The feeling didn’t last long because Olivia Graves decided to invite herself along for the ride.
“Do you think you should be out here alone?”
Maddie jolted at the sound of her mother’s voice, fury threatening to overtake her. “Mother.”
Olivia was either oblivious or purposely ignored the dark look on her daughter’s face. “You shouldn’t be out here, Maddie. That body was found not far away and I don’t think it’s safe.”
Agitation gave way to curiosity. “How do you know about that?” Maddie queried. “I haven’t seen you in weeks. Have you been following the case?”
“Just because you don’t see me, that doesn’t mean I’m not around,” Olivia said, lifting an ethereal hand to the sky so she could study the way the sun caused her form to shimmer. “I pop in when I can manage it. Sometimes you’re busy so I don’t interrupt. I don’t want to become a nuisance.”
Maddie’s annoyance was on full display as she squared her shoulders. “Mother, you’re dead. It’s a miracle I can still see you. Other people aren’t so lucky. I want you to visit as often as possible because otherwise this gift seems like something of a waste.”
Instead of smiling, Olivia averted her gaze. “I wasn’t sure you had time ... what with your father moving in next door and everything.”
And there it was. The true reason Olivia was playing coy. The realization that even as a ghost Olivia could unleash the mother of all guilt trips was beyond frustrating to Maddie.
“Don’t do this.” She didn’t yell, but Maddie recognized the anger coursing through her as she rubbed her forehead. “Don’t make this a thing. He’s my father. I want to get to know him.”
“He’s a father who abandoned you as an infant,” Olivia shot back, furrowing her brow when she saw the way Maddie was massaging her forehead. “Are you sick?”
“It’s been a long day.”
“Yes, well, try being dead. They’re all long days when you’re dead.”
“I didn’t kill you so blaming that on me seems a little unfair,” Maddie shot back.
“Unfair is having the child you sacrificed for prefer to spend time with the parent who never wanted anything to do with her when she was a child.”
“That is not what’s happening!” Maddie officially lost her temper, causing Olivia’s eyes to widen. “He did leave before I was born. He doesn’t deny that. He said he made a mistake, but he was young and afraid, not ready to be a father.”
“Do you think I was ready to be a mother?”
Maddie ignored the question. “He came back. He came back numerous times. You never told me about his visits, but I know he came back. You wouldn’t let him see me.”
“He didn’t earn the privilege. He shouldn’t have left if he wanted to see you.”
Maddie let loose a drawn-out sigh as she lowered herself to a fallen tree. “People make mistakes, Mom. You’ve made them. Granny has made them. Lord knows I’ve made them. I’ve made so many I’ve lost count.
“You always told me mistakes were part of life and the most important thing was to learn from them,” she continued. “I always thought that was a good way to look at things. Considering that, though, why is everyone else in the free world allowed to make mistakes but Dad?”
Olivia worked her jaw but didn’t speak.
“He knows he screwed up,” Maddie pressed. “He knows there’s no going back. He wants to move forward, though. I’m going to let him whether you like it or not. I want to know him. He seems like a good man ... and he’s funny. Plus, he irritates Granny and that’s always entertaining.”
To Maddie’s utter surprise, Olivia barked out a laugh. “That was always one of his finer qualities.”
Maddie took advantage of the momentary thaw to push forward. “Wanting to get to know him doesn’t mean I love you any less. I know what you did for me. I know you always put me ahead of yourself. That doesn’t mean you didn’t make a mistake when you kept him from me.”
Olivia balked. “I was trying to protect you. How would you have felt if you’d gotten to know him and he took off again when you were a child? I’ll tell you how you would’ve felt. You would’ve been devastated. You would’ve cried and blamed yourself. I couldn’t risk that.”
Maddie held up her hands in a placating manner. “Fair enough. I get that. When I was really little, you probably were protecting me. When I got older, though, by the time I was a teenager, you were no longer protecting me. Then you were protecting yourself.”
“I didn’t want you to get hurt.” Olivia was stubborn and she refused to back down. “Still, maybe I did make a mistake. I don’t happen to believe it, but I guess it’s possible.”
It was as close to an apology as Maddie was ever going to get. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
They lapsed into amiable silence for a moment. Olivia was the first to break it.
“So, I see you’re closing down my store.”
Maddie shifted quickly. “Oh, man. Are you going to start yelling about that? I gave you that option when I told you my decision before, but you took off without saying anything. I wanted to talk to you before I started packing, but you were never around.”
“I was around. I simply didn’t show myself to you because I was being petulant.” Olivia’s lips curved. “As for the store ... I think it’s probably best to let it go.”
Maddie couldn’t contain her surprise. “You do?”
Olivia nodded. “I do. That store was my passion. It’s not yours. You did your best, but your heart wasn’t in it.”
“I’m still going to run booths at festivals. I just don’t want people coming in and out of the house any longer. Nick doesn’t either. When we have kids ... .” She trailed off, left it hanging.
