Grave Insight (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 2)

by Hart, Lily Harper

  “She was alone,” Nick argued. “We could have been together then.”

  “Do you think it would have lasted if you got together then?” Sharon asked.

  “I … .”

  “Do you think you two were mature enough to take the ups and downs of Maddie’s reality when you hadn’t done any living yet?” Sharon pressed.

  “Still … .”

  “Nick, I know you’ve always loved Maddie,” Sharon said. “I know she’s always loved you, too. Do you think Olivia wanted to let her go? It was hard on her. That was her only child. Maddie needed to find herself away from here, though. Olivia knew she would come back eventually. I think you knew, too. That’s why you never let yourself get involved with someone seriously.”

  “What if I had gotten involved with someone seriously?” Nick challenged. “Would you have told me then?”

  Sharon shrugged. “I don’t know. I just knew that you didn’t really want anyone but Maddie, so I let it ride. It didn’t seem like you were hurting anyone. Everyone in town knew about your schedule. What happened with Cassidy was just … unfortunate.”

  “I don’t think she thinks it was just unfortunate,” Nick said. “She’s … crushed.”

  “I think she’s more jealous than anything else,” Sharon said. “She wanted to be the one to break the cycle, and then she found that the reason for the cycle in the first place was Maddie, so she could never break the cycle. It was a vicious circle Cassidy could never get in front of.”

  “She’s kind of gone off the deep end,” Nick said, settling on the edge of his bed.

  Sharon moved so she was sitting next to him. “Are you worried she’s going to hurt you?”

  “I don’t think she’s going to hurt me.”

  “Are you worried she’s going to hurt Maddie?”

  “If you had asked me that three weeks ago – or even three days ago – I would have said no,” Nick said. “Now? I just … you should have seen her. It was like looking at a stranger.

  “The problem is, I never really got to know her in the first place,” he continued. “I didn’t care enough to get to know her. She kept trying to be exactly what she thought I wanted, but … .”

  “She could never be Maddie,” Sharon finished. “You know how you treated Cassidy was wrong, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you apologize?”

  “As many times as I could,” Nick said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don’t think it helped.”

  “You can’t live your life according to Cassidy’s feelings,” Sharon said. “I think you’ve put your own happiness on hold for long enough. That’s why I was surprised to find you here instead of with Maddie.”

  “Maddie hurt her ankle, and by the time I was done with Cassidy, it was late,” Nick said. “I didn’t want to wake her up. We need to have a long talk before anything happens.”

  “I thought the long talk would have occurred after you found out she was psychic.”

  “We had a long talk then, too,” Nick said. “I just … this is a different kind of talk.”

  “Right,” Sharon said, smiling. “You just want to make sure you have all the ground rules in place.”

  “Exactly.”

  Sharon chuckled. “Honey, you’re going to find that ground rules don’t exist when you’re dealing with love.”

  “It’s going to be fine,” Nick said. “I just … I want to do this right.”

  “Then buy her some flowers,” Sharon said.

  “Flowers?”

  “When a man goes courting, he should have flowers.”

  “I’m not going courting,” Nick said. “Who even says that anymore?”

  “This is going to be good,” Sharon said, ignoring Nick’s outburst. “You’re finally going to get everything you want.”

  “You’re for this? You want me with Maddie?”

  “I’ve always wanted you with Maddie.”

  “Then how come you haven’t been to see her since she got back into town?” Nick asked. “I assumed … I assumed you were mad at her because you thought I was mad at her.”

  “First off, your issues are not my issues,” Sharon said. “I love Maddie because I love her. Even if you hate her, I’ll still love her. Second off, I thought Maddie needed some time to slip back into her life. I have every intention of seeing her. I just didn’t want to put too much pressure on her. She’s dealing with enough right now.”

  “What pressure are you going to put on her?”

  Sharon got to her feet. “I finally have hope of a wedding, and grandchildren,” she said.

  “Mom! We’re not even dating yet. Don’t you dare say anything like that to her.”

