Grave Insight (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 2)

by Hart, Lily Harper

  “What problem? Is something wrong with Granny?”

  “Maddie, you have to get out of this house right now.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because your guest is dangerous,” Olivia hissed, her form dissolving even further.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t have time, Maddie,” Olivia said. “I don’t have the strength yet. Run. Run fast. Run now.”

  Olivia disappeared.

  Maddie got to her feet, shaky. “Mom?”

  “Were you talking to someone?”

  Maddie froze when she heard Sheldon’s voice behind her. She was in trouble. Again.

  Twenty-Five

  “If Charles Hawthorne isn’t our murderer, who is?” Nick asked, rubbing the back of his neck irritably.

  “Well, let’s think about it,” Kreskin said. “What do we have to go on?”

  “We have a timeline between Detroit and Flint,” Nick suggested. “Who is an outsider here that we know lived in Flint?”

  Kreskin furrowed his brow. “What about the mayor?”

  Nick stilled.

  “I was joking,” Kreskin said.

  “What about the mayor?” Nick pressed. “He’s been here about ten years. He was in Flint eleven years ago. I have no idea where he was before that, but he’s worth a shot.”

  “Have you met that guy? He’s far too happy to be a murderer.”

  “Maybe it’s an act,” Nick suggested. “Or maybe he’s on medication.”

  Kreskin was surprised by the suggestion. “We were wondering why someone would kill someone and then just stop for eleven years. What if he is on some kind of medication?”

  “He was in the flower shop talking to Tara the other day,” Nick said, his mind wandering.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I went in to buy flowers for Maddie. My mom said I couldn’t tell her I loved her without flowers.”

  “Were those the flowers she was cradling on her chest in that window seat?”

  Nick nodded.

  “So, that was the day the flowers appeared on her front stoop, right?”

  Nick nodded again.

  “That was the afternoon before Tara died,” Kreskin finished.

  “Exactly.”

  “Well, crap,” Kreskin said. “Let’s run the mayor. I just have a feeling this is going to be a massive cluster of sludge.”

  “Run him,” Nick said, suddenly feeling antsy. “Run him now. Tara said something about him coming in every week. She felt uncomfortable around him.”

  “WERE you talking to someone?”

  Maddie swiveled slowly, plastering a fake smile on her face as she regarded Sheldon with what she hoped was a welcoming expression. As a child, when she lied, Maude said she always knew because Maddie looked crazy. Maddie could only hope she’d outgrown that little quirk. “You caught me,” she said. “When I’m organizing in my head, I often talk to myself.”

  “Oh, I think we all do that,” Sheldon said. He was standing in the archway between the hallway and the kitchen. His face was still placid, but now Maddie saw something sinister lurking in the depths of his green eyes.

  “Let me just grab the calendar,” Maddie said, shuffling around the counter. It wasn’t much of a safety net, but it was something at least. “It’s in the drawer over here.” Maddie opened the knife drawer and gripped the large butcher knife inside. She didn’t brandish it, and she didn’t make a move to take a step back. She just waited.

  “You know, there are rumors about you,” Sheldon said, shifting from one foot to the other.

  “Oh, really?” Maddie raised an eyebrow. “What kind of rumors?”

  “People say you’re really psychic.”

  Maddie shook her head. “No. I just play one on television,” she quipped lamely.

  “People also say you talk to ghosts.”

  “What people say that?”

  “It’s just a whisper around the town,” Sheldon said, being careful to keep his distance and refrain from any sudden moves.

  “Well, you should know that gossip in Blackstone Bay isn’t always reliable,” Maddie said.

  “I think this tidbit is,” Sheldon said. “Do you want to know why?”

  Not really, Maddie thought. “Sure.”

  “A dead woman told me.”

  Maddie faltered. “And what dead woman would that be?”

  “Tara Warner,” Sheldon replied without a trace of guile. “She told me right before I killed her. She told me you had seen her death, and that’s why you appeared on the street that night. She said you would solve everything and avenge her.”

  “You still raped and killed her anyway, didn’t you?”

