Mackey Residence

  Saturday in the a.m.

  Madison turns over in bed and glances at the clock on the nightstand. 1:55 a.m.

  Sitting up on the mattress, Madison peers through the darkness of the room. Where is her husband? Where is James?

  A shudder courses Madison's spine at the very horrifying idea that James might not be coming home. That she might end up fielding yet another call about mutilated bodies and arraignment hearings. Or worst yet, a call from a reporter asking her questions she cannot give the answer to. She wouldn't know where to start.

  Tears stream down Madison's face and her eyes wander towards the baby monitor beside the clock. Why must this happen now? Right at the moment when she and James are truly coming together? Why?

  With a wistful smile, Madison reaches to grab one of James' black ballpoint pens from the nightstand. Like is so often the case, the pen was left open, its tip exposed to the air and elements. James must have forgotten the pen in his hurry to gather more information to bolster his defense. Madison takes the pen into her hand, more tears squeezing out of her eyes. Pulling her hair into a loose bun, Madison uses the open pen to keep her hair in place.

  -

  -

  The Vantage Building

  "Wake up, Detective," Gabrielle whispers, trailing a slender index finger along James' left cheekbone and jawline. "I want to play a game."

  Detective Mackey's eyelids flutter, but do not open. Gabrielle places a manicured hand under Mackey's chin and lifts his head. She forcefully peels back one of his eyelids and giggles.

  "Hmmm. That must've really hurt, James. Sorry about that."

  Leaning forward, so that her mouth brushes Detective Mackey's left ear, Gabrielle's face is transformed by an evil grin. She walks behind the wooden chair, which James is secured to, wrapping both arms around his shoulders.

  "You look so pitiful, James. All tied up and nowhere to go. It almost makes me want to cry. Almost."

  Finally, one eyelid slowly peels back. Detective Mackey looks around, the pain in his head an eleven on a scale from one to ten. What the hell did this crazy woman hit him with? An anvil?

  "Who are you?" James asks, keeping only the one eye open.

  To do otherwise, would be to invite more excruciating pain. He tilts his head at an angle to peer up at Gabrielle.

  "Oh, that's right. We've never actually met," Gabrielle sighs suggestively. "Ah, but wait. We have."

  Gabrielle rubs a hand up and down Detective Mackey's left bicep. It is at this moment that James opens both eyes, realizing that he is no longer wearing his suit jacket and tie. Did she undress him as well? What the hell for?

  "You don't remember me? Do you, Detective Mackey? You should. You sent me away for a long time. And...I've never forgiven you for it."

  Gabrielle stops rubbing Detective Mackey's arm long enough to cross in front of him. She drops down in a crouch, staring up into his face. The detective stares back, attempting to place the much younger woman. The realization hits him just as Gabrielle's mouth twists into a sadistic grin.

  "The lightbulb just went off. Didn't it, James?" Gabrielle says mockingly. "Well, let me make sure we're on the same page."

  Gabrielle once again climbs to her feet. She leans heavily on one leg and crosses both arms in front of her chest. Her voice becomes a menacing hiss.

  "About a decade ago...You had me locked up. Because some silly little girl took her own life. You convinced April to rat us all out...In order to save her own skin," Gabrielle says. "I nearly lost everything. I did lose everything. You didn't bother to hang around to find out what would happen to all of us girls after Little Miss Prissy's mother joined her silly daughter in hell. Too busy playing Boy Wonder Detective. How wonderful...And ingenious...Are you now, Detective Mackey?"

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  "Angela? It is you, isn't it?" James inquires, his eyes widening.

  "Yes, it's me," the woman known as Gabrielle says. "That's very good, Detective. I'm real impressed. You actually remembered my name. Your wife...Calls me Gabrielle. Funny thing is...She's just as silly as Regina was. Very naive too. Didn't take much for her to leave me alone with the baby. All it took was a few tears and a long, sad story about trying for a kid of my own. Not to mention, an expensive trip to Macy's...And she was hooked. Did you like the new lingerie? It was all my idea. Ha. It was too easy. I was able to sneak her house keys out of her purse, make a mold, and have a copy made. One of my guys...Is at your house right now, James. Boy, is he gonna have so much fun."

  James' mouth falls open in horror and his eyes widen impossibly. The detective shakes his head, trying to ward off the coldness creeping into his very soul.

  "No, Angela. Don't do this," James pleads. "Call off you dogs. Please. Don't hurt Madison or my son. What I did was right...And you know it. A child was dead, Angela. I did what the law required of me."

