Warning: Mild Language
Six months later . . .
"Oh my God! It's perfect!" Madeleine Ward yelped as she swerved her steering wheel to the right and just barely avoided scraping her Volkswagen Beetle's tire on the curb of the side walk.
"Whoa! Easy, babe!" Her passenger shouted at her alarmed.
The burly, blonde, green eyed man grabbed instinctively for the 'oh-shit' handle above the window while his other hand pressed against the dash. She ignored his exclamation, returning her attention to the large commercial building currently surrounded by a chain link fence and several large, yellow construction vehicles. She saw bulldozers, a crane, and . . . Oh, no!
"Ms. Ward? Ms. Ward! What is it? What's perfect?" A tinny voice screeched through the speaker of her phone.
Madeleine's heart lurched as she spotted the wrecking ball dangling precariously near the building of her dreams.
"No!" She cried, pressing her foot on the gas.
She jerked her little Beetle across two lanes of traffic and into the turn lane, ignoring the blaring of horns from a menagerie of annoyed drivers, and swung her vehicle into the gated opening of the fence. Slamming down on her brakes, she stopped in the center of the construction site, causing many of the workers to halt what they were doing in order to ogle the crazy newcomer.
Madeleine hopped out of the car, still ignoring her boyfriend's rain of questions. She waved her arms at the construction workers in an effort to stall the demolition.
"Stop! Do not hurt that building!" she shouted.
"Hello? Ms. Ward? Talk to me! What's going on?"
The feminine voice that crackled through the speaker of her phone reminded her that she had been talking to her real estate agent. She raised a finger up to silence the foreman who was ambling towards her.
"Yes, Elaine. I found the place I want. Meet me at this address . . . Um, what street are we on?" she asked the construction worker in front of her.
The foreman wore the traditional yellow, plastic helmet and the orange vest associated with his job over his blue and black-checked, flannel shirt and dirt-stained jeans. Madeleine scrunched her nose in distaste as she watched the man chew his wad of tobacco, the juice from it staining part of his red goatee brown when he spat.
Ew . . . gross.
"Ma'am, you can't be on this property right now. There's a demolition going on and we cannot have you . . ." he tried to tell her.
Madeleine interrupted him, pinning the fellow with a hard glare; her voice was firm and unyielding. "I'm sorry, but there will be no more demolition today. Now, you were going to tell me the address here?"
"B-But . . ." He took off his hat to run a hand through his sweaty hair.
"Address! Now!" She barked at him, snapping her fingers in front of his face. Was he always this slow? This was the third time she had been forced to ask him for a simple address.
Madeleine smiled at him, patting the man on his chest for a reward once he had finally rattled off the address to her. She quickly repeated it to her agent on the line.
"Did you get that? Oh, good. I'll see you in a few minutes!" She snapped her phone closed and stuffed it in the pocket of her slacks.
She looked back at the foreman currently towering over her. He didn't appear to be as happy as she was and found herself wondering if his blood sugar was low. Low blood sugar could make a person crabby. Madeleine tugged out a roll of Lifesavers and offered him one.
"No, thank you, ma'am . . ." he said, a little startled by her sudden cheerfulness after snapping his head off.
"Are you sure? It would make you feel better," she said. "Lifesavers always make me happy . . . particularly those yellow ones. You know, the lemon-flavored ones! That zing can really wake you up when you're feeling a bit down."
Madeleine glanced at the open end and saw a yellow one was next. "Oh, wait!" she said, plucking the tiny, candy circle free and popping it into her own mouth. "That one's my favorite," she smiled, talking around the candy. She saw that red was next in line and thrust the roll forward again. "Have a cherry Lifesaver? You look like a cherry Lifesaver kind of guy."
The foreman ignored the candy and bent his head, spitting tobacco juice in the dirt near her boots. She chose to ignore his rudeness and introduced herself before he could ruin her mood. That couldn't be allowed to happen because it would be a complete waste of a lemon Lifesaver.
"The name's Madeleine Ward . . . and you are?" She raised her hand politely.
Spurning her introduction, he returned to the matter at hand. "Ma'am, I'm afraid that it is too dangerous for you to enter a construction site without the proper safety equipment . . ."
