Witness Protection: Hide and Seek (5 page)

“Thank you, so does that mean you’ll stay with us?”

“Of course I will. I’d be happy to help.”

“Good, now we’ve got some things to take care of before the
party winds down. So just sit here and relax.”

After Hank and Donna excused themselves, Madison sat back
and began to absorb everything that had happened so far.

She learned from Hank, that Cole was the one leaving the
marshal services. He’d been divorced for almost 8 months and was heading to
Summerbridge, West Virginia. He’d been hired on as sergeant of the small town's
police department.

She stole a glance at him as he said goodbye to some of his
colleagues.

It’s probably for the
best
; she tried reassuring herself.
I've
got no business caring about Cole, or where he goes.
She silently scolded
herself for thinking about him in that way, again.

****

“Madison West in the flesh and a widow, none the less.”
Deputy Faith and Cole were sitting at the bar now.

“And?” Cole swallowed down his drink.

Faith shook his head. “Yes, it’s unfortunate that her
husband is gone, but you cannot sit there and tell me that you aren’t the least
bit happy.”

“No. I’m not happy. She lost the love of her life Faith, why
the hell would I be happy?”

“She lost the love of her life over a year ago.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m not trying to say anything, but this. If you don’t see
all of this as more than just a coincidence, well then… I just don’t know
buddy.”

Cole motioned to the bartender to send over another drink.

“What do you want me to do Faith? I’m leaving for
Summerbridge in a couple of days. So even if I wanted to see if there was
something between us, I couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because it wouldn’t be fair to her. She deserves someone
who will be there for her, not someone who is leaving in a couple of days.
Look, she isn’t ready to get involved with me or anyone else right now. And
even if she were, it couldn’t be me. She deserves someone who can be there for
her." He repeated the words.

"I'm not exactly the best person when it comes to
providing emotional and physical support, and if you need proof, just ask my
ex-wife. In fact, I was so lousy at it that she looked elsewhere and found it
in the arms of the contractor that I hired to re-model the master bedroom!”
Cole slammed his fist down hard.

“Take it easy buddy,” Faith patted him on the back.

“All I’m saying is that you’re both single now. Just play it
by ear and see what happens. That’s all I’m saying.” Cole followed Faith’s gaze
to the back door where Madison was standing.

“Alright,” he said full of liquid courage. “Here goes
nothing.”

After saying goodbye to the last of the partygoers, Hank and
Donna closed the bar for the night. As the waitstaff began to clean up, Hank
put on a fresh pot of coffee and left Madison and Cole alone, so that they
could talk.

She put some money in the jukebox and soon, an upbeat melody
poured out of the speakers. The song reminded her of Tristan. She remembered
how she tried teaching him how to dance.

Although he wasn't much of a dancer, he had moves. She
smiled again at the memory.
I wonder if
Cole likes to dance,
she thought to herself as she made her way over to the
table.

He smiled back and pulled her chair out so that she could
sit down. "Do you like to dance?" The question came out in a mumble
and Cole had been so enthralled with her being there, that he wasn’t paying
attention.

"What's that?" He said.

Madison grinned and waved it off. "Nothing," she
said and patted him on the hand.

“You really do look beautiful,” he said.

“You’ve got beer goggles on.” Madison giggled and looked
away.

Cole shook his head. “No I don’t. I can see clearly and what
I see is Madison West sitting at the same table as me.”

His words sounded like that of a lovesick teenager and she
was flattered by them.

“I think you need some coffee,” she said and got up from the
table.

Cole couldn’t help but stare as she made her way behind the
bar. Her curvaceous body was that of perfection. The jeans she was wearing fit
her like a glove and the spaghetti strap of her silky tank top fell lazily off
her smooth, shoulder.
 

He struggled to maintain control of himself.

“Here you go. Cream, no sugar right?” She set the hot mug in
front of him.

“You remembered.” He smiled.

“Of course I remember. You are not an easy man to forget
Cole Harding.”

“Neither are you.” He raised his mug to her.

"I’ve never seen you act this way before.” She grinned
easily at him.

“Well that’s because before, the circumstances were
different. I was on the job. I was on duty. I had to protect you and I still
want to.”

His eyes bore into hers and she thought about making up some
lie so that she could escape.

“It’s not your job anymore.”

“I know it’s not. Especially now, but just because I’m no
longer a marshal doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped worrying or thinking about
you.” The words came out before he could stop them.

“Cole, I don’t know what to say,” she stammered.

 
A heavy despair fell
over her. What the hell had she gotten herself into?

Somewhere, deep in the recesses of her mind she was elated.
Cole was practically pouring his soul out to her and she was enjoying every
minute of it.

