Grave Paths (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 11)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “It is.” Maddie allowed herself a small smile. “Nick and I run out here together. When it’s warm enough, we go to the lake and wade. I always find a Petoskey stone for Nick and he always catches a turtle for me. We’ve done that since we were kids.”

  “It sounds fun. Maybe I can come out and visit the lake with you one day. I promise not to get in the way of Nick’s turtle shenanigans.”

  Maddie snickered. “That sounds like a plan.”

  “Good.” George picked a slow pace to make sure Maddie didn’t strain herself. “Now, tell me about the Blue Belles while we’re looking for your ghost.”

  “I don’t know if we have enough time in the day to go through that story.”

  “Try me.”

  NICK AND KRESKIN WERE back at the police department going through new information when a woman let herself through the front door. The Blackstone Bay Police Department was tiny, which meant Nick and Kreskin essentially shared an office that opened into the front lobby.

  The brunette was small in stature and wearing a tailored suit. She looked lost at first, but when her eyes zeroed in on Nick she squared her shoulders and stepped forward.

  “I’m looking for Detective Kreskin.”

  “That would be me,” Kreskin said, shifting his eyes from the report he perused. “I’m sorry but … who are you?”

  “Oh, I’m Angie Martindale.” The woman stepped forward and extended her hand, waiting for Dale to shake it before she sat in the chair across from his desk. “I’m Jennifer Cook’s sister.”

  “Right.” Kreskin was instantly alert. “I didn’t expect you to drive up here. I was under the impression that you live in Grand Rapids. That’s quite the hike.”

  “It was only about three hours,” Angie corrected. “We’re talking about my sister so … I couldn’t do nothing.”

  “Of course.” Nick stood and moved toward the coffee pot. “We don’t have much to offer you, Ms. Martindale, but we have coffee and it’s not too bad.”

  “That would be great. Also, call me Angie.” Angie fussed with the strap of her purse as she tried to get comfortable. “I’m not quite sure what to do with my hands. I feel as if I’m covered with bugs and can’t quite seem to make the feeling stop.”

  Nick’s eyes were full of pity as he delivered the coffee. “It’s hard to lose someone you’re close to. We’re very sorry for your loss. We were hoping for a better outcome when we started looking.”

  “I’m sure you understand that I have a lot of questions,” Angie hedged. “I know you gave me a rundown when you called last night, Detective Kreskin, but I’m not sure how much of it I actually absorbed.”

  “Call me Dale.” Kreskin forced a smile. “I wondered if you understood what I was saying. You seemed like you might have been in shock.”

  “I guess that’s a good word,” Angie conceded. “I think I went a bit numb when you told me. I actually looked up the symptoms of a heart attack online because I couldn’t quite get my heart to stop hammering. It turns out I think I had a panic attack but … that’s hardly important given everything going on.”

  “I think it’s probably important to you,” Nick countered. “How are you feeling now?”

  “Sick to my stomach.”

  “That’s pretty normal,” Kreskin said. “It’s good you came to town. We’ve had a few developments since we talked last and we have some questions for you.”

  “I figured I would stay here for a few days,” Angie explained. “I’m supposed to be starting a new job – in Florida, of all places – but I called my new boss and explained what happened and he generously told me to take my time.”

  “You’re moving to Florida?”

  Angie nodded. “I was so excited because I hate Michigan winters – this last one was especially brutal in southwestern Michigan – but I wasn’t keen to leave Jennifer. Even though I was three hours away, I was still close enough to drop everything and come to her if she needed help. When I first told her about the move, she was a little angry. I think she felt abandoned.”

  “Did that have something to do with her husband’s work schedule?” Nick asked.

  “Peter’s schedule was always an issue between them, but Jennifer never wanted to face facts,” Angie explained. “I told her that Peter was never really going to stop taking so many trips, no matter what he said, but she got it in her head that if she managed to put up with this for a year then everything would magically become perfect.”

  “What can you tell us about your brother-in-law?” Kreskin chose his words carefully. He didn’t want to give Angie the wrong idea about their investigation, but he needed insight into a man he could barely tolerate.

  Angie was surprised by the question. “Peter? Is he a suspect?”

  “The husband is always a suspect,” Nick supplied smoothly. “We have no choice but to look at him. We’re looking multiple other places, too.”

  “Oh, well, I guess that makes sense.” Angie gnawed on her fingernail. “I’m not sure what to say about Peter. I don’t want to unduly influence the investigation. It’s important to find P.J. He’s the one we have to focus on now.”

  “But?” Kreskin prodded.

  “But he was always a smooth operator,” Angie admitted. “He always seems a little too full of himself, a little too charming and slick. I know that’s not really evidence or anything, but after the wedding he always made me want to punch him when we were in the same room.”

  “That’s actually exactly what we’re looking for,” Nick said. “Did you ever have words with him?”

  “Oh, we always had words,” Angie replied. “He thought I was too full of myself and he would get little digs in about being a corporate woman. You have to understand, I love my sister, but we didn’t exactly want the same things out of life.

  “Jennifer always wanted to be a wife and mother,” she continued. “Those were her only life goals. She didn’t want to go to college or have a job. I’m fine with that, mind you, but I was the exact opposite. I always cared about the job more than the husband or kid.”

