Note: This story is second in a series, which starts with "Play Moonlighting For Me".
Every Picture Tells a Story
The scene opens with a shot of the dark outer office of Blue Moon Investigations. It is after hours. All the employees have gone home for the night. The camera pans left toward the sound of keys being punched on a computer keyboard and through the double doors of David and Maddie's office where a light is on. There is a handwritten sign on the door reading "Do not disturb. Working late!" We see Maddie at her new desk, which sits kitty corner to David's, making an L shape. She is concentrating on a computer screen and typing furiously. Then we get a shot of David sitting at his desk playing a game of Elf Bowling on his computer. He looks totally bored.
"Won again. Gee, this is pretty exciting, sitting here watching you work your little fingers to the bone," he mutters.
"Mmm? What did you say, David?"
"Maddie, its 8:00. Everyone is gone. Even Bert the Dedicated has left. The kids are with Agnes. It's Friday night, my stomach is growling and here you sit. Working. This reminds me of something. But what? Oh yeah, the good old days, when you didn't have a life and a deprived husband to take care of. How about we knock off and go grab some dinner then go home and grab each other."
"David, do you think this boring paperwork just does itself?" She smiles, using a line he used on her a few weeks earlier. "Besides, I asked Agnes to take the kids so we could have some uninterrupted time to get this done. Things have been sliding a bit around here. We need to play catch up."
"God, what have I done? Three weeks ago, you were a contented housewife staying home, heating up dinner and heating me up after dinner. Now you've turned into the mad bean counter." He gets up from behind his desk, flips on the stereo and approaches her, giving her a neck massage. "Come on, honey, this stuff will be here tomorrow."
"Your perseverance amazes me, David. You agreed to do this, and a lot of this work is your fault," she remarks irritably, but leans her head back as he massages her neck.
He grins, seeing a weak spot in her resolve. He goes over to the stereo again and finds a song from a San Francisco band, Lydia Pense and Cold Blood. The song is called, I Just Want to Make Love To You. OK, so subtlety has never been his strong suit. He walks back over to Maddie, takes her fingers off the keyboard and swivels her chair around. He kisses each finger in turn.
"I know that I've been letting some of the mind-numbing stuff go. But it's late; you've been working so hard today. Even I've been working hard today. I think we're getting too tired to continue without sustenance." He smiles playfully and looks over at the sofa in the corner.
"Daaviiid? What's on your devious little mind?"
"Who me? I just think we need a break... Just a quickie." He lifts her out of her chair and moves her across the room to the sofa. They fall together onto the cushions.
She puts up a token protest. "David! This is our place of business. I'm shocked and appalled at what I think you're thinking." Then she chuckles, surrendering as she runs a finger down his jaw line. "What if a cleaning crew walks in on us?"
"No one will walk in on us. I put a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door." He starts kissing her neck and unbuttoning her blouse. Her eyes close. She's not attempting to stop him.
"You really plan ahead don't you?" She sighs.
"That's what made me such a good little Boy Scout. Always prepared."
He removes her blouse and starts pulling down the straps of her camisole. She moans softly, reaches up and begins to loosen his tie.
"My, my. Is it hot in here or is it just you? Why Mrs. Addison! I'm shocked and appalled at what I think you're thinking!"
"Shut up, David," she says in breathless anticipation, pushing him down on to the sofa, kissing him and unbuttoning his shirt.
I don't want you to be no slave
I don't want you to work all day
I don't want you 'cause I'm sad and blue
I just want to make love to you
Love to you
Love to you baby
I don't want to bake your bread
I don't want to make your bed
And I don't want all of your good money too
I just want to make love to you
Love to you
Love to you baby
All that good lovin' I can tell by the way you walk that walk
I can tell by the way that you talk that talk
I can know by the way that you treat your girl
I can give you all the lovin' in the whole wide world
I don't want to wash your clothes
I don't want to stay indoors
I don't want you cause I'm sad and blue
I just want to make love to you
About an hour later we see Maddie back with her nose to the grindstone. Looking a little tousled but none the less concentrating fully on what she's doing.
David is asleep on the sofa in the office-- in his undershirt and heart boxers.
The phone rings. Thinking it may be the kids she picks up. "Hello, Blue Moon Investigations," she says quietly, not wanting to disturb Sleeping Beauty in the corner.
"Hello?" she says a little louder.
"Sara Lang is alive," a voice whispers.
"What? I think you have the wrong number."
"Sara Lang is alive!" the voice says somewhat louder.
"Well, good for her," Maddie says and bangs down the phone.
David is startled awake.
"Sorry, David. I didn't mean to wake you up. I think we just had a prank phone call."
He yawns. "I wasn't sleeping. I was meditating. So did they ask for Prince Albert in a can?"
"No."
"Did they ask if our refrigerator was running?"
"No, they didn't."
"Well, what was it, heavy breathing? Maybe they heard us a little while ago."
"The voice just said Sara Lang is alive."
He sits up quickly. "Who?"
"Sara Lang. What is the matter with you?"
"Maddie you need to stay up on current events. Sara Lang is or was a girl that disappeared from Hollywood about a month ago. You know the story. Girl runs away from Bump on a Log, Iowa to be an actress, can't make a go of it, falls in with the wrong crowd, yada, yada, yada. So her family shows up here looking for her and finds...he pauses for dramatic impact, "not a trace of her anywhere. Pretty interesting, huh."
"Not really. Heard it all before," she says calmly, as she's putting figures into an adding machine.
