose, stifling a
sneeze. He blew out his breath and dropped his hands as the need passed. “Did
he kill her?”

Becca stared at him with a mixture of disgust and
horror. “I can’t afford to be sick. Go home.”

Derek looked defeated as he pushed himself away
from the table. “Fine, I’m going.”

“Did he kill her?” Madison asked.

“No,” Becca answered, “luckily she survived, but
it should never have happened. She had plenty of warning. The guy had been making
little veiled hints at what he was going to do for months, but she simply
refused to believe she was in danger.”

“Well,” Madison said, “I believe.” She traced her
finger along the edge of the desk. “I definitely believe.”

“Have you told the security guards downstairs
that there’s a problem?”

“Ethan’s already handled it.”

“Perhaps you should get a gun,” Becca said.

“Ethan’s already taken care of that too. He’s
going to take me to the shooting range,”—she checked her watch—“in thirty
minutes.”

Becca’s eyes widened. “Well, it does appear that Mr.
Parker is on top of things, doesn’t it?”

§

11:55
A.M.