Foreign Facades

Chapter 3

Chapter 3Gwen

Inside the shabby motel room, Madison paced the floor, lighting one cigarette after another before stubbing them out in an overflowing ashtray on a crude particle board table that had seen better days propped on three legs in the corner. She paused her pacing long enough to part the worn curtains a crack and peer out. Mason had been gone for a while and Madison looked as nervous as Gwen felt, which did nothing to reassure her.

“What are we going to do, Maddie?” Not a helpful question, but the silence made everything even worse.

Madison turned from the window, her face red and thunderous, an expression Gwen was all too familiar with lately, and she instantly regretted her poorly thought out attempt at conversation.

“We? There’s no more we. You’d be nothing but a liability to me now anyway.” Her voice softened but her eyes were still wild. “Sorry, babe. I never meant to get you involved, but you had to come after me.” She turned and parted the curtains before pulling them tightly shut and spinning around toward Gwen once more. “Turn on the TV. We need to know the minute they find that body. I hope nobody starts looking right away, but when Denny comes up missing…”

“How will the police know where to look for him?” Dazed and only half-hearing what Madison was saying, Gwen tried to find the remote control without success, and resorted to looking for the On switch on the ancient tube TV. The button was missing. Big surprise.

“It’s not the police we need to be worried about. Dealers come and go. If he’s not actively stirring up trouble, they’ll just assume he moved to a new territory or is laying low for some reason. And if he turns up dead, saves them the trouble of taking him out. He’s not likely to become the star of some unsolved mystery show.” She tried to shake another cigarette out of the pack but crumpled it up and tossed it to the floor when it came up empty. Madison glared at Gwen when she made a move to pick the package up and throw it in the trash.

“f**k it. Anyway, didn’t you see the Star of David on Denny’s forearm? He’s a member of one of the largest street gangs in Chicago. He used to brag that his great uncle was part of the Chicago Outfit at one time. You know, the one Al Capone was head of. You don’t want to mess with them, believe me! I’ve got to get the hell out of Dodge before they find the body. I suggest you do the same.”

“My God, Madison! How did you get mixed up with someone like that?”

“I like good quality s**t, that’s how. I’m not taking chances with the street drugs that are being peddled out there by amateurs. Half the time they don’t even know what’s in the stuff they’re dealing.”

God, what a mess! Maybe if Madison had come to her she could have found a way to make peace with her parents and gotten the money Maddie needed before she ended up shooting someone. Yeah, like that would have worked. Hey, Mom and Dad, could you send me some money on a regular basis to pay for my girlfriend’s drug habit so there’s no trouble with her dealer? They hadn’t even approved of Maddie because she was just an artist.

“I’d like that bracelet back, please.”

“What?”

“The bracelet you’re wearing. I’ll need more money. The stuff I took out of Denny’s pocket will only last so long, you know.”

Gwen drew in her breath. Madison stole from a drug dealer? Great. As if they didn’t have enough reason to seek revenge already. Gwen ripped the bracelet from her arm and threw it at Maddie.

“You never liked it that much, admit it.”

Gwen’s face grew hot. While expensive, the bracelet wasn’t Gwen’s taste at all and she almost never wore it. She put it on as an afterthought this morning because her sexist pig of a boss wanted all the women to dress sexier than usual for the all-male CEOs having a convention at the hotel. They weren’t wearing their usual uniforms all week.

“Why did you spend the money on it if you needed it for drugs?”

“Because I know how to treat a woman. You can’t say you didn’t go for all the little surprises I gave you.” Her face took on a lustful gleam. “You were always very thankful.”

Gwen sat down heavily on the dirty sofa. So that’s how Maddie saw their lovemaking. She’d never been so humiliated in her life. To think she loved—had loved—this woman, this person who could kill and worry only about how it would affect her. How could she have been so stupid? Three years of her life, wasted. And now where was she supposed to go? Obviously she couldn’t crawl home to her parents.

Steps sounded outside the door and the doorknob jiggled. Holding on to the armrest of the couch with a death grip, Gwen sat frozen, even though everything inside her was screaming for her to run and hide, to do something. Madison gave her a puzzled look and then the door opened and Mason stepped inside. His hands were filthy but he smiled triumphantly.

“I switched Gwen’s license plates with the ones on an abandoned car by the dumpster.”

Madison scoffed. “What the hell is that going to do?”

