“I think Trevor was broken from the start,” Nick admitted, taking his partner by surprise when he leaned against Alicia’s car and folded his arms across his chest. He looked as if he was having a normal conversation with the woman rather than discussing the death of her husband. “Some people aren’t capable of love. You’re not one of those people. I’m not either. It’s difficult for you to understand. The thing is ... you were never going to fix Trevor. You realize that, right?”
For a second, it looked as if Alicia was going to argue. Instead, she merely shook her head. “I know. I tried for years. I thought he simply had cold feet the day of the wedding even though I recognized he looked terrified, as if he wanted to change his mind. I thought things would get better. They only got worse, though.”
“Aaron shot Trevor, didn’t he?” Kreskin asked.
Alicia immediately started shaking her head. “He didn’t. He’s a good boy.”
“Alicia, you can’t protect him forever.” Kreskin delivered the statement with enough softness that he thought Alicia would crumble. He was wrong.
“It wasn’t Aaron. It was me.”
Kreskin’s eyebrows flew up his forehead. “You can’t be serious.”
“It was me,” she repeated, holding her hands out. “Cuff me. You caught your culprit. I shot my husband and killed him.”
“I don’t believe that.” Kreskin refused to back down as he met her pleading gaze. “I don’t care what anyone says. You’re a good mother. You’ve always been a good mother. That’s what you’re trying to do now, protect your son. You can’t, though. He has to face what he’s done.”
Alicia blinked several times in rapid succession, and then she shook her hands for emphasis. “You’re mistaken. It was me. Take me in and I’ll confess to everything. I’m the one who killed Trevor.”
“Actually, you’re not,” Nick said. “That’s something else we want to talk to you about. I think you better sit down for this next part, though. It’s going to come as something of a surprise.”
MADDIE FILLED CATELYNN WITH water and licorice whips — she said the girl could choose and there was no hesitation when she pointed toward the treat she wanted — and then moved her to a spot in the shade where they had a fine view of the bench where Maddie discovered her, so Aaron would have an easy time finding her when he returned.
Catelynn, seemingly unbothered by the fact that her brother had disappeared, happily chomped on her licorice and swung her feet.
“Where do you think Aaron went?” Maddie asked. “Do you think he’s still around?”
Catelynn shrugged. “Sure. He wouldn’t just leave me. He never leaves me.”
“He’s a good brother, huh?” Maddie’s heart moved when the girl nodded. “You love him, don’t you?”
“He’s the only one who always sticks to my schedule.” Catelynn’s response was matter-of-fact. “I like my schedule. My mom tries to follow it, but she can’t always because my dad doesn’t let her.”
Maddie pursed her lips as she remembered the vision. “Was your father ever mean to you?”
“I don’t know.” Catelynn kept her gaze on the people milling around by the dunk tank. “What does it matter?”
“It matters to me.”
“He yelled at me sometimes.”
“He did?”
“Yeah.”
“Did he ever hurt you, though?” Maddie asked. “Did he ever grab you? Maybe shake you and yell.”
“He just told me I was stupid,” Catelynn replied. “He never hurt me that way. He said he would never hurt someone as stupid as me.”
Maddie’s heart went out to the girl. “You’re not stupid, Catelynn. You’re simply ... different. It’s okay to be different. Sometimes it’s really good to be different. I’m different and it’s worked out okay for me.”
Catelynn, thoughtful, shifted her eyes to Maddie’s face. “How are you different?”
Maddie leaned forward and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “I can see things that other people can’t.”
“Like magic?”
“Exactly like magic.”
Catelynn brightened. “Cool. I’ve always wanted to see magic.”
“I can guarantee you will in your lifetime.” Maddie felt it to her very bones. “You might be the cause of your own magic. In fact, I bet you are. I bet you have magic.”
“Maybe,” Catelynn agreed, her smile slipping. “I wish I would’ve had magic the day my dad was hurt.”
