Grave Delight (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 3) (3 page)

Nick snorted. “Is she trying to set you up on dates?”

“You have no idea,” John said. “I’ve had to take three very boring women out over the past month. What she really wants is to fawn all over you and Maddie. Since she can’t, she’s fixating on me. I’m going to turn her loose on the two of you in exactly one week.”

“Don’t you dare,” Nick said, wagging his finger. “We need some more time alone. Maddie isn’t ready to be smothered yet.”

“Isn’t that what you’ve been doing to her?”

“Smothering her with kisses,” Kreskin muttered under his breath.

John barked out a laugh. “That’s what I thought.”

“I’m done talking about this,” Nick said. “My personal life is just that – personal. Not that I’m not glad to see you, but what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to work with you guys on the body that was found,” John said, sobering. “The report that was on my desk this morning said you found it. How did that happen?”

Nick told him the story.

“That’s a bummer,” John said. “I’m guessing Maddie was worked up about finding a body.”

“She was … fine,” Nick said, choosing his words carefully. He knew his mother was aware of Maddie’s special abilities – Olivia using her close friend as a sounding board for years – but no one else in his family knew the truth. “She was upset, but it’s not like she fell apart or anything.”

“That’s good,” John said, winking at his younger brother. “Maybe tonight you can make her feel better with more of those kisses you’ve been smothering her with.”

“Just … let it go,” Nick said. “I’m not talking to you about this.”

“Oh, you’re going to talk to me,” John said. “You just don’t know it yet. Come on. Let’s go and see what the autopsy shows. Then you can fill me in on your romantic reunion with Maddie Graves. Is she as smoking hot as she was ten years ago?”

“I hate having you as a brother sometimes,” Nick grumbled. “You just refuse to take no for an answer. You’re so annoying.”

“That’s an older brother’s job,” John said, blasé. “You’ll survive.”

“How is my girl?” Nick asked, letting himself into Magicks, the magic store Maddie ran on the main floor of her house, a little after noon and planting a light kiss on the top of his girlfriend’s head.

“I’m good,” Maddie said, shifting at the tarot table so she could look at Nick. The dark circles under his eyes were cause for concern. “You look tired.”

“I am,” Nick said. “That’s part of the job, though. I’ll survive.”

“What are you doing here?” Maddie asked, focusing her attention on the bag he was holding. It was from a local diner, and she had a feeling she knew what was inside. “I should have brought you lunch. I wasn’t thinking.”

“I’m glad you didn’t,” Nick said. “John would have accosted you the second he saw you.”

“John is here?” Maddie had to swallow the smile playing at the corner of her lips. That little tidbit was going to make Christy happy. “Is he working on the case with you?”

“He is,” Nick said, sitting in the chair across from Maddie and opening the bag of food. “Until we know where she was murdered, he’s going to be the lead.”

Maddie’s heart dropped. “She was murdered?”

“She was strangled,” Nick said. “We’re going to start tracking stuff down after lunch.”

“Who was she?”

Nick lifted his dark eyes so he could study Maddie’s face.
How much did she really want to know?
“Her name is Hayley Walker,” he said. “She was sixteen.”

Maddie’s hands flew to her mouth, her stomach rolling painfully. “Oh, no.”

“Don’t get worked up, love,” Nick said, reaching across the table and grabbing Maddie’s hand. “It’s sad, but there’s nothing you could’ve done to stop it.”

“I know,” Maddie said. “I just … she was so young.”

“It wouldn’t have been any better if she was in her twenties,” Nick said. “Death is always sad, and murder is just … unnecessary.”

Maddie rubbed her hand against her forehead. “I know. It’s just … it always seems worse when it’s someone so young. She had her whole life ahead of her. Now she’s never going to know what it’s like to fall in love … or get married … or have children. All of those dreams she had are just gone.”

“I know, Mad,” Nick said. “You can’t focus on stuff like that.”

“How do you do it? You deal with this stuff all the time.”

“I don’t deal with this as often as you would think,” Nick said, his smile wry. “This is Blackstone Bay. In fact, until you returned to town and stumbled over a body in an alley six weeks ago, I’d never investigated a murder before.”

“I wish you never had to investigate a murder.”

“I wish you never had to see a dead body,” Nick said. “We don’t always get what we want in life. I’m just glad I got the one thing in this world I wanted more than anything else.”

Maddie knew what he was getting at, but she couldn’t help but give in to an inner urge and tease him. “A Ford Explorer?”

