Grave Haunting (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 10)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Except you never took into account what would happen when he got older and matured,” Maddie challenged. “I thought the easiest road was leaving Nicky when I was eighteen. By the time I was twenty-eight, I knew that was the worst decision I’d ever made. People grow as they age. You didn’t give George Hunter that option.”

  Olivia’s eyes flashed. “I wanted your life to be steady. I won’t apologize for that.”

  “Mom, at a certain point it wasn’t about what you wanted,” Maddie pointed out, shaking her head as the pedestal she placed beneath the woman who gave birth to her began to erode. “I can maybe see why you kept him away when I was six. When I was thirteen, though? You have to admit that part of you was simply being cruel at that point.”

  “Not cruel,” Olivia corrected. “I was protecting you.”

  “You were protecting yourself.” Maddie made a face when the bell over the front door jangled. “I should’ve locked that. I need to see who is there. I’m assuming you’re going to run away again.”

  “I didn’t run away.”

  “You did,” Maddie argued. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t run far this time.”

  Olivia opened her mouth to argue and then snapped it shut. “I’ll be around. I want to check on a few things.”

  “George Hunter?”

  “Your grandmother.”

  Maddie had the grace to look abashed. “Tell her to come home. I want to talk to her, too.”

  “She can very rarely hear me. You know that.”

  “Something tells me she’ll hear you this time,” Maddie said. “I’m guessing she’s been waiting for you to show up for days. Go to her. Help her. Send her home.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  “We’re not done talking about this, Mom,” Maddie warned, moving toward the doorway. “Don’t disappear … not this time.”

  “I won’t. I’ll be back.”

  Maddie wasn’t sure Olivia was telling the truth, but she had nothing but faith and history to rely on. “Make sure you are. You’re still my mother, no matter how angry I am.”

  17

  Seventeen

  “How did Maddie take the information in the file?”

  Kreskin saw no reason to beat around the bush and dived right in to important matters as soon as Nick settled at his desk.

  “Better than I thought, which worries me.”

  Kreskin cocked an eyebrow. “Why does that worry you?”

  “I expected her to argue that the report was wrong or something,” Nick admitted, leaning back in his chair. “Olivia was her hero and to know that her own mother kept her from her father had to rip out her heart. She just kind of … sat there.”

  “Maybe the meltdown is still coming.”

  “I’m sure it is. I considered bringing her to work with me today, just for the record. She didn’t think it was a very good idea.”

  “I agree with her.”

  “She could’ve helped,” Nick argued. “Fran’s ghost is running around. I could’ve taken her back to the storage locker place and stayed with her there.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Because she wants to talk to her mother and I doubt very much that Olivia is going to show herself when I’m around.”

  Kreskin pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. He was aware of Maddie’s abilities, going so far as to question Nick at one time because he knew she was in trouble when he had no business knowing anything of the sort. Nick avoided the question at first, outright denied anything was going on a time or two, and then ultimately gave up the proverbial ghost and accepted that Kreskin would never rat out Maddie. Still, knowing all that was different from imagining Maddie having a screaming match with her dead mother.

  “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it,” Nick said. “I know it’s weird for you.”

  “It’s not weird,” Kreskin corrected. “It’s just … okay, it’s weird. Still, it’s kind of cool. Do you think Olivia will show up and give Maddie what’s she’s looking for?”

  Nick shrugged. “I’ve never known Olivia to hide things from Maddie, but I’m starting to wonder if I’m remembering her through rose-colored glasses. Was she really a great mother or did I simply love her so much because she was kind to me and Maddie loved her more than anything?”

  “I wasn’t around when you guys were kids so I never got to see Olivia as a mother,” Kreskin said. “I still know she was a great one. You can’t wipe out an entire life because she might’ve made a mistake.”

  “Twice. She did it twice.”

  “Did she?” Kreskin wasn’t so sure. “Maddie was six the first time George Hunter showed back up in her life, at least as far as we know. I don’t blame Olivia for being leery. She wanted to protect her child.”

