“No,” Maddie agreed. “I can’t do that. I can talk to the spirits left behind if they’re still hanging around. I can maybe get a sense of the killer and relate that news to Dwight. He wouldn’t put me in danger for anything. Just because I won’t be on the front lines, though, that doesn’t mean I can’t help.”
Nick gave her a measuring look. “I guess I didn’t think of that. I’m sorry for demanding you see things my way, although I’m still leery. However, we need to come to an agreement before we land.”
Maddie was instantly on alert. “And what agreement is that?”
“We stick together,” Nick answered without hesitation. “I won’t get in the way of you helping, but you need to agree to keep me close so I don’t spend the next few days freaking out. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”
“So you want a compromise.” Maddie rubbed her chin as she considered the suggestion. “I think that’s fair,” she said after a beat. “We’ll do this together. We are a unit, after all.”
“Now and forever.” Nick lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of her knuckles. “Just for the record, this was an easy compromise to make. I have a feeling the rest won’t be so easy. Even when we fight, Mad, I need you to know that I love you.”
Maddie’s smile was small but heartfelt. “I feel the same way. It’s going to be a stressful few days, but I know we can make it through.”
“We’ll definitely make it through this. There’s no other option for me besides you.”
“Right back at you.”
“Good.” Nick sucked in a calming breath. “Now, tell me about the locations you saw in the vision. I want to know everything you can tell me. When we hit the city, we’ll talk to Dwight and go from there.”
“That sounds like a plan.”
4
Four
Maddie knew where Dwight’s precinct was located, so after they dropped off their luggage at the hotel – Nick insisted on an upgrade once they were on their way – the couple pointed themselves in Dwight’s direction.
Nick, who had never spent a lot of time in the city, kept his arm around Maddie’s back as they walked down the sidewalk. For her part, Maddie couldn’t stop smiling as she enjoyed the way he scanned the crowd.
“I never thought I would be the brave one.”
It took Nick a moment to realize Maddie was speaking. “What?” He flicked his eyes to her. “Did you say something?”
Maddie’s giggle was enough to warm Nick’s heart even though he was on edge.
“I never thought I would be the brave one,” Maddie repeated. “I’m more familiar with the city than you and I can tell you’re nervous.”
Most men would’ve felt ridiculous about being called out on such behavior, but Nick wasn’t most men. “I can’t believe you lived here,” he admitted, shifting his eyes to two women across the street. They were very clearly prostitutes, soliciting any man who passed, and their overt actions made him uncomfortable. “I used to picture it.”
“Picture what?”
“The city. Well, to get technical, I used to picture you in the city. After you left me, I mean.”
Maddie pressed her lips together. Their separation remained a sore spot between them even though they’d talked everything out. “I’m sorry, Nicky. I wish I could take it back. I … .”
“Shh.” Nick shook his head. “I didn’t mean to make you feel guilty. That’s not what I was saying. It’s just … whenever I pictured you it was in a park or smiling at some guy, which made me incredibly jealous at the thought. I had no idea who the guy was, mind you, but I always imagined you were off somewhere being happy.”
“That wasn’t possible without you.”
Nick’s grin was genuine. “Yeah, I think we were both miserable.”
Maddie offered up an impish smile. “Devastated.”
“Crushed.”
“Annihilated.”
“Forever haunted.”
Nick planted a swift kiss on her mouth. “We’re safe from all that now, though.”
“Definitely.”
The couple jolted at the sound of a slow clap, turning slowly to find Dwight leaning against the wall of his precinct as he eyed them with obvious amusement. “Oh, that was so cute. I see you guys are just as annoying as you were when I saw you last.”
“More so.” Nick sobered and extended his hand. “It’s nice to see you.”
Dwight snagged Nick’s serious gaze with a sober one of his own. “Thanks for trying to say that even though I know you don’t mean it.”
“I mean it,” Nick argued. “I’m happy to see you. I simply wish it was under different circumstances.”