"You mean, one of those helmets?" Oh, he's worried about my safety. How sweet! She decided to forgive his rudeness.
"Yes, ma'am," he nodded, opening his mouth to continue.
"Where can I get one of those?" she interrupted once more, pointing at his hat.
He sighed. "At the construction office," he said, pointing behind her. "But ma'am, look, I need you to listen . . ."
But Madeleine was already heading over to the trailer that they brought onto the site at the beginning of the process. She ducked inside as the foreman eyed the tall man climbing incongruously out of the tiny car. She was out of the office in record time, yellow helmet already on her head. He wondered what she had said to Cindy for the secretary to have given her a hard hat so quickly.
He looked at the guy as he neared. "Is she always like this?"
He smirked. "Sometimes even worse," he joked.
"Here I am." Madeleine beamed at him. "Looks good, doesn't it? I like the bright color. Makes me think of sunshine."
"Ms. Ward, I'm afraid that I can't allow you on these premises without the owner's say so."
Madeleine waved away that issue, cheerfully. "Oh, don't worry about that. My real estate agent is contacting him." She stopped by her boyfriend. "I see you've met Roger."
Roger threw an arm around her shoulders and offered the construction foreman his hand. "Roger Strickland,"
"Keith MacGregor, at your service. You can call me Mac," the foreman answered, taking the hand. "Are you two . . .?"
"Roger's my . . . um," she hesitated.
"Boyfriend," Roger inserted here. "Sweetheart, what's going on here. I think I might have whiplash after the way you took that turn in here."
Madeleine's smile widened in her excitement. "I'm going to buy this building," she declared.
"This dump?" Roger's brow furrowed as he looked at the crappy shape the building was in. "Come on, babe, you can do better than this place."
Mac choked on his tobacco juice. He shoved his hard hat back on his head, looking back over his shoulder at his demo project. "He has a point, there, ma'am."
Madeleine sniffed, her eyes rolling. "That's only because you have no imagination, Roger. I look at this and see all of this amazing potential."
"A potential fire hazard, you mean. Tearing this place down would be the only way to improve it." Roger snorted. "Madeleine, if you want to spend money, I can think up dozens of better ways to do it than wasting it on this money pit."
Madeleine glared. Although, she would be lying if she said this place wasn't a complete eyesore, everything was fixable. It just needed some curb appeal to look better from out here. Graffiti covered much of the walls and trash was everywhere, weeds were growing through the cracks in the parking area. A splash of paint, some new asphalt over the parking lot, maybe a little landscaping, and this place would look fantastic!
Roger laughed, the sound of it was beginning to grate on her nerves. Roger made certain that she was aware of his opinion of her plans for her inheritance. He often forgot that little aspect . . . It was hers and not his to spend or invest. This had been her dream for years now and, with or without his blessing, it was going to happen. Other than accompanying her to visit potential properties, the man hadn't offered to help her. In fact, there had yet to be anything constructive come out of his mouth since she shared her ideas with him.
It was more than just annoying Roger that had made her stop here. Madeleine had this thing for old buildings. Sure, they needed a ton of work both inside and out, but underneath the grime and damage, were architectural treasures you couldn't get in a new building. That kind of character wasn't being built anymore. There were stories that these beauties had to tell and Madeleine wanted to hear what they had to say.
But this building had a history, one she was excited to discover for herself. What secrets would these walls hold? Call it a gut feeling, but Madeleine was anxious to learn all of them. And Roger could just suck air if he couldn't get behind her in this adventure.
"So, are we just going to stand here?" Roger griped.
Madeleine smirked at the sound of his weariness. They'd been out looking at properties all day and only now had been heading home when Madeleine had seen this gem.
"If you're too tired, you can wait in the car," she told him. Finding the right property had infused her with renewed energy. She couldn't wait to see the inside.
Roger sighed heavily but stayed planted by her side, rather like an immense oak tree, much to her surprise. MacGregor shifted his weight but hung out with them as if he expected Madeleine to go running off into the demolition site if he turned his back. He looked annoyed.
"How long do you think this thing here is going to take," he asked. "My crew's on the clock."
"I'm not leaving until my realtor gets here," Madeleine informed him. "But you'll be happy to know she's on her way."
