Wicked Haunts (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 12)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “And she brought us ice cream,” Max said. “After that boring walk in the woods where we came up with absolutely nothing new, the ice cream is welcome.”

  Jack ignored him. “I’m still mad.”

  “Oh, you can’t be mad.” Ivy was firm. “You ate my ice cream. That means you forgive me.”

  Jack balked. “In what universe?”

  “In this one. Everyone knows if you accept a woman’s ice cream that you have to forgive her. If you break that rule, it’s anarchy.”

  Jack’s lips twitched, but he managed to keep a straight face. “We’re going to talk about this later.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  BRIAN AND JACK DECIDED to act on the gossipy tidbit sooner rather than later. Hank was retired, which meant he had a lot of extra time on his hands, and they found him sitting in his front yard and glaring at the kids across the street as they ran through the sprinkler.

  “How’s it going, Hank?” Brian greeted him with a half-smile. “Are you making sure the kids stay off your lawn?”

  “You jest, but that’s exactly what I’m doing.” Hank lifted the beer he had wrapped in a risqué cozy featuring a naked woman bending over to show the world her … assets. “To what do I owe a visit from Shadow Lake’s finest?”

  “I like checking on our residents whenever possible,” Brian said as he took the empty lawn chair next to Hank. That left Jack to stand since Hank didn’t offer to scrounge up another chair. “How are you feeling these days?”

  “I’m living the good life. Can’t you tell?”

  “Obviously.” Brian leaned back in his chair and rested his hands on his knees. “Have you talked to Nikki lately?”

  Hank shrugged as he took a long glug of his beer. “I talk to her from time to time. Why? Is she in trouble?”

  “Should she be in trouble?”

  “That girl has been trouble since the day she was born. I blame her mother.”

  “Didn’t Sheila die when Nikki was like ten?”

  “Yeah, but she had ten years to spoil the girl and turn her into an entitled brat. How else would you explain how she turned out? I certainly didn’t teach her to break up families and walk around in those clothes she insists on wearing.”

  Brian was in no mood to chat about Hank’s lack of parenting skills. In truth, Nikki didn’t have much to choose from when it came to selecting a role model. Even before her death, Sheila’s attitude wasn’t something to aspire to. “We’re more interested in Nikki’s relationship with Phoebe Green.”

  “I don’t think she has a relationship with that kid. My understanding is the kid didn’t want anything to do with her father or Nikki. I don’t really blame her. They’re both losers of the highest degree.”

  “That’s a great thing to say about your daughter,” Jack noted.

  Hank gave him a long look. “You’re the new detective, right?”

  “I’ve been here for more than a year, but I guess so.”

  “That’s plenty new. We’ve never met. I don’t care to know you. I think, from what I hear, you’ve been shacking up with that Morgan girl. That doesn’t exactly give me warm and fuzzy feelings about you.”

  Jack fought to retain his temper. “I don’t believe Ivy is part of this conversation.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “And if you say anything about her again, I’m going to call those kids over here to have a freaking party on your lawn.”

  Brian shot his partner a quelling look. “Hank, we’re actually here for a serious reason. Did you hear what happened to Janice Green the other day?”

  For the first time since his afternoon was interrupted, Hank showed legitimate interest in the conversation. “What happened to Janice?”

  “She’s dead.”

  “How?”

  “She was strangled and left in her living room. She wasn’t found until three days later.”

  “Huh.” Hank rubbed his chin and took another drink of his beer, his expression unreadable. “I’m guessing you’re not here because you want to shoot the breeze, but more because you want to know if I think Nikki is capable of killing the woman who she blames for ruining her life.”

  Brian pursed his lips. “We’ve talked to Nikki. She denies having anything to do with Janice’s death. She did mention that Janice made things hard for her, but I’m guessing most people in town see it the opposite way.”

  “I told Nikki she was making a mistake when she told me her plan for Brad. I thought she could do better, but she wouldn’t listen. She’d made up her mind. I was always suspicious when she made friends with Janice. It seemed to come out of nowhere and they had nothing in common.”

