“The majority of the kids on this campus are going to crap their pants if she even talks to them,” Hicks said. “They’ll drool, blush, and trip over their own feet. They also might be more likely to let something slip.”
“I told you,” Maddie said, unable to stop herself from gloating.
“I wouldn’t get too full of yourself,” Hicks said, grinning as Nick scowled. “If you come across girls, you’re going to need to send your boyfriend to talk to them alone. They’ll do anything to get in his good graces.”
Now it was Maddie’s turn to make a face. “You just had to ruin my day, didn’t you?”
Hicks shrugged. “It’s a gift,” he said. “Don’t hesitate to call me if you get a lead. I’ll be around again in a few hours. We’ll take this one step at a time.”
“And hopefully find my daughter,” Dwight intoned.
“That goes without saying,” Hicks said. “Good luck, everyone. I think we’re going to need it.”
“I’M GOING first.”
“I think I should be the one to go first.”
“Well, that’s too bad,” Nick said, fixing Maddie with a pointed scowl. “I’m the police officer. I’m in charge.”
“You’re lucky you didn’t say you were the man and that’s why you’re in charge,” Maddie grumbled, annoyed.
“Oh, love, we both know when it comes to anything other than police work, you’re the one in charge,” Nick said, patting her head and smirking as he studied the busy area in front of the campus library. “You sit here and entertain Dwight while I talk to those girls.”
Maddie made a face. “I suppose you think they’re cute, huh?” Maddie certainly thought they were cute. It bothered her that Nick seemed eager to converse with them.
“I think you’re cute,” Nick countered. “I also think, no matter what Hicks says, I’m happier with you being close to Dwight than college boys. It makes me nervous when you wander off on your own. I think we’ve already covered that, though.”
“Fine,” Maddie said, huffing. “Ask that girl with the dark hair where she got those jeans. I like them.”
Nick snorted. “I like you,” he said. “Give me a few minutes and then maybe I’ll let you talk to someone … as long as he’s fat.”
Maddie shook her head as she watched Nick go, working overtime to hide her smile as he approached the two students in question. They seemed thrilled with his approach, one of them pasting a pretty smile on her face as the other batted her eyelashes. After a few minutes of spying, Maddie turned her attention to Dwight.
“What are you thinking?”
Dwight shifted his eyes to Maddie and smiled. “That you and Nick are funny together and I’m so glad you found happiness.”
“Is that really what you were thinking?”
Dwight nodded. “Maddie, I don’t think you realize how worried about you I was,” he said. “It was inappropriate, but I was terrified you were going to let the world swallow you up and you would disappear without anyone knowing where you ended up.”
“I’m sorry I worried you,” Maddie said. “I spent a lot of time searching for myself back then. In the end, I realized I wasn’t searching for myself. I was searching for Nick.”
“I see that,” Dwight said. “I knew you had someone special at home, but I could never figure out why you weren’t with him and you refused to talk so I had no choice but to make up scenarios in my head.”
Maddie giggled. “What kind of scenarios?”
“Oh, total soap opera scenarios,” Dwight said, laughing. “I thought that maybe you fell in love and got pregnant in high school. To hide that from the man you loved, I thought maybe you ran away and gave up the baby for adoption because you knew you were too young to take care of it. I figured you were too frightened to go home and tell him the truth.”
Maddie made a gleeful squealing sound as she pictured how that would’ve played out in Dwight’s head. “That is horrible.”
“That’s not the only one, and the others were a little darker,” Dwight said. “I worried that someone abused you. It wasn’t just a boyfriend. I thought maybe it was a parent … or that something happened to you somewhere else … and you were running from memories. I also had one where I thought you might be running from the mob, but that was after I binge watched The Sopranos one weekend so it doesn’t really count.”
“And now you’ve found out that the truth was so much more mundane,” Maddie intoned. “You must be so disappointed.”
“Oh, no, you’ve got that wrong,” Dwight said. “I’m relieved.”