"But Maddie. This girl was really beautiful. Sixteen going on twenty five. Her picture's been splashed everywhere all over town."
"Hence the prank call."
"Maybe it wasn't a prank."
"David what are you talking about? Of course, it was a prank. If this girl's name has been splashed all over town then somebody just thought they'd call a detective agency and try to get a rise out of some moron looking for a case to crack." She looks him up and down standing in front of her in his underwear.
"Star 69 him."
"I will not!"
"Jesus, Maddie. This isn't a sex thing. This isn't even a detective thing. When someone calls you and you want to call them right back the phone company has come up with a little thing you can do. You hit *69 on the phone and it dials the last number that was dialed to the phone. I'm sure glad that wasn't around when I was a kid."
Maddie heaves a loud sigh and does what he says to do. The phone rings but no one answers.
"OK, Sherlock. I did it. No answer." She hangs up, yawns and stretches. "I'm ready to go home now if you are."
David grabs his shirt and goes to the phone on her desk.
He picks it up and punches in the number for a friend of his at the LAPD.
He looks at his watch. "I hope he's still there."
"Hey, John. It's Dave. Why are you there so late? Yeah, I never sleep either."
Maddie harrumphs.
"Listen John. We just had a very intriguing phone call. I *69'd it but didn't get an answer. I was hoping you could get a trace on it for me."
Maddie is mumbling, "See, what did I say? They knew whom to call when they were looking for a moron."
"That'd be great, man. Thanks. Oh, and don't forget the game Sunday, my house, big screen." He winks at Maddie who rolls her eyes. "Be there." He hangs up.
"OK, honey. All we have to do is wait here a few minutes and see if he can get a trace. This isn't like in the old days when you had to keep the line open forever to pin down a location. Technology is an amazing thing, to quote Bert Viola." He's speaking very fast and energetically.
"You are really in your element right now aren't you dear?" she says condescendingly. "Well, I'm still betting that it was a prank."
"Yeah, probably. But I have to know for sure."
"All right. How long do you think this will take, anyway? Because I really am tired and I want to get home to bed." She stretches and yawns again.
"I can keep you busy while we're waiting." He leans over the desk, grins at her and bats his eyelashes.
"God David, don't you ever quit? Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like that! With that leer on your face."
"Makes you hot, huh."
"You know Addison, you're living proof that you can only be young once but you can be immature forever."
"I still think I make you hot."
"Oh, be still my heart."
The phone rings and David picks up immediately.
"Yeah, John... You're kidding. Well, I'll be damned. About 10 minutes ago. Actually I didn't talk to him. Maddie answered the phone." He puts his hand over the mouthpiece. "It was a him right?"
Maddie shrugs. "I guess. It was hard to tell. He was whispering."
"All he said was 'Sara Lang is alive'. Right?" He looks at Maddie again for confirmation and she nods.
"OK, we'll let you know if it happens again." he hangs up the phone and smiles smugly at her.
"Guess what, Watson? The game's afoot. That call came from Sara Lang's last known address. Let's go eat and talk about this case. It's all your fault that I'm starving now."
"My fault? And what's to talk about? There is no client. So there is no case!"
He's very excitedly pacing around the office. "Your fault because you wanted to nookie instead of eat dinner and there's lots to talk about.
Maddie, Maddie. You have to take the bull by the horns. You have to open the door for opportunity when it knocks. You have to strike while the iron's hot."
"You have to flush when the toilet is full," she grumbles.
"Just think about what this could do for business if we could find this girl that the police haven't been able to even get a clue about. No, I smell a great case here and I'm starving. Let's go."
He heads out the office door animatedly and leaves Maddie still sitting at the desk. He comes back moments later, pulls on his pants and coat. She's attempting to stifle her grin and he points at her and says,
"Not a word. Not a syllable."
The next morning we see Maddie arriving at the Viola residence to pick up her children who have spent the night.
Agnes opens the door and Grace and A.J. run to their mother, hugging her.
"Hi, you two. I missed you!" They run out the door past Maddie and get into the minivan. Grace instantly turns on the CD player to the Backstreet Boys and starts singing and bopping around the back seat.
"Like father like daughter. How'd everything go last night, Agnes?" Maddie asks apprehensively.
Agnes looks tired. "Great. Fine. They were fine. How'd everything go with you? Did you work late?"
"Till about 9:30. Then we got this stupid phone call that sent David into detective heaven."
She perks up. "Oh really? What was it about?"
"It was a prank! Someone just called and said, very mysteriously, 'Sara Lang is alive'."
"Wow..."
"Yeah, then David called the police to get a trace and it turns out that it came from her house. He's going crazy thinking he can solve this girl's disappearance. But you know me. All I can think about is--
"Who's the client?" Maddie and Agnes say simultaneously. They laugh.
"Well, anyway. I finally got him home and calmed down by around eleven but he was on the phone again this morning trying to track down this girl's family. Maybe he thinks they'll hire us. I don't know what he's thinking or rather if he's thinking, but life goes on and I need to get my children home.
Is Bert coming over for the football game tomorrow?"
"I think so."
"OK, well they can commiserate while they watch the game on my huge ugly black box. I'll be trying to work on the work that didn't get done last night."
"I thought you said you did work last night?"
"Oh we did, but we didn't get everything done that I had hoped to," Maddie says hastily, a blush starting to make it's way up her cheeks.
"Oh, well let me know if I can help."