He was telling her things that any woman would long to hear.
But when she thought about her husband Tristan, those feelings of elation were
replaced with extreme shame.

The air hung heavy between them and she needed to lighten
the mood.

“Hank and Donna are having an anniversary party at their
place tomorrow, will you come?”

Cole shut his eyes and rubbed his temples. “Hank already
invited me. I told him that I’d think about it, but do you want me there?”

Madison didn’t have to think about it. “Yes,” she said. “Yes
I do.”

He looked around and saw that they were the only ones left
in the front of the bar. Hank and Donna were still in back and it was getting
late.

“Well, I guess I should get going.”

Madison stood up and walked over to him.

“There’s no way you’re driving home buddy,” she said and
reached for her purse.

After promising them that she’d be at their door, with
luggage in tow, first thing in the morning, Madison led a tipsy Cole to her
car.

The streets of Memphis were quiet and both relished in the
cool breeze coming from the open windows.

“You want to talk about it?” Madison punched his address into
the GPS.

“There’s nothing to talk about. I was away from home too
much. She said that I was the most inattentive person that she’d ever met.

She said that even when I was at home… I wasn’t. How the
hell does that even make any sense? I tried Madison, I really did. But after I
met you, something inside of me changed. I came home a different man. I knew
that, but I tried to hide it. I thought that if I buried it deep down inside of
me, that no one, including my wife would see that I’d changed.

But my first night back, she said she'd felt it. She said
that when I came home, I made love to her in a way that I’d never done before.”

Almost immediately, Madison noticed his body language had
changed, and she grew weak at the thought.

“Cole, don’t do this.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

She moved as close to the door as she could, but Cole moved
closer.

Her nipples hardened at the scent of his aftershave and she
could feel his breath on her neck.

She remained still, her body still too close to his, but she
kept her focus on the road.

“I tried telling her that she was mistaken, but it was no
use. She knew that I was lying. It took me a couple of weeks to admit it to
myself, but when I finally did, I realized that it was you that I was thinking
about when I was making love, to her.”

One of the things that struck her while she was under his
protection three years ago was the overwhelming emotional and physical
attraction that seemed to overpower them, each and every time they were alone
together.

But she’d resolved herself not to further instigate anything
the moment she found out that he was married. She’d chalked it up to
vulnerability and emotional weakness.
You’re
obviously suffering from hero syndrome or something
, she told herself way back
when.

But now here he was, coming onto her and coming on strong.
She thought about pulling over and opening herself up to him, right there in
the car. But she quickly banished the thought from her mind.
It would be wrong Madison… you’re wrong for
thinking such things.

“Cole, you’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re saying. And
you’re home,” she said and pulled into the driveway. She smiled when she saw
the small, bungalow style house.

Before she could turn off the ignition, Cole reached over
and wrapped his arms around her.

Her pulse quickened and her head swam as if she was on some
sort of fantastical ride.

Adrenaline that she hadn’t felt in over a year poured into
her system at the close contact. Yes, he’d hugged her earlier at the bar, but
this time was different, they were alone, completely alone.

She felt him nuzzle the ultra-sensitive spot on her neck,
just above her collarbone.
How the hell
did he know that was her spot?

Madison pulled away from his embrace before she lost all
reason. She fought the urge not to wrap her arms around his neck and slowly
slide her tongue into his mouth.

“Cole, we can’t do this.”

He took a deep breath and leaned back against the headrest.

“I’m sorry,” he said and flexed his hands then curled them
into a fist, as if resisting the urge to touch her again.

Even though the windows were down, the temperature in the
car seemed to have risen to unfathomable levels. She couldn’t help but notice
that her body had betrayed her and she wondered if Cole noticed it too.

“I better get inside and take a cold shower,” he said and
pushed open the door.

Thanks for the ride home Madison. Drive safe and call me
when you get in, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He staggered a moment before making his way towards the
front door. Madison thought about getting out to help him, but she knew that
she didn’t have the willpower to resist whatever might happen, should he close
the door behind them.

Twenty minutes later, she was back in her hotel room. Cole
wasn’t the only one who needed a cold shower. After she got off the phone with
him, that’s exactly where she headed.

Maria was tired of waiting. Paulo wasn’t answering the door,
or her calls and texts.

It wasn’t like him to ignore her completely. She knew that
he’d been upset last night after she told him that she wasn’t able to come
over. But here she was, breakfast in hand, along with his favorite coffee and
he wasn’t coming to the door.

“Spoiled little boy,” she moaned sarcastically and went
around back.

The door to the kitchen was ajar and as she stepped inside,
she saw the body of her boyfriend, Paulo Antunez, sprawled out on the kitchen
floor.

The coffee cup fell to the ground as the light brown liquid
burst out, running alongside the lines of the linoleum floor, eventually mixing
with the deep, red puddle of blood.