  “Except I’m pretty sure George approached her before then,” Nick argued. “He wouldn’t have gone straight to court.”

  “Fair point. Still, Maddie was six. Olivia was trying to protect her.”

  “And when Maddie was thirteen?”

  Kreskin held his hands palms up and shrugged. “Thirteen is a rough age. What was Maddie like at thirteen? Just know, if you say she was perfect with some moony look on your face I’m going to punch you.”

  Nick snorted. “She wasn’t perfect but … compared to the other girls her age, she was pretty darned close.”

  “From your perspective,” Kreskin said. “You never saw anything she did as wrong. Olivia might’ve recognized something in Maddie that you didn’t. Don’t go burning the woman at the stake until you hear her side of things.”

  “I guess that’s fair.” Nick heaved out a sigh. “Have you come across anything good on the case? It would be so much easier for me to devote all of my attention to Maddie if we could solve Fran’s murder.”

  “And we all know it’s about you and Maddie,” Kreskin teased, grabbing a file from his desk. “I do have some interesting stuff, though. The searches came through on Lola and Sam.”

  “Oh, man, I’m pretty sure I don’t want to hear this,” Nick muttered, rubbing his hand through his hair. “I already hate both of them. This is going to make me hate them even more, isn’t it?”

  “You have no idea.” Kreskin opened the folder. “So, we’ll start with Lola because she actually comes out looking better, if you can believe that.”

  “She’s still the devil.”

  “Oh, no doubt. So, Lola Livingston went to Michigan State University upon graduation,” Kreskin started. “She lasted exactly one year. Came back for the summer and then attended Central Michigan University. Any guesses why?”

  “She was lazy and failed out?”

  “Close. She was lazy, failed out, and apparently tried to blackmail a professor into giving her a passing grade.”

  “Oh, well, nice.” Nick rolled his eyes. “What else?”

  “She never did graduate from college,” Kreskin replied. “She attended five different schools, eventually landing at a community college for a semester before taking off to become a secretary at one of those places that books painters to come to your house and work.”

  “That’s not going to garner her a bunch of money.”

  “No, indeed,” Kreskin agreed. “She still gets money from Fran every month. Er, well, she did up until four months ago. Dora was right. Fran cut off the kids. Lola didn’t own a house or anything, but she’s on the verge of defaulting on her rent and car payment and her online shopping habits tend to mirror her mother’s.”

  “That’s not good.”

  “Nope.” Kreskin put down the file and grabbed another. “Sam is a complete and total drain on society. He also went to Michigan State University. He lasted two full years until another student accused him of stealing. The campus police investigated, found the pilfered jewelry, and Sam was expelled.”

  “Well, that’s not as bad as I expected,” Nick mused.

  “Give it time,” Kreskin instructed. “He then moved on to Western Michigan University, where he was accused
of slipping a date rape drug in a girl’s drink and then having sex with her in the parking lot of a bar.”

  Nick was horrified. “Was he arrested?”

  “Yes, although the girl opted not to testify and I talked to the detective who handled the case,” Kreskin said. “He thinks that Fran paid off the girl, although we’re really going to have to dig if we expect to uncover that.”

  “It seems to fit the facts,” Nick noted. “Fran made it her job to cover up for the kids’ bad behavior, never making them stand on their own two feet and become real adults. She’s part of the reason they’re so heinous. I mean … I don’t like speaking ill of the dead … but Fran made those monsters.”

  “She did,” Kreskin agreed. “I think she must’ve realized that, though, because she was helping Sam with all of his bills until she cut him off four months ago. He’s in even worse financial shape than Lola.”

  “So four months ago Fran yanked the financial rug out from under her kids,” Nick mused. “That sounds like a motive for murder, especially if those kids think they’re entitled to their mother’s money.”

  “There’s more.” Kreskin almost looked amused when he grabbed the third file. “I talked to the attorney handling the case and he gave me some very interesting information.”