"OK, and thanks for everything!"
Agnes smiles knowingly as she closes the front door. "I bet that sofa gets a lot more use now that she's back to work," she says to herself.
***
Monday morning, Maddie and David and their children arrive at the office around 8:30 AM. Grace is in the throes of laughter.
"But Mom, he called it your hair dude! Don't you think that's funny?"
"Grace, A.J. doesn't have as much experience talking as you do. Many senior citizens don't have as much experience talking as you do. So please don't make fun of him. It's not nice," Maddie scolds.
"I just think it's funny that he called your hair your 'hair dude', that's all. I wasn't making fun of him," she protests.
"OK, sweetie. I believe you. Let's go," David says as he gives Maddie a quick kiss and takes the kids down the hall to day care while Maddie goes into the office.
She watches the three of them walking down the hall together and feels a little sad that her children are so happy to be taken care of by someone other than herself.
She goes into her and David's office and sits down at her desk. She stares at the family portrait they took recently. They're growing up so fast, she thinks. I hope I'm doing the right thing. She sighs. Oh well, they're right down the hall and we can see each other whenever we want. We have lunch together almost every day and either David or I put A.J. down for his nap most of the time.
Grace will be starting school in a few days. 5th grade! A.J. turns four in a few weeks. He'll be in school in another year. Pretty soon they'll be gone! She starts to get a little misty, when she looks up from the picture and sees her husband standing against the door, watching her closely.
"David, you startled me."
"Sorry, I was just enjoying the scenery. Having mixed feelings about going back to work?" He steps into the office and closes the door.
"Yes, I suppose I am. I know it's good for them to be around other people. I just miss them and I'm afraid I'll miss out on something. I guess this balancing act about work and family is as difficult as I've heard it is."
"Yeah, for me too."
"You too?" she says skeptically.
"Yeah, me too."
"You see more of them now than you ever have. I think you are down the hall goofing off with them more than you're in the office."
"I love this arrangement. I think it's working great. This way Papa Bear gets to play with Goldilocks and the little bears too. I think it's perfect."
"Yeah, it is pretty great. I'm glad we could help out our employees with their families too. It's just not the same as being home with them though."
He sits on the corner of her desk, bringing his face very close to hers. "At least having you here has helped me out of my 'midlife crisis'. I love coming to work now."
"Do tell. Now if we could only get you to actually do some work," she says as she dumps a pile of paperwork on his lap.
"You are a hard taskmaster you know that Mrs. Addison? I was hoping for some fun and games now that you're back."
"The fun and games are down the hall. When you're here, you work!"
"At least during the day, " he smirks.
Don't go there David." She warns him as she starts organizing her desk for the day.
The intercom buzzes. "Mr. Addison?"
"Yes Annie."
"There's a Mr. Lang on line two for you. Should I take a message or put him through?"
"I'll take the call, Annie. Thanks."
He looks over at Maddie who is looking at him disapprovingly.
She feels obligated to tell him, "David, I think this is the private investigator version of ambulance chasing. Don't get that man's hopes up. You still have no idea of the whereabouts of his daughter. Are you actually going to ask him to hire you?"
He doesn't answer but punches the button on the phone. "Mr. Lang. Thank you for getting back to me. Yes, well I'm hoping we can help you find your daughter." He turns his back on Maddie so he won't be looking at her accusing eyes as he explains what happened on Friday night. The family agrees to come over to Blue Moon in an hour to talk to David.
"I don't want any part of this, David. I don't think you have anything to go on and I don't want to see you take these poor peoples' money. You're grasping at straws if you think you can find this girl. Maybe she doesn't want to be found."
"Then why the phone call Maddie? I have a hunch about this. Besides I don't want you to have any part of it either."
"We've already been over this. The call was just a prank-- What did you say? Why don't you want me to have any part of it?"
"I just think this is something I can handle with Bert. He's feeling a little left out since you came back."
"I had no idea. Well, ok. That will give me some time to work on all this. But I still think you are wasting your time and giving these poor people false expectations and I think it's sleazy."
"Sleazy? Are you calling me sleazy, Maddie?" he asks irritably.
"No not you. Just this so-called case. Not that I think a case exists." she adds frostily.
"Well I do."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Good."
"Good."
They sit silently for awhile; Maddie trying to look busy, David trying to look hurt and annoyed.
After awhile the intercom buzzes again. "Mr. Addison?"
"Yes Annie?"
"Mr. and Mrs. Lang are here"
"Please send them in Annie."
David and Maddie get up out of their chairs at once. They stare at one another for a moment. Maddie says, "I have no intention of staying for this meeting. I'll excuse myself as soon as I can and go down the hall and see the kids."
"Whatever," David says indifferently.
The couple that walk into the office is younger than she and David, but their faces show all the worry and anguish they have been suffering since their daughter's disappearance. Maddie has instant sympathy for them.
They make cursory introductions as Maddie shows them to chairs in front of the desks as she sits behind hers and David perches on the front of his.
"Well, I already told you about the phone call on Friday, but what I didn't mention before is that I want to take this case at no charge. If we can find her and bring her back to you the publicity alone is worth more than any fee," David tells them.
Maddie is stunned by his offer, and she smiles over at him.
"That's very generous of you, Mr. Addison. We're pretty strapped financially right now." Mr. Lang says.
"Do you two have any children?" Mrs. Lang asks Maddie.
Maddie shows them the family portrait.
