Dwight snorted. “That’s what I thought. Make this one a short one. Once Maddie and her friends work through these women, we have some decisions to make.”
Nick nodded. “I know. What do you make of Paloma’s story?”
Dwight was happy to change the subject. “I believe her.”
“I do, too. That means one of the doctors at the hospital is very likely a killer. You realize that, right?”
“You’re thinking that one of the members of Maddie’s fan club might be the culprit.”
“I don’t know that I believe that,” Nick cautioned. “It’s easy for me to lean that way, but I don’t want to because it might mean overlooking the obvious.”
“I get what you’re saying and it would seem somehow easier for us if Tipton or Bishop was to blame, but we have to take this one step at a time,” Dwight said. “We need to get photos in front of Paloma.”
“You heard her. She didn’t see his face well. We need her to listen to voices.”
Dwight was uncomfortable with the suggestion. “I don’t think she’s going to agree to that and I feel bad asking it of her.”
“Then maybe we should have Maddie ask,” Nick suggested. “She’s already everyone’s least favorite person, at least in this building. Maybe she won’t mind being the bad guy again.”
“You’re not going to gloat about that, are you?”
Nick shrugged. “She’s still my favorite person, even if I am irritated.”
“Then perhaps we should have a talk with her,” Dwight said. “We’re starting to get into a weird spot here. We have someone who might be able to point us in the right direction, but she’s unwilling to take the chance. We have to figure out a way to change her mind.”
“I’m open to suggestions.”
“OKAY, YOU’RE REALLY SICK.”
Andrea was never one to mince words so she gave it to Paloma straight.
For her part, the young woman merely blinked as she regarded the worried nurse. “Isn’t that why you’re here?”
“Yes, but I’m not a doctor.”
“I don’t like doctors.”
Andrea looked to Maddie for help. “Maddie, she needs intravenous fluids. She needs boosters. I can’t give her any of that here.”
Maddie rubbed her thumb over her lower lip. “I know.” She didn’t bother faking enthusiasm when she turned and knelt next to Paloma. “You have to go to the hospital. I know you don’t want to, but it’s necessary.”
Paloma immediately started shaking her head. “I won’t.”
“You have to.”
“I won’t!” Paloma screeched out the words, drawing Nick’s attention as he crossed the room.
Nick changed course, making up his mind on the spot, and approached the three women. “What’s going on?”
“She’s sick,” Andrea replied without hesitation. “I mean … really sick. Her lungs are compromised. Her immune system is almost nonexistent. She’s exhausted, malnourished, and worn down. We need to get her admitted to the hospital and on a treatment program right away.”
“I won’t go.” Paloma was firm. “He’s there. The devil is there.”
Nick briefly locked gazes with Maddie, something unsaid passing between them, and then dropped to a crouch so he could be at eye level with Paloma. “I understand you’re frightened.”
“I’m more than frightened,” Paloma shot back. “I will die if I go there. I know it. He’s there and he’s waiting for me.”
“I think you’re giving him more power than he’s earned, but we can work through this together.” Nick dug deep to remain calm, calling on his training to work through the fraught situation. “I will be with you the whole time. We’ll make sure you’re never alone and get a few officers to sit by your bed to be sure.
“The truth is, it’s better for us if you’re in the hospital because you’ll be able to identify the voice we’re looking for,” he continued. “You’re very important to us. I swear it. We won’t abandon you.”
Paloma licked her lips as she turned to Mercedes. “I don’t know. What do you think?”
“I think they’re obviously worried,” Mercedes said without hesitation. “That means you need help. If they’re willing to give it, I don’t see where we’re in a position to say no.”
Paloma heaved out a sigh and leaned back her head. “Fine. If I die, though, I will haunt you to the end of time.”
Since Maddie could see and talk to ghosts, she had no trouble believing that. “We won’t let you die.”
