Grave Holiday (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 9) Read online

  Nick made a face as he dragged a hand through his dark hair. “You don’t think Maddie has figured it out, do you?”

  “I think if she had she’d be more nervous than you. I saw her in town yesterday. She seemed fine. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know.”

  “She’s been focused on hiding Maude’s gifts and making this the best Christmas ever,” Nick said. “After struggling through the best Thanksgiving ever … and the best Halloween ever … I was kind of hoping she would settle down and relax. I don’t think that’s in the cards.”

  “It’s a woman thing,” Dale said, his eyes twinkling. “They always want to overdo things when it comes to holidays. They can’t help themselves. Plus, well, Maddie was gone a long time. I’m guessing that, in her head, she feels as if she has a lot of things to make up to you.”

  Nick wanted to argue the point, but he’d already considered that himself. “She doesn’t have anything to make up for. We’ve gone round and round on what happened, on why she left, and I’m not angry any longer.”

  “That’s good … and I believe you,” Kreskin said. “I’ve never doubted your love for Maddie. If you remember, I was the one who told you to stop messing around and admit how you feel because you were driving everybody insane.”

  “I think the only one going insane was you.”

  “That’s a distinct possibility,” Kreskin teased. “No offense, son, but I don’t understand why you’re so upset. Maddie is going to say yes. You don’t doubt that, do you?”

  “No. Of course not. Maybe. I … what if she changes her mind when she sees the ring? What if she doesn’t like the ring? What if she’s been trying to figure out a way to let me down easy and the ring makes her break up with me?”

  Kreskin slapped his leg as he broke into hearty guffaws. “Are you serious? That girl loves you as much as you love her. It’s sickening how sweet you two are together. None of that is going to happen.”

  “But … what if it does?”

  “It’s not going to happen.” Kreskin’s tone was firmer this time. “Son, you’re about to get everything you’ve ever wanted. Enjoy it. I’m not telling you not to make a big deal out of it. My wife still complains that I proposed after … well, you know … and didn’t make a spectacle of the proposal.

  “Now, Maddie is not the type of girl who would want you to propose in front of people because she gets embarrassed so easily,” he continued. “That doesn’t mean something private, a big to-do with just the two of you, won’t be something she remembers forever. I’m sure whatever you have planned is going to be great.

  “The one thing I don’t worry about with you is the fact that you always put Maddie’s needs above everything else,” he said. “This will be no different. Follow your instincts. You’re going to be absolutely fine. I promise.”

  Nick let loose with a heavy sigh and nodded. “Thanks. I think I needed to hear that.”

  “Of course you did,” Dale said, shaking his head when the phone on his desk rang. “You’re kind of like a woman sometimes. You worry like one anyway.” Dale answered his phone, his face impassive for a few beats as he listened. When he disconnected and turned to Nick, his face was grim.

  “What?” Nick asked, leaning forward. “Who died?” He was only half joking. Blackstone Bay wasn’t known as being a hotbed of violent activity. That didn’t mean that murder never touched them.

  “Apparently Santa Claus died,” Dale replied. “We need to get to the town square.”

  Nick’s face was unreadable. “Is this some sort of joke?”

  “Nope. Apparently Santa is dead and people are worried the reindeer are going to eat him. We have to get over there right now.”

  “HOLY CRAP. Santa Claus really is dead.”

  Nick did his best to remain calm, but the sight of the full-bodied man – red suit and all – threw him for a loop when he saw the pool of blood next to the body. He shifted his gaze to a spot over his shoulder, found several women watching him, and internally cringed. He didn’t recognize any of the faces but that didn’t mean news of Santa’s passing wouldn’t make it around town before the blood even dried.

  “We need to close this area off,” Dale said, kneeling next to the body. “Oh, crud. This is Mike Robinson.”

  Nick searched his memory. The face was mildly familiar. The white hair and beard distracted him, though. “Mike Robinson. Is he the guy who runs that nursery out on Gable Road during the summer months?”