The foreman scratched the back of his neck. "Can't say that makes me happy. Time is money, and we're on a schedule. This will put us behind and that will make us late for our next job."
"Well," Madeleine said, "You'll make up the time since you won't be finishing up this job. But I might retain your services with some of the cleanup." She looked around the site, wrinkling her nose. "Your crew made a bit of a mess."
MacGregor snorted. "It was a demolition," he reminded her. "It's supposed to get messy. Then, later, we haul it all away. I'm going to have to call the owner, you realize."
"Do what you have to do," Madeleine waved a hand as if granting him permission.
MacGregor rolled his eyes as he fished his phone out of his pocket. Thankfully, Elaine's black sedan turned into the construction site and parked next to Madeleine's Volkswagen Bug with its awesome, customized detailing even as he punched in the numbers. The sleek car looked utterly boring beside the mint-green vehicle with its amazing, custom, fuchsia and black zebra-striped fenders.
She smiled happily at the classy stylings of her baby.
Madeleine's attention switched to Mrs. Elaine Reynolds, a tall, slender black woman who was her realtor, as she exited her car. The woman towered over Madeleine's shorter stature and had a long mane of raven-black hair pulled back into a no-nonsense bun. Elaine was wearing an olive-green, ruffled blouse, tucked beneath a tan, belted, pencil skirt, and matching heels. Although, while Elaine was one of the best realtors in town, Madeleine wondered if her outfit was suitable to enter the condemned building. Either way, she trusted the other woman to get her exactly what she wanted.
Elaine spotted Madeleine immediately and smiled warmly at her, starting towards her, her phone still in her hand. Unfazed by her next choice of property. Though, knowing her, she had probably already seen the place during her quick research on it right after her call.
Madeleine met her halfway. She extended her hand in greeting, exclaiming excitedly, "Elaine, were you able to get ahold of the owner? Is he interested in selling? Will we be able to tour it today?"
"Hello again, Ms. Ward," Elaine smiled smoothly as if she hadn't just spent hours with Madeleine already. "That would be a yes, possibly, and yes," she laughed, answering all of the questions Madeleine had just rattled off.
"How many times must I insist, Elaine; call me Madeleine, or Maddie, if you like," Madeleine told her. "I'm so sorry for dragging you out again today, but I saw it and it was perfect, but they were getting ready to demolish it. Time was of the essence," Maddie told her. "It might not have been here in the morning."
"As a matter of fact," Elaine held out her phone to the foreman. "Keith MacGregor? I have the owner on the phone now." The realtor sent Madeleine a knowing smirk.
As MacGregor took the phone, his face morphed into surprise as he glanced back at the two women huddled together and talking furiously. "Yes, Sir. I understand, sir. As long as you realize that this will slow us down considerably . . ." He nodded despite knowing the person on the other side wouldn't be able to see it. "It's your call and your wallet. Nothing had been done yet that isn't irreversible should the deal go through."
The foreman handed Elaine her cell phone back. "Alright. We'll need to get you a hardhat like Ms. Ward, and then you'll be able to tour the site."
Elaine followed him towards the office. "Is it safe?"
Mac looked back at her. "You might be wishing for a pair of boots before you're done, but as long as you wear the hardhat, you should be fine."
A minute later, Elaine exited the construction office with another of those yellow hardhats perched precariously on her head. Mac kept a hand on her elbow to prevent the woman from tripping or twisting an ankle in her high heels.
When they reached Madeleine and Roger, Elaine said, "The owner was very surprised by your interest. It had been on the market for months, but felt he would get a better response if it was simply bulldozed and sold the land. But if you're interested in the structure itself, he will halt the demolition until you've seen it. You have until tomorrow evening to make a decision," Elaine told her as she dug through her purse.
Madeleine's eyes lit up when she withdrew the keys. She gave a little squeal. "You mean we can have a look right now?"
"Of course, we can," Elaine laughed.
Mac heaved a sigh. He turned and waved to his men. "You got the rest of the day and tomorrow off," he yelled to them. Several of the men slumped; they needed the job. He was about to make their day, however. "Think of it as a paid vacation," he told them. "Back here day after tomorrow at 6 a.m. sharp!"