“Well, that’s kind of sweet.” Maddie let her eyes drift back to Nick. The girls seemed engaged with whatever he was telling them. Maddie only turned back to Dwight when she sensed he had more to say. “What is it?”
“You know, Maddie, I stopped in at your old apartment after you left and was really worried when I heard you moved,” Dwight said. “I thought I ruined your life and you had no choice but to run.”
“What happened wasn’t your fault, Dwight,” Maddie said, her eyes filling with tears. “You warned me a hundred times that we wouldn’t always find people alive. It happened a few times and I survived. I thought that was the worst the world had to throw at me. I was wrong.
“Nothing could’ve prepared me for finding that child the way we did … and I don’t want to talk about it,” she continued. “You didn’t chase me away from my life. Things just got to a point where I wanted to go home. I wanted my mom. I wanted Nick. Then my mom died and I knew it was time. I couldn’t run any longer.”
“I’m sorry you lost her,” Dwight said. “Nick says you still have a piece of her, though.”
“It’s not the same.”
“No, but you have a gift,” Dwight said. “Most people would kill for your ability. You’re a good girl, Maddie Graves. You have the world at your fingertips. Don’t let sadness drag you down. Don’t let me drag you down if this goes badly.”
Maddie blew out a frustrated sigh. “When this goes right, I’m going to expect a big gift from you,” she said. “I want whatever jeans that girl is wearing. I don’t care if they’re expensive. I want you to put a big purple bow on them, too.”
Dwight laughed and lifted his head when he saw Nick returning. “I’ll keep that in mind, Maddie.”
“Did you find anything?” Maddie asked Nick, perking up.
“They didn’t know Heather or Sage and news hasn’t made it around campus that a body was found here last night,” Nick replied. “I told them not to wander around after dark and they invited me to their dorm room to protect them.”
“You suck,” Maddie complained, pressing her lips together.
“I thanked them for the invitation but explained I already had guard duty with the woman I love,” Nick said, smirking as Maddie’s cheeks colored. He handed over a sheet of paper to Maddie. “Another girl was walking by and she gave me this.”
Maddie took the sheet of paper – which looked like a printed advertisement – and gasped as her mind was flooded with images.
“Mad?” Nick leaned over, concerned.
“What’s going on?” Dwight asked, instantly alert as Maddie’s eyes rolled back in her head and her body went rigid. “Is she having a seizure?”
“I’m not sure,” Nick said, pushing Maddie’s hair away from her face as she made soft whimpering noises. “She sees things sometimes. Just … give her a second.”
“What’s on the sheet of paper?”
“It’s an invitation to a candlelight vigil for Heather Ketchum,” Nick replied. “I thought it would be a good place to get a look at the kids.”
“When is it?”
“Tonight,” Nick said, relief washing over him as Maddie started breathing regularly again and relaxed her shoulders. “That was intense, huh? You scared me. I think that’s enough payback for one day.”
“I saw something,” Maddie said. “Actually, I saw several flashes of different things.”
“Like what?” Dwight pro
dded.
“We have to go to that vigil tonight.”
“That’s the plan, love,” Nick said, pressing a kiss to her forehead as he smoothed her hair. “What did you see?”
“I’m not sure,” Maddie admitted. “I saw Aidan … and the other roommate. I also saw some of the fraternity brothers from the party … oh, and Jackson. They were all at the vigil.”
“Then that’s definitely where we need to go,” Nick said, pulling Maddie to her feet. “Come on, Mad. Let’s get some lunch into you and then get ready for the vigil. I want you to rest for a little bit after … whatever that was.”
“I’m not hungry,” Maddie said.
“Oh, well, good,” Nick muttered. “We’ve swung to the other extreme. It’s been a full day already.”
Dwight chuckled, amused. “You guys really are magical together.”
“I know,” Nick said. “Every time I need a reminder I just look at my Maddie. Her face tells me that very thing every day.”
