River Road

By C.M. Albrecht

When money, politics and a man's reputation are on the line, how far will he go to protect them? When there's a brutal murder to be solved, how far will a homicide detective go to bring a killer to justice? So far as to team up with a medium? A medium?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Write Words Inc.
• Release date: Sep 10, 2013
• ISBN: 9781594319075

Book preview

River Road

by

C.M. Albrecht

Published by Write Words Inc. at Smashwords

copyright 2010 C.M. Albrecht

Publishers Note: This book is a work of fiction based entirely on the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons is purely coincidental. Real places mentioned in the book are depicted fictionally and are not intended to portray actual times or places.

All rights reserved. No part of the book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Author or Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

Warning: Redistribution of this file, either on disk, CD, or over the Internet without consent of the author or publisher is a violation of United States Federal Copyright Law and of several International Trade Agreements.

Chapter 1

It was one of those late March days when the wind slaps at trees with menacing gusts and rattles the windows while black clouds struggle to hold back the rain that fills their bellies to bursting.

Swept clean by the wind, the parking lot of the Good Night Motel held only a few parked vehicles that gave the lot a dismal abandoned appearance.

Inside Room 110 of the Good Night Motel, Sherri Dunlap stood looking sadly at the bland anonymous room. She shook her head faintly as she cast her eyes about the room regarding the mess they had made. The room hadn’t been much to start with, but now…she shook her head, feeling shabby, stupid.

The bed looked as if a couple of rowdy kids had thrown a pillow fight. The mattress slanted slightly a-kilter. A half empty bottle of Pinot Grigio stood on the night table beside a plastic bucket of melting ice, knocked over glasses and spilt wine. A faint dribble of wine traced from one glass to the edge of the table where a trickle threatened to go over the edge. Sherri stood the glass up and matted the spill with a tissue.

Bill Madigan’s tailored suit and his other clothing lay about in heaps, some on an armchair, some on the carpet where it had fallen in the heat of passion.

The penetrating downpour of the shower pulled Sherri’s guileless blue eyes to the open door of the bathroom. A cloud of steam rolled out, and the shower roared like Niagara Falls in the closed room, penetrating…and somehow irritating.

Sherri kicked one of Madigan’s Ferragamo shoes out of the way and moved toward the window.

Sherri Nadine Dunlap knew she was a very attractive woman, and at forty, she still turned heads with the best of them, but today her face only expressed sadness as she looked through the window at the dismal parking lot.

The feeling of shabbiness disintegrated into a feeling of self-loathing that crept over her, painful, almost sickening.

What was she doing here with this man? Oh, she could think of reasons to justify her acts: Dan cheated on her , Bill Madigan was very attractive, irresistible even. Sherri was still a lovely and desirable woman, damn it. She had passion and she needed affection; attention, things she never got at home. Not any more…but none of these feelings did anything to assuage her unhappiness. Today she only felt cheap and tawdry.

It isn’t supposed to be this way, damn it, she thought. Something’s very wrong with this picture.

Fully dressed, the shower still roaring in her ears, she remained at the window and raised her eyes to the forbidding sky.

The shower stopped with a startling suddenness leaving behind a thick palpable silence. Then Sherri’s ears picked up a low humming and a few moments later Bill Madigan appeared in the room. A slick man, tanned. He was too good-looking to be trustworthy, she thought belatedly.

His well exercised muscles rippled above the towel that hung from his narrow waist. He flashed his movie star smile at her, and at that moment, his golden wedding band flashed even more brightly, as if deliberately throwing Sherri a rude reminder of their infidelities.

Sherri looked at him coolly, her passion long spent. Hurry up, Bill. It’s going to rain.

Madigan stepped lightly to the chair and tossed his towel onto the carpet, casually revealing his entire body. Sherri turned her head away as he began dressing, shaking out his clothing as he went.

Well, he said, glancing at Sherri with a saucy smile. How does it feel to be fucking your next state senator?

Sherri looked at him for a moment without expression. Like she needed that kind of conversation right now. Without a word she turned back to the window where the first droplets of rain began to spatter the glass and slide silently downward.