  Sharon’s smile was enigmatic as she moved toward the door. “Buy her red roses. That is the only flower that’s acceptable when you start courting.”

  “You’d better stop using that word,” Nick ordered.

  “Have a good day, honey.”

  NICK was nervous when he walked into the flower shop and found Tara standing behind the counter. She was helping another customer, one Nick recognized right away.

  “Mayor Higgins.”

  Sheldon Higgins had served as mayor of Blackstone Bay for almost ten years. He’d been a transport from Flint at the time, and since no one else wanted the job, he’d ran unopposed when the former mayor died. It wasn’t even a fulltime position, but Higgins seemed happy in his post. He was in his forties, and also worked as an accountant, but he seemed to thrive in the midst of small-town politics.

  “Officer Winters,” Higgins said, accepting the package of flowers from Tara. “How are you this fine festival day?”

  Nick internally cringed. “I’m great. How are you?”

  “I couldn’t be better,” Higgins said. “I love a good fair.”

  Nick was convinced the man had to be on uppers. He was never in a bad mood. “I do, too.”

  “Will you be returning today, or are you on duty?”

  “I’m off today,” Nick said. “We’re technically all off. We just have to come in if we get a call. The sheriff just asked that we hang around the fair, since that’s where everyone will be.”

  “That’s probably wise,” Higgins said, shooting one more glance at Tara. “Thank you, my dear. I can’t tell you how nice it is to have you in our town. You’re just … radiant.”

  “I guess that’s why you come to visit me every week to buy flowers,” she said.

  “Maybe I just like seeing you,” Higgins teased.

  Tara’s smile was even, and she didn’t let it slip until Higgins left the store. Once he was gone, Tara turned to Nick. “Do you ever think he’s weird?”

  “Define weird.”

  “He’s an outsider, and I know that since I’m an outsider, I shouldn’t be suspicious of other outsiders, but he’s just so … .”

  “Happy?” Nick interjected.

  “Yeah. I don’t trust anyone who is always happy.”

  Nick didn’t say it out loud, but he couldn’t help but agree.

  “He’s also young,” Tara said. “He’s forty, and yet he spends all of his free time going to events at the senior center.”

  “Maybe he just likes old ladies,” Nick suggested. “They fawn all over him. It’s probably good for his ego.”

  “And he doesn’t date, right?”

  Nick furrowed his brow. “I guess not. Huh. I’d never thought about that. You’re right. That is weird.”

  “He’s a good-looking guy,” Tara said. “So, why doesn’t he date?”

  “Maybe he’s gay,” Nick said. “He might not want to out himself in a town as small as Blackstone Bay.”

  “Well, if that’s the case, I feel sorry for him,” Tara said. “He shouldn’t have to hide who he is.”

  “What else would it be?” Nick asked.

  “I don’t know,” Tara said, shrugging. “There’s just something off about him. I can’t put my finger on it. So, what can I get for you?”

  Nick realized he
was in an awkward position. “I need some flowers.”

  “Okay. What do you want?”

  “I … um … .”

  Tara took pity on him. “Are you trying to say ‘I’m sorry’ to one girl or ‘I love you’ to the other?”

  Nick pursed his lips. “I need a dozen red roses.”

  “Ah, love it is.” Tara turned to the refrigerated case behind her and gathered the blooms. When she returned to the counter to arrange the flowers in a box, she regarded Nick seriously. “Have you gotten a chance to talk to Cassidy?”

  “I talked to her last night,” Nick said. “I’m actually surprised she didn’t call you.”

  “How did she take it?”

  Nick wasn’t sure how to proceed. Talking out of turn seemed like a bad way to go, but Cassidy obviously needed a friend. “Not well.”

  “Well, at least it’s over with,” Tara said pragmatically, snipping a few of the rose stems shorter and fitting plastic water basins on the ends. “She needed to know. I know she was fighting dealing with it, but it will be better now.”

  “I think she’s going to be worse for a little while,” Nick admitted. “She seems … bitter.”

