True Grit Spirit: A Maddie Graves and Hannah Hickok Mystery

by Lily Harper Hart

  Maddie brightened considerably at the prospect. “I didn’t think of that. You’re right, though. That’s probably what it is.” She let out a sigh and leaned back in her chair. “That makes me feel a little better. Even if she was awful — and the woman we saw yesterday before it happened could never be described as pleasant — I can’t imagine being so horrible nobody would mourn you.”

  “That’s because everybody who has ever met you would cry big, fat tears of despair if something ever happened to you.” He grabbed her hand before she could reach for her juice again and kissed her palm. “Do you want to know why that is?”

  Maddie rolled her eyes in exaggerated fashion. “Let me guess ... because I’m an angel?”

  His grin was so wide it swallowed his entire face. “Pretty much.”

  “Does that include you?”

  Even though he’d started the game, Nick’s smile disappeared swiftly. “Let’s not talk about this.”

  “It’s a simple question.”

  “And the answer is simple, too. If something happened to you I would never get over it. I would be a broken and despondent man. I don’t like this game any longer.”

  For some reason, that had Maddie smiling. “You’re my favorite person in the world, Nicky. Have I ever told you that?”

  “Maybe a time or two. It’s always nice to hear, though.” He gave her palm one more kiss and then released her hand. “You’re my favorite person, too. In fact, I love you twice as much as you love me.”

  “Oh, you do not.”

  “I do so.”

  “No.” She fervently shook her head. “Do you want to know why that’s not possible? I’ll tell you. It’s not possible because I love you to infinity and beyond and there’s no bigger love than that.”

  He laughed at the way she puffed out her chest. “How about, when we get back home, we put that to the test, huh?”

  “How do you suggest we do that?”

  “Oh, I have a few ideas.” He pursed his lips and made a kissing sound before shifting his gaze to a tall brunette. The woman was cutting her way through the dining room and appeared to be heading in their direction. “Do you know who this is?”

  Maddie shifted so she could look, nodding as the woman eliminated the distance. “Hello, Alicia. I wondered if we would be seeing you.”

  “Hello, Maddie.” The woman beamed at the couple, her gaze sparkling as it bounced between them. “I recognize you from the photo you sent for your event bio. I just wanted to say hello before things get started. What time are you heading up to Casper Creek?”

  Maddie was caught off guard. “I ... assumed that things wouldn’t be happening as planned today.” She exchanged a quick look with Nick and found he looked as puzzled as she felt. “Isn’t Casper Creek still a crime scene?”

  “The brothel may be, but I’ve already talked to the owner. Things will be continuing as planned. Absolutely nothing has changed.”

  Nick cleared his throat to draw the woman’s attention to him. “Something has changed,” he countered. “Velma Sanders is dead. I would think there would have to be adjustments because of that.”

  “Why?” Alicia wrinkled her nose. “Obviously Velma ticked someone off — which is her way — and it’s over and done with. Besides, we’re talking about a group of psychics. What better way to get into the swing of things than to go up there and find a killer? I mean ... it’s the least we can do for Velma, right?”

  Maddie’s stomach rolled at the woman’s callous disregard for the dead. “That seems disrespectful.”

  “I don’t happen to believe that. I just wanted you to know that I’ll be heading up there in about an hour. I expect to see you there, too.”

  Maddie watched her go, a mixture of annoyance and confusion washing over her. Nick studied his wife’s face for a beat and then voiced his opinion. “She’s right, Mad. It makes sense for us to stick around long enough to see if we can get some answers. Besides, I’m not sure the police want us to leave quite yet.”

  “Did they say we have to stay?” Maddie looked momentarily fearful. “They don’t think we’re suspects, do they?”

  “I don’t think so. That’s standard operating procedure, though. Besides, we’re paid up for several more days. There’s no reason to hurry back, even if you decide you don’t like what happens in Casper Creek today. We can turn the rest of the trip into a private vacation, just the two of us, if it comes to that.”

