Grave Paths (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 11)

by Lily Harper Hart

  Christy balked. “Excuse me? Why can’t you do it?”

  “Dad is on the phone with Nick over there.” Maddie pointed to the corner of the lobby where George had a phone pressed to his ear as he stared through the window. “They’ll be here soon, but Angie is clearly crazy and I don’t want to give her a chance to get her hands on the baby a second time.”

  “Angie?” Christy wrinkled her nose. “The sister? But … why?”

  “I have every intention of asking her once you’re out of here with him,” Maddie replied. “Take him to the police station. Dad is getting Nick right now, but we need to keep the baby safe.”

  “You want me to take the baby and leave you?” Christy wasn’t thrilled with the suggestion. “Maddie … I don’t think I can.”

  “You have to,” Maddie stressed. “I need this baby to be okay. He already lost his mother – who is hanging around with my mother in ghost form right now, by the way – and I need to know he’s going to be safe no matter what.”

  Christy opened her mouth to argue and then snapped it shut, her eyes glassy as she nodded. “Okay. I’ll take him. What are you going to do, though?”

  “I’m going to keep Angie busy,” Maddie replied. “I’m going to ask her questions, give her a chance to tell me why she did everything. Deep down, I’m guessing that’s what she really wants. She needs someone to hear her story. While that’s happening, Nick and Dale can come up behind her and take her into custody.”

  “While I run away.” Christy was bitter. “Maddie, if something happens to you … .”

  “It won’t.” Maddie gave Christy’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “I promise it won’t.”

  “She won’t be alone anyway,” George said, disconnecting the phone. “Nick is on his way and I’ll be with her. We just need you to take the baby and make sure he’s safe.”

  “Okay.” Christy knew furthering the conversation was a mistake. “I’ll go out the back.”

  “Hurry,” George said. “Angie is about to come in through the front.”

  Christy didn’t need to be told twice. She scrambled toward the back door, only stopping long enough to meet Maddie’s gaze for a brief moment. “Be careful. Nick will never get over it if you do something stupid.”

  “I know. I don’t plan to do anything stupid.”

  Christy forced a smile. “That will be a nice change of pace, huh?” She didn’t wait for an answer, instead slipping through the door.

  With nothing better to do, and the knowledge that P.J. was safe fueling her, Maddie turned her expectant eyes to the door and waited. The answers were finally here.

  20

  Twenty

  Maddie remained standing when Angie stormed through the door. The look on her face was murderous, but her hands were free of a weapon, which meant the two women were on even footing. George stayed close to Maddie but didn’t immediately move to intercept. He figured this was Maddie’s show. He would be there for backup if she needed it, but otherwise he planned to follow her lead.

  “Where is my son?” Angie’s voice was shrill.

  “He’s not your son,” Maddie replied. She was thankful the hotel lobby and small restaurant weren’t packed, but she was also grateful to have witnesses. If Angie got violent, there were plenty of people around to stop her. “He’s your nephew.”

  “He’s my son,” Angie corrected. “He was always meant to be my son.”

  Maddie wasn’t sure what to make of that. “How do you figure that?”

  “Peter and I were together before … well, before my sister seduced him and made him believe she was better than me,” Angie explained. “We were together for a year. A year! We lived together. We talked about marriage. Peter was going to propose. I know it. Then Jennifer swooped in and turned his head. He forgot all about me.”

  Maddie wanted to be disgusted. From what she knew about Peter Cook, though, that sounded just like him. “I’m sorry about that. I honestly am. I think you dodged a bullet there, though. Peter is … a disgusting piece of filth.”

  “Don’t say that,” Angie snapped. “He’s a good man. He’s … a wonderful man. He just had his head turned by a bad element. My sister ruined things. She’s the one to blame.”

  Things slipped into place for Maddie … at least mostly. “You told Nick that you asked your sister to pack up the baby and move with you. That was a lie, wasn’t it?”