  “I know,” Tara said. “I’ll look for her when I’d done here. Maybe a night with a bottle of wine and a whole lot of complaining will help her get it out of her system.”

  “Maybe,” Nick said. “I just … I’m sorry. If it helps, I really am sorry.”

  “I think everyone knows you’re sorry,” Tara said. “I think even Cassidy knows you’re sorry. She’s feeling too sorry for herself to look at the big picture right now, though. I think she’s always known you weren’t the one for her. She wanted it to be different, but you can’t force a situation like that.”

  “Thanks,” Nick said. “You don’t have to be nice to me, though. I know it’s your duty to hate me. It’s okay. I’ve earned it.”

  “Something tells me you’ll be fine,” Tara said, handing the flower box to Nick and punching a few numbers into the register. “I think a certain blonde is going to love her flowers, by the way.”

  “I hope so,” Nick said, handing over his credit card. “We have a lot of things to talk about.”

  Tara snorted. “Yeah. Most men drop a hundred bucks on flowers because they have talking on their mind.”

  Nick blushed furiously. “I … .”

  “Oh, you’re so cute,” Tara teased. “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you stumble.”

  “I’m not stumbling.”

  “No, you’re not,” Tara agreed. “You’re just starting the race.”

  Seventeen

  “I am not doing this again,” Maddie said, leaning back in her chair and extending her sore ankle out in front of her. “Three days of reading tarot cards has completely sapped my energy. I feel like I’m eighty – and crippled.”

  Christy smirked. “How much money have you made, though?”

  “A lot,” Maddie conceded. “The money is going to keep me flush for months. I know I shouldn’t complain, but I’m just exhausted.”

  The two women had closed the psychic tent down for the afternoon, and were now reclining in front of fans as they regrouped. Maddie hadn’t seen Nick all day, and she was worried. She was worried he hadn’t found Cassidy the night before, and she was even more worried he had and she’d somehow changed his mind.

  The truth was, Maddie was a bigger ball of nerves now than she had been before she admitted being psychic to Nick.

  Christy studied her friend with a bemused look on her face. “You still haven’t heard from Nick, have you?”

  “I’m not Nick’s keeper,” Maddie sniffed.

  “Oh, good grief,” Christy said, laughing. “You’re just all … fluttery.”

  “I am not fluttery.”

  “Oh, but you are,” Christy said. “You need to focus on something else. I’m sure Nick will be by to make a grand proclamation of love any second now. Until then, let’s talk about something else.”

  “Great,” Maddie said. “What do you want to talk about?”

  “When you were skinny-dipping with Nick the other night, did you get to see anything good?”

  Maddie frowned.

  Christy held up her hand. “I was just joking. How is Maude?”

  “She’s on some quest to keep Edna Proctor from becoming a Pink Lady,” Maddie said. “Now that you mention it, though, I didn’t see Granny last night. I hope she’s not in jail.”

  Christy chortled. “Nick would tell you if she was. I’m actually surprised Edna wants to be a Pink Lady. All of the women in that group hate her. She should just start her own group.”

  “You should suggest it to her.”

  “I just might,” Christy said. “She has an appointment this week. She gets her hair set once a week. I don’t think she washes it in between visits. It’s always greasy and gross when she comes in.”

  “That’s … nice.”

  “I like the idea of rival gangs of old women in town,” Christy mused. “It will be like the Bloods and the Crips, but instead we’ll have the Liver Spots and the Replacement Hips.”

  Maddie couldn’t stop herself from laughing.

  “Think about it,” Christy continued. “They’ll have blood feuds on every corner. There will be Geritol flying from speeding cars. There will be Metamucil dropping into meeting rooms like napalm. There will be dentures left like horse heads in rivals’ beds.”

  “Cute,” Maddie said. “Very cute.”

  “What else is going on?” Christy asked, sobering. “Tell me about the guy who went after Tara.”

