Mad Love: Madison (27 page)

“Yes.”

She shook her head. “Alex wasn’t his friend. That
was his brother.”

Madison and Ethan both snapped to attention.

“You know them?” Madison asked sitting back down
at the table. She made room as Ethan sat back down next to her.

“Sure do, but their last name isn’t Abbott. It’s
Sampson. Todd and Alexander Sampson.” A look of distaste crossed her face as
she handed the phone back to Ethan. “I’m not surprised at how they turned out.
I’m just surprised it took so long for someone to ask about them.”

“I’ve shown these pictures to a dozen people
today,” he complained as he pocketed the phone.

“They left seventeen years ago. Some people just
don’t have an eye for faces. If you had asked about Todd and Alex Sampson, they
would have remembered.”

“What happened?” Madison asked.

“The youngest one, Alex, killed their parents.
Although there is some question as to whether he killed his father. Most people
around here think their mother actually killed him.”

“What were his parents’ names?” Ethan asked bringing
out a small notebook.

“William and Barbara Sampson. William grew up
here. He was a good man. Always polite. Never had a harsh word to say about
anyone.” A frown pulled at Pearl’s thin lips. “Barbara wasn’t from here.”

Ethan jotted down their names quickly and asked, “How
did they meet?”

“William said they met at college.” She snorted.
“I’d have to see Barbara’s degree before I’d believe she graduated from
college. I heard from a few of William’s friends that she was an exotic dancer
he picked up on spring break his senior year. They came back married and with Todd
on the way. Settled down the street from here.”

“I take it family life was not a happy one,”
Ethan said wryly.

“She made William miserable every day of his
life. The boys too.” Pearl shook her head sadly. “They never had a chance.”

“How did William die?” Madison asked.

“Someone slit his throat while he slept. Todd was
eight at the time. Alex six. Todd came running from the house screaming that
his mom killed his dad, but when the police arrived, Barbara was nowhere to be
found. The only person in the house was Alex and it was his fingerprints on the
murder weapon. When they did find Barbara the next morning, she said she was
visiting a sick friend. Turned out the sick friend was the mayor, whose wife
was out of town. The mayor, once it came out, tearfully admitted to the
affair.”

“So she had an alibi,” Ethan said.

“That Mayor was as crooked as they came. He was
protecting her. I was there that night when Todd came running into the streets just
scared to death. I believe to this day that he was telling the truth, and that
his mom killed William. Probably the first time he ever told the truth in his
life. She killed William and she did it in front of her own children. Then to
save herself, she tried to frame her own son. She was an evil, hateful woman. Her
little scheme wasn’t entirely successful. The prosecutor was convinced she was
guilty, so was most of the town, but there wasn’t enough evidence. William’s
death became one of those cold cases where everyone knows who the murderer is, but
nothing could be done about it.”

“Why did she kill her husband?” Ethan asked.

“She wanted the Mayor. His wife was sick, dying.
It was only a matter of time before she passed on. Barbara wanted to take her
place when she did, but William wouldn’t give her a divorce.”

“But do you really believe she tried to frame her
own son?” Madison asked in disbelief. “Why?”

“Rumor was that the Mayor didn’t like the boy, but
I’m sure Barbara thought that since he was young, no one would really do
anything about him. And no one did because we all thought she was guilty, not
little Alex.”

“Why didn’t the Mayor like the boy?” Ethan asked.

“There was always something strange about Alex. Todd
you could talk to. He’d lie to you but when he wanted, he could be rather
charming. Alex was quiet and very reserved. The only person he seemed to care
about or at least want to be around was Todd. Used to follow him around
everywhere like a little puppy.”

“And how did Todd feel about Alex?” Madison
asked.

“He protected him. If Todd had any good to him,
it was that he loved his younger brother. Loved him more than anyone else,
including that mother of his.”

“What happened to Barbara and the kids after
William died?” Ethan asked.

“Well, after the Mayor’s wife passed on, Barbara
finally got what she wanted. She and the Mayor married and she became the wife
of a very wealthy man. Barbara shipped the boys off to live with her mother the
next day.”

“That was quick,” Madison said.

“Had to. The Mayor was threatening to divorce her
if she didn’t send them away. The night they returned from their honeymoon, their
house burned to the ground. Barbara and the Mayor almost died.”

Ethan looked up from his notebook. “They blamed
the boys?”

“Sure did, and I don’t doubt it. One of those
boys set the place on fire. Not sure which one, but I have my suspicion it was
Alex.”

“But he was still a young boy,” Madison murmured.

“Old enough to play with matches,” Pearl replied.
“We didn’t see the two boys again until their grandmother passed away a couple
of years later. From what I understand, she was a rather wealthy lady. Left the
boys her entire estate.”

Madison lifted her eyebrows. “How soon did it
take for their mother to rediscover her motherly instinct?”

“It kicked in shortly after the reading of the
will. She picked her boys up and brought them back here. A week later, she
started asking around town about boy’s camps she could send Alex to.”

“Just Alex?” Ethan asked.

“Just him. I think Barbara was scared of him. She
had reason to be. He killed her with his daddy’s knife three months later.”

Madison and Ethan exchanged a look. “Are you sure
it was him?” Ethan asked.

“No doubt about it. The maid saw him do it and
wrenched the knife out of his hand. Cut her hand up pretty bad, but she
survived. He was too young really to do anything with,” Pearl continued, “so they
put him in a hospital someplace.”

“What happened to Todd?” Ethan asked.

“He went to a little town near Paducah. Don’t
remember the name. William’s sister took him in. I think she ended up adopting
him, but I don’t know that for sure.”