MERCEDES RODE IN THE ambulance with Paloma, which left Maddie and Nick to hurry to the hospital. Dwight stayed behind with Iris and Sandy to work through the rest of the women and promised to head toward the hospital as soon as possible.
Maddie and Nick picked a brisk pace for their walk. Nick was hopeful that meant they wouldn’t talk, but Maddie refused to let the moment escape.
“I’m sorry. I know you’re angry and I don’t blame you, but it all happened so fast. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“Oh, geez.” Nick pinched the bridge of his nose as he walked. “I don’t think now is the time for this conversation.”
“Oh.” Maddie’s eyes filled with despair. “Does that mean you’re going to keep pretending I’m not someone worthy of talking to?”
Nick heaved out a sigh. “That’s not what I’ve been doing.”
“It is. You won’t even look at me.”
“That’s because I’m angry and I don’t want to yell at you,” Nick supplied. “I would think you’d understand that.”
“I do understand that, but I would rather you yell and get it out of your system.” Maddie didn’t want to admit it, but the fact Nick refused to touch her was turning into a dull ache. He was generally tactile and couldn’t get enough of her and even though she knew it made her pathetic and whiny, Maddie yearned for some form of contact. “I can’t stand it that you won’t touch me.”
Nick slowed his pace and pinned her with a gaze. “What?”
“You won’t touch me. You usually do something … even if it’s just a hand to my back or a squeeze of my fingers. Right now you simply won’t touch me … and I don’t like it.”
“That’s because I’m angry, Maddie.”
“I know but … .”
“No.” Nick wagged a finger and shook his head. “We’re going to talk about the decision you made and why it was a mistake, and we’re going to do it at a time when I don’t feel pressure to give you what you want simply because you’re clearly miserable.
“I get it, Mad, you didn’t mean for this to happen,” he continued. “Still, you knew I was worried about you running all over the place given everything that was going on. We compromised even though I wasn’t comfortable with it. You should’ve called me when Sage showed up.”
“I know. I wanted to. It’s just … she was so serious.”
“Well, I’m serious, too,” Nick said. “I’m upset, Mad. I’m not simply going to let you get away with breaking your word to me.”
“That’s not what I was doing,” Maddie protested. “I was trying to help Sage. Then, when she showed me what I was dealing with, I wanted to help those women. If you expect me to apologize for that, I won’t. They needed help.”
“I don’t expect you to apologize for that,” Nick clarified. “I do, however, feel I’m owed an apology.”
“You are,” Maddie agreed. “I should’ve figured out a different way to keep you in the loop and help Sage at the same time. I wish I had and I’m so sorry you feel as if I did this to purposely hurt you. I would never do that.”
Nick felt his resolve ebbing in the face of her sadness. “I know you wouldn’t purposely hurt me.”
“I got caught up,” Maddie added. “Sage needed help and she laid all of this ‘I thought you wanted to help those in need’ stuff on me. I melted even though I probably shouldn’t have done it. I can’t help it. Sometimes I’m a marshmallow.”
Even though he was determined to be ster
n, Nick let loose with a hearty chuckle. “You’re my marshmallow, you big manipulator.” He grabbed her by the arm and tugged her to him, wrapping his arms around and her and grinning when he heard her make a purring sound as she burrowed her face in the hollow of his neck. “I love you, Maddie. That’s never going to change. Even when we fight, I’m always going to love you.”
“Even if you don’t want to touch me?”
“Mad, I always want to touch you. The reason I stayed away is because I was angry and I knew I would be the one turning into a marshmallow the second you batted those eyes at me.”
“I love you, Nicky. I’m sorry. I’ll do better.”
“I just want you safe, Maddie.” He tilted up her chin and kissed her upturned mouth. “Just think next time before you wander away in a big city. What would’ve happened if you ran into trouble, love? I wouldn’t have known where to start looking for you.”
“I … don’t know. I’m really sorry, though.”
“I know you are. I forgive you.” He pulled her in for a second hug. “I’m definitely the marshmallow. We both recognize that, right?”