  He made sense and Maddie found herself nodding. “Yeah. I do kind of want to see if they know anything.”

  He smiled. “I figured. We’ll eat our breakfast and head up.”

  “That sounds like a plan to me.”

  6

  Six

  The ride up the ski lift wasn’t as fun the second day. This time, Nick and Maddie sat in relative silence, holding hands, and simply watched the foliage stream by. When they landed, the town was already buzzing with activity ... and the bulk of the people there appeared to be having a good time.

  “So much for mourning the dead,” Maddie mused.

  Nick rubbed his hand over her back. “They didn’t know her, Mad. Also, you know this as well as anybody, when someone dies in brutal fashion it’s difficult for people to wrap their heads around. Rather than live in fear, they try to embrace the excitement. It doesn’t mean they’re bad people.”

  Maddie nodded in agreement. “I know but ... .”

  “It seems crass,” he finished. “I get it. I don’t know what to tell you. We’re just going to have to put up with it.”

  “Yeah.” Maddie let loose a weary sigh. “I think I’m going to head over to the saloon to see what everybody is doing. Do you want to come with me or skulk around the brothel?”

  Nick’s eyebrows winged up and his lips curved. “I don’t skulk.”

  His response amused her. “You do so, especially when you want information on a case that doesn’t belong to you, like when the state police take over an investigation you feel should be yours.”

  “I think you’re imagining that.”

  “And I think you’ve already got your eye on the building.” Maddie patted his arm in an encouraging manner. “Go ahead and ... lurk. Do you like that word better?”

  “No.” Nick couldn’t deny that he was interested in knowing where the investigation stood. That didn’t mean he was comfortable letting his wife wander around on her own when a killer was on the loose. “I think I should stick with you.”

  Maddie recognized that he was leery about what had happened and she wanted to assuage that fear. “I’ll be perfectly fine. Nobody is going to attack me when there are fifty other people around. Besides, I think the other psychics might be more open to telling me what they know when I don’t have a police detective attached to my hip.”

  Nick pursed his lips. She had a point. “Do you promise to be careful?”

  Maddie mimed crossing her heart. “I swear I will be a very good girl.”

  He smirked at her expression. It was one of his favorites. “Okay.” He leaned over and gave her a kiss. “Please don’t go anywhere by yourself. If you leave the saloon ... .”

  “I’ll make sure it’s with somebody who doesn’t look like a murderer. Of course, I have no idea what a murderer looks like, so that might be more difficult than it sounds.”

  Nick shook his head. “I love it when you’re difficult.” He gave her a playful swat as she moved toward the building in question. “I won’t be long.”

  “I’ll try not to cry because I miss you so much.”

  Nick shook his head and watched until she disappeared through the swinging doors and then turned his attention to the brothel. Maddie wasn’t wrong. Having a murder investigation so close, one he was separate from, was pure torture. He didn’t like being cut off from the information. With that in mind, he crossed the street and stared at the building in question. There was no police tape warning others away. That didn’t mean the structure looked welcoming.

  “If you’re thinking of s
neaking in there, I would advise against it,” a voice said from behind him. It took everything Nick had not to jolt. “I would hate to have to turn you in to the locals.”

  Slowly, Nick swiveled. He wasn’t surprised to find Cooper watching him. He was surprised by the look of mirth on the security chief’s face. “I wasn’t going to sneak in,” he reassured the other man quickly. “I was just ... looking.”

  “Uh-huh.” Cooper didn’t look convinced as he hopped down from the wooden walkway and strolled in Nick’s direction. “I heard you and your wife talking. She seemed to know what you were planning. Are you saying she read you wrong?”

  Nick scowled. “My wife never reads me wrong.”

  “No, I don’t suppose she does.” Cooper’s gaze was speculative. “I ran you last night.” He opted for honesty. “Your record is clean.”

  “You ran me?” Nick wasn’t surprised as much as annoyed. “You could’ve just asked whatever questions you deemed necessary.”

