Mad Love: Madison (23 page)

He put the car in park and opened the door.

Madison touched his coat sleeve. “What are you
going to say to her?”

“I’m not sure. I usually play this sort of thing
by ear.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “Don’t worry; I just have to apply the
right amount of charm. Once I do, Alex will be as good as ours. I may even gift
wrap him and drop him on the sheriff’s doorstep.”

Chuckling, Madison said, “I really wish you had a
little more confidence.”

He slid out of the car. “I know. I really need to
work on it. It’s my one weakness.”

“Just one?” she asked as he straightened.

He leaned back down. “Well, I guess there’s also
my crushing shyness. I’m getting better at it though.” His face grew serious.
“Lock the doors. I’ll be right back.”

She slunk down in the seat as Ethan walked up to
one of the first floor apartments. She watched as he knocked on the door and
waited off to the side for the door to open.

A few seconds later, Yvette appeared. The smile
of welcome on her face quickly disappeared as she faced Ethan. She immediately
crossed her arms and glared at Ethan as he spoke to her.

Madison frowned. Whatever Ethan said to the other
woman must not have been as charming as he had intended. The more he spoke, the
crueler her face became.

Unadorned by makeup, she looked much older and
harsher than she had in the commercial or at the mall. Her red hair, which had
been worn loosely around her face, was now pulled back giving her pale face a
pinched look.
It was no wonder I didn’t recognize Yvette
, she thought as
she studied the other woman.
Makeup certainly did wonders for her
appearance.

Yvette’s thin lips formed a small snarl just
before she stepped back into her apartment and slammed the door in Ethan’s
face.

He spun around quickly and dashed to the car.
Sliding into the driver’s seat, he gave her a sheepish look.

“So,” Madison said as he pulled away from the
apartment building, “how soon do you think we’ll be able to drop Alex off at
the sheriff’s office?”

He chuckled. “Give me some time.”

“What happened?”

“She knew exactly who I was and why I was there
the moment she saw me.”

“How?”

“We have to assume Alex has been following you
around for some time. He obviously knows me since he tried to kill me
yesterday. I had just hoped that Yvette didn’t know what I looked like.”

“How do you know it wasn’t Yvette behind the
wheel of the car?”

“I don’t, but according to Mrs. Howard, Alex was
always borrowing Yvette’s car and we know he was the one following you around
the mall. Not to mention, I figure Yvette’s probably five feet two and about
hundred pounds. I doubt she could have gotten the drop on Quincy and then when
she was done playing with him, bury him behind a wall all by herself. More than
likely, she’s the killer’s accomplice.”

“You’re probably right. Mrs. Howard seemed to
think the corsage was meant for a man. I’m betting Yvette was getting it ready
for Alex to give to me. He wanted it to be perfect.” She ran her hand down her
gray slacks. “So now what?”

“I’ll drop you off at my place and then come back
and stake out the place. My buddy, Casey, should be over there by now.”

“Yvette may leave. Why don’t we stake out the
place now?”

He gestured to a police car that pulled around
the corner and continued toward the apartment. “Now’s not a good time. There
was someone in her apartment. I could hear them call the police while I was
talking to her.”

“Do you think it was Alex?”

“No, it was a woman’s voice. She told the nine
one one operator that I was threatening them. I don’t particularly want to
spend the night talking to the cops.” He shifted gears as he sped away. “Don’t
worry, I’ll come back here after the police leave. One way or another, I’m
going to find out what Yvette and this Alex has against you.”

“I can help you there. It suddenly came to me how
I know Yvette. I’ve only met her twice. Once was at a trial and the other time
was at a funeral. She slammed a door in my face once before too.”

5:45
P.M.

Ethan
pushed open the door to his apartment and ushered Madison inside.

“I just don’t know who Alex is or why he would
want to hurt me,” Madison said. “Yvette, I can understand.” She took off her
coat and tossed it on the back of his leather chair. “Well, not really understand,
but I at least know why she’s angry at me.”

Ethan walked toward his bedroom with a
questioning look on his face. “Where’s Sarah?”

“Sarah?” Madison’s heart skipped a beat as she
glanced around the empty apartment.

“Rory.” Ethan clapped his hands. “Here boy.” When
Rory didn’t come running to his name, Ethan looked at Madison. “I thought your
sister was planning to stay here today.”

“She was.” Madison walked past the bar separating
the kitchen from the living room. She paused as her eyes caught sight of a
piece of paper lying underneath a glass U.S. Navy paperweight.

“She said she’s spending the night with a friend,”
Madison said in relief as she took out her phone and dialed her sister’s
number.

Sarah answered on the third ring.

“Where are you?” Madison asked.

“Didn’t you see my note? One of my friends is
sick so I thought I would play Nurse Nightingale for the night. I think it’s pneumonia.”

“Is Rory with you?”

“Don’t worry, he’s right here. I thought I should
leave anyway.”

“Why?”

“Well, you know what they say…” Sarah said with a
teasing note in her voice.

Madison caught Ethan taking out his phone and
tapping out a message or note on the screen. She turned her back and hid a
smile anticipating what her sister was going to say next. “Don’t even…”

“Three’s a crowd,” came the singsong reply.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Madison glanced over her shoulder at Ethan as he
stepped out from the kitchen and shrugged out of his jacket. Her gaze fell to
the holster strapped around his strong back. “I’ll try not to.”

“Call me if you need me or if anything happens.”

“I will,” Madison said, knowing it was a lie. The
truth was that she was glad Sarah was staying somewhere else. At least she was
out of harm’s way. Hopefully. “Goodnight. I hope your friend gets better.”

“So do I. Night.”

Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out a
set of keys, as Madison returned her phone to her purse. He took one off the
key ring and handed it to Madison.