“So you could save him?”
“So I wouldn’t have needed to shoot him.”
The air whooshed out of Maddie’s lungs as surprise, sharp as a sword, slammed into her sternum. “What?”
“He wouldn’t stop yelling at Mom,” Catelynn explained. “He was going to hurt her. He was going to hurt her the way you asked earlier. He had her arm and he was shaking her.” Catelynn mimicked the motion as Maddie tried to catch her breath. “He’d been cleaning his gun and I knew I wasn’t supposed to touch it, but Gravity Falls was on and he knows I don’t like it when I can’t hear the words. I ... just wanted him to be quiet.”
Maddie briefly pressed her eyes shut as she attempted to absorb the new information. “That’s why your mother lied. She didn’t want anyone to know what you did.”
“I’m not supposed to tell anyone.”
“It’s okay.” Maddie rested her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”
“Will I go to jail?”
The question jolted Maddie. “What do you mean?”
“On television, when you shoot someone, you go to jail. Will I go to jail?”
“I very much doubt it. I’m going to call someone who can help us figure this out, though.” Maddie reached in her pocket to retrieve her phone. “Does your brother know you did it?”
Catelynn nodded, solemn. “He said he wished he would’ve done it first.”
“Probably because he’s worried about you,” Maddie muttered under her breath. “It’s going to be okay.” She was almost positive that was true. “I just need to make a quick call. I ... .” She trailed off when an ethereal figure popped into view. It was a face she recognized from her own childhood. “Mom, what are you doing here?”
“Who is that?” Catelynn asked, tilting her head to the side.
Maddie slid her eyes to the girl, stunned. “You see her?”
Catelynn nodded. “She looks like you ... only darker.”
Maddie swallowed hard. “She’s my mother.”
“You can see through her, too.”
“Yeah, well, she’s not exactly from around here,” Maddie lied, shooting an apologetic look to her mother. “Sorry. This is a tense situation.”
Olivia merely nodded as she waved off the words. “It doesn’t matter. Things are about to get more tense.”
“Really?” That was the last thing Maddie wanted to hear. “What now?”
“You need to call Nick and get out of here.” Olivia was grave, her gaze intense. “Actually, you should probably get out of here first.”
“I don’t understand.” Maddie carefully got to her feet. “What’s going on?”
“Trouble is coming. Big trouble. You need to run ... and I’m guessing you need to take that little girl with you. You can’t stay here. It may already be too late.”
NICK AND KRESKIN MANAGED to get Alicia settled in the living room, a cup of tea clutched in her hand, and when they sat in the chairs on the other side of the table, they were ready to get to the heart of matters.
“Confessing to a crime you didn’t commit isn’t going to help Aaron,” Nick said quietly. “I know you’re trying to help, protect him to the best of your ability, but he needs to face what he’s done.”
“Aaron did not shoot his father.” Alicia was adamant. “I did. Take me in.”
“We know that you’re not guilty,” Kreskin argued. “We tested your hands for gunpowder residue that night. You didn’t shoot Trevor.”
“It’
s natural to want to protect your son,” Nick added. “He’s your child. He’s a part of you. You can’t save him from this, though.”
“The good news is that Trevor didn’t die from the gunshot wounds,” Kreskin added. “He died from something else. Aaron isn’t going to get tried for murder. We might be able to talk to the prosecutor, explain the circumstances, and get him a sweet deal.”
“But he’ll still go to jail,” Alicia argued. “That’s not fair. He didn’t do anything.”
“But he did,” Kreskin pressed. “He shot his father. Trevor was no prize in the marriage department — and I’m guessing he wasn’t exactly a good father either — but that doesn’t mean it’s okay for Aaron to shoot him. He has to face the consequences.”
“Aaron didn’t shoot his father,” Alicia gritted out, her eyes fierce.
“Well, we know you didn’t shoot him,” Nick said. “Who does that leave?” The question was barely out of his mouth before the obvious answer smacked him in the face. “Oh, geez. It was Catelynn.”