  “I didn’t mean to,” Sheldon said. “I just couldn’t help myself. It’s a compulsion.”

  “Then you should get help.”

  “I did get help,” Sheldon said. “I was on medication for years. It curbed certain … appetites. It also left me without my manly drive.”

  “You mean you couldn’t get it up,” Maddie said.

  “There’s no reason to be crude,” Sheldon chided.

  “Oh, no, we wouldn’t want that,” Maddie said. “You raped and murdered an innocent woman, but me being crude is the real crime.”

  “Tara wasn’t my first … friend,” Sheldon said. “She was the first in a long while, though. Once I saw her, I knew I didn’t want to be neutered any longer. I did fight it. I fought it for a long time. Then … well … I just decided I wanted to be me.”

  Sheldon moved a few feet into the room. Maddie refused to back up, or show fear.

  “Do you know what the greatest crime is?” Sheldon asked. “It’s not rape, or murder, or even genocide. It’s trying to change who you are. I wanted to be a better man, and I was for a time. I don’t want to be a better man any longer, though. I want to be the man I was born to be.”

  “Is that your excuse?” Maddie asked. “You’re just trying to be you?”

  “If it’s any consolation, you’re not even my type,” Sheldon said. “I prefer a more … delicate woman. You’re too tall, and I’m not fond of blondes. I have no sexual interest in you. I won’t rape you, Maddie.”

  “Well, thanks for the update.”

  “I have to kill you, though,” Sheldon said. “You’re the one person in this town who can ruin things for me. I have to quiet you. I don’t have a choice.”

  “Don’t take another step in this direction,” Maddie said. “You’ll regret it if you do.”

  Sheldon snorted as he advanced. “How do you figure that?”

  Maddie was out of options. She drew her hand out of the drawer and slashed out in a wide, arcing motion, catching Sheldon dead center on his chest and causing him to cry out. Maddie slashed one more time for good measure, and then she bolted out of the kitchen and escaped into the bowels of the house.

  “IT’S got to be him,” Kreskin said, pointing at the screen. “He was living in the area where the women in Detroit were raped. He was less than a mile from each crime scene.”

  “It’s too much of a coincidence,” Nick agreed. “Now we have to find him.”

  “What are we going to do then?” Kreskin asked.

  “We’re going to question him,” Nick said. “We’ll compel him to take a DNA test.”

  “That’s easier said than done,” Kreskin said. “If Higgins is smart, he’ll just lawyer up. We don’t have enough evidence to force him to take a DNA test.”

  “So, what do you suggest?”

  “We follow him until we can get a sample of his DNA to run on our own,” Kreskin said. “Anything he discards, be it gum, or a water bottle, or a pop can, we can gather all of that once he discards it. We can legally run that.”

  “That could take too long,” Nick protested.

  “Then we’ll have to take shifts watching him,” Kreskin said. “It might take a few days, but it’s our best option.”

  Nick knew he was speaking the truth, but he was frustrated. That’s w
hen he heard whispering in his ear. He cocked his head to the side and listened. He couldn’t see her, but he could hear Olivia’s voice. It was weak, and she was pleading with him.

  Nick snapped to attention. “We have to get over to Maddie’s.”

  “Why?” Kreskin was surprised by his outburst.

  “She’s in trouble.” Nick was already striding toward the door.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I just do. Come on.”

  MADDIE raced through the dark hallway at the back of the house, pushing her way into the garage and looking around. The vehicle door was down, and since Maude and Maddie never parked their cars inside, it was more of a catchall of family junk than anything else now. The door wasn’t even electric. You had to pull it up manually.

  “Oh, don’t run, Maddie,” Sheldon called after her. “You’re just going to make it harder on yourself.”

  Maddie ignored him and scanned the garage for a weapon, her gaze landing on an old baseball bat. Maddie recognized it. It was Nick’s. He’d given it to her after he’d hit a walk-off grand slam in the district championship game their senior year. He’d autographed it as a joke, but she’d kept it anyway. It was a part of him. It was a part of them.