“We all wish that.” Dwight turned his full attention to Maddie, and even though it was a serious moment, he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “You look all shiny and happy.”
Maddie slid away from Nick so she could give Dwight a heartfelt hug. “I don’t know about the shiny part, but I’m definitely happy.”
“Oh, you’re shiny.” Dwight rested his hand on her shoulder. “You two seem happy, other than the fact that I dragged you away from home and caused a fight, that is.”
“How do you know you caused a fight?” Nick asked.
Dwight shrugged. “Maddie and I talked a bit last night. She didn’t come right out and say it, but I could tell she was unhappy. I’m glad you appear to have made up.”
“It’s not that I don’t want her to help you,” Nick hedged. “It’s simply that I don’t want her in danger. That’s why I put up a fight.”
“Do you think I want to put her in danger?”
“No, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything,” Nick replied. “She always tends to find trouble. She can’t help herself. I don’t want her finding trouble down here … and especially with this case. You have a bunch of dead women. I don’t want Maddie to join them.”
“We won’t let Maddie join them.” Dwight was firm. “As for the women, I was just coming back from the medical examiner’s office with the preliminary autopsy reports to go over. It looks as if we have twenty of them, which was my original guess.”
“Twenty women?” Maddie was horrified even though she’d heard the number before. It was somehow sobering to have it confirmed. “You’re sure about that?”
“I’m sure. We don’t have complete bodies for some of them but … we’re pretty sure.”
Nick tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean about not having full bodies?”
“We have ten bodies that are mostly intact,” Dwight replied. “That’s not all of them by a long shot, but we have ten that are complete other than some scavenger damage. The rest are … um, pieces … of women.”
Maddie clutched Nick’s hand tighter as he slid his free arm around her back and tugged her to his chest. “That’s awful.”
“It is,” Dwight agreed. “We had no idea this was going on and now we’re in quite the pickle. We have twenty dead women. Another fifteen to thirty who could be missing. We have a predator on the loose and exactly no leads.”
“And that’s why you want me, right?” Maddie asked.
Dwight nodded. “I don’t want to put you in danger, Maddie. I agree with Nick on that one. If you could find one of the girl’s ghosts, though, you might be able to get answers and point us in the right direction. That’s all I’m going to ask of you.”
“Okay. Where do you want to start?” Maddie was gung-ho so she didn’t initially notice the two detectives walking past their small group. She also didn’t notice the odd looks they cast in her direction.
Nick noticed, though. He was the observant sort. At first he thought the detectives were interested in Maddie for her looks. She was frustratingly unaware of her appeal and didn’t so much as glance in their direction. After several moments of quiet study, though, Nick realized something else was going on … and the emotions swamping him weren’t of the comfortable variety.
“We should take this someplace else,” Dwight said af
ter a beat, his eyes trained on the detectives. “Do you guys need something?” he asked them pointedly.
“We were just checking out your friend, Dwight,” the nearest detective replied, holding Nick’s challenging gaze for a moment before continuing. “I thought I might’ve recognized her and wanted to get a better look.”
Maddie snapped her eyes in the man’s direction, frowning when she recognized him. “Detective Strawser, you don’t have to play dumb. We both know you remember me.”
“I do indeed, Ms. Graves,” Strawser drawled with a lazy grin. “I mean … who could forget you?”
“No one with eyes,” the other detective supplied.
“That will be enough of that,” Dwight barked. “Ms. Graves is here by my invitation. If you don’t like that, Strawser, you can take it up with the chief. He’s the one who okayed her consulting.”
“Consulting?” Strawser let loose with a derisive snort. “Is that what we’re calling it now?”
“What would you call it?” Nick challenged, keeping a firm grip on Maddie.
“I would call it nonsense,” Strawser replied without hesitation. “Not everyone here believes that woman’s psychic song and dance routine.”
“I said that was enough,” Dwight hissed. “I don’t care what you want. This isn’t your case, so mind your own business.”