After a moment she turned back to Madigan as he sat on the chair and pulled socks onto his feet. You haven’t been elected yet, Bill. She glanced anxiously at the window again. I hate to drive in the rain.

Madigan stopped pulling at a sock to look up at her. His face showed less cheer now, but he managed a reassuring grin. You go on ahead, Sherri. I’ll be right behind you. I’ll be out in a minute. Just take it easy.

Sherri stood for a moment, looking somewhat helpless. Then, seeing that he had nothing more to say to her, she gathered up her coat and her bag. You know, really—I—I don’t think we should keep on with this, Bill. I—

What? You’re feeling guilt? You? You know perfectly well that Dan’s doing it to you—and in spades. He stopped pulling at the sock and looked up at her in his most sincere voice, Look Sherri, I’ve told you enough times. You should’ve let me follow through with the divorce. But it’s never too late. And I can get you a hell of a settlement if you just let me.

" Yes. No—I mean, yes, I suppose I do feel guilty. I really don’t feel right about this. Maybe it was all a mistake—for me anyway. I do like you, Bill, I do. But just because Dan chases around behind my back doesn’t mean—"

Bill, in his stocking feet, rose abruptly and moved close to Sherri. He put his hands tenderly on her arms and looked deeply and sincerely into her blue eyes. Hey, this isn’t about Dan. Forget Dan. This about you and me, baby. You don’t have anything to feel bad about. There’s no reason at all you should feel bad. Dan’s the one that should feel bad, running around with teen-age whores while he’s got a jewel like you right at home, a jewel filled with love and passion if only he had sense enough to see it. Abruptly, his tone changed and in a brisk voice, he added: So okay, get going. I’m going to be right behind you. As long as we stick to the old road, nobody’s going to see us. Only people who use it these days are slowpokes and teenagers who want to make out. That’s why I like it.

Sherri nodded, but had another thought: But Caitlyn, she doesn’t cheat on you, does she?

No. His heavy brows knitted as his eyes grew somber. I don’t know. I don’t think so. But—oh, she’s all right. We were childhood sweethearts— He broke off and stared at the ceiling for a moment. Sherri, people change. We’re just not on the same page anymore. If it weren’t for the election coming up… I don’t know. When we got married I thought it was going to be—I don’t know. Now all she wants to do is play homemaker. And when she’s not doing the little homemaker routine, she’s playing the social butterfly. He smiled ruefully. Okay, sometimes for me that’s a plus, but…

Chapter 2

The Madigan master bath abounded in black granite streaked with gold, sparkling mirrors and lush towels. A sweet aroma of perfumed soaps and scented powders warmed the room in welcoming invitation.

At this moment, however, Caitlyn Madigan paid no notice of her opulent surroundings. She stood looking down with a very disappointed expression on her normally sunny face. Caitlyn was one of those women whose wholesome cherubic faces normally express honesty and innocence, but at this moment, holding the negative results of her home pregnancy test in her hand, she appeared to her passing housekeeper, Lily Ann, to be on the verge of tears.

Lily Ann Williams had some sixty years of experience beneath her belt and realizing that something was seriously wrong, she quickly laid her armful of folded towels on the foot of the king-size bed and hurried in to Caitlyn’s side.

Caitlyn, what—?

Caitlyn tried to smile. No good news today, Lily Ann. Oh, I wouldn’t mind…but I’ll be thirty-seven in a few weeks. She turned to Lily Ann. We don’t have forever, you know.

Lily Ann smiled compassionately. Well, the world full of beautiful babies need a good home, Caitlyn. You’ll be a good mother, I know. A wonderful mother.

Caitlyn dropped the pregnancy kit into a gilt wastebasket and turned to Lily Ann. Yes. I’ve thought about that. Bill and I…we’ve talked about it, but…to be honest, Lily Ann, sometimes I think he doesn’t even want—want… As tears rose in Caitlyn’s warm brown eyes, Lily Ann took her hand and squeezed.

Men always be that way, Caitlyn, she assured her employer. Just you listen to me: when he get a wiggly little baby in his arms, then you’ll see."

