“That’s because they associate it with fond memories,” Maddie supplied. “Even though I’m sure I had some bad times at this festival – and with Marla hounding me, that’s a foregone conclusion – I only remember the good times.
“Like once, Nick and I came to this together,” she continued. “I think we were sixteen. He sat on Santa’s lap with me for a photograph even though everyone was laughing and making fun of him.”
“That’s because he’s a good guy.”
“He’s the perfect guy.”
Christy couldn’t help but smile at the wistful expression on Maddie’s face. “He is indeed. Not that I’m not enjoying this walk down memory lane – because I am – but what are we doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be opening your tent soon?”
“Yeah, but I was hoping to see Mike again,” Maddie replied. “He took off yesterday because he said the gym’s shower was hopping with women during the noon hour and then he showed back up for the fight, but I didn’t get a chance to question him further because Nicky got smacked in the face.”
“Yeah, that was hilarious.” Christy laughed with abandon, only sobering when Maddie shot her a dirty look. “I mean … that was terrible. I can’t believe that happened.”
“You’re only laughing because it was your pseudo boyfriend who did the smacking.”
“No, I think I would find it funny no matter who did the smacking.”
Maddie rolled her eyes and focused on the area she saw Mike the previous day. The spot looked empty, but she was hopeful Mike would make his presence known once he realized she was waiting for him.
“Talk to me about something else,” Maddie prodded. “What did you get John for Christmas?”
“Tickets to a Pistons game. It’s a suite and everything.”
Maddie stilled. “Really? Aren’t those expensive?”
“I actually got them from a client, but he doesn’t have to know that,” Christy said. “It’s for a February game. I thought we could go together. With my luck he’ll probably ask Nick, though.”
“I doubt it. That would involve an overnight trip.”
“And Nick can’t be away from you?”
Maddie shrugged. “Nick doesn’t want to be away from me, but he doesn’t want to be in an enclosed space with John even more. They’re brothers. They fight.”
“I’ve noticed,” Christy said dryly. “I find it kind of adorable.”
“I find it kind of annoying because they still wrestle when things get really out of hand,” Maddie said. “It’s not in a fun way like Nick and I wrestle either.”
“Oh, so cute,” Christy cooed, smirking. “Speaking of Christmas gifts, what did you get Nick?”
“Oh, I got him … .” Maddie trailed off when she saw a distraught figure heading in her direction. She recognized Daisy Walker on sight – the girl spent a lot of time down by the lake behind Maddie’s house in the summer months – but the tears streaming down Daisy’s face gave Maddie pause. “I wonder what’s going on here.”
Christy shifted her gaze to the spot over her shoulder and frowned when she saw Daisy. “She doesn’t look happy.”
“Do you think we should talk to her?”
“I can’t see how it could hurt.” Christy stepped into the middle of the pathway, forcing Daisy to look up when she realized she wasn’t alone. “Are you okay?”
Daisy quickly swiped at her face and forced her chin up. “I’m fine. I’m just … .”
“You don’t look fine,” Maddie pointed out. “You look upset.”
“It’s been a long day serving as a gingerbread wench.”
“Yeah, I’ve never understood that term,” Christy said, patting the teenager on the shoulder. “It’s not as if you guys are serving alcohol … or gingerbread men have a particular reputation as being swarthy.”
“I … what?” Daisy was understandably confused.
“Ignore her,” Maddie offered, smiling kindly at the girl. “Do you want to talk about what’s upsetting you?”
Daisy chewed on her bottom lip, making her look even younger than her seventeen years. “I’m not sure I should say anything. I don’t want anyone to know because … well … it’s not good.”
“I’m good at keeping secrets,” Maddie offered.
“Yeah, we promise we won’t say anything,” Christy added.
Daisy shot Christy a pointed look. “I’ve been in your salon. You love to gossip.”
“Only about people I don’t like. I like you.”
Daisy didn’t look convinced. “I’m still not sure it’s a good idea.”
“Okay, I get that,” Maddie said. “Do you have someone you can talk to, though? You’re clearly upset. Maybe we should call your mother.”
“No! Don’t do that!” Daisy barked out the words and instinctively grabbed Maddie’s arm to make sure she didn’t reach for her phone. “That would be like the worst thing ever.”
“Okay.” Maddie licked her lips, unsure. “We would really like a chance to help you, Daisy. We can’t do that if we don’t know what’s going on, though.”
“It’s just … it’s just … oh, how could I be so stupid?” Daisy slapped her hands over her eyes and dissolved into tears. Maddie had to catch her arm to keep her from falling into a heap on the cold ground.
Maddie and Christy exchanged a worried look as they led Daisy to a bench, settling on either side of the sobbing girl and rubbing her back as they let her cry things out.
“I’ve made a mess of everything,” Daisy said, her shoulders shaking. “I’ve totally ruined my life. I mean … it’s done. I should just kill myself right now.”
Maddie wasn’t sure if she should be worried about the teenager taking her life or just write off the announcement as normal teenage angst. Christy took the decision out of her hands.
“Stop being an idiot,” Christy ordered, snapping her fingers to get Daisy’s attention. “You’re not killing yourself. That’s not even an option.”