All the color Alicia had recovered since they confronted her in the driveway fled her features. “No,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “It was me. I ... it was me,” her voice cracked.
“It was Catelynn.” Kreskin felt sick to his stomach as he pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. “Oh, my ... how? How did she know what to do?”
Alicia was miserable as she tamped down a sob. “It was an accident. I told Trevor a million times not to leave that gun out when he was cleaning it. Catelynn doesn’t always understand consequences. She mimics what she sees on television ... and sometimes it’s disastrous.
“You can’t take her from me,” she continued, her eyes pleading. “She’s a little girl. She needs her schedule. She won’t survive being locked up. It will kill her.”
“Well, I guess it’s good the odds of her being locked up are so slim,” Kreskin said, his temper firing. “Why didn’t you just tell us the truth from the beginning? Do you have any idea how much time you could’ve saved us?”
Alicia shrank back. “I was trying to protect my child.”
“What is it you think is going to happen to her?” Nick asked, legitimately curious. “She’s thirteen. She isn’t capable of understanding her actions. At most, you guys will get family counseling. They’re not going to lock her up.”
“They could take her away to a hospital.”
“That’s doubtful,” Kreskin countered, shaking his head. “She’s a little girl and you’re her mother. I’m guessing she snapped during a tense situation in the house and then you tried to cover up for her. Am I right?”
Alicia hesitated before answering. “I think I should talk to a lawyer.”
Kreskin held up his hands in capitulation. “I think that’s a good idea. Get a lawyer. Before that, though, I need to ask you one question.”
Alicia was wary. “What?”
“Do you keep any pesticides around the house?”
“Of course not. When she was little, Catelynn would put anything and everything in her mouth without thinking. It didn’t matter that we warned her not to do it. We got in the habit of removing anything toxic. There’s nothing in this house remotely resembling a pesticide.”
That made sense to Kreskin, although it didn’t help them with their investigation. “So, who managed to get their hands on pesticide and poison Trevor?” he asked his partner. “We’re missing something.”
“I don’t know that we are,” Nick countered. “Who would’ve benefitted from Trevor’s death?”
Kreskin jerked his thumb in Alicia’s direction. “The wife.”
“Yes, but she also had something to lose,” Nick said. “There was one other person who would’ve benefitted from the death.”
Realization dawned on Kreskin. “Oh, geez. We should’ve thought about that earlier.”
“Definitely.” Nick stood up. “Now we have to find her and get proof. A theory is not proof.”
“Truer words were never spoken.” Kreskin slowly got to his feet. “Alicia, don’t leave town. Find a lawyer. Catelynn isn’t going to jail. I promise you that.”
Alicia merely shrugged. “If you say so. Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
“Later. We have to track someone else down first. We’ll be back around to share information as soon as we can.”
Nineteen
Maddie grabbed Catelynn’s hand and dragged her toward her tent.
“Come on.”
Surprisingly, Catelynn didn’t put up a fight. “Where are we going?”
“We’re going to ... head someplace fun,” Maddie replied.
“Where’s that?”
Maddie made up her mind on the spot. “I’ll take you to my house. You can meet my grandmother. People always think she’s fun. I just need to grab my purse.”
“Okay.” Unfazed, Catelynn took another bite of her licorice.
“There’s no time, Maddie,” Olivia argued. “Leave now.”
“I need my purse.” Maddie was firm as she pushed inside the tent, narrowing her eyes as she scanned the enclosed space. “It will just take a second.”
“No. Now!” Olivia’s voice filled with fear as she made a grab for Maddie’s arm. She was a ghost, so she couldn’t accomplish the task, but Maddie felt an odd feathering across her skin where her mother moved to touch her. It was something she’d been experimenting with for months but never seemed to get a handle on.
“What’s that?” Maddie asked, confused. “I ... felt that.”