“Fine. I didn’t mean to stir up trouble.” Strawser held up his hands in a placating manner. “I honestly apologize, Ms. Graves. I hope the spirits aren’t unhappy with you so you can help find the fiend committing these atrocities.”
Strawser said the words, but the sparkle in his eyes indicated he didn’t mean them.
“I hope so, too,” Maddie said lightly. “It was nice to see you again, Detective Strawser.”
“Charmed, I’m sure,” Strawser said, lowering his voice so only his cohort could hear as they made their way up the steps that led to the precinct’s main entrance. The duo burst into an uncomfortable fit of laughter before disappearing inside.
Dwight watched Maddie with interest, waiting long enough that Strawser was long out of hearing distance before continuing. “Why don’t we head to Mexicantown for lunch, huh? I have some things to talk to you about.”
Nick nodded, his shoulders stiff. “Fine. Lead the way.”
“Mexican sounds good.” Maddie found her voice and was happy it didn’t crack as she regrouped. “I haven’t had good Mexican in more than a year. Let’s go to our favorite restaurant.”
Dwight bobbed his head. “It’s as if you’re reading my mind.”
NICK WAS HAPPY TO cuddle close with Maddie as they settled in one side of a cozy booth. Since he was unfamiliar with the various areas of Detroit – the bulk of his knowledge coming from television shows and news reports – he was pleasantly surprised when he saw the restaurant Dwight selected for them.
After placing orders and accepting their drinks, talk turned to the murders and Dwight didn’t bother to hide his unease.
“I’m sorry that you got caught up in all of this again right out of the gate, Maddie,” he offered, his expression contrite. “I was hoping they wouldn’t see you – at least not yet – and that’s why I was waiting outside.”
Nick ran his tongue over his teeth as he debated what to say, keeping his eyes on Maddie as she squirmed beside him.
“You don’t have to be sorry,” Maddie said after a moment’s quiet contemplation. “You didn’t create the situation, Dwight. You took as much abuse as I did back then. I’m sure you didn’t want to call me for that reason alone.”
“I wanted to see you,” Dwight stressed. “I was hoping to come north this summer and spend some time in Blackstone Bay, bring the wife and make it a proper vacation. Sage is looking forward to seeing you again, too. She’s home for spring break. This was not how I wanted to see you again.”
“And yet here we are.” Maddie held her hands palms out and shrugged. “We can’t go back in time and undo what was done. We can only move forward. It might be uncomfortable for both of us, but if we can come up with the necessary answers – if we can save some lives – then I would say it was well worth it.”
Dwight opened his mouth but shut it before commenting. Ultimately he merely shrugged and smiled.
“You got your way two days in a row, Mad,” Nick teased, poking her side. “This being forceful thing is really working out for you, huh?”
Maddie beamed, the expression lighting up her beautiful face. “It really is. I should’ve been forceful a long time ago.”
“I like you however you are.” Nick patted the top of her hand. “In fact, I’m pretty sure I like you best when you’re with me and smiling.”
“Ha, ha.” Maddie nudged Nick out of the way so she could scoot off the booth seat. “I’ll be right back. I need to run to the restroom.”
Nick nodded as he watched her go, keeping his gaze level until she disappeared through the door and then his expression shifted. “We don’t have a lot of time, so why don’t you just tell me what’s going on and we’ll try to figure out how to handle it before she gets back.”
Dwight’s eyebrows flew up his forehead. “You want to discuss Maddie’s involvement in my case without her?”
“Oh, don’t give me that.” Nick rolled his neck. “I want her safe. I’m not going to apologize for that. I know you’re aware that we got in a huge fight about this last night, so don’t bother pretending otherwise.”
“You obviously made up.”
“We did make up,” Nick agreed. “We made up because I gave in. She was coming down here to help you no matter what – because she feels she owes you – and I could either get with the program or sit at home and pout. As unhappy as I am with the situation, there was no way I could allow her to come down here alone and put herself at risk simply because I was upset. That’s not how I roll.”
