Mackey Residence

  Tuesday

  Noonish

  Madison Mackey is seated on the living room couch watching old reruns of a daytime soap opera. Jamie Junior lies on his stomach beside his mother, a baby blanket spread underneath him and a finger of one hand stuck between his lips. The television volume is set low as Madison carries on a very animated phone conversation.

  "Yes, Dana. I would love to come back to the daycare," Madison says with a chuckle. "Maybe when Jamie is a little bit older. I'm trying to spend as much time with him as I can. James and I think that's probably the ideal situation right now. He'll only be a baby once."

  A brief silence falls over the room, as Madison listens to her friend--and former coworker--on the other end of the line. Madison gently rubs Jamie's tiny back through his onesie, her eyes half-lidded from both tiredness and pure love.

  "He's such a good baby," Madison says, stroking the newborn's hair. "I've always thought all babies cried a lot and were really messy and fussy. But not my Jamie. He has his moments, of course. But he's always so good natured. Once he's nursed and cleaned up...I don't hear much out of him. I guess, he inherited his father's temperament."

  "What do you mean?" Dana shrieks on the other line. "You're one of the kindest women I know, Madison. For one, you didn't run around the daycare spreading useless gossip. And another thing, you actually seem to give a real damn. I've known quite a few people who were total drama machines. Gratefully, they moved on to greener pastures. You're not like that, Madison. You're a real treasure. I miss having you around. Give yourself more credit, Hon. I really think, you and Rose would've been good friends. You're a lot like her."

  Madison's stomach lurches at the mention of Rose Perry, Aquarius' second victim. Of all of the killer's victims, Rose Perry had always struck a tragic chord with Madison. Rose had been a simple woman. She was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. A woman who just so happened to fit the sadistic killer's exact profile. Madison had been lucky. Bennett wasn't actually interested in killing her. She'd simply been a distraction; in an attempt to draw attention away from the real killer--his common law stepson. Otherwise, she might be as dead as Rose Perry and Aquarius' dozen or so other victims.

  "Thanks, Dana. That's really nice of you to sa--," Madison begins.

  The young mother's sentence is disrupted by the chiming of the doorbell. She glances up in surprise.

  "Uh, Dana. Someone's at the door," Madison says. "I've gotta put the phone down for a minute. Be right back."

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  "Okay. Sure," Dana replies. "Take your time. I'm not going anywhere."

  Madison smiles and places her cellphone on the table. She makes sure that Jamie is still asleep before rushing to the front door. Peering out of the peephole, Madison lets out a pleased gasp. She draws the door open, her smile widening.

  "Gabrielle! Hi. Oh my gosh. I'm glad you came by. Come in. Come in," Madison gushes, beckoning for Gabrielle to enter the home. "I'm sorta on the phone with an old buddy of mine, but I really need to talk to you. Give me a minute, ok?"

  "Whatever you say, Hon," Gabrielle says, stepping inside and moving around Madison. "An old buddy, you say? Is this like an old boyfriend kind of buddy?"

  Madison hurriedly shuts the front door and moves toward the table where her cellphone is resting. She places a finger against her lips while shaking her head.

  "Of course not. Give me a minute, okay? Just a sec," Madison says between a laugh.

  "Madison? You there?" Dana says on the other line.

  "Yeah. It's me. I'm back. Hey, Dana...I've gotta get off of here. I have a visitor. Can I call you back later tonight? We can talk more about me returning to work."

  "Of course, Madison. Yeah. Talk to you later tonight. Take care, Hon."

  "You too, Dana. Bye."

  Madison hangs up the call and places her cellphone back on the table. She peers across the table at Gabrielle, a sly grin building on her face.

  "You were right, Gabby. About last night. James was...Oh my goodness. James was like a different man last night. I mean, he's always been crazy about me. Well, I guess. He says so, anyway. But last night, was positively wonderful. His hands were everywhere. And I mean everywhere. I didn't know what to do with myself. So I just went with it. Who would've thought...Wow. Thank you so much, Gabby. You were right. I feel like...I feel like I'm finally reaching him. I feel like a whole new person too."

  Gabrielle comes around to the same side of the table where Madison is standing. She looks Madison in the eye, wearing her own brand of coy smile.

  "Don't thank me, Madison. That was all you," Gabrielle exclaims. "I told you...You have a banging body. You just needed a way to effectively market it. Now that you have the tools, I think you've got this. My job is done."

  "Ha. Okay," Madison laughs. "You did say that. But I needed to see it to believe it. Now, I do."

  Stepping past Madison, Gabrielle bends in front of the couch and strokes Jamie Junior's soft brown hair. The infant issues a tiny unhappy grunt, kicking one leg and sucking energetically on his left index finger. Gabrielle glances up at Madison with a sheepish grin. She stands to her full height and shrugs.

  "Sorry."

  "Oh, no problem. I nursed him less than a hour ago. He'll be fine. He's actually a really good baby. Not much fuss at all."

  "Lucky," Gabrielle quips. "My sister's kid was an absolute terror. He cried all hours of the day and night. Sometimes, I wonder if my son would've been a good baby or a terror. If he was anything like me...Definitely a terror. I'll never know."

  Madison shifts uncomfortably from one foot to the other. She reaches for the towel used to wipe Jamie Junior's spit up. Removing the soiled towel from the sofa arm, Madison folds it so that the tacky milk is hidden inside.

  "Will you watch Jamie while I put this in the laundry hamper?" Madison asks. "I don't want him to roll off of the couch."

  "Sure. Of course," Gabrielle says.

  "Thanks."

  Within seconds, Madison is gone. Gabrielle peers down at the sleeping infant with a forlorn expression.