  “Not entirely. I wanted her to leave Peter. I told her it was because he was bad, but I knew she would never listen if I said she was bad. I thought, once he had time away from her to clear his head, that he would come to his senses and come back to me. The baby changed things, but once I realized he should’ve been mine and I could simply take P.J. and treat him like he was mine, I understood better what was expected of me.”

  “She’s completely off her rocker,” George muttered under his breath.

  Maddie had figured that out on her own. “What happened the night you went to Jennifer’s house?” Maddie asked, making sure to keep distance between Angie and herself as she moved around the side of the table. “Did you go to her with a list of demands?”

  “I think ‘demands’ is a harsh word,” Angie said. “I went to her to explain how things would change. I didn’t expect her to agree right away, but she’d been miserable since the baby was born and I thought she would eventually see that what I proposed was the best way to fix this situation for all concerned.”

  “She told me that she was going to take the baby,” Jennifer volunteered, the fog lifting from her memory. “She said that she had plans for Peter that didn’t include me. I’d had him long enough and it was time to return him. That’s what she said.

  “I was confused at first,” she continued. “I thought she was over what happened. We didn’t speak for two years and suddenly she wanted to hang out again after I had the baby. I thought P.J. made her want to fix the rift, be a good aunt.” Jennifer’s eyes were mournful when they turned to Maddie. “I was wrong.”

  Maddie wet her lips as she regarded Angie, internally debating how to proceed. “Your sister didn’t agree with the plan, did she?” she asked finally.

  “No, and I don’t understand why,” Angie replied. “It was such a simple way to make everybody happy. She knew I was better for Peter. She knew I would be a better mother. Heck, she knew she was unhappy. Why couldn’t she get in line and agree to give everyone what they needed?”

  “I’m guessing she thought she needed something else,” Maddie said. “She’s the baby’s mother, after all.”

  “No, I’m the mother. I should’ve always been the mother. That was my family until Jennifer stole it.”

  Maddie slid a sidelong look at Jennifer. The look the ghost shot her sister was one of outright hatred rather than pity.

  “I’m not going to pretend that what your sister did was right,” Maddie said. “In fact, it was terribly wrong. You don’t go after your sister’s boyfriend … or husband … or even the guy she looks at sideways when walking down the street. That’s a good solid rule for sisters and friends.”

  “Hey,” Jennifer protested. “Peter and I had a connection. We bonded. We were soulmates.”

  Maddie rolled her eyes but didn’t respond. “Peter isn’t a good man and it has nothing to do with what you did for him or what you think your sister did to steal him away,” she said. “He’s not someone who … mates for life. I know that sounds weird to say, but he’s not built that way.”

  “You don’t know him,” Angie protested.

  “I’ve met him and listened to what he had to say,” Maddie countered. “More importantly, I met his current mistress and listened to what she had to say. In a way, Laura and Peter deserve each other because she isn’t looking for love either. She’s looking for a gravy train and more than willing to trade sex to get it. They have a lot in common.”

  Angie’s eyes flashed. “You take that back. Peter was not having an affair. He was loyal. That’s why I liked him. My sister stole him because
she knew he would be loyal.”

  “No, that’s absolutely not true.” Maddie refused to back down. “By his own admission, Peter Cook has bedded as many women as possible. He likes something fresh and new. His latest conquest was a college student who worked as an intern for his company.

  “Now, I would never pretend that Laura Ferguson is a good person either,” she continued. “That woman has her own set of problems and openly copped to the fact that she knew Peter was married and his wife had just given birth to a new baby. She didn’t care. She wanted what she wanted.

  “I don’t know if Peter is incapable of love – he seems to love his son and himself and that’s about it – but you were never going to get what you wanted from him because he can’t give it to you,” Maddie said. “He mimics emotion enough to get by, but he doesn’t care about women as a gender. He wants what they can give to him and nothing else.”

