“What?” George and Maude exclaimed at the exact same time.
“I’m going to have Dad check on you while we’re gone,” Maddie repeated, firm. “He’ll be in town because he has to monitor construction progress. Since his new house is right up the street, I figure it will be convenient for him to spend time with you.”
George’s mouth dropped open as Nick ducked his head to hide a smile.
“Let me take those blueberries from you before you drop them, George,” Nick suggested, laughter in his voice.
“Oh, you think this is funny now,” George intoned as he handed over the berries. “It’s not going to be so funny when we burn your house down during a fight.”
Nick clapped his shoulder. “I have complete faith that won’t happen.”
“Me, too,” Maddie said brightly as George shuffled to the coffee pot to pour himself a mug of caffeinated goodness. “I think this is a great idea.”
“And I think you’re trying to force a relationship that’s never going to happen,” George countered. “Maddie, you know I love you. It’s just ... .”
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Maude interjected forcefully. “I’m an adult. I can take care of myself.”
“Oh, yeah?” Nick dumped the blueberries in a colander so he could rinse them. “What were you out doing all night?”
“For your information, I had a few drinks while playing cards with my friends and things got away from me,” Maude shot back. “I was a responsible adult and slept on Imogen’s couch. There’s no reason to get your panties in a twist.”
Maddie choked back a giggle and managed to hold it together ... just barely. “So, you weren’t out torturing Harriet last night. That’s what you’re saying, right?”
“Of course I didn’t do anything to Harriet last night.” Maude’s smile reminded Maddie of one of those sweet old grandmothers on a greeting card. “I’m hurt that you would even suspect something like that.”
Maddie stared hard, but Maude didn’t as much as blink. “You’re really good. I hope our children take after Nick and me. I prefer terrible liars. If you get your hands on them, they’re going to be bamboozling me at every turn.”
Maude chuckled, genuinely amused. “You’re a pip, Maddie girl. I know I’ve told you that over the years, but you really are.”
“Wait ... what children?” George asked, joining Maddie at the table. “Are you ... ?” His eyes darkened when he flicked them to Nick. “Did you do something?”
Nick balked. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. She’s not pregnant.”
“She’s not?” George looked relieved. “It’s not that I’m not looking forward to being a grandfather. I don’t want you to think that. It’s only ... we’re just getting to know one another. I thought we would have more time before we added little ones to the mix.”
“That’s the plan,” Maddie confirmed, leaning back in her chair. “We want to spend at least a year with just the two of us before expanding the family. I mean, if something happens and I turn up pregnant, it won’t be the end of the world. We don’t plan on trying for a bit, though.”
“That’s good.” George lobbed an apologetic smile at Nick. “Sorry I momentarily freaked out there.”
“No worries.” Nick waved off the apology. “Maddie and I have discussed children at length. We both want them — some of us want more than others — but we’ve agreed to let nature take its course. Besides, my brother and his fiancée are having a baby. That will keep my mother from pressuring us for at least a year.”
“That’s right.” Maddie bobbed her head. “By the way, Christy is convinced she’s having a boy for some reason.”
“What makes her say that?” Nick asked.
“She says she knows when a penis is inside of her.” The words were out of Maddie’s mouth before she remembered she had an audience. “I mean ... .” Her face flushed with color. “Oh, geez.”
Nick choked back a laugh. “I can see Christy saying that.”
“She’s not wrong,” Maude added.
George pretended he hadn’t heard the statement. “Is everything set for the wedding?”
Maddie was thankful for the conversational reprieve. “Yup. Everything is ready. I think the only thing left on the list is the tuxes. Nick has to pick those up the day before.”
“And you already have your dress?”
Maddie’s cheeks flushed pink a second time when she risked a look at Nick. “I have it.”
“She’s been trying it on every morning,” Maude volunteered for a confused George. “She waits until Nick leaves for work and then twists and twirls in front of the upstairs mirror. It’s kind of cute ... and kind of annoying, too.”
George snickered. “That must be a girl thing.”
“Definitely,” Nick agreed. Sensing Maddie’s discomfort, he decided to change the subject. “While I have you here, Maude, I think we need to discuss a few things.”
“Oh, I don’t want to have a heavy discussion,” Maude whined. “I’m hungover. Take pity on an old woman.”
Maude only referred to herself as “old” when she was trying to get one over on someone (usually Maddie or Nick) and she was a bit slow when delivering the line.
“Well, we’re talking anyway,” Nick was firm as he started ladling batter onto the griddle. “You said you spent the night at Imogen’s house last night. I don’t suppose you paid any attention to what was going on at the Clark house, did you?”
Whatever she was expecting, that wasn’t it. Maude straightened and stared. “Are you asking if I spied on Alicia Clark last night?”
“I’m asking if you noticed anything going on at her house last night,” he clarified. “Were people there? Did anyone go in and out?”
“I didn’t see anyone,” Maude replied after a beat. “Why? I would assume she was at the hospital until visiting hours ended.”
Maude and Nick exchanged a brief look.
“Um ... Trevor died yesterday afternoon, Granny,” Maddie volunteered. “He passed away.”
