Grave Seasons (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 8)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Yes, but it’s safer,” Dwight said. “We’re not saying we’re not going to talk to people, Maddie. We’re just saying we’re going to play it by ear and not be the weird adults inviting ourselves to a college party.”

  “Okay, but I think it sounds as if it would be a blast to be the weird adults at one of the biggest parties of the year.” Maddie was unnaturally pouty for a moment and then creased her forehead. “Does anyone want to explain the party thing to me? I still don’t get it.”

  Nick chuckled as he slipped an arm around Maddie’s shoulders. “Never change, love. Never change.”

  “THIS IS boring.”

  Maddie sat in the back seat of Nick’s Explorer and glared out the window. It was close to sunset – winters in Michigan bringing an end to the day much quicker than the doldrums of summer – and Maddie was in a mood.

  “This is surveillance work,” Nick said. They were parked one block over and another down from the fraternity house so they could watch the party unfold. Most of the guests were close to the bonfire on the side of the house, but some were inside. The Explorer’s window was open so they could listen to people talk as they passed by and Dwight had binoculars to watch the partygoers. They’d been spying for an hour and Maddie was antsy. “They make it look interesting in movies, but it’s the exact opposite of interesting.”

  “So it’s like listening to Marla talk about her latest manicure?” Maddie asked, referring to her childhood nemesis, who still irked her whenever they crossed paths in Blackstone Bay.

  “Exactly,” Nick said, locking gazes with her in the mirror. “I bought you licorice, M&Ms, and root beer. You need to take it down a notch and let us work.”

  Maddie narrowed her eyes, annoyed. “You need to … .”

  Dwight cleared his throat to cut them off. “There’s no reason to fight,” he said. “Cripes. I would think you two never fight. You’re usually lovey-dovey and all over each other. What gives?”

  “Maddie is getting on sounder footing when it comes to her personality these days,” Nick explained. “She’s working overtime to stand up for herself and grow a backbone. I enjoy the results – most of the time, that is – but I’m not thrilled with the results when she decides to put herself in danger. That’s pretty much the only thing we fight about.”

  “Ah.” Dwight’s expression was thoughtful. “That’s kind of funny. She’s always been willing to give of herself for others – maybe too much when you really think about it – but from your perspective, that has to be annoying.”

  “It’s not my favorite thing,” Nick said, leaning his head back against the seat rest. “She’s my favorite thing, though, so we make it work.”

  “Oh, see, Maddie,” Dwight intoned. “He’s looking out for you.”

  “Yes, he’s wonderful,” Maddie said. “I would never say otherwise. He’s bossy, though, and I have no intention of putting myself in danger, so he’s overreacting.”

  “Well, the problem I have with that is you never intend to put yourself in danger, Mad,” Nick said. “You didn’t intend to get chased through the woods and almost drowned. You didn’t intend to make the mayor so deranged he attacked you in the garage. You didn’t intend to find trouble on a boat … or while we were camping … or in a maze. You did, though.”

  Maddie opened her mouth to argue and then snapped it shut. She couldn’t argue with Nick’s assessment … and it drove her crazy to admit that, even to herself.

  “It sounds as if you guys have had a busy couple of months,” Dwight said. “That’s probably bothersome since you spent so much time pining for each other. You probably would prefer enjoying your time together instead of running around the woods fighting off danger.”

  Nick shrugged. “I’ve enjoyed my time with her regardless,” he said. “She’s cute. She made me help her pick decorations for our bedroom … and her grandmother is a hoot. It’s too bad you didn’t get a chance to meet her before we left the house.”

  “I would like to meet her,” Dwight said. “Maddie told me things about her grandmother that made me laugh – like how there’s some woman she spies on around town and tries to make her life hell.”

  “Harriet,” Maddie and Nick said in unison, grinning.

  “Is it hard to live with two women after living by yourself for so long?” Dwight asked. “I’ve lived with my wife and kids for such a long time that when Sage moved out the house was too quiet. You probably don’t have that problem.”

