Fun with Murder

Chapter One

For a moment, Madison Cruz could’ve sworn she saw someone inside her car. She stopped, her legs mid-stride, to stare across the hotel parking lot. Yup, there definitely was someone in the back seat. Her puzzled gaze stayed pinned to the parked car as she resumed walking across the lot. Maybe her mom sent an assistant to help with unloading?

As she came closer, she saw it was a man with light brown hair reclining in her back seat. He appeared to be asleep, his gray-suited shoulder leaning into the window.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

The FBI would be recruiting at this year’s career fair, and Madison had volunteered to help her mother, Special Agent Ann Cruz, set up the career fair booth. She’d left her car unlocked while unloading brochures, tablecloths, FBI posters, and photos of famously solved cases.

Having left the hotel ballroom to grab the last box of brochures from her back seat, Madison knew this was no assistant. Was he rummaging for her keys before deciding he needed his beauty rest? Well, Sleeping Beauty was about to get a wakeup call.

As she came closer, her steps slowed. Not in fear, but in confusion. She thought she heard a soft scuffle from the other side of the car.

The fear didn’t hit her until she yanked the door open and saw the blood.

The guy tumbled out, a knife in his neck.

A short scream escaped her as she jumped back, her dark hair flying briefly across her face. Her green eyes went wide as the body hit the ground.

In the instant before she turned to run, an absurd concern occurred to her that there might be blood spray on the brochures, and people wouldn’t want to take one. Then again, it was an FBI booth. She could make it look like it was on purpose. A case in progress, and all that. But her mother, Ann, would probably never go along with it.

Her absurd concern took all of a split second to conclude in her now-panicked mind as she spun and ran for the hotel ballroom where Special Agent Mommy I Need You was waiting. She would know what to do. Madison’s glamorous Russian grandmother, Nika, was also in there. Being ex-KGB, she would also know what to do. They each came in handy on occasion.

Wait! Maybe he’s alive. Maybe she’s running away from someone who needs help. She skidded to a halt and ran back. How could she be so thoughtless? He might have a pulse.

With that knife sticking out of the side of his neck? Was she nuts? And what if the killer were still lurking about?

She spun around again, scolding herself for being so panicked, and made a mental note not to mention any of the running back and forth.

She burst through the door of the hotel.

But he was right here! Madison stomped her foot on the pavement next to her open car door. She turned to Ann and Nika. I don’t understand. Her hands shook as she ran her fingers through her hair.

Under dark red hair, Nika’s green eyes showed reassurance as she patted Madison’s back. We will find this man. If he can walk with knife in neck, he is hardy stock, she said in her Russian accent. He cannot get far. Her gaze took in the sparsely populated lot. Or knife is fake. She walked away, checking behind and under the few cars present in the lot.

Ann always looked like business with her chin-length brown hair and sober brown eyes. Just now, her expression was also all business. She bent over the back seat, inspecting the car interior. Finding nothing notable, she turned to Madison. I assume this is the side he fell from? She examined the door that was still hanging open.

Yes. He was leaning on the door when I opened it.

Did anyone else see him? Ann’s gaze swept the back seat again, searching.

I don’t think so. I don’t know.

Madison noticed cars pulling into the parking lot, cruising down the aisles, choosing parking spots. That meant more people arriving, unloading carts and crates, just as Madison had unloaded earlier. The pace was definitely picking up as participants of the career fair arrived to prepare their booths inside the hotel ballroom. Soon, the attendees would be arriving.

Nika returned to Madison’s car, examining the pavement all around it.

Ann checked the front interior, feeling under the seats as Madison’s anxiety mounted. Mom, what do you think happened here?

Ann kept her inspection on the floorboards, searching for any evidence at all. We don’t know yet.

The car looked so ordinary. The lack of blood evidence was maddening. Madison’s adrenaline hadn’t quite subsided yet, and she could hardly stand still.

Ann stood, putting her hands on her hips in thought. What did he look like?

Light brown hair, bloody, dead. He seemed like a nice guy.

Ann raised one eyebrow. Nika’s eyes sparkled with amusement.