  “I get what you’re saying,” Nick said. “You didn’t have much in common.”

  “We were still sisters and we talked every few weeks,” Angie said. “When Jennifer first announced she was marrying Peter, I told her it was a mistake. He was older than her and he enjoyed bossing her around. He seemed to get off on being in charge.”

  “Was your sister okay not having any power in the relationship?” Nick asked. “I mean … the way you make it sound, at least … Peter had all of the power and your sister was just along for the ride.”

  “That’s basically the gist of it,” Angie confirmed. “Jennifer was willing to put up with a lot as long as she didn’t have to work. She really enjoyed being home even though Peter was constantly on the road. She had book clubs and little social groups. It was her thing.”

  “How did the pregnancy change that?”

  “Oh, the pregnancy changed everything,” Angie replied. “Peter was suddenly worried about money and he uprooted Jennifer so he could buy a house in a cheaper community. Blackstone Bay has a solid real estate market, but it’s nowhere near as ritzy here as it was in Charlevoix, where they lived before the move. Jennifer didn’t like that at all. She wanted to be in an affluent community, but she didn’t seem to understand that a baby changed everything.

  “She was excited about having kids, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think she realized how much work a baby is,” she continued. “Once she had P.J., reality seemed to settle in pretty quickly and she was … I guess grim would be the word.”

  “How so?”

  “She had Post-Partum Depression. At least I think she did. It wasn’t major or anything, but she was moody and I think her hormones were taking her on a wild ride. When you couple that with the fact that Peter was never around to help her, well, I simply don’t think she was living the life she always envisioned.”

  “Do you think she would harm herself?” Nick asked.
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br />   “No. That’s not how Jennifer was built.”

  “What about the baby?” Kreskin queried gently. “Would she accidentally hurt the baby?”

  “I don’t think so but … does anyone ever foresee an accident?” Angie rubbed her cheek. “I don’t know what to tell you. From my perspective, my sister would never hurt her son. Is that what you think happened? You think she accidentally hurt the baby and then, when she realized that she couldn’t take it back, she hurt herself?”

  “That’s something we can’t rule out, but that’s not our main focus right now,” Kreskin replied. “I’m not sure how much of this I should tell you but … your brother-in-law was having an affair.”

  Instead of reacting with shock and outrage, Angie merely widened her eyes. “I’m not surprised.”

  “You’re not?”

  “I told Jennifer that he probably had multiple women stashed in various places across the country,” Angie explained. “That’s the vibe I got from him, by the way. He was always looking for someone fresh and new. Let me guess … was she younger than Jennifer?”

  “By several years,” Nick replied. “She’s still in college.”

  “Oh, well.” Angie rolled her eyes. “Now I definitely want to punch him.”

  “Mr. Cook claims that he was going to tell your sister he wanted a divorce and move in with the new girlfriend,” Kreskin said. “Detectives from down south are questioning her. We’ll have more information when they’ve finished. As of right now, though, Peter Cook doesn’t have an alibi for the time of your sister’s disappearance.”

  “And when was that?” Angie asked. “You didn’t really give me a timeframe on the phone. At least if you did, I don’t remember it.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” Kreskin shook his head and shuffled his papers. “The medical examiner’s report only came in about twenty minutes ago. It says here your sister died around midnight on the twenty-fifth.”

  “The twenty-fifth?”

  “That would’ve been Tuesday,” Nick offered helpfully.

  “Oh.” Angie pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. “I don’t know why it matters. I was busy packing and stuff so I wouldn’t have come up here to visit anyway unless she asked. I can’t help wondering if I could’ve stopped this, though.”

  “You can’t blame yourself,” Kreskin pressed. “This isn’t your fault.”

  “I wanted her to move with me,” Angie admitted. “I was hoping she would leave Peter and bring the baby to Florida. I thought having a piece of home would be good for me – something to focus on – and getting away from Peter would be good for her. She turned me down, of course, but now I’ll never know if that would’ve made things better.”

  “All we can focus on now is finding the baby,” Kreskin said. “That’s our primary goal. We promise to keep you updated as the search proceeds.”

  “Thank you for that.” Angie mustered a watery smile. “I’m staying at the Gingerbread Motel over in Bellaire. If you need me and can’t raise me on my cell phone, that’s where I’ll be.”

  “We’ll be in touch. I promise we won’t stop until we get to the bottom of this. You have my word.”

  8

  Eight

  “Is this the spot?”

  It seemed like a stupid question given the police tape hanging from a group of nearby trees, but George asked it anyway.

  “It is,” Maddie confirmed, glancing around. “This is the curve I went around while running and Jennifer Cook’s ghost was right in front of me. That’s where Nick found her body.”

  George followed Maddie’s finger with his gaze. “We don’t have to go up there, right?”

  “My understanding is they had uniforms out here combing for evidence all morning,” Maddie replied. “They didn’t find anything. I texted Nick to see if he had an update. All he said was that he had a lot to tell me and to have fun with you.”

  “Does that irritate you?”

  Maddie held her hands palms out and shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess.”

