A Headache

It was half three and the flat was in complete darkness. It seemed as if even the street lamps had gone to sleep. Madelyn slipped quietly from between the sheets, not wanting to disturb the man sleeping beside her. Six years had passed since her father's murder, and she was still waking in the dead of night from gruesome, all-too-real nightmares. She tiptoed across the cold hard wood of her flat and into the kitchen for a cold glass of water. Her throat was always dry when she woke up.

Taking a sip, she sat down at the counter and stared into the dark, letting images of that night float before her eyes. Her mother in tears. Her father strewn casually across the floor of his study, a white sheet covering everything but his face. And his face. The horrible agonized look, forever set in her memory, a mixture of surprise and pain. Pain of a screwdriver being thrust into his body so many times and pain of knowing that it was his former partner, his best friend, who was stabbing him.

"Lyn?" Her father's voice the last time she had seen her dad alive. "Lyn, are you with us?" She had smiled at him across the table. "There you are." He had smiled back at his little girl. "Mum asked how school was going."

And then it was gone. She was back in her flat, and her latest shag had his hand on her shoulder. "There you are," he said, and then moved to the sink to fill a glass with water for himself. "Couldn't sleep?"

She shook her head and took another sip. "Headache."

"You want me to wait up with you?" She forced a smile and shook her head again.

"No sense in us both being tired in the morning," she said quietly. "Go back to bed. I'll be in in a moment." She watched him make his sleepy way back to her bedroom. He was really a nice guy.




"Maddy, you hate nice guys," Aidan laughed. "Why are you still with this guy?"

Madelyn glared across her coffee at her partner. "Why don't you stick to figuring out how our john here died instead of prying into my love life, Detective Inspector Parker?"

"'Detective Inspector Parker', eh?" Aidan grinned. "I must've hit a sore spot, Detective Inspector Gray. I should remember this the next time you're on my case about Chloe."

"Oh shove off, Aidan," Madelyn growled, throwing a piece of her pastry across the desk at him. She was quiet for a minute, then added thoughtfully, "It's because he's such a good fuck. I wouldn't have even answered his calls if it weren't for that. You're right, though, I suppose. God, he gives me such a headache. I'll call him later and break it off."

Aidan laughed again. "Sometimes, Maddy, you are such a guy."

Uxbridge Road

Puddles splashed angrily against the car as Madelyn pressed down on the accelerator. Rain was pelting the windshield of her smart, black Mini and the wipers were barely able to wipe the window clear before the fat raindrops splattered all over them again. Madelyn didn't care, though. She knew Uxbridge Road only too well, and she pressed the pedal down even further, urging the needle on the odometer to push 80 mph, 90 mph.

Her mobile vibrated and Beethoven's 5th Symphony played ominously. "Mother," she muttered, and she reached for her phone as her foot let off the accelerator. She rolled her eyes and put the phone up to her ear. "Mum, I'm just around the bend, for God's sake. I told you I would be to dinner by half six, and it's only a quarter past six!"

"Darling," her mother whispered, her voice trembling. "There's been a terrible..." Her voice trailed off and Madelyn could hear muffled sobs. Her mother was always so composed, and it worried Madelyn to hear her crying now.

"Mum, what is it?" Madelyn asked. "Has Dad had a heart attack?" Her father's health had been declining rapidly, and he had been to the doctor a handful of times in the past few years for mini-heart attacks. He had even been forced to retire from his long-time position as commissioner of the City of London Police. Just that day had been his official last day on the force; Madelyn was driving to her parents' in Hillingdon to have a celebratory dinner and retirement party.

When her mother didn't answer right away, Madelyn felt her chest tighten and her pulse quicken. "Mum," she said forcefully, "what's wrong? I need you to tell me."

Every second that passed only made Madelyn's worries grow, until finally her mother sniffed. "Lyn, Dad's had a terrible accident," she stuttered. "The coroner says..." She broke off again and started sobbing audibly this time.

"The coroner?" Madelyn repeated. "Mum, tell me what's happened now."

Her mother took several deep breaths and finally said, "Lyn, your father's been murdered."