Madison rubbed her face. I mean, I wasn’t thinking he was nice when I first saw him. It was after he flopped out with that knife in his neck. It just seemed he could’ve been the nicest guy in the world, but I’ll never know now. And isn’t it kinder if we just assume he was nice?

Ann pursed her lips, her gaze holding on Madison. Nika put a fist to her mouth, hiding a smile.

I was mad at him, and now I feel bad. He wasn’t being a Sleeping Beauty. More like Dead Beauty. Although, said Madison, warming to this thought, he’s dead, so that makes it sad, but dying while being a jerk is a different kind of sad, don’t you think? He won’t have a chance to straighten up now. He’s in permanent jerk mode now, right? Do we all die in the state of whatever our last mood was? Because if you think about it, we’re all a multitude of moods at different times. So, we should all die in multi-choice mode. I think I’m on to something.

Ann nodded at Nika. See what I mean? This is what I tried to tell you about. Once she gets going....

But little granddaughter is thinker. She can see things quicker than others because her mind takes different path to get there.

Madison squinted. What are you two talking about?

Ann and Nika exchanged a glance, but neither of them answered her question. Instead, Ann held Madison’s shoulders. Light brown hair plus bloody and dead is not a lot to go on.

Don’t forget nice, said Madison.

Ann sighed while Nika quietly giggled nearby.

Madison blushed. Sorry. I’m still spun up. She closed her eyes as she shook her head. It’s like my mind is scrambled. And now the career fair will start soon. What are we going to do?

I’m not worried about the booth, said Ann. It’s almost done. But regarding what you saw…. She gestured helplessly at the car. With nothing to go on, no crime scene, no anything… She shrugged. You need to relax so you can remember more of what you saw. Otherwise, we have to let it go.

Nika touched the ground, rubbed something between her fingers, then sniffed it. She tasted it. Then she lifted her gaze to the grassy area at the side of the hotel, her eyes calculating. I will come back. She rushed away, going quickly around the corner of the hotel building toward a walkway and park benches.

Madison wrinkled her face. Did you see that? I swear, Nika tasted the ground before she ran off.

Ann seemed lost in thought, studying Madison. I have an idea, if you’ll hear me out.

Madison said, Does it involve tasting the ground? Because I’m not.

When I’ve seen you play a role in a show, you seem to disappear into the character. It’s amazing to watch. Maybe it would help you relax if you got lost in the role of someone else.

Madison couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. What?

Think you could do that?

This was an odd request, especially coming from her mother. You sound serious.

"I am. You’ve often said acting is like playing a mind game on yourself. Perhaps if you played that game right now and got lost in, say, the character you play in Vigilante Barista, it might help. You might remember more of what you saw."

Oh, lord. Madison really needed to get her mother up to date on her work. The pilot for the new TV series, Vigilante Barista, had been recorded in Seattle but hadn’t aired yet. So Ann had no way of knowing the whole script was moronic. Madison had to grit her teeth to play the role as they continued taping new episodes. Because, hey, at least she had work.

Uh…okay. I guess so. She supposed it couldn’t hurt. With her anxiety level so high, she wasn’t much help. But she definitely wouldn’t use her Vigilante Barista character.

She pulled from her memories of all the old black and white detective movies she loved so much. If she had the role of one of those old-style detectives, she’d act calm, confident, maybe a little world-weary. They behaved as if dead guys were merely part of the assignment. Purely business. Centering her mind on that attitude, she felt herself slowly relax, unclenching.

She’d learned over the years that if she’d just pretend she wasn’t afraid, pretty soon she’d actually feel less afraid.

She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She still felt a little shook up, but now she wasn’t ruled by panic.

She gave her mom a hug. Thank you. I’m sorry I freaked out.

Ann hugged back. You mean it worked? You feel better?

She backed up from the hug. A little, she said, nodding. Yeah, I guess it did.

Ann looked pleased.

Madison’s gaze settled on her car door. In her mind, she returned to the moment the body fell out. Dead Beauty wore a light gray suit, with a white shirt. It was the kind of shirt that has small buttons at the points of the collar. I remember that because blood pooled around one of those buttons. The blood ran from the side of his neck down the front of his shirt and suit coat. I think his shoes had laces. She shook her head. Not sure.