  “He’s got a job to do.”

  “I understand that.”

  “I’m sure he’ll fill you in as soon as he can,” George said, licking his lips as he scanned the open area. “What are we doing here?”

  “I was hoping Jennifer would be out here,” Maddie admitted. “If she is, she can tell us what happened to her.”

  “And what happened to the baby.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Is there any way to call her?”

  Maddie lifted an eyebrow as she met her father’s gaze. “Like on the phone?”

  “No. You know what I mean.”

  “I do, and there’s not.” Maddie moved to the boulder she sat on the previous day and lowered herself. Her knee ached a bit, although she refused to acknowledge the pain. “When ghosts are new, they often have trouble controlling their reality. The longer they’re around, the stronger they become.”

  “And your mother is around, right?” George felt awkward asking the question.

  “She is.”

  “What does she say about me being here?”

  “She’s not happy and hasn’t made her presence known much since I told her that you and I were trying to get to know one another.” Maddie saw no reason to lie. George was a smart man. He had to realize that Olivia felt betrayed by Maddie’s decision to spend time with him. “She’ll get over it.”

  “I honestly don’t know how most of this works,” George admitted, sitting next to Maddie. “Your mother didn’t share much about her ability while we were married and when we decided to divorce she stopped talking to me altogether.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “I don’t know. It’s new and strange and cool all at the same time. I guess I want to know if ghosts always know what happened to them.”

  “They’re limited by their experience,” Maddie explained. “Say if someone was hit over the back of their head and never saw their assailant. The ghost wouldn’t know who did it. They might see a person loitering around after the fact or something, but if they didn’t see the actual act they don’t get a new view of their death scene or anything.”

  “That makes sense.” George rubbed the back of his neck. “If the dead person saw the attack, though, he or she would know?”

  “Sometimes, but not always,” Maddie replied. Explaining how ghosts worked to a father she barely knew was difficult, but she was keen to give it a try. If George didn’t understand, he would be less likely to ask again and she didn’t want to dissuade him from being curious. “Sometimes the death is so traumatizing that they can’t initially remember. Other times they know who did it and it’s too much to handle so they block it out. That happens quite often.”

  “But your mother, she didn’t have a violent death,” George said. “So she remembers dying, right?”

  “She does, although we really haven’t talked about it. She died suddenly, even though she knew she was sick, and she’s still a little bitter about being yanked out of a life she wasn’t done living.”

  “Is that why she stayed?”

  “She stayed for Granny,” Maddie replied. “She’s never said it, but I often wonder if she thought her death would devastate Granny to the point where she would give up and die not long after.”

  “Your grandmother isn’t a quitter,” George pointed out. “I don’t think that’s a rational expectation.”

  “No, but Granny loved Mom with her whole heart. Losing Mom could’ve broken her.”

  “You’re wrong.” George was matter-of-fact. “Your grandmother loves you just as much as she loved your mother. I’m not going to pretend that I like Maude – you would see through that – but I respect her. I’m going to bet that Maude was an absolutely wonderful grandmother to you.”

  “She was,” Maddie confirmed, her lips curving. “Mom worked a lot when I was little. We were always short on money so she signed up for every fair in the area. She made most of her money from fairs, not from the store.�
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  That never occurred to George and he briefly wondered if Maddie was strapped for cash. Would she be insulted if he offered money?

  As if reading his mind, Maddie shook her head. “I’m doing fine for money. Mom had life insurance and I saved a lot when I was a nurse down state. I never bought anything extravagant, so most of what I made went into an account. I’m okay.”

  “Well, if you need something … .” George broke off, swallowing hard. “I know you’re an adult, but I never felt right about not paying child support. Your mother wouldn’t have taken it no matter what, but I tried to offer several times.”

  That didn’t surprise Maddie. Olivia desperately needed the money, but she wanted to win more. “It’s okay. I’m fine. Plus, Nick is around and he contributes to household funds.”

  “Still, you’re getting married,” George pointed out. “Technically it’s a father’s job to pay for a wedding.”

  Maddie jolted at the suggestion. “I don’t expect you to pay for the wedding.”

  “I know that. You wouldn’t. It’s not in your nature. Still … what if I want to pay for the wedding?”

  It was a difficult question and Maddie wasn’t sure how to answer. “I don’t know. I would need to talk to Nick.”

  “Then talk to him,” George suggested. “I started an account for you when you were little. The money is all still there and it’s a tidy sum. I planned to give it to you for your wedding.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I want to do it, Maddie.” George’s expression was pained. “I have no intention of taking the wedding money out of that account, though. The wedding money would be on top of that.”

  Maddie immediately balked. “No. That’s not … no.” She vehemently shook her head.

  “Maddie, I’m giving you the money in the account for a wedding gift whether you like it or not,” George pressed. “As for the wedding itself, if you don’t want me to pay, I understand. I would like to pay, though. I would at least like to contribute.”

  “We’re not going to have a big wedding anyway,” Maddie supplied. “It’s going to be small and intimate, just a few friends. We haven’t gotten very far on the planning. All we’ve decided so far is that Nick wants chocolate cake and I can decide on the design.”