Grave Decisions (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 7) Read online

  Maddie enjoyed seeing the strange versions of herself so much that she started twirling faster, her skirt flying up and creating a twinkling pinwheel of color. The pinwheel spread faster until the image in the mirrors switched from that of herself to the girl she saw in her vision. The woman was screaming, her arms outstretched, as if asking for help.

  Maddie gasped as she stopped twirling, dropping the bear and covering her ears as the screams overwhelmed her. She didn’t see herself in the mirrors at all now. Instead, every reflection was that of the young woman from before, and she was in pain.

  Maddie dropped to her knees, pressing her eyes shut to ward off the vision. It was so intense, though, Maddie was certain she could feel fingers tugging at her clothes and pulling her hair. Her mind was a jumble, faces and flashes flitting by so quickly she couldn’t catch her breath.

  She opened her mouth to call for Nick, but it was too late. Her senses were on overload when she blacked out.

  9

  Nine

  “Maddie!”

  Nick caught Maddie before she could fall backward and hit her head on the hard floor. Her eyes rolled back in her head and Nick’s heart flopped when her dead weight collapsed against him.

  “Maddie!”

  Nick rolled Maddie to her side in case she was having a seizure and became sick. She murmured something, although Nick couldn’t make out the words.

  “Mad, please open your eyes,” Nick begged, his pulse jumping when her eyelids fluttered. “For me, love. Please.”

  Maddie forced her eyes open and it took a moment for things to come into focus. Nick was the first thing she latched onto, and he was so pale she worried he was going to pass out. “Nicky?”

  “Hey, Mad,” Nick said, his voice cracking. “Are you okay?”

  “Um … .” Maddie’s tongue felt thick. “I think so. What happened?”

  “I was just about to ask you that,” Nick said, his hands shaking as he clutched her tighter.

  “Should I get the paramedics?” The werewolf appeared over Nick’s shoulder, causing Maddie to jolt.

  “It’s okay, Steve,” Nick said, offering Maddie a wan smile. “That’s Steve Cook. You remember him, right? We all went to high school together.”

  “Hey, Maddie.” Steve’s eyes were warm beneath his makeup.

  “I remember you,” Maddie said, forcing a smile. “I don’t remember you having so much facial hair, but I’m sure a shave will clear that right up.”

  Nick laughed hollowly as he pulled Maddie to his chest and cradled her. “Crap, Mad. You scared me half to death.”

  “I’m sorry,” Maddie whispered. “I … it’s hot in here.”

  “It is hot in here,” Steve confirmed. “Everyone has been complaining about that. The heat combined with the twirling probably just caused her to get lightheaded for a second. How do you feel now, Maddie?”

  “Stupid,” Maddie said, shaking her head. “I feel … stupid.”

  “Yes, well, I would rather you feel stupid than ever do that to me again,” Nick said, blowing out a sigh and rubbing Maddie’s back. “Oh, love, I swear I thought I almost had a heart attack.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Mad, don’t apologize,” Nick said, raising his eyes when he heard the sound of scurrying feet on the hard floor. He scowled when his gaze landed on Cooper, Marla, Cassidy, and Christy. Three members of the group looked amused, with only Christy’s face reflecting worry.

  “What happened?” Christy asked, hurrying to Maddie’s side. “Why is she so pale … and on the ground?”

  “She got too hot,” Steve explained. “She was twirling in front of the mirrors and I think she made herself dizzy.”

  “Oh, that is just priceless,” Marla snickered, rolling her eyes. “Let me guess, she passed out and Nick caught her. He was her knight in shining armor again. Am I right?”

  “Almost never,” Nick snapped, securing an arm around Maddie’s waist and helping her to her feet. “No one needs you here, Marla. Go … someplace else. Another state would be preferable.”

  Marla’s eyes clouded over briefly. “You can’t talk to me that way.”

  “I just did,” Nick shot back. “Don’t come in here and make things worse. Maddie is still weak.”

  “It’s probably the spirits,” Cooper intoned, his voice grave. “They’re angry you’re not helping find a murderer, Maddie. This is how they’re punishing you.”