Madison gripped her purse tightly in her hands. “Do
you remember what their names are?”

“The woman’s name was Allison. I don’t think I
ever heard her husband’s first name. I remember people saying that they owned a
hotel and restaurant.”

Ethan tapped his pen against the notebook. “What
about the name of the hotel?”

Pearl turned her head to the side as she thought.
“The Depot Inn,” she said after a moment. “Yes, that was it. Definitely the
Depot Inn. I remember someone saying they lived next to a railroad. I don’t
know what became of either of the boys after that. I always assumed that Alex
joined them at some point, but I really don’t know.”

“What about a picture,” Madison said. “Do you
know how we could find a picture of Alex?”

“We used to have class pictures filed away in the
records room, but the school burned down a few years ago. I’m sure some
students have class pictures, but I couldn’t tell you which ones would have
kept it.”

Madison bit her lip. “Could you describe him?”

“He had blond hair and blue eyes. Wore glasses. I
remember he had a lot of freckles because some of the other children would
tease him. He was heavyset too. I don’t know if that description would help you
that much.” She patted her snow-white hair. “Except for a period in the
seventies when I became a platinum blonde, I used to have long black hair like
yours, and the tiniest waist in town, at least until I had children. I once had
a gap between my teeth too until my teeth fell out and got replaced by these
things here,” she said gesturing to her mouth. “People change as they age.
Sometimes it’s subtle; sometimes it’s not. If you can find their Aunt Allison, she
would probably have some pictures of him. I wish I could help you more.”

“You’ve helped us a lot. Thank you so much,”
Madison said returning to her feet.

She waited for Ethan by the door, mulling over
everything they had heard tonight. The more she learned about Alex, the more frightened
she became. They had found where he had grown up. They heard how he had lived
as a child, but how helpful was that information? They still didn’t know where
he was or what he looked like today.

As far as she was concerned, he was still the boogeyman
ready to pop out at a moment’s notice. She was so lost in thought, she hadn’t
heard Ethan approach and jumped when he pressed his hand to her back.

“I’m sorry,” he said dropping his hand, “I didn’t
mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t,” she said taking his hand. “I was
just thinking about Alex.”

He brought her closer and wrapped his arm around
her waist. “Don’t. Take a break from it for a little while.”

“I can’t. It seems like he’s always with me now.”

He pressed his lips to the side of her head. “I’m
here with you right now.”

“Did any of what we learned help at all?” she
asked looking for reassurance from her dark thoughts.

“Of course it did. We’re that much closer to
finding this guy.”

“Good,” she said as a shiver went down her spine.

“Are you cold?” he asked wrapping both hands
around her waist and pulling her against his body.

“Freezing.”

He gave her a lopsided grin. “Well, I should
probably do something about that.” He leaned his head forward and kissed her
until their heads were spinning. When she broke the kiss to take a ragged
breath, he whispered, “Come on, let’s go back to the motel and get you warm.”

She nodded as she slid into the passenger seat. “What’s
the next step?” she asked when he pulled out onto the main road towards their
motel.

“See if you can find the Depot Inn on your phone.
Hopefully, they have a web presence.”

Her hands shaking slightly, she reached into her
purse and pulled out her phone. By the time they reached their motel room,
Madison had found the inn’s address and the owner’s names.

“Neal and Allison Abbott. Well, at least we know
where Todd’s last name came from now. Do you want me to call them?” she asked, her
finger hovering over the screen.

“No, I’d rather talk to them face to face.”

“They may not want to talk to us.”

“Even more reason to go there and see them. I
find that people are much more polite in person than on the internet or the
phone.” He inserted the motel key into their door. “Besides, if they won’t talk,
maybe their neighbors will.” He held open the door for her and let her pass in
front of him.

“Paducah is so far away,” she said, taking off
her coat and laying it on the chair next to the bed. She closed her eyes as
Ethan’s arms encircled her from behind.

“Still cold?” he asked in between light kisses on
the side of her neck.

She bit her lip to keep from answering. She was
so close to giving in to him. She wanted him more than she wanted anything, but
everything was happening so fast.

She felt his hand turn her head to the side and
her mind suddenly went hazy, as she became lost in his kiss.

He stopped suddenly with a groan and pulled away
from her.

“What? What’s wrong?” she asked, only then
hearing the sound of her phone ringing. She reluctantly reached into her purse
and pulled out her phone. Looking down at the screen, she said, “It’s Sarah’s
pub,” before answering the phone.

“Hey, Madison, this is Emily.”

Her heart leapt into her throat. “Is Sarah all
right?”

“Yeah, sure, she’s fine. She wasn’t feeling well
so she left a little early, but I’m sure everything’s okay. I hope I didn’t
give her my cold. I’ve been sick since Christmas.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Madison said wondering
why Emily was calling. “I hope you’re feeling better.”

“Eh, I’ve felt worse. Anyway, someone called here
looking for you a couple of hours ago and asked me to deliver a message. He
didn’t leave a name but said you would know who he was. I’m sorry it’s taken me
so long to call, but it’s been really crazy here tonight.”

Madison felt a chill go through her. She walked
to the other side of the bed, feeling the need to put some space between her
and Ethan. “That’s all right. What did he say?”

“He said that he hoped you were having fun
wherever you were and that he’d catch up to you in four days. Well, I got to
run. My manager is making faces at me. Tell Sarah I said I hope she feels
better. Bye.”

“Bye, Emily.” Madison felt sick as she ended the
call. She tossed the phone down on the bed and blinked back tears.