“Why is Chelsea still alive? That’s the part I don’t understand. I’m happy about that – don’t get me wrong – but I don’t get it.”
“We have a timetable to hit,” Heaton explained. “She’s dying today. We’re dropping her body in your backyard. Frankly, it’s time. All she does is whine and cry. She stopped being fun five minutes after we took her.”
Maddie’s stomach did an unsteady roll. “You’re all heart.”
“And she’s annoying. Once we drop her body, she’ll become the focus for the cops. Sure, Winters will spend all his time looking for you, but he won’t find you and the other cops will be too busy to help him. Personally, I’m looking forward to watching him melt down. He’ll know you only have a short amount of time to live ... and as that time’s ticking down, he’ll fall apart. That means he won’t be able to testify against Todd. That’s a double win right there. You’ll miss your testimony date and we’ll drop your body in a few days. That will be enough to kick Todd’s case. Mark my words.”
“Uh-huh.” Maddie had figured out most of this herself but she was glad Heaton spelled it out for her. “What happens if your culpability is discovered? What happens if the cops find out Smith was involved?”
“Then the trial will be postponed and we’ll have trials of our own to look forward to. That’s not going to happen, though.”
“No.” Maddie moved her hand to reveal the small digital recorder she’d been running without Heaton’s knowledge, his eyes filling with fury when he realized what he was looking at.
“You’ve been recording this entire conversation?”
Maddie nodded. “I knew you were coming.”
“You did not! Stop saying that! We planned everything perfectly. There’s no way you could know.”
“There’s one way, although I have no intention of telling you what that is. As for planning things perfectly, you didn’t. You forgot a few little tidbits.”
“Oh, yeah? What would those be?”
“Smith sent you inside to be the sacrificial lamb. He’s waiting to see if you come out. If you don’t, he’s going to run. He’ll have a slight opening to escape. I bet he’s already got a plan to flee the country in place.”
Heaton balked. “No. You’re wrong.” He said the words, but Maddie recognized the doubt creeping across his features.
“In addition to that, you may have killed the cell phone reception in the house with one of those fancy little gizmos, but that’s hardly the only means of communication in this house. My grandmother is old school.”
“Bull. We checked. You don’t have a landline.”
“I don’t. My grandmother had one installed in her apartment. Even though it’s a garage, when we filed paperwork with the building department, Granny’s apartment was listed as a separate living space. The landline is in her name.”
For the first time since entering the house, Heaton showed a flash of fear. “You’re bluffing. You didn’t have time to call anyone.”
“I didn’t place the call. You’re right about that.”
“You were alone in the house,” Heaton spat. “We checked. Your grandmother is off drinking with her little buddies.”
“Granny isn’t here. You don’t have to worry about her.”
“Winters is at work. We checked on that, too.”
“I wasn’t talking about Nick.”
“That chick you hang out with – the one from the salon – she’s at work. We checked every single thing.”
“You didn’t account for the visitor I had this morning, though,” Maddie pointed out, inclining her head in the direction of Maude’s apartment as the door opened to allow Harris entrance. “We were having a little chat when you showed up in the backyard. You probably didn’t realize that because he was trying to fly under the radar and didn’t park near the house.”
Heaton’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. “You.”
“Me,” Harris agreed. He was calm, but Maddie could read his body language. He was ready to spring into action if it became necessary. “I’m the one who called the cops.”
Even though anger was coursing through him in waves, Heaton took a deliberate step back. “I can’t believe this. I ... .” He didn’t get a chance to finish his statement because Nick appeared behind him, his quiet footsteps allowing him to move behind the man when he wasn’t looking. “What the ... ?”
“Hello, Sam,” Nick drawled, pressing his gun to the spot between Heaton’s shoulder blades. “You either drop that gun, or I’m going to drop you. Those are your two options.”
Heaton worked his jaw, hatred pooling in his eyes as he glared at Maddie. “You set us up.”
“You did it to yourself.” Maddie slowly got to her feet and shifted her eyes to the backyard, where Kreskin and John were wrestling an uncooperative Smith to the ground and the additional state police troopers John called for backup were busy taking care of a sobbing Chelsea White. “It seems your plan wasn’t perfect after all, huh?”
“This isn’t over,” Heaton hissed, dropping his gun. “This is nowhere near over. You don’t have anything on me.”
“I think that’s where you’re wrong.” Maddie smiled at Harris. “You were listening, too, right?”
“I heard every word,” Harris confirmed. “I think you’ll have plenty of corroboration.”
“Yes.” Maddie dusted off her hands and grinned as Nick slapped Heaton into a pair of cuffs. “And I think that is that.”
Twenty
Nick waited until Heaton was safely in custody — and parked in the back of his cruiser — to throw his arms around Maddie. The drive to the house, although short, had felt endless. He was convinced the love of his life would somehow disappear before he could get to her. Instead, she handled the situation with aplomb and not as much as a hair was out of place.
“You did so good, love.”
Maddie smiled into his shoulder as she patted his back. “Thank you. I only held it together because I knew you were coming.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. You were masterful.”
“Yeah, well ... .” Maddie handed over the digital recorder. “You’re probably going to need this.”