  “More interesting than the fact that Sam and Lola Livingston are deadbeats?”

  “Just wait.” Kreskin’s smirk was impish. “Four months ago Fran started paperwork to change her will. She was trying to firm up her financial holdings – which aren’t much, mind you. She also wanted her will changed so her children didn’t see one dime of her money.”

  “Oh, nice.” Nick perked up. “Did she give the kids notice? I thought that Fran’s death was too violent to be a hitman, but if the kids knew they weren’t getting any money – which seems unlikely given their reactions at the funeral home – they might’ve requested a painful death. They also might’ve paid off a bad hitman with the promise of money once they got their inheritance.”

  “That’s possible, but Fran never signed off on the will changes,” Kreskin said. “She was supposed to do it this week, but she died instead.”

  “Oh, well, that can’t be a coincidence.”

  “That’s my feeling, but the kids aren’t going to inherit anything anyway,” Kreskin pointed out. “The bill collectors are going to seize the bed and breakfast and sell it. Then they’ll have to pay what’s due on the mortgage Fran took out and then split up the rest. No one will see all of the money they’re owed.”

  “No? Just out of curiosity’s sake, who was Fran going to leave the bed and breakfast to?”

  “This is where things get really interesting.” Kreskin’s cheeks colored a bit, making Nick realize the conversation was due to take yet another turn.

  “Oh, I can’t wait to hear this.”

  “You would say that because you’re a pervert,” Kreskin muttered. “The estate guy said that Fran was leaving the bed and breakfast to Dora Walker.”

  Nick tilted his head to the side, considering. “I can see that if they’re friends. Dora would be more likely to take care of the bed and breakfast than Fran’s rotten kids. I’m not sure why you’re blushing like a virgin on prom night about that, though.”

  “It’s the part the estate lawyer added,” Kreskin said. “He said that he couldn’t be sure, but he was almost positive that Dora and Fran were lovers. Like … the big L.”

  “Does that L stand for lesbians or lovers?”

  “I guess it could be both.”

  Nick chuckled. “Well, huh. We’ve been assuming that Sterling and Fran divorced because of her shopping addiction. Maybe they divorced because Fran realized she preferred women to men.”

  “That’s definitely a possibility,” Kreskin agreed. “I’m wondering if the kids knew that Fran was going to give everything to Dora. That would certainly be the best motive we have.”

  “I can see that. Where do you want to go from here?”

  “We need to talk to Lola and Sam’s neighbors and see if they have any information.”

  “Like maybe they saw Lola and Sam meeting with a squirrelly looking guy in a dark parking lot?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Okay, I’ll take Sam and you can take Lola,” Nick offered.

  “Why are you taking Sam?”

  “Because Lola weirds me out,” Nick admitted. “She looks at me like I’m eggs and she’s the toast she wants to dunk in my yolk.”

  Kreskin chortled. “Now that’s funny.”

  “I do my best.”

  MADDIE HOPED she didn’t look shell-shocked when she made her way into the store. She tucked a strand of her flaxen hair behind her ear and pasted on a bright smile as she greeted the woman standing by the front door. There was something familiar about her – long dark hair cascading past the woman’s shoulders – but Maddie couldn’t put her finger on why the woman seemed familiar.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Yeah. I need a reading and I want good news.”

  Maddie kept her face impassive. “I see. Um … I don’t really control whether or not the news is good or bad. I can only tell you what I see.”

  “I understand that, but I need good news.” The woman brazenly walked toward the table in the corner, the tarot cards perched at the center beckoning. “You see, my mother just died and I thought I was going to get some money out of the situation. I just found out yesterday that might not be the case. I need you to tell me that the cops are lying.”

  Maddie realized almost instantly that she was looking at Lola Livingston. Now that she had a name to put with the face, she recognized the girl. “You’re Lola.”

  Lola’s eyes widened. “How did you know that? Did the spirits tell you that?”

