“Well ... I’m the boss.”
“Yes, sir!” Nick mock-saluted, choking on a laugh when Kreskin scorched him with a dark look. “You have got to learn to lighten up.”
“I can’t wait for your honeymoon.”
“That makes two of us.”
MADDIE SMILED IN GREETING when Nick and Kreskin walked into her tent. She was just closing up for lunch when they entered — the sign she made at Alicia’s bequest that first day in her hands so she could flip it over and inform visitors she would be back shortly — and she raised an eyebrow at their dour expressions.
“Am I going to need to sit down for this?”
“Nope.” Nick strode directly toward her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and kissed her lavishly. “How is my bride-to-be?”
Maddie’s cheeks turned red as Kreskin made a series of fake retching noises behind Nick’s back. “You’re going to tease me about the dress, aren’t you?”
Nick shook his head, solemn. “No. I think it’s cute.”
“He’s not making it up,” Kreskin offered. “He does think it’s cute. I, however, find both of you disgusting.”
Maddie stared at Nick’s partner over his shoulder as her fiancé pulled her close for an extended embrace. “Why do you find us disgusting?”
“Is that a serious question?”
Maddie nodded.
“Well, for starters, your man has been walking around with a goofy smile on his face all morning. I had to hear the wedding dress story, which I don’t find nearly as interesting as he does. We’re men, Maddie. We should be talking about last night’s Tigers game and not how you hid in the bathroom so he wouldn’t see your dress. We especially shouldn’t be talking about how adorable he finds it that you’ve been trying on your dress every day since you got it from the shop.”
Maddie’s smile was rueful as she rubbed her hands over Nick’s broad shoulders. “I’m sorry you’re suffering so much.”
“Whatever. You’re not sorry. You’re as sickeningly happy as he is.”
“We’re getting married in a few days. In less than a week, he’s going to be my husband. Why shouldn’t I be excited?”
“Criminy. That’s exactly what he said. Like ... word-for-word.”
“That’s because my Maddie is a smart cookie,” Nick said as he turned to meet his partner’s gaze. “You need to let this go. We’ve decided to embrace the schmaltz until the wedding.”
“And I would gladly get behind that sentiment if I thought the schmaltz would disappear when you get back from your honeymoon,” Kreskin said. “The thing is ... I don’t. I think I’m going to be drowning in schmaltz for the rest of my life. How do you think things are going to be when you have your first kid?”
Nick’s grin widened. “I think I’m going to spoil her rotten because it’s difficult creating human life and she’s going to need me to dote on her.”
“That’s exactly what I thought you were going to say.” Kreskin shook his head, disgusted. “This is just ... so unfair.”
“I think it’s awesome.” Nick kissed Maddie’s cheek. “We were hoping to take you to lunch, love. Dale wants to question you about the interaction you had with Alicia before Trevor’s incident.”
Maddie nodded without hesitation. “That sounds good to me. They have Middle Eastern food at one of the carts. I want a kebab and rice.”
“Yum.” Nick slipped an arm around her waist and anchored her to his side. “Let’s get the food first and then have the conversation. How does that sound?”
“Anything to shut off the schmaltz fountain,” Kreskin muttered. “Seriously, don’t you guys get sick of yourselves?”
“Not even a little.”
“Somehow I knew you were going to say that.”
MADDIE AND NICK WERE enthusiastic eaters — something Kreskin blamed on youth because they could both shovel it in as much as they wanted and not gain an ounce — so he wasn’t surprised when they slid into the picnic table he’d already claimed and were each holding two plates of food.
“Hungry?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“I’m starving,” Maddie admitted. “I’ve been busy since I arrived.”
“And when was that?” Nick asked.
“I got here about twenty minutes early, but I didn’t start seeing customers until noon. So ... two hours ago? You guys are late for lunch. I kept thinking I would take a ten-minute break earlier, but it never materialized.”
“We’ve been at Alicia’s house,” Nick admitted. “We had a discussion with her.”