  “That was years ago,” Brian pointed out. “While most people remember what happened, they’ve long since stopped calling Nikki names on the street.”

  “I’m sure they’re still thinking those names.”

  “I’m sure they are, too,” Brian agreed. “Things aren’t nearly as tense as they were back in the day, though. Frankly, I don’t understand why Brad and Nikki didn’t move to a different town. They could’ve avoided all of it if they wanted.”

  “Brad wanted to stay close for the kid.”

  Brian had his doubts about that, but he kept them to himself. “Speaking of Phoebe, she’s missing. As far as we can tell, no one has seen her since the day Janice was killed. I’m sure you can guess what that means.”

  “She either killed her mother or was taken by the person who did.”

  “Pretty much,” Brian conceded. “The thing is, there’s a rumor going around town that Phoebe was suggesting that she might try hooking up with you as payback for what Nikki did.” Brian was uncomfortable with the topic but there was no getting around it. “So, I have to ask, have you been having a relationship with Phoebe?”

  Hank worked his jaw. “Are you serious?”

  “I have to ask, Hank.”

  “And I think we’re done here.” Hank pushed himself to a standing position, shaking his head as he glared. “I can’t believe you had the gall to ask me that.”

  “You haven’t answered the question.”

  “And I’m not going to. I should think you know me well enough to figure it out yourself.”

  Sadly, Brian knew enough about Hank that he couldn’t rule out the possibility that the man would take advantage of a young woman with emotional issues. “I need to hear an answer from you, Hank.”

  “Here’s my answer.” Hank raised his middle finger and stalked toward the front door. “Now, get off my lawn and don’t come back without a warrant. I’m done talking to the two of you.”

  IVY SPENT MOST OF the afternoon feeling trapped. Even though she was outside, busy with customers, and free to go wherever she wanted as long as it was on the property, she visualized an invisible noose tightening around her neck. She told herself she was imagining it, but the fact that her father and brother – Max conveniently found a reason to stay – followed her from one end of the nursery to the other was a constant annoyance.

  She did her best to ignore both of them, finally taking refuge in the greenhouse. She was bothered by the idea of someone being inside – that was one of her favorite places to take a breather on a busy day, after all – and she was determined to put it back the way it should be.

  Even as she hefted heavy bags of potting soil, her muscles singing, she was trying to get flashes from them. She didn’t realize she was doing it at first, but after the fifth bag, the realization hit her … and hard.

  The magic never came when she wanted it. It usually snuck up on her, bopped her over the head like a hammer, and then retreated for so long she could almost forget weird things kept happening. She was happier when things didn’t happen, which she would admit to anyone who would listen, but she was coming to the realization that her life had changed and she would have to embrace it if she didn’t want to keep getting steamrolled.

  The sound of someone clearing a throat behind her was enough to make her cringe. “
Geez, Max,” she complained as she turned. “Can’t you leave me alone for five minutes?”

  Max wasn’t standing in the door, though. Instead, the woman she found watching her with judgmental eyes was the last person she ever expected to darken the nursery’s doorstep. “Nikki?”

  The woman, who looked frazzled and sported huge shadows under her eyes, made a face that was right out of a Disney villains cartoon. “I’m so glad you recognize me. That will make this conversation easier than I was expecting.”

  Ivy sucked in a breath and regrouped. “I just wasn’t expecting you.”

  “Apparently you were expecting that fine brother of yours. If I knew he was out here, I might’ve dressed up.”

  “Don’t you already have a husband? I mean … you did go out of your way to steal him from Janice in the first place. It seems to me you would want to hold onto him.”

  Nikki’s green eyes darkened as she planted her hands on her hips. “You know, I get enough grief from the rest of the town on a daily basis. I really don’t need to get it from you, too. I mean … it’s not as if you’re perfect.”

  “Compared to you I’m a saint.”

  “Yes, a pink-haired saint.”