  “No.” Angie made a face as she vehemently shook her head. “He loved me. We were going to make this work down the line. I had a plan and that plan was going to give me everything I ever wanted.”

  “Yeah, I think I have an idea of what your plan was,” Maddie said. “You were going to take the baby, kick out your sister, and surprise Peter when he came home. Am I right?”

  Angie snorted. “Not even close. Peter is not the sort of man you can force to do things. You have to make him think that it’s his idea. I was going to take the baby and move to Florida. I wasn’t lying about having a job there.”

  Maddie furrowed her brow. “And then what?”

  “And then we were going to wait for Peter to find us. He would’ve come to his senses eventually.”

  “Was he going to do it psychically or something? Find you guys, I mean.”

  “No. I would’ve called him eventually.”

  “So what happened?” Maddie asked. “When Jennifer didn’t immediately jump at the chance to hand over her husband and child, what did you do?”

  “I didn’t do anything,” Angie replied. “Jennifer did it. This is all her fault.”

  “No, she definitely hurt you and in a terrible way, but you did this,” Maddie countered. “You snapped, didn’t you? You thought you presented her with a great plan and that she would have no choice but to bow at your feet, apologize for what she’d done, and beg you to forgive her. That’s not what happened, though.”

  “She barely had time for me and wouldn’t listen to what I said,” Angie spat. “She spent the entire time fussing over that baby and she didn’t even look at me. She had the audacity to complain about Peter’s work schedule even though they agreed that was how things were going to be.

  “She whined, complained, and acted as if she was worked to the bone even though she was doing nothing but taking care of P.J.,” she continued. “I always knew my sister was selfish, but in that moment, I realized she was even worse than I ever fathomed. She was evil. She had to be stopped.”

  “I didn’t see her coming at first,” Jennifer whispered. “I was busy trying to get P.J. to stop fussing. He wouldn’t, though. He was always fussing. Angie’s hands were around my neck before I knew she was there. I tried to fight but … she was too strong.”

  Maddie pressed her lips together as she pictured the fight. Angie was a good six inches taller than Jennifer. She had at least fifty pounds on her. Jennifer wouldn’t have been able to fight, especially since she was barely eating in an attempt to keep her husband interested.

  “You lost your temper, didn’t you, Angie?” Maddie’s voice was smooth. “You attacked from behind and had your hands around her neck before you even realized what you were doing.”

  “No, that’s not what happened.” Angie’s voice rose an octave. “She attacked me because she was jealous. She knew Peter and I were going to have the life she always wanted but was incapable of claiming.”

  “No, you waited until she was distracted by the baby and walked up behind her.” Maddie wanted to snap Angie out of whatever delusion she was currently mired in, reach the once reasonable woman inside. “You choked her and since you’re so much taller and heavier than her, it wasn’t hard to bring her down. It didn’t hurt that your sister wasn’t eating – in fact, she was purging in an attempt to lose weight so Peter would still find her attractive.

  “You see, your sister knew that Peter was running around even though she didn’t want to admit it,” she continued. “She knew he was already looking elsewhere and was desperate to hold on to him. That’s what he does, by the way. He constantly looks elsewhere.”

  “That’s not what happened,” Angie argued. “That’s not … I wouldn’t do what you’re describing.”

  “But you did,” Maddie pressed. “You choked her and thought you killed her, but she woke up. You were in a panic but, even in that state, you knew you couldn’t give her the chance to tell the police what happened so you choked her again. You did it until she died, right there on the floor, in front of her baby.”

  “No.” Angie’s voice was barely a whisper.

  “You then found yourself in quite the quagmire,” Maddie said, her voice growing stronger. “You had a body and a baby. You wanted the baby, but things would’ve been much easier for you if your sister would’ve just gotten with the program and done what you wanted. You knew you were in trouble, so you decided to make the body go away.

