Grave Misgivings (15 page)

“Why are you asking me? You’re the police officer.”

“And you’re the one who is magic,” Nick said.

“I … magic?”

“I meant that in more ways than one, Mad,” Nick said. “Is there some way you can, I don’t know, find a mystical trail?”

“I’ve never tried before,” Maddie admitted.

“Now seems like a great time to start.”

Maddie nodded, turning back to the wall and screwing her eyes shut. She touched the wall, inhaling heavily as she tried to center herself. She internally said Cassidy’s name over and over again, and then before she realized what was happening, she started walking.

Nick had no idea what was going on, but he knew enough not to speak in case he shattered the spell. He kept his eyes on Maddie as she navigated down the hallway. When she got to a spot where two hallways met, she tilted her head to the side before drifting down the corridor that led to the right.

Nick followed her, impressed with how intent she seemed. When she stopped in the middle of the hallway, though, he started to doubt what she was doing.

“There’s something here,” Maddie said finally.

As far as Nick could tell, the only thing there was a linen closet. “I don’t think so, Mad.”

Maddie ignored him and reached for the closet door. She expected it to be locked, but when the handle turned easily, she pulled it open and peered inside. Instead of a closet, though, she found herself staring down another hallway. This one was dark, though.

“What is that?” Nick asked, moving up behind her.

“I think we just found a whole other part of the house.”

They exchanged a look and then Nick grabbed her hand. “You stay close to me, love.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“I didn’t say you wouldn’t. Stay close to me. I don’t want to be separated from you – and that doesn’t just go for today.”

“I’ll be right beside you.”

“For the rest of your life,” Nick said, stepping into the bowels of the house.

“Do you think Aaron knows this is here?” Maddie asked, studying the walls as they shuffled through the dim space. “It doesn’t look like anyone has been in here for years.”

“I don’t know,” Nick said, keeping his eyes trained on the area in front of them while he pulled Maddie along behind. “I think it would be hard for him not to know about it.”

“Why don’t you think he mentioned it when we found out Cassidy was missing?”

“Maybe it never occurred to him that she could find the passageway. The only reason we did is because you’re … you.”

“Maybe,” Maddie said. “I … what’s that up there?”

“I don’t know,” Nick said, increasing his pace when he caught sight of the lights Maddie was gesturing toward. When he got to the end of the hallway his eyes flew open as he realized what they were looking at. “That’s our bedroom.”

“I don’t understand what this is,” Maddie said, biting her lip. “I … is this the other side of that big mirror?”

“I think so,” Nick said, letting go of her hand so he could feel around the window. “I think it’s one of those double-sided mirrors. You can see what’s going on in the room from this side, but the people on the other side would be none the wiser.”

“We’re the people on the other side,” Maddie reminded him. “We’re the people who have been dressing and undressing in that room. We’re the people who … made love … in that room last night.”

“I know. If it’s any consolation, I don’t think anyone has been hanging around in here and watching us.”

Maddie wanted to believe him, but she wasn’t so sure. “Nicky, look at the floor.”

Nick did as instructed, frowning when he realized what Maddie was directing his attention toward. “Someone has been in here,” he said. “Those are fresh footprints, and they’re not ours.”

“You don’t think … .”

“Stay calm, love,” Nick said. “We don’t know anything yet. I … .” He broke off when a glint of gold caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. “What is this?” He reached down and snagged the item off the ground, holding it up so he could study it in better light.

Maddie’s heart lodged in her throat when she recognized it. “That’s Cassidy’s necklace.”

“Are you sure?” Nick asked.

Maddie nodded. “She’s worn it every day since I met her.”

Nick turned, scanning the small alcove for another clue. After a few minutes, he gave up. “I think we should call Dale,” he said, referring to his partner on the Blackstone Bay Police Department.

“Why?”

Nick showed the necklace to Maddie. “Because this chain is broken,” he said. “It looks like someone ripped it off of her.”

The seriousness of his words caused Maddie’s stomach to flip. “Do you think … ?”

“I don’t know,” Nick said, running his hand down the back of her hair. “I just know the longer we don’t report Cassidy’s disappearance the worse position it puts us in. We have to take this one step at a time, Mad. This is only the first step.”