“I’ll take that.” John swooped in and confiscated the recorder, sliding it into a plastic bag as he grinned. “You were impressive, Maddie. I don’t know why people continue to underestimate you.”
“I don’t know why either,” Nick agreed, tightening his grip for a full five seconds before releasing her. When he turned to Harris, his expression was unreadable. “And what were you doing here?”
“Watching,” Harris replied simply.
“He figured out part of it before we did,” Maddie offered helpfully. “He knew that I would be the ultimate prize at the end of a long game, and he was trying to make sure that I didn’t fall victim to whoever was doing this. He had no idea who it was — I didn’t either until Heaton walked through the door — but he figured I would be a target and he was determined to protect me in the event I was attacked. That’s why he was hiding in the woods.”
“He wasn’t in the woods today, though,” Nick pointed out. “He was in the house.”
“Because we got to talking in the driveway and I invited him in.”
“No offense, Mad, but do you think that was a good idea? For all you knew, he could’ve been part of this.”
“It obviously worked out.”
Nick pursed his lips as he internally debated the merits of pushing things further. Ultimately, he decided risking a fight wasn’t worth it. “You’re right. It worked out.” He extended his hand in Harris’s direction. “Thank you for standing with her.”
“I didn’t want to leave the kitchen,” Harris said as he accepted the handshake. “She insisted, though. She said the odds of anyone realizing I was here were low and that gave us an advantage.”
“She was right.” Nick slipped a strand of Maddie’s hair behind her ear. “You were smart not to go outside. I would’ve thought they would try to entice you, but stay
ing inside was the exact right way to go.”
“That’s what I figured,” Maddie agreed. “They were trying to use Chelsea as bait, but I knew the second I walked outside she would be a goner. Where is she, by the way?” Maddie scanned the driveway. “I wanted to see her, make sure she’s all right.”
“She’s a bit frazzled,” Kreskin supplied as he moved to the front of the cruiser, his gaze dark as he glared at Heaton in the back seat. Smith was in the custody of the state police and being lodged in a separate vehicle. He seemed positively apoplectic — screaming his innocence to the high heavens — while Heaton sat in silence and glowered. “She’s got some injuries. I’m guessing they’re mental and physical. We had her transported to the hospital. Her parents have already been notified and are on the way.”
“Oh. I guess that’s what’s best for her,” Maddie mused. “I hope she can get over this.”
“The only reason she has a chance is because you thought on your feet,” Nick noted. “If you’d gone outside, they would’ve killed her right in front of you and then kidnapped you. Our world would be very different right now if that happened.”
“I didn’t know who I was dealing with. I was playing a hunch.”
Harris stirred. “I still don’t understand how you knew they were in the woods ... and that they had Chelsea. You also figured out halfway through your conversation with Heaton that Smith was part of this. I don’t know how you figured that out either.”
“I guess I was just lucky,” Maddie demurred.
“No one is that lucky.”
John pointed toward the sign touting the magic shop, which Nick had yet to take down. “Think hard about how she did it.”
Harris read the sign. “Seriously?”
Maddie sighed as Nick poked his brother’s flank.
“No, not seriously,” Nick said. “My brother simply gets a kick out of saying things like that.”
“How else would you explain it?” John challenged.
Harris glanced between the sign and Maddie several times before ultimately shaking his head. “I guess it doesn’t matter. Everyone is okay and the bad guys are in custody. I think that’s the most you can ask for in a situation like this.”
“Pretty much,” Kreskin agreed. “Still, you stood tall and didn’t let Maddie face this on her own. I think that proves exactly what sort of man you are.”
“I don’t know about that,” Harris hedged. “I am sort of curious what’s going to happen with my brother, though. Obviously I know he was part of this, but he wasn’t as big a part as we originally thought. What’s going to happen with him?”
“I don’t know.” Kreskin opted for honesty. “The entire case is going to be delayed because of this. A new prosecutor will be assigned. A new defense attorney. I’m sure Todd will deny knowing about any of this, but he’s been barred from his computer so he can’t change anything until all the evidence on the Facebook page is logged.
“By the way, I just got a copy of the composite sketch that was put together at the hotel,” he continued. “It’s a match for Heaton. I guess he was the one meeting Shelby. He must have been grooming her. I’m not sure exactly why, but he clearly needed to mess with his prey before killing it.”
“I’m willing to bet, when he realizes everything is over, Todd will turn over on the other two,” John offered. “He’ll make a deal of his own. He doesn’t have anyone left on the outside willing to help.”
“I don’t have names or anything, but I know they killed people in other towns,” Maddie said. “I saw a few flashes in Heaton’s head, although he tried to shutter. They were brief ... and all blondes. You should probably start making inquiries, though.”
“We will.” Nick gently rubbed the back of her neck as Harris furrowed his brow. The younger man picked up on the fact that Maddie said she saw flashes in Heaton’s head and clearly had questions. Nick offered him a firm shake of his head to cut off those questions. He wouldn’t have Maddie pressured to provide uncomfortable answers given everything that had transpired. “This is going to be a lot to sort out.”
