“You think my feelings are a waste of time?”
“I think most feelings are a waste of time,” Tipton replied. “Now, try to be a good girl for a few minutes.” He lifted his finger to his lips to offer up an admonishment for silence. “I need to talk to Ms. Graves. It’s important that we get her on our side because, if we don’t, we’re going to have some tough decisions to make.”
Andrea was incredulous. “Why not just kill her right here?”
Maddie’s heart skipped a beat. “If you’re taking votes, I’m going to cast mine against that option.”
Tipton and Andrea remained focused on each other rather than Maddie, seemingly oblivious that she’d even spoken.
“Well, let’s think about that in a reasonable manner,” Tipton drawled. He was back to using his “teacher” voice, although he didn’t sound as if he had a lot of patience for his student. “If we kill Ms. Graves here, how do you think we’ll get away with it?”
“We’ll just walk away and pretend we don’t know anything about it.”
“Uh-huh. And since we both had to swipe our access cards to enter, how is that going to work?”
“Oh. I didn’t think of that.” Andrea pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. “Well, we can kill her and carry her out.”
Tipton gestured toward the door. “Have you looked around out there? I think one of the fifty people hanging around in the lobby might notice if we start carrying around a body.”
It was as if they were talking about scheduling grocery shopping for the week, Maddie realized. They were both so far gone they couldn’t see the crazy writing on the wall. She took advantage of their distraction to start typing on her phone. They didn’t so much as glance in her direction.
“So we’ll kill her in here, stuff her body in one of the cubicles, and come back for it later when the night shift comes on,” Andrea suggested. “You know they’re not very observant.”
“And what happens when someone comes in to use the computers and stumbles over a dead body?” Tipton challenged, exasperation evident.
“We’ll put a sign on the door,” Andrea said, her eyes lighting up. “We’ll grab one of those ‘out of order’ signs from the bathroom and put it on the door. No one will dare enter.”
“Right, because no one ignores those signs,” Tipton drawled. “Good grief, Andrea. You need to get a grip.”
Tipton rolled his neck and stared at the ceiling. “We have no choice but to move her out of this room while she’s still alive. That will give us time to confine her in one of my buildings until she sees the light and joins us.”
Andrea immediately started shaking her head. “Do you really think I’m going to agree to that? You’re an absolute imbecile if you think that’s going to happen.”
“Please. I have an IQ of 180.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re not an imbecile.”
“I hardly think you’re the one to judge when it comes to being an imbecile,” Tipton said, causing Andrea’s eyes to fire.
“I knew you were going to do this,” Andrea snapped. “I knew the second Maddie walked back into this hospital that you were going to turn on me. I saw it on your face when you first saw her. You didn’t know I was there, did you? I saw you hiding in the shadows, though. I saw the look on your face when you saw Nick. You were disappointed and jealous. Yeah, I said it. You were jealous of Nick. Everyone saw it.”
“Is that his name?” Tipton’s tone was mild, as if he was mostly disinterested in the conversation. “I don’t care about him either way. I merely said that I couldn’t understand how Ms. Graves ended up with a man of his … limited … intellectual range.”
Maddie didn’t want to draw attention to herself, but she was offended on Nick’s behalf. She opened her mouth to say something snide and then thought better of it and returned to her texting. She was a good fifteen feet away from Tipton and Andrea and neither one of them made a move to head in her direction. As long as things remained that way, Maddie knew she could organize her own rescue.
“Yeah, but what you were really saying is you couldn’t understand how she could want Nick and not you,” Andrea spat. “You might not have said the words, but you’re not good at hiding your intent. I’ve always been able to read you.”
“Is that so?” Tipton didn’t look convinced. “I have a hard time believing that.”
“You have a hard time believing anything that you didn’t come up with yourself,” Andrea shot back. “I know, though. I know everything you did when Maddie was still in town. I know that you sat outside her apartment building until the early hours of the morning hoping for a glimpse of her in her windows.”
