Grave Missteps

by Lily Harper Hart

  “I know what you are,” Maddie intoned, hoping she sounded creepy and put together. “I know what you did.”

  “Oh, really?” Steven rolled his eyes. “What am I?”

  “A sociopath.”

  “That seems like too easy of an answer.”

  Maddie couldn’t argue with that. So, because she needed time to think, she decided to buy it with her mouth.

  “You were raised by a mother who tried to give you everything,” Maddie started. “Penny – or should I say Priscilla – realized right away she couldn’t raise another child with your father. She went to your aunt and the two women devised a plan to get away.

  “It was much easier back then,” she continued. “The information age wasn’t quite upon us. I’m sure she needed a little help to create new identities, but somehow she did it and you and your mother were safe.”

  “My mother was a nutball who made stuff up,” Steven argued. “She was a bitter old shrew who wanted to punish my father for no good reason.”

  “That’s what he told you,” Maddie argued. “By the time you met him he was already sick. He didn’t look scary because he didn’t have the strength to pull it off. You were a boy in need of a father figure and you found one who was a master at twisting minds.

  “I mean, he convinced you to change your name and turn on your mother,” she continued. “He convinced you to embrace his evil legacy even though you could’ve had a better life. This was after you married Carrie, though, of course. This was after you started a family of your own.”

  Steven looked momentarily shaken but he returned to his menacing form relatively quickly. “You don’t know anything about Carrie.”

  “I know she’s dead.”

  “Really? How do you know that?”

  Maddie thought about the sad and morose ghost she saw outside Mildred’s house the day of the fire. She stayed behind to watch her daughter. She was defeated in life, but she continued to fight for her daughter in death.

  “Because you found her, although I’m not quite sure how,” Maddie replied. “You found her and killed her. Her body is in the woods behind Mildred’s house.” Maddie took a chance that was true. Things were starting to come together rapidly in her head. “She’s dead and Mildred knew something was wrong when Carrie didn’t return to the house. She was hiding Angel and Carrie there while she tried to figure a way out of this mess.”

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Steven spat. “Carrie got what was coming to her. She stole my child.”

  This was where the images Maddie saw in Angel’s head came into play.

  “You gave up your right to that child when you mistreated her,” Maddie argued. “You gave up that right when you broke her mother’s arm and cracked her ribs. You gave up that right when you threw Angel down the stairs. That’s what caused her hearing issues, by the way. That’s on you.

  “Of course, because you’re a monster, you only mistreated her more once it became apparent that her hearing was affected,” Maddie continued. “You screamed and yelled at her, something she could make out with one ear but not the other, and when she misunderstood, you hurt her again.”

  Angel had given up pretending she wasn’t listening. Her clear eyes were on Maddie now and she was focused on the story.

  “Carrie knew some sign language from school and she got a book so Angel could learn,” Maddie continued. “They hid it from you because you were happy thinking Angel couldn’t communicate. In addition to damaging her hearing with that fall down the stairs, she also stopped talking. That made things so much easier for you.

  “Now, I’m not sure if she can still talk, but you were convinced she couldn’t and that made things easier for you,” she said. “Carrie convinced Angel to pretend she couldn’t talk, couldn’t hear a thing, because you were more likely to leave her alone if she didn’t understand what you were ranting and raving about. Carrie thought you might eventually lose interest in terrorizing her if she didn’t react to what you were doing.”

  Even though he was full of bluster and bravado, Maddie didn’t miss the way Steven’s face drained of color.

  “How could you possibly know that?” Steven challenged.

  “Because Angel told me.” Maddie was matter of fact. “She showed me everything. I know how you treated Carrie. I know what you did to Angel. I know all of it. I also know you didn’t start doing it until you met your father. Apparently he groomed you in a way that I’m not sure I understand. Carrie understood, though. Your mother did, too. Even though she was loyal to you Priscilla recognized what you were turning into. She’s the one who pointed Carrie toward Mildred. She’s the one who helped.”

  Steven’s cheeks flooded with color. “You’re lying. My mother would never do that. She kept trying to get me back on her side after we had our falling out. She wouldn’t risk that by helping Carrie.”

  “Oh, you’re dumber than I thought.” Maddie made a tsking sound in the back of her throat. “Your mother was playing you. I saw her, by the way. We had a long talk. She told me about your father and what he did to her. She told me how she fled.

  “I can’t help but think about how disappointed she must have been when you chose to embrace his legacy,” she continued. “You had a mother who fought the odds and saved you to look at as a hero and instead you decided to be a physically abusive jerk. How she must’ve wondered if she should’ve gone with her initial urge and given you up for adoption.”

  Steven was flabbergasted. “You’re making that up.”

  Maddie pressed forward despite the hatred flitting through his eyes. “I’m not. She told me she was going to give you up for adoption after she fled. She thought it might be better for you just in case your father managed to find her. Mildred pretended to be pregnant so she could be the one to give you up, but Priscilla changed her mind at the last minute. She couldn’t let you go.”

  “You’re lying!”

