Beyond Secrets, The Art of Murder_A Madison Hart Mystery

by DB Jones

  “Sure, but I don’t have much at this point. Why would a good-looking young man like you, be wanting to spend your Friday night in the morgue with an old doctor? You’re too young to be spending all your time working cases. Before you know it, you’ll be an old man with nothing to show for it but a bunch of lonely nights. These bodies will wait until tomorrow, and if I find anything, I’ll call you. Now go out and have some fun.”

  Shit. Not even the coroner wants to hang around with me tonight. That’s pretty bad. Hell, I guess I do need to go out for a beer or two. I’m sure not going home and hanging out in front of the TV waiting for the coroner to call.

  Josh went home, showered, changed and then headed down 17-92 looking for a little lounge to have a beer and listen to some music. He came to Rocco’s just past the old Red Fox. He’d heard the piano player that was at the Red Fox was now playing there, so he pulled in.

  There weren’t many people there, and that suited him just fine. He sat at the bar. The bartender was drying off a glass and walked over to Josh. “What’ll you have?” he asked, as he placed a cocktail napkin down on the bar and slid a bowl of peanuts towards Josh.

  Josh leaned closer to the bar. “Do you have Guinness Draught on tap?”

  “Sure do.” The bartender swung around and pulled out a cold glass, tilted it just slightly and pulled the handle on the tap. The foam poured over the top, and the bartender placed the mug of beer on the napkin in front of Josh.

  By the time he finished his beer, more people had started arriving, and the piano player started playing. One lady hollered out, “Mark, would you please bring Jim and me a drink when you get a chance?”

  “Sure will, Jessie.” Mark began to mix their drinks. It was obvious the two were regulars. The place had a homey and relaxed setting about it, and it was just what Josh was looking for. He was in no mood for loud music, or crazy young people drooling all over each other, especially when all he could think about was how two young women’s lives were cut short.

  The place started to liven up a little as the night progressed. The crowd began to sing along with the piano player while he played and sang many of their requests. Josh found himself singing the familiar songs, but more quietly than most of the others in the room.

  It was getting late, and he had put down more beers than he had intended. He paid his tab, tipped Mark and started toward the door. He pushed the door just as someone else was pulling it from the other side. He nearly fell head on into the person coming in the door, from the other side. “Josh, is that you?”

  He looked up, and there was Madison.

  “Oh, Hi, Madison. What are you doing here?” Josh tried to straighten up and sound sober.

  Madison caught sight of Jessie waving. “I was on my way home, and a friend of mine asked if I’d like to join her for drinks. Why don’t you join us?”

  “Sure.”

  Josh followed Madison to the table just as Mark was bringing Jessie and Jim another drink and set one down for Madison. “Would you like another beer?”Mark asked Josh.

  “No thank you, but you can bring me some coffee.” He was hoping Madison and her friends wouldn’t notice that he was a bit inebriated. He waited until Madison sat down and then he pulled up a chair and sat next to her. He was just about to ask her how her sister was when Madison introduced him to Jim and Jessie. “Josh, this is my sister’s best friend, Jessie, and her fiancé’ Jim. Josh is a detective with Maitland Police Department. I’m assisting him with a case he’s working on. Josh sat up straight in his chair, feeling like he just had his ego stroked with Madison referring to the case as his. Little did he know, she was giving Jim and Jessie a clue, and they caught it immediately and didn’t ask her anything about the investigation.

  “Oh, how exciting. What case are you working on Josh?” Jessie asked as if she knew nothing about it.

  “I can’t talk about it right now.” He was trying to be polite but skirting the issue.

  “I understand,” Jessie whispered.

  Jim turned to Madison. “How’s Winter this evening?”

  “She’s doing better every day, and why wouldn’t she, with Cole waiting on her hand and foot. She’s a lucky woman to have someone who cares for her the way he does, and I couldn’t be happier for her. They are still planning to host that big party at the Dupree’ home this fall, and Winter is determined to be well enough by then.”

