“Oh?” Cassandra arched a curious eyebrow. “Do you need something else?”
“Information.”
“About?”
“Phoebe Green.”
Cassandra didn’t bother to hide her surprise. “What do you want to know about Phoebe? She doesn’t pull shifts during the week.”
Well, that answered that question, Ivy internally mused. “So she only works here during the weekends? I knew I saw her here a time or two.”
“She’s been pulling shifts during the week at the golf resort over in Bellaire,” Cassandra explained. “She was working in the bar next to the pro shop, slinging drinks. It’s good money for the summer months, but it’s seasonal.”
“If she’s making good money there, why is she working here, too?”
Cassandra shrugged. “Money? I didn’t ask. It wasn’t any of my business. She took over the weekend shifts whenever they were offered, she was always on time, and the customers never complained. That’s pretty much all anyone cared about.”
“I can see that.” Ivy rolled her neck until it cracked. “When was the last time you saw Phoebe?”
“Saw her?” Cassandra racked her brain. “I don’t know. I didn’t work Saturday or Sunday. I guess it’s been a good two weeks or so.”
“But you’re sure she showed up for her shifts this weekend, right?”
“As far as I know. I’m sure I would’ve heard about it otherwise. Someone would’ve complained. You can’t keep things like that a secret when there are a total of six employees.”
“Fair point.” Ivy paid Cassandra for the ice cream — plus an ample tip — and happily bit in as she considered how much she should say. “Has anyone heard from Phoebe this week? I mean ... has she called in sick or anything?”
“Not that I’m aware of.” Cassandra’s gaze turned suspicious. “How come you’re asking so many questions about Phoebe?”
“Oh, well, I was simply curious.” Ivy knew better than announcing Janice’s death before Jack and Brian gave her the go-ahead. They wanted to be in control of the information release, and she couldn’t blame them for that. “Thanks for the tip on the resort, though. I’ll be back when I need another ice cream fix.”
“Okay. I think you’re acting weird, but okay.”
Ivy merely waved. “I’ll see you around.”
BRIAN AND JACK WERE EXHAUSTED by the time they left Nikki. She was still ranting and raving when they slipped through the front door, but it was a relief to escape from her shrill voice.
“What do you think?” Brian asked when they were both settled in his cruiser.
“I think she’s a maniac.”
“That’s a given. What do you think about her story?”
Jack held his hands palms up and shrugged. “I’m not sure what to think about it. I don’t know her well enough to be able to gauge if she’s lying. Honestly, if she is lying, it seems like a weird way to go.”
“She takes no responsibility for her part in what happened to Janice and Brad’s marriage,” Brian mused. “I knew she was a narcissist but that is simply unbelievable. She doesn’t feel any guilt at all.”
“More than that, she didn’t appear upset about Janice’s death,” Jack noted. “She blames Janice for the people in town being down on her and believes she’s totally in the right.”
“That doesn’t make her a killer.”
“No. I do think it begs for further investigation, though.”
“Definitely.”
The duo lapsed into amiable silence as Brian navigated Shadow Lake’s quiet downtown streets. They were almost to the police station when Jack noticed a familiar figure, pink hair glinting in the sun, strolling along the main downtown route.
“What the ... ?” He openly stared at Ivy as she walked down the sidewalk, an ice cream cone in her hand.
Despite himself and the rigors of the day, Brian was amused. “Hmm. Ivy’s been to the Dairy Twist, the place Phoebe was working. I’m shocked, I tell you. Shocked!”
Jack openly glared. “That is not funny. She’s supposed to be at home recuperating.”
“Recuperating from what?”
“Whatever she saw.”
“Well ... I think she’s done recuperating. I wonder if she found out anything good while at the Dairy Twist.”
Jack wasn’t exactly angry, but he wasn’t happy either. “I don’t know. I intend to find out.”
