Mad Love: Madison (21 page)

He dropped his chin to his chest.

“Let’s wait until morning when there are more
people moving around outside. I’ll even go with you to talk to him.”

He gave her a look, but otherwise, didn’t say
anything.

“Please, don’t go out there tonight.”

“You’re right. We have no idea if he’s working
with someone and I shouldn’t leave you alone until I know.” He let go of her
hands and turned back to the window. “I have a friend—his name’s Casey Madigan,
he’s a fighter—he might be able to help us out. I’ll call him tomorrow,
hopefully he can watch over you while I investigate.”

“Ethan…” she said with a sigh.

“Until then, I’ll just keep an eye on our friend
out there and then tomorrow, I’ll see what I can find out about Jamie Murphy.”

She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth as
she yawned. “He found Rory for us. I think he also saw Paul die.”

“Such a helpful guy. Always in the right place at
the right time. Our friend certainly has been busy tonight.” He pushed the
drape back. “If that’s him out there, maybe he’ll go home and get a good
night’s sleep or freeze to death. Either one would be fine with me at this
point.”

Madison wearily sank down into the leather couch
across from the fireplace. She closed her eyes. She had been so sure that Paul
was the guy they were after. Now it felt like they were starting at square one
all over again.

She sleepily rubbed her eyes as she tipped her
head back.
If I could just get some sleep maybe I could think a little
clearer
, she thought as her eyelids grew heavy. She felt Ethan sit down
next to her and instinctively moved closer to him as he wrapped an arm around
her shoulders.

A strong hand brought her head to his shoulder. She
smiled as he kissed the top of her head and cradled her close.

Suddenly, she was in court again. Quincy was
beside her. “That’s her,” he whispered into her ear. She turned to look…

§

7:07
A.M.

A
light touch against her cheek caused her to jump. She covered her eyes as the sunlight
streaming from the window blinded her.

“Sorry,” Ethan said pressing his hand over hers, “time
to wake up.”

She pushed herself up and blurrily looked around.
Ethan was dressed in a pair of jeans and a blue sweatshirt. He was standing
next to her, holding a coffee cup in his hand. “What time is it?”

“A little after seven.”

Her eyes widened in panic as she came fully awake.
“I’m late.”

“All government buildings are closed.”

“Good for them,” she said pushing the large
comforter off her legs. “Too bad I don’t work for the government.” She stood up
and glanced toward the window. “Is he gone?”

“He left the laundromat thirty minutes ago. I
don’t think he’s gone, though. How did you sleep?”

“Like a baby,” she said heading to the bathroom. She
turned right around when she heard the sound of a shower running.

“Sarah just stepped in there.”

“Great,” she said sitting back down to wait. She
turned her attention to the TV. “What’s the weather like today?”

Ethan pressed a coffee cup into her hand. “The temperature’s
already starting to go up. It should be in the forties by nine. I figure the
main roads should be clear soon enough.”

She took a sip of the coffee and set it down on
the coffee table. “You know, I just don’t understand why Paul was killed.”

“Paul was following you around. Perhaps, he saw something
he shouldn’t have.”

“He was trying to catch that car. He thought the
driver could be a witness…” She focused her attention on the TV as a used car
dealership came on.

“I wish we knew what—”

She held up her hand as she shushed him.

It wasn’t until the commercial ended that she
turned back to him with wide eyes. “I just remembered where I saw that girl.”

“What girl?”

“The one in the mall. The one with that weird
Santa.”

“Where?”

She pointed to the TV. “There. I saw her in a
commercial back in March. She was in some special St. Patrick’s Day sale
commercial for a local used car dealership.”

“Which dealership? The one that was just on TV?”

“No, not that one.” She closed her eyes, trying
to remember. “I just remember she was wearing a lot of makeup and sitting on
the hood of a car.” Her eyes flew open. “It’s the one on Nicholasville Road
near Fayette Mall. I remember seeing the address flash across the bottom of the
screen.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.” She felt suddenly giddy with relief.
“I can see her sitting on top of a green car, wearing a green hat and a green
leotard. I’m pretty sure the commercial ran this year.” She frowned. “I
remember thinking then that she looked familiar, but I couldn’t place where I
had seen her before. Do you think you can find her? Maybe we can get her to
tell us who was under the Santa suit.”

“There’s no maybe about it,” Ethan said with a
smile. “Just leave it to me.” He inclined his head to the side. “Sarah’s out of
the bathroom. Why don’t you get ready for work? I’ve got a lot to do today. You
know, buy a new cell phone. Rent a car. Find an actress.” He picked up her
coffee cup and took a sip. “Catch a killer.”

Suddenly, feeling more optimistic than she had
felt when she went to sleep, she stood up and kissed him on the cheek before
heading to the bathroom. “
We
have a lot of work to do.
We
,” she
repeated for emphasis before shutting the door.

4:00
P.M.

Madison
closed the file she was working on and pushed it away. Leaning back in her
chair, she glanced out the interior window of her office towards the hallway, as
one of her office building’s security guards walked by.

Right on time
, she thought, glancing at the clock as
the guard did his hourly walk through the firm.

She raised her hand in greeting, grateful to have
some measure of security while she worked.

The guard was one of the partner’s idea or so she
was led to believe. She had a feeling Ethan was behind it, not that she minded.
At least she was able to get some work done without having to worry about some
psychopath coming in and killing her, while Ethan was out investigating.