  “You know that’s not how it works. For all I knew, you could’ve been shining me on. I had to be sure.”

  “Because we found the body.” Nick knew better than most the simple act of stumbling across the dead made an individual a suspect. “I take it you ran Maddie, too.”

  “I did. Well, to be more precise, Boone did. Her record is a little more ... spotty.”

  Nick scowled. “Don’t even think of saying anything bad about my wife.”

  The reaction was exactly what Cooper was looking for. “You love her.”

  “More than anything.”

  “I love Hannah, too.” Cooper saw no reason to lie. He was a pragmatic man. He felt he was talking to a man much like himself. He wanted to be sure Nick was an ally before pushing ahead, though. “I want to keep her safe. Casper Creek isn’t just a business to her. It’s her home. I had no choice but to check you and Maddie. You know that.”

  And, because he did, Nick nodded. “Fine. Just don’t say anything bad about Maddie.”

  “I didn’t say I found anything bad in her record,” Cooper pointed out. “I simply said it was spotty, and by that I mean there are a few holes in it. That’s not necessarily a bad thing ... especially given what she does for a living.”

  Cooper’s tone was hard for Nick to read. The man seemed pleasant enough and yet there was a hardness in his eyes. Because he was who he was, though, Nick opted for the truth, too.

  “My wife is the best person I know. She gives of herself to help others. Occasionally that has ... come back to bite her.”

  “And you want to make sure nothing I do bites her,” Cooper surmised.

  “I won’t let you hurt her. I won’t let anyone hurt her.”

  “Do you believe I want to hurt her?”

  “No.” Nick was quick to shake his head. “In my heart, I feel you’re a good guy. What’s more important is that Maddie likes you ... and Tyler ... and Hannah. If you had ulterior motives, she would most likely pick up on that. The thing is, I still can’t risk her. She’s my everything.”

  Because he felt the same way about Hannah, Cooper nodded in agreement. “I get it. Hannah is my everything, too. I’m not even sure how it happened because I wasn’t looking for a girlfriend when she showed up on the scene. The thing is, when it’s the right person, your heart simply knows.”

  It was a ridiculously romantic sentiment ... and something Nick felt to his very core. “I get that. Maddie and I are the same ... and yet different. I fell in love with her when I was a kid. We grew up together, and even when I was too young to know what love was, I felt in here that I needed to protect her.” He touched the spot above his heart.

  “She’s always been ... different,” he continued, choosing his words carefully. “She’s always been more than everybody else, even though she would prefer to hide in the shadows and not draw attention. That more is what caused her to run away after high school. She was afraid to tell me the truth, what she could do.

  “She came back after her mother died because duty propelled her. Her grandmother is still alive and needs constant monitoring. I love Maude, but she’s like a small child sometimes ... a naughty child at that. I was angry at Maddie for ten years because she broke my heart. I was with her within twenty seconds when she came back and I knew that I would not let her slip out of my reach a second time.

  “I know about love and needing to protect what you hold most dear,” he said. “I know about loving so intensely all reason flies out the window. I want to protect Maddie, and yet I feel she needs to be here. She’s been closed off from others like her. I want to open her world.”

  Cooper studied the detective’s earnest face for a long beat and then nodded. “You’re trying to do what’s best for her and keep her safe. Being cut out of the investigation bothers you.”

  “It does.”

  “You have no jurisdiction here.”

  “I don’t.”

  “And yet you want to see what’s inside of that building,” Cooper noted.

  “I want to make sure Maddie isn’t a potential target,” Nick corrected. “Do you have any idea why this was done?”

  “We do. At least we think we do.” Cooper blew out a sigh and then went with his gut, motioning for Nick to follow him. “Come on. There’s a few things I want to show you inside. Boone is already in there and expecting me. He won’t be happy that I’m bringing you, but an extra set of eyes can’t possibly hurt.”