  Dale grimly nodded. “That’s him. The farm is seasonal. He hires himself out to do a bunch of things in the winter.”

  “Including being Santa?”

  “He volunteers his time for that.”

  “He sounds like a good guy,” Nick said, tilting his head to the side. “This nice guy was stabbed, though. I’m not sure, but I think it might’ve been with one of those candy cane stakes over there.” He pointed toward the row of candy canes that marked the pathway to Santa’s workshop. Blackstone Bay didn’t do anything small so the entire town square had been turned into a winter wonderland.

  “Mike was a … fun guy at the bar,” Dale clarified.

  Nick wasn’t sure what to make of that. “I don’t recall talking to him all that much,” he admitted. “I think he went to school with my dad, though.”

  “That sounds about right,” Dale confirmed, bobbing his head. “He’s a tad older than me, but not much. I wasn’t around back then so I can’t be sure. I just know him from the past few years.”

  “So, what’s the problem?” Nick asked. He could read his partner relatively well and the look on Dale’s face spelled trouble.

  “The problem is that Mike Robinson slept with everything that moved,” Dale replied, keeping his voice low. “He didn’t care if the woman was married, single, someone’s mother, or someone’s daughter. The guy was … um, not discriminating … when it came to picking a bedmate.”

  “Okay.” Nick wasn’t sure where Dale was going with this. “That doesn’t mean we can ignore his murder.”

  “That’s not what I’m saying,” Dale said, offering an exaggerated eye roll. “It’s just … almost every single woman and man in this town is going to be a suspect. When I say Mike didn’t discriminate, I’m not exaggerating. He’d been known to nail a grandmother one night and the granddaughter the next.”

  Nick was horrified. “He was a pedophile?”

  “Oh, no, it wasn’t that bad,” Dale intoned. “He never dated anyone illegal – at least not that I know of – but he boasted a very loose set of morals.”

  “Well, that’s going to mean a huge suspect pool,” Nick remarked. “Where do you want to start?”

  “We start by calling in the state police,” Dale replied. “We need their lab and manpower. We don’t have any winter seasonal workers until after the first of the year. We don’t have snow so I didn’t think we would need them to help monitor the resorts until after the holidays passed.”

  “Okay.” Nick reached for his phone. “I’ll call John and tell him what we need.”

  “Tell him to bring the medical examiner,” Dale said, wrinkling his nose as he studied the blood. “We need a time of death and witness reports before we do anything else.”

  “I’m on it.”

  “OH, THIS is downright criminal.”

  John Winters shared the same strong jaw and dark hair with his brother, although the snarky smile on his face wasn’t one Nick employed in his repertoire. John’s personality was also decidedly louder. Despite that, Nick was happy to see him.

  “Yes, Santa is dead and, as far as I can tell, every single person who lives here is watching us work this crime scene,” Nick muttered, shaking his head as John knelt next to the medical examiner and studied the body. “This is all anyone is going to be talking about.”

  “Thankfully all of the kids are still in school,” Dale added. “We need to make sure this body is out of here before they get out for the day, though. I don’t even want to think of the calls I’ll get if the kids se
e Santa Claus dead in the middle of the winter wonderland.”

  John snorted before catching himself. Death wasn’t funny, but like most law enforcement officials, he’d developed a snarky sense of humor to cover for the constant horrors he saw on any given day at work. “We’ll make sure he’s out of here. Murder weapon?”

  Nick pointed toward the bloody candy cane stake he’d bagged before John’s arrival. “We’re pretty sure it’s that.”

  The medical examiner bobbed his head. “It’s definitely that. I compared the angle and hole.”

  “That’s gotta be a rough way to go,” John intoned. “Did he die right away?”

  “I won’t be sure until I get him open and check his organs, but I’m going to guess it took him a bit to bleed out,” the medical examiner replied, straightening. “It got cold last night. That might make pinpointing a time of death a little more difficult, but I’ll do my best.”