Dwight absently played with the ring of condensation his glass left on the table. “Do you honestly think I would purposely put her in a position where she could get hurt? Is that what you think I want for her?”
“No.” Nick didn’t hesitate when shaking his head. “I think you care about her a great deal.”
“But … ?”
“But I think you’re desperate to solve this case and you can’t see straight where she’s concerned,” Nick answered, unruffled. “I’m not going to pretend that I’m happy with your decision, but I honestly do get it. I’m a cop, too. I don’t see the things you see, but I want justice as much as the next person when it comes to what you found in that alley.
“The thing is, you want to use the person I love most in this world as a weapon of sorts,” he continued. “I know how this is going to work. You’re going to drag her to the alley and watch her perform like an elephant at the circus. You don’t think that puts her in danger, but I’m worried you’re wrong.”
“How is that going to put her in danger?” Dwight pressed. “I mean, I get that you’re territorial where she’s concerned. You two went through hell to find your way back to one another. You love each other to distraction. How is taking her to the scene going to put her in danger, though? I want to know, because I spent hours stressing over the call to make sure there was no way that could possibly happen and now you’re saying it will most likely happen.”
“I’m not saying it will most likely happen,” Nick corrected hastily. “I said it was a possibility. I have no idea what this alley looks like, but I’m guessing the neighborhood has regular visitors and that perhaps the killer is someone familiar to everyone down there.
“What’s going to happen when you take a blond who looks like Maddie to a bad neighborhood and let her loose to walk around and talk to ghosts?” he continued. “She’s going to draw a crowd. And, if the killer is local, he might be hanging around the area in an effort to keep his ear to the ground and figure out exactly how much you guys know.”
Dwight steepled his fingers and rested his elbows on the table. “I considered that. Even if the killer sees her with u
s, though, he’s not going to make a move on her. Maddie will be in and out of the city before he has a chance to figure out who she is. She won’t be in danger. I won’t let her be in danger.”
Nick heaved out a sigh. “I’ll die for her, and willingly so, but that doesn’t mean I think she’s completely free of danger here. Why do you think I insisted on coming?”
Dwight arched an eyebrow. “Honestly? I figured you knew your limitations and realized you couldn’t be away from her for twenty-four hours let alone a few days. If you let her storm off, you would’ve followed by tomorrow morning and we both know it. I thought you were simply acknowledging that fact.”
Nick made a face. “I think you’re saying I’m whipped.”
“So, we both know you’re whipped.” Dwight’s grin was cheeky. “It’s okay. I kind of like that you dote on Maddie like you do. She was an unhappy woman when I knew her and she almost broke my heart. You’ve fixed all of that.”
“I’m doing my best.”
“And you’re worried that I’m trying to take all of that from you,” Dwight added, waving his hand when Nick opened his mouth to argue. “I know you don’t think I’m doing it on purpose, but I honestly can’t stop myself from asking for help with this particular case.
“You weren’t there, Nick,” he continued, lowering his voice. “You didn’t see those girls discarded like heaps of trash. Some of them were as young as my daughter. Some were as old as Maddie. How would you feel if Maddie was one of the women found in that alley?”
Nick balked. “That’s what I’m trying to make sure doesn’t happen.”
“And I get that. You’re her champion and you want to protect her. I would die for her, too, whether you believe that or not. I want to make sure that no one else dies, too, though. I want her to be safe and sound, but I also want to make sure that no other parents lose their child to a monster. I can’t simply forget what I saw.”
“I’m not asking you to.” Nick knew he’d already lost the argument. He understood Dwight’s plight and even though he wanted Maddie away from danger, dragging her off and putting her under lock and key wasn’t an option. “Ultimately it doesn’t matter anyway. Maddie is determined to see this through because that’s who she is. It’s my job to keep her safe.”
Grave Danger (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 12) Page 4