Grave Homecoming (A Maddie Graves Mystery Book 1) (18 page)

“Do you recognize him?”

“I … I have to go.” Sarah blinked out of existence.

“Sarah!” Maddie was beside herself.
What just happened?

Nick appeared at Maddie’s side. “Who are you talking to?”

“I … .” Maddie glanced over her shoulder and focused on Henry.

“Is it Olivia?” Nick asked. “Tell her I said ‘hi.’”

“It’s wasn’t Mom,” Maddie murmured. “It was Sarah Alden.”

Nick was intrigued. “What did she say?”

“She didn’t say anything,” Maddie replied. “Well, she said you were hot.”

Nick smirked. “What can I say? Women love me.”

“Then she saw Henry,” Maddie said, her face troubled. “It was like she recognized him. Then she freaked and disappeared.”

Nick followed Maddie’s gaze to the table, where an enthusiastic Henry was regaling Maude with a fishing story. “Why do you think she did that?”

“I have no idea,” Maddie said. “We need to find out, though. It was like she was … scared.”

Nick rubbed the back of Maddie’s neck thoughtfully. “Finish breakfast,” he said. “We can’t do anything about it now, and I don’t want you to draw attention to yourself. I don’t think Henry is known for being tightlipped.”

Maddie nodded.

Nick brushed a quick kiss against her forehead. It was friendly, but Maddie shivered involuntarily at his touch. “It’s still okay, Mad. Everything is going to be okay.”

Maddie wished she could believe him.

“Where is everyone?”

Christy looked around at her empty salon and shrugged. “It’s just one of those weird lulls,” she said. “I purposely try to schedule people for early in the day so I can get out at a respectable hour. This is one of the rare afternoons it worked out.”

Maddie nodded, unsure. “You’re not getting boycotted, are you?”

“Why would people boycott me?”

“Because of the other night.”

Christy snickered. “I’m the town hero because of that,” she said. “There have been no less than twenty mothers parading through here thanking me for keeping their daughters’ virtue intact.”

“Do they know you weren’t really doing that?”

“Of course not,” Christy said. “I told them I was, though. Everyone wants me to start attending church services now.”

Maddie pressed her lips together. “Do you want to go to church?”

“Honey, I’m not getting up early enough on a Sunday – my one day a week that I have all to myself – to go to church,” Christy replied. “They don’t need to know that, though. I’m a morality crusader right now. I’m more popular than ever.”

“And people aren’t giving you crap about hanging out with me, right?” Maddie was worried.

“Why would they?”

“People hate me.”

“You’re unbelievable,” Christy said. “People don’t hate you.”

“Marla hates me.”

“Marla hates herself,” Christy replied. “She’s so miserable she thinks she has to make others miserable to bolster her own self-esteem. It’s sad. People hate her, not you.”

“She was the most popular girl in high school.”

“She was the most terrifying girl in high school,” Christy corrected. “She was popular because people were scared to tell her she was a horrible person. That’s not really being popular.”

“I remember her being popular.”

“That’s because you were scared to death of her,” Christy said.

“She was mean to me.”

“She was mean to you because she was jealous of you,” Christy said.

“She was not jealous of me.”

“Maddie, you have got to get a handle on the way you look at yourself,” Christy said. She climbed up from the chair she was sitting on and patted it. “Sit here, please.”

Maddie was leery, but she did as instructed. She’d never really had a female friend, and she was desperate to hold on to Christy. Once she was settled, she met Christy’s gaze in the mirror expectantly. “Why am I sitting here?”

“I want you to tell me what you see when you look at yourself,” Christy said.

“I see … me.”

“Yes, but be more specific,” Christy said. “What do you see when you look at your hair?”

Maddie had always considered her hair to be her best asset. “I like the color.”

“The color is absolutely beautiful,” Christy agreed. “People pay hundreds of dollars to get this color.”

“Are you saying you don’t like the cut?”

“Your hair is extremely long,” Christy said. “I would cut a few inches off, but it seems to fit you. It’s simple and lovely, just like you are.”

Maddie was embarrassed. “Thank you,” she mumbled.

“Yeah, this is what I’m talking about,” Christy said. “When someone pays you a compliment, you need to accept the praise and not be ashamed of it.”

“I’m not ashamed.”

“You are,” Christy said. She pointed back at the mirror. “What do you think when you see your own eyes?”

Maddie shrugged. “I don’t know. They remind me of my mother.”

Christy’s face softened. “Does that make you sad?”

“Should it?”

“Well, your mom died,” Christy said. “It would make me sad.”

“She’s still around,” Maddie admitted.

“Really?” Christy’s face lit up. “That’s great. Oh, wow, I never even considered that. How often do you get to see her?”

“She’s still trying to get control of her new … reality,” Maddie said. “Once she gets stronger, she’ll be able to pop in whenever she wants.”

“Oh, it’s like the best of both worlds.”

“I’d still rather have her here. I miss being able to touch her. I’d give anything to be able to hug her again.”

“Of course you would, sweetie,” Christy said, instantly contrite. “That was a stupid thing to say.”

Maddie shifted in the chair. “Nick knows.”

Christy’s face reflected surprise. “How did that happen?”

Maddie regurgitated the past few days for Christy’s rampant consumption.

“That is … amazing,” Christy said when she was done. “I knew he would be fine with it.”

“I feel stupid,” Maddie said. “I ruined both of our lives because I was so scared. If I’d just believed in him … .”

“You can’t go back in time, Maddie,” Christy said. “Wait, you can’t, right?”

Maddie scowled. “No.”

“Then you have to let it go,” Christy said. “You have to put the past … away. It sounds like Nick is trying to do just that. You have to look to the future now.”