  “I’m not.” Maddie refused to back down. “You turned into the one thing your mother was desperate to keep you from becoming. I recognized she was hiding something the day I visited her. I thought it was something to do with you. I was wrong. It had nothing to do with you and everything to do with Angel.

  “You see, your mother realized that as long as you were out roaming around you would be a threat to Angel,” she continued. “She wanted to keep her granddaughter safe, even if that meant never seeing her again. Once Angel was a ward of the state Priscilla figured that she would be safer in someone else’s house. If Priscilla took her in, you would simply find her.

  “Your mother understood that you were so evil you would kill her to get to Angel,” Maddie said. “In your twisted mind, Angel is your property. You don’t want to love her, but you do want to control her.”

  “She’s mine,” Steven seethed. “She’s my daughter and I’m taking her with me.”

  “No, you’re not.” Maddie shuffled closer to Angel in an effort to block Steven from getting close. “I’m not going to let you touch her.”

  “And how are you going to stop me?”

  “Any way I can.” Maddie was resigned to fight. “You should know, you’re not the first crazy person I’ve come into contact with. I’m not afraid to fight you. I’ll do what’s necessary to keep Angel safe. You can be sure of that.”

  “Oh, really?” Steven’s eye roll was pronounced. “Do you think you’re a match for me? Do you think you can stop me from taking what’s mine?”

  Maddie’s lips curved upwards when she felt something familiar brush against her heart. She recognized the presence right away. “I think you’re not going to touch Angel. I have faith.”

  “Well, we’ll just see how far that faith gets you.” Steven took a menacing step in her direction, but he didn’t make it another step. Instead, he found a tall figure behind him and a gun pressed to the center of his shoulder blades. “What the … ?”

  “If you take another step, I will kill you where you stand,” Nick warned, his chest
heaving. “I’m not kidding. I won’t feel bad about it in the least. You’re the lowest form of scum out there. I mean … you’re worse than pond scum. This world would be better without you.”

  Maddie swallowed hard at the fire in Nick’s eyes. She remained quiet, though. Nick was the one who would have to make the ultimate choice.

  “That’s my daughter,” Steven snapped. “She’s mine. I won’t let anyone take her from me.”

  “Then go after her,” Nick suggested. “That will give me a reason to shoot you and end this once and for all.”

  Maddie trained her eyes on Steven’s face, curious how he would react. Like the true coward he was, he ultimately dropped the knife and whined the second Nick pushed him to the ground and began cuffing him.

  “You don’t understand,” Steven spat. “Carrie ruined everything. That’s my daughter. She belongs to me.”

  “She doesn’t belong to anyone but herself,” Maddie countered as she sat on the ground and held her arms open so Angel could crawl into them. “She’s her own person and the only thing I can say with any certainty is that she’ll be free of you forever. That is the one thing her mother wanted and I’m going to make sure it happens.”

  “You’ve got that right, Mad.” Nick winked at Angel to get her to smile. “This is over. Everyone is safe and can move forward. It’s going to be better now, kid. I promise you that.”

  NICK FOUND MADDIE standing in front of the home an hour later. Given the emergency personnel running in and out – the assigned police officer was still alive and transferred to the hospital for emergency surgery – he hadn’t been able to spend any time with her.

  “Are you okay?” Nick pulled Maddie in for a hug before she could answer. “I was terrified when I saw we had an officer down when I arrived. All I could think was that I was going to kill him if he touched one hair on your head.”

  “He didn’t get close enough.” Maddie buried her face in the hollow of his neck. “I’m fine. I know everything that happened to Angel, though, and it was terrible. I don’t think I’m going to ever be able to get those images out of my mind.”

  Sympathy rolled off Nick in waves. “We’ll make sure she has a happy home so she can start making new memories. It’s going to get better for her. I promise.”

  “She can talk, although her mother tried to make her hide it.”

  “Her mother did what she thought was best and second-guessing her isn’t going to do anyone any good.”

  “Her body is somewhere in the woods behind Mildred’s house.”

  “I already called the state police and they’re out there looking.” Nick stroked the back of Maddie’s head as he rocked back and forth. “Mildred should’ve come to us for help. I’ll never understand why she didn’t.”

  “She came from a different time.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning that trust isn’t always easy.”

  “I guess not.” Nick pressed a kiss to Maddie’s forehead, raising his eyebrows when he caught sight of Sharon and Patty leading Angel out of the house. “How are you guys?”

  “We’re fine,” Sharon replied. “He locked us in a closet. I’m more embarrassed than anything else.”

  “At least you’re not hurt,” Maddie said, turning in Nick’s arms so she could focus her full attention on Angel. “You’re being moved to a new location, but I promise I’m going to visit the second I’m allowed.”

  Angel stared at her for a long beat, her expression unreadable. Then, to absolutely everyone’s surprise, she opened her mouth and spoke. “You saved me.”

  Maddie choked back tears at the girl’s gravelly voice. She obviously hadn’t been exercising her vocal cords much in the past few months. “I did what needed to be done.”

  Angel nodded and offered a pretty smile. “Thank you.”

  “You’re very welcome.”