“We’re definitely going to have a mountain of evidence to put together,” Kreskin agreed, his eyes on his phone. “Judge Andrews’s office messaged back. They unsealed Heaton’s file. He was accused of sexually assaulting and beating a girl when he was in middle school. Because of his age, he wasn’t charged and the files were sealed after he agreed to counseling.”
“I’m guessing the counseling didn’t work,” Maddie said dryly, offering Heaton a small finger wave as he stewed in the cruiser. When she shifted her eyes to Smith, her expression darkened. “He’s the one I don’t understand the most. Unlike the others, he was supposed to be a good guy.”
“That gave him the ultimate cover,” Nick explained. “By pretending to be the good guy, no one would suspect him of being evil. Unfortunately for the prosecutor’s office, I think they’re going to have a big battle ahead. All the cases he tried are going to be called into question, especially since I’m certain he planned to throw Todd’s trial.”
“Yeah, speaking of that, we need forensic teams to go through both of their houses,” Kreskin said. “We need to confiscate their computers and lock them out of their social media accounts. This day isn’t over ... and it’s going to be a long one.”
Nick was aware of that but wasn’t keen on leaving Maddie. “Maybe you should come with us, love,” he suggested. “You can’t be in on the search, but you can wait in the car.”
Maddie offered him a rueful smile. “No offense, but that sounds like a boring way to spend a day.”
“I know but ... I don’t want to leave you here alone.”
“I have to finish cleaning out the store,” Maddie reminded him. “We’re never going to fit a big-screen television in there so you can watch the Tigers if I don’t clear the rest of that stuff out.”
“I’ll help you tonight.”
“No, I’ll help her today,” Harris offered, taking everyone by surprise. “I’ll stay at the store with her. You guys should go and finish your searches. They’re important to everyone ... including me. You don’t have to worry about her. I’ll take care of her.”
Nick fought the urge to argue with the young man. It wasn’t as if Harris was hitting on Maddie, or trying to isolate her. He was simply trying to do the right thing. He wasn’t his brother. “That sounds like an okay idea,” he hedged. “I would appreciate it if you would text me every hour, though, Mad. I want to make sure you’re okay.”
“I can do that.” Maddie’s sunny smile was back in place. “And, to make you feel better, I’ll invite Dad over to help, too. We’ll get the rest of the air conditioners installed and have the store completely taken apart before you get home. Then I’ll grill steaks and corn for everyone and we’ll make it a family barbecue. How does that sound?”
Nick smirked. “You like the idea of taking care of everyone. Admit it.”
“I like the idea of having a barbecue,” Maddie corrected, leaning closer so only he could hear the second part. “Then, after everyone leaves, how about we take a walk to the lake and spend some quiet time together just the two of us?”
Nick immediately perked up. “Now that right there sounds like a plan.”
“Somehow I knew you were going to say that.”
Grave Wedding
A Maddie Graves Mystery Book Fifteen
One
When Nick Winters was five years old, he decided he was going to take care of Maddie Graves forever.
She was small for her size, boasted ridiculously long blond hair, and was painfully shy. Nick, a boy who was more gumption than grace at the time, found he longed to protect her ... although he had no idea why.
Through the years, Nick was everything he possibly could be for Maddie, including her protector. If another boy pulled her hair, Nick defended her honor. If another girl made her cry, Nick served as her guard dog as she collected herself. They were inseparable.
Then something happened.
At seventeen, his hormones kicked in and the “simple” emotions he associated with Maddie turned into something else entirely. She was no longer just his friend. She was his entire heart and soul. She was everything he wanted for a different reason ... although it wasn’t something he could wrap his head around.
Maddie, fearful of things she couldn’t control, fled their small town of Blackstone Bay. She had no intention of returning even though her heart would always belong to Nick. Then her mother died, the world turned upside down, and her past beckoned.
Destiny is a funny thing. Even though Nick’s anger with Maddie spanned a decade, ten seconds of being in her presence rekindled feelings he thought had been dormant since he was a teenager. This time, there was no turning away from each other. There was only moving forward.
So, that’s what they did.
And now, a year later, they were getting married. Nick had never been so happy in his entire life.
“It needs to go more in the center.” Maddie, her face glistening with a light sheen of sweat, stood with her hands on her hips as Nick arranged a table in her tent for the upcoming Blackstone Bay festival. This was her first festival since closing her shop — the shop her mother loved beyond reason but was too invasive in the home Nick and Maddie shared — and she was antsy to make sure everything was exactly right.
“It is in the center, Mad,” Nick said, his eyes flashing as he rested with his stomach on the table. “Where did you get this thing, by the way? It weighs more than you do.”
Maddie scowled. “It’s not that bad.”
Nick cocked an eyebrow. “Mad, I’m going to throw out my back if I have to lift this table one more time.”
Maddie, her blue eyes a reminder of the bluest ocean, stared at him for a long beat. “Fine. There is fine.”
“Great.” Nick heaved out a relieved sigh before straightening and rubbing the back of his hand over his forehead. “I think it’s perfect here. Other than being the world’s heaviest table, it’s got some character. Maybe I’ll try to find a dolly for it so we won’t have trouble moving it from here on out. How does that sound?”
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