  “There’s not much to tell,” Maddie said. “I can’t describe him, other to say he’s about six-feet tall and thin. The hoodie made it impossible to see if he was muscular or just fit. I couldn’t see his face. His hands were white, but since there aren’t any black people in Blackstone Bay, that shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.”

  “We do really need to get some color here,” Christy mused. “Even the owner of the Middle Eastern restaurant is white.”

  Maddie snorted. “The food is still good, though.”

  “The food is excellent,” Christy agreed. “What do you think the guy wanted? Do you think he wanted to hurt her? Do you think he found you by accident last night? Do you think you’re his new target?”

  Maddie froze. She hadn’t considered that. “I don’t know,” she said finally. “Everything just happened so fast. I didn’t know what to think. It does seem a little too coincidental that he would just happen upon me there, doesn’t it?”

  “What does Nick think?”

  “Nick had other things on his mind.”

  “Like going after Cassidy?”

  Maddie nodded.

  “I’m sure he’ll be by soon,” Christy said. “It was probably just an emotional night. Cassidy probably cried a lot.”

  “No, Cassidy did not cry.”

  Maddie and Christy shifted in their seats as Cassidy burst through the flaps.

  “Cassidy,” Christy said, her tone dry. “How are you this hot and humid day?”

  Maddie wanted to kick her, but her ankle was too sore to try. “Cassidy, how are you?”

  “Can you give us a few minutes alone?” Cassidy asked Christy pointedly. “We have a few things to discuss.”

  “No,” Christy said. “Maddie is already injured, and you left her in a vulnerable position last night. I’m not going to make the same mistake.”

  “Excuse me? What are you talking about?” Cassidy’s face was flushed, a mixture of anger and confusion warring for supremacy.

  “Maddie was attacked right after you left her last night,” Christy charged. “Was that a coincidence, or did you hire someone to try and take her out?”

  “Christy!” Maddie shook her head firmly. “No one is blaming you for what happened last night,” she said, turning back to Cassidy. “I wasn’t hurt.”

  “You reinjured your ankle,” Christy pointed out.

  “I … that wa
sn’t Cassidy’s fault,” Maddie said. “That was my fault. I tripped.”

  “I don’t even understand what you’re saying,” Cassidy snapped. “I’m here to talk about what you did to me last night. Not everything is about you.”

  Maddie stilled. “What did I do to you last night?”

  “You know exactly what you did.”

  “Oh, Nick finally found you and dropped the hammer,” Christy said, nodding her head sympathetically. “I’m sorry.”

  “You’re not sorry,” Cassidy charged. “Your friend got exactly what she wanted, so you’re happy. My feelings don’t matter to you. Don’t pretend that they do.”

  “I’m sorry for you,” Christy said. “I genuinely am. Maddie didn’t do anything to you, though.”

  “She’s the one who has been whispering in Nick’s ear. She’s the one who told him to dump me. She’s the one who is playing with him to get what she wants.”

  “You don’t even know Maddie,” Christy said. “You shouldn’t accuse her of things she hasn’t done.”

  “Oh, I know Maddie,” Cassidy said. “I’ve known girls like her my whole life. She’s the kind of girl who only wants something when someone else has it. She didn’t want Nick when she left, but she came back and found him happy with someone else, and then she wanted him.”

  “That’s not what happened,” Maddie said, biting her bottom lip.

  “It is what happened,” Cassidy said. “I know. Don’t tell me what I do and don’t know.”

  Christy held up her hands in mock surrender. “Listen, I think you’re … overwrought. Did you get any sleep last night? Have you gotten any sleep over the past few days? You know that sleep deprivation can mess you up more than alcohol, right?”

  Cassidy made a face. “Are you accusing me of being crazy?”

  “Crazy is a harsh word,” Christy said.

  “That’s what you’re saying, though.”

  “It is,” Christy agreed. “You’re acting like a crazy person.”

  “I am not crazy,” Cassidy seethed. “I know exactly what happened to me. I know that your friend purposely ruined my life. She’s a … whore.”