"Beautiful kids. Look Millie, she looks a lot like Sara Jane when she was a child," Mr. Lang comments and then hands Maddie a Polaroid picture of Sara.
This is not the cover shot that has been making the rounds of the newspapers and TV. In that photo she is made up to look about ten years older than her actual sixteen years. Although she is unusually beautiful this picture shows a typical teenager in jeans and a Motley Crue t-shirt, grinning innocently for the camera, no make up, her hair pulled back into a ponytail. (Think a young Alicia Silverstone) She looks so young and naive. Maddie immediately sees the resemblance to Grace and understands now why David doesn't want her drawn in to this.
She looks over at him and then at Mr. and Mrs. Lang, her voice caught in her throat. Suddenly she is picturing herself in their place; her child lost in a city the size of Los Angeles, not knowing if she's alive or dead.
She gets up and goes around to the front of her desk, still staring at the picture of Sara.
Her voice shaking, she says, "I hope we can help you find her. We'll certainly give it our best effort."
David closes his eyes and shakes his head.
As Maddie finds out a little more background information, he sits down behind his desk and rests his chin in his hand.
Maddie shows the Langs out of the office at the end of their meeting. As soon as she closes the door David says, "Maddie..."
She interrupts. "David I understand what you are trying to do here. I didn't see such a strong resemblance to Grace until I saw that second picture. I also understand now why you feel so compelled to solve this case. You must also see why I'm compelled as well.
Let's go hug our children and get started."
"What about Bert?" he wants to know.
"Bert can have you for the next case. This one is mine."
They take the elevator to the parking garage and walk over to the minivan. David gets into the passenger side and slumps down in the seat as far as he can.
"Maddie, explain to me again why we need a minivan when we only have two kids."
"Cramping your style David? We have a minivan because it's practical. You're going to have to get over this aversion you have to this vehicle if you want to drive to work together every day. Either that or go back to driving the roadster by yourself."
She starts the engine and the Backstreet Boys start playing.
"Jeez," he rolls his eyes.
She laughs at him. "Can't take it, huh. Would you rather our kids listen to Marilyn Manson or Eminem?"
"Anything but that bubblegum shit. How about we compromise. How about Ray Charles? You like him, I like him, the kids can learn to like him."
"How about Barney?"
David looks horror-struck as they drive away.
***
Maddie and David enter a very seedy bar in Hollywood. It looks like many of the places they have been in the past. In fact it reminds Maddie a great deal of the bar where she and David had their first dance together, only darker and filthier. They sit at the bar and wait for the bartender to approach.
"David, I find it hard to believe that this young wholesome girl would show her face in a place like this. I would think she'd be afraid to walk into a place like this," Maddie says distastefully.
"Well, according to the cops and her parents, this is the last place she was seen so it's where we start. Besides, when people are desperate, babe, they do things they wouldn't normally do. Here comes the bartender."
A man of indeterminate old age ambles over to them. "What'll you folks have?"
"A bottle of Spic n Span please," Maddie says under her breath.
"Two beers. From a bottle. In the bottle. Thanks." David tells him.
"David I don't drink beer," Maddie whispers to him.
"Sorry honey I don't think they serve your favorite vintage chardonnay here and I don't really want to drink anything out of a glass if you know what I mean."
"Oh," she grimaces.
"OK, here you go. Two beers in the bottle. You sure you don't want a glass?"
"Yeah, we're sure. Say Pops, have you maybe seen this girl in here? Maybe in the last few weeks?" David shows him both the cover shot and the Polaroid.
"Sorry, I've only been working here a week. But I haven't seen this girl around. Her, I'd remember. The next guy's shift starts in a half-hour. He's been working here awhile. Maybe he can help you." The bartender walks away, down to the other end of the bar.
"Thanks."
While they wait, nursing their beers, David starts teasing Maddie.
"Hey Gorgeous, come here often?"
"Here? Me?"
"Here. You."
She smiles. "No, not often."
"Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" he jokes.
"Yes. That's why I don't go there anymore."
He chokes on his beer, then decides to keep going. "Well, what's your sign?"
"Do not enter," she deadpans.
"You're pretty good at knocking a guy off his feet, lady."
"Years of practice."
He gets very close to her ear and whispers, "Well, you wanna come back to my place?"
"I don't know? Would two people fit under your rock?"
He feigns being stabbed in the heart as she laughs at him.
Just then, a man who has been sitting in the shadows comes up to the bar and sits on the empty stool beside Maddie.
"Hey Lady. "
"Don't even try it pal. She'll blow you right out of the water," David warns him.
"I saw that picture you were showing the bartender. I know that girl."
"You do, huh. Know where she is now?" Maddie asks.
"I might, for the right price."
"He wants us to pay him, David. I think that's your department."
David hands him two twenties.
"My, the price of information has gone up," Maddie mumbles.
"OK, how do you know her?" David asks.
"She's a pro. At least she used to be. I haven't seen her around here for awhile."
"You mean a prostitute?" Maddie says, surprised.
"Yeah, what else would I mean?"
"I'm sorry. I find that hard to believe," Maddie murmurs.
"OK, well maybe she wasn't a hooker. Maybe she was hanging out with the rest of the working girls on the corner trying to convert them. And she just dressed in spandex and six-inch heels to fit in," he says sarcastically.
"See that girl over at the end of the bar. She used to hang with her." He points to a young woman who looks like she's had a very hard life. She would be attractive if she didn't have such hollow eyes and a sagging expression. She is smoking and drinking shots of something.