Maddie stilled, a forkful of rice halfway to her mouth. “How did that go?” she asked finally.
“Alicia still maintains it was an accident, that he shot himself.”
“Did you tell her that wasn’t possible?”
“We did. She either doesn’t grasp what we’re saying — which I find unlikely — or she’s pretending not to hear what we’re saying. I’m leaning toward the latter.”
“Huh.” Maddie thoughtfully chewed her food as she mulled over the scenario. “What about the kids? Were they there?”
“Yeah. I helped Aaron start the lawn mower when we first arrived,” Nick replied. “He was ... crabby. He’s a teenager, though, and that whole age group is moody.”
“I wasn’t,” Maddie countered.
“You were a perfect angel,” Nick agreed, causing Kreskin to groan. “Even you were moody at that age, though. I remember when you spent an entire day curled up in the window seat because Marla said you had a skinny butt and fat ankles — a deterrent for men or some other crap — and you cried and yelled at me because of it.”
Maddie was flummoxed. “I ... did not. I don’t remember that.”
“You did have a skinny butt when we were freshmen,” Nick mused, seemingly lost in thought. “You really filled out that summer before senior year, though. It was as if all that running you were doing finally paid off overnight. It was ... awesome.”
Kreskin flicked his partner’s ear and shook his head. “No reminiscing about stupid crap,” he ordered. “You can do that when it’s just the two of you.”
“Sure.” Nick bit back a chuckle. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Tell me about your conversation with Alicia the day it happened, Maddie,” Kreskin instructed. “I want to hear everything, no matter how minor the detail.”
“There’s honestly not a lot to tell,” Maddie replied. “She stopped by my tent to ask if I could make up a sign with the rates. Apparently the last festival was a mess because people were confused about the cost of things so they wanted to cut down on the confusion this time.
“She stopped in, told me about it, and then she asked about the wedding,” she continued. “It was a brief conversation. I said I was excited and she mentioned she’d reconciled with Trevor.”
“Did she volunteer it or did you ask?”
“Um ... .” Maddie tilted her head to the side and racked her memory. “She volunteered it when she caught me staring at her wedding ring.”
“Do you think that was because she was aware people had been talking about the dissolution of her marriage?”
“I don’t know.” Maddie opted for honesty. “At the time, I didn’t really think about it. I was friendly with Alicia, always waved at her, but it’s not as if we were tight. As for Trevor, I can’t ever remember giving him a passing moment’s thought.”
“But you knew he ran around, right?” Kreskin probed. “I’m not asking you for salacious gossip, Maddie. I’m trying to ascertain just how many people were aware of the situation. I maintain it was most everybody in town. You tend to stay out of the gossip unless it directly affects you, though.”
“I knew the rumors,” Maddie admitted. “I hear a lot of gossip when I stop in at Christy’s salon. I’m sure I don’t hear everything, but I hear a lot of it.”
“And what did you hear?”
“Just fragments here and there. It seemed to be common knowledge that Trevor was running around. I didn’t know him all t
hat well when I was living here ten years ago. When I came back, the only thing I can remember hearing about him was that he was married to Alicia.
“The thing is, in one breath people would tell me they were married,” she continued. “In the next, they would tell me he was cheating on her. They didn’t always name who he was currently involved with, but everyone knew that he was running around.”
“That’s what I suspected.” Kreskin stroked his chin. “Nick let slip this morning that Marla is the current mistress du jour. He said you were the one who uncovered that. Do you think it’s really true?”
“Oh, it’s true.” Maddie’s expression darkened as she thought back to her conversation with Marla. “She stopped at the house just as I was leaving today because she wanted to talk about the situation.”
Nick lifted his chin, surprised. “She did? What did she say?”
“That she wanted me to keep it to myself.”
“And what did you say?”
“That it was too late.” Maddie shrugged, sheepish. “I told her the truth, that I’d already confided in you because of the investigation.”