  Maddie tucked the knife into the pocket of her jeans, being careful not to catch her hand on it as she moved, and then wrapped her hand around the bat. The knife was deadlier, but the bat would allow Maddie to keep more distance between herself and Sheldon – and what she needed right now was distance.

  “There you are,” Sheldon said, appearing in the doorway. His shirt was shredded in the front, and blood was pooling in the open wound. It wasn’t deep, but it was nasty enough to need stitches. “You took me by surprise back there, Maddie. Good for you. It will make your passing easier if you put up a fight.”

  “Thanks for the tip.”

  “What do you have in your hand now? Is that a baseball bat? Forgive me, I didn’t realize you were a sports enthusiast.”

  “My interests are varied,” Maddie said. “This isn’t my bat, though. It’s Nick’s. He gave it to me a long time ago.”

  “For protection?”

  “For love.”

  “Oh, you two are so sweet,” Sheldon said. “I really am sorry that I’m going to have to end your love affair before you get a chance to explore it. If it weren’t for your gifts, you wouldn’t even be on my radar, Maddie.”

  “Stay over there,” Maddie ordered, gesturing emphatically with the bat.

  “Do you think you can take me?”

  “You wouldn’t be the first madman to underestimate me,” Maddie said. “Just ask Todd Winthrop and Dustin Bishop.”

  “I was under the impression that Nick took them down.”

  “We did it as a team.”

  “You’re just making this harder on yourself, Maddie,” Sheldon said. “You understand that, right? I had no intention of scaring you. I was going to come back from the bathroom and take you by surprise from behind. It would have been quick. You wouldn’t have felt fear.”

  “It’s too late for that.”

  “How did you know?”

  Maddie shrugged. “A little birdie told me.”

  “A ghost?”

  Maddie didn’t move, or answer.

  “Was it Tara’s ghost? Is she still hanging around?”

  “Would you care if she was?” Maddie asked. “Would that prey on you?”

  “I don’t like the idea of anyone suffering,” Sheldon said. “I really am a good man.”

  “A good man doesn’t rape women. A good man doesn’t murder them.”

  “You don’t understand,” Sheldon said. “I am a good man. I just can’t control my impulses. It’s not my fault. I was born this way.”

  “That’s the defense of a sociopath.”

  “And who’s to say they’re not right?”

  “Anyone who isn’t crazy,” Maddie snapped.

  “You’re really starting to get tiresome, Maddie,” Sheldon said. “You’re not even trying to understand my side in all of this.”

  “I guess I’m just bitchy like that,” Maddie deadpanned.

  “I don’t want to be a monster,” Sheldon said. “I just am a monster. I tried to fight it, but I’m tired. Don’t I deserve a little bit of relief?”

  “Sure. As long as you don’t hurt anyone else in the process.”

  “Well, that’s not how my particular situation works,” Sheldon said. “I wish I had other options, but I don’t. You know, when this first started, I didn’t kill. I let myself into the homes of the women I found desirable, I spent a few hours with them, and then I left them with their lives.

  “I still watched them, though,” he continued. “I couldn’t help myself. I watched them struggle. I watched them cry. I watched them fall into alcoholism and drug abuse. I watched two of them kill themselves.

  “Ask yourself an important question, Maddie,” he said. “Is it better to let them linger and suffer, or is it better to snuff out the darkness before it consumes them? If you ask me, I did Tara a service. She didn’t have to dwell on what I did. She was happy right before I took her. That has to count for something.”

  “You’re crazy,” Maddie spat. “You stay over there!”

  “I’m going to be honest with you,” Sheldon said. “I’m running out of time. I have no idea when Nick will return. He’s been glued to your side lately. I was watching you at the fireworks the other night, and I thought I’d have a chance then. Unfortunately, Ms. Ford was your shadow that evening until Nick returned.

  “Don’t worry, though,” he said. “I think Ms. Ford and I are going to have a good time once you’re gone. She’s going to need a shoulder to cry on.”