Elaine was unlocking the front door to the sounds of whooping in the background. "At least they get to leave happy," she told Maddie. "You might be shouldering some of their pay in the price of the property."
"Is the price really high?" Madeleine asked.
Elaine shook her head. "Well within your budget, my dear," she assured her. Of course, there were reasons for the great price, something that Elaine, as a realtor was required by law to disclose to her client. "Before we begin, I'm required to tell you that the businesses here have been riddled with troubles. There have been several unsolved murders committed here as well as a large number of people that have gone missing. Foul play has been suspected in those cases but no one was ever charged, one as recently as six months ago." Elaine looked at her client seriously. "This could affect the success of any business that you try to establish as well as make it difficult for you to sell the property later on."
Roger frowned. "What are you saying? This place is . . . like, cursed or something?"
Madeleine rolled her eyes. "There's no such thing as curses. If the place works out, I'll make certain to upgrade the security," she assured both of them. "It could be good for business, though. People are fascinated by ghost stories and often flock to places that are rumored to be haunted." She laughed.
The foreman caught up with them at that point. "I should probably tour the place with you. There are several places that could be dangerous." At their startled looks, he went on to explain, "Hanging fixtures, exposed wires, trash and debris that are tripping hazards. Can't have either of you hurting yourselves while wandering a condemned building, now, could we?"
Roger snorted. "Law suit hazards, you mean."
Mac shrugged. "Can't blame the man. Lots of bad things attached to this place already. The owner doesn't want more added to it."
"Well, if you've got Mac, then you won't need me," Roger announced with more excitement than he'd had all day. "I'll wait in the car," he told Madeleine. "Try not to trip and break something, hm? That's all this day would need to make it complete, for us to spend the night in the emergency room."
Madeleine had no problem with that plan. Roger would have been a drag, pointing out every dent and ding in the place. She and Elaine would have a much better time doing this without him.
"We won't be long," she promised agreeably. As Roger walked off, Maddie peered inside the darkened entry. "It's awfully dark in there. Does the building have lights?"
Mac slapped a hand to his forehead. "Electricity has been turned off. Hang on. It will only take a second. The panel's just around the corner." He was back in just a couple of minutes. "We're good to go," he told them.
Elaine finished opening the door and stepped back. "After you then," she said, waving Madeleine in front of her.
"Watch your step," Mac warned from behind as he brought up the rear.
Madeleine grinned, anticipation thrumming through her as she stepped through the entrance. She gasped as her eyes took in the condition. The room wasn't as large as she'd hoped but she wasn't above knocking down a few walls to get what she wanted. She already knew that she would have to renovate any place she bought. There was already money allotted to it, in fact. But as she looked around at the damaged walls, sagging and stained ceiling, and floor that was missing a tile here and there, it was everything she had dreamed of and more! Clearly, it needed a lot of work done if what she saw here was evident throughout the entire building, but once you got passed the grime, exposed pipes, and broken glass, it was perfect!
Elaine wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Oh, my Lord, what is that odor? It smells as if something died in here!"
"Something probably did," Mac commented, kicking a 2x4 out of their way. "This place has been empty for six months, at least. Animals probably got in here through one of the broken windows. Could be a raccoon that climbed in and couldn't find its way out. There are a few of those pests that roam around the area. The trash from the neighboring restaurants attract them," he explained.
Madeleine laughed. "It smells like the sweet scent of success to me!"
Elaine looked at her worriedly. "Oh, honey, are you sure? From the looks of things, this place is going to be a total gut job. That's a lot of work!"
"I'm not adverse to a little work," she smiled at the other woman.
The location was superb! Plenty of off-street parking and close to other successful businesses and better yet, it was near a public high school and there was a middle school just around the corner. Perfect demographics for a brand-new theater that would provide a safe haven for after school kids and keep them off of the street!
Elaine frowned. "The walls are painted black . . . but I guess that would make sense, all considering . . ." she muttered.
Madeleine shook her head. "No, just a dark gray. Nothing a couple of coats of paint couldn't cure." Her enthusiasm was ramping up rather than dimming.
"Well then, shall we begin the tour?" Elaine moved towards the door leading into the rest of the building.
Madeleine didn't need to be told twice "So, what's the story behind this place?" she asked.
