"I'm not a guy," Madelyn thought to herself as she hung up the phone, "though I did just break up with someone's answering machine." She smiled and slipped her mobile back into her bag. Fishing through it, she located her keys and unlocked her car door. Beethoven's 5th serenaded her and she sighed, pulling her mobile out again. "What is it, Mum? I'm on the road," she lied.
"Did you get my messages, darling?" her mother chirped. "I rang nearly a hundred times. You'd think with that many calls a daughter would answer the phone to her mother."
"Well, I guess you're in luck, I've answered now," growled Madelyn. Since her mum had moved out of the family house, she had been ringing several times a day to ask Madelyn how to stop a leaky tap or tighten a screw. And always, the message sounded the same. Hello Madelyn, it's Susan, your mother. When you have a spare moment, please ring me back. I'm having trouble hanging a frame. Her mother really was helpless. "What's up?"
"Well it's nothing, really," her mother responded, ignoring Madelyn's tone of voice. "Except, I've been receiving threatening calls for the last couple days over the telephone. And I thought maybe you could investigate it for me."
Madelyn's brow furrowed and she felt a slight twinge of guilt for not having rung her mother back earlier. "What kind of threatening calls, Mum?"
"Oh this and that," her mum said lightly, and Madelyn could just see her waving her arms nonchalantly, like nothing at all had happened, and she hadn't been receiving threatening calls. "Just the usual, darling. You'll sort it out, though, I'm sure. How's your love-life been? Still seeing that handsome Edmund? He's such a nice boy."
Madelyn rolled her eyes. "Edmund and I broke up, Mum. Three years ago. And don't try to brush past these threats like they don't mean anything. You rang nine times today; you're obviously bothered by them."
"Oh then you did see I rang," her mother said. Madelyn silently cursed herself. "Lyn, it's really nothing. Just some criminal Dad put away out to scare me, I'm sure."
"Well, I'll speak with the station out there and see if they can't tap the line or something. Meanwhile, lock the doors when you're alone, alright? I've got to run now. Promise you'll ring me if you get any more threats?"
"Alright, have a nice evening, dear," her mother said cheerfully.
Madelyn rolled her eyes. Her mother was so odd. She climbed into her car and sped off home, looking forward to a hot bath and a bottle of Chardonnay. She was five minutes in the door when her mobile rang again. "Fucking stupid people. Leave me alone!" she whined, fishing the phone out of her purse and flipping it open. "What is it, Parker?" she growled.
The laughter in her partner's voice belied the nature of the call. "Sorry, Maddy, but we've been called in. There's a pair of bodies found in Regent's Park. From what dispatch said, it isn't pretty."
Madelyn pouted. "Wonderful. You want to pick me up? I'm done driving for the day."
"See you in a few minutes, then," Aidan said, and hung up.
Grabbing a yogurt from the fridge, Madelyn plopped herself into a chair at the kitchen counter and turned the television on while she waited for Aidan. "So much for a bath," she thought, and angrily ripped the top off the yogurt. Aidan arrived a couple minutes later, and she went down to meet him.
"I broke it off with Whatsisname," she said as she climbed into the passenger seat.
Aidan smiled and asked, "Did the poor sod cry?"
Madelyn grimaced. "I don't know. I left a message." Aidan laughed and shook his head.
"If a bloke broke it off with a girl like that, he'd be called 'wanker'. If a lady does it, do you know what she's called?"
"Is this going to be another diatribe on double-standards against men? I can only handle one a week, and you've filled your quota," Madelyn said.
"Do you know what she's called?" he asked again, and then continued without waiting for a response. "She's called Detective Inspector Madelyn Gray." Aidan laughed shamelessly at his own joke.
Madelyn smiled and hit Aidan in the arm. "Bugger," she muttered.
They arrived at Regent's Park and followed the flashing lights to a taped-off area of the park. Ducking under the police line and flashing their badges, they made their way to the actual crime scene. Madelyn stopped dead in her tracks and the breath caught in her throat. She tried to turn away from the two bodies on the ground, but her eyes were frozen with the rest of her body.
She was only vaguely aware of the people around her, her partner talking to the arriving officer, the woman who had called it in shaking her head and crying softly in shock. She was lost in a crowd of officers and EMTs, focused wholly on the two bodies in front of her. Two men, no distinguishable features except that their faces were beaten beyond recognition. The killer had positioned them to be holding hands, which were covered in blood because the skin of their fingers had been cut off. But this wasn't the reason she couldn't move. Both men had been stabbed upwards of 20 times with a circular weapon. Madelyn knew immediately what it was. It was the same thing that had been used to kill her father six years ago. They had been stabbed with a screwdriver. Her father's terror-stricken face floated in front of her eyes and her eyes welled up with tears.
She yelped, startled suddenly by Aidan's hand on her shoulder and his voice in her ear.
"Maddy, I'm sorry. Why don't you go back to the car and I'll call someone else in." Madelyn shook her head and came out of her trance, determined to go on despite the flood of memories.
"I'm fine," she whispered, and then more confidently, "I'm fine." She swallowed hard and turned to face her partner. "What do we know so far? Who are these guys?"