  Nick was both gratified and suspicious. “I’ll tell Maddie anything I learn. I can’t keep her in the dark.”

  Cooper smirked. “I don’t know if it’s that you have the most trustworthy face I’ve ever seen or I look at you and see my own reflection because the way you feel about Maddie mirrors how I feel about Hannah, but I get it. We’ll figure it out as we go along. Besides, I wouldn’t mind an extra set of eyes watching things. There are a lot of people running around, and one of them could very well be a murderer.”

  “I can do that.” Nick was eager to help. “I’d like to know what you have.”

  “I think you’ll be surprised.”

  “I still want to know.”

  And because Cooper understood that to his very bones, he inclined his head toward the brothel. “Then come on. There’s a lot to talk about.”

  MADDIE WASN’T NORMALLY A SOCIAL PERSON. It wasn’t that she hated people as much as she felt uncomfortable around them. Growing up, she was the sort of girl who thought everybody was watching her ... and for all the wrong reasons. She’d grown stronger as an adult, but she was still more comfortable sitting on the outskirts of life watching than she was participating, even now. It was something she was still grappling with.

  She interacted with the other psychics, responded to questions asked of her, and debated what questions would garner the best answers (and least amount of attention). Before she even realized what was happening, the bulk of the psychics had departed the saloon because Tyler was going to lead a walk through the fields to point out various wildlife specimens and Maddie was left alone with Hannah.

  “You didn’t want to see the animals?” Hannah asked, plopping down in one of the open spots across from Maddie without asking if the other woman wanted company.

  Maddie shrugged, noncommittal. “Do you have unique animals running around in the hills of Kentucky?”

  “It depends on who you ask.” Hannah’s lips quirked. “Some people think monsters live in the caves that surround Casper Creek.”

  Despite herself, Maddie was intrigued. “And what do you think?”

  “I think that monsters come in different shapes and sizes.”

  “Including humans?”

  Hannah bobbed her head. “Especially humans.”

  Because Maddie had come to the same conclusion, all she could do was nod. “Yeah, well ... humans are their own brand of monsters, aren’t they?”

  “They are.” Hannah leaned back in her chair and crossed her feet at the ankles. “You’re different from the others.”

  Maddie’s e
yebrow arched. “Meaning?”

  “You’re not all about promoting yourself. The others, they want to be the new go-to psychic now that Velma is gone. She may have been the self-proclaimed leader of the pack but that wasn’t a title the others were comfortable bestowing upon her. She claimed it for herself, and now that she’s gone, people want to fill the void.”

  Oddly enough, Maddie had come to the same conclusion herself. What was strange — at least to her — was how observant Hannah was. She would’ve bet money the woman wasn’t even paying attention to the psychics she was waiting on and yet, now that it was just the two of them, it was obvious Hannah was much more observant than Maddie initially gave her credit for.

  “I didn’t realize you were watching that closely,” Maddie admitted. “I guess that was stupid to assume. You looked busy.”

  “I was busy. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t looking. Being a bartender is a great way to watch people under the radar. You, however, were watching people from your spot in the center of the action. It was obvious, and you made the others nervous.”

  Maddie let loose a weak chuckle. “I’m not very good at being a spy.”

  “Yes, well ... that doesn’t mean you didn’t form good impressions of those who were here. What did you see?”

  “Nobody is sad she’s dead.”

  Hannah nodded. “Yeah. I noticed that, too. Cooper said that her daughter was upset, but Melanie obviously isn’t here. Apparently Velma had a lot of enemies.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me.” Maddie thought back to the spectacle the woman made in the saloon the previous day. “I wouldn’t exactly call her easy to get along with.”

  “No, and I think she thrived on being disliked,” Hannah agreed. “Some people do. Not you, obviously. You’re uncomfortable when people dislike you.”

  “That obvious, huh?” Maddie was rueful as she rubbed her forehead. “It’s something I struggle with at times. I grew up trying to fade into the shadows. I had one friend, my mother, and my grandmother. That was it.”