“I guess that makes sense.” Even as she said the words, Maddie wasn’t certain she felt them. “So, you’ve been on the run all this time. Did you ever figure out what happened to Sarah?”
Cadence nodded, her expression grim. “As a matter of fact, I did. She’s here.”
Maddie was taken aback. “Here in Casper Creek?”
“She’s with the psychics.”
Whatever she was expecting, that wasn’t it. “You’ve seen her here?”
Cadence nodded. “I have. What’s worse is that she’s seen me. We’ve both changed our appearances some, but when you live with someone for two years ... .” She trailed off.
“And you’re certain it’s her?” Maddie pressed. “There’s no doubt in your mind, right?”
“It’s her. I just ... it’s not like I could forget.” Cadence’s gaze was imploring when it locked with Maddie’s somber orbs. “I can’t stay here. She’ll try to frame me again to make sure I can’t tell anybody about her true identity. You have to help me.”
“I can’t help you.” Maddie was earnest. “I don’t have access to any of the vehicles in the lot. I’m a tourist here, too. I came up the lift and our rental is at the bottom of the mountain.”
“Then give me the keys to your rental,” Cadence insisted. “I’ll go down the lift.”
The sound of footsteps behind her had Cadence dragging her attention in that direction. Her features paled when she took in the woman standing there.
“They’ve shut down the lift,” Carrie announced, her eyes seeking — and finding — a nervous Maddie. “I guess I have you to thank for that, Rosie. I should’ve known you would foul this whole thing up.”
Cadence’s eyes went wide at mention of her real name. “I told you this wasn’t my fault,” she hissed in Maddie’s direction. “I told you I didn’t do this.”
Maddie had already come to the same conclusion. Carrie’s appearance changed everything ... and not in a good way. Despite the fear twisting through her, Maddie remained calm. “I take it you’re the one who killed Velma, huh?”
Carrie narrowed her eyes to dangerous slits. “That’s a dangerous accusation to throw around. I hope you have some proof to go with that innuendo.”
“I don’t need proof.” Maddie refused to back down. “It’s what makes sense. That’s why you were so angry when I let it slip that Velma had tapped you to take her spot. You were running a con on Velma and Melissa and weren’t ready for the information to come out.”
“Oh, you think you’re so smart.” Carrie made a face. “You think you know everything and yet you know nothing.”
Despite the circumstances, Maddie was feeling stronger. “Then why don’t you tell me?”
Carrie shot a dark look in Cadence’s direction. “Gladly. I’m sure the pile of crap you’ve been getting from this one paints me in a bad light. Let me tell you the real story.”
Carrie took a deep breath and then jumped right in. “Whatever she said is a lie. I was the victim when we were living together. She stole from me and threatened my life. That’s why I took off the way I did and assumed a new identity.”
“Oh, she’s lying,” Cadence protested.
“Shut up,” Carrie snapped. “It’s my turn to tell a tale.”
To Maddie’s utter surprise, Cadence shrank back from the woman who used to be her roommate. It was a telling reaction, although she’d already come to her own conclusions about Carrie. There was nothing the woman could do to change her mind.
“I’m sure she told you she was the one who came up with this psychic gig first,” Carrie started. “Well, that is a complete and total lie. It was me.”
Cadence made a protesting sound with her tongue but otherwise remained quiet.
“We met when we were both young, barely out of our childhood homes, and I thought we would bond over that. Instead, she tried to steal my life. She went all Single White Female on me. It was ... freaky. She followed me everywhere, tried to steal my identity. I was scared for my life.”
The emotionless way Carrie delivered the last line had Maddie hiking an eyebrow. “You were scared for your life, huh?”
“I was.” Carrie bobbed her head and let loose an ingratiating smile that Maddie didn’t believe for a moment. “You have no idea how horrible it is to have to push furniture against your bedroom door at night because you’re just that terrified.
“I’ve always known I was special,” she continued. “I had abilities others didn’t, and that made me a target. When I first moved in with her, I hid what I could do. We became close for a time, though. This was before I realized how psychotic she really was. One night while drunk, I made the mistake of confiding my secret. After that, things changed.”
“That’s not true,” Cadence argued. “None of this is true.”
Rather than respond, Maddie sent her a quelling look. “I want to hear the story in its entirety,” she insisted.
Cadence obviously wasn’t thrilled with the response, but she snapped her mouth shut.
“I ran when I realized she planned on killing me,” Carrie explained. “I overheard her talking with her boyfriend. He was the rough sort, a biker, and they were plotting against me. I knew I had to get out.
“I waited until the next day, when I knew she had a job, and that’s when I left,” she continued. “I didn’t want her to realize I’d run right away. That’s why I only packed a few things, nothing noticeable. I fled not just the city but the state I was so frightened. I never looked back.
“You can imagine my surprise when we ended up at the same event years later,” she continued. “At first I didn’t recognize her. She’s changed quite a few things, put highlights in her hair and modified her nose, but it didn’t take long for me to put it together ... especially because it was