Aidan frowned at her, but continued when she only glared at him expectantly. "Identities unknown, but the coroner puts them both somewhere in their mid-forties. There's no blood in the vicinity, so they were dropped here, and they were killed within the last 72 hours, because they're still stiff as boards." He bent down and rolled one of the victims on their side. "And he left a calling card," he said, pointing to the victim's nape.
Madelyn leaned down and examined the back. There was a chunk of skin missing in the shape of a heart. She frowned and turned the other victim over to find a similar carving on his nape. "Looks like Cupid's in a bad mood tonight," she said.
Madelyn's brow furrowed and she felt a slight twinge of guilt for not having rung her mother back earlier. "What kind of threatening calls, Mum?"
"Oh this and that," her mum said lightly, and Madelyn could just see her waving her arms nonchalantly, like nothing at all had happened, and she hadn't been receiving threatening calls. "Just the usual, darling. You'll sort it out, though, I'm sure. How's your love-life been? Still seeing that handsome Edmund? He's such a nice boy."
Madelyn rolled her eyes. "Edmund and I broke up, Mum. Three years ago. And don't try to brush past these threats like they don't mean anything. You rang nine times today; you're obviously bothered by them."
"Oh then you did see I rang," her mother said. Madelyn silently cursed herself. "Lyn, it's really nothing. Just some criminal Dad put away out to scare me, I'm sure."
"Well, I'll speak with the station out there and see if they can't tap the line or something. Meanwhile, lock the doors when you're alone, alright? I've got to run now. Promise you'll ring me if you get any more threats?"
"Alright, have a nice evening, dear," her mother said cheerfully.
Madelyn rolled her eyes. Her mother was so odd. She climbed into her car and sped off home, looking forward to a hot bath and a bottle of Chardonnay. She was five minutes in the door when her mobile rang again. "Fucking stupid people. Leave me alone!" she whined, fishing the phone out of her purse and flipping it open. "What is it, Parker?" she growled.
The laughter in her partner's voice belied the nature of the call. "Sorry, Maddy, but we've been called in. There's a pair of bodies found in Regent's Park. From what dispatch said, it isn't pretty."
Madelyn pouted. "Wonderful. You want to pick me up? I'm done driving for the day."
"See you in a few minutes, then," Aidan said, and hung up.
Grabbing a yogurt from the fridge, Madelyn plopped herself into a chair at the kitchen counter and turned the television on while she waited for Aidan. "So much for a bath," she thought, and angrily ripped the top off the yogurt. Aidan arrived a couple minutes later, and she went down to meet him.
"I broke it off with Whatsisname," she said as she climbed into the passenger seat.
Aidan smiled and asked, "Did the poor sod cry?"
Madelyn grimaced. "I don't know. I left a message." Aidan laughed and shook his head.
"If a bloke broke it off with a girl like that, he'd be called 'wanker'. If a lady does it, do you know what she's called?"
"Is this going to be another diatribe on double-standards against men? I can only handle one a week, and you've filled your quota," Madelyn said.
"Do you know what she's called?" he asked again, and then continued without waiting for a response. "She's called Detective Inspector Madelyn Gray." Aidan laughed shamelessly at his own joke.
Madelyn smiled and hit Aidan in the arm. "Bugger," she muttered.
They arrived at Regent's Park and followed the flashing lights to a taped-off area of the park. Ducking under the police line and flashing their badges, they made their way to the actual crime scene. Madelyn stopped dead in her tracks and the breath caught in her throat. She tried to turn away from the two bodies on the ground, but her eyes were frozen with the rest of her body.
She was only vaguely aware of the people around her, her partner talking to the arriving officer, the woman who had called it in shaking her head and crying softly in shock. She was lost in a crowd of officers and EMTs, focused wholly on the two bodies in front of her. Two men, no distinguishable features except that their faces were beaten beyond recognition. The killer had positioned them to be holding hands, which were covered in blood because the skin of their fingers had been cut off. But this wasn't the reason she couldn't move. Both men had been stabbed upwards of 20 times with a circular weapon. Madelyn knew immediately what it was. It was the same thing that had been used to kill her father six years ago. They had been stabbed with a screwdriver. Her father's terror-stricken face floated in front of her eyes and her eyes welled up with tears.
She yelped, startled suddenly by Aidan's hand on her shoulder and his voice in her ear.
"Maddy, I'm sorry. Why don't you go back to the car and I'll call someone else in." Madelyn shook her head and came out of her trance, determined to go on despite the flood of memories.
"I'm fine," she whispered, and then more confidently, "I'm fine." She swallowed hard and turned to face her partner. "What do we know so far? Who are these guys?"
Aidan frowned at her, but continued when she only glared at him expectantly. "Identities unknown, but the coroner puts them both somewhere in their mid-forties. There's no blood in the vicinity, so they were dropped here, and they were killed within the last 72 hours, because they're still stiff as boards." He bent down and rolled one of the victims on their side. "And he left a calling card," he said, pointing to the victim's nape.
Madelyn leaned down and examined the back. There was a chunk of skin missing in the shape of a heart. She frowned and turned the other victim over to find a similar carving on his nape. "Looks like Cupid's in a bad mood tonight," she said.
2 comments:
Most excellent!
Hi Joderita,
Thanks for the love over at Adopt-a-Lock! Spread the word! :-)
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