DALE KRESKIN
looked dubious as his gaze bounced from face to face in the library an hour later. “Are you sure she’s really missing? No offense, but from the look of most of you, you had a pretty late night.”

“We’re pretty sure,” Nick said, holding his hand out to Kreskin.

“What is this?” Kreskin took the necklace and studied it. “Is this hers?”

Nick nodded.

“Is that her necklace?” Marla asked, moving up next to Kreskin. “Where did you find that?”

Nick exchanged a quick look with Maddie. “We found it in the hidden passageways upstairs.”

“What passageways?” Brian asked.

“The ones that lead through the walls of the house and allow people to see right into our bedroom,” Nick said, grimacing.

“Holy crap,” Aaron said, leaning forward. “I … dude, I haven’t been in those passageways in years. I forgot all about them.”

“Me, too,” Max said, his face unreadable. “We used to play hide and seek in them all the time when we were kids. I haven’t even thought about them in a really long time, though.”

Marla made a face. “No, that’s not true,” she said. “I saw you go into one the other night. That’s how I knew where to find the doorway.”

A pall settled over the room.

“You were in there with Cassidy last night?” Nick asked, opting to take on Marla first. “Didn’t you tell us that you guys came in from the fair, said goodnight to each other in the hallway, and then went straight to bed?”

“I … um … oh, fine,” Marla said, making a face. “I knew the passageways were there and I wanted to see where they led. We weren’t in there very long. We wandered around a little bit until we saw you guys in your bedroom and then we left.”

Maddie’s hand flew up to her mouth as her eyes widened. “You saw us?”

“Oh, don’t get all high and mighty,” Marla said. “You didn’t even know we were there. It’s not like we saw the actual event. We just saw the foreplay.”

“Oh … .” Maddie’s cheeks burned as she fought off tears.

“You’re a disgusting pig,” Nick snapped, wrapping his arm around Maddie’s shoulders. “Love, it’s okay. Don’t freak out.”

“I can’t believe you watched us,” Maddie said. “That’s such an invasion of privacy.”

“We didn’t go in there looking to spy on you,” Marla said. “I was just exploring … kind of like Nick was when he stripped you out of that dress.” Marla’s glare was malicious.

Maddie turned her head into Nick’s chest, afraid to meet anyone’s gaze in case she burst into tears. She felt violated.

“That is just unbelievable,” Christy said, jumping to her feet. “How could you do that?”

“Oh, get over yourself,” Marla said. “It’s not our fault. It was an accident. Cassidy made me leave before we saw anything good. Personally, I wanted to see what Nick looked like without his pants on, but she was all shaken and ashamed.”

“Well, I guess that makes one of you,” Aaron said. “Seriously, Marla, what is wrong with you?”

“Hey, I am not the bad guy in this,” Marla snapped. “We stumbled upon that little room accidentally. We left before we saw them actually do anything. I refuse to be ashamed.”

“And that’s why everyone hates you,” Lauren said.

Kreskin held his hand up to still the argument. “Listen, this is all … fascinating.”

Nick shot him a look as he rubbed comforting circles on Maddie’s back.

“It’s actually deplorable,” Kreskin said. “As horrible as it is, though, that’s not our main concern right now. What happened after Cassidy made you leave?”

“Nothing,” Marla replied, nonplussed. “We went back to the hallway where our rooms are located and said our goodnights.”

“How was Cassidy when you left her?”

“She was … sad,” Marla said. “If you want to know the truth, I think seeing Maddie and Nick in a private moment made her realize that it really was over between her and Nick.”

“I think the breakup should’ve been proof of that,” Nick said, shifting so he could pull Maddie flush against his chest and soothe her. “You’re the one who kept telling her she still had a shot. This is on you, Marla.”

“I didn’t do anything to her,” Marla shot back. “Don’t you even think about blaming me for this. If you hadn’t broken her heart in the first place, none of this would’ve ever happened.”

“Shut up, Marla,” Christy said.

Kreskin pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated. “Marla, was Cassidy wearing her necklace when you left the passageway together?”

Marla racked her brain. “I think so. I can’t be a hundred percent sure, though. It’s not like I was looking for it.”