Her gaze dropped to her desk phone. She scowled
as she tapped her fingers against the desk.

She hadn’t heard from Ethan in hours and it was
driving her crazy not knowing what was going on. Every time the security guard
walked by, she was reminded of the danger she was in and a multitude of
questions would rush through her mind.

Had Ethan found the girl in the commercial yet?
Who was she? And more
importantly, who was Alex? Did he kill Quincy? Was he going to try to kill me?

Her hand automatically reached for the phone on
her desk. She started to dial Ethan’s cell phone but hesitated.

The man only just started looking for her. Give
him some time
,
she mentally scolded herself as she placed the phone back down.

The problem was that she was too impatient. Always
had been. The urge to get up and do something filled her.
But what? What
could she do but wait for something to happen?
She was working on someone
else’s timetable.

She glanced at her desk calendar. Only a couple
of more days until New Year.

The phone rang.

She stared at it apprehensively for a moment
before snatching it up out of its cradle. Keith was on the other end.

“Hey, I was just checking in,” he said. “Are you
okay? I just heard what happened at your place last night.”

“Yeah, I’m okay. How are you doing?”

“Sick as a dog. I swear, every time Derek gets sick,
I get sick.”

She chuckled. “Derek strikes again.”

“Yeah, and I’m the one who ends up paying for it.
Nicole has been on my back lately about all the time I’ve taken off. It’s not like
I can’t work at home.”

“Well, I wouldn’t worry too much about missing
today. Hardly anyone is here.”

“Is Becca?”

“You know Becca, she’s bound and determined to
make partner one day. I think the woman lives here.”

“Sometimes, I wonder whether you do too. You
should go home and relax. I would if my place had been broken into and someone
had been killed right outside. Where are you staying?”

“Ethan’s been kind enough to take me in.”

“Really?” There was a long pause and then,
“That’s nice of him. Does he do that for all of his clients or just the
attractive ones?”

“I have no idea,” she said bristling at his tone.
“I’d like to think that I’m just special.”

He grunted noncommittally. “Is he there with you
right now?”

“No, he’s trying to track someone down.”

“Who?”

“A possible witness,” she said trying to keep the
irritation out of her voice.

“So, he’s left you defenseless.”

Her eyes narrowed at the accusation. “There’s a
security guard—”

He snorted. “The one downstairs? The one that let
Paul through the other day?”

“No, a new one. He’s been assigned to our office.
Look, I’ve got to get back to work,” she lied. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Well, I should go take some cough medicine
and lay down anyway. If you need anything just let me know. I’m serious,
Madison,” he said sternly. “Call me if anything happens.”

She murmured a quick “Mmhmm,” before adding, “I hope
you feel better. Bye, Keith.”

Madison set the phone down. She let out a little
groan when the phone rang almost immediately.

A sense of relief filled her when she heard
Ethan’s clear, strong voice on the other end.

“I have good news,” Ethan said.

Madison felt a surge of hope fill her. “What?”

“Does the name Yvette Baxter ring a bell?”

“No, should it?”

“What about Mary Jane Banks?”

“Never heard of her, either. Who are they?”

“Same person. Yvette Baxter is the stage name of
the actress who appeared in Larry Nichols’ Auto Sales’ St. Patrick’s Day
commercial this year. She does mostly local theater stuff. Tried her luck in
New York a couple of years ago. Was there about the same time your sister was living
there. Struck out though and returned home a few months ago. Since then, she’s
been in a couple of plays. The last one just ended a few weeks ago.”

Madison sat up straighter as he spoke. “Did you
get an address on her?”

“Not a current one, but I was able to find her
last place of employment. She did some seasonal work at that fancy holiday
decorating shop just down the street.
Decorations For All Occasions
. I’m
just about to walk in and talk to the owner. Shouldn’t take me too long and
then I’ll swing by and follow you back to my place.”

“You know, I think that’s who does our Christmas
decorations.” She tapped her pen against her desk. “If we do use them, they may
be more willing to talk to me.”

“Uh, that’s not really nec—”

“I’ll meet you there.” She hung up over his
objections and grabbed her purse and coat.

Less than ten minutes later, she was standing in
front of a charming pink and white one story boutique only a few miles away
from work.

She spotted Ethan through the glass windows talking
to a friendly looking older lady with white hair and large expressive blue eyes
and hurried inside.

“I couldn’t tell you,” the lady said waving her
hand around as Madison approached them. “He’d never come inside. He’d always
pull up front and honk the horn. Made me so mad. I’d tell her that I didn’t
like that, but Yvette didn’t care. She’d just roll her eyes.” She shrugged one
shoulder. “She was just a temp and I needed her help. It wasn’t worth fighting
over.”

Madison stepped to the side, pretending to look
over a basket of Christmas ornaments that were on sale.

“Did Yvette ever talk about Alex?” Ethan asked.

“Not really. I didn’t get the impression he was
her boyfriend or anything like that, but nowadays, how can you tell.”

“How did she describe him to you?”

“Didn’t. He was just a friend.” The lady tilted
her head. “Family friend, I think she said.”

Turning her attention to a poinsettia plant at
the end of the counter, Madison shifted closer to Ethan.

Ethan spared her a slight glance before turning
back to the lady. “I really need to talk to Yvette. Do you think you can give
me her address?”

Her eyes shifted downward as she started to back
up. “I don’t know…”