“It won’t be safe for a child,” Olivia finished. “I get it. You don’t have to explain yourself, Maddie. You want to do something different with your life. That’s okay. You’ve earned the right.”
Maddie was so relieved she almost burst into tears. “Really?”
“Really. I ... .” Olivia paused mid-sentence and swiveled quickly, her eyes going in the direction of the house.
“What’s wrong?” Maddie asked, instantly alert.
“I don’t know. I think someone is at the house, though. I ... don’t know exactly what’s happening. I’m pretty sure it’s not safe to stay here, though.”
The fact that Olivia was confused only ratcheted up Maddie’s fear. “Granny is back there ... or she was.” She hurried through the trees, backtracking. She’d barely made it into the woods before Olivia showed up, which was a good thing. “I’ll call Nick for help if I see anyone.”
Maddie was halfway up her yard before she saw a hint of movement in the tree line to her right. When she turned, she had to strain her eyes to make out a dim figure in the trees. It took her eyes a few seconds to adjust, but when they did, she found Harris Bishop staring back at her. He was pushed so far back he was almost hidden by the shadows. Enough light filtered through the trees that Maddie managed to make out his features, though.
Instead of reacting, or calling out to him, Maddie turned her eyes back to the house and started walking.
“What are you doing?” Olivia hissed, confused. Harris couldn’t see her, but something felt very wrong about the situation. “Shouldn’t you call Nick?”
“I need to get back to the house.” Maddie kept her voice low. “He might not realize I saw him.”
“He’s not stupid. Who is he?”
“I thought he was just a guy trying to get his life on track. Maybe I was wrong about that.”
Fourteen
John joined the official investigation team, meaning Nick and Kreskin had help when it came to looking for Chelsea White. They started at the White home, going through her room (with her parents’ approval) and accessing her email on her computer.
“We got lucky that she left it up,” John said as he scrolled through the messages. “There’s nothing m
uch of note in here, though.”
“The phone company is trying to track her movements from yesterday,” Nick supplied. “They hope to have something for us in a few hours. The emails are what we have right now.”
“Well, then let’s see what we’ve got.” John furrowed his brow as opened the first email that looked interesting. “This is from the greenhouse. It’s basically a W-2 form for her to fill out. It’s from Henry, but there’s nothing else of note in here. He sent it right before she started working there — which was ten days ago — and asked her to fill it out and bring it in on the first day she started working.”
Nick read over his shoulder. “Yeah. That’s not exactly worrisome. Anything else?”
“Not really.” John wanted to be helpful, but he had very little to offer. “All this stuff is for school ... and apparently she likes shopping.”
Nick pursed his lips. “Can you get into the deleted emails?”
“Oh, good thinking.” John hit a few buttons and brought up Chelsea’s trash folder. “Oh, here’s something interesting.”
“What?”
“Chelsea had two jobs.”
Nick glanced over his shoulder, to where Frank and Lydia stood watching them work. “Did you know Chelsea had another job?”
“No, and I don’t know how she would swing that,” Frank replied. “What makes you think she had a second job?”
“She was doing some landscaping on the side,” John replied. “She was getting paid in cash, and it sounds like it was a big project for a real estate agency.”
“What real estate agency?”
“Blackstone Bay Real Estate.”
“And who was she communicating with?”
“Marla Proctor.”
Nick made a face as he rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “Of course.”
“I guess that means Marla will be our next stop, huh?”
“I don’t see where we have another choice.”
MADDIE KEPT A BRISK but even pace as she headed back to the house. It took everything she had not to look over her shoulder, to study the spot in the woods where she was certain Harris Bishop was hiding. She trusted her mother to alert her in case she needed to run, though.
“I’m going to hang by the corner of the house,” Olivia offered. “I’ll watch him. If he starts running the second you round the corner, I’ll warn you. Get inside. Lock the doors.”
“That’s the plan.” Maddie flashed her mother a brief smile before hurrying around the corner. The second she was out of eyesight, Maddie broke into a run, not stopping until she was at the front door. She already had her key ready, and she slammed the door shut behind her once she was safely over the threshold.
Then she proceeded to check every door and window in the house.
“He’s still in the woods,” Olivia announced, popping into existence next to Maddie as the blonde checked kitchen windows. “He’s just standing there staring at the house. He doesn’t look as if he’s about to make a move.”
“Why is he even here?”
“I’m not sure who he is.”
“Harris Bishop. He’s Dustin Bishop’s older brother.”
“And Dustin Bishop is the boy who was with Todd Winthrop that night at the lake,” Olivia mused. “I can’t say I know either of them very well. I know their mother, though. Sheryl. She’s ... unpleasant.”
Maddie slid a sidelong look to her mother. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean that she’s unpleasant.”
“But ... how?”
“She’s always been a bit of a whiner,” Olivia replied. “The second son – whom I guess is the one outside – was the one I knew more about because he was closer in age to you. He was a sophomore I believe when you graduated from high school. Maybe a freshman. She showed up at some of the PTA meetings so there had to be a little overlap.”