Stifling the tears Caitlyn forced herself to smile. I wish that were true. To tell you the truth, Lily Ann, sometimes I think he may be seeing—in fact I’m…

* * *

On a side street near the old River Road, a bicycle leaned against the porch railing of a small bungalow sitting back on a well-trimmed lawn. The first drops of rain began falling just as the screen door opened and two young women appeared on the porch.

Both about seventeen, they chatted for a minute longer, their eyes on the falling rain.

Traci Clery was everything a young blond athlete should be; well-developed, vibrant with health. Strong smooth legs burst from her shorts. Aside from that she wore only a light blouse, but she quickly pulled a light plastic poncho from the saddlebag on her bike and slipped it over her head. She reached back into the saddlebag and pulled out a sandwich. She began unwrapping it.

Her friend, Allie, looked at Traci in wonder. My God, what’s that? You didn’t eat enough already?

Traci laughed. I have to eat it. It’s a tuna sandwich. My mom is afraid I’ll stop at a fast food joint while I’m out.

Talk about over-protection! Just like my mom. When are they going to realize that we’re not babies any more?

Traci laughed. Yeah, every time I walk through the door she pumps me like a police interrogator. She shrugged. But whatever. I like tuna. I hear it’s good for you. She laughed again and mounted her bike. See you tonight, girl.

Well, be careful down along by the river. Allie cautioned. The road can get slippery in the rain.

Still laughing, Traci waved the hand with the sandwich and headed down the driveway.

* * *

Rain came down harder now as Sherri ran out of the motel holding a magazine over her head. Water splashed against her ankles and dribbled down her neck. She clicked the opener and opened the door of her near-new Saturn. Teal, it was called, a dark blue-green. Madigan’s black Audi stood parked just next to her car. Once inside the protection of her vehicle, she wiped the back of her neck with a tissue and started the engine. She glanced back at the motel.

Madigan stood in the doorway, still fastening his French cuffs as he watched her car back up and pull out of the lot. When her car had disappeared from the lot, he finished with the cuffs took out his cell phone and punched numbers.

Blair? Hey. Look, I’m sorry about our meeting, baby. Got tied up in court all day. Yeah, I miss you too. Just one of those unavoidable things. I hate it just as much as you do. And now I’m back in court in twenty minutes. Just took a break to grab a cup of coffee. Yeah…Well, how about tomorrow? Same place. Great. I miss you. I’ll call you with the room number. Winding down his conversation, Bill ducked his head and cursing the rain as it splashed on his shoes, ran to his car.

Sherri maneuvered through the narrow business streets of the neighborhood onto River Road.

Once the main artery between this village and town, the freeway had bypassed the village years ago, and little by little River Road fell into disuse, except for those few homes that still dotted the hillsides just above the river, nearly hidden behind thick growths of oleander and dogwood trees.

The rain fell harder now but the reassuring slap-slap of the wiper blades exercised a calming effect on Sherri. The river, down to the right, was invisible save for occasional snatches of sluggish gray water glimpsed through the foliage.

As she drove her mind began to clear. What a mess! As if her life wasn’t bad enough already, now she had to go out and add more complications to it. And what had that done for her? It had given her feelings of guilt, shame, self disgust. Her life had been depressing enough before all this, and now…looking back, Sherri realized she had probably got into this affair only to get even with her husband of twenty years. True, Bill Madigan was a hard man to resist. Once he came after a woman, wow. He could really turn on the charm He had a way of seeming to know just what a woman needed at the moment, just how to act, just the right thing to say. But if pressed, Sherri probably couldn’t have explained how it all started. She had finally had enough of Dan’s philandering and decided to get a divorce. She went to Bill Madigan. He had a reputation for getting things done. She didn’t realize at the time that he had a reputation for being a much bigger philanderer than Dan. Before she knew it, even after she promised to give Dan one more chance, she found herself seduced into clandestine meetings in the motel, just far enough away from town to keep nosy people from becoming aware of what was going on.

But it had been a mistake. Even as she continued with the affair, Sherri knew it was a mistake. It wasn’t hurting