  "You sent a bunch of kids to prison, Detective! How is that the right thing to do?" Angela screams back.

  "You pushed a young girl to suicide, Angela. In anyone's law book, that's a criminal offense. I followed the law."

  "Like hell! You could've asked the DA for a lighter sentence. Instead, you let them throw the book at us. All except your precious April. All because she ate your damned pizza and told you a bunch of lies. You have no idea what I went through in that place. What I went through after. I was lucky to get out early with good behavior. I wasn't a bad person, Detective Mackey. But you made everyone believe I was a monster. I only made Regina do what she already wanted to do. We helped her. She never would've survived in this dog eat dog world. Some people just aren't made for it. Like Madison. She's too pure. But, James...My James...Will fix that."

  "Angela, please. Don't do...," Mackey starts to say.

  The detective is halted in his speech by a hard slap from Angela. The angry woman glowers down at him, pure hatred in her eyes.

  "Shut up, Mackey! Just...Shut up! It took me a long time to figure out how to get back at you. In the end, I needed a little inside help."

  "Melbourne?" Mackey surmises.

  "Yep. Cute woman. It took kiddie prison for me to learn to recognize the true beauty of the female body. Not all beauty is skin deep."

  Gabrielle walks behind James' chair a second time, she leans forward so that her chin is resting on his left shoulder. With a sigh, Gabrielle presses her chest against James' back. She wraps both arms around his waist and closes her eyes as if in total bliss.

  "How does Mayor Gunther tie into all of this, Angela?" James inquires. "Or Evelyn?"

  "Haha. You're the brilliant detective. You tell me!" the woman known as Gabrielle says. "Haha. Psyche. I'll tell you, James. You see...Mayor Gunther is real good friends with a pal of mine. And my pal...He deals in let's say...Pretty pounds of flesh. That's how poor Simon Gunther met Evelyn's mother. Same guy...Helped get Simon reelected. An envelope of cash here. A hung jury there. It was simple. Or, not so simple. You see, Simon Gunther now owes my buddy. A lot. When Evelyn moved back to town...Simon paid dear Evelyn to keep her distance. He didn't want to risk his precious image and political career. He figured their casual estrangement would cast a doubt on any rumors that he was her biological father. After all, who would wander away from millions just for the heck of it? My buddy...Threatened to make all of Simon's dirty business come back out in the open. Including, how Evelyn's mother was a Plain Jane run of the mill callgirl. Not the fancy ballerina dancer Simon managed to convince everyone she was. I saw my opportunity to finally get even when you were assigned to Gunther's security detail. It was so easy. With Melbourne's help...Of course."

  "I still don't understand, Angela. What did you need Melbourne for?"

  "Haha. Now, I can't tell you everything, Detective. That would be unfair to you," Angela laughs. "I will say...Blackmail is very powerful. I was able to make her do whatever I wanted. Including...Hahaha...But not limited to...Giving me all the information I needed to set you up. Your favorite coffee shop? The place where you buy all of your hazelnut coffee? How often you stop to chat with dear Freddo. How long you usually chat, what you order, and some of the conversations overheard. She was very forthcoming. And my guy...He absolutely loved her. Like I said. Beautiful woman."

  Gabrielle reaches up and loosens her ponytail. She shakes out her hair and leans closer to Detective Mackey.

  "But enough about Melbourne and Evelyn. I want to talk about us!" Angela sighs into James' left ear.

  The hairs on James' neck rise and he narrows his eyes. Angela's warm breath tickles his flesh. After what amounts to a few seconds, James inhales sharply.

  "Us, Angela?"

  "Yes. Us," Angela sighs breathlessly. "You see...When I was on the inside...We rarely had a choice in who our sexual partners would be. The bored janitor one day. The butch girl with no teeth the next day. A dirty broom handle other days. It was...Sexual hell. Your wife is a lucky lady, Detective Mackey. She found someone she's head over heels in love with. Even if it did take nearly being raped on national television by that wannabe Aquarius freak. But hey! In the end, it all worked out. Only thing is, I want a happy ending too. I figure you owe it to me, Detective. After all of those months...And all those years I was tortured because you just wanted a big break. Now, it's time for my big break."

  Detective Mackey jerks with surprise as Angela shoves a syringe into the flesh of his right shoulder. Depressing the plunger on the syringe, Angela kisses James' left temple at the same time. She tosses the empty syringe aside and climbs to her feet. Exaggerating her walk, to appear more seductive, Angela walks to the front of his chair. Straddling James' lap, Angela places both hands on his shoulders.

  "Maybe...Haha. You'll give me something to remember you by."