Nick snorted. “Exactly. Eat your lunch. If you hurry up, we can have exactly one hour to curl up and nap in the window seat before I have to go back to work.”

“I’m not hungry,” Maddie said. “I … you should eat, though.”

Nick arched an eyebrow. “I’m not hungry either, love. An hour with you is all I need to bolster me right now.”

“Then move your cute butt into that window seat,” Maddie said, smiling. “Afternoon naps with you are one of my favorite things in the world.”

“Me, too, Mad. Me, too.”

WHEN
Nick’s cell phone dinged an hour and a half later the sound was barely enough to drag him from a heavy slumber. Maddie’s body was warm next to his as he spooned behind her. He groaned as he reached over and snagged the cell phone.

“What is it?” Maddie murmured.

“I have to go,” Nick said, running his hand through his hair as he read the text message from his brother. “I have to notify the parents now that the identity is confirmed.”

“Is that the worst part of your job?”

“I guess,” Nick said, pressing his lips to Maddie’s smooth jaw. “Anything that drags me away from you right now is the worst part of my job.”

Maddie propped herself up on her elbow and regarded Nick with sleepy eyes. “Are you going to be working all night?”

“No,” Nick replied. “I have to notify the parents and question them, but we have to wait and see what the state lab comes up with. We have no idea where this girl was or what she was doing when she died. I’ll probably have to work until seven or eight, but I was thinking we could pick our date from last night up when I get done.”

Maddie shifted in Nick’s arms so she could face him and ran a finger down his cheek. The sleep had done him a world of good, the color returning to his cheeks and the light to his eyes, but he still looked exhausted. “Are you sure? You need sleep.”

“I need you more,” Nick said, kissing the tip of Maddie’s nose.

“Is your brother staying in town?”

Nick narrowed his eyes at the conversational shift. “I’m not sure how I feel about you bringing up my brother when I’m trying to romance you.”

A giggle erupted from Maddie’s throat. “I was just wondering if he was going to be staying at your house.”

Nick stilled. “Oh … I hadn’t considered that. I don’t know. Crap.”

“Crap what?”

“I love my brother,” Nick said. “I really do. I don’t want him in the next room when we … um … go to sleep tonight.”

Maddie pursed her lips. Sleep was the last thing on Nick’s mind. Actually, it was the last thing on both of their minds. The longer they waited now the bigger the build up grew. She needed him – all of him – and she had a feeling he needed her just as much. “We’ll figure it out.”

“How about you meet me at the station around seven and we’ll decide where we’re going to get dinner?” Nick suggested. “I’ll know more then.”

“We can always have John sleep here with Granny and you and I can go to your place.”

“John was just saying how annoyed he was with having Mom set him up on blind dates,” Nick said. “Maude might be exactly what he’s looking for. He says he’s sick of boring girls.”

Maddie chortled. “Well … if he’s looking for someone fun … I might have a suggestion.”

Nick waited.

“Christy was here when I woke up this morning,” Maddie said. “She expressed … interest … in your brother. In fact, she couldn’t stop talking about the Winters genes and how impressive they are.”

“Do you think the Winters genes are impressive?” Nick asked, pulling Maddie’s body tighter against his.

“I’m impressed with every single thing you do,” Maddie purred, pressing her lips to Nick’s neck.

Nick groaned. “You know that’s my sensitive spot, Mad. If you keep doing that we’re going to have to go upstairs. The moratorium is over and … well … I’m not sure how much longer I can wait.”

“You have to get back to work,” Maddie reminded him.

“I’ll quit.”

Maddie pressed her face into the hollow between Nick’s neck and shoulder briefly, inhaling deeply before kissing his sensitive spot one more time. She flicked her tongue out, enjoying the way he squirmed next to her. “I love you, Nicky.”

“No one has ever loved anyone as much as I love you.”

TWENTY
minutes and a series of seriously hot kisses later Nick let himself out of the store and found Maude standing on the front porch waiting for him.

“What’s going on?” Nick asked, self-consciously running his hand through his hair. Maddie’s hands had a mind of their own sometimes, and that often meant his hair was a mess when she was done running her fingers through it.

“Nothing,” Maude said, crossing her arms over her chest. “What makes you think something is going on?”

“You’re standing on the porch staring at me.”

“Oh,
that
,” Maude said. “I was just waiting until you two were done groping each other in the front window of my house so I could enter without scarring any of us.”

Nick’s cheeks colored. “I … .”

