“How do we know,” said Jonathan, trying to peer in at the darkened window, “that they weren’t just… larking about?” He turned back to his friend. “It’s none of our business, all this!”
“Larking about?” exclaimed Madeline, as they made their slow way to the front door. Kitty trailed nervously behind, twidding her mitten-covered fingers.
“I think we should just, you know, wait here like sensible human beings for the police to arrive.”
Madeline turned to face Jonathan. “If we wait here and do nothing, it may be too late.”- emphasizing the last two words.
Jonathan shrugged his shoulders, adopting a weary air of resignation. Madeline peered through the stained glass window adorning the front door. He tried to look over her shoulder. “What can you see?”
“Absolutely nothing,” she answered.
“That’s that then,” said Jonathan cheerfully. “Nothing’s wrong, now let’s get back to our badgers.” and he made as if to stroll off. Madeline grabbed him by his furred jacket collar.
“You’re not going anywhere until we find out what’s going on,” she hissed, still endeavoring to make out what was inside the house. Still managing to see nothing, she straightened up and turned to face the rather put-out Jonathan.
“Can we go now?” he grumbled. “Aren’t we overreacting? It’s probably nothing!”
“No.” she tried the door. “Locked.” Madeline stepped back and looked at the unyielding piece of wood in annoyance. “That’s it then; we did our best,” said Jonathan, eyeing the locked door with an air of relief. “Let’s go.”
“There are other ways, Jonathan,” retorted Madeline. “We can’t just give up like that! How do you think that burglar got into my apartment the other day? He didn’t give up, did he (the bastard)!”
And with that ominous reply, she walked toward a forlorn little metal bench in the rather shabby little garden and picked up a brick that was on the ground next to it. She strode past the astonished Jonathan to the window. Stepping back, she lifted her arm…
“What are you doing, you crazy woman?” cried Jonathan, lunging towards Madeline. He succeeded in knocking the brick to the ground, only to have the determined lady elbow past him and pick it up again. “You know, we’re jumping to a lot of conclusions here,” he continued, desperately trying to wrestle the brick away from her.
“Let go!”
“He might’ve been, I don’t know, performing strangulation as an act of love to heighten her state of arousal!” he continued, still bent on dissuading her, “Some… some people are into all that stuff…!” successfully yanking the brick free of Madeline’s fingers as she stared at him with a look of revulsion on her face. “You know, restricted breathing and… sex between consenting parties… it’s a well-known fact!”
“What did he mean?” murmured the scandalised Kitty, polishing her round glasses with an embroidered handkerchief.
“I’m not going to ask how you know that,” said Madeline. “Now, quit gibbering! Where’s your civic responsibility? This is life and death, stupid man! Every second will be vital! Give me the brick!” she snatched it from his fingers and hurled it at the window. Jonathan looked on in horror.
“This is breaking and entering, you nincompoop!”
“Quiet!” she stuck her hand through the hole and unlatched the window. Looking around with a smug grin plastered on her face, she said, “well, what it lacks in subtlety, it makes up for in effectiveness, doesn’t it?”
“You newspaper people…” Jonathan grumbled, “anything for a story.”
“You coming or not?”
“No, thank you very much.”
“Well, sod you then.” with that, she disappeared through the window.
-----------------------------------------------
Jonathan, wrapped in a frilly pink shawl borrowed from Kitty, had nearly dozed off on the front steps when, for the second time in a night, his eardrums were shattered by a piercing cry. The dead silence of the area only amplified her scream.
“Jonathan!! Jonathan!!!”
He leapt to his feet and scrambled through the window, breathing “wait here” to the nearly fainting old woman. “Madeline? Where are you? Madel-” he was greeted by the sight of her mumbling incoherently to herself as she stared at something in the bathroom. Jonathan touched her on the shoulder. “What-” he was cut off by Madeline turning towards him, a look of pure terror in her eyes, pointing a shaking finger toward the bathtub.
"I'll call for the police," was his only comment after he spied the source of Madeline's terror.
He sped toward the phone, leaving Madeline to collapse in a heap near the lifeless body curled up in the bathtub, red finger marks encircling the delicate neck.
A/N: This is dedicated to LeeWenYi as she is one of the many talented authours that I admire here on Wattpad. I highly reccomend her fanfic, 'Slytherin and Proud', for Harry Potter lovers. One can hardly believe she is only thirteen (like me! :D) when one reads her writing. She also wrote some featuring my classmates from last year ^.^ (same class, same school) I'm particularly fond of that one (D.C. Holmes & D.C. Holmes: Virtual Reality).
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