Chapter 13
Saturday mornings were usually days Madison slept in and then leisurely enjoyed the day, but all she could think about was that someone was killing young women. Her desperation was mounting, knowing the unsub could strike again, if he hadn’t already.
During breakfast, she remembered that she had promised Winter that she would visit that weekend. But with the new clues mounting, Madison was determined to strike while the opportunity was there. She could barely finish her breakfast. Josh was trying to talk to her, but all she could think about was what she had seen in her dreams.
Josh tapped on the table leaned closer. “Hey, what’s going on in that brain of yours? Feel like sharing?”
“Huh?”
“You seem a thousand miles away. Are you still thinking about your dream?”
“Yes. How did you know?”
“You have that look on your face when you can’t get something out of your mind. Let’s get a cup to go and head over to the exhibit. They should be opening soon.”
He barely got the words out of his mouth, and she was ready to go. She put down money for her breakfast and the tip, and quickly made her way to the door. Lisa hollered out, “Have a good day Madison.”
“Oh, yes. You too Lisa.”
Madison walked outside and then over to the car when she noticed Josh was still in the café paying his bill. She just stood there, waiting and sipping her coffee. When Josh opened the café door, he clicked the remote to open the car door for her. She was anxious to get going. When he got into the car, he just sat for a moment and then turned to her. “Maddy. You’re going to run yourself into the ground with this case if you don’t watch it.”
“I know you mean well Josh, but this is the way I work a case, especially when there’s a murderer still running loose. I can’t, I won’t rest until we get this bastard so please don’t lecture me on how to do my job.”
Josh started up the car and headed down Maitland Avenue toward the Art Center. The mood in the car turned cold, and he knew he had stepped over the line with Madison, but the damage was done. They parked out front of the center. The “closed” sign was still up. He turned off the car and sat for a moment in silence, mulling over what she had said to him.
He looked at her as she sat staring out the window. “You’re right. I had no business trying to tell you how to do your job. You’re a damn good agent, and I’ve learned a lot from watching you in action. I apologize.”
She turned and looked at him. “I warned you about this type of thing. I’m not an easy person to have a relationship with. My work has always come first. Maybe it was a bad idea for us to get involved. I don’t want to hurt you, Josh, but this is who I am.”
“Madison, I wouldn’t have you any other way. I know and respect the passion you have for solving this case. I’m your partner in this too. All I’m asking is that you keep me in the loop, no matter how difficult it may be for you. We are going to find this killer, and our chances are pretty good doing it together.”
Madison couldn’t respond. She was happy and shocked at his remarks and began to think he did understand her, and it was okay with him.
“I know we are.”
Someone was about to open the door of the center. It was Alice, the woman she had met on her first visit to the center. Alice saw the two of them approaching the door. “Good morning, Madison. Good morning, Josh. I haven’t seen either of you in a long time. I didn’t know you knew each other.” Alice held the door open for them.
Josh stepped up and hugged Alice. “How are the kids?”
“Couldn’t be better. How’s your mom doing?”
Josh chuckled. “Mom’s still driving everyone crazy in the retirement home, but that’s her.”
“Madison, good to see you again. I heard you’ve rented a little office in one of Jessie’s old buildings?”
“Where did you hear that?”
Alice grinned and shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I think someone here told me. Are you planning to stay awhile?”
“Who knows.” Madison didn’t want to give out too much information. If Alice knew she had an office, then the word had already spread. That is one of the disadvantages of living in a small town. Things don’t stay a secret for too long.
“How can I help you both today?”
“We’re here to see the Kincaid exhibit. Madison was telling me about it, and being that it was Saturday, I thought I’d check it out too.” Josh tried not to draw too much attention to their visit.
“Well, you know the way. Enjoy.” Alice motioned Josh and Madison to the exhibit.
As they walked down the hall toward the showroom, Madison turned to Josh. “You didn’t tell me your mother was living nearby.”
“You didn’t ask me.”
They stepped into the exhibit hall and Madison walked directly to the painting at the far end of the exhibit. She opened her file and pulled out a picture of one of the missing women and placed it up against the painting. “Notice anything?”
Josh leaned in and took the photo. He looked up at the painting and then down at the photo. “Could be. It’s hard to tell since it’s a profile of a woman in the painting.”
“Look at the bone structure of her face and the hair.”
Josh squinted at the photo.“Dang! I think this could be Margaret Hill.”
Then Madison walked in front of another painting of the back of a woman. Josh walked up next to her. “Now, don’t tell me you can see who this is.”
Madison pointed at one of the paintings. “Do you see anything in this painting that looks familiar?”
“No, all I can see is the back of a woman’s head.”
“Look more closely,” Madison insisted with her hands on her hips.
“I don’t see what you want me to see.”
Madison opened her files on the table in the middle of the room and asked him to go through them and see if anything rings a bell. He picked up every photo of the women and studied them, but still nothing. Then he saw a photo of a piece of evidence found in the bedroom of one of the missing women. Josh held it up against the painting, squinted and leaned in as close as he could, then looked back at the photo.“How in the hell did you see that?”
“You won’t believe me, but I saw it in my dream.”
“Damn, you’re good.”
They were studying the other photos when Alice walked in. “What do you think of his work?”
Madison quickly tossed the photos back in her tote and Josh pretended that he was admiring the paintings. “Very interesting.”
“He has quite the following, you know. All these paintings have already been purchased,” Alice remarked with pride. “That’s a boost to the center.”
Josh approached the paintings that resembled the two missing women. “Who bought these two?”
“I’m not sure. Kim handles all that, but she would know. She’s not here today but will be in tomorrow. I’m sure she’ll be happy to give you that information then.”
“Thank you, Alice.”
“Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“No, we’re just going to look around some more before we leave,” Josh responded.
“Okay, but if you need anything, I’ll be up front.” Alice was about to go back to the reception area but then turned back toward Madison. “I talked to Aspen this morning, and she told me the great news. It was so nice of you to bring her last night.” Then Alice returned to the lobby.
Josh turned to Madison. “What’s the good news?”
“Last night, Mr. Kincaid announced that Aspen would be having her own exhibit this spring and that she will be working very closely with him. She’s very excited about it. I’m happy for her, but…”
“But what?”
“Something bothers me about it. You know that feeling you have when something doesn’t feel right?”
“Yeah, I do. You like her, don’t you? Hope she’s going
to be okay.”
“Me too.”
She leaned toward Josh and whispered, “I think we’ve found our connection, now we need to know why and who. Let’s go back to the office.”
They immediately headed to the board. Josh organized each missing woman’s file in order of the dates they were reported missing. Madison started jotting down data under the names of two of the murdered victims. Josh stood with his hands on his hips. “I suspect the women might have been the models for Mr. Kincaid’s paintings. But there wasn’t enough details in the other paintings to recognize any features that might have belonged to the other women. But I agree with you; I feel this was our missing link.”
Madison set down the pen. “I have a plan to find out if there is a connection between the victims and Mr. Kincaid, but it won’t be easy. Kincaid is aware of why I’m here in Maitland.”
The pieces of the puzzle were coming together fast. At least Madison and Josh now believed the answers they were looking for were centered around the Art Center and Tyler Kincaid’s paintings. They would have to be very careful with their questioning until they had a suspect pool. So far, there weren’t any. before she could update the murderer’s profile, she needed to know why these women disappeared. “I need to interject myself into the fabric of the Art Center.”
Josh wasn’t real excited about her plan but agreed it would bring them closer to the inner circle.