“Wow. I thought he was going to survive.”
“We all did, but that didn’t turn out to be the case,” Nick replied. “The state medical examiner is conducting an autopsy in conjunction with the hospital. We should have answers on his cause of death today.”
“I thought he was shot,” George interjected. “Isn’t that what killed him?”
“Probably,” Nick confirmed. “The doctors thought he had a good shot of recovering, though. His death seemed to come out of nowhere.”
Maude was intrigued. “Do you think someone personally finished what they started? Like ...maybe he was poisoned or something.”
Maddie shifted in her chair. “I didn’t even consider that, did you, Nicky?”
“I considered it,” he hedged. “I don’t know if I believe it yet. Hopefully we’ll know more in a few hours.”
“I honestly didn’t see anything going on at the house,” Maude said. “I wasn’t paying that much attention, though. The lights were on, but it was quiet ... except for the boy. He came home late. I remember because his mother met him on the porch and didn’t look happy. The only reason I know that, though, is because I was grabbing some bourbon from my car at the time.”
“You saw Alicia and Aaron together last night?” Maddie’s curiosity got the better of her. “Did they look like they were fighting?”
Maude held her palms out and shrugged. “I wasn’t paying that close of attention. All I can say is that they were having an intense conversation.”
“That kind of fits with what he was telling you at the fairgrounds, Mad,” Nick noted. “He’s an angry kid ... and he’s angry at both of them.”
“I guess I’m missing part of the story,” George said. “I thought the wife shot him because he was cheating on her with the town floozy.”
“Marla,” Maddie supplied. “He’s been sleeping with and impregnating Marla, who is basically the worst woman in town, and supposedly they were going to move in
together and raise the baby.”
Maude was mid-sip when Maddie broke the news and she spewed coffee all over the table. “What?”
“Oh, that’s gross, Granny.” Maddie hopped up to retrieve a towel. Nick already had one extended in her direction when she arrived at the counter. “Next time swallow your coffee before talking.”
“Hey! You can’t blame this on me.” Maude was adamant. “You’re the one who dropped two bombs in ten seconds and thought I should just hold in my surprise. That’s how bladder infections start. No, really. Personally, I think you’re to blame for this. You’ve been holding back.”
Maddie ignored the bladder infection comment as she wiped down the table. “I’m sorry, Granny. I thought you knew. I guess I forgot you didn’t in all the hullabaloo yesterday. I told you that Marla was having an affair with Trevor.”
“You did and that didn’t surprise me in the least,” Maude said. “The pregnancy thing, though? That’s out there. Also, I can’t believe they were going to move in together.”
“That’s Marla’s take on things,” Nick cautioned as he hovered over the pancakes. “She says that Trevor was gearing up to tell Alicia the big news. Now she wants to know how much money she’s going to get from his estate. She didn’t even really cry, which I find frustrating.”
“She probably won’t get anything from his estate,” George offered. “I’m going to guess that he didn’t have time to change his will to provide for the infant. Whatever arrangements he had in place will stand, which probably means his wife is the beneficiary.”
“She’s automatically the beneficiary at this point,” Nick said. “They were young when they got married and I doubt there was a pre-nup because neither of them had anything when they started out.”
“What will happen if Alicia is found guilty of killing Trevor?” Maddie asked, her mind busy. “I mean ... what about the kids?”
“The money will probably be split between Aaron and Catelynn,” Nick replied. “I’m not sure exactly how it works, but I doubt that Marla’s baby will play into things. Aaron is seventeen, so he will have to go into foster care — or live with his uncle — for at least a year. Catelynn’s situation is different.”
“She’s special needs,” Maddie explained. “She’s on the spectrum but very high functioning.”
“She still can’t live on her own,” Nick pointed out.
“Definitely not,” Maddie agreed. “Are you going to take Alicia into custody today?”
“I don’t know.” Nick opted for honesty. “I don’t know that we have the evidence for that yet. We are worried Alicia will pick up both kids and run, although I doubt she would make it very far. Right now, we want to gather more evidence. It seems likely that she’s the culprit, but we don’t have enough to hold her right now.”
“So, she just gets to run around free as a bird?” Maude challenged. “That doesn’t seem fair.”
“What if she’s not the guilty party, though?” Nick argued. “There’s still a chance that she’s innocent in all of this.”
“I thought they were the only two in the house at the time,” George said.
“To our knowledge, that’s true,” Nick agreed. “There is an off chance that someone else managed to sneak inside the house without Alicia knowing.”
“And back out again after firing shots?” George didn’t look convinced. “That sounds unlikely to me.”
“That sounds unlikely to us, too,” Nick admitted. “We have to be sure, though. We don’t want to put an innocent woman in prison.”
“How will you be sure?”
“That’s the question of the day.” Nick started flipping pancakes onto plates. “Who wants to eat first? I’m guessing it’s the hangover girl.”
Maude scowled. “I can’t wait until you guys leave for your honeymoon. It’s going to be glorious to be away from you for two weeks.”
“Funnily enough, we were thinking the same thing.” Nick winked at her. “I don’t care what you say, though, I think you’re going to miss us.”