"The owner hadn't given me much detail other than there had been a series of murders years ago, and then, once again with the death of a security guard six months ago. However, I did do a quick search on the internet and found out that this place used to be a restaurant franchise way back in the day."
"How way back is that?" Mac asked curiously.
"Sometime in the seventies, I believe. It was called Fredbear's Family Diner, then." Elaine told them.
Madeleine looked at the other woman as Elaine picked her way carefully through a pile of broken masonry in her high heels. "Do you know why it closed down?"
The realtor shrugged. "No one really knows. The owner kind of announced it out of the blue sometime around 1993. I've never heard a reason being attached to it. Maybe he was wanting to retire?"
"So, what happened with the business afterward?"
"Someone else bought it from him. Changed it into a pizzeria and the name to Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, but they had continued with the basic theme."
"Theme?" Madeleine asked, turning a corner into yet another hallway. She wondered how long the hallways were.
"Animatronics. They provided the entertainment for the children that came there. They were programmed to sing and play music."
"Oh, how exciting!" Madeleine smiled as she pictured it. "You know, I tinkered a bit with robotics when I was in a summer program back in high school." She looked around wistfully. "I wish there were still some of them around. I bet I could get them cleaned up and working again in no time." She wished she had had a place like that when she was a kid. Maybe then she would've had her best friend with her here today.
Elaine smiled uncertainly. "I always thought they were kind of creepy, myself."
When they came to the first door off the hallway, Madeleine stepped into it. It was small and not exactly impressive, but Madeleine already had possibilities scheming through her brain. Storage, maybe? A small office? If nothing else, she could gut the building and start from scratch. Then, her eyes landed on what appeared to be an animal head that hung from the wall.
She flicked the light switch a couple of times before realizing that the bulb was missing. She looked behind her at Mac. "Do you have a flashlight on you, by any chance?"
The foreman nodded. He remembered that there were a lot of places in the building without lights. He handed his over.
Madeleine turned the flashlight on and passed it over the animal head. It looked kind of like a fox, but had a patch over one eye . . . kind of like a pirate. Cute! She smiled, charmed.
"I assume that this is one of the animatronics?" She asked Elaine over her shoulder.
"Yes," the realtor confirmed for her. "There are at least four of them that I know of. I believe that one is called Foxy."
How apropos. Could have been a little more original, though, she thought with a smirk as she walked over to it. Her fingers brushed the tip of his nose. She wondered how she might use him as she became further enamored with the property with each passing moment.
"Let's see the rest of the building," Elaine urged her.
Reluctantly, Madeleine stepped away from the head piece. She turned her thoughts back to planning the renovations as she continued down the hallway. "So, what happened to Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria?" She asked, resuming their previous conversation.
Elaine grimaced. "I'm afraid the pizzeria was only opened for a little over a year before parents started contacting the police saying their children had gone missing. Five of them in total had last been seen in the pizzeria."
Madeleine frowned. How horrible. "Did they ever find them?"
"No, nor the kidnapper. Eventually, after so much time had passed with no leads or evidence, the case went cold and the children were declared dead."
A deep, burning anger boiled up inside of her for the kidnapper. After all this time, it was likely that those children were indeed dead now. How terrible for the parents, however, to never know for sure. Had one of them been her child, she knew she would not have let one rock go unturned until she had found him or the bastard that took him.
"Surprisingly, though, that wasn't what shut down the pizzeria," Elaine continued.
"It wasn't?"
"No. It was some hygienic issue with the animatronics. People had complained to the county's health department that a sickeningly sweet smell was coming from them, so they shut them down."
"Huh?" Strange. Madeleine never heard of a robot smelling bad. Maybe one of the kids had shoved some pizza inside one of the joints or some other opening. "So, what happened after that?" she asked.
"Most of the animatronics were reported as scrapped and supposedly been sold for parts," Elaine went on. "The pizzeria was sold but, this time, the new owners decided to use the building's history into consideration and remodeled it into a horror attraction. I suspect that much of the deterioration we're seeing here might have been part of the 'décor'. It is rather unsurprising that it didn't go over like the owner had hoped. It seemed in bad taste to use the tragedy that happened here to make a profit. But, again, that isn't what shut this place down in the end."
