The Cunning (18+)

68

Jase drove in silence, heading away from the bridge where he and Sam had disposed of Charlie's body. As was routine, they pulled down a quiet side street, parking up and waiting, just in case someone had seen them, they didn't want to lead them to the house. Jase cut the engine and the night consumed them.

"This is going too far, Jase," Sam said, his words feeling too loud in the darkness.

"At which point did you start thinking that?" Jase replied lazily as he lit a cigarette.

"Killing Peter is one thing, but letting her kill someone and then dumping the body? Benny's going to lose his fucking mind."

Jase glanced at him sideways. "What the fuck was I supposed to do? Call the police?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean and you know how it looks. Mitch is already using her against you. Every time you let her get away with something it encourages that." Jase was annoyed at Madison, of course he was. Every person killed in the house was another thing looming over his head, he didn't need the stress. He had killed people, obviously, but never in the spur of the moment. Never with such little preparation.

But he could justify Madison's actions. And whilst Benny would be pissed off, he'd be more pissed off that Charlie had tried to get his rocks off under his roof for free. Though, he still wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do in regards to telling him about Peter.

"Then what do you suggest I do?" Jase asked, watching the smoke from his cigarette wisp upwards. Sam didn't have an answer. He couldn't call shots for Jase when he wasn't the one emotionally entangled in Madison. Jase looked at him. "What would you do if it was Janine?"

Sam couldn't answer that, either. Or at least, not one that would help because he'd do the same thing Jase was doing. He'd cover for her. What's one more body? But it wasn't Janine, it was Madison, and they'd already topped the bloke that had caused their paths to cross. So it wasn't just one more body now, it was two. How long until it was three and who was next?

"There is no easy way out of this but she's becoming more of a liability every day. Benny doesn't know about Peter yet, let alone Charlie. What about when Ramon starts asking questions because of all the talk, and there will be talk, Jase." Jase said nothing. Sam sighed, feeling guilty for what he was about to suggest but knowing that someone had to say it and he was least likely to suffer at Jase's hands. "She has to go."

Jase rolled his window down further to flick his cigarette out.

*

Madison was in Annabelle's old room, where Jase had left her. They had left the windows open for days to get rid of the sour tang of vomit and replaced the mattress. Adam tore up the carpet a few days after Annabelle died, leaving an old rug to cover the floorboards. Besides the wardrobe, the room was bare. It had always been bare, another tactic to drive the girls to insanity.

He closed the door with a soft click. Madison didn't pay him any attention, busy plaiting her hair as if nothing had happened. The blood was gone, her nails were clean, as were her clothes. Besides her pale complexion, she looked normal. No stress lines, no sunken eyes, no shakes. Just a steady rhythm to her hair styling, weaving one strand over the other.

Jase was trying to find the right words. After the party, getting rid of Charlie and then arguing with Sam who had gently tried to convince him feeding her to the wolves was their only option, tiredness had rendered him speechless. Madison recognised the look of confliction on his face and decided it would be best to get the discussion over and done with.

"What are you choking on?" she asked. Jase took a beat before replying.

"I get why you did it and this one time, I'll cover for you. But this can't happen again," he said. She scoffed.