“I wasn’t serious.”
“It’s never something to joke about,” Christy said. “Never.”
“Okay.” Daisy looked more upset now than when she started and Maddie couldn’t help but blame Christy a bit. A firm hand was one thing; yelling at a sobbing teenager was quite another.
“Tell us what’s wrong,” Maddie said, patting Daisy’s knee. “We can’t help you solve this unless we know what the problem is. Tell us what it is and we’ll figure out a way to help.”
“Okay, um, well … .” Daisy wrinkled her nose. “I’m pregnant.”
Whatever Maddie was expecting, that wasn’t it. She thought maybe Daisy would admit to sleeping with Mike and having regrets because he died. She thought maybe Daisy would admit to seeing something the night Mike was murdered and keeping it to herself out of fear. She thought there was a chance Daisy was merely upset over a boy – stranger things had been known to happen, of course. Maddie didn’t even mildly expect Daisy’s announcement.
“I’m sorry, but … you’re pregnant?” Christy’s eyebrows flew up her forehead. “Please tell me Mike Robinson isn’t the father. You were running around with Clay Dalton two months ago. He’s the father, right?”
“Clay Dalton is gay,” Daisy supplied. “We only dated so his father wouldn’t find out and because he promised to teach me how to highlight my own hair.”
“Oh, well, I should’ve seen that coming when he suggested a new moisturizer,” Christy muttered.
“Don’t say things like that,” Maddie chided. “People might think you’re … .”
“What?” Christy challenged. “I’m not the one who thought that a guy was gay just for being a hairdresser.”
“I can’t believe Nick told you that. It was a secret.”
“Nick told John. He told me.”
“Oh, the family that gossips together prospers together now, huh?”
Christy ignored the sarcasm. “Daisy, honey, did Mike Robinson get you pregnant?”
“I told him I wasn’t on t
he pill or anything,” Daisy said, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “I told him that it was dangerous, but he said it would be fine because he had a vasectomy.”
“Oh, honey, never believe a guy when he tells you that,” Christy said, pushing Daisy’s hair away from her face. “That’s never true.”
“But … he said,” Daisy protested. “I figured he had to be telling the truth because he screwed half the women in town and no one ever got pregnant.”
“That’s probably because they were smart enough to make him wrap the reindeer,” Christy said, tossing a worried look in Maddie’s direction. “Did you go to the doctor or just take one of those home pregnancy tests?”
“I took a home pregnancy test, but the operator at the hotline I called said they’re always right when they give you a positive. There’s only a chance of an error with a negative.”
“Huh. I didn’t know that.” Christy filed the information away to use at a future time. “How long have you known?”
“About a week. I told Mike what I found out, but he told me that I was making it up because he’d been snipped. I told him that wasn’t true and he was the only one I’d ever slept with – er, well, except for Clay when he was trying to figure out if he was gay or not. That was six months ago, though.”
“Okay.” It was a surreal situation, but Christy knew better than to laugh. “What did Mike say when you told him he was the father?”
“He said he wanted me to get rid of it.”
Maddie was horrified. “He wanted you to have an abortion?”
“He said he would pay for it and everything,” Daisy said, her lower lip quivering. “I don’t think that’s right. I don’t want a baby, mind you, but I don’t want no abortion either. I told him we should run away and I could have the baby out of town and give it up for adoption.”
“And what did he say to that?”
“That I was crazy because he wasn’t giving up his Santa Claus gig. He says women love the red suit and want to check out his corncob pipe. I wasn’t sure what that meant because he smokes cigars and not pipes, but he wouldn’t change his mind.”
Something occurred to Maddie. “Did that upset you?”
“Of course.”
“What day did you tell him?”
“I guess it was the day he died,” Daisy said, oblivious to the looks Christy and Maddie exchanged. “I chased him out of the workshop and wanted to talk to him, but he blew me off and said he was going to the bar. I told him that I wanted to go to the bar, too, but he just laughed at me and said that I couldn’t drink because I was pregnant.”
“Well, he sounds like a real loser,” Christy said, tugging Daisy closer to her side. “You know you have to tell your mother what’s going on, right? You guys have some decisions to make and the sooner you do it, the better.”
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” Daisy said, her voice cracking. “My mom is going to kick me out of the house.”
“She’s not going to kick you out of the house,” Christy argued. “She’s going to be angry and yell, but I promise she won’t kick you out of the house.”
“Will you go with me, Ms. Ford?” Daisy was so hopeful it almost ripped out Maddie’s heart.
Christy looked as if the last thing she wanted to do was get in the middle of a family squabble, but she didn’t hesitate to nod. “I’ll go with you. We should probably get it out of the way now, don’t you think?”
Daisy nodded, and after exchanging a weary hug with Maddie she trudged toward the parking lot with Christy. Maddie couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she was almost positive the redhead was imparting a pep talk on the frightened girl.
“That’s a kick in the pants, isn’t it?” Mike appeared at Maddie’s side, taking her by surprise.
“That you impregnated a teenager? Yeah, it’s a total kick in the pants.”
“I thought for sure I nailed her during her infertile period. Everything should’ve been okay.”
