The Queen Of Spades

Chapter 6: Cats Should Stay In Their Bags, But They Never Do

As with every other Saturday, I was at the cemetery with my family and I had brought flowers to put on their graves. I told them everything that had happened this week, from the minute I went back to the house last Saturday to this morning on my way here. It wasn't hard to imagine what they would say about everything I told them, but it would have been easier if they were actually talking. Having a pretend conversation with dead people is not exactly the kind of thing you want to brag about. After I said everything that was on my mind, I sat in the grass silently for a few hours.

I heard all of the sounds and filled my senses with the smells and the feel of the wind and the grass. It was so calm and peaceful that I closed my eyes. As with all things I did, that was a bad idea. Because as soon as I did, the calm and the peace I had felt was overtaken by the fear and rage that I felt every time I closed my eyes and got taken back to those two weeks in the warehouse. Leaves rustled and I was brought back to the present as I opened my eyes to clear my mind. "Caleb," I shouted behind me, not bothering to turn towards him, "you really have a problem with sneaking up on people in cemeteries."
"Hate to be the one to tell you this, Madelyn, but I'm not your boyfriend." I heard Gideon say as he came out from the tree he was hiding behind and walked up to me.
I immediately stood up and turned to face him. "Three things Gideon. One: Apparently every guy I meet just likes spying on people in cemeteries which, by the way, is really weird. Two: He is not nor will he ever be my boyfriend because I hate him so ew. And three: What do you want that couldn't wait until Monday?"
"I want to know how you did it."
"Did what? Know that your dad was a deadbeat abusive jerk? It's kind of my whole job.” I spread my arms out and gave a little bow before he spoke.
"No, not that. I mean, yes that, but that's not what I'm talking about. How did you kill all those men."
"With a gun, and some knives." I shrugged.
"Yeah, but not even the security guards could take them down, how were you able to do it?"
"The security guards didn’t even try!” I snapped, “They ran away like cowards! Don’t compare me to them. You looked me up, didn't you? That's how you knew where to find me? Then you should know how I knew how to do it. My parents were soldiers, they taught me to fight."
"Yeah I saw the news. I'm so sorry. But all it said was that they died, it didn't mention that you were some kind of literal assassin!"
"Don't do that. Don't say you're sorry. You didn't pull the trigger. And apologizing isn’t gonna make me feel any better so just don’t. And you're right, the papers didn't say anything about me being "a literal assassin" legally they weren't allowed to. Now, if you're done wasting my time?" I gestured for him to leave.
"One more thing, how did you know about Amanda?" He asked. I sighed in annoyance and grabbed his arm, pulling up his sleeve to show him the bead-and-pipe-cleaner bracelet with her name on it.
I let go as he said, "If you ever need someone to talk to, Madelyn I'm here to listen." He held onto my hand gently, grabbing it just before I fully let go of his arm.
"Well go on then. You know my big bad secret, don't you? Go tell everyone that poor little Madelyn Everhart is an orphan. Go tell them that I watched them all die, that the police thought that I did it. Go tell them that I lost everything I held dear." Well… almost. "Go tell them I used to be happy." I ripped my hand away, expecting to be the topic of all the gossip on Monday. Ellsworth High’s very own damaged orphan, right? He didn't leave though. Instead, he said, "How much of a jerk do you think I am? Secrets stay where they're told. That's the first rule of difficult childhoods."