“You’re also schmaltzy as heck,” Dwight added.
Nick shrugged. “I can live with that.”
15
Fifteen
“How do I look?”
Maddie smoothed down the front of her black coat with her mittens and glanced at Nick for approval as she hopped out of his Explorer in the library’s parking lot shortly before the candlelight vigil was expected to begin.
Nick smiled as he looked her over, making a big deal of his effort as he pretended to give her a critical appraisal. “You look like the cutest woman in the world.”
“Yup, I’m definitely going to puke before this is all said and done,” Dwight said, moving to the front of the vehicle and shaking his head. “You two are … so gross.”
“We know,” Nick said, ushering Maddie in front of him and tilting his head to the side as he listened for the telltale sign of students. “I think everyone is converging in front of the building. The flyer said they were having a bonfire.”
“That’s just an excuse for them to drink afterward,” Dwight said, causing Maddie to frown.
“That’s jaded,” Maddie chided. “You don’t know that these kids aren’t here to mourn the loss of one of their classmates.”
“Maddie, I don’t mean to be jaded, but I’ve been around the block on these things before,” Dwight said. “These kids may look like young adults, but they’re still finding themselves. It’s human nature to mimic feeling something, especially when you don’t know the victim.
“The truth is, the bulk of these kids will attend because it’s like witnessing a train wreck,” he continued. “You can’t look away so you stare … and because you don’t want people to think you’re a ghoul, you appropriate mourning features but inside all you can think is: Thank God it wasn’t me.”
Nick cast a worried glance in Maddie’s direction. To his surprise, she seemed almost blasé.
“It’s a good thing you’re not jaded,” Maddie said, patting Dwight’s arm. “It would be frightening if you were.”
Instead of reacting out of anger, Dwight chuckled. “You are a piece of work, girl.”
“You’ll learn to live with it,” Maddie said. “How are we going to handle this?”
“Well, we’re going to ask questions – and by ‘we’ I mean Dwight and me – and you’re going to drink hot chocolate and stick close to me,” Nick replied.
“Why didn’t you just leave me in the hotel room if you planned on shutting me out?” Maddie challenged. “You could’ve chained me to the bed or something.”
Nick lifted an eyebrow as the double meaning of her words hit him. It took Maddie a moment to realize what she said, and even though it was dark, Nick didn’t miss the color climbing her cheeks.
“I didn’t say you couldn’t speak, Mad,” Nick said, adopting a reasonable tone. “I need you to stick close to me, though. Do you think you can do that?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” Maddie replied, pushing past Nick and striding toward the front of the parking lot. “I’ll get back to you when I make my decision.”
“She’s definitely a piece of work,” Nick growled, moving to follow her. “She’s a huge freaking piece of work.”
“Oh, son, she gets your juices flowing,” Dwight said, falling into step with Nick. “You like it even when she’s difficult. That’s a sign of a good relationship. You don’t want someone who always agrees with you.”
“That’s true,” Nick conceded. “My problem is that this could turn into a dangerous situation and I need her not to wander. She has this terrible tendency to wander because she’s curious.”
“She won’t do that.”
“She never intends to do it and yet it continuously happens,” Nick argued. “We were supposed to be watching Maude in a senior talent show a few months ago and she got a tip on something while she was in the hallway. Instead of walking thirty feet to get me she went off on her own and almost got killed in the auto shop room.”
“I didn’t almost get killed,” Maddie corrected, proving she’d been listening to the conversation even though she emitted an air of indifference as she swung her hips on the sidewalk in front of them. “I had that situation under control.”
“Who saved you?” Nick called out.
“I’m pretty sure I saved myself.”
Dwight bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing as Nick cursed a blue streak under his breath. “It sounds as if you guys keep finding adventures, huh?”
“I wouldn’t call them adventures,” Nick corrected. “It’s more like I keep stumbling into my worst nightmare – and in each one Maddie’s life is on the line. That’s why I don’t want her to wander. I’m not trying to control her, no matter what she thinks.”