  “We’ll be waiting for your report,” Dale said. “Just for curiosity’s sake, though, would the cold keep him alive longer or make him bleed out quicker?”

  “Neither. The cold would slow down his functions so he wouldn’t bleed out as fast, but he would’ve lost consciousness relatively quickly. Odds are unless someone stumbled upon him within about … oh, forty-five minutes … of him being stabbed, there would’ve been no way to save him. I can’t be sure on that until I get a look inside.”

  “Okay, keep us informed,” Dale said, shifting his eyes to Nick. “I guess that means it’s up to us until we get a time frame.”

  “What do you want to do?” Nick asked. “You said he slept with anything that moved. Do we have any idea who his current conquest was?”

  “No, but I’m sure we’ll get an earful tonight when the festival opens.”

  John made a disgusted face. “Wait a second, are you saying the festival is going to open as planned? Santa Claus is dead.”

  “There’s a backup Santa,” Dale said. “We have one every year because twenty years ago Luke Schneider got hammered when he was supposed to be Santa and he passed out in the winter wonderland. The kids retaliated by treating him as if he was a human piñata and the elves were hurt in the melee.”

  Nick snorted at the memory. “I was eight. Mom wouldn’t let me join in. It was a sight to behold, though. Maddie cried because she thought Santa was dead. Olivia explained he was dead drunk and things would be fine but … she was always so sensitive.”

  “Huh, now that you mention it, I remember that, too.” John stroked his chin. “I was fourteen and obsessed with seeing whether or not the elves wore panties. They kept flipping up their skirts when they were fighting off the kids.”

  Nick made a disgusted face as he cuffed the back of his brother’s head. “Do you always have to be such a pig?”

  John shrugged. “I was born that way. Now isn’t the time to dwell on that, though. I guess if the festival is still on that means we have workers to question and a scene to clean up before the kids get out of school.”

  “Let’s move,” Nick said. “It’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. I have a feeling a few of the parents are going to think otherwise if this is still here in three hours.”

  4

  Four

  “There’s the love of my life.”

  Nick smiled when Maddie strolled through the front door of the police station, moving from behind his desk so he could offer her a hug. There was something about spending a day with death that made him want to embrace the light, and there was nothing that lightened his mood more than Maddie.

  “Hi.” Maddie wrapped her arms around Nick’s neck and kissed his cheek. “I wasn’t sure if I should stop in. I heard about Mike Robinson and didn’t know if you would be busy all night or if you planned on still going to the festival.”

  “I would’ve called if I had to change our plans,” Nick said, brushing his knuckles against Maddie’s soft cheek. “I wouldn’t miss going to the festival with you for anything.”

  “Aww.” John made smooching noises as he sat across from Dale’s desk, his eyes lit with amusement as he mimed gagging. “You guys are so sweet you make me want to brush my teeth with straight baking soda to get off the sugar.”

  “Ha, ha.” Maddie flicked John’s ear and shook her head. “I didn’t know you were in town. Are you working on the case for Nick and Dale?”

  “Oh, Maddie girl, they’re working for me. I’m the boss.”

  Nick made an exaggerated face as he rolled his eyes and Dale merely shook his head.

  “Yes, we’re working for John,” Nick intoned, straightening Maddie’s knit cap so it covered her head. He was determined to make sure she didn’t get sick before Christmas. Technically he found something romantic in the idea of taking care of her when she was ill – that “in sickness and in health” vow ever present in his mind – but he didn’t want her miserable when he proposed. He’d rather live out the illness fantasy after she had a ring on her finger. “He likes to fancy himself the boss so we indulge the fantasy.”

  “Oh, I’m the boss,” John countered. “I’m the complete and total boss, my friend.”

  Nick ignored him. “What did you do today, Mad?”

  “The store was actually busy,” Maddie replied. “I had a lot of people come in and buy books and tarot cards for some reason. I also sold five gift certificates for future readings.”