  “Yes, that must be it,” Nick deadpanned, shaking his head as he turned to Maddie. “Let’s go home, love. We’ll take that bath I’ve been promising you and then go to bed.”

  “Ugh. I may puke you two are so sickeningly sweet,” Marla said.

  “Me, too,” Cassidy added. “He was never this way with me.”

  “It’s because Maddie has cast some sort of spell over him,” Marla said. “I’m pretty sure she’s a witch.”

  “She has cast a spell over me,” Nick agreed. “It’s called love. The reason you two don’t recognize it is because no one could possibly love you because you’re so hateful.”

  Marla narrowed her eyes to dangerous slits while Cassidy looked crestfallen.

  “Do you want me to help you get her home?” Christy asked, her voice small.

  “No,” Nick replied. “I want to get Maddie out of here and away from these … freaks. You would be smart to do the same, though, Christy. These are not good people.”

  Christy balked. “I know Marla and Cassidy are rotten, but Cooper really has the gift and he’s going to solve this murder,” she said. “I have faith in him.”

  “Well, I hope you come to your senses before it’s too late,” Nick said, shaking his head. “Putting your faith in this man is a waste of time. You’ll see it eventually. I hope it’s sooner rather than later, though.”

  “HERE WE go, Mad,” Nick said forty minutes later, lowering himself into the large garden bathtub and helping Maddie climb into the steaming water beside him. “There you go.”

  Maddie groaned as the water washed over her, resting her head against Nick’s chest and sighing as he massaged her tense shoulders. “I’m sorry, Nicky. I didn’t mean to embarrass you like that.”

  Nick stilled. “Why do you think you embarrassed me?”

  “Because you had to make excuses for my behavior,” Maddie replied, not missing a beat. “Now everyone thinks I made myself dizzy and passed out.”

  “What did happen?” Nick asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. “Did you see something?”

  “I saw that woman again,” Maddie admitted, squeezing her eyes shut. “I was twirling in the mirrors. I liked the way my skirt looked. All of a sudden, it wasn’t me staring back. It was her.”

  “Okay,” Nick said, internally debating how to proceed. “Tell me exactly what you saw.”

  “It was the same reflection, just about a hundred different variations of it,” Maddie answered. “She was holding her hand out, asking for help … and she was screaming. It was so loud I couldn’t block it out. I’m so sorry.”

  “Maddie, stop that right now,” Nick ordered, flipping Maddie around so her front was flush against his chest and pressing her head down so he could sink lower in the tub and keep her warm. When they updated the master bathroom in the old Victorian, they purposely picked a tub big enough for both of them. “Don’t apologize. You couldn’t help what happened.”

  Nick reached over and hit the button to start the jets, watching as the churning water covered Maddie’s slim back.

  “I’m still sorry,” Maddie said. “She’s going to die, Nicky. I know it.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you, Mad,” Nick said, kissing her forehead. “We don’t have enough information to find her. You didn’t see anything that could give us a location, did you?”

  “Just her. It was as if she was in the funhouse with me.”

  “It’s okay, Maddie,” Nick murmured into her hair. “We might still have time. You don’t know that we don’t.”

  “I feel it.”
>
  Nick knew better than to argue with her instincts. He believed her. He also had no idea how to fix this. “Maddie, I need you to look at me for a minute.”

  Maddie reluctantly raised her eyes until they locked with Nick’s chocolate orbs.

  “I love you more than anything, Maddie,” Nick said. “You can’t fix everything, though. You’re magic, love, but you’re not infallible. If we can’t get to this woman, that’s not on you. It’s not your fault.”

  “Now I’ve embarrassed you, though, on top of everything else. I’ve made things worse. Don’t bother denying it.”

  “I am not embarrassed, Maddie,” Nick said, his voice firm. “You scared the dickens out of me, though. Do you remember when your mom used to say that to us? I never understood what she meant. I do now.

  “The world is a harsh place sometimes, Mad, but I’ll never be embarrassed by you,” he continued. “I can survive a lot, but I can’t survive losing you.”