“I don’t know. Buy some time, maybe, in case someone saw us loading the body into her trunk and took down the license number. Hopefully whoever owned the abandoned car didn’t do something worse.”

Gwen put her face in her hands. “Oh, God.”

Madison rolled her eyes. “It’s a stupid idea.”

“Sorry, Maddie, I’m new at this. It’s not like I’ve lived a life of crime, you know. If you have a brilliant plan to keep us all safe, by all means, share it with us.”

“Are you implying I have a criminal mind? Other than needing my meds and having no other resources, I’ve been an upstanding citizen.” Gwen bit her tongue. If you don’t count drunk driving and lying to the police. And her, on more than one occasion.

“And, in case you’ve forgotten already, brother dear, I happened to save your hide tonight.”

“How do you figure? Because of you, now I have to watch my back and worry about my family’s safety.” Gwen had never heard him take an angry tone with Madison. He’d always been willing to do anything to help her. Good to know that murder was the deal breaker at least.

“Hello! Were you paying attention? Denny had that gun trained on your chest. If it weren’t for me, you’d have been the one with a bullet hole and in all likelihood, all three of us would be history. Gwen’s busting in when she did distracted Denny enough for me to get the upper hand. You may be a big guy, but you’re no match for a.357 Magnum.”

To his credit he looked shaken and drew a deep breath before engulfing Maddie in a hug. “Listen, I have to get home before Taylor gets even more suspicious. I’ll just tell her you were really hurting this time, and that you’re going away to a rehab place. Maybe I’ll take the family on an impromptu vacation. That’ll make her happy. We’ll figure out a way to get in touch when all this dies down, I promise.”

“Could you not use the word dies?” Much more of this and Gwen was surely going to snap.

Madison slipped on her jacket and turned to follow Mason. “Can you drop me off at the bus depot on your way home?”

“Sure, then I’ll ditch your car somewhere and take a cab the rest of the way.”

“Just make sure you really get rid of it and don’t just try to disguise it with different plates.”

“What about me?” Panic made Gwen’s breath hitch and the me came out as a squeak. They were going to leave her there, alone!

“You’re not my problem anymore, Gweneth, dear. I’ve got bigger things to worry about. But I wouldn’t take too long to decide what you’re going to do. Get rid of your car and get the hell out of here. Once they find that body, all hell is going to break loose, and as I said, it won’t be the cops you have to worry about. Watch your back. You might not have been directly involved, but there are eyes all over the ‘hood. If someone saw you come out of that house, you’re in as much danger as I am.”

“But what about my job? The apartment? My parents?”

“I know you don’t have a lot of street smarts, but you’ll figure it out. You probably have a couple of days before anyone starts looking for you, if they even do. If I were you, I’d still go to work. Establish an alibi for where you were tonight, just in case. Try to act normal. Keep your eyes and ears open. And you might want to stay away from the apartment. The gang probably knows where I live even if I never gave them the address. They keep meticulous records, and when someone owes them money, they find a way to get it, along with the person who owes it. Throw the murder of one of their own into that, and well…”

“But I didn’t do anything! I’m innocent!”

“Guilty by association, my dear. You don’t f**k with the mob. Somebody has to pay.”

Gwen started to stand up but quickly sat back down when her shaky legs nearly gave out. Madison came over to her and for a brief second, her face showed concern.

“Take it easy, it’s not like I’ve ever told them about you, but you never know. There are eyes everywhere. I just wouldn’t make it easy for them to get you. Even public places may not be safe. Don’t you have a friend you can stay with? Isn’t Rachel always trying to get you to spend time with her? I think she’s always had the hots for you anyway.”

“Don’t be disgusting. She’s old enough to be my mother. She’s just lonely since her husband left.”

“Whatever. Listen, you’ll get through this. You’re stronger than you think you are. Just don’t hang around too long. And don’t try to find me. So long, babe.” She leaned toward Gwen, trying to kiss her with her smoky breath, but Gwen turned her face away.

“Pfft.” Madison’s expression hardened and she pressed a wad of money into Gwen’s hand. “Guess you earned some of this. Buy yourself a new life.”

Gwen blinked in disbelief as the woman she’d loved for the past three years turned and walked out without a backward glance. It was Mason who halted in the doorway and threw her a sheepish look. “Sorry about everything, Gwen. You’re a good kid and you don’t deserve this. But…it is what it is. Take care of yourself.”