Maddie’s head jerked up as she snapped her eyes to Tipton. “What?”
“Oh, you didn’t know that?” Andrea snorted, clearly enjoying herself. “It’s true. He used to follow you home from your shifts and watch you from the streets. I know because I was following him.”
“That seems a bit stalkerish,” Maddie noted. “Actually, it’s a bit weird on both your parts.”
“I knew what I wanted and I was determined to get it,” Andrea argued. “I wanted a doctor and I knew Milton here was my best shot. He made a lot of money and had a personality no one could love, which meant I was probably his only option.
“My only problem was getting him to notice me when you were around,” she continued. “He didn’t even know I was alive when he was following you around. I was considering killing you myself when you announced you were leaving. It was as if you read my mind the day you told me because I had big plans for following you home myself one night.”
A chill went through Maddie’s body. “I see.”
“I still considered following you to Blackstone Bay and handling things even after,” Andrea admitted. “I thought he wasn’t going to let go of you – he even went to your apartment right after your last shift here, if you can believe that – but he only pouted for a few weeks before regrouping.”
Something horrifying occurred to Maddie. “Regrouping?” She fixed her eyes on Tipton. “Did you regroup by coming up with your cleaning plan?”
Tipton pursed his lips and shrugged, delight flickering through his eyes. “I might have. It was just an idea at first, you have to understand. If I didn’t have so much time on my hands without you to pursue, I don’t think the idea would’ve presented itself. I really have you to thank.”
Maddie thought she might throw up. “I really hope that isn’t true.”
“But it is.” Tipton’s smile was benign. “I owe everything I am to you.”
Maddie stared at him for a long time, blinking twice in slow succession before speaking. “I don’t want credit for you being a sadistic freak. I don’t want to be a part of any of this.”
“You’ll change your mind once we have some time together,” Tipton argued. “You’ll come around to my way of thinking.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“I do.” Tipton bobbed his head, seemingly oblivious to the nonsense he spouted. “I’ve thought a lot about you over the years – both when you were here and when you weren’t – and I knew you would eventually return. When you came back, I wanted a safe place for you to call home. I did all of this for you.”
“Don’t even say that!” Maddie snapped, taking everyone – including herself – by surprise with her vehemence. “You didn’t do this for me. You’re using me as a symbol, but you didn’t do this for me.
“You did this for you,” she continued, working overtime to keep from bursting into tears thanks to the frustration threatening to overwhelm her. “You did this because you liked doing it. As for you, Andrea, you did it to get ahead in the world. You knew he was a monster and yet you didn’t care. You’re almost worse than him because he’s sick enough in the head to convince himself of things that couldn’t possibly be true. You know better and yet you simply don’t care.”
“Why would I care?” Andrea was back to being aggressive. “Why would I possibly
care about any of those women? They were nothing. They couldn’t offer anything to anyone. The world is better without them.”
“Maybe that’s what people will say about you when you’re in prison,” Maddie suggested.
“Oh, I’m not going to prison,” Andrea said. “I’m going to kill you before that’s even a possibility.”
“You’re not going to kill her,” Tipton snapped. “I’m bringing her onboard. Eventually she’s going to be a member of our team.”
“No! That’s not going to happen.” Andrea stomped her foot on the cold linoleum. “I won’t allow it to happen. You want to bring her on and displace me and I simply won’t allow it!”
Tipton let loose with a long-suffering sigh. “I think you’re being unreasonable.”
“And I think you’re back to being a moron,” Andrea shot back.
Maddie could do nothing but shake her head as the door to the room burst open and allowed Nick and Dwight entrance. They weren’t alone, several of Dwight’s uniformed officers trailed behind, and the looks on Tipton and Andrea’s faces when they realized they were about to be overrun were almost comical.
“You,” Tipton hissed, his eyes searing into Maddie’s soul as she glared at her. “You did this. You told them where we were.”