  “Maddie is not generally loud, but Maude is,” Nick replied. “She has her own apartment, though, and keeps throwing parties. The good news is that they break up by ten most nights. One night it went until after midnight, but when I went to check on them I found the group asleep with the music up loud. They’d all turned off their hearing aids.”

  Dwight snorted. “She sounds hilarious.”

  “She is,” Nick said. “She’s also good for Maddie. She doesn’t let her spend too much time in her head. She forces her out of her shell.”

  “She’s good for you, too,” Maddie said. “She’s your biggest fan.”

  “I thought you were my biggest fan.”

  “Well, I guess she’s your second biggest fan,” Maddie said, grabbing a piece of licorice and biting into it. “Isn’t that one of Sage’s roommates?”

  “Where?”

  Maddie pointed through the front window and Dwight lifted the binoculars. “I swear that looks like her.”

  “That’s her,” Dwight said. “Allison Wheeler. She’s the blonde. The brunette next to her is another one of Sage’s roommates. Her name is Heather Ketchum.”

  “I didn’t realize there are two of them,” Maddie said. “I only saw the blonde.”

  “Yes, both of them fawned all over Nick while you were entertaining the guys across the hall.”

  Maddie scowled as Nick smirked. “You might think you’re cute, but you’re the only one.”

  “Don’t lie, Mad. You think I’m adorable.”

  Maddie wanted to argue, but she couldn’t. Instead she focused on the girls attending the party. “Does is strike anyone else as odd that they’re here after Sage went missing? I mean … they had to know her disappearance was fishy. I don’t care what they say. After you guys questioned them, though, they should’ve realized something wasn’t right. Why come here?”

  “Maybe they’re looking for her on their own,” Nick suggested. “Just because they didn’t volunteer information to us, that doesn’t mean they don’t have their own suspicions. Kids that age are predispositioned not to trust law enforcement.”

  “That seems like a silly way to live,” Maddie said.

  “She’s not wrong,” Dwight said. “I would sure like to get closer and hear what they’re saying, though. If they know something, I would like to hear what it is.”

  “I would, too,” Nick said, his eyes contemplative as they locked with Maddie’s. “You have to stay here.”

  Maddie’s mouth dropped open. “What? Why?”

  “Because your hair stands out even in the dark and I need you to stay here because you’ll draw too much attention from the frat boys if they see you,” Nick replied. “We won’t be far and we won’t be gone long.”

  Maddie narrowed her eyes, annoyed. “But … .”

  “Mad, don’t make me lock the doors and engage the child safety locks.”

  “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “I would to keep you safe,” Nick argued. “I would do anything to keep you safe. You can’t wander around out here. I don’t like these guys and we need to focus on the girls – not you – for ten minutes. Can I trust you to stay in the vehicle?”

  Maddie stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest and made a disgusted face. “Do what you want.”

  “Maddie, what I want is to make sure you’re never in harm’s way,” Nick said, his tone even as he refused to kowtow to her. “I love you and if you want to be angry you have that right. We’ll fight this out tonight when we’re warm in our hotel room.”
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  “Great. I can’t wait.” Maddie’s tone was clipped.

  “I bought you fuzzy slippers at Target this morning,” Nick said. “They’ll keep your feet warm when we’re fighting. They have unicorns on them.”

  Maddie wrinkled her nose. “I’m not twelve.”

  “No, but you’re magical, just like the unicorns,” Nick said, reaching for the door handle. “We won’t be gone long and the truck should be warm until we return. If you get cold … .”

  Maddie cut him off. “I won’t get cold.”

  “Yeah, but I’m going to be cold until you stop being angry at me,” Nick muttered, leaning around his seat and pressing a quick kiss to Maddie’s cheek. “Try not to think really mean thoughts about me. Tomorrow is our first Thanksgiving together. You can’t be angry when we have turkey to eat.”