“Oh, don’t have a conniption fit,” Maude said. “I’m very happy you and Maddie have managed to get over yourselves and admit that you love each other. I’ve been waiting for this since you two were eight and you dressed up like Prince Charming for Halloween just because she wanted to be Cinderella.”

That wasn’t one of Nick’s favorite memories. “What’s the problem then?”

“When are you going to … you know?”

If Nick thought his cheeks were burning before, they were practically on fire now. “I … we can’t talk about this.” Nick tried to move around Maude, but she cut off his avenue of escape.

“I don’t want all the dirty details,” Maude said. “I just want to know when you’re going to finally make your move.”

“Maude,” Nick growled. “This is none of your business.”

“Grow up,” Maude said. “You’re in love with my granddaughter and she’s in love with you. It’s going to happen. I just need to know if you want me to find another place to sleep tonight. I’m guessing the reason you two are still petting each other instead of really going for it is because I’m under the same roof.”

Nick balked. “You’re Maddie’s grandmother,” he said. “This is your home. What are you even getting at?”

“Well, I have an idea,” Maude said, glancing at the store to make sure Maddie was busy before gesturing for Nick to follow her. It wasn’t a far trip. “Open the garage door.”

Nick did as instructed. When he tugged the vehicle door open he was surprised to find the mess, which had been overflowing two weeks before, was down to a more manageable pile. “I didn’t know Maddie was cleaning this place out.”

“She’s not,” Maude said. “She doesn’t like the garage. She thinks it’s dirty and cold. She doesn’t even know I’ve been out here cleaning it.”

“Why?”

Maude tilted her head to the side, choosing her words carefully. “Bill Schroeder came over here the other day and gave me an estimate for turning this place into an apartment. It’s more than doable. I have the money. I just want to know what you think.”

“You want to move to the garage?”

“I’m going to turn it into an apartment,” Maude said. “I’ll still use the kitchen in the house, but this would be my bedroom and we’ll be putting a bathroom out here, too.”

Overwhelming guilt washed over Nick. “That’s not fair. I’m running you out of your own house.”

“Stop that right now,” Maude ordered. “I love that house. I love Maddie more. I’m well aware you two are going to move in together – and I’m guessing that’s going to happen sooner rather than later.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to move out,” Nick protested.

“I’m not moving out,” Maude said. “I’m moving down a floor. And, before you start having some panic attack because you think you’re forcing me out of my bedroom, that’s not it.”

“What is it then?”

“I’m … getting older,” Maude said, the words painful even as she said them. “It’s getting harder and harder to climb those stairs every night.”

“We can get one of those mechanical things that transport you up there,” Nick said. “I’ll buy it.”

“We’re never getting one of those things,” Maude said, indignant. “I would rather die first.”

“But … .”

“It’s going to be a great apartment,” Maude said. “I won’t have to climb any stairs to get into the kitchen. I’ll have my own space. That means you and Maddie will have the whole top floor of the house to yourselves.”

“That’s not fair,” Nick said. “I can’t do that.”

“You’re not doing it,” Maude said. “I am. Olivia and I were talking about doing this very thing before she died. Neither one of us wanted to move, and there’s no place to put a bedroom on the main floor because of the store.”

“But there are already four bedrooms.”

“That’s another thing,” Maude said. “I want you to start talking to Maddie about moving into her mother’s bedroom. She’s stuck in that small closet at the far end of the hallway, and it’s just not right. She should move into the master bedroom.”

Nick had been trying to convince Maddie to move into her mother’s room for the past two weeks. She was reticent, so he’d given up trying … for now. “Are you sure you want to do this, Maude?”

“I’m sure,” Maude said. “We’re still a family. You two don’t need me on top of you, though, and I don’t want Maddie on top of me when I have overnight guests of the male persuasion.”

Nick shuddered at the visual. “I … .”

“It’s still going to take about a month for the construction to be completed,” Maude said. “I’m going to tell Maddie today. I just want to be able to tell her you’re on board with my decision when I do.”

“I’m on board with anything you want,” Nick said. “I love you. I just can’t help feeling like I’m forcing you out of your own house.”

“Oh, you’re cute,” Maude said. “We both know you couldn’t force me into anything I didn’t want.”

She was right on that front. “Thank you, Maude,” Nick said, sincere.

“No,” Maude said. “Thank you. Maddie has never been this happy. You just need to keep it up. If I never see that girl sad again it will be too soon.”