Looking satisfied at what he'd seen; he picked up his phone and pressed a button. "Mary," he said, "Please call Dad's office and tell them we'll have ...o reschedule that conference call. I'm going to be with a customer. You can call my cell if anything comes up." After a few more exchanges he hung up and smiled at Maddie. He stood and said, "All right, if you'll put yourself in my hands, so to speak, I have just the place for driving lessons." Cool, I'm ready," she said.They left Hamilton's. Dinner was special, especially on a holiday like today. Ben made the meal, turkey (in a bag), potatoes (from a pouch), gravy (from a packet), corn (microwave steamable), cranberry sauce (from a can), salad (from some bags), and an apple pie (from the store). He laid out the table, lit red, green, and white candles, and set the lights down low. He was in a dark suit, per usual, with a deep red shirt, and to lighten the mood, a bright festive Christmas tie (nice and tacky) and Santa hat with a. A sudden feeling of panic overwhelmed Madison, she tried to stand but Earl forcefully pushed her back onto the chair. “Just relax, Madison” Principal West calmly spoke from the shadows of the room. Madison lay back on the chair, the world was spinning, her heart was racing and she didn’t know where to focus her eyes. A warm tightness slithered down from her neck into her chest and then there was agony, her heart done all kinds of kicks and flips. It wasn’t working, she was dying. She dug her. It followed the contours of his body and inspected the straps that bound him. After the inspection a sound was heard. The clicking of high heels on a bare ceramic floor as two women entered the room through the steel door. One woman was older, perhaps fifty five. She had severe features that were made even stronger by dark lipstick and long lashes. Her body was enclosed in a tight shiny dress that covered her from neck to ankles allowing only occasional glimpses of her stiletto heeled boots. In.