  Maddie pressed her lips together to keep from smiling as Nick climbed out of the Explorer and shut the door. She didn’t want to forgive him. Not yet, at least.

  Dwight’s smile was full of mirth as he regarded Nick over the hood of the Explorer once they were outside. “You two should have your own television show.”

  “You find it funny that she’s angry, but I’m so codependent I want to cry,” Nick said.

  “You really are a sap.”

  “You have no idea,” Nick said, pulling his gloves on. “Come on. Let’s see what we can find out. The longer I’m away from Maddie, the more I’m going to worry. Someone here has to have information. We just need to figure out who.”

  9

  Nine

  “Do you think Maddie will be okay?”

  Dwight wasn’t thrilled with leaving the irritated blonde in the Explorer, but he couldn’t argue with Nick’s logic when it came to making the choice.

  “She’d better be,” Nick said, sighing as he cast a glance over his shoulder and focused on the dim figure in the back seat. The set of her shoulders told him she wasn’t going to be easy to deal with when they got back. “Her hair is too noticeable. She doesn’t realize the attention she draws when she’s out and about. She has no sense of vanity, which is ridiculous when you look at her.”

  “I always liked that about her,” Dwight said, falling into step with Nick. “She has a sweet nature and seems confused when people pay attention to her. I never gave much thought to the fact that she didn’t understand her own worth and beauty.”

  “How did you two end up working together?”

  “Didn’t she tell you?”

  “Funnily enough, she really doesn’t want to talk about that stuff,” Nick replied. “I don’t want to press her because she seems so happy lately. The last thing I want to do is make her dwell on bad stuff.”

  “It wasn’t all bad,” Dwight said. “She found quite a few people. She reunited families.”

  “That wasn’t always the case, though.”

  “No,” Dwight agreed. “We lost some people. I realized after a time that it was harder on Maddie to lose those people than me. I considered distancing myself from her then, but she was so sad that I didn’t do it. I can’t explain why I was so worried about her.”

  “I’m glad she had you,” Nick said. “I should’ve been the one looking out for her, but since I couldn’t, I’m glad someone was there to do my job.”

  “I’m not going to pretend I know the ins and outs of your relationship, but I think you’re too hard on yourself,” Dwight said. “She talked about you occasionally. You should know that.”

  Nick’s heart rolled. “What did she say?”

  “That you were her best friend,” Dwight replied. “She never told me your name and she seemed angry with herself when she realized she brought you up. It was almost as if she was punishing herself for some reason. I never got that … until now.”

  “Got what?”

  “My understanding of the situation is that Maddie was afraid to tell you about her abilities because she thought you would think she was crazy.”

  “Kind of,” Nick hedged. “Her mother ingrained fear into her when she was growing up. She knew people would be cruel and she tried to protect Maddie to the best of her ability. What Maddie didn’t understand is that when Olivia told her to keep it a secret, she didn’t mean from me. She meant from other people.”

  “When you called asking questions, I was worried,” Dwight admitted. “I thought she was in trouble and I didn’t know what to do to help her.”

  “And yet you seemed determined to help her all the same,” Nick pointed out. “That makes you a good friend.”

  “I think she’s covered in the friend department,” Dwight said, chuckling. “It’s nice when you fall in love with someone you already like. That means you’re not searching for conversational topics because you never have any trouble filling in the gaps.”

  “I think for us we’re fine with the gaps,” Nick said. “There’s nothing more comforting than being with someone and being okay with the silence. My favorite part of the day is curling up in the window seat with Maddie, opening a book, and just listening to her breathe.”

  “Son, you’ve got it bad.”

  Nick barked out a laugh. “I’ve had it bad since I was a teenager. I’m just glad I finally get to enjoy it.”

  “I’m glad, too,” Dwight said. “Even if things go badly for me here – and I’m fully expecting that to be the case – I need to know Maddie is going to be okay. I wasn’t sure about that until I saw you together. I don’t have to worry about her anymore. It’s a … relief.”