  Josh interrupted the conversation. “The Dupree’ home? Your sister is the one that broke the mystery of the Dupree’ sisters and the lost art?”

  “The very one, and Jim’s paper is the one that printed the story.”

  “Hart! Why didn’t I catch that? Winter Hart, Agent Hart. You’re sisters. She’s an investigative reporter, and you’re with the FBI’s criminal investigation department. I’ll be damned. I guess it runs in the family.” Josh sat shaking his head and sipping on his coffee.

  Madison laughed out loud.

  Josh grinned. “Wow, I didn’t know you could laugh.”

  “I’m not always a hard-ass.”

  “Could have fooled me.”

  Jim and Jessie burst out laughing, making Josh and Madison laugh even harder; something they both needed with all the stress surrounding them. The next day it would be back to business and facing the possibility that the other missing women may be dead too, but for now, they could unwind a little.

  As Madison finished her drink, Josh ordered her another one. She protested slightly, but Jessie encouraged her to stay longer. Mark set Madison’s drink down with a fresh napkin before she had a chance to change her mind.

  It was nearly 11:00 p.m. and Madison needed to be sober for what was lying ahead the next day. Josh had sobered up enough by then and was ready to call it a night. He walked Madison to her car. “Are you okay to drive home? I sure don’t want to have to get my partner out of jail to work on our case.”

  “I’m fine.” She struggled to open her car door.

  “I think I should drive you home. I can pick you up in the morning for coffee, and bring you back to get your car then. What do you say?”

  “That might not be a bad idea. You’re right; I sure don’t want my boss finding out I was arrested for a DUI while on a case. Thank you.” Josh held onto her arm and guided her to his car. Madison tried to pull the seatbelt across her, but couldn’t lock it in place. Josh reached across her, took hold of the seatbelt, and snapped it into place. His hand gently brushed against her cheek. She turned toward him. “Thank you.”

  There was hardly any traffic on the road, and it seemed they arrived at Madison’s office in a few minutes. Josh unsnapped her seatbelt, walked to the other side of the car and opened her door. She was wobbling a bit and almost lost her balance when Josh reached out and caught her. She fell into his arms and did not let go. She looked up into his steel blue eyes, and Josh wanted to kiss her but didn’t. He led her to her door, took the keys from her hand, and unlocked it. She was in no condition to make it on her own. He walked her to the back and set her down on her bed, and she immediately fell asleep. He took off her shoes, pulled the covers back, slid her into bed and covered her. She gave a slight moan and turned over. She looked so peaceful and vulnerable as he stood over her. Madison had only allowed the tough exterior of her FBI agent be exposed. Josh leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, locked the door behind him, and left.

  As he drove home, all he could think about was Madison. Before that night, he had only seen her as the beautiful, but the hard-ass agent who wouldn’t let anyone get in her way, or overshadow her mission. But that night, he got a rare glimpse into the heart of the woman, and he liked it.

  Chapter 7

  Madison woke up early the next morning wondering how she got home. She shuffled to the window of her office and pulled back the shade to see if her car was there. It was not. “How in the world did I get home?” She suddenly remembered Josh helped her out of Rocco’s the night before. She glanced down to see if she was dressed. “Okay, I still have my cloth
es on, so I’m good there, but what else happened. Josh must have brought me home, but then what? Oh shit, I’m supposed to have coffee with him this morning. Talk about awkward. I’d better get showered and changed. I’ll act like nothing happened. Maybe if something did, Josh wouldn’t mention it.”

  She walked back to her cubbyhole in the back of the office and tossed on her robe and then she stepped into the office section of the room and started a pot of coffee. “I’m going to need plenty of coffee to get rid of this headache and face Logan this morning.” She measured four large scoops of coffee into the filter. “This ought to do it.” The coffee started perking and she inhaled the aroma of the Folgers dark roast.