  Ivy bit back every foul impulse she’d been feeling over the course of the afternoon and reminded herself that Nikki sought her out. There had to be a reason. “What do you want?”

  “I need information about Phoebe.”

  “I don’t have any information to give you.”

  “You live with a cop. He must have told you what they think happened to her.”

  “They don’t know. It’s a mystery. There are several possibilities, but I think even you can figure them out.”

  Nikki’s gaze was withering. “I need to find her. Brad is having a fit and I figure the only way to calm him down is to find that brat of a girl.”

  Ivy was officially intrigued. “Brad had other things on his mind last night when he approached me in the parking lot. He didn’t strike me as a guy worried about the safety of his daughter.”

  “He has trouble showing his emotions.”

  “Well, it’s kind of fortuitous that you showed up when you did,” Ivy said, changing course. “I have something I want to ask you. I heard a little something in town today, and I’m dying to know if it’s true.”

  “Yes, everyone in town thinks you’re weird and no one can fathom how you nabbed the new cop,” she drawled.

  Ivy gripped her hands together in tight fists. “I cast a spell on him. Ask anyone.”

  “I wouldn’t put it past you.”

  “The question I want to ask you is about Phoebe,” Ivy pressed, refusing to be dragged off course. “Rumor has it that she was talking – and rather loudly – about getting together with your father as payback to you. Were you aware of that?”

  At first, Nikki looked as if she was going to laugh, the notion too hilarious to consider. After a moment, though, she straightened her shoulders and stared Ivy down … hard. “Are you serious?”

  “It’s a rumor I heard.”

  “Well that is just … ,” she trailed off, ultimately shaking her head. “There’s no way.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Of course I’m sure.”

  Ivy wasn’t convinced. “Well … then I guess that’s all we have to talk about.”

  “I guess so.” Nikki turned on her heel and stormed out of the greenhouse, leaving Ivy to stare after her. The woman might have been a solid liar, but there was no way she’d heard the rumor about Hank. Ivy was convinced of that.

  There was always the possibility it wasn’t true. The more Ivy thought about it, though, she was bothered by the opposite possibility. If it was true, how did Hank play into all of this?

  Thirteen

  Jack picked Ivy up at the nursery shortly after it closed. Michael and Max were still there, pretending they had private business between them, and Ivy was a volcano about to blow when Jack showed up.

  One look at his weary expression forced her to change her tune.

  “Are you okay?”

  He stared at her for a long beat and then opened his arms. “I could use a hug.”

  Torn, Ivy planted her hands on her hips. “That’s not fair. I’m still mad at you.”

  “Life isn’t fair, honey.”

  One earnest expression was all it took. Ivy went to him, slid between his arms, and pressed her head to his chest. “I can’t believe I’m falling for this,” she muttered.

  Jack smiled into her hair. “I missed you today.”

  “We saw each other several times.”

  “Yeah, but I missed this.”

  Ivy sighed. She could never stay angry at him. “You suck.” She clutched his shirt and rubbed her cheek against it. “I mean it. You really suck.”

  “I love you, too.” He rubbed her back, swaying from side to side for what felt like forever. It wasn’t nearly long enough for him. It was far too long for Michael and Max.

  “Are we off the clock or what?” Max called out, earning a stern glare from Jack.

  “I’m starting to regret asking you to be my best man,” Jack muttered.

  Ivy lifted her chin. “You asked Max to be your best man? I didn’t know you were going to do that.”

  Suddenly, Jack felt exposed. “Oh, well ... it seemed like the thing to do.”

  “I think it’s great,” Michael enthused, beaming. “Jack and Max are going to be like brothers once you guys get married. It fits. Although ... who are you going to have stand up for you, Ivy?”

  Ivy stiffened, causing Jack to slide her a look.

  “What’s wrong?” Jack stroked the back of her head, his fingers getting snarled thanks to the thick curls humidity wrought in her hair throughout the day. “Did I do something wrong?”