Madeleine frowned. "More disappearances?"
"Yes, although this time it was security guards who vanished, not children, but what sealed the building's fate this time was murder," the realtor said.
"Murder?" Maddie exclaimed.
"You know, might not be my business to say," Mac interjected here, "but I agree with the owner this time. The building seems to be cursed." He looked sympathetically at Madeleine. "You may want to consider that before buying this place. A lot of bad stuff has happened here."
Elaine sighed. "This place does seem to be something of a bad luck magnet. The place didn't even get to open, however. Numerous guards were hired as night watchmen, but after only a night or two, each one would disappear. None of them quit, though. They didn't even pick up their paychecks. The police were beginning to suspect foul play. I mean, the chances that four men would just up and leave everything behind are ridiculously low. But then, a body of a guard was found about six months ago. I heard that the family opted for a closed casket funeral." She shook her head sadly.
Madeleine stopped in front of a large interior window. Inside was an old desk, an empty paper waste basket and, in the far corner, a cardboard box filled with more head pieces like the one belonging to Foxy. A few children's drawings of the animatronics hung on the wall next to posters. The tiles were dirty and in bad repair; the wall had holes punched into it in one place, but Maddie felt a thrill go through her despite that.
The door still had police tape across it. Madeleine removed it and stepped into the large space. The room itself, she thought, was an impressive size and would be perfect for an office. It could even look homey if she replaced the filthy, damaged tile with some new carpet and added a new festive color for the walls.
"This is a fantastic space!" she grinned, imagining herself working here.
Elaine blinked, startled. "Haven't you been listening? Ms. Ward, don't you mind that there used to be a dead body right here?" She pointed to a spot on the floor.
Madeleine peered closely. Was that blood? She couldn't tell in the dimly lit room. The one naked bulb did little to illuminate the space. She shrugged a shoulder and smiled at the other woman. "Oh, I'm sure it will be fine. I mean, it's not like it's still lying there or anything."
Elaine and Mac gaped at her, but she didn't mind. A lot of people looked at her that way. Madeleine was used to it. She had been considered 'odd', 'weird', and 'off' by a lot of people since . . . Well, just since. Just because someone had a 'history' and a few 'quirks' didn't mean that she didn't deserve a second chance. Or, a third . . . Or, as in the case of this building, a fourth.
Looping her arm through Elaine's, Madeleine ushered her down the hall. She was excited to see more, and spent the next several minutes exploring the rest of the building. The front room, she decided she could expand and make into the game room. In another back room, she had discovered four ancient arcade games hidden beneath a thick protective tarp, and knew she would want to include them in the purchase. There were the remains of a commercial kitchen, a private half bath, a couple of larger, public bathrooms, a few empty rooms that still had shelving in them for storage and included more parts of other animatronic creatures, and a broom-closet.
And then they turned down one last hall in what was beginning to feel like a rabbit warren. At the end was an exit, its sign was lit giving off an eerie, red glow, but halfway down Madeleine noticed one last door. This one, unlike all the others, was closed. As she got closer, she noticed that this door was made of metal. None of the other inside doors had been metal. She wondered if it held the furnace and water heater but remembered seeing that room behind the kitchen. She reached for the door handle.
Locked . . . That was strange.
The building was scheduled for demolition. All the doors were supposed to be open and every room searched to make sure no homeless or teens were hanging out in it before it was destroyed.
"What's in here?" she asked curiously.
"Honestly, I don't know," Elaine admitted. She tried the keys she had to the building but none appeared to work. "Is this room supposed to be locked?" she asked the foreman.
"No, indeed, it isn't," Mac said, stepping between the two women and pulling out a large set of keys. "Safety regs state that every room has to be checked before demolition can begin. I sent two of my men in here this morning, but neither of them mentioned a door being locked to me. Hang on. I should have a key for this door." He flipped through the dozen or so he had.
"Oh!" Elaine exclaimed suddenly. "I think this might be the safe room! The owner mentioned the building had one. It's walls and doors are reinforced to protect the contents from flood and fire damage."
"Could be just that," Mac muttered as he slid one of the keys into the lock. "Hold up. I think I've got it."