****

“This was a one sided fight,” A detective said.

“Whoever came through the back door, knew that Mr. Antunez
would be alone.”

“Tell me something that I don’t know.” Detective McCann of
the Redmerrow Police Department slipped on a pair of booties and made his way
into the house.

“I bet you didn’t know that our boy here is in, or should I
say, was in, the Witness Protection Program.”

McCann turned and looked at the detective.

  
“I’ve got a friend
down at the federal building,” he said with a smirk.

McCann nodded his head and took a step closer to the body. Paulo
Antunez, (Juan Hernandez) lay on his back, his body splayed open like a gutted
fish. His underbelly was full of stab wounds and his tongue had been cut off.

“Okay, it’s obvious that this was a professional hit. Better
get the feds in on this one,” he told an officer.

“And would somebody please shut her up!” He shouted over
Maria’s sobs.

****

It was early and Madison was already packing up her things.
As she placed the neatly folded clothes inside her suitcase, she didn’t notice
that the fabric had been cut and re-sewn.

Check out time wasn’t for another few hours, but she knew
that Hank and Donna would be expecting her and she wanted to get there early.
After taking one last look around the luxurious room, she picked up the key
card and made her way towards the lobby.

She welcomed the hour and a half ride to Jackson, Tennessee.
It was an area she’d never visited. When Hank and Donna purchased a new bar,
they also purchased a new home. And since they didn’t have to be in the bar
every night, there was no worry about the long commute.

They were living a life of leisure, they'd told her.
"We own the bar, but we don’t have to run it like we used to. We've hired
people to do that, much younger people." Donna joked.

Madison was looking forward to spending time with Hank and
Donna. She didn’t know how long she'd be staying with them though. But one
thing was for sure, there was certainly no rush for her to go back home.

Home
. She thought
it odd that she felt more at home being here in Tennessee than she did back in
Maine. There was a simple reason for that, her husband was dead. And although
she loved Zoe like she was her own, she suddenly felt conflicted. What exactly
was there to go back to?
Nothing, that's
what, nothing
," she whispered.

Tristan was gone from her life and now it seemed that Cole
was trying to work his way back into it.

"I'm sorry Tristan," she spoke out loud. "I
don’t know what to do."

Speaking out loud to her dead husband was something she did
quite often.

She remembered one day when Helen heard her talking to him.
It was several months after his death and she was alone in her room having a
full on conversation with him.

When Helen knocked on the door, she kept talking. It was as
if she truly believed that he was there, in real-time, talking and listening to
her.

When Helen suggested that maybe she go and see someone,
someone professional, Madison stopped talking to him out loud. She didn’t want
to get locked away in some kind of institution, she told him quietly one night.
But then again
, she thought to
herself,
maybe that's what I need. I can
talk to you all I want if I'm in the psyche ward
.

It was a very difficult time in her life to say the least,
but even now, she found comfort in talking to Tristan. She needed him now more
than ever. The temptation to be with Cole was strong, very strong.

She needed some kind of sign from him, something to let her
know that it was okay to let go and that he understood. But until that time
came, she would have to keep her distance from Cole.
Easier said than done. Did you forget that he's coming to the party
tonight?
Her conscience reminded her.

"They'll be plenty of people around at the party
tonight and all I have to do is make sure that I'm not left alone with him.

After tonight, I won't have to worry about Cole
Harding," she told herself.

"In a couple of days, he'll be gone… off to West
Virginia and I'll stay here for a while. There, problem solved. Looks like I
won't be needing a sign from you after all." She spoke out loud again.

Castillo was not a happy camper. Even though he'd taken care
of Juan, he was now haunted by the resurrection of Madison West.

She was in Memphis, and had just checked out of the Madison
Hotel.

According to the GPS locator, she was on the I-40E. It
looked as though she was heading towards Jackson, Tennessee. "I wonder
what's in Jackson." He turned and looked at Manny.

"I'm on it boss," Manny said and walked out of the
room.

Castillo liked Manny. He was so much more attentive than
Juan had ever been. He didn't have to tell Manny what to do.

Castillo regarded Manny, like one would regard a
well-trained butler. He knew exactly what to do before any words needed to be
spoken.

If there was anything that Castillo hated though, it was
being humiliated. Juan and Madison had tried getting the better of him. They
tried putting him away for life. Now that Juan was gone, he would take his time
getting to Madison. He'd keep tabs on her, play with her like an animal plays
with its prey.

He was tracking her, like a hunter would track an animal
that was already injured, quietly and until the end.

He'd let her think that the continuous torture was never
going to end. She'd think that no matter where she went, or what she did, she
would always have to look over her shoulder.