  Nick didn’t like the tone of Dwight’s words. “You don’t know things are going to go badly. Not yet, at least.”

  “I don’t,” Dwight agreed, rubbing his cheek. “I have a feeling, though.”

  “Yeah? Maddie has a different feeling and she’s psychic,” Nick said. “I don’t know how this is going to end, and I don’t want to get your hopes up, but I’ve learned that betting against Maddie is a fool’s gambit.”

  “You’ve definitely got it bad.”

  “I can live with that.”

  MADDIE lasted five minutes alone in the Explorer before boredom won out. She stared out the front window until she lost sight of Nick and Dwight in the darkness. Then she watched out her window, but she only saw a few students pass by and they appeared lost in their own worlds. She was just about to give up and flip on her Kindle when she saw a hint of movement on the sidewalk across the street. When she turned her attention in that direction and squinted her eyes to make out the figure she recognized the boy from the front porch, the one who followed her to the diner, and she almost jumped out of her skin. He was staring at her.

  Maddie glanced back at the front of the vehicle, almost willing Nick to return. She grabbed her cell phone from the seat next to her and considered texting him. She changed her mind after a few moments of contemplation and instead pocketed the gadget before hopping out of the Explorer.

  She rationalized her actions by telling herself she wasn’t technically breaking Nick’s rules. She was only walking across the sidewalk to talk to a boy she’d already met. She didn’t actually believe the internal argument, but it made her feel better all the same.

  Maddie plastered a smile on her face as she approached the young man. He looked agitated, his gaze swinging in both directions along the street, and then to her utter surprise he turned on his heel and strode down the cross street instead of in the direction of the fraternity house.

  Maddie slowed her approach, conflicted. She didn’t think the boy was dangerous, but he could be leading her away from the safety of the streetlights because someone ordered him to do it. Of course, he could also merely want to talk to her without the danger of someone seeing them hanging over their shoulders. The more Maddie thought about her options, the more she realized it was mostly likely the latter scenario. She sucked in a breath and touched her pocket, happy to graze against the reassuring outline of the cell phone. Then she followed the boy.

  He didn’t go far. It wasn’t even really a block. It was more like fi
ve hundred feet and then he stepped off the pavement and into the shadows under a large tree that obscured part of a fence. He waited there for Maddie to join him.

  “What are you doing?” He seemed agitated when Maddie closed the distance. “Why are you here?”

  “We’re looking for Sage,” Maddie replied, unruffled by his tone. “We’re not leaving until we find her. You can tell your little friends that, too.”

  “They’re not my friends.”

  “They seem like your friends.”

  “Then you’re not looking hard enough.” The boy tugged a restless hand through his hair. “Do you have any leads? Did you find out what she was fighting about with Aidan? Do you really have other people telling you about Aidan, or is it just me?”

  The boy was ridiculously flustered, and for the life of her Maddie couldn’t figure out why. “What’s your name?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “I’m not telling you that!”

  Maddie tried one more time. “What’s your name?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

  “Jackson Dubois.”

  “Well, Jackson, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Maddie Graves.” Maddie extended her hand and waited for the boy to take it. He stared at it a moment and then grudgingly shook it. “You don’t have to worry about me telling Aidan you were the one sharing information. I won’t betray you.”

  “I don’t know you,” Jackson spat. “According to Aidan, you’re a cop.”

  “Then Aidan is even dumber than he looks.”

  “Aidan isn’t dumb,” Jackson said. “Aidan is mean … and brutal … and a terrible person. He’s very far from being dumb, though.”

  Maddie pursed her lips. The boy seemed distraught, for lack of a better word. He was paranoid and hypervigilant, constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure no one saw him interacting with the enemy. The odds of that were unlikely given the cold. The only people out were partygoers, and they were one street over. “What do you mean he’s brutal?”