Mad Love: Madison (32 page)

Madison glanced up at the ceiling. “Let’s see, Keith
started working for us in May. Derek started in June. Then there’s…” She shook
her head. “They’re really the only other men I can think of. Out of the three,
I’d have to say Jamie is the more likely suspect. He’s anti-social. He doesn’t
seem to have a job. He
—
”

Ethan took her hand and shook it a bit. “You were
about to mention someone else before you stopped. Who was it?”

She smiled. “Not worth mentioning. I trust him
with my life.”

Ethan looked confused for a second before
returning her smile. “That’s good to know.” He cupped the back of her head and
brought her closer until he was cradling her against his chest. “I thought I
was going to lose you last night.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” She lightly traced her
finger across the light bruise on his cheekbone. “It’s a miracle you found me.”

“Thank God I did.”

She propped her elbow on the back of the chair as
she settled into his lap. “How
did
you find me last night?”

“I saw you running across the train yard from the
hotel window. On my way to get to you, I broke the glass door when I pushed it
open and knocked over a potted plant.” His lips turned up in a smile. “We’re no
longer welcome at the inn.”

She glanced over at their bags. “They threw us
out?”

“Roger was kind enough to deliver our things this
morning.”

“I hope he’s going to be okay. If Alex finds out
he was trying to help us…”

“I warned him to watch his back when he dropped
off our things. He said something about surprising Ivy with an early
anniversary present. He’s going to take her out to visit their son in
California.”

“Good.” She frowned slightly, as her mind went
over the events of the night once again. “Ethan…”

Distracted by Madison’s warm body pressed against
his, Ethan smiled as he traced the curve of her waist with his hand. “As soon
as this is over, we should take a trip somewhere. Somewhere warm.”

She placed her hand over his before she lost her
train of thought. “Didn’t you get my text last night?”

“Hmm?” he asked as his hand moved to her hip.

“My text,” she repeated. “I sent you a text
telling you I was at the body shop.”

He moved his hand up to her face and traced the
line of her jaw. “It came in when we got to the hospital. Reception’s been
spotty ever since we got to town. Low signal strength.”

“Oh,” she said as his thumb brushed against her
lips. She kissed the tip of it before it slid away to cup her cheek.

“Next time, wait for me.” His eyes, which had
been bright and warm suddenly darkened with worry. “Don’t go off on your own.”

“Zach had a picture of Alex and he was leaving
for the weekend. I had to go.”

His hand tightened in her hair. “It’s too
dangerous for you to be alone right now. He’s tracking you. There’s no
guarantee that he won’t kidnap you like he did Quincy.”

“How did he find us?”

He dropped his hand from her hair and stared
toward the window. “I don’t know,” he said quietly. “No one’s been following us.
There was a moment when we hit town that I thought maybe, but…I just don’t
know.”

“Could he have a tracker?”

“Car’s clean,” he said with a shake of his head.
“It’s possible he’s tracking you through your phone.” He looked back at her.
“Have you used your credit card?”

“I used it at the inn. Why do you ask?”

“If he has your login information, he could find
out where you’ve used your card.”

She made a face. “I don’t hand that information
out to just anyone.”

“It’s not that difficult to get. You download the
wrong attachment from an email you think was sent by a friend and all sorts of
information could be stolen.” He turned his head back to the window with a
scowl. “We’ll have to be more careful in the future.”

Using the tips of her fingers, she turned his
face back towards her. “We will. Don’t worry.”

“Last night shouldn’t have happened,” he said
softly. “I should have taken better care of you.” He brought her head forward
until her forehead was resting against his. “From this point on, we stay
together.”

She kissed him lightly. “Sounds good to me. Don’t
worry, I’m sure everything’s going to be fine now. We’re getting so much closer
to figuring out who Alex is. I know we’re on the right track now,” she said
brightly, interjecting more confidence than she felt into her voice. She could
see the worried look in his eyes and feel the tension running through his body
and hated being the cause of it. She gave him another quick kiss. “I know it.
Everything’s going to be fine.”

He didn’t say anything as he continued to stare
at her. She was just about to open her mouth and try to reassure him again when
he captured her lips in a deep passionate kiss.

A knock sounded against the door.

They broke apart slowly, reluctantly.

“I better see who that is,” Madison said, sliding
off his lap.

He held onto her fingers for a moment, seemingly
unwilling to let her go for even a second.

There was another knock against the doorframe.

“Ethan,” she said.

Turning his attention to the door, he said, “Who
is it?”

“Sheriff Burrows.”

With a nod, Ethan released her fingers.

Madison pushed back her hair, trying her best to
untangle it as she opened the door.

A big burly police officer stood on the other
side. “Did they finally release you, ma’am?”

She motioned for the sheriff to follow her into
the room. “They issued me a clean bill of health and said I’m free to go.”

“Good.”

“What about me?” Ethan asked. “Am I free?”

The sheriff nodded. “Yeah, don’t worry. As far as
we’re concerned, it was a justified killing. The guy’s name was Eric Powell.
Did twelve years in the penitentiary for rape.” His upper lip lifted in a
snarl. “Got out on good behavior.”

Madison felt a cold chill go up her spine. “I
heard that two girls were attacked a few nights ago. Is he the one who attacked
them?”

Burrows causally laid his hand on his holster. “The
young lady positively identified his body an hour ago. He was definitely the
one who killed her friend and left her for dead.”

“Just out of curiosity,” Madison said, “when did
he get out of prison?”

The Sheriff’s mouth tightened into a thin angry
line. “December 28.”