  Madison turned on the hot water and waited. She washed her hair and let the water run over her body on high pulse, hoping it would bring her back to life. “Too much liquor last night for this working gal. It may be Saturday, but this case isn’t going to solve itself.” It was back to business for Madison. Her mind was beginning to clear up, and her body was coming back to life under the pulsating hot water. She finished her shower, tossed on some clothes and headed for that first, hot cup of coffee.

  She set her mug down on the table and stood back staring at the board trying to see if there was any pattern forming. Then she remembered Aspen telling her that Tyler Kincaid would be bringing a few more pieces of his art to the Center that day. It would be a great opportunity to meet him and see what she could find out. That nagging feeling was churning again in the pit of her stomach, and it wasn’t the alcohol she consumed the night before.

  She hoped by the time Josh picked her up, he would have some new information on the latest victim. If her cause of death was the same as Ms. Hill’s, then possibly a thread was weaving that would tie the two cases together. She grabbed her mug of coffee, stepped closer to the board, and picked up the marker. “Manner of death for Ms. Hill was a gunshot to the back of the head or drowning.” She jotted down the information under Margaret Hill’s name.

  The identity of the latest victim was still unknown, so she just jotted down the possible cause of death, then started on a profile of the killer. “We have another woman in her mid-twenties, shot at close range, and dumped in the Maitland area, but what, if any, is her connection?” She didn’t have a name yet, so for the time being, it was Jane Doe #1. She wrote Jane Doe #1 next to Margaret Hill.

  The more she looked at the board, the more eager she was to talk to Doc Webb. She paced the room until she couldn’t stand it any longer and called the coroner’s office to see if there was anything new. Much to her surprise, Detective Logan was there already. He picked up the phone, “Good morning, Agent Hart. Feeling better this morning?”

  “I’m feeling fine. What are you doing there so early? Have you found out anything new?”

  “As a matter of fact, I have.”

  “Well? Are you going to share that information with me?”

  “Why don’t I pick you up and we’ll discuss this over breakfast. I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry, and I would feel a hell of a lot better with some food in my stomach.”

  “Okay, that sounds good. When you finish there, just swing by and pick me up.”

  “I can be at your place in about fifteen minutes.”

  “Great.” She hung up the phone. “I guess I’m not the only early riser. Looks like he takes his work as seriously as I do. I think I’m judging him too harshly, but I don’t want him to think I’m soft.”

  Madison straightened her bed, pulled the curtain back that separated the room and then poured another cup of coffee. She thumbed through the files Jim had given her and spread them out on the table. She believed the latest body might be one of her missing women. The victim didn’t fit the profile of Erin, so that left one of the other three. There was still a lot of investigative work to do to find out more about them. Madison had planned to visit Winter and Cole that weekend, but this case needed her full attention. If the coroner could nail down the cause of death, it would further develop the murderer’s profile.

  She was just finishing her coffee when she heard Josh pull up outside. She quickly walked out and got into his car. He had his hand on the door and was about to get out when she slid in, reached around, grabbed her seatbelt and snapped it. “Good morning to you, too.” He watched her settling into the car.

  “Good morning.”

  “Thanks for bringing me home last night. I guess it’s been awhile since I had anything to drink, plus I hadn’t eaten. Do you mind taking me to get my car after we eat?”

  “No problem.”

  “I’ve got some news. Doc Webb said both our victims were shot with the same type of weapon at close range; most likely a small 45 caliber. They might have known their killer and probably felt comfortable with him.”

  “I suspected as much. That’s going to help us build the profile. Now we need to find out as much as we can about these other missing women. Did you find out who our latest victim is?”

  “Not yet. The lab is running the DNA on her now, but so far she’s not in the system. They’re also checking all of her clothing, but the water has deteriorated most of the evidence. They are also checking dental records. Hopefully, something will come up soon. Ready for breakfast?”

  “I’m starving.”

  Josh wasn’t sure how much he should say about last night since Madison was reluctant to talk about it, and Madison just wanted to forget that she had embarrassed herself with drinking too much. If she had said or done anything that Josh might interpret as a come-on, that was the last thing she needed.