"Did you tell this information to the police?" Maddie asks.
"No. They don't pay as well as you guys do." He snickers.
"Thanks, man," David says, slipping the guy another twenty as he and Maddie make it down to the other end of the bar.
"Excuse me. Do you know this girl?" Maddie quickly gets to the point. She's had about as much time in this place as she can take.
The woman glances at the cover shot quickly and says, "Yeah, she's that girl the cops are looking for."
"No, do you know her personally, because a little bird told me you do," David asserts.
"Well, the bird lied." She stares coldly at them both.
Maddie searches for a soft spot in this woman. "Look. Her parents are worried to death about her. They just want to make sure she's OK and not in any danger."
The woman chuckles. "Nothing dangerous around here."
"Why wouldn't she want to go back home with her parents?" Maddie asks.
"Who knows? Like I said, I don't know her," she spits.
"Would fifty bucks help your memory?" David produces a fifty from his pocket.
"Where are you getting all this money David?" Maddie inquires.
David gives Maddie a look like he wants her to shut up, holds out the fifty for the young woman to take but she ignores him. "Wherever this girl is I bet she's dead," she says.
"Why do you say that?" Maddie asks alarmed.
"An innocent little thing like that isn't going to last a month on these streets. She's either dead or in some white slavery ring by now."
"If you don't know her how do you know she's so innocent?" Maddie asks haughtily.
"I just know the type. And if she ran away from home I bet she had her reasons." She says this last sentence slowly for emphasis.
"Are you trying to tell us that her family abused this girl?" David asks doubtfully.
"I said I don't know her! Are you deaf or just stupid?" she yells.
"You're a lousy liar, but I like that in a woman. I think you do know her and I think you could help us find her. Now if her parents did something to her they should pay for that. And if they didn't, they at least deserve to know what happened to her. We're not going to leave until you give us some answers." David continues.
The young woman sighs heavily and tones down the attitude a bit. "OK, all I can tell you is that she went to work in this sex club up in the Hollywood hills."
"I thought you said she was an innocent." Maddie says incredulously.
"She was when she came here. But that never lasts. That's not how you survive on the streets."
"Do you know where this club is? Can you take us there?" Maddie asks.
"Him I can take, not you. You would not be welcome there."
"I guess I'm gonna have to get Bert in on this after all," David tells Maddie as he reaches for his cell phone.
***
Early that evening, David and Bert drive up a deserted winding road in the Hollywood Hills and end up at a rundown house. Maybe at one time it was an estate, but it's definitely seen better days. Any landscaping that's left alive is very overgrown. The house hasn't been painted in twenty years, is in disrepair and doesn't look occupied.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" David asks the girl in the back seat as he eyes the house.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Call me a cab and park around the back. Now, I'll take that fifty and another fifty for the fare back to town."
David pays her as Bert gapes at the house.
"I don't have a good feeling about this Dave. We should go back and get the surveillance van and put a wire on you."
"Bert, we don't need the surveillance equipment for this. Besides, in these hills, we'd have a hard time keeping the signal. Now, cowboy up. I have my gun for a little added protection. Let's go. And remember don't sit with me. You're going to need to socialize with these women too. I'm not doing all the dirty work." He grins at Bert who is sweating profusely.
They walk into the foyer and hear music emanating from down the hall. They follow the sound and proceed into a very dark, smoke filled room. There is a bar across the length of the room and tables scattered throughout. There are a few other men in the bar, drinking and smoking. The wallpaper is that flocked stuff from the 60's and it's red. There are mirrors, portraits of nude women and advertisements for different brands of booze on the walls. It almost looks like any other dive in the world except for the girls lined up in front of the barstools parading in their underwear, checking the men out, smiling and strutting. Not that David isn't used to women checking him out; it's just the being in their underwear part that kind of throws him.
And these women don't look like ordinary hookers from an ordinary brothel. They are all extraordinarily beautiful. Hollywood is full of 'em he thinks. Beautiful women who wanted to see themselves on the big screen but didn't have the talent or connections or luck to make it.
As Bert makes his way to one of the tables in a dark corner, David spies one particular gorgeous blond on the end of the line who looks like a younger version of someone he already knows and loves. The woman catches him lingering on her and decides to make a move.
She struts over to him slowly and enticingly. "Hi I'm Jennifer. Would you like to buy me a drink?"
David gives her his best come on gaze. "OK Jennifer, but I've got to tell you your look is just a little too close to home for me. Literally."
"Your wife, maybe?" She touches the wedding band on his hand. Then she says, "Oh, I'm sorry. I can change my look if you prefer. Put on a wig, more makeup, change my clothes. We have a whole wardrobe department here. I can be whoever or whatever you want me to be."
"Only in Hollywood," he mumbles to himself. To her he says, "Well, from what I can see you're pretty close to perfection the way you are."
"Thank you."
"Actually I'm here because I used to know this girl and I heard she might be working here. I was hoping to reconnect with her, you know."
As she looks at the Polaroid picture of Sara, David is searching her face for a sign of recognition. He sees none.
Disgustedly, Jennifer says, "Isn't she a little young for you? Well, whatever. Sorry, I don't know her. But they really come and go around here. Sometimes they only last a night or two before they move on to something else.
"Now how about that drink? And how about one for yourself and your little friend over there too?" She points at Bert, slumped down in his chair.
She orders a bottle of cheap champagne and four glasses.
"So, you got a name big guy?"