  Maddie tightened her grip on Nick and closed her eyes as he rubbed her back and held her close. “I love you, Nicky.”

  “You have no idea how much I love you, Maddie,” Nick said. “I want you to take those sleeping pills tonight, though. I know you don’t want to, but you need some rest.”

  “What if she dies while I’m asleep?”

  “Then it will already be too late anyway, Mad,” Nick said. “I need you at your best tomorrow if you’re going to help me. We’re a team, Maddie Graves, for better or for worse. You’re stuck with me for life. You need your rest to take on a new day, though, and I need to know you’re not going to wake up screaming.”

  “Okay,” Maddie said, resigned as she rested her head on the spot above his heart. Sometimes she thought it beat specifically for her. What she didn’t realize was Nick always thought that.

  “Relax for a little bit, love,” Nick said. “Close your eyes. Tomorrow is a new day, and we’re going to have a whole new set of problems. That’s the way life works. It never stops moving forward.”

  “YOU TWO look like hell,” Maude said, sipping her mug of coffee as she studied Maddie and Nick from across the dining room table the next morning. “What happened now?”

  “You mean you didn’t hear about me passing out in the funhouse?” Maddie challenged, flopping her eggs on top of her hash browns so she could mash everything together. “I would’ve thought that was the talk of the fair.”

  “Are you okay?” Maude’s eyes flashed with concern. “I heard about someone passing out in the funhouse. I didn’t realize it was you.”

  “Maddie saw something in the mirrors and it overwhelmed her,” Nick explained. “She thinks another woman is going to be murdered.”

  “But we don’t know who?” Maude enjoyed hijinks and shenanigans, but when the stakes were high, she had an unlikely pragmatic streak.

  “Maddie didn’t recognize her,” Nick said. “It doesn’t help matters that Cooper Asshat is running around making a scene every five minutes and Marla and Cassidy are acting as his minions.”

  “And Christy,” Maddie murmured, pushing her breakfast around her plate instead of eating it.

  “I told you Christy would come around when she’s ready, Mad,” Nick said. “Eat that breakfast. You’re not leaving this house until you do, and it’s going to be gross if it gets cold.”

  Maddie let loose with a long-suffering sigh. “Yes, dear.”

  Despite her dour mood, Nick couldn’t help but smile. “Even when you pout you’re cute.”

  “Now I wish I could pass out,” Maude said, shaking her head. “What are you going to do about this woman?”

  “There’s nothing we can do without more to go on,” Nick replied. “Maddie is going to keep her eyes open at the festival today. I’ll be sticking close, too.”

  “You can’t put your job on hold to babysit me all afternoon,” Maddie said, forcing herself to swallow and finding the food tasted good despite her sour stomach. “That’s not fair to you.”

  “Well, life isn’t fair, Mad,” Nick said. “Our best shot of finding the next victim is for you to see her again. We need someone close to you in case that happens. That’s the way of the world.”

  “You should listen to him, Maddie girl,” Maude said. “He’s smarter than he looks.”

  Nick scowled. “Have I ever told you what a joy you are?”

  “Not nearly enough,” Maude replied, unruffled.

  “Where have you been lately?” Maddie asked, shifting her attention from her plate to her grandmother. “I’ve barely seen you in days.”

  “That’s because I’m on a mission from the gods,” Maude replied. “Harriet Proctor needs my foot shoved up her … .”

  “Granny,” Maddie cut her off, shooting her a warning look.

  “You’re such a prude,” Maude muttered. “I don’t know how someone so prudish could spring from my genes.”

  “I think she’s just prudish enough,” Nick replied, rubbing the back of Maddie’s neck to calm her. “She’s perfect. You just can’t handle that perfection skips a couple of generations.”

  “You’re good for her ego, so I’m going to let that slide,” Maude said, making a face. “You’re an idiot for love sometimes, though.”

  “I can live with that,” Nick said, glancing toward the counter when his cell phone rang. “Finish your breakfast, Mad. We need to get you settled in your tent as soon as possible. That means if you need to change into another cute outfit, you should do it as soon as you’re done eating.”