Good, said Ann, as she watched Madison. Do you remember any more?

Madison stared at the ground. The shoes… it was odd because… She looked up to Ann’s face. I got a brief glimpse of one of the soles as he hit the ground. They were so clean I’d swear they’d never been walked in.

Ann tilted her head. That’s different.

There was something else, something nagging at her. I heard something just before I opened the door. A soft sound. She replayed it in her mind. I think someone was on the other side of my car.

Right then. Nika came into view from around the building, with a body draped over her shoulder. Leaning to counterbalance the weight, she wore a casual expression as she trudged across the pavement with her arms wrapped around the body’s thighs. As she came closer, the feet gently swayed with her stride, revealing glimpses of clean soles.

Madison finally found her voice. Someday, I will tell a therapist about this.

Nika smirked as she came to a stop. Man is fake. But knife is real. She lowered the fake man to the ground, letting him drop as Madison and Ann stared. Nika pulled the knife out to show the sharp blade, then stuck it back in, like a casual re-murder.

Madison stared down at the bloody mess on the white shirt, her focus traveling to the knife, then the face. Lips, nose, closed eyes. "It’s a dummy? Even now it looked like a real person. Are you sure?"

Nika nodded. Is dummy. Very good one. She brushed her hands, then pushed her dark red hair back in place. Weighs like child. Not as much as man.

Madison stared at it, incredulous. How did you know?

I only knew blood was fake. Nika shrugged. Tasted sweet. You can use sugar to thicken fake blood and make sticky. Is dry, but still red. Real blood dries more brown than red. She nudged the dummy’s shoulder with her toe. With nowhere to hide dummy, I went around building. Was sitting on bench. Looked peaceful.

Madison stared at Nika.

Nika shrugged. In murder sort of way.

Ann nodded. The shirt has a button-down collar and the soles of the shoes are clean. Good job, Madison.

Madison turned, her eyes sweeping the parking lot. Who did this?

Is there someone you’re trading practical jokes with? said Ann.

No. I can’t imagine who it would be. Madison looked back at the dummy on the ground. I’m relieved it wasn’t a real person, but this was pretty elaborate. Why would someone go to all this trouble?

Ann shook her head as she took in the sight of the bloody dummy. It looks so real. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Nika sighed as she studied it. Hair is quality. I wish more of my men had this good hair.

Ann rolled her eyes. I’m afraid to ask. What men?

You know. Dates. If man is bald, he can still look dashing. But some men love bend-overs.

Ann tried to hide a smile, while Madison barely held in her laughter. A snicker escaped.

Nika looked up at them. What?

Nika’s way of misquoting American clichés, or mangling phrases, never ceased to amuse Madison. She nudged her mom. You tell her.

I’m not touching that. You tell her.

Madison shook her head. Nah, bend-over is funnier. I say we leave it as is.

What? Nika repeated.

Chapter Two

Dead Beauty sat propped on a chair at the FBI booth in the career fair. It didn’t look very professional for an FBI recruitment effort, so Madison was surprised she’d won the argument with Ann over whether it should sit out where people could see it. But Ann quickly saw that it attracted people to the booth who took brochures, studied the display of the FBI’s history, and asked questions about the various careers in the FBI. It kept Ann busy.

As expected, the career fair had come alive immediately upon opening the doors. The hotel ballroom, stuffed with booths from recruiters, employers, and schools, filled with the sound of voices in their best business tones, seeking work or recruiting students.

Madison scanned the faces of people walking by, hoping to spot someone she recognized. She figured the jokester would be in the crowd, waiting for Madison to relax a little more before showing themselves to have one last laugh. Besides, wouldn’t they want to take the dummy off her hands?

Fat chance. She crossed her arms, thinking about it. She wasn’t about to laugh it off and give the dummy back until she got a major apology, with promises to never pull that stunt again. They’d scared her badly, and made her feel like a fool.

Nika was already gone. She’d left once they’d put the finishing touches on the booth, fearing her presence brought suspicion upon Ann. Ann told her she didn’t care, but Nika left anyway.

When Nika entered their lives last year, things became complicated for Special Agent Ann Cruz. It’s not every day that