As David uncorks the champagne, he grins and says, "Holmes, John Holmes."
She laughs, turns her back and surreptitiously drops something into the bottom of his glass. He pours the champagne perfectly without spilling a drop and she says, "bottoms up." He watches as she completely drains her glass, then he does the same.
She pours another for herself and attempts to pour another for David but he declines.
One of the other girls in the club walks up, nods in Bert's direction and asks, "Do you boys want to party?"
"Maybe later. Right now we'd just like to drink in the surroundings so to speak." He looks both women up and down lecherously.
David decides to rock Bert's world a little. "Could you ladies check on my friend and see if he needs anything?"
"Sure, baby. But don't go anywhere. I'll be right back." Jennifer whispers to him.
As they walk over to Bert's table, his eyes getting wider with every step they take, the other hooker asks Jennifer, "Why'd you drug his champagne?"
"The guy's a narc. I can smell it. He's also into teenage girls. I just want to teach him a little lesson."
"Here, slip this to the friend. I want to make sure our party's not interrupted." They giggle as they reach Bert's table.
***
David gets home at 3AM looking like he just crawled out from under a rock. His hair is sticking out all over, his clothes are rumpled, and he's feeling slightly hung over.
He undresses and attempts to climb into bed silently so as not to wake Maddie. But she is awake and not happy.
"David I have been worried sick. Where have you been all night and why do you smell like a brewery and a perfume factory in one? What the hell have you been doing?"
"Look Maddie, I'm beat. I think I got some bad booze tonight."
"You've been drinking. Great. You were supposed to be working on this case. Boy some things never change. I let you out of my sight for one night and look at you. Just look at yourself!"
He rolls his eyes to the back of his head. "I still don't understand how to do that, Maddie."
"Not funny David."
"And I'm not drunk! Bert can tell you. I only had one drink. I do feel a little strange though. Like I'm missing some time tonight."
"David this isn't the X-Files. How can you be missing time?"
"I wonder if she slipped me something?" he says to himself more than to her.
"I'll bet she did. And who, pray tell, is she?" Maddie says indignantly, sitting up in bed.
Irritably, he says, "Careful, Maddie your insecurity is showing. Nothing happened. I think I've proven myself by now. You should know that I'm not going to go off and sleep with a hooker." He touches her cheek gently. "Not when I have you waiting at home for me."
She softens. "I know and I trust you, but you smell like another woman. What am I supposed to think? You're an attractive man and I'm not convinced that this midlife crisis thing is over. I'm just scared that you are trying to prove to yourself that you still have it. Whatever it is. And you'd better not give it to me."
"This is stupid. I'm going to sleep. Think whatever you want." He turns over onto his side, his back to her.
"I'm sorry. Come here." She pulls him close to her and they spoon. She kisses his back and runs her hand up his thigh to his chest, tangling her fingers in his chest hair. She hears his slow breathing start to get a little more rapid and she smiles to herself.
Finally after a few minutes he turns over to face her. He sees her in the moonlight from the window. Sometimes when she's lying next to him looking at him like that her beauty and the fact that she is his overwhelm him. He moves a stray hair out of her face and they look at each other for a moment.
"I love you, David."
"I love you too, Maddie."
"If you didn't smell so horrible right now..."
"How long can you hold your breath?" he says as he kisses her and moves over her.
***
The next morning, we see Maddie and David sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee, reading the paper, and talking.
"So did you find anything out last night?"
He reaches out and takes her hand. "Besides the fact that you ought to wait up for me more often? No, not much. I'm starting to think that girl sent us on a wild goose chase. Let's go back to that bar again today. Maybe talk to those Hare Krishna guys that were hanging around on the sidewalk."
"I think I'll pass. I'll go into the office today instead."
"Boy, sick of me already, eh Partner?"
"Just sick of this case. Maybe I should go back to being a 'Stepford wife' and leave the detecting to you. Although I'm not crazy about letting you and Bert go to that place without me either. You better not come home again smelling like a hooker."
"I love it when you get possessive." He kisses her and goes upstairs to dress for work.
***
That evening, Maddie is sitting in the study at home opening the mail. There is a large manila envelope addressed to "Mrs. Addison". She opens it, dumps the contents out on the desk and is immediately floored by what she sees. Many pictures of David and two women doing things that she's never even thought of. With the pictures is a note, which reads, "Just thought you might like to know what he's doing when you're not around."
Maddie is devastated. This is what she's feared would happen. David's midlife crisis and his overactive libido have finally collided. She places the pictures back in the envelope and brings her hand up to her trembling lips. She hears David laughing with Grace and A.J. in the family room as they play Nintendo.
She slowly gets up and walks into the family room and says, "May I speak to you for a moment please?"
"Sure honey. I just need to rescue my princess."
"Now David."
He looks up at her, startled by the tone of her voice and we hear a blood curdling scream from the game.
"Oops," he says and gets up and follows her into the study. She closes the door behind him.
"What's up Goldilocks? You look upset about something. Did I leave the toilet seat up again?"
"David, tell me again where you were and what you were doing last night."
"We've been over this. I sat in a club talking to a hooker, I had one drink and I came home."
"Uh huh. Then when did you take these?" She throws the envelope at him, suddenly in a rage.
He looks at the pictures and goes white. "Maddie, this is not what it seems to be."
"Oh, you mean you're not really lying there with two women crawling all over you."
"No, that's what it seems. But I was drugged! I thought something weird happened."