Madison exchanged a glance with Ethan. “There’s
no doubt about it then. He wasn’t Alex.”

The Sheriff looked at her in confusion.

“We thought he might have been someone we knew,”
she explained.

“Who?” Bowers asked.

“Alex Abbott,” Ethan said.

“Or Sampson,” Madison added. “We’re not really
sure what last name he usually goes by.”

“My deputy told me that you suspect that Alex Sampson
killed Zach Winters, and set fire to the body shop. Is that right?”

“That’s right.”

“But you never saw the man who chased you out of
the body shop?” When she shook her head, the sheriff, said, “So, you can’t
swear it was Alex Sampson, correct?” Before she could answer, he said, “The
fact is, Winters had a lot of enemies. Owed some very dangerous people a lot of
money.”

“It was Alex, Sheriff,” Madison said firmly. “I’m
absolutely positive. Were you able to save the body shop? Winters had a picture
of Alex that we’d like to see. He said it was on a memory card.”

“I’m sorry, but if it was in that body shop, it’s
nothing but ashes now.”

Madison sighed. “Have you ever seen Alex,
Sheriff?”

Bowers snorted. “Alex Sampson’s sort of a
boogeyman around these parts. Only a select few seem to know him or have even
met him.”

“Well, he definitely exists,” she replied. “He
killed a friend of mine and he’s—”

He held his hands up in a placating gesture. “I
know he exists, but Allison and Neal both assure me that they haven’t seen Alex
in years. Look, if you find out any information about him such as his current
whereabouts let us know. I’d love to talk to him about Winters’ murder and a
few other things that have been laid at his feet over the years, but until
then, we’re going to focus on Winters’ known enemies. Sampson’s just not high
on my list of suspects.”

“Did you find out anything about that other name
I gave your deputies?” Madison asked. “Jamie Murphy. I’m pretty sure Alex is
going by an alias and I’m just wondering if Jamie and he are the same guy.”

The sheriff nodded. “I took his picture to
Allison and Neal this morning. They both said that they’ve never seen him
before in their lives.”

Madison pursed her lips together. “Somehow, I
doubt they would admit it if he was. They’ve been protecting Alex just like Todd
did. Let their caretaker, Roger, see his picture. He’d tell you the truth.”

“I did. He said he’d have to see him with long
black hair to know whether he’s Alex or not. Murphy had short blond hair when
his mug shot was taken.

Ethan stood up with a quizzical look on his face.
“Mug shot? What mug shot?”

“Murphy is a convicted felon.”

“What did he do?” Ethan asked.

“Murdered someone. Spent the last six years in
prison for it. He got paroled in May.” The sheriff shook his head. “But unless
you can tell me he was the one in the body shop last night, he’s not my
concern.”

5:35
P.M.

Ethan
knocked on the door to his own apartment and waited for Casey to finish
unhitching the chain from the lock.

Casey smiled at them as he opened the door. He
placed his hand on the doorjamb blocking entry, his whole body filling up the
small doorframe. “Is there something I can do for you?”

Ethan nodded as he pushed against the other man’s
chest. “Yes, get out of the way.” He placed his hand on the small of Madison’s
back as he ushered her forward.

“I missed you too,” Casey said good-naturedly. “You
look like crap, by the way.”

“Thanks,” Ethan said, depositing their bags by
the door.

Casey closed the door and locked it. “You’re also
late.”

“Traffic was a nightmare,” Madison said
unbuttoning her coat. “Did you miss your plane?”

“Yeah,” Casey said, “but it’s okay. I scheduled a
later flight.”

Ethan looked at Casey gratefully. “Hey, man, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t, it’s no problem.”

“I owe you.”

“You don’t owe me anything. You know that.
Besides, Sarah’s a lot of fun. I’m going to drive her to her friend’s place
tonight and make sure everything looks okay before I head off. Did you find
what you were looking for?”

Ethan shrugged off his coat and hung it in the
coat closet along with Madison’s. “We’re getting there.”

Madison turned her attention to the small bundle
of fur that burst out of the kitchen and hurtled itself toward her, tongue hanging
out, ears flopping. His whole body was vibrating in happiness.

She reached down to pick Rory up and was soon
covered in kisses. “Well, I’m glad to see you too. Where’s Sarah?”

“She’s in the shower,” Casey answered. “She
should be out soon.”

“Any news about Yvette’s murderer?” Ethan asked
softly.

Casey pulled up the sleeves to his sweatshirt. “As
of right now, they have no suspects, so I don’t think they’re after you.”

“That’s a relief,” Ethan said reaching out to run
his hand down Rory’s fur.

“We need to talk to Detective Kim,” Madison said.

“Let’s wait until after New Year’s. We’ve told
them as much as we can right now. Telling them I was at Yvette’s just before
she died isn’t really going to help them or us at the moment.”

Madison deposited a kiss on Rory’s head before
setting him down on the floor. She watched with a smile as he ran to greet
Ethan next. She turned to Casey. “How were things here?”

Casey rubbed his jaw and made a face. “Okay, I
guess.”

Both Ethan and Madison froze. “What do you mean?”

“I think I can ID the guy you’re looking for.
He’s been following us since you two left. He’s gone to work with us. He’s
shopped with us. He’s followed us home. He even went on our date with Derek the
other day.”

“You can describe him?” Madison asked at the same
time Ethan laughed.

“You went on a date with Derek?” Ethan asked. “I
didn’t know you two were that serious.”

Casey grinned. “Ah, poor Derek. I don’t think he
had a very good time. I think he thought he would have Sarah all to his own.”

“Didn’t Sarah tell him why you were there?”
Madison asked.