  “I think I might forego that today,” Maddie said.

  “Oh, come on,” Nick whined. “I love those skirts. They give me ideas.”

  Maude snorted. “You get ideas when you wake up and see her,” she said.

  “I can’t deny that,” Nick said, answering his phone.

  Maddie took Nick’s distraction as an opportunity to talk to her grandmother alone. “Don’t do anything really wacky right now,” she said. “There’s a lot going on and Nick can’t take being stretched in another direction.”

  “I’m pretty sure I should be offended,” Maude sniffed. “I never do anything wacky.”

  “What are you planning to do to Harriet?”

  “I forget,” Maude replied, averting her gaze. “The older you get, the quicker your memory goes.”

  “Uh-huh.” Maddie wasn’t convinced. “Just try to keep it from getting out of control. For me, please.”

  “I’ll consider it,” Maude said, turning her eyes to Nick as he walked back from the counter. “Was that good news? I certainly hope so.”

  One look at Nick’s face told Maddie that the news he had to share was anything but good.

  “You need to get dressed, Mad,” Nick said, licking his lips. “They found another body.”

  10

  Ten

  “Mad, I’m not sure you should see this,” Nick said, cutting Maddie off from the alley behind the bank and fixing her with a somber expression. “It’s pretty bad.”

  They left the house together shortly after Nick received the call, Maddie opting to dress down in jeans and a simple T-shirt because she didn’t feel like playing a part given the grim reality being forced upon them. She clutched her hoodie closer to stave off the brisk morning air, but she was resigned and knew she had to see what Nick was trying to so hard to protect her from.

  “I have to know if it’s her, Nicky.”

  Nick opened his mouth to argue and then snapped it shut. “Focus on her face, Mad,” he instructed, slipping his arm around his beloved blonde’s waist. “Don’t look anywhere else.”

  Maddie pressed her lips together and nodded as Nick led her down the alley. Kreskin and John, both overseeing the coroner as he check over the body, glanced at Maddie as she approached but otherwise remained still.

  Maddie sucked in a deep breath and did as Nick instructed, only focusing on the woman’s face. She had to bite her lip to keep from crying out when she saw the blond hair and pale features, blood pooling beneath both on the pavement.
The woman’s blue eyes faced the sky, her mouth open as a silent scream tried to escape. Maddie knew what the scream sounded like, because despite the sleeping pills the previous evening, the scream haunted her dreams.

  Maddie gave Nick a curt nod and didn’t put up a fight when he ushered her back down the alleyway and toward the street. John and Kreskin followed, keeping close to Nick and Maddie and forming a circle around Maddie to protect her from onlookers on the other side of the police tape when they got to a safe position.

  “Is that the woman you saw?” Kreskin asked.

  “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry, Maddie,” Kreskin said, patting her shoulder in a lame attempt to offer her solace. “I’m really sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry for me,” Maddie said. “Be sorry for her. She’s the one who suffered. She’s the one who … screamed.”

  Nick’s expression was pained when he forced Maddie’s attention to him. “Love, please don’t do that to yourself,” he said. “I can’t take it.”

  “I know,” Maddie said, shaking herself out of her pity party. “I just … wanted to help her.”

  “You did everything you could, Maddie,” John said. “You can’t be expected to do the impossible. Don’t blame yourself for this.”

  “I don’t blame myself,” Maddie said, narrowing her eyes as a face in the crowd jumped out at her. “I blame him.”

  The three men followed her gaze, all frowning in unison when they caught sight of Cooper and his entourage. To Nick’s shock and dismay, Cooper lifted the police tape and crossed the barrier – bringing his three shadows with him – and strode in their direction.

  “Hello, Detectives,” Cooper greeted them coolly. “I need to see the deceased if I’m expected to solve this crime.”

  “We don’t need or want your help,” Kreskin replied. “Move your ass to the other side of the police tape or I’ll arrest you.”

  Cooper was taken aback. His charm clearly worked better on representatives of the female persuasion. “May I ask why Ms. Graves was allowed to see the body?”