Madeline had no idea what influence she had had over Rhonda’s life throughout the years. She was unaware of her constant presence and the deeper meaning of Rhonda’s goodbye. To her, this encounter had a completely different purpose. She got into her car with a feeling of relief. This new information gave her something on Hunter, something she could use to get out of her situation with him. The question was how?
It was already after dawn when she arrived home. The lights in the kitchen were on and the smell of coffee wafted through the air. Molly was inside preparing breakfast for Adam who was already sitting at the kitchen table. “I couldn’t sleep,” he said to his mother when she kissed him on the cheek.
“Nightmares,” Molly mouthed and Madeline understood. They always tried to keep Adam away from the TV when there was news on. He was sensitive and could have nightmares for a week when seeing something that triggered his young emotions. Madeline could only imagine the nightmares that could be triggered by him seeing his older brother’s bruised face returning from the hospital. Madeline sat down to eat breakfast with her son and helped herself to the pancakes Molly stacked on the table.
Soon Brandon came down and filled his to-go mug with coffee. He greeted Molly and told her he’d be back late that evening. Madeline waited for her greeting, for her kiss on the cheek, but it didn’t come. Brandon gave her a quick nod and was out the door.
Madeline stayed with Adam until it was time for Molly to take him to school. When he left she quickly glanced at the newspaper on the counter.
Hundreds show up for funeral of teen shot by cop
Cop taking leave of absence during investigation
Shooting victim had ties to local gang
Thomas reelection to focus on race/police violence
The main picture was of Jay Flynn standing in front of an old muscle car. His arms were folded in front of his chest, but Madeline thought she saw a flicker of green hidden in the folds. Below the last headline, there was a small picture of Madeline and Hunter shaking hands from the previous evening’s event. She knew the picture looked good for her.
After her last sip of coffee she went upstairs to check on her other son. He appeared to be sleeping, but when Madeline stepped into his room, he opened his eyes. She took that as an invitation to come inside and she sat next to him in bed. He tried to sit up, but he winced as the pain from his broken rib shook through him.
“You did a good job last night,” Noah whispered.
“You saw?”
“Dad was watching at the hospital. He thought I was sleeping. He’s proud of you.” Madeline blushed and thanked her son.
“Do you want to talk about what happened at school?” Noah shook his head. “Was it Jamie?”
“They keep saying you’re going to lose.”
“Well I might,” she said. “That’s part of running. But I’ll do my best not to.” Madeline’s phone started ringing and she pulled it from her pocket to see who it was. Jane.
“Senator Band has agreed to endorse you!” Jane yelled into the phone. “This is big, I’m sure Austin was hoping for the endorsement. Also I think I knew who was vetting you for a vice presidential run. Can you get down to the office? There’s a lot to do after last night.”
Madeline agreed and gave her son a gentle hug. He went back to sleep, something Madeline wished she had the time to do. It wasn’t easy going for days without sleep. When she was younger, it seemed easy. She remembered pulling all-nighters to study in college, taking exams and then going out to celebrate afterwards. Now, looking back, she had no idea how she survived.
She quickly showered and changed her clothes before getting back into her car and driving to the office. On the drive, she received a call from Agent Murray, one of the FBI agents on the blackmail case.
“So we believe it was an empty threat,” the agent said. “The deadline passed and there hasn’t been anything in the news relating to the blackmail.”
Madeline rolled her eyes, but then she had a thought. “There is a new lead that I’d like you to look into.” All the information she had received from Rhonda had sparked new emotions and ideas in Madeline. Multiple problems could be solved if the FBI could just do their job. She spent the next few minutes telling the agent a story, carefully woven to ensure he could follow through and solve this issue. She thanked the agent for the team’s hard work and hung up the phone. When she arrived at the office, she saw a text message from Hunter: See you this evening at the hotel?
Yes, she responded and slipped the phone back into her bag. She spent the day reviewing her campaign with her team. They discussed their conversations with supporters from the evening’s event, news coverage, and what they proposed to do moving forward in the race against Officer Austin. Madeline tried hard to concentrate and give her input, but in truth, her mind was elsewhere. The lack of sleep mixed with the knowledge she had gained the previous night made it impossible for her mind to be where her body was. She just nodded along, thankful that she had a competent team taking care of her campaign.
When the second half of the day came around, Madeline was dizzy from the lack of sleep. Jane could see the dark circles under her boss’ eyes and suggested she leave to