There would
be
no
more protection. Not from marshals, not from friends, and not family. She'd be
alone and vulnerable, just like he liked them. "Hell, maybe I'll put her
to work in one of my brothels." He chuckled loudly.

"I bet she'd earn me a pretty penny." He grinned
and looked down at the locator.

Manny came back into the room holding his smartphone.

"She's headed to 214 Ridgecliff Road. Jackson,
Tennessee."

Not only was Manny practically a mind reader, but he was a
whiz at the computer as well. While some would've called him a
hacker,
Castillo simply thought of him
as a nerd. A nerd who'd spent several years in prison working out and learning,
code
.

It paid off though, because he'd managed to tap into the GPS
of Madison's rental car. Manny had managed to find out the exact location of where
Madison was going and he did it faster than the personal GPS locator that was
tracking her.

"Damn. Technology has certainly changed these past
three years," he said to Manny.

"If you ask me boss, it's changed for the better."
Manny produced a toothy grin.

 
Castillo shook his
head. "No one asked you," he snapped. He hated the thought of anyone
thinking that they were smarter than him.

"And close your damn mouth! You know how I hate looking
at all those gold teeth!"

"Yes boss." Manny shut his mouth and looked down
at the floor.

"Now, I think I want to start playing with Madison
West. Let's send someone over to 214 Ridgecliff Road. Jackson, Tennessee."

"Sure boss. What do you want done?"

"I just want to send a message, for now.

I want whoever she is going to see, to get so pissed off and
frightened over what's occurred, that they kick her the hell out of their house
and tell her not to come back! I want Madison West to know exactly what it
feels like to be isolated and alone," he snarled.

"Sure thing boss. Consider it done."

****

It didn’t take long for Juan's contact down at the Marshals
office, to show up at his house. The minute he spoke to Detective McCann on the
phone, he could tell that something was wrong.

McCann told him that he didn’t want to say too much over the
phone, but he told him to get down there right away. "Your secret... ain't
so secret no more," the detective mumbled into the phone.

The sun was ablaze when he got there and judging by the
amount of police officers and crime scene techs, he knew that something bad had
happened.

Marshal Dane Spear shook detective McCann's hand and
introduced himself.

"Watch your step," the detective said.

Dane looked at the detective, eyebrow raised. "I've
been to crime scenes before detective," Dane snapped.

"Yeah, well, you've never been to one of mine, so like
I said, watch your step." The detective shot back.

Juan was still lying on the kitchen floor. They covered him
up now and were waiting on the coroner's office to come and take the body down
to the morgue.

"How'd it happen?"

Dane looked around the room.

Crime scene techs were busy placing evidence markers around
the room, drawing chalk outlines, going over spatter marks and dusting any and
all surfaces.

"Looks like a hit was put out on your witness."

"How can you be so sure that it was a hit? It could
have been staged to look like a hit."

McCann looked at the young marshal and shook his head.

"I hope you're not suggesting that this was some random
attack. Nothing from the house is missing, not even the state of the art flat
screen television that's sitting in the backroom. Besides, if this was supposed
to be a robbery, they would have kicked in the door and lit him up. No guns
were used for this hit marshal. Whoever did this, wanted your boy to die a slow
and horrible death.

Now I may not be a marshal, but I've seen plenty of bodies
after a hit.

And this, my friend, was a hit. And correct me if I'm wrong
Spear, but doesn’t cutting off a person's tongue usually indicate that they've
talked when they shouldn’t have?"

Spear turned towards the body and let out a heavy sigh.
"Yes it does detective, yes it does."

McCann patted Spear on the back. "When you report back
to your bosses, make sure you tell them that Redmerrow may be small, but it's
not invisible. It's not one of those towns where a person can get lost in.
That's what big cities are for.

You want to know something that I've never understood?"
He asked and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"What's that detective?"

"Well, you WITSEC boys think that relocating a witness
to a remote town such as this will keep them safe. But what you fail to realize
is that in towns like this, everybody knows everybody. And if there is a newcomer
in town and someone asks about said newcomer, you can guarantee, that people
are going to talk.

So maybe next time the government wants to relocate
somebody, they'll think twice before relocating them here. Now I know that the
feds need some place to hide their rats, but you tell them that Redmerrow is no
longer that place.

And might I also suggest that you head on back to your
air-conditioned office and liaison, or do whatever it is that you need to do,
with your superiors, so that they can get this entire mess taken care of. I've
got a town to look after and I can't have a bunch of murdering thugs running
around."

Detective McCann lowered his head in a polite nod and walked
away.

Spear stood in the kitchen dumbfounded. The entire
conversation had been one sided and McCann didn’t let him get a word in
edgewise. He looked around nervously and at that moment, realized, just how
inexperienced he was.