Grave Paths (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 11)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Oh.” Realization dawned on Maddie. “In that case, Jennifer would’ve had a really slow death.”

  “Yeah.”

  “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

  “Me either.” Nick smoothed Maddie’s hair. She was a thinker, and even though he wanted her to relax and go to sleep, he knew she wouldn’t be able until they talked things through. “There is another option.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “The husband could’ve either done it himself or arranged it,” Nick explained. “We’re going to have to sit down with him again tomorrow. Kreskin is over there right now making notification.”

  “I thought he traveled.”

  “He does, but we don’t know where he was,” Nick said. “He says he was in Sacramento, but we’ll have to verify his alibi. Even if he was out of town, though, that doesn’t mean he didn’t hire someone else to do this.”

  “But … why?”

  “He said that his wife was acting out of sorts,” Nick replied. “She could’ve been depressed. She could’ve been psychotic. We don’t know because she had no friends and we only have the husband’s word to go on.

  “Jennifer’s mother said her daughter acted depressed, but not to the point where she would hurt herself or the baby,” he continued. “It’s clear Jennifer didn’t strangle herself and dump her own body in the woods. I think that means she was definitely murdered.”

  “If it was the husband, what do you think he did with the baby?”

  “I don’t know. His family lives in state but not in the area,” Nick replied. “Just to be on the safe side, we’re probably going to have to enlist law enforcement in those communities to do house searches.”

  “In case he dropped the baby off with a relative?”

  “Exactly.”

  Maddie ran her hand over Nick’s well-muscled chest. He was tall and lanky, his muscles well-defined. She loved feeling his body move under her hands. This time the contact wasn’t remotely sexy. It was soothing more than anything else. “What if he has a girlfriend or something?”

  “That right there is an interesting suggestion,” Nick said. “We’re going to pull his phone records first thing in the morning. He might have a burner phone for a mistress, if he has one, but we have to start somewhere.”

  “But you believe the baby is alive, right?”

  “Until we have reason to believe he’s not, I’m going to choose to believe that.” Nick shifted a bit so he could lock gazes with Maddie. “This investigation is probably going to take more than a day or so. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but this one is probably going to take time.”

  “I don’t care about me,” Maddie said. “I care about the baby.”

  “I know you do.” Nick dropped a soft kiss on the corner of Maddie’s mouth. “I happen to care about you, though, so I think it’s time to go upstairs and get some sleep. You need to rest that knee.”

  Maddie scowled at her injury. “It’s not major. It’s going to be fine.”

  “I know. I still want to take care of you.”

  Maddie blew out a half-raspberry, half-sigh. “Okay. You’re probably going to have to carry me up the stairs, though.”

  “That’s why I’m here.”

  “I might need a massage, too.”

  Despite the evening they had – and the horrors that were probably yet to come – Nick broke into a wide grin. “Way to work it, Mad.”

  “I’m not working it. I’m simply … injured.”

  “Well, lucky for you, I love playing nursemaid.”

  MADDIE’S DREAMS WERE a muddy mess, and although she managed to sleep through the night, it was hardly a restful slumber. She was pale when she woke the next morning, something that agitated Nick as he watched her slide into a pair of jeans and a sweater after showering.

  “How is your knee?”

  “Better than it was,” Maddie replied. “It should be completely back to normal tomorrow. It’s fine to get around on today, though.”

  Nick wasn’t sure he believed her. Maddie wasn’t the type to lie, but she was the type to put on a brave front so he wouldn’t worry. “Do you need help getting down the stairs?”

  Maddie roasted him with a withering look. “I’m more than capable of walking.”

  “Maybe I just like carrying you. Have you ever considered that?”

  “When we’re playing Cinderella or dirty fireman comes to the rescue, that’s perfectly fine,” Maddie said. “We’re not doing either of those things today.”

  “If you ask nicely, I might be convinced to call in sick to work.”

  They both knew that was an exaggeration.

  “Nicky, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

  “I can’t help but worry about you,” Nick said. “That’s what happens when you love someone. I promise to do my best not to fixate on you while at work. That’s the best I can do.”

  “I guess that’s something.” Maddie flashed a lovely smile as she kissed his cheek. “Do you have time for breakfast?”

  “Absolutely.” Nick returned her smile. “I just need to finish getting dressed and I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  Nick watched her go, waiting a few minutes until he was sure she was on the main floor. Then he dug for his cell phone and stared at his contact list for a long beat before choosing one.

  George Hunter, Maddie’s father, picked up on the third ring.

  “It’s a bit early for a social call, isn’t it?” George sounded like he’d just woken up.

  “I’m sorry if I woke you.” Nick felt unsure whenever he was around George. The man left before Maddie was born, his marriage to Olivia falling apart. He hadn’t been around for the bulk of Maddie’s life until suddenly showing up a few weeks before. He was trying to build a relationship with Maddie, and he was determined to do just that, but it was slow going. Nick agreed to give him a shot, but only because he thought it might be good for Maddie.

  “Don’t worry about it.” George adjusted his tone. “Is something wrong? Is Maddie okay?”