“Think again. The house will be schmaltz-free for fourteen days. It will feel like a miracle.”
Fifteen
George met Nick by the front door when the detective was leaving for his shift.
“Is something up?” Nick asked as he slipped into his shoes.
“No. Well … maybe.” George shifted from one foot to the other, uncomfortable. “I just want to ask you something. It may seem trivial, or silly, but I need to ask you a question.”
Nick waited, feigning patience. When George didn’t jump on the opportunity, he finally waved his hand to spur on his future father-in-law.
“Right. You want to know the question.” George collected himself. “Um … what does she think about Annie?”
Nick wasn’t expecting the question. “You know what’s funny? I thought for sure you were about to spin some yarn about how it’s not convenient to check in on Maude while we’re gone.”
“That’s not convenient, but I’ll do it … mostly because it will irritate Maude.”
Nick snickered. “I think that sounds like a lot of fun. As for Annie, Maddie didn’t really say anything about her. We both know Annie, of course. She’s been around Blackstone Bay since we were kids. She’s always been nice to us.”
“That’s not really what I was asking.”
“Okay. What were you asking?”
“This is new for me,” George explained. “I wanted to be her father but wasn’t able to do it. Now I’m allowed to be with her, to hang out with her whenever I want, and I’m afraid.”
Confusion kicked Nick in the stomach. “I don’t understand. What are you afraid of? Maddie likes Annie.”
“I understand that. What I don’t get are the rules. Am I allowed to date?”
“Ever?”
“You know what I mean.” George’s exasperation came out to play. “If I date am I somehow going to ruin what we’re building here?”
Nick was doing his best to follow the conversation, but he honestly didn’t understand where George’s despair was coming from. “I think the only thing that would ruin what you’re building with Maddie would be if you dated Maude.”
The look George shot Nick was murderous. “Do you think that’s funny?”
“Maybe a little.” Nick’s lips curved. “Listen, I get that you’re nervous about this – although I’m not going to pretend to understand why – but you don’t have to worry. Maddie just wants to get to know you better, spend more time with you. She doesn’t care if you date.
“You came into our lives at a weird time,” he continued. “This has been a busy few months because of the wedding. It won’t always be like this.”
“I’ve liked all the wedding talk,” George offered hurriedly. “I love how happy she is.”
“I love how happy she is, too,” Nick said. “Still, when we get back from our honeymoon, we’ll settle into a new routine. The store will be completely closed and her days will be open to spend time with you. It’s going to be good.”
“I think so, too.” George’s smile was earnest and easy. “She’s my little girl, but I never got to treat her like a little girl. It was hard for me seeing her with you in the beginning, even though it was obvious you belonged together.”
“We’ve all been dealing with some growing pains,” Nick agreed. “That will get better, too.”
“I think it’s fine.”
“So fine you’re willing to stop in and visit Maude while we’re gone?”
George sighed, resigned. “Yes. I already told you I would. It will drive Maude crazy. That’s the only reason I’m agreeing to it.”
“I think you’re going to have fun.”
“I think I probably will, too. Although … never tell Maude I said that.”
“I will agree to your terms if you do me a favor.”
George was instantly suspicious. “What?”
“Go back in the kitchen and tell Maddie you want to see her in her dress bef
ore you leave.”
George was taken aback. “I … don’t understand.”
“She’s been sneaking into her dress every morning after I leave for work. She likes to look at herself. Obviously I can’t tell her she’s beautiful in it. You can, though.”
The lines of George’s face softened. “You really love her, don’t you?”
“More than anything.”
“Then I can’t wait to see her in her dress.”
Nick grinned. “Thank you. This means a lot.”
“The fact that it does is only one of the reasons why you’re a good match for my daughter.”
NICK AND KRESKIN’S FIRST STOP of the day was at the local hotel. Trevor’s parents – Charlie and Julia Clark – had arrived in town and the detectives wanted to question them as soon as possible.
The woman behind the counter cleared the way for them. Charlie opened the door, his features wan.
“Thank you for seeing us,” Kreskin offered lamely. “I know this isn’t a great time for you but there are some things we need to discuss.”
“I’m sure there are.” Charlie sounded weary as he held open the door and ushered the two men inside. “My wife is finishing up in the bathroom. We can start, though. I can catch her up on anything we miss.”
“Sure.” Kreskin accepted the bottle of water the grieving man handed him. “I’m sorry for your loss, sir.”
“I’m sorry for it, too,” Charlie said as he sat at the table. “Do you want to know the thing I’m sorriest about, though? It’s that I don’t think I’m sorry enough. I think I should be falling apart or something. I’m not, though. I’m just … numb.”
“That’s not unheard of,” Nick offered, cracking the ring on his water bottle. “You don’t have to feel anything other than what you’re feeling. I’m sure what happened came as a shock.”
“I’m still trying to absorb it,” Charlie admitted. “We got the call that he’d been shot and it was as if the ground opened up beneath us. We couldn’t understand. We talked to Vincent on the phone and he said the doctors were hopeful so we got the best flight out we could.
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