JACK PICKED UP DINNER from the diner and met Ivy back at the cottage. She seemed to be lighter, as if the weight of the world had been removed from her shoulders, and while he was glad to see she wasn’t dwelling on what happened, he was also curious how she managed to shrug off the doldrums from hours before.
“I got you the pita sandwich you like with the grilled mixed vegetables,” he offered as he placed the bag on the table. “Fries, too. Oh, and cheesecake. They had that turtle cheesecake you like so I grabbed a few slices of that.”
“Yum.” Ivy flashed him a genuine smile. “You know how I feel about cheesecake.”
“Yes, although I’m surprised you have room for it given the ice cream you ate this afternoon.”
She didn’t react. Not a drop of the shoulders or a sheepish smile. Instead, she simply remained where she was standing.
“That’s your opening to tell me what you were doing downtown this afternoon,” he prodded.
“I didn’t realize I was supposed to report to you. I must have missed that in the contract I signed right after we got engaged. You know, the one that says you’re the boss of me.”
Jack scowled. “Ivy ... .”
“Jack.” She mocked his tone to perfection. “What do you want me to say? I’m not accountable to you. I don’t have to constantly tell you where I am and what I’m doing.”
“Yes, you do.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Not in the way you’re insinuating perhaps, but we’re a team,” he persisted. “We’re together now and we’re going to be together forever. That means we talk to one another.”
“You don’t tell me when you go places.”
“That’s entirely different ... and I do so.” He refused to back down. He was used to her tactics when trying to win an argument. “I plan to tell you all about my conversations with Ross ... and Nikki ... and Brian. I’m going to talk so much your eyes are going to glaze over and you’re going to be annoyed by the sound of my voice.”
Ivy rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I don’t see why you’re getting so worked up about this. It was just a simple ice cream cone.”
“Which you didn’t invite me for,” he muttered under his breath, causing her to smile.
“I didn’t really think about it,” she admitted, changing course. “I was upset when I got back to the house. All I could think about was what I saw and how it was difficult to sort through. The screaming really freaked me out.”
Jack’s expression softened. “I know that, honey. Why do you think I was so worried?”
“Because you’re a worrier by nature ... and you love me.”
“More than anything,” he agreed. “You have no idea how much I love you.”
“Well, I love you right back.” Ivy moved to the table and helped him unpack their dinner. “I was still weirded out by what happened. I don’t know how to explain what I saw, or how I felt. It was as if I couldn’t find the words – any words, for that matter. That’s rare for me because I can always find the words.”
“I definitely know that.”
“Are you saying I have a big mouth?”
“I’m saying I love your mouth.” As if to prove it, he planted a light kiss on her lips. “I still want to know how you ended up digging into an investigation you weren’t invited to participate in at the Dairy Twist.”
Ivy bit back a sigh. If she thought he was simply going to let it go, she was mistaken. That’s not how Jack rolled. He was like a dog with a bone, and there was no way he would let loose his line of questioning before he got the answers he was looking for.
“I called Harper.”
“Yeah?” It wasn’t so long ago that the only female friend Ivy boasted was her aunt. Jack hadn’t even considered the possibility that his fiancée called the gregarious ghost hunter, and he was kicking himself because of it. “Well, that was probably a good idea. Obviously she made you feel better.”
“She did. She said that even though things seemed to be happening faster and faster that I wasn’t in over my head, and that I can handle whatever is thrown at me because I’m strong and in control of my own destiny.”
“I believe I’ve told you that multiple times.”
“Yes, but you have to say things like that because you love me.”
“It’s also the truth.”
“Yeah, well, I needed a little time to decompress and she talked through things with me,” Ivy said. “She said that things were probably jumbled in my head because they happened so fast and, if I forced myself to relax and let things come rather than forcing them, I would probably figure things out on my own.”
“I believe I also said that to you.”
“Not today.”
Jack made a tsking sound and shook his head. “Fine. She’s the smartest woman in the world and I’m a dolt. Continue.”