She looked down at the key in her palm. “What’s
this for?”

“The lock box on the top shelf of the closet in
the hallway, there’s a gun in there. I’m probably going to be gone for a while.
Who knows what Alex and Yvette know about me. Just in case they figure out
you’re here, I want you to know where I keep my other gun.”

“I’d rather be with you.”

He took her in his arms for a quick hug. “This is
one time where I don’t want you around, so for my peace of mind, stay here.
Please.”

She nodded reluctantly against his chest.

“I sent a text message to Casey. He’s on his way.
Don’t worry. He’s a good guy. You can trust him.”

“Are you leaving now?”

“Just as soon as Casey gets here.” He leaned back
against the wall, holding her hands in his. “You still haven’t told me how you
know Yvette.”

“I don’t really know her. The first time I saw
her was at a murder trial. I was defending a man who was charged with murdering
his wife. Yvette was sitting a couple of rows behind me. Quincy was the one who
pointed her out to me. He said she was an actress and Todd Abbott’s new
girlfriend.”

“Who’s Todd Abbott? Was he your client?”

“No, at the time, I thought he was just some
crazy true crime author who was writing a novel about the murder. Turned out he
had a far more personal connection to the case. The victim had an affair with
him before she was murdered. We knew Laura had an affair with someone, but we
didn’t find out with who until the trial.” She pulled her hand out of his and
pushed back her hair. “Anyway, once she was dead, Todd turned his attention to
the case and…me.”

A myriad of expressions crossed Ethan’s face.
Uppermost was shock. “You?”

“He developed an obsession with me. Laura and I
bore a small resemblance to each other. Black hair, blue eyes, same build. We
weren’t twins by any stretch of the imagination but we looked enough alike to
catch Todd’s attention. He kept mentioning it over and over. I think that’s why
he started focusing his attention on me. In some ways, he was still in love
with Laura. Well, as much as he was capable of loving anyone but himself.”

“Why am I just now hearing about him? We’ve been
looking for someone that might be obsessed with you and I don’t recall Todd
Abbott’s name coming up.”

“Because Todd’s not doing any of this,” she said
trying to tamp down the trickle of uneasy that ran down her back. “It may be
someone who knows him but it can’t be him.”

“Why not?”

“He’s dead.” She nervously pushed her hair back
away from her face again. “Been dead for over two years. He can’t hurt me
anymore.”

Ethan didn’t look convinced. His handsome face
set in a scowl. “No, but someone close to him can.” He sat down on the leather
couch and continued to stare up at her in disbelief. “Are you sure this Todd guy
is dead?”

“I’m positive. I was at the funeral before Yvette
and Gina threw me out. That was the second time I saw Yvette. She looks
completely different without makeup. It wasn’t until I saw her standing in
front of her apartment that I recognized her.”

“Who’s Gina?”

“Todd’s assistant. She did everything for him.”
She watched as Ethan stood up and turned to his computer.

“Was he published?”

“I think so. I vaguely remember him saying he had
three or four books out. All non-fiction, true crime types.” She snorted
lightly. “Quincy read a few of them. He said they should’ve all been put in the
fiction or fantasy category. Even Todd’s bio turned out to be one lie after
another.”

Ethan leaned over his computer. After a few
moments, he read, “
The Devil at Dusk: A Small Town Murder of Lust and Greed
.
The River of Blood: The Trenton Killings
. A
Slaying in Summersville
.
And lastly,
Death at Midnight
. Any of these sound familiar?”

“Only one.
Death at Midnight
.” She gritted
her teeth. “I can’t believe it. He’s been dead for two years and I’m still
having to deal with him.”

Ethan’s dark head was still bent over the
computer. “According to the blurb,
Death by Midnight
is about a murder
in downtown Lexington on…New Year’s Eve.” He looked up at her in disbelief. “Sweetheart,”
he said gently, “it didn’t occur to you that maybe there’s a connection to
what’s happening now?”

“Oh, come on. Give me a break,” she said throwing
up her hands. “We’re looking for someone living. Todd’s dead. He had an
autopsy. They embalmed him. Why would I immediately suspect him?” She walked
over to the dining room table and sat down. “It never even occurred to me that anyone
from Todd’s life would try to get revenge. Other than Yvette and Gina, he was
alone. In fact, they were the only people at his funeral. There was no one
else. His parents were dead. He didn’t have any siblings. He sure as hell
didn’t have any friends besides those two.”

“What happened between you and Todd?”

Madison swallowed hard as she primly folded her
hands on her lap. “He tried to kill me and Sarah. Mainly me. Sarah just got in
the way when she tried to come to my defense.”

Ethan’s chin dropped to his chest.

“Again,” she began defensively, “he is dead and
it’s been over two years. Why wait until now to get revenge?” She wagged her
finger at him. “And let’s not forget that until last night, we were operating
on the assumption that Paul was the psycho after me.” She adjusted one of the
cuffs of her blue silk shirt as she softly added, “It turns out that he was
just
one
of the psychos after me, but how could I have known that.”

Ethan punched a few more keys on the keyboard.
“It looks like I need to read
Death at Midnight
. Do you want to give me
an idea as to what it’s about? And please tell me it’s not about a woman
getting mysterious calls counting down to New Year’s every day.”

“No, I would have said something if it had. It’s
about a woman named Laura Ladd who was murdered at a New Year’s Eve party.
According to the book, she died while everyone was counting down to the New
Year and that’s why no one could hear her screaming for help.” She made a face.
“The truth was that she died sometime between twelve-fifteen when several
people noticed her walking towards the bathrooms and one thirty, when her body
was found. Todd thought that wasn’t sexy enough and that it would sell more
books if he tied her murder to the actual countdown.”