“You’re a complete and total pig,” Maddie complained. “You know that, right?”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
Maddie pinched the bridge of her nose to calm herself. “While you’re here, I don’t suppose you could give me that list of women you were sleeping with, could you? That is unless … Daisy didn’t kill you, did she?”
Mike shook his head. “I don’t think so, unless she swung back around or something. I remember talking to Daisy. She took off in the opposite direction. It wasn’t her. I almost felt bad for her, but I was really horny and didn’t have time to mess around. I tried to convince her to sleep with me in the closet of the workshop – she couldn’t get pregnant twice, after all – but she thought I was being mean. Women. There’s no reasoning with them. Am I right?”
Maddie narrowed her eyes to dangerous blue slits. “Who else were you dating?”
Mike recognized the look for what it was. “Oh, well, will you look at the time? I’ve got someplace I need to be.”
“Don’t you dare!” Maddie used her sternest voice, but it was already too late. Mike was gone, and he’d failed to admit who he was romancing yet again “What a freaking mess.”
12
Twelve
Maddie made her way to the refreshment area of the festival after Mike’s disappearance. She did her best to hide her annoyance, but it was an uphill battle. She’d met ghosts she didn’t like before. Most of the time she still felt pity for the way they passed. She was having a hard time mustering anything other than dislike for Mike, though. He seemed to be a complete and total tool, and that was the nicest word she could come up with to describe him.
The big problem, Maddie internally rationalized, was that Mike didn’t see anything wrong with his actions. He didn’t believe that dating multiple women at once – or at least having sex with them while they overlapped – was morally ambiguous. The age of consent in Michigan was seventeen, but Mike’s actions with Daisy made Maddie’s stomach churn.
Maddie was so lost in thought as she purchased a cup of candy cane hot chocolate that she almost didn’t recognize the woman standing behind the counter. She was halfway turned before things clicked into place.
“You’re Sandy Robinson-Michaels, right?”
The woman, her eyes weary and showing hints of suspicion, nodded her head. “And you’re Maddie Graves. I remember you from years ago and have seen you around town a bit since you got back. How are you?”
“I’m good, thank you.” Maddie wet her lips. She wasn’t big on pressing people when they were going through the mourning process, but she had so many questions about Mike she couldn’t help but take the risk. “I’m sorry about your brother. What happened to him was … terrible.”
Sandy shrugged, noncommittal. “You’re only the fifth person to say that to me.”
“I … you kept count?” Maddie couldn’t help but be surprised.
“Usually when someone dies everyone hurries over to offer condolences,” Sandy explained. “I was dreading that after I heard about Mike. I was afraid I would start crying when people offered me empty platitudes about his life. You know, ‘sorry about your loss.’ Or ‘he was a good man and will be missed.’ No one said those things to me, though.”
Maddie had a feeling she knew why. “I think that your brother had a certain reputation,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “I don’t think it’s that people didn’t like him. Actually, from what I can tell, people seemed to like him a great deal. I think that a lot of people simply aren’t surprised that he’s dead.
“I’m generally not this blunt, but a few of the people I’ve chatted with have said that they’re surprised it didn’t happen sooner given the fact that he slept with so many wives, mothers, and daughters,” she continued. “I’m not saying that’s right, mind you. I think what happened is a travesty and I hope whoever did it gets caught. I just think people can get caught up in their own stuff and not remember that Mike was a person with family members who loved him.”
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Sandy gave Maddie an appraising look. “You might not be blunt a lot of the time, but when it happens you’re pretty good at it. I get what you’re saying. Mike was liked by a lot of people. He was hated by more, though.”
“Have you talked to the medical examiner’s office?” Maddie asked, leaning against the counter. She was thankful that they were the only ones within hearing distance so she didn’t have to make a hard decision about pressing Sandy in front of an audience. “Have they told you when you can collect the body?”
“They have, and my parents are on their way back from Florida,” Sandy replied. “They’re elderly. We’re not going to have Mike’s funeral until the day after Christmas.”
Maddie wasn’t surprised. “If I don’t see them, tell your parents I’m sorry, too. I remember them from when I was a kid. They were always nice to me.”
“You were one of the few kids around town who never irritated them. They said you never got into any trouble and you were a good girl.”
“I’m not sure how true that is but … thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Sandy’s smile was small but genuine. “You’re living with Nick Winters these days. I’m guessing you’re asking these questions because he’s interested.”
“Nick asks his own questions when he’s on a case,” Maddie supplied. “I honestly didn’t think about Mike having a sister until I saw you. Everyone is massively busy this time of year and things tend to slip through the cracks.”
“I guess that’s true,” Sandy said, taking on a wistful expression as she gazed at a spot over Maddie’s shoulder. “Mike always loved Christmas. I think that’s why he volunteered to act as Santa Claus. Don’t get me wrong, I think he did it because he fancied the idea of women sitting on his lap, but he had a good heart when it came to kids.”
And apparently something else. Maddie’s mind briefly flitted toward Daisy and what she was going through before she dragged herself back to the present. “Speaking of that, do you have any idea why your brother was … well, the way that he was?”
Grave Holiday (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 9) Page 10