There was a click as the locking mechanism could be heard sliding back with a clunk. Heavy lock, Madeleine thought, wondering what was so valuable that it needed this kind of security. Maybe this is where the owners had kept their receipts at the end of the business day? But most places, as she understood it, tended to take all but a small amount to the bank; it was better since criminals wouldn't bother breaking in if the haul wasn't worth the effort and risk.
Mac turned the knob and pushed the door open with a loud squeal. They were expecting stale air. The room had been locked for six months, after all, but the stench that billowed out was rank.
"Ugh! Oh, my Lord," Elaine squawked, stepping back and waving a hand in front of her face. "What is that smell? It's worse than the one in the front room!"
Mac took a step into the room, feeling along the wall for a switch. "There should be a light switch around here somewhere."
Madeleine held her nose. "A dead animal got in here, too?"
"Maybe through a vent," Mac choked. "Hah! I think I found it!" he crowed a second later, only to be disappointed. "Ah, man. Looks like the lightbulb is blown out. Where's my flashlight?"
Madeleine leaned in to look over Mac's shoulder. It took only a second to find the room's sole occupant. She blinked in surprise. It was a rabbit! A human-sized, animatronic bunny . . . that had obviously seen better days. As the light played over it, she noticed that nearly all of its fur had been worn off, revealing its rusted metal base. Its yellow paint was flaking off badly, and the entire body sported holes of varying sizes.
"What the hell is that?" Mac asked aloud, incredulous.
Pushing past him, Madeleine kneeled on the dirt-encrusted floor beside it. It was missing part of an ear, she noted, and it was covered in dents and some of the patches of fur looked green from mold. He . . . she was certain that the robotic rabbit was a 'he' . . . had been sorely abused. It looked like someone had taken him out and used him for target practice! The wastefulness and careless destruction made her angry.
"Oh, you poor thing!" She crooned.
"Is that one of the animatronics?" Elaine asked uneasily from the doorway?
Madeleine nodded. "Yes . . . or it used to be, anyway. Someone must have locked him in here and forgotten him."
"Well, if that smell is coming from him, I can't say that I blame them," Elaine said, covering her nose with the edge of her blouse. "I'm surprised that they didn't just get rid of him like the others."
Mac grimaced. "Smells like a critter might have gotten inside of it and died."
"Look at this!" Madeleine complained. "Some of these holes look like they came from bullets. This is horrible!"
Why would anyone want to damage such a valuable piece of machinery? Madeleine could see past the rust and mold to what he must have looked like when he was new. This was criminal! One of the owners must have put the animatronic in here to protect him from vandals, but obviously it was too late.
"Oh, I agree completely." Elaine stepped back into the hallway for a little air. The dusty smell was a hundred times better than the stench emanating from safe room. "That is horrible," she said, speaking of the smell.
Maddie nodded emphatically. "I know, right? How could anyone be so cruel?"
Her nose twitched. Yes, he did smell pretty rank, but if someone had bothered to take proper care of him, maybe he wouldn't have been in such bad condition! After all, the scraps of the previous animatronics looked far better than him, but at least this one was whole! Perhaps, if she had the time and money, and after the renovations were complete, she could fix him up a little . . . Maybe even use him for an attraction!
"What is that on him?" Mac asked, shining the light on one of its hands.
"Is that blood?" Elaine wondered aloud. The realtor stepped further back into the hallway nervously.
Madeleine leaned down – through her mouth – and picked up the extremity, scratching at the dark-brown splatter with a fingernail. The suspicious, dried-on stain flaked off under the onslaught. The remaining fur in that area was also stained a curious, reddish-brown tint. Madeleine frowned at the familiarity of it.
She stood suddenly, forcing Mac to step back to avoid Madeleine bumping into him.
"No," Madeleine said with finality. "I don't think so."
"What else could it be, then?" Elaine asked. She was sounding a little hysterical, in Madeleine's opinion.
She shrugged nonchalantly, turning away. "Strawberry jam? Paint? Does it really matter?"
Elaine was, apparently, really caught up in these ghost stories that were haunting the place. Madeleine didn't believe in curses or monsters under the bed. She had already met a real-life monster and this beaten husk of a rabbit wasn't it.