  “I guess that’s good.” Nick wasn’t always keen on Maddie putting her abilities on display because he figured that made her vulnerable to predators, but now wasn’t the time to debate the merits of her offering readings without someone there to watch her back. “I’m surprised you didn’t come down earlier. I thought you might … I don’t know … want to take a look around the winter wonderland scene to see if you could see anything.”

  Nick was purposely cryptic even though John and Dale were well aware of her abilities. Dale tried to pretend he didn’t know about her magical talent – even as Nick hemmed and hawed about owning up to it – but John was openly curious.

  “Yeah, Maddie, don’t you want to see if you can track down a perverted dead Santa Claus?”

  Maddie made a derisive clucking sound in the back of her throat as she scorched John with a dark look. “You’re kind of a pain. Has anyone ever told you that?”

  “Only everyone who has ever met him,” Nick said under his breath. “Ignore him. He’s just looking for attention.”

  Maddie tilted her head to the side as she considered the statement. “If you’re looking for attention, I happen to know that Christy is going to be at the festival tonight. She’s probably looking forward to seeing you.”

  “And I her,” John said. “I’m nice to look at and so is she.”

  “I can see you suffer from a terrible bout of insecurity,” Maddie said dryly.

  “That word isn’t even in my repertoire,” John fired back. “As for Christy, I don’t suppose you saw what she was wearing, did you? I’m a big fan of women who dress up like elves. I thought there was a slight chance she might be volunteering for the Santa display this year.”

  Maddie pressed her lips together, confused. “I … what do you mean?”

  “He’s a sick freak,” Nick supplied. “He’s essentially saying he wants Christy to dress up like an elf – he likes the little green skirts – and give him presents this holiday season.”

  “Oh.” Maddie’s cheeks colored as realization dawned. “I … oh.”

  Nick barked out a laugh, delighted. “Oh, I love you. You’re so cute when you get flustered.” He swooped in and planted another kiss on her cheek. You’re getting bolder every day, my Maddie, but every once in awhile something happens to knock you back. It’s adorable.”

  “Yes, it’s so cute,” John said dryly. “Just so I’m clear, though, what are you guys going to do at the festival? Are you going strictly for personal reasons, or are you going to be working, too?”

  “It’s going to be a mixture of both,” Nick replied. “We’re going to watc
h the tree-lighting ceremony and have some candy cane hot chocolate. We’re going to hold hands and kiss under that huge mistletoe display. We’re also going to look around and see if we can find a ghost.”

  “We are?” Maddie’s eyebrows flew up her forehead. “Do you think that will be safe with so many people around?” She thought for years that other people knowing her secret would bother her. As it turned out, she wasn’t bothered at all. It was almost a relief. That didn’t mean she wanted to clue in the entire town as to what her abilities entailed.

  “It’s going to be fine, Mad,” Nick said. “You’re going to be with me. If you see anything, I’m your cover. No one is going to think you’re talking to yourself. They’ll simply think you’re talking to me. I promise it’s going to be okay.”

  “Christy and I will be there, too,” John offered. “If you need more cover, well, I have a big set of burly shoulders and you can hide behind them whenever necessary. My shoulders are much bigger than Nick’s so it should be nice and easy.”

  Nick made a face as he stared down his brother. “You’re not happy unless you’re messing with people, are you? You’re like a naughty child. You’ll take any attention you can get … even if it’s negative.”

  John shrugged, unbothered. “You’re just jealous of my shoulders.”

  “And you’re jealous because I’m stronger and faster than you,” Nick shot back.

  “And I’m getting a headache because it’s like babysitting rather than police work whenever you two end up in a room together,” Dale volunteered, locking gazes with Maddie and offering her a soft wink. “I think we’ve all agreed on a course of action. We’re still waiting on a firm time of death from the medical examiner, although he’s given us a window of between ten last night and two this morning.”

  “That means people were out late,” Maddie mused, rubbing her chin. “In a town the size of Blackstone Bay, you would think someone would’ve noticed Santa being stabbed in the town square.”