“How did she take that?” Kreskin asked. “Marla isn’t known for being calm and collected, so I’m guessing she took it poorly.”
“That’s an understatement,” Maddie confirmed. “She was livid, which makes no sense to me. She had to know I would tell Nick right away. She’s always saying how co-dependent we are. How could she think I would keep this to myself?”
“Marla lives in La-La Land,” Nick said. “She only sees what she wants to see.”
“She was desperate, though,” Maddie said. “I swear, she was almost pathetic with the way she was acting. She had tears in her eyes when she said that she wasn’t allowed to see Trevor at the hospital, that Alicia was making it impossible. She also said that she and Trevor were destined to be together.”
“I believe she’s said the same thing about every other man she’s dated over the years,” Nick drawled. “Didn’t she say that about the fake psychic who turned out to be a murderer?”
“She did.” Maddie opened her container of garlic dip. “This was different, though. I don’t know how to explain it. There was something absolutely pitiful about the way she was acting. She said I couldn’t understand her relationship with Trevor and she didn’t want to be known as a homewrecker.”
“What did you say?” Nick queried.
“I said it was too late, that everybody already knew she was a homewrecker. I was kind of mean to her, if you want to know the truth.”
“Good.” Nick wasn’t one to keep his opinion to himself, and this was no exception. “She has it coming. She’s tortured you for years. I’m glad you’re sticking it to her.”
“I’m glad I’m sticking up for myself,” Maddie said. “As for sticking it to her ... I don’t want to become her, Nicky. I don’t want to take joy in the pain of others. That’s not who I am. If you want to know the truth, I feel a little guilty about the things I said to her.”
“Why?” Annoyance came out to play and flitted across Nick’s face. “Why would you possibly feel guilty?”
“Because I don’t want to kick someone when she’s already low,” Maddie replied. “Even Marla doesn’t deserve that.”
“Ugh. This is why everyone keeps mistaking you for an angel.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You’re a saint sometimes, Mad. Marla doesn’t deserve your pity.”
“Maybe not, but she seemed legitimately sad,” Maddie said. “She wants to see Trevor, but Alicia won’t let her. I don’t know if she’s exaggerating that situation or if it’s a hospital rule. She was very upset, though.”
“Well, she’ll get over it. I’m sure Trevor will wake soon,” Nick said.
Maddie’s eyes shifted to a spot across the way, a location directly in front of her tent. There, a ghostly figure glanced around, as if searching for someone. It was a familiar face ... if only because she’d seen the man’s photographs while in Alicia’s house the previous day.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Maddie said blandly, her heart plummeting.
“What do you mean?” Kreskin asked. He’d opted for a burger and seemed to be having a good time dressing it up with condiments.
“Trevor is dead,” Maddie replied, straightforward.
“What do you mean?” Kreskin furrowed his brow. “He hasn’t woken up yet, but he’s not dead.”
Maddie knew differently. “He’s dead.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “Call the hospital, Nicky. I’m telling you ... he’s dead.”
Nick kept his eyes on Maddie’s face for a long beat before rummaging in his pocket for his phone.
“What are you doing?” Kreskin asked, surprised.
“If Maddie says he’s dead, I have to believe her.” Nick searched his contacts before coming up with the correct one and then placed the call. He slid an arm around Maddie’s shoulders, his lunch forgotten, as he waited for the doctor to pick up. The conversation was short.
“Maddie was right,” Nick said as he disconnected, his expression grim. “Trevor is dead. He died about an hour ago. They were going to call us.”
“How did he die?” Kreskin asked, horrified.
“They’re not sure yet. They’re going to have to do an autopsy.”
“Well, that is just ... .” Kreskin trailed off, lost. “This is not good. We officially have a murderer to track down now.”
“And we still don’t know if it was the wife or someone else,” Nick muttered, rolling his neck. “This whole thing is crazy.”
“And then some.”