“It’s not a competition.” Ivy sat in her regular chair and opened her takeout container, a sentimental sigh escaping when she saw that he’d made sure ketchup and mayonnaise packets were included for her fries. “You’ve already won the competition.”
Jack smirked as he sat beside her and opened his own container. “Honey, I know I’ve told you this a million times, but we’ll figure things out regarding what’s happening with your magic.”
Ivy’s smile slipped. “I don’t like using that word.”
“I’m well aware. What word would you prefer I use?”
“Um ... .”
Jack waited, feigning patience.
“Fine.” She blew out a frustrated sigh. “It’s just a weird word to use. I don’t think of myself as magical.”
“That’s because you sell yourself short. You’ve always been magical in my book, and I thought that before we started sharing dreams and the other stuff came into play.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She waved off his schmaltzy words. “I’m going to get a handle on it. It might not happen as quickly as either of us would like, but I’m working on it. I’m trying hard.”
“I never doubted it for a second. I don’t care how long it takes. We’re in this together. I only wish you could talk to me as easily as you can talk to Harper.”
“I can talk to you. It’s just ... I don’t even know how to explain what happened. I tried explaining it to Harper. She can do things. Sure, they’re not the same things, but she understands where I’m coming from. And, even when I can’t explain, she understands why I can’t explain. Sometimes I feel like I’m disappointing you because I can’t explain.”
“Hey!” Jack barked out his annoyance and grabbed her hand. “You’re never a disappointment to me. Never. Don’t think things like that. It will drive me crazy.”
Ivy laughed despite herself. “Fair enough. I’m doing my best.”
“I know. I am, too. This is something that’s going to take time for us to navigate. I want to do it together.”
“We’re always together, even when we’re apart. It was your voice I heard nagging in the back of my head when I questioned Cassandra at the Dairy Twist. By the way, do you know I have a regular order there? Do you think I’m in an ice cream rut?”
Jack had no idea how to respond. “We’ll talk about the ice cream later. I want to talk about what Cassandra told you.”
“She said Phoebe is working at the resort during the week and the Dairy Twist on the weekends.”
“Why does she need two jobs?”
Ivy held her hands palms out and shrugged. “I honestly have no idea. I think that’s one of the questions we need to ask if we find her.”
“If?”
“Oh, don’t do that.” Her smile was rueful. “You’re wondering, the same as I am, if she’s dead. If she’s not, then she’s potentially a killer. I think those are the only two options that make sense.”
“Actually there’s a third,” Jack countered. “She could’ve been taken. Maybe she was there when her mother was killed and whoever did it removed her from the situation and didn’t kill her.”
“Why?”
“I honestly don’t know, but there are a few possibilities.”
“Like what?” Ivy was genuinely curious. “Janice didn’t have a lot of money, and Phoebe was working two jobs. How could anyone possibly benefit from taking Phoebe?”
Jack gripped his hamburger but didn’t bite into it. “Well, maybe the reason for taking Phoebe wasn’t monetary.”
“I don’t understand. I ... .” Realization dawned late on Ivy. “Oh. You think someone took her for sexual reasons.”
“I think it’s a possibility,” Jack clarified hurriedly. “I don’t know why anyone would take her. I don’t know much about her. Brian managed to scrounge up a photo, and she’s an attractive girl. As much as I would like to pretend otherwise, there are sexual deviants out there.
“You’re right about Janice not having money,” he continued. “That makes killing her for financial reasons extremely unlikely. We have to think outside the box, and that’s only one scenario we’ve considered.”
“What did Nikki say when you stopped by her place?”
“She is a damaged individual, to say the least.”
Ivy made a face, her displeasure obvious. “I try to avoid her whenever I can — I often think that’s how Maisie and Ava will turn out — but I can only imagine the things she said to you.” Maisie and Ava were two of Ivy’s former classmates who went out of their way to harass Ivy while trying to prey on any man they could get their claws into around town. They were two of Jack’s least favorite people.