She stepped out of the safe room with Mac and insisted that he relock the door. The better to protect her investment. Madeleine set her hands on her hips and looked back down the dimly-lit hallway, satisfied with her vision, confident with her plans.
"I'll take it," she announced out of the blue.
Elaine looked startled. "You . . . You don't want to take a day to think it over?"
"Nope! I know what I want and this is it," Madeleine grinned at her. "It just needs a little elbow-grease and a little love . . . and a boatload of money. I have all of that! This place is perfect."
They exited out of the back door. The afternoon sun was already low in the sky, but after half an hour inside the murky confines of the building, the brightness caused Madeleine to have to squint. Elaine heaved a sigh of relief as Mac locked up behind them.
"So, what is the owner asking for it?"
Elaine's discomfort had fled the moment they had stepped outside. She smiled now. "I think you'll be pleased. The price is practically a song."
Madeleine felt her jaw drop when Elaine quoted the price but then, she realized it made perfect sense. The building was on its last legs and had been on the market for six months without an offer. The owner was no doubt desperate to get it off his hands, especially with this last murder still attached to the building.
Madeleine laughed in delight. "Where do I sign?"
"I'll draw up the paperwork tonight and call the owner. I know he'll accept with alacrity, so let me be the first to congratulate you." Elaine grinned at the younger woman's enthusiasm. This sale certainly wouldn't hurt her reputation in the real estate world, either.
"Call him now," Madeleine urged her. "I don't want to take the chance that someone else will outbid me and steal the property out from under me."
"Now? Well, alright, but I think it's safe to say that won't be a worry in this case," Elaine pulled out her cell phone and hit redial. A few minutes later, she was handing the keys to Madeleine. "I may be getting ahead of myself, but here are the keys to the property, Ms. Ward. Congratulations and may I wish you luck on your new venture. It's been a pleasure."
Madeleine could barely contain her squeal of excitement as she snatched the keys up. She turned to Mac and fired him on the spot, but eased it a moment later with an offer.
"I don't suppose you'd be willing to become my general contractor for the renovation, would you?" she asked him. "I've only been living here for a short time and don't know who to trust in the industry."
"I'm flattered, ma'am," he said. "But my business is tearing things down, not building them back up again."
"Please? I promise that there will be plenty to tear down initially," she tried again.
Mac laughed. "Alright. Once you get the paperwork all sorted out, we can help with the demolition and clean up afterwards. Then, I can give you the names of a couple of people that can help you with the renovations."
"Deal!" Madeleine exclaimed.
Things were already looking up for her! This was going to be fantastic, she thought as she glanced back at the building behind her. She decided right then and there that she was going to put aside money specifically for fixing up that old animatronic rabbit inside as well. The two of them would get this new project done together!
She thanked them and made her way back to her car. She spotted Roger in the passenger seat, knees propped on the dash and eyes closed as if he were sleeping. Madeleine jerked open the driver's side door and hopped behind the wheel.
"I did it!" She announced with a squeal of excitement.
Roger jumped. His eyes blinking rapidly as he struggled to wake up. "You . . . What?"
Madeleine dangled her keys to her new building in front of his nose. "I bought the building! It's all mine now."
Roger's eyebrows rose in his disbelief. He looked out to the old wreck before them. "You're kidding, right? Please, tell me you're kidding. You actually bought that piece of shit?"
Madeleine dropped the keys into the cup holder. She should have known that Roger wouldn't be happy for her. Sighing now, she started up the vehicle and turned it around in short order. Volkswagen Bugs could be turned on a dime.
"It's not going to look like a piece of poop when I'm done with it," she told him. "Now, let's get home. I want to celebrate."
"I still think you're making a mistake," he grumbled, trying to find a comfortable position in the too-small car.
She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and thought to herself that maybe she had, but it wasn't from buying the building. She smiled despite this revelation, however, because this was a mistake she could fix if Roger couldn't get with the program and support her in this.
Her dream was about to be realized . . .
Introducing my OC Madeleine Ward. Would love to hear your opinions of her and how the story sounds so far. Bet none of you will guess what's going to happen next! ;) Oh, and please don't do a Maddie and talk on your phone while driving. That's a big no, no. She's a bad influence.