“Did you really think I wouldn’t?” Maddie asked, remaining rooted to her spot as Dwight grabbed Tipton by the shoulders and slammed him against a cubicle.
“Keep your hands where I can see them,” Dwight ordered.
“This is not my fault!” Andrea screeched as two officers grappled with her arms and wrestled her to the ground. “I didn’t do this. I’m not guilty. He forced me to participate if I wanted to stay alive. I want a deal!”
“You cretin,” Tipton shot back. “Don’t even think of turning on me. You won’t like what happens if you even consider doing that.”
Nick swooped in and tugged Maddie into his arms, pressing a kiss to her cheek as he hugged her. “You scared me, love.”
“I was scared, too,” Maddie admitted. “At least at first. I wasn’t scared so much after … just disgusted and sad. They didn’t even see me texting you.”
“Well, it was helpful that you could give us a picture of the room.” Nick pushed Maddie’s hair away from her face. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Maddie nodded as she rested her head on his chest. “I’m okay. I’m sick to my stomach over what they did, but I’m okay.”
“Good.” Nick kissed the top of her head. “I love you, Maddie.”
“I love you, too.”
20
Twenty
Nick brought Maddie a bottle of water and sat next to her on a couch as Dwight and his officers dealt with Tipton and Andrea. For their part, both halves of the guilty party seemed eager to point the finger at each other.
“He did it.” Andrea was adamant, her hands cuffed behind her back. “He’s the one who did all of it and he forced me to cover for him by threatening to kill me. I’m the wronged party.”
“She’s lying.” Tipton managed to remain calm despite the circumstances. “She’s the one who did all of it. I’ve suspected her for some time and I’ve been amassing evidence to prove her guilt. If you go to my house and look in the office you’ll find everything you need to exonerate me and lock her up forever.”
Dwight, who looked weary and yet relieved, dragged a hand through his hair as he glanced between faces. “Uh-huh.” He turned his eyes to Maddie. “What do you have to say about all of this?”
“They’re both guilty,” Maddie answered without hesitation, ignoring the pleading look that crossed Tipton’s face. “They admitted it. They were debating about killing me versus kidnapping me and locking me up until they could turn me to their way of thinking when you guys came in. I recorded a lot of their conversation on my phone in between texting you messages.”
“I’m going to need those recordings,” Dwight said.
Maddie nodded. “I understand.”
The look on Tipton’s face was one of irritation rather than remorse. “I’m disappointed in you, Ms. Graves.”
“Coming from you I’ll take that as a compliment,” Maddie said. “If you were proud of me there would definitely be something wrong.”
“Oh, he was never proud of you,” Andrea spat. “You were never anything more than a pretty woman to parade around. Don’t think that he ever thought more of you than that.”
Maddie stared Andrea down for a long beat. “I never wanted to be anything to him. I think you’re getting me confused with you.”
“And I think you’re so full of yourself I’m thankful I’m going to jail so I don’t have to look at you again,” Andrea shot back. “You ruined my life, by the way. I hope you know that.”
“Now that right there is something I’m proud of,” Maddie said.
Nick slipped his arm around her shoulders and moved his hand to the back of her neck. He could feel the tension pooling there and was unsure how to soothe her frazzled nerves. “You don’t have to sit here for this, love.” He kept his voice low. “We can go back to the hotel if you want.”
Maddie shook her head. “I want to give my statement now. I don’t want to drag it out.”
Nick remained leery of letting Maddie plow forward but he ultimately nodded. “Okay. We’ll finish it up now.”
“Then I want to go home tomorrow,” Maddie added. “First thing, right after breakfast. I’m ready to be done with the city.”
Dwight, who was sidling closer, offered up a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, Maddie. This is all my fault.”
Maddie balked. “How do you figure that? You didn’t kill those girls. You didn’t think you were on some mission to clean the city.”