  “She’s fine,” Nick answered hurriedly. “I mean, she has a small knee injury, but it’s nothing major.”

  “How did she get that?”

  “She was walking in the woods and saw a … she saw something.”

  George knew everything about Maddie – including the secret she worked so hard to protect – but he wasn’t bothered in the least by Nick’s evasive tone. “A ghost?”

  “How did you know that?”

  “Because you go all squirrelly when it comes to that stuff,” George replied. “I’m well aware that Maddie can see ghosts. I’m fine with it.”

  “Well, that’s good. I think she’s going to go on a ghost hunt this afternoon despite her knee and I don’t want her to be alone when she does.”

  “Does this have something to do with all of the emergency vehicles I saw in the park on my way back to the hotel last night?”

  “Yes. We found the body of a missing mother. Maddie hurt her knee when she saw the ghost in the woods. We’re still searching for a missing infant.”

  George was silent for a long beat on the other end of the call.

  “Are you still there?”

  “I’m here.” Nick could practically see the man running a hand through his hair in his hotel room. Even though they’d never spent time together while Maddie was growing up, she had a few of George’s mannerisms. That was only one of them and Nick had spent enough time with George to know when the man whipped that particular nervous tic out.

  “Can you spend time with Maddie this afternoon?”

  “I can,” George confirmed. “I was actually going to drop by this afternoon anyway. I’m just wondering what you want me to do when she suggests looking for a ghost.”

  “I want you to talk her out of it.” Nick was matter-of-fact.

  “And if that doesn’t work?”

  “I want you to go with her so she’s not
alone.”

  “You think she’ll put up a fight if I try to stop her.” It wasn’t a question. “You think she’ll stick her nose in this investigation because of the ghost.”

  “I think she’s having bad dreams she doesn’t want to talk about and she’s going to become obsessed with finding this baby,” Nick clarified. “I don’t want to change her. I want to protect her, though. She’s not going to back down on this so I need to make sure she’s not alone.”

  “And you called me?”

  “You’re her father.”

  George chuckled. “I am indeed. Don’t worry about it. I’ll stick close.”

  “Thank you.” Nick felt some of the tightness in his chest ease. “Try to get her to talk about the dreams, too.”

  “You’re a bossy thing first thing in the morning, aren’t you?”

  “Only when the thing I love most is white enough to pass for a ghost herself.”

  George understood what Nick was saying without further explanation. “I’ll be with her. I promise to take care of her.”

  “I know you will. I’m going to have a full day on this one so I’m glad to know Maddie will be safe.”

  “She’ll be safe with me.”

  “I’m counting on that.”

  NICK FOUND KRESKIN already at his desk when he entered the police station an hour later. The older detective looked as if he’d had a rough night.

  “You look as tired as Maddie.”

  Kreskin lifted his eyes and scowled. “If that’s the beginning of a joke, I know darned well that I’m not as pretty as she is.”

  “No one is as pretty as she is.” Nick shot his partner a wry look. “She didn’t sleep well. It doesn’t look like you did either.”

  “It was a rough night,” Kreskin conceded. “I made notification to Peter Cook. He’s staying at the same bed and breakfast as George Hunter, by the way.”

  Since the house was potentially a murder scene, Nick and Kreskin closed it off the previous day so they could get a Michigan State Police tech team inside to run an exhaustive search. There was no telling when Peter Cook would be able to reclaim his home.

  “I talked to George this morning. He’s going to spend some time with Maddie. If you want to ask him to watch Peter for signs of odd behavior, I’m betting he would be game to do it.”

  “That’s not a bad idea.” Kreskin rubbed his chin. “Has he been spending a lot of time with Maddie?”

  “Enough. He’s not the type to push too hard, which is good. Maddie doesn’t take being pushed well. I didn’t want her alone today, though, so I called him to see if he would stop by. At least now I know she won’t be running around alone when she tries to solve this.”

  Kreskin snorted, genuinely amused. “I love that you’re so whipped you won’t even risk picking an argument to get her to stop.”

  “She can’t stop,” Nick said. “It will eat her alive if she tries. I think that’s what the nightmares are about.”

  “Well, you know her best,” Kreskin said. “As long as you can focus on the job, I don’t care who you get to babysit Maddie. Speaking of that, I just got confirmation from the Sacramento hotel Cook says he was staying at.”

  Something about Kreskin’s tone set Nick’s teeth on edge. “And?”

  “And they confirm he stayed in their facility for several weeks,” Kreskin replied. “They say he was a model guest and never gave them any grief.”

  “So why do you have that look on your face?”

  “Because they also say he checked out six days ago.”

  Nick’s heart stuttered as he did the math in his head. “Six days ago? That gives him plenty of time to get back here and do something to Jennifer.”

  “And then leave again so he could pretend he was out of town,” Kreskin confirmed. “I informed him we would be back to discuss things with him today. He acted … shattered … when I told him Jennifer was dead.”

  “How else did you expect him to act?”

