Simon Says Die

“I’m still getting used to it, but so far, it’s not half-bad.”
    Madison stepped inside. Pierce shut and locked the door behind her. There was no point in him giving her a tour of the house. The entire floor plan was visible from the entryway. The kitchen was a tiny collection of cabinets and appliances in the back, left corner of the main room. Two doors opened off the short hall to the right. Both were open, revealing a small bathroom and a bedroom.
    One bedroom.
    Pierce left his suitcase, the one he’d brought from the “undercover” house, sitting by the entertainment unit to the right. He rolled Madison’s suitcase down the short hall into the bedroom.
    Following behind him, she glanced at the bed before looking back toward the hall to see if she’d missed a second bedroom somewhere.
    â€œThe couch folds out into a bed,” he said, in answer to her unspoken question. “You get the luxurious master suite.”
    â€œAh, heaven.” She took a few steps past the bed and peeked into the bathroom, which was the same one visible from the hall, accessible by two different doors. At the end of the bedroom was a small deck. She tugged open the sliding glass door and stepped outside to breathe in the crisp, cool air that smelled heavily of pine.
    There was no yard to speak of, just the woods, creeping up toward the house. The sun was beginning to set, so she couldn’t see a lot of detail, but what she did see was so beautiful she was beginning to wonder if she’d made a mistake moving into town.
    Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Pierce lift her suitcase up on the bed. And just as she’d expected, he unzipped it and opened the top in his never-ending quest to rid her of her arsenal. Then he froze.
    The shocked look on his face was priceless as he stared down into the suitcase. A few seconds later, without touching anything inside, he flipped the top closed, zipped it, and left the room.
    Madison was still grinning a few minutes later when she unpacked the bare minimum of clothes and toiletries she’d need for the next few days. Everything else remained in her suitcase, to cover her guns. She took her knife out of her jeans pocket, and the one from her bra, and shoved them under the layer of thongs and tampons before heading into the main living area to check on Pierce.
    He was tucking in the sheets on the pullout sofa bed. She was about to offer to help when her cell phone rang.
    She pulled it out of her pocket and frowned at the unfamiliar number. “Hello?”
    â€œMrs. McKinley, this is Joshua MacGuffin. I believe I may have seen your husband.”
    M ADISON TOOK A bite of her blueberry bagel, but only because Pierce kept frowning at her untouched food. Normally, breakfast was her favorite meal of the day. And on a typical day, she would have loved dining at this beautiful café on East River Street, looking out at the Savannah River. Today, however, was anything but typical, especially with Lieutenant Hamilton sitting across from her.
    The lieutenant took a loud slurp of his coffee and wiped his mouth on his napkin. “I hope the meeting with MacGuffin will be quick. I’ve got my own meeting to go to, with the ‘Simon says’ taskforce.”
    â€œMaking any progress?” Pierce asked.
    â€œNot really.” He grimaced. “Don’t tell that to the media.”
    â€œYou know the FBI would be happy to help if you invite us.”
    Hamilton raised a brow. “Does that include you?”
    â€œNo, I’m out of the serial-killer business, at least for now. Had my fill.”
    â€œCan’t say that I blame you. I don’t have much of a stomach for it myself. Nasty business. So, what time did you say this MacGuffin meeting is?”
    â€œNine o’clock,” Pierce said.
    Madison shoved her bagel back, tired of small talk. “Shouldn’t we get going? We don’t want to be late.”
    Pierce reached for her hand beneath the table and squeezed. Apparently, that was his signal to be quiet. If his hand didn’t feel so good on hers, she’d let him know what she thought of his penchant for bossing her around. Instead, she wrapped her fingers around his. He glanced at her in surprise, but didn’t pull his hand back.
    â€œWe’ll make it in plenty of time,” he said. “It’s a two-minute walk from here.”
    â€œAs for time,” Hamilton said, “It would