The sound of car doors slamming and tires peeling off, and Gwen was totally alone. Alone and utterly petrified. She sat down on the bed, jumping up abruptly when a broken spring poking through the thin bedspread scratched the back of her leg. She rubbed the red spot absentmindedly.

What was she going to do? She hadn’t been on her own since she’d met Maddie. Maddie had always looked out for her. Her tough demeanor made Gwen feel safe. And look where that got her! To think how many times she had defended Madison, not only to her mother, but to friends, friends who could see what was going on between them. She was under a lot of stress. She wasn’t an alcoholic, she just had a few drinks when she went out. Okay, sometimes at home, too. Artists were like that. Sensitive and moody. That’s all it was. At least that’s what she’d told them, even though she’d begun to have her doubts. But it hadn’t been that bad. Had it? It was beginning to look like it was far worse than she could have even imagined. How do you excuse murder?

That damned gun! Gwen had vehemently objected to having a gun in the house, but there’d been several break-ins in the area and Madison had insisted that it only made sense. They’d taken classes and Gwen had to admit it’d been fun learning how to hit that target, that outline of a person, but then it was all a game, and she was actually pretty good at it. Even better than Madison, and Madison was proud of her. But those were paper drawings, not real people, with real blood pouring out of them. This was no game.

Gwen stood up, unclenching her fists. The money Madison had pressed into her hand fell to the floor. She didn’t need Maddie. What she needed was a plan. She took a deep breath, picked up and crammed the money into her pants pocket, crossed the room to make sure the door was locked, then shoved a chair against it as extra insurance before heading into the bathroom for a shower. There wasn’t enough soap and water in the world to wash away what she’d been through in the past few hours, but the hot water cleared her head at least.

She was going to have to get something to wear for work tomorrow. If she was going to succeed in acting normal, she couldn’t appear in the same dirty clothes she’d worn today. She needed some toiletries, too, and the rumbling in her stomach reminded her that she hadn’t eaten since lunch either.

Despite the late hour, the Wal-Mart parking lot was teeming with people, even families with small children. Good. She could blend in and wasn’t as likely to be shot. Hopefully. She made it into the brightly lit store without incident and located a reasonably serviceable and inexpensive outfit in record time, considering she was constantly distracted, looking around to see if anyone was watching her.

“There you are! Did you think I wouldn’t find you?”

Gwen’s heart pounded. This was it! It was all over! To her left, a father angrily pulled a little boy out from under a rack of clothes.

“Stop running off, you little brat, or you’re not getting that Batman T-shirt you’ve been begging for.”

Thank God! Fear propelled her quickly through the food aisles. Gwen grabbed a few non-perishable items she could keep in the car. The car that had held a dead body only a couple of hours ago. No, you can’t think about that now. Just keep moving…

Gwen’s turn in the check-out line finally came and she very carefully reached into her pocket to extract a few twenties, not wanting anyone to see how much cash she was carrying. What if the bills were marked somehow? But the pockmarked teenager who took them from her didn’t give them a second look, not that he was probably any kind of expert. That’s it, kid, nothing to worry about. Just keep moving!

Heading to her car, the discordant sound of a siren blared from the busy street and Gwen felt the panic that was becoming a regular thing. It was just a fire engine—this time, anyway. She quickly loaded the few bags into the back seat—no way was she opening that trunk!—and pulled into the drive-through lane of the Wendy’s at the corner of the parking lot.

“Welcome to Wendy’s. May I take your order?”

As soon as she got the high calorie combo she’d normally eschew, Gwen tore open the wrappings and wolfed down the burger in the time it took for the light to change. Unbelievable! In one short evening she was reduced to acting like a desperate animal. Disgusted, she crumpled the last bite into a napkin. A glob of mayonnaise dripped onto her beautiful Viscose linen pants from Penelope’s and she wanted to cry. They were her favorite pants, and not cheap, either, even though she’d gotten them on sale. But she loved the way they flowed, and the deep indigo color went so well with the funky crepe blouse she’d managed to find at Goodwill.

Gwen wiped at the tears coursing down her cheeks. What kind of person gets more upset over a stain on her pants than at seeing a man murdered? Maybe this was an important life lesson, teaching her how screwed up her priorities were. Okay, God! Lesson learned. I’ll be a new person, I swear. Just get me out of this mess!