“I like you when you’re a marshmallow.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
16
Sixteen
Paloma was a nervous wreck at the hospital. Nick positioned himself so he was constantly by her side, a soothing and calm face for her to focus on. When the emergency team tried to remove him from her room, Paloma became so distressed they stopped trying.
Maddie was glad for his steadying presence even though Paloma gripped his hand so hard she worried the terrified woman might rip it from his arm.
“She seems like she would do better under sedation,” Andrea noted, moving to Maddie’s side.
“I know, but she’s not going to allow that and I refuse to force it on her.” Maddie rolled her neck as she watched a female doctor – Nick made a direct request for that – inject Paloma with an initial booster. “She’s been through enough. She doesn’t need to have her choice taken from her.”
“Yeah, well, I’m going to need some information for the intake forms,” Andrea supplied. “I know something odd is going on here, but I’m going to need some sort of explanation that will fly should the hospital brass question me.”
Maddie expected that and nodded. “Wait one second and we’ll go to the lobby and talk. I just need to tell Nick where I’ll be.”
“Okay.”
Maddie gave the attendants a wide berth as she circled the bed, not stopping until she was at Nick’s side. “I need to help Andrea with information for some forms.” She kept her voice low. “I’m going out in the lobby with her, but I won’t be far.”
Nick looked torn. “Do you think that’s a good idea? What if word spreads why she’s here?”
“I don’t see where we have another option. The hospital has rules and they need information. I’ll do my best to vague it up, but Paloma is going to need to be here for at least forty-eight hours.”
“I know. I called Dwight and he’s working on getting uniformed officers here to keep her safe. He hopes to join us within the hour. He said two at the most.”
Maddie didn’t want to ask the obvious question, but she didn’t have a choice. “Is he turning them over to immigration?”
“I don’t know, Mad.” Nick offered up a helpless shrug. “He’s going to do the very best that he can. Show him a little faith. You never know how things might work out.”
Maddie gave his free hand a squeeze. “Sometimes they work out better than you can possibly hope.”
Nick grinned. “They really do.”
“I promise not to leave the lobby for anything other than a bathroom break,” Maddie offered. “I won’t screw up twice in one day.”
Nick eyed her for a long beat. “Make sure you don’t.” He gave her a quick kiss. “Don’t wander too far. I’ll know if you do.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
ANDREA WAITED FOR Maddie in the lobby, a folder full of forms sitting in front of her. Despite the serious nature of the situation, she appeared to be in a good mood.
“So, you’re still the conquering hero for the downtrodden, huh?”
Maddie held her hands up and shrugged. “I do the best I can.” She took the seat opposite Andrea and let loose with a long sigh. “It’s not even noon yet and I feel wiped. I don’t miss days like this.”
“And what do you do with your days now?” Andrea asked. “I’m guessing that tall hunk of man you have following you around makes up for some of your time.”
Maddie smirked. “Just a little.”
“Did you meet him when you moved back north?”
“Oh, no. I’ve known Nick since kindergarten. He’s the best friend I’ve ever had.”
Andrea was clearly surprised by the admission. “How come he never visited you down here?”
The answer to that question was long and convoluted so Maddie decided to truncate it. “We had a falling out after high school. We didn’t talk for a bit. As soon as I hit Blackstone Bay, though, we started talking again.”
“It looks as if things have worked out for you.”
“They definitely have.”
Andrea tapped her finger against Maddie’s engagement ring. “You guys clearly work fast. When did he propose?”
“Christmas.”
“Oh, how romantic.” Andrea made a funny face as she batted her eyelashes. “You guys are just too cute for school.”
“Ha, ha.” Maddie rolled her neck as she tried to get comfortable in the hard plastic chair. “So, what do you need from me on the forms?”
“Well, I’m guessing we’re going to need to be creative,” Andrea said, sobering. “I realize that our new friend is illegal – and so were the bulk of the women at the library – but we have funds to cover stuff like that. We need to come up with an appropriate story for how we got there, though.”