  Maddie chewed on her bottom lip as she shuffled toward the open chair across from where Lola sat. “I was a few years ahead of you in high school. I’m Maddie Graves.”

  “Oh, right.” Lola’s expression momentarily darkened. “You’re engaged to Nick Winters, aren’t you?”

  “I am,” Maddie confirmed, grabbing the deck so she could shuffle it. “Did he tell you that? I know he met you at the funeral parlor yesterday.”

  “He told me he was engaged but didn’t mention to whom,” Lola answered. “He thought I was hitting on him or something.”

  “Oh, well, he’s very handsome so he gets that a lot.”

  “Yes, but I wouldn’t date a cop.” Lola rolled her dark eyes. “I ate at the diner last night, though, and ran into Marla Proctor. She said he was engaged to you.”

  “Well, if Marla said it … .”

  “She’s still a bitch,” Lola added. “She hates you.”

  “I’m well aware.” Maddie shifted uncomfortably on her seat. “You want a standard reading?”

  Lola nodded as she grabbed the deck to cut it. “I want good news.”

  “I hope I can come through for you.” Maddie started dealing the cards, her mind busy as she decided how to carry on the conversation. “I was sorry to hear about your mother. She was a nice lady.”

  “She was a loser,” Lola corrected. “She was a loser who divorced my father and never left Blackstone Bay. What do you call someone who doesn’t leave Blackstone Bay? Wait … why am I asking you that? You got out and came back. That probably makes you a loser, too.”

  “Yes, well … .” Maddie tucked her tongue into her cheek. “I was still sorry to hear about her passing. That was a hard way for her to go. No one should go that way.”

  “How do you know how she went?”

  “Nick and I live together. He told me.”

  “He lives here?” Lola glanced around appraisingly. “Does he look as good naked as he does clothed?”

  There was no way Maddie would answer that question. “I think we should focus on the cards. It shows here that you’re about to go through a big change.”

  “Is that a good or bad thing?”

  “I guess it depends on your perspective,” Maddie replied,
knitting her eyebrows as she stared at the cards. No matter how she looked at them, she couldn’t find one positive thing to relate back to Lola. “A lot of things in your life will be shifting soon,” she murmured. “I see a move in your future.”

  “To a mansion?” Lola looked excited. “I’ve always wanted to live in a mansion. This house kind of looks like a mansion from the outside – an old mansion, though. I want a new mansion. What color will my mansion be?”

  Maddie didn’t see anything remotely resembling a mansion in the cards. “I don’t know. I can’t see that clearly.”

  “Oh, well, I can always paint it when I buy it,” Lola muttered. “How about my brother? I would like to hear that I’m going to get everything and he’s going to get nothing.”

  “My understanding is that there’s very little to get,” Maddie said, choosing her words carefully. “Your mother was not a rich woman.”

  “Oh, that’s crap,” Lola snapped. “She sent us money all of the time until a few months ago when that moron Dora told her to stop doing it because we weren’t thankful. Of course we weren’t thankful. Mom was a loser. Why would we be thankful for that? We still wanted the money.”

  Maddie’s stomach flipped as she tamped down her violent dislike of Lola Livingston. “That doesn’t change the fact that your mother didn’t have any money to leave you,” she pressed. “I don’t see a mansion in your future.”

  Lola narrowed her eyes to dangerous slits. “You’re lying.”

  “I have no reason to lie.”

  “You’re lying because I’m supposed to get my inheritance and be set for life. That’s how I always planned it.”

  “Things change.”

  “Not that much.” Lola slapped her hands on the table. “Now, give me the reading I want or I’m leaving.”

  Maddie met the woman’s gaze with a cool one of her own. “The door is right over there. Don’t let it hit you on your way out.”

  18

  Eighteen

  Maddie was restless following Lola’s visit so she put in a call to Nick.

  “Hey, love. Are you okay?”

  Maddie had to force herself to refrain from exploding. “I’m fine. You need to stop asking that.”