Eleven
“What happens now?” Maddie asked after the news set in. “Will you arrest Alicia?”
“I don’t know,” Nick replied, rubbing his hand over Maddie’s back to soothe her. He could tell she’d convinced herself that Trevor would pull through and the reality was something she didn’t want to deal with. “Our evidence is ... lacking.”
“We have a few problems,” Kreskin agreed. “Logic would suggest that Alicia is our culprit. She was the only one home at the time because Aaron was picking up Catelynn from her dance class.”
“It’s possible someone else was in the house, though,” Maddie persisted. “I mean ... Alicia simply doesn’t strike me as the sort to shoot her husband. She’s far more likely to turn herself inside out to pretend that nothing is going on rather than confront him.”
“We saw that firsthand this morning,” Kreskin agreed. “We told her point blank that we knew about Trevor’s affair with Marla, but she played dumb.”
“Maybe she didn’t know about Marla.” Maddie knew she was grasping at straws, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. “Perhaps she suspected he was sleeping with someone despite his promises regarding their reconciliation but didn’t know who.”
“I guess that’s possible, but she barely blinked when we brought up Marla’s name. To me, that seems to suggest that the news wasn’t a surprise.”
“Yeah, well ... .” Maddie trailed off and looked to the spot where Trevor’s ghost had been floating moments before. “He’s gone. He was here but ... if he only died an hour ago, I guess it makes sense that he wouldn’t be hanging around for long periods of time.”
“Are you going to talk to him if you see him again?” Nick asked, already knowing the answer.
“Of course.” Maddie nodded her head perfunctorily. “If he remained behind, it’s because he has unfinished business. I think, in this particular case, we all know what that business is.”
“Do you think he’ll remember what happened?” Kreskin asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. In truth, Maddie’s abilities made him nervous. Not because he worried she was some sort of evil entity or anything, but more because the mere thought of dealing with ghosts seemed frightening to him. “I know in the past that you’ve come across ghosts who don’t remember.”
“It depends on how traumatic the death was for him,” Maddie replied. “If it was Alicia ... .
” She trailed off, uncertain. Then she changed course. “Nicky, you said you used to purposely ghost women in an attempt to make them break up with you, right?”
“I didn’t say I purposely ghosted them,” he countered. “I don’t like the way that sounds.”
Kreskin’s eyebrows hopped as amusement washed over him. “I seem to remember a time or two where you simply stopped calling women.”
“Yes, well ... .”
Maddie patted his leg under the table. “You’re a different man now. I get it. I’m not worried you’re going to ghost me.”
“I know that. It’s just ... I feel sort of bad for being such a tool. I understand now why I did what I did, but at the time I merely thought I was living the life I wanted to live. Everyone knew I had a limited shelf life for relationships.”
“That’s because you were waiting for Maddie to come home,” Kreskin noted. “You always wanted her. You might have thought you lost her, but in the back of your mind, it was always her. You were simply waiting for things to work out.
“I happen to believe that there would’ve come a point where you came to that realization yourself and headed down to Detroit to reclaim her,” he continued. “I know that sounds a bit Neanderthal, but I always knew that you were waiting for something. It wasn’t until Maddie showed up that I realized exactly what you were waiting for.”
“I didn’t ask the question to be mean,” Maddie stressed. “We also don’t need to talk about it. I’m well aware of why you did the things you did ... and I find it cute.”
Nick was understandably dubious. “Cute? You and your wedding dress is cute. What I did was something else.”
“Yeah, but ... it was the process you had to go through,” Maddie said. “I’ve been thinking about what you said, though, and it’s been bothering me. You talked to Trevor’s brother, right? He said that Trevor stopped the divorce proceedings because of money. He thought Alicia would simply roll over and allow him to walk away with his freedom and all the money they’d accrued since the start of their marriage.”
“He didn’t say all the money,” Kreskin corrected. “However, he was pretty open about the fact that Trevor thought he would end up in a better financial place than Alicia was willing to allow.”
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