Part One Hundred

“You should really be more discreet, Kage,” Mason said from behind me.

“Discreet about what?” I asked him.

“You should start checking the internet,” he said with a chuckle.

“Shit,” I said as realization struck me.

“If it helps, he hasn’t said anything,” Mason said as I made my way out of the locker room.

Alexei was already on the ice, doing sprints with Cooper. He stopped when he saw me and watched me as I skated towards them. Alexei nodded his head and Cooper skated away from us.

“Alexei,” I said.

“Did you know she was my sister before you screwed her?” he asked me.

“No, she told me on Saturday,” I said.

“Of all the women at that party, you just had to hook up with my sister,” he said and took his gloves off.

“Really? You’re taking your gloves off? Are you going to beat me up like we’re still in high school?” I asked him.

“You don’t have a sister, so you don’t get it,” he said as he pushed me backwards.

“She’s an adult,” I said to him as he slammed me into the ice.

“What’s going on over there?” I heard Coach yell.

“Just some male bonding, Coach,” Mason yelled back.

We were gripping each other’s jerseys, glaring but so far neither of us had tried to swing at the other one. I’d really thought that he’d be more pissed off than this.

“She’s Kalen’s nanny, Alexei, and not interested in me,” I said.

“Wait? She rejected you?” he asked me as his grip on me loosened.

“Yeah she did,” I replied.

“Damn, and I was just about to give you this whole lecture of not breaking her heart,” he said and started to laugh. “Guess she beat me to it.”

“You’re not mad that I’m in love with your sister?” I asked him and he stopped suddenly and looked at me.

“Shit, you’ve got it bad,” he said.

“Sorry,” I said.

“We’re good, Kage, I know you. I’m not mad but seriously good luck, she’s a tough nut, that one,” he said.

“Hey, Alexei, I hope that girl from last night was eighteen,” Cooper called out.

“Why?” he asked and we both looked to where Cooper pointed.

We could all tell that the two men talking to Coach were police. Coach looked alarmed and he turned to look towards us as Alexei started backing away. “She said she was twenty.” They both shook hands with Coach and then he stepped onto the ice.

“Hawthorne!” he called and everyone looked at me.

“How old is your sister?” I asked him and he punched me on the arm.

“Twenty-two, asshole,” he laughed.

“Kage, this is Detective Reed and Detective Suarez, go get changed and meet them in my office. They need to talk to you,” Coach said and the look in his eyes was something similar to sadness.

I didn’t shower because we hadn’t started training yet. I changed quickly and headed towards the Coach's office and I could hear him yell at the team to get their asses into gear if they wanted to play for the rest of the season.

“How can I help you, Detectives?” I asked as I closed the office door behind me.

“Mr. Hawthorne, please sit, we just have a few questions,” Reed said.

“What is your relationship with Madison McKnight?” Suarez asked me.

“We’re divorced,” I said. “Is Madison okay?”

“I’m sorry M. Hawthorne, Madison was discovered in her bathtub late last night by her neighbor. Paramedics were called to the scene, but they were too late, Madison was declared dead on arrival,” Reed said.

“She’s dead? How?” I asked.

“At this time all the evidence points to suicide, I’m sorry for your loss,” Suarez said.

“Does she have any other family that we can call to identify her body?” Reed asked.

“No, not of legal age anyway. I’ll identify her and have her body sent to a funeral home,” I said.

“You can accompany us to the morgue, the sooner we can close this the sooner you can claim her body,” Reed said.

I just nodded my head and grabbed my bag from the locker room before following the two detectives out of the arena. I couldn’t believe that she was dead and I was certain when they showed me that body that it wouldn’t be her.

I drove my own car and followed them to the city morgue. I didn’t have to wait or sign in and I was taken straight to a viewing room. I waited ten minutes before the medical examiner wheeled a gurney in front of the window and pulled the sheet back.

“Fuck,” I said as I looked at Madison’s face.

“Identity confirmed,” Reed said and the medical examiner covered her face and wheeled the gurney away.

I had slid down to the floor with my back against the wall. I was still in a state of shock and then the guilt hit me. She was dead and our last conversation hadn’t been a good one. Kalen’s mother was dead and it was probably my fault.

“Mr. Hawthorne? Are you okay? Can we call someone for you?” Suarez asked me.

“How do I make arrangements to have her body transported to another state?” I asked him.

“We’ll contact you when we’ve closed the investigation. The funeral home we release her body to, will make all the arrangements for you,” Suarez said.

“Thank you,” I said and stood up.

“She left a note, if you wanted to read it,” Reed said.

“Maybe at some point. I can’t read it now,” I said.

An hour later I left the morgue after having filled in paperwork with her details and signing a document claiming responsibility for her funeral. Everything felt unreal as I walked back to my car and climbed inside.

I drove to Madison’s apartment and ripped the police tape away from the door and opened it. The living room looked exactly the same, everything neat and in its place. The kitchen was spotless too, so was her room. There were no dirty dishes, no laundry, like she had taken care of everything before killing herself.