“I know you’re not trying to control me, Nicky,” Maddie said. “That doesn’t mean your actions don’t feel controlling.”
“Okay, Mad, I give up,” Nick said. “Do your own thing. Promise me you won’t wander too far away, though. I’ll be sad if you do.”
“I promise.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, are you guys going to kiss and make up after that brutal fight?” Dwight teased. “By the way, that’s nothing compared to the way my wife and I yell when we disagree.”
“That’s about as heavy as it gets for us most of the time,” Nick said. “We’re still in the honeymoon phase of getting together, though. Give us a few months cooped up in the house with Maude and then visit us again. Things might not be so pretty.”
“They’ll always be pretty, Nicky,” Maddie said, rounding the corner. “Have faith.”
“I have faith,” Nick said. “Don’t wander away from this area, though. I’m not joking.”
“Yes, sir!”
“I hate it when she does that,” Nick said, working overtime to ignore Dwight as he laughed.
Once the trio found the area where the candlelight vigil would be held they split up. Nick started questioning students while acting concerned about their safety, keeping one eye on Maddie as she made her rounds but pretending he wasn’t hovering at the same time. He didn’t mean to lose track of her – in fact, he was being extra vigilant – but when he caught sight of Allison Wheeler he couldn’t help but stare in her direction.
Allison appeared to be doing exactly what Dwight described when Maddie accused him of being jaded. She had one dead roommate and another missing, but she was putting on a show for everyone as she held court close to the bonfire.
“It’s terrifying,” Allison said. “What if I’m next? What if someone takes me?”
“What are you going to do?” another girl asked. “Are you going to stay in school?”
“I’m not going to let bad people change me from the good course I’m on,” Allison replied, her expression somber. “I will rise up and honor my roommates in the best way I know how.”
“Do you want a beer?”
“Totally.”
Nick swallowed his disgust as he moved around the small group, taking advantage of a conveni
ently located tree to lean against while watching Maddie’s hair bounce around the crowd. The trunk was wide enough to support his tall frame – and keep him out of the sight line of most of the crowd – and he spent the next ten minutes watching the way the students interacted.
“Anything?” Dwight asked, joining Nick. “I’ve seen a few familiar faces from the fraternity. Every time one of the kids recognizes me they bolt, though, so I haven’t been able to talk to them.”
“I’ve been watching Allison,” Nick replied, inclining his head in the young woman’s direction. “She doesn’t seem upset at all about what’s happened. I was considering talking to her, but I might wait until she has a few more beers in her first. That will loosen her lips and make her more pliable when it comes to questioning her.”
“And people say I’m jaded,” Dwight said, smirking. “That sounds like a good idea, though.”
“You said you saw boys from the fraternity,” Nick said. “Did you see Aidan?”
“No, and the little ferret is lucky that’s the case,” Dwight said. “If I run into him … .”
“Yeah, we need to keep our hands to ourselves,” Nick said. “It’s not going to look good if we pop that little weasel in the face.”
“I know,” Dwight said. “That’s the only reason I haven’t done it yet.”
“You and me both.”
The two men lapsed into comfortable silence for a few moments and then Dwight furrowed his brow and made an exaggerated show of looking in every direction around the tree.
“What are you doing?” Nick asked, legitimately curious. “That’s going to draw attention to us, which is the last thing we want.”
“Where is Maddie?” Dwight asked, confused. “I thought she wasn’t supposed to wander.”
“She’s right over there,” Nick said, pointing. “I see blond hair.”
“You do realize there’s more than one blonde in the world, right? Scratch that. I have a feeling you don’t know that.”
“I swear she’s over there,” Nick said, craning his neck. “I saw her a few minutes ago.”
“Yeah? Well, that blonde isn’t her,” Dwight said. “That blonde has a hooked nose and wide hips. Maddie has neither.”
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