“I called you. Can’t you blame it on me?”
“I would feel better if we could say that we got an anonymous call.”
“That would be a lie, though.” Maddie wasn’t comfortable with that suggestion. “Tell the truth. If there’s an issue, well, I’ll find a way to cover the bill. It might take me some time, but I don’t want to lie.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” Andrea tapped the tip of the pen against the paperwork. “Off the record, though, can you tell me what happened?”
Maddie nodded without hesitation. “It’s a long and convoluted story. How much time do you have?”
“Enough to hear it all.”
“Okay, brace yourself. Things are about to get ugly.”
SAGE FOUND NICK IN Paloma’s room when she hit the hospital. After a long and nasty fight with her father – one that ended with him issuing a bevy of threats she couldn’t help but wonder if he intended to make good on – she insisted on following up on Paloma’s care. Dwight wasn’t happy with her adamant demands, but he didn’t put up too much of a fight. He figured she should be able to see this through to the end, whatever the end may be.
“How is she doing?” Sage asked, keeping her voice low because she realized Paloma was slumbering. “Did they knock her out?”
Nick shook his head as he loosely held Paloma’s hand. “She’s exhausted. They’ve been pumping fluids and booster shots into her. The doctor said that they were going to have to start medicating her soon, but she was trying to figure out the best way to do it without overloading Paloma’s system. She’s extremely weak.”
“She’s been sick for more than a week,” Sage noted. “I should’ve tried to get her to the doctor sooner.”
“You definitely should have,” Dwight agreed, glowering. “In fact, the second you happened upon them you should have come to me for help.”
“Oh, geez.” Sage rolled her eyes as only a put-upon daughter could do. “Are we going to argue about this again? You’ve made it very clear that I was an idiot and you’re disappointed in me.”
Dwight met his daugh
ter’s gaze with an even one of his own. “I didn’t say I was disappointed in you.”
“I believe that’s what we argued about for the entire trip to the hospital.”
“No, I said I was disappointed that you didn’t feel that you could trust me with your secret,” Dwight corrected. “I didn’t say I was disappointed that you have a big heart and wanted to help.”
Sage was taken aback. “I … well … um … .”
“Yeah, I’m not such an ogre now, am I?” Dwight made a tsking sound and shuffled his feet. “You’re a good girl, Sage. You always have been. I’m not upset that you wanted to help. I wish you would’ve realized those women needed more help than you could give, but I’m not disappointed in you.”
“Oh, well … .” Sage was sheepish. “I’m sorry that I didn’t come to you right away, if it’s any consolation. Knowing how sick Paloma is and that she could’ve died from this … well … I feel like a bit of a ninny.”
“That’s normal for you.” Dwight flicked her ear. “I still want to know how you stumbled across them.”
“It’s not much of a story,” Sage said. “I was at the Wayne State campus library because I needed to check out a book and they didn’t have an electronic version. I saw Mercedes struggling with two big bags of food when I left and offered to help. She didn’t look as if she wanted to trust me, but she didn’t have a lot of choice so she showed me to the other library – the closed one – and it just sort of spiraled from there.”
“When did you realize that my case might overlap with the women you found?”
“Not until yesterday when I heard you talking about it,” Sage replied. “You didn’t go into a lot of details, but I heard Paloma’s story about three days ago. I thought it sounded similar so I thought maybe Maddie could help because she’s … well … different. Instead of helping, though, she totally turned on us.”
“Hey, don’t say that.” Nick gave the girl a fierce look. “Maddie did the right thing.”
“Then why are you angry at her?”
“Because she should’ve called and told me she was leaving the hospital. As soon as she realized how serious things were, she called Dwight. I’m still mildly irritated that she called him instead of me, but she got the job done and didn’t wait around for things to spiral so far they were out of our control.”
Grave Danger (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 12) Page 15