  Ivy immediately started shaking her head. “No. Absolutely not. It’s just ... who am I going to have stand up with me?”

  Jack had never really considered the question. “I don’t know. Who do you want to stand up with you?”

  “I’m not friends with any women.”

  Jack wanted to scoff, but that was essentially true. “Well ... what about Harper?”

  Ivy honestly hadn’t even thought about the blond ghost hunter when she asked the question. “We don’t know each other all that well. How would you feel if someone you knew for a few weeks asked you to stand up in his wedding?”

  “You and Harper clicked, though,” he persisted. “I mean ... you really bonded. I think it’s okay to ask if you bond with someone. She was the one you called when you were upset because of the visions the other day.”

  Ivy scrubbed her hands over her face, her mind busy. She didn’t notice her father detaching from the checkout booth and heading in her direction.

  “Hold up,” Michael said. “What visions?”

  Jack pressed the tip of his tongue against the back of his teeth as he internally cringed. That was a mistake. He intended to allow Ivy the chance to tell her parents about the changes she was undergoing on her own timetable. That didn’t look to be an option now ... and Jack knew he was to blame.

  “Um ... I think I misspoke,” he hedged.

  Ivy pressed the palm of her hand to her forehead to rub at a building headache. “It’s not important, Dad,” she offered. “It’s just this ... thing ... that happened. There’s no reason to get yourself worked up.”

  Michael shifted his eyes to Max, searching. “Do you know what Jack is talking about?”

  Clearly uncomfortable, Max shifted from one foot to the other. “I don’t want to be part of this conversation. I knew I should’ve left the second Jack showed up. This is what I get for wanting to stay to mess with him. I was going to make whip sounds when Ivy laid down the law. There’s probably a message about karma in there, huh?”

  “Definitely,” Michael agreed. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

  Jack instinctively rubbed Ivy’s back as she faced her father. He wanted to put himself between the two Morg
ans, act as a shield, but it wasn’t possible. That didn’t make him forget that this was essentially his fault.

  “I’m sorry,” he offered lamely.

  Ivy was resigned. “It was going to come out eventually.”

  “It didn’t have to come out like this.”

  “And people say I have a big mouth,” Max supplied, making a tsking sound with his tongue as he shook his head.

  “I guess we should talk,” Ivy said uneasily, rubbing her sweaty palms against her capris. “Maybe we should sit in the shade or something.”

  Michael glanced between faces, his irritation evident. “I want to know what’s going on right now. If someone doesn’t tell me, I’m revoking my permission for Jack to marry Ivy.”

  Max and Ivy snickered in unison.

  “What?” Michael barked.

  “If you’re going to threaten her, you should probably pick something that’s believable,” Max suggested. “I mean ... you love Jack so much there are times I believe you want to marry him.”

  “Knock it off.” Michael was firm. “I know that you’re an adult, Ivy, but you’ll always be my child. I want to know what’s going on right now.”

  Trapped, with no other option than to tell the truth, Ivy did just that. She was almost relieved when it was out in the open.

  Almost.

  When she was done, Ivy gripped her hands together and met her father’s gaze with something akin to trepidation. For his part, Michael was nowhere near as worked up as he expected to be.

  “Is that all? I thought you were going to tell me something terrible.”

  Ivy was taken aback. “It feels terrible to me.”

  “Ivy is still getting used to it,” Jack offered helpfully. “I’m not as worried about it as she is, but I understand why she’s struggling to get through everything. It’s a big deal.”

  “It’s not a big deal.” Michael waved off the comment as if Jack had said it was about to rain in the middle of a cloudless day. “You’ve got a touch of the family sight, Ivy. We kind of expected it, what with you getting a double dose from both sides of the family.”

  Ivy’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

  “It’s not something we regularly talked about,” Michael explained. “My mother had it. Your grandmother was rumored to have it, although I never saw it when I was around her. Of course, she didn’t like me, so that could have something to do with it. Your Aunt Felicity definitely has it, and there are times I think your mother can go either way.”