  20

  Twenty

  Three days later, Maddie and Nick found themselves at a fundraiser picnic for CPS, surrounded by kids and a small carnival. It was a beautiful day, the sun high in the sky, and Maddie was determined to have a good time even though worry about Angel and where she would ultimately land continued to stalk her.

  “I’m surprised you agreed to come to this,” Maddie admitted as she accepted a glass of lemonade from Nick. “I thought you wanted to take our first walk to the lake.”

  “I did but the state police are still combing the woods to make sure there’s no additional evidence related to Carrie’s death. Finding her body was only the beginning. I didn’t think we needed a reminder of what happened on our first lake outing of the year.”

  Maddie sipped her lemonade and nodded. She’d seen various officers traipsing through the woods for days. Carrie’s body was discovered thanks to the K-9 unit the day after the fallout at the children’s home. Investigators remained behind to collect further evidence for Steven’s trial, but they were due to finish soon. “I guess that makes sense. We can wait a week.”

  “We can,” Nick agreed. “Besides, I think being here today is more important.”

  Something about the way he uttered the statement made Maddie suspicious. “What do you mean by that?”

  “I don’t mean anything by that.”

  “You’re lying.” Maddie pressed her lips together and searched his face. “You’re up to something.”

  Nick snorted at her adorable expression. “I’m not up to anything, love. I might know something that’s happening today, though, and I think it’s something you need to see.”

  Maddie tilted her head to the side. “John didn’t go ring shopping without me, did he? We’re supposed to be going tomorrow. He can’t pick out a ring without me. We made a deal.”

  Nick chuckled. “No. Christy is allowing him to sleep at her house – although only on the couch – so he wants to make sure he buys the exact right ring. He wants you for that. What’s happening today has nothing to do with John and Christy.”

  Maddie was secretly relieved and yet nervous at the same time. “So … what’s happening today?”

  “Well, for starters, Angel is here.” Nick inclined his chin toward the girl. She sat at one of the picnic tables, swinging her feet as she watched the other kids play. She didn’t move to join them, but she didn’t look unhappy. “I thought you would be happy to spend time with her.”

  “I am happy to spend time with her,” Maddie confirmed. “I’ve seen her every single day since it happened, though. I told you about it. She’s back to mostly signing, but I think that’s a trust thing. Eventually she’ll start talking again.”

  “I’m very hopeful about that.” Nick studied the angular planes of Maddie’s face. “Something else is going to happen today, though, and I want you to be a witness.”

  “A witness to what?”

  “A changing life.” Nick smiled when he caught sight of two people walking across the parking lot. They were focused on the children, although one of the individuals – the older woman – seemed to sense she was being watched and turned her eyes in his direction. “Actually, I think it’s more apt to say it’s multiple changing lives.”

  Maddie glanced over her shoulder so she could determine what Nick was looking at and she raised her eyebrows when her gaze fell on Priscilla. “What’s she doing here?”

  “You’ll see.”

  “But … .” Maddie didn’t get a chance to finish because the woman was heading their way, followed by a man who looked to be pushing sixty and seemed nervous and a bit out of sorts. “What’s going on?”

  “You’ll find out.” Nick rested his lemonade on a nearby table and pressed his left hand to the small of Maddie’s back before reaching out to greet Priscilla with his right. “I’m glad you managed to work things out so you could visit.”

  “I’m glad, too.” Priscilla beamed at him before allowing her smile to slip and turning to Maddie. “You’re probably angry at me, huh?”

  Was she? Maddie had no idea how to answer. The first night after the attack Mad
die spent a good four hours fuming at Priscilla. She was convinced the woman could’ve fixed things if she’d only told the whole truth from the beginning. Now, she wasn’t so sure.

  “I’m not entirely certain how I feel about you,” Maddie admitted after a beat. “I knew you were hiding something the day we met, by the way. I had no idea exactly what that something was.”

  “Yes, well, I really was trying to keep Angel safe,” Priscilla offered. “It wasn’t about me or you. It was about her.”

  The man with Priscilla uncomfortably cleared his throat. “I’m Edgar Grimes, by the way.” He jutted out his hand, which Nick warmly shook. “I’m glad to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you … well, both of you.”

  “Was it good or bad?” Maddie asked.

  Edgar smiled, making him look younger than his sixty years. “It was good. You’ve been all over the news, although I couldn’t help but notice that you refused all interview requests. Most people would be all over a situation like that to get their accolades.

  “Heck, there’s some woman from Blackstone Bay who barely dated my brother and she’s been on every news show that will have her,” he continued. “She tells a harrowing story of survival even though her life was never in danger.”

  “Ah, yes, Marla.” Nick made a face. “She likes attention. She can’t seem to help herself.”

  “I can imagine.” Edgar shifted from one foot to the other as he licked his lips and glanced back at the children. “I should probably tell you that I stopped at the county jail to see Michael. Er, I mean Steven. He’s adamant that we call him Steven.”

  “That’s because he’s a psycho loser who thinks only about himself,” Maddie groused.

  Priscilla’s expression turned dour. “If you think I’m going to be offended by that, I’m not. I have no illusions regarding Michael. Once he met his father and started to change, I realized exactly what he was turning into. I’m not proud.”