  “I don’t know.” Kreskin’s expression was hard to read. “I thought he seemed genuinely broken up last night. This new information seems to suggest otherwise.”

  “We need to find out where he was.”

  “Yeah, I’ve already got a call in to the credit card company because he had to be staying somewhere,” Kreskin said. “There’s a chance he was with family, but we’re going to have to trust cops from those locations to handle the questioning on that one because our budget isn’t big enough to cover a bunch of out-of-town trips. If we’re lucky, we might be able to swing one or two if it becomes necessary.”

  “I guess so.” Nick felt sick to his stomach. “Are you going to have them on the lookout for an infant, too?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Kreskin pushed himself to a standing position. “I have to believe that kid is out there … and alive. That means we need to find him.”

  “So we’ll find him.”

  “And we need to start with his father,” Kreskin said. “Peter Cook has some very uncomfortable questions in his future. I hope he’s up to answering them.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  6

  Six

  “What are you doing here?”

  Maude answered the front door with a scowl and a glare.

  George, who had a tempestuous relationship with his former mother-in-law, merely smiled. “Hello to you, too, Maude. Top of the morning to you.”

  Maude’s scowl didn’t move. “I don’t believe we ordered out for shiftless losers this morning. Try again next week. Or better yet, next century.” She moved to close the door, but George extended his hand to stop her. “Don’t make me call the police.”

  “I’ve already been on the phone with a fine representative of Blackstone Bay’s proud department,” George drawled. “He’s the reason I’m here early. I was planning to stop by this afternoon, but I thought I would devote the entire day to spending time with my daughter instead.”

  Maude shifted, her mind clearly working. “Nick called you?” Her expression reflected doubt.

  “He’s worried.”

  “Why?”

  George narrowed his eyes, confused. “About the body they found in the woods yesterday.”

  “They found a body in the woods? These woods?” Maude’s voice turned shrill. “How come no one ever tells me these things?”

  “Perhaps they didn’t know you would take it so well,” George said dryly, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. “Nick doesn’t want Maddie going on any adventures alone so I’m here to spend the day with her.”

  “Hey, she wouldn’t be going alone,” Maude challenged. “If she wants to go on an adventure, I would go with her.”

  “I believe that was probably part of his worry.”

  Maude did her best to use what she imagined to be her very impressive mind powers to make George’s head explode. When that didn’t happen, she reluctantly pushed open the door to allow him entrance. “Fine. Do what Nick wants you to do. I’ll have a talk with him about his poor judgment when he gets home tonight. While you’re here, though, try not to steal anything.”

  George bit back a sigh as he closed the door and regarded Maddie’s magic shop. It was nothing but a dream for Olivia when they divorced, but he was glad she got the store she always yearned for before dying. Oddly enough, he had fond memories of his ex-wife even though she refused to grant him access to Maddie over her adolescence. He knew that Olivia did her best to protect Maddie, and he would never be angry about that. He remained bitter about the time lost with his daughter, though, and he wasn’t sure if he’d ever get over that.

  “I’ll try to refrain from stealing from my daughter,” George muttered. “It will be difficult, but I’ll use all the willpower at my disposal.”

  “I heard that,” Maude growled. “Don’t give me any of your crap.”

  “Whatever.” George wordlessly followed Maude to the kitchen, hurrying forward when he saw Maddie sitting at the dining room table with a cold compress resting on her knee. She
was focused on her laptop computer and didn’t bother looking up when he walked into the room. “Are you okay?”

  Maddie dragged her attention from the computer. “Hi. What are you doing here?” She moved to get up and offer him a hug, but George waved her off, instead dropping a fatherly kiss on the top of her head as he took the open seat next to her.

  “That’s what I asked him and I wasn’t happy with his answer,” Maude said. “Why didn’t you tell me you found a body last night?”

  Things slipped into place for Maddie. “Nick. He called you.”

  “He did.” George saw no reason to lie. He knew Nick would tell Maddie the truth when she questioned him. “He was a bit worried that you might go off on an adventure.”

  “Of course.” Maddie rubbed the back of her neck, internally debating whether she should be thankful for the support or irritated by Nick’s “big brother” mentality. “Was it last night?”

  “This morning.”

  “When he stayed upstairs to get dressed,” Maddie muttered. “I should’ve realized he was up to something. He’s a terrible liar and had a look on his face that told me he was up to something. I ignored it, though.”

  “Probably because you were up to something yourself,” Maude said. “I believe the thing you were up to was keeping your grandmother in the dark regarding important life events.”

  George shot Maude a quelling look. “Is that really important?”

  “No one is talking to you.”

  “Hey!” Maddie snapped her fingers between the snarling faces. “I’m talking to both of you. No fighting.”

  “I don’t believe I signed an agreement promising that,” Maude sniffed, smoothing her colorful top. “We can always take it outside if you don’t want to hear it, though.”

  “Speak for yourself,” George countered. “I have no intention of fighting with you. There’s no reason.”

  “I can think of twenty-nine years’ worth of reasons.”

  “Oh, geez.” George pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated. “You’re an unbelievable piece of work.”