“No, but I was the one who called you here. I’m the reason you got shot at by a pimp who was trying to scare his former employee – we picked him up about an hour ago, by the way, I just got a text while we were sorting through this so that’s one less thing to worry about. You would’ve been happier had I left you alone in Blackstone Bay. I promised you wouldn’t be in danger and yet that’s how things ended up … again. I don’t blame you if you’re angry.”
“I’m not angry with you, Dwight.” Maddie opted for honesty. “I’m angry at the situation. I’m angry about what they said … and what they did … and how I was at the center of all of it.”
Nick shifted on his seat, curious and concerned. “What do you mean by that?”
Maddie launched into the tale, occasionally glancing at Dwight who took copious notes. She refused to look at Andrea and Tipton, who the uniformed officers kept close to the nurses’ station as they listened, and laid everything out. She told them about Tipton stalking her when she lived in the city, even though she didn’t realize it at the time. She told them about his plan to clean up the surrounding neighborhoods and lure her back after Maude died, which still seemed ridiculous. She told them about how Tipton hunted the women.
When she was done, she felt lighter. “They’re both sick. They’re the sort of people who shouldn’t be in this world.”
“Definitely.” Dwight gave Maddie’s hand a squeeze before glancing over his shoulder. “I’m willing to bet you weren’t the only one Dr. Tipton stalked, though. Don’t take all this on yourself. It’s unnecessary and a total waste of time.”
Maddie was understandably puzzled. “What do you mean?”
Dwight explained what he and Nick discovered during Maddie’s absence, about the three women who had ties to the hospital.
“He wasn’t cleaning up the neighborhood when he went after them,” Dwight supplied. “I’m guessing they turned down his advances and that’s why he selected them. He was hardly the crusader he pretended to be.”
Andrea darted a set of suspicious eyes to Tipton. “The girl from the cafeteria. She was one of them, wasn’t she?”
Tipton averted his gaze. “I want a lawyer.” His efforts to gain sympathy from the cops were clearly over. “I’m not speaking again until I have a
lawyer.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I don’t think we’re going to need you.” Dwight offered up a grimace to Andrea. “I think we’re going to have an easy time getting all our answers.”
“She’s a liar, though,” Tipton said. “She won’t tell the truth. She’s too stupid to understand the truth. She never grasped any of it.”
“Oh, shut up,” Andrea snapped. “You’re not nearly as smart as you think you are.” She turned so she was facing Dwight. “I’ll answer whatever you want. Put a deal in front of me and I’ll sign it. I’m so sick of this whole thing you have no idea.”
Dwight grunted in reply. “Yes, it’s all about you.” He made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat before swiveling back to Maddie. “This wasn’t all about you, Maddie, no matter what they said. It’s important you know that.”
Nick recognized the guilt coursing through the man, and while he wasn’t thrilled with how things went down, he knew that carrying unnecessary blame wouldn’t be good for Dwight or Maddie. “It’s no one’s fault,” he offered. “Er, well, it’s no one’s fault but those two.” He jerked his head in Andrea and Tipton’s general direction. “They did this.”
“They had a lot of reasons for doing it,” Maddie pointed out. “They might not have been good reasons, but they were reasons all the same.”
Nick cupped Maddie’s chin and forced her eyes to him. “They had excuses, love. They didn’t have reasons. You know that, right?”
Maddie thought about arguing, but she was too tired. In truth, she did grasp that whatever rationales Andrea and Tipton tossed in her direction were nothing more than empty diversions. “I know.” She wrapped her fingers around Nick’s wrist. “I know it’s not my fault. I can’t help but feel a little guilty because he said it only happened because I left, but I know it’s not my fault.”
“Mad, he was going to do something like this no matter what.” Nick pressed his forehead to hers. “He’s wired wrong in the head. He’s not a good person and he’s trying to put this on you so he can make himself look better. This is not your fault.”
Grave Danger (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 12) Page 19