"Something kinky happened! I can't believe you. You think you're losing your edge or your youth or your virility so you have to go off and prove you're still a great lover with a couple of hookers."
"Maddie! No! Ask Bert. I don't remember this. I swear I was drugged. I told you I would never be with another woman, let alone a hooker, especially not two hookers. I would never jeopardize what we've got. I love you! I love the kids. Think about it."
She cries, "You lied to me. You said you just had a drink. You forgot to mention the…the…that!" She points at one particularly damning shot. "I can't believe you David. I want you out of my sight."
"Maddie come on. This is ridiculous."
"Now I'm ridiculous! I have the proof, right here. You can't deny that in these photos you are conscious and look like you are thoroughly enjoying yourself. You sure don't look drugged to me."
She holds one of the pictures up to his face and spits, "and then you come home to our bed. Get out of here. I can't even look at you." She throws the picture down on the pile and turns toward the window.
"I would never do this to you. You should know that," he pleads.
Without turning, she points at the desk. "The proof is in living color right there."
"Maddie, listen to me..."
"I don't want to hear it. Just get out!" she screams.
We see David entering Blue Moon late that night with his briefcase, looking worn out and depressed. He goes into his office and drops down onto the sofa. He strokes the leather, thinking about he and Maddie making love there the other night. He sits awhile then goes over to his desk and picks up the phone.
***
The next morning Maddie is seated at her kitchen table. She has dark circles under her eyes, which are swollen from crying.
Her coffee sits cold in front of her as she watches the children in the backyard, not really aware of her surroundings. She is holding a simple gold cross that she has worn since A.J.'s birth and is absentmindedly moving it back and forth on the chain. On the radio a maudlin Dixie Chicks song that would be tailor made for her right now if she was listening plays softly in the background.
I've sure enjoyed the rain
But I'm looking forward to the sun
You have to feel the pain
When you lose the love you gave someone
I thought that now that time would take away these lonely tears
I hope you're doing fine all alone but where do I go from here
Cause without you I'm not OK
Without you I've lost my way
My heart's stuck in second place ooh ooh
Without you
Well I never thought I'd be
Lying here without you by my side
It seems unreal to me
That the life you promised was a lie
You made it look so easy making love into memories
Guess you got what you wanted but what about me
Cause without you I'm not OK
Without you I've lost my way
My heart's stuck in second place ooh ooh
Without you
Somebody tell my head to try to tell my heart
That I'm better off without you
Cause baby I can't live
Without you I'm not OK
Without you I've lost my way
My heart's stuck in second place ooh ooh
Without you
In her head she goes over the fight with David from last night for the thousandth time. "Ask Bert" he had said. "I would never do this to you. You should know that."
She calls the Viola residence.
"Hi Agnes, it's me. Not so great... No, I'm going to stay home with the kids today. Is Bert still home? Can I speak to him?"
Bert comes on the line. "Hi Maddie. What's up?"
"Bert, I'm thinking about the place you and David went to the other night. Were you in constant contact with David?"
"Well, as far as I know," he says somewhat evasively.
"What do you mean, as far as you know? Either you were or you weren't."
"Well, there was about an hour there. I guess I fell asleep, which is weird because I never do that."
Maddie closes her eyes tightly, realizing David may be telling the truth. "Bert will you take me there today?"
"Why? That's not the kind of place--"
"Bert please. It's very important. If you tell me how to get there I'll go by myself."
"No way. I'll pick you up at 3:00."
***
Maddie and Bert arrive at the club around 4:00. Bert is obviously very uncomfortable there, but tells her, "This is a pretty rough place for a woman like you. Maybe you'd better let me do the talking."
As they arrive in the bar, they look around the room and see every eye in the place is fixed on them. Maddie is a woman on a mission and not at all intimidated by all the stares. Bert, on the other hand…
They approach a tall blond sitting at the end of the bar. Right away Maddie senses that she's David's type and thinks she may recognize her from the photos.
"I was wondering if you could tell me if you saw this man in here two nights ago."
She shows her the portrait of her smiling family.
"Lady, they all look alike to me," she says offhandedly then makes a point of looking at the picture again, "but I think this guy might have been in here. Yeah, as I recall he had quite an evening."
"So I saw. I'm his wife, and as you can see in the picture we have two small children. I would hate to think that someone was trying to mess with him and ruin their lives in the process."
Bert is nervously trying to stay between the two women while Maddie keeps walking closer to her. "Uh, Maddie..."
Jennifer couldn't care less how close she gets. "Maybe it's him who's doing the messing. You know the scumbag came in here asking for a teenager."
Maddie gives Jennifer a frozen stare, pushes Bert out of her way and gets about two inches from her face.
"He's a private detective and he was trying to find that girl for her parents," she says slowly and deliberately.
"Yeah, right lady. Believe whatever you want. But I'm just telling you, he's snowing you big time."
"I don't think so. I see someone like you and I see someone who has nothing better to do with her time than destroy other people's lives. I also see someone who I'm sure has easy access to drugs of all sorts. In fact, now that I see you, I'm sure of what happened the other night. Just because you have no hope of ever being happy with a man you think you have the right to make everyone around you as ugly and miserable as you are."
"Look, I just thought you ought to know the kind of guy you're married to, that's all. But now that I meet you, I think you two deserve each other. Boy, you really are a bitch."
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Maddie says as she makes a fist and belts the woman off her chair, knocking her out cold.
"Boy I'm glad I was here to protect you," Bert marvels.