“What future?”

“You and Nick are going to get together,” Christy said. “It’s only a matter of time. You’re obviously not going to make the first move, so it just comes down to him. When do you think he’s going to rip your clothes off?”

“He has a girlfriend, Christy,” Maddie argued.

“Barely.”

“He still has a girlfriend. I’m not the type of woman who thinks it’s okay to go after another woman’s man.”

Christy snorted. “He’s your man. He’s always been your man. Cassidy is just renting him, and I think her lease is about to expire.”

Maddie bit her bottom lip. “He hasn’t mentioned anything about breaking up.”

“That’s because he’s a good guy, and he doesn’t want to hurt her,” Christy said. “He already would’ve broken up with her if you weren’t in the picture.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because he’s in a spot with Cassidy,” Christy explained. “I’m sure she’s been pressing him where you’re concerned, and I’m also sure he’s denied being in love with you because it hurt too much to admit the truth.

“You two have made up now,” she continued. “You’re on the fast track. If he dumps her now, though, Cassidy is going to attack him. She’s going to be crushed, and she’s going to lash out. Frankly, I’m on your side, but she has a right to lash out. She’s going to be dumped like yesterday’s garbage – and soon. Nick is trying to let her down easy, and by doing that, he’s actually hurting her in the long run. He just needs to crush her and get it over with.”

“I don’t want him to crush her,” Maddie said. “She’s a very nice woman.”

“She is,” Christy agreed. “She’s not his soul mate, though.”

“Do you believe in soul mates?”

“I didn’t until I saw you and Nick together in high school,” Christy replied. “You two gave me hope.”

“I’d like to believe that,” Maddie admitted.

“Because you love him,” Christy supplied. “It’s okay. Admitting it is the first step on the road to recovery.”

Maddie tilted her head, her mind busy. “I do love him.”

“I know you do. Everyone in this town knows you do. Nick knows you do. Everyone in this town also knows that Nick loves you. The only one who seems to doubt that is you.”

“He loves me as a friend.”

“He loves you because you’re his whole heart,” Christy corrected.

Maddie wanted to believe that. She just couldn’t. “He’s got a girlfriend.”

Christy sighed. “Okay, you’re not ready for this,” she said. “You need to take teeny little steps right now. I get that. Tell me what else is going on.”

“Sarah Alden popped into my pantry this morning.”

Christy was intrigued. “What did she want?”

“She wanted to talk.”

“What did she say?”

“We couldn’t talk,” Maddie said. “We weren’t alone.”

“Maude knows what you are, and now Nick knows what you are, so why couldn’t you talk?”

“Granny had an … overnight guest.”

Christy waited.

“It was Henry Dunham.”

“Omigod.” Christy was laughing so hard tears started forming in her eyes. “I had no idea they were dating.”

“I’m not sure they’re dating,” Maddie said. “I think they’re just … .”

“Doing it?”

“I’m appalled.”

“Why?” Christy was curious. “Maude is an adult. It’s not like she’s going to get pregnant and you’re going to get stuck with a wailing infant. Why do you care?”

“I just don’t want to picture my grandmother doing … that.”

“No one does,” Christy said. “It’s still funny.”

“He was wearing a robe and I could see his … chest.”

“Gross,” Christy said, laughing. “Was it freaky?”

“He didn’t seem to care,” Maddie said. “He kept telling Nick and me that we were doing it wrong.”

“You are,” Christy said. “That’s beside the point, though. You know he wears hearing aids, right? He probably didn’t know you were even talking to someone in the pantry.”

“Sarah was … odd,” Maddie said.

“She’s dead, what do you expect?”

“She was fine at first,” Maddie said. “She said Granny was cute, and she thought Nick was hot.”

“He’s smoking.”

“When she saw Henry, though, it was as if she was looking at a ghost.”

“The ghost looked like she was seeing a ghost? That had to be freaky.”

“I asked her what was wrong, but she just kind of … blinked out.”

“Do you think she was afraid of Henry?” Christy asked, confused. “He’s harmless. The man runs a greenhouse, for crying out loud. He spends his days ordering his daughter around and pruning trees. It’s not like he’s a threat.”

“Well, Sarah isn’t from Blackstone Bay,” Maddie said. “The fact that she seemed to recognize Henry worries me.”

“Do you think your grandmother is sleeping with a murderer?”

Maddie shrugged. “I have no idea,” she said. “I have trouble believing Henry is strong enough to kill a healthy young woman.”

“I agree with that,” Christy said. “Most ten-year-olds could take Henry without working up a sweat. He’s a nice guy, but he’s not exactly threatening.”

“Maybe she recognizes him from somewhere else.”

“Or maybe she recognizes him because of someone who works at the greenhouse,” Christy suggested.

“I hadn’t considered that,” Maddie said, running her finger over her bottom lip. “Maybe Sarah was out at the greenhouse before she died. Maybe she saw Henry there. That doesn’t mean he did anything to her.”

“Exactly.”

“Do you know who works at the greenhouse these days?”

“I know Carrie is in charge,” Christy said, referring to Henry’s niece. “You said it’s definitely a man who killed Sarah, though, right?”

“That’s what she said.”

“They have seasonal help,” Christy said thoughtfully. “It changes from month to month.”

“Do you think we can find out who is working out there?”

Christy pursed her lips. “There’s only one way I know.”

Maddie was interested. “What?” Christy’s smile was mischievous, and Maddie immediately regretted asking the question. “Oh, no, what are we going to do?”

“It will be fun,” Christy said. “I promise.”

Maddie had her doubts, but she didn’t have a lot of options. “Okay. Let’s do it.”