Maddie made a face. “I don’t remember you being a member of the PTA.”
“That’s because I wasn’t.” Olivia snickered. “I did help with certain fundraisers, though, and the first time I remember running into Sheryl was at one of those meetings. I needed to talk to them about some wrapping paper fundraiser they were trying to force on you.”
“Oh, yeah. I remember that.” Maddie made a face, her eyes trained on the back window as she studied the woods. “They wanted us to sell wrapping paper for the band and since I wasn’t a member of the band, you didn’t think it was fair.”
“I won on that, but I digress.” Olivia tilted her head to the side as she accessed the memory. “Sheryl was with the other women in the PTA when I entered to lodge my complaint. They tried to dismiss me right from the start. I didn’t have the easiest of relationships with all the other mothers in town because they thought I was a hippie.”
“I happened to like the fact that you were a hippie.”
“Yes, well, you were also easily entertained.” Olivia mimed flicking the end of Maddie’s nose, causing her daughter’s eyes to cross as she laughed. “Anyway, I walked in during the middle of a conversation and I remember it because of how ludicrous it was.
“You were a senior at the time,” she continued. “You weren’t very far from graduating. I think one semester.”
“That sounds about right,” Maddie confirmed.
“The women were discussing implementing a dress code,” Olivia supplied. “I thought that was weird because it was a public school and, frankly, none of their business what other students were wearing. One woman even suggested uniforms, although that wasn’t Sheryl.
“The reason Sheryl got so much of my attention that day is because she said that she thought skirts should be disallowed because they were simply a way for the girls to tease the boys and get them sexually hopped up,” she said. “That was the way she phrased it, mind you. Hopped up. I doubt I would’ve used those words.”
“Wait.” Maddie was understandably confused. “She thought girls shouldn’t be able to wear skirts because boys are perverts?”
“That’s boiling it down to the lowest common denominator, but essentially.”
“What did you say?”
“I told her to get over herself. I explained that boys should learn boundaries, and it’s not up to the girls to accommodate them. I also said that I understood there should be a limit on how short is too short — Marla always skirted that limit because you could practically see her hoo-ha when she sat down — but otherwise the boys should learn to control themselves.”
“What did she say?”
“That boys can’t control themselves and they’re basically slaves to their hormones,” Olivia replied. “It was really weird. There wasn’t much more to the conversation, but as soon as I was done with them I went to your principal and explained that I would be taking the story to the television stations if they tried to implement a dress code.”
Maddie’s eyebrows hopped. “I didn’t know that.”
Olivia’s eyes twinkled. “I was kind of a badass when I wanted to be.”
“You were,” Maddie confirmed.
They held gazes for an extended beat. Olivia was the first to break the silence.
“What are you going to do about the man in the woods? I think you should call Nick.”
“Technically he’s not breaking the law,” Maddie pointed out. “He wasn’t even on my land. That’s not my property. Maybe he was out there hunting or something.”
“It’s not hunting season ... and he was awfully close to the house to be hunting.”
“That’s true.” Maddie rolled her neck and stepped away from the window. “I need to check on Granny.” Maddie headed toward the garage apartment and opened the door without knocking. She wasn’t surprised to find it empty. “Granny mentioned going out with the Pink Ladies. She had a busy day in court and wanted to crow about it.”
“That sounds like her.”
“It does,” Maddie confirmed. “I’m sure she’s safe, but I’m going to call her to check anyway. You know, just to be on the safe side. Ma
ybe I can convince her to spend the night with one of her Pink Ladies. That will give her the excuse she’s always looking for to cut loose and party.”
“What about you?” Olivia challenged. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to watch the woods.”
“Don’t you think you should call Nick?”
“He’s working. They picked up a missing person’s case this morning. He texted some very vague information to me. I don’t know much about what is going on, though, or who is missing. Just that it’s another girl.”
“I don’t think it’s safe for you to stay in this house alone.”
Maddie merely shrugged. “I’m not alone ... and the doors are locked. I want to see if he approaches the house.”
“And if he does?”
“I’ll call for help ... and then hopefully teach him a lesson. I’m still not certain he’s out there because he wants to do me harm.”
“Why else would he be out there?”
“Maybe he’s watching the house to protect me.”
“Why?”
“Because the missing women tie into the court cases against his brother and Todd Winthrop. I’m the key witness in Todd Winthrop’s case. It would only make sense for me to be a target ... at least eventually.”
Olivia was horrified. “Call Nick now.”
“Not yet. Soon, though. I promise.”
MARLA WAS ALL SMILES when Kreskin, Nick, and John walked through the front door of the real estate agency.
“What a surprise.” She oozed fake happiness as she strolled toward them. “Are you searching for a house? Or perhaps you want to put a house on the market.” Her gaze lingered on Nick. She’d always had a thing for him and remained angry that Maddie was the one who snagged him. “Are you moving out of Maddie’s house and looking for a new place to call home? If so, I’m sure I can help you find the perfect house.”
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