  “At first you wanted to make it look like suicide,” she said. “You slashed at her wrists, but it was too late to go that route. Then you considered making it look like a break-in and trashed the bedroom, but you knew that created a whole new set of problems so you had to think of something else.

  “It must have been difficult to carry her out to your vehicle, especially since she was your sister and you probably didn’t want to look at her too long,” she continued. “You also had a baby to contend with. You carried her out to the car, grabbed the baby and the car seat, and then looked for a spot to dump the body.

  “You must’ve thought you got lucky when you stumbled across the park and realized there were a lot of trees behind it,” Maddie said. “You left the baby in the car – it was night, after all, and no one could hear him cry – and dragged your sister into the woods. Even though you’re in good shape you couldn’t make it more than about a quarter of a mile. Then you left her and went back to the baby.

  “You had to think on your feet and you wisely returned home to wait for a call from the police,” she said. “It must’ve been difficult waiting. Hours turned into days. At some point you probably thought you got away with it. You kept up your plan to move to Florida and you were even hopeful that no one would ever find her, weren’t you? She might rot out there and no one would find her and that would be better for you.

  “Then the cops called and your world imploded.” The story fell into place in Maddie’s head. “You were smart when you came back, getting a hotel room one town over so no one would be suspicious about your baby. Also, no one was looking for you so you managed to eke by.

  “You met with the police and conveniently left out the part about having a prior relationship with Peter. You acted sad and afraid. You pretended you wanted to do right by your sister. All the while you were hiding the secret that you killed her.”

  “That is … not how it happened,” Angie repeated, although she didn’t look entirely convinced.

  Maddie ignored her uncertainty. “When you came back, you found you had another problem, didn’t you? Larry Boone was there the night you killed your sister. I’m guessing he didn’t realize what happened that night until after news broke that Jennifer and the baby were missing. He probably thought you were simply a concerned aunt helping her sister.”

  “I don’t know who that is.” Angie averted her eyes.

  “You’re a bad liar,” Maddie said. “Boone had a reputation for blackmailing the people he was supposed to be spying on. In this case he accidentally spied on you. When he realized what happened, he tracked you down and blackmailed you. He wanted money for silence.


  “You didn’t have enough money to appease him, but you lied and said you were gathering it,” she continued. “Then you went to his house, bashed him over the head, and wiped his computer. You thought you had everything under control because Peter was the main suspect and no one had even so much as glanced at you. Then you made the ultimate mistake, though.”

  “And what was that?” Angie asked, her eyes narrowing.

  “You left a baby in the car by himself,” Maddie replied without hesitation. “No one will put up with that.”

  “It’s not even hot out,” Angie protested.

  “It doesn’t matter.” Maddie was firm. “I knew who that baby belonged to the second I saw him.”

  “He belongs to me,” she howled.

  “No, he doesn’t belong to you,” Maddie shot back. “You’ve killed two people – including his mother – and you’re going to jail for a very long time.”

  Angie turned menacing as she clenched her hands into fists at her sides and took a step toward Maddie. “I am not going to jail. I’m the victim in all of this. My sister stole the man who was supposed to be my husband. She stole my child.”

  “That was her child!” Maddie snapped. “I know you want to convince yourself otherwise because that seems to be the only way you can deal with this, but that was her child. You killed your sister.”

  “She stole the man that I loved!”

  “And she paid for it, didn’t she?” Maddie’s temper was on full display. “I don’t understand why all of you people are fighting over that guy, as if he’s some great husband and provider. He’s not even a decent man.”

  “He’s my man!”

  “No, he’s not.” Nick’s voice was calm and even as he stepped into the room. He was behind Maddie and she didn’t risk turning, but she let loose with a long sigh when she heard his voice. She had no idea when he arrived, but now that he was present, she could finally relax. “He’s not anybody’s man. He’s not even his own man.”

  Angie’s lower lip trembled, as if she finally realized she was in trouble. “I love him.”