“It’s something I’ve been working on,” Olivia admitted. “For your wedding. I want to be able to hug you. I ... that’s why I haven’t been around as much. It’s tiring to practice. I’m almost there, though.”
Maddie’s heart rolled at the admission. “Oh, and here I thought you were just being petulant about Dad.”
“I’m over the George situation. He’s your father. You want to get to know him. I think it’s been good for you to spend time with him. I’m done fighting that.”
“I’m glad.”
“I’m not done trying to protect you, though,” Olivia snapped. “You can’t be in here. It’s time to go ... right now.”
“I’m going.” Maddie grabbed her purse. “We can leave now. There’s nothing to get worked up about.”
A hint of movement at the flap of the tent caught Olivia’s eye before the ghost responded, allowing a woman to enter through the opening. Maddie recognized her right away and made a face.
“Marla? What are you doing here?” Befuddled, Maddie glanced at her mother. Surely Olivia wasn’t worried about Marla somehow hurting Maddie. The woman was cruel, but only with words. She wasn’t the type to use her fists.
Olivia didn’t get a chance to respond to Maddie’s unasked question before another face filled the space behind Marla, a tense body giving the woman a vicious shove inside the tent before joining her. Maddie also recognized this face, and it was enough to make her blood run cold.
“Sarah? What are you doing here?”
“Isn’t that an interesting question.” Sarah made a disgusted face. “Well, I’m glad you asked. I’m here to get what’s mine ... and you idiots are going to help me. Doesn’t that just sound divine?”
“SHE’S GONE.”
Nick shielded his eyes and stared through the window of Sarah’s house, his mind going a mile a minute. The inside of the abode — which they’d visited only hours before — looked as if a hurricane had blown through in their absence.
“We can’t be sure she’s gone,” Kreskin cautioned. “She might’ve simply had a meltdown and trashed things.”
Nick didn’t believe that for a second. “She’s gone,” he repeated. “We both know it. She ran. We should’ve kept a better watch over her.”
“On what evidence? We didn’t have any reason to believe she killed Trevor at the time. I’m still not sure what her motive would be.”
“The money,” Nick replied simply. “You said there was fifty grand
in that account. To someone who doesn’t have a lot of money, that can seem like a lot. It certainly would’ve been enough for her to move and set up shop somewhere else.”
“Then she’s gone,” Kreskin said simply. “She fled. We’ll call the state police and have them put a BOLO out on her.”
Nick nodded absently. “Okay. That sounds smart. Except ... why would she run without the money? She has nothing funding her now. Have her personal accounts been unfrozen?”
“Yeah. I handled that with another phone call. There’s not much in there, though.”
“She can’t get far. What’s the end game here?”
“I don’t know.” Kreskin shook his head as he glanced around. “We should gain entry and look around. Maybe she left behind a clue.”
“We don’t technically have enough for a warrant now,” Nick reminded him. “The search could be tainted if we try.”
“So ... what do you suggest?”
Nick could only think of one thing. “Maddie. Maybe she can touch something of Sarah’s and tell us where she went.”
“She’s never done anything like that before.”
“No, but she’s keyed into this case.” Nick walked over to the side of the flower bed and grabbed a pair of gardening gloves that had been haphazardly discarded. “I’ll ask Maddie to touch these. It can’t possibly do any harm.”
Kreskin didn’t look convinced. “If you say so.”
“WHAT’S GOING ON?”
Maddie was understandably confused as she shoved Catelynn behind her as a form of protection and glanced between faces. “What are you doing here?”
Marla, her face twisted into an expression Maddie couldn’t describe, made a growling sound deep in her throat. “I don’t know what’s going on. I was over at the Williams house, minding my own business, when this crazy person burst in and demanded I go with her.”
“And you just agreed?” That didn’t sound like the Marla she knew and loathed, Maddie internally mused.
“She has a gun.”
Maddie froze, surprised. “What?”
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