Later that evening, Maddie goes back to Blue Moon. She sees David; his shirt sleeves rolled up, sitting at his desk working diligently on the computer. He looks exhausted. The only light in the room is coming from his computer screen and the full moon outside. A sad blues ballad is playing in the background. Cold Blood again, You Had to Know.
You had to know
That I'd be waiting patiently
You had to know
that I'd still be here
Cause I've told you
much too many times that if you left
I'd lose my mind
You had to know that I still care
You had to know that I'd still be there
You had to know cause my love told you so
She stands in the doorway, trying to think of something to say. Finally she comes up with, "Hi."
"Hi," he says quietly, looking away from the screen, not smiling but not angry either she sees to her relief.
She remains standing in the shadow of the doorway staring at the floor and doesn't move toward him. "I'm here to apologize David. I am insecure. I should have known better. You have never looked at another woman. I know that. I know you love me. At least you did before I started acting like a bitch on wheels."
He smiles at that comment. "I love you even when you are a bitch on wheels."
He folds his hands on his desk. "I can understand why you were thinking I was a willing participant in those pictures. They were pretty bad. So I called John at the department and he sent me to a lab for a blood test." He holds up a piece of paper. "They found traces of a drug called Burundanga in my system. It's a kind of Colombian voodoo powder made from plants from the nightshade family. Indians used to use it in religious ceremonies. When you refine it you get scopolamine. Very popular among bad guys in Bogota. You mix it with sedatives and slip it into somebody's drink, then the person does anything you want. Takes all his money out of the ATM and gives it to you, gives you jewelry, the house, the car --has sex with six of your friends. And afterward doesn't remember a damn thing. It's like chemical hypnotism. You lose your will entirely and submit to any suggestion whatsoever."
"Sounds interesting. Think I could get my hands on some to get you to pick up your dirty clothes or put down the toilet lid?"
He's still sitting behind his computer and she is still in the doorway.
He chuckles, "Oh, and Bert told me about this afternoon. You haven't lost your punch, Rocky. We've got to get you a manager and start you on a career in prize fighting."
She begins to walk coyly toward his desk. "I heard from Bert where you found Sara Lang. A religious cult, huh."
"Yeah. She's been staying with those guys standing in front of the bar the other day. One of them is actually the one who called here. When I started asking him questions, he folded like Bert trying to discipline his boys. He said he didn't want her parents to worry about her. He went to her apartment to find their phone number and when he couldn't find it decided to call a detective agency instead. And that crap her friend was throwing at us about her being abused and about her working in that sex club were bogus. Just to throw us off. She thought she was protecting her too.
They're working on the deprogramming as we speak. Pretty soon she'll be back in her own little bed in Iowa."
She sits on the corner of his desk, looking at him intensely. "Speaking of bed. When you finish up here I'll be waiting for you at home in our bed."
She lowers her eyes to the desk. "David, I know you've always thought I was a prude, but I got quite an education from those pictures. Maybe we'll try something a little different tonight." He can't see her blushing in the subdued light but he knows she's uncomfortable.
"Maddie, just get rid of those pictures. They don't mean anything."
"I know and I already have."
"And we don't have to do anything different. I'm happy with our sex life the way it is. In fact, I couldn't be happier. I love you, Maddie."
She smiles. "Come home, David. We miss you," she says softly as she slips off the desk and leaves the office.
You had to know
That I'd be waiting patiently
You had to know
that I'd still be here
Cause I've told you
much too many times that if you left
I'd lose my mind
You had to know that I still care
You had to know that I'd still be there
You had to know cause my love told you so
You had to know when things were bad
you only had to call me
You had to know
if it's love you needed
I hear your every call
cause I've told you
much too many times that if you left
I'd lose my mind
You had to know that I need you here
You had to know that I love you dear
You had to know 'cause my love told you so
You had to know that I need you by my side
you need to know that I'd lose my pride
Epilogue
He climbs into bed quietly, seeing that Maddie is asleep. She stirs and turns over to face him. The moonlight is coming through the window, illuminating her face. He's caught off guard by her beauty once again. Will she be doing this to him his entire life he wonders? He watches her sleep, enjoying how soft her features look when she's in repose. She's the most beautiful woman he's ever met; no one has ever come close to her. He sees how the moonlight makes her hair shimmer. Christ, she almost glows in the dark she's so gorgeous. She could still be a cover girl. OK, cover woman. He looks up toward the ceiling and says a prayer, thanking God for getting them together in the first place and bringing them back together yet again. He looks back at her face and is startled to see her eyes are open, looking at him. She smiles.
"Hi. Penny for your thoughts."
"Hi yourself. Sorry to wake you."
"You didn't. I just woke up on my own."
She goes into his arms and he rubs her back noticing that she's not wearing anything under the old t shirt she has put on to sleep in.
He raises an eyebrow. "Is that my t-shirt?"
"What? Don't you approve of my sleeping attire? It smelled like you. For once, that's a good thing. I was missing you so..."
"Well, here I am in the flesh."
"Yes, you certainly are. So?"
"So?"
"You want your shirt back?"
"Right this minute."
She sits up in bed and takes the shirt up over her head, looking down at him and shaking her hair as it falls out of the shirt.
"God Maddie you're so beautiful...I wish I wasn't so tired right now."
"Don't worry about it. We don't need to make love tonight. We have the rest of our lives David." She sighs and snuggles into the crook of his arm. "I hope we both live to be a hundred."
The End