  As they pulled into the parking lot, Madison glanced over at Josh. “I think after we eat, I’ll call and see how Aspen is doing. I’d like to run by and see her.”

  “Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’ve got a few leads I need to follow up on so I’ll call you later, and we’ll touch base with the case.”

  “I shouldn’t be long. Maybe after lunch, we can check out those other missing women. I’d like to talk to their friends and family if we could. I still believe there is a link between them. As soon as we can pinpoint what it is, the closer we are to finding out what happened to them.”

  Josh opened the door to the café for her.

  “Good morning, Madison!” Lisa hollered out across the room. Madison was startled and surprised that Lisa remembered her name.

  “Coffee?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “And you, Detective Logan?”

  “Uh, yes, thank you.”

  Lisa turned to get their coffee.

  “That woman has a great memory. I’ve only been here once before, yet she remembered me.”

  Madison was about to say the same when Lisa returned with their coffees. “Madison, did you like that spinach and mushroom omelet you had last time?”

  “I can’t believe you remember what I ate,” Madison replied, amazed at Lisa’s recall.

  Lisa just smiled and waited for Madison’s response to her question.

  “Yes, I did, but I think I’ll just have some scrambled eggs and rye toast this morning.”

  “And you, Detective Logan?” Lisa asked as she pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose.

  “I’ll have the same, except with home fries and bacon, Lisa.”

  “Okay, I’ll have that right out for you.”

  Madison and Josh watched as Lisa returned to the kitchen, then Josh turned to Madison, “I’ll bet she knows everyone that comes in here.”

  Madison sipped on her coffee. “No doubt.” She tried not to make too much eye contact with Josh, but now and then, she glanced up and found him looking at her. Good grief, I hope I didn’t make an ass of myself last night. I wonder why he keeps looking at me. I guess I’m just paranoid, but I sure wish I could remember what happened.

  She is a remarkable woman, and certainly not a bad looker. I hope she doesn’t notice that I’m staring at her. I’ve got to get my head on straight for this case. The last thing I need is to get involved with a kick-ass federal a
gent.

  Lisa smiled as she placed the plates on the table. “Here we are.” Neither, Josh nor Madison noticed that she had come up to the table. “More coffee?”.

  “Yes,” they both answered, almost simultaneously.

  They finished their breakfast but did not linger. Madison was eager to get her car and visit with Aspen, and Josh wanted to get going on his work. He drove her back to her car at Rocco’s, but just as she was about to get in her car, she turned back to Josh. She walked over to the squad car and leaned down by the window “If I did anything stupid last night, I hope you’ll forget it. Like I said before, it’s been a long time since I’ve had anything to drink, and I hadn’t eaten.”

  Josh grinned. “You were the perfect lady. You didn’t do anything, darn it.”

  Madison chuckled a bit and then turned back toward her car. That seemed to ease the tension between them.

  Josh honked the horn as he drove out of the parking lot, and Madison waved. She sat in the parking lot for a few minutes and made some calls. The first one was to Aspen.

  “Hello.”

  “Aspen, this is Madison Hart. How are you feeling? I was wondering if I could run by and visit.”

  “Oh, that would be nice. I’ll be here all day.”

  “Good. I’ll be there in about an hour if that’s okay.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  Madison drove back to her office, jotted down a few ideas and checked the board again. She added a couple of things under Aspen’s name that might be relevant later, and then tossed some papers into her bag and took off for Aspen’s.

  Madison pulled up to a perfectly manicured landscape that surrounded a small bungalow. Though it was a small, quaint place, it was well cared for. Madison couldn’t imagine that Aspen did the landscaping herself. She walked onto the small front porch that looked like it was just set up for a photo shoot for a Home and Garden magazine. The furniture on the porch was sea green, with variations of succulents that cascaded over the sides of the planters that were strategically placed to balance the look of the outdoor room.