  “Don’t you dare touch her,” Maddie threatened, waving the bat in his face. “I’ll kill you.”

  “How can you kill me if you’re already dead?” Sheldon took a step forward. “I’m going to have to end this now. I don’t have a lot of options. I’ll make sure to give Nick extra time off to mourn you. Who knows? When it’s all said and done, when he’s done grieving, maybe he’ll give Cassidy another shot. If he can’t have his great love, maybe the woman who loves him greatly will be enough.”

  Sheldon lunged for her, but Maddie was ready. She gripped the bat with both hands and swung. Hard. When the bat connected with the side of Sheldon’s face, he looked momentarily surprised.

  The sound of wood hitting bone was unmistakable, and Sheldon grunted upon impact. He tried to remain standing, but he was losing consciousness. Just as he hit the floor, the garage door flew open.

  Maddie turned swiftly, prepared to fight off a second assailant if need be. Instead of death, though, Maddie came face to face with love as Nick stormed into the garage with Kreskin on his heels.

  “Maddie?” Nick grabbed her, pulling her to him as Kreskin moved over to Sheldon and drew his gun.

  “Nicky,” Maddie said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Nicky.”

  “I thought … I thought we were going to be too late.” Nick was crying. “I thought I was going to lose you.”

  “You’ll never lose me, Nicky,” Maddie said, kissing his cheek. “You’ll never lose me. Not again. I promise.”

  Twenty-Six

  Nick found Maddie asleep on the window seat a few hours later. She’d answered questions for hours, and then asked a few of her own. While the crime techs were working, she’d disappeared into the house to rest. Nick had checked on her periodically, but he gave her the space she needed to process. He didn’t want to crowd her – or smother her.

  While the paramedics said that Sheldon would survive, Nick wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Part of him was glad Maddie hadn’t killed him, because it would be hard for her to deal with on an emotional level. The other part of him didn’t want a piece of filth like Sheldon to go on living.

  Nick shifted Maddie over slightly and climbed up on the window seat with her. Maddie instinctively reached for him, even though she didn’t wake up. Nick
pulled her head onto his chest and kissed the top of her head.

  That’s where Kreskin found them five minutes later. “The garage is clear. I made sure all the blood was cleaned up.”

  “You didn’t have to do that,” Nick said. “I could have done it tomorrow.”

  “I think you guys have dealt with enough,” Kreskin said. “It really wasn’t that bad. His shirt absorbed most of it. Do you want me to help you get her upstairs?”

  Nick shook his head. “We can sleep here.”

  “Isn’t that a little tight for you?”

  “We’ve been sleeping here for years,” he said. “We make it work. Olivia built it for us so we had a place to hang out when she was working in the shop. It’s Maddie’s favorite place in the house.”

  “Which means it’s your favorite place in the house,” Kreskin finished.

  “Pretty much.”

  “Is that who told you to go looking for Maddie tonight?” Kreskin asked.

  Nick stilled. “What do you mean?”

  “Right before you bolted out of the police station, you looked like you were listening to someone.”

  “I wasn’t.” Nick felt panic well in his chest.

  “You know there are rumors about Maddie, right?”

  “I don’t care.”

  “I’m just telling you that I know what’s going on here,” Kreskin said. “Olivia was known as a fake psychic, and yet people believed she was a real psychic. I’m guessing her daughter has the same gifts, which would explain why she ran as a teenager. Olivia came to you tonight, didn’t she? Only a mother could be strong enough to make you listen.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Kreskin pursed his lips. “You don’t have to tell me. I understand why you’re keeping it secret. Look at it this way, you learned a valuable lesson today.”

  “And what lesson was that?”

  “Maddie took care of herself,” Kreskin said. “In the end, she didn’t need you to rescue her.”

  “She’s strong,” Nick said, rubbing the back of her head as she slumbered.

  “She is. You are, too. You’re strong together. Now, why don’t you get some sleep together? You look exhausted.”

  Kreskin moved toward the door. “Oh, you can have tomorrow off. It should be a slow day, and I’m betting you’d rather play kissy-face with her than work.”