“She basically painted herself as a victim and said that Janice was the one going after her for no good reason.”
“Slut,” Ivy growled under her breath, eliciting a chuckle from Jack.
“I find it interesting that Shadow Lake is still one of those places where morals matter,” he said. “Anyway, she denied hurting Janice and was absolutely no help. She said she hasn’t seen Phoebe in years, other than from afar, and that she’s fairly certain Phoebe hasn’t spoken to Brad either.”
“What did Brad say?”
“He’s out of town on a business trip.”
Ivy stilled. “He’s an insurance salesman. I didn’t realize that meant he took a lot of business trips.”
“I know exactly what you’re thinking,” Jack said. “I find the timing interesting, too. Nikki says he’s due back tomorrow and claims not to have his travel itinerary. I have my doubts. There isn’t much we can do until tomorrow, though.”
“If he doesn’t show up, does he become your primary suspect?”
“Pretty much. He had a tempestuous relationship with the victim. He was supposedly out of town, but we haven’t been able to confirm his alibi. Nikki was acting weird, if you ask me. She almost seemed nervous.”
“To be fair, Nikki has never been what I would call normal,” Ivy offered. “I mean ... I’m strange. I would never deny that. She makes me look like the poster child for normalcy, though. She’s always been weird. Even before she broke up Janice’s marriage, I thought she was odd.
“My mother always hated her, insisted she was trying to hit on my father,” she continued. “My dad isn’t the type to stray — never has been — but Nikki managed to ruffle feathers all across town before hooking up and becoming besties with Janice.”
“I’m sure Janice regretted making friends with the town pariah after the fact.”
“I’m sure she did, too, although Nikki did her a favor. If Brad was that faithless, it was better to unload him before he could give her an STD or something. It probably didn’t seem like it when things were going down, but Janice was better off with
out Brad.”
“That’s the feeling I got from Ross when I talked to him. They were taking things slow. He seemed well and truly shaken.”
“Is he a suspect?”
“We can’t rule him out as of yet, but he’s hardly on the top of my list.”
“So, where do you look now?”
Jack swished his lips. “Phoebe. She’s the key to all this, whether dead or alive. We simply have to figure out a way to track her down.”
“Well, I think I can be some help there. I plan to use my newfound abilities to track her down ... whether they want to cooperate or not.”
“Good plan.” He pinned her with a pointed look. “What do you say, after dinner, we hop in the bathtub and put all of this behind us for the rest of the night? We can’t forget it, but we can take a few hours for ourselves.”
“Can we eat the cheesecake in the tub?”
“Of course.”
“Sold.” Ivy beamed, causing his heart to roll with joy. “I’m glad we talked all this out. I feel better.”
Jack returned her smile. “Me, too. Now ... eat. The faster we finish this, the faster we can get to dessert.”
“Yes, sir.”
Six
Both Ivy and Jack were invigorated the next morning, so much so they were practically on top of one another, their lips fused together, when Max let himself into the cottage.
“I’m blind!” Max, his dark hair still damp from the shower, dramatically threw his arm up to cover his face as Jack scowled. “I’ll never get over this. I’m traumatized for life.”
“You’re a complete and total moron is what you are,” Jack growled, rubbing his hands over Ivy’s slim back as he glared at her brother. “What have I told you about knocking?”
“That it’s the polite thing to do,” Max replied without hesitation as he ambled over to the table to hunt through the breakfast remnants. “Nothing for me? How is that fair?”
Ivy glowered as she stalked to the oven and removed a plate she left inside to keep warm. On it, a stack of blueberry pancakes waited and Max brightened considerably.
“I take it all back,” Max enthused, accepting the plate. “You’re my favorite couple in the world. I don’t care how dirty you are, the pancakes make up for it.”
Wicked Haunts (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 12) Page 5