“If she didn’t drop the necklace when she was in there with you, that means she went back on her own,” Kreskin said, casting a sympathetic look in Maddie and Nick’s direction.

“That means she could’ve been spying on us for hours,” Nick finished, kissing Maddie’s cheek. “Good grief.”

“I’m sorry,” Kreskin said. “There are no words for how sorry I am, in fact.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Aaron said. “I should’ve warned you guys about those passageways. I honestly forgot.”

“Speaking of forgetting, how come you said you forgot about the passageways, but Marla claims she saw you going into them?” Kreskin asked, turning to Max.

Max looked caught. He glanced at Aaron for a moment and then sheepishly lowered his gaze. “I might have gone in to spy, too.”

Nick growled, causing Max to take a step back. “I was not spying on you. I was actually going farther down the hallway because I wanted to spy on Aaron.”

“Holy crap, dude,” Aaron said, flabbergasted. “You were spying on me?”

“Is there something you want to tell us?” Lauren asked.

“Oh, gross,” Marla said, wrinkling her nose. “I slept with you.”

“I wasn’t spying on Aaron for
that
,” Max said, rolling his eyes. “I hid a fake snake in his bed earlier in the day yesterday. I wanted to watch him freak out.”

“That was you?” Aaron asked. “I should’ve known. You used to do that to me when I was a kid all the time. I was scared to climb into my bed for a month straight.”

“That’s why I did it,” Max said. “I thought it was a fun callback to when we were kids. I went into the passageway to see if I remembered how to get to your room. It had been a long time since I was in there and I didn’t want to get lost.

“Anyway, after two tries I found your room, and I was going to go back and watch you freak out about the snake last night but … well … we got hammered instead and I forgot because I was so drunk,” Max said.

“Dude, you’re such an idiot,” Aaron said. “I’m far too manly to be scared by a fake snake. I didn’t even blink twice when I saw it.”

“Is that because you were drunk?”

“No, it’s because I was two seconds from passing out,” Aaron countered, smiling. When the gravity of the situation washed back over him, though, he had the grace to look abashed. “I’m sorry. Now is not the time for this conversation.”

“What do we do now?” Christy asked.

“There’s not much we can do,” Kreskin said. “Cassidy hasn’t been missing for twenty-four hours yet and there’s no law against a grown woman voluntarily going missing.”

“What about the necklace?” Nick asked. “It looks like someone ripped it from around her neck.”

“Does it?” Kreskin asked, arching an eyebrow. “How do you know it didn’t just get tangled in her hair and break on its own?”

“I … .” Nick broke off, unsure. Now that Kreskin voiced the question, he wasn’t sure how to answer. “It still doesn’t seem like her to just disappear.”

“Maybe she didn’t,” Kreskin said. “We all know she’s been having problems with your relationship with Maddie. Heck, everyone in town saw her hiding from you at the fair a couple weeks ago. People were talking about it for days.

“I know you don’t want this brought up again, but maybe she snuck back into the passageway and spied on you and Maddie long enough to get really upset,” he continued. “What she saw might have depressed her, or made her angry.”

“I know it depressed me,” Marla grumbled.

“Shut up, Marla,” Nick seethed.

“There are a lot of options we need to consider,” Kreskin said. “Cassidy could’ve been so upset by what she saw that she left and went home. I’m going to stop there when I’m done here and make sure that’s not the case. She also could’ve just gone for a walk to clear her head.”

“What if something happened to her?” Nick asked.

“What?” Kreskin asked. “My understanding of the situation is that everyone’s time from last night is accounted for. You and Maddie were … together … and everyone else was down here drinking.”

“What about Marla?” Lauren asked.

“I didn’t do anything!”

“Until Cassidy has been gone for twenty-four hours, my hands are tied,” Kreskin said. “There are no signs of foul play. There’s nothing to indicate that something bad happened to her.”

“But … .”

“Nick, you’re a police officer,” Kreskin said. “You know the rules. All you have is a broken necklace and Marla’s story that Cassidy was watching you and Maddie last night. That’s nothing.”

Nick knew he was right. Still, the unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach was growing – and not just because Maddie was a mess. “So, we just wait?”

“That’s all we can do,” Kreskin said. “I’m sorry.”