Wicked Games (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 17)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “There is no one better than Jason.” Angel allowed the dreamy expression to linger a moment longer and then snapped her eyes to Ivy. “What about you? Do you have a boyfriend?”

  Ivy hesitated and then nodded. There was no sense lying about her personal life. She didn’t sense these women were a threat and it wasn’t as if Jack — and his position in Shadow Lake — wouldn’t come up eventually. “I do have a boyfriend. Actually, I’m engaged.”

  Angel’s eyes immediately went to Ivy’s naked ring finger.

  “Jack didn’t think it was a good idea to wear an engagement ring out here in case I lost it,” Ivy explained.

  Alison snorted. “You mean he didn’t think it was a good idea in case anyone stole it.”

  Ivy balked. “Of course not.”

  “Oh, don’t bother.” Betsy offered up a half-hearted wave. “I don’t blame you one little bit. This particular group is pretty good, but I was with two others before this and they both sucked. You wouldn’t have wanted to wear a diamond ring around those guys.”

  “I ... .” Ivy rubbed the side of her forehead. She didn’t want to come across as entitled or superior.

  “It’s fine,” Betsy reassured her. “How long have you been engaged?”

  “Just a few months,” Ivy replied, her eyes drifting to Jason as he excused himself from the group of men and headed to the woods. “Where is he going?”

  “What?” Betsy cocked an eyebrow and glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, the men have separate rules from the women. They’re allowed to wander into the woods if nature calls. We have to wait for designated breaks.”

  “That’s not entirely true,” Alison countered. “We’re allowed to go into the woods to go if it’s an emergency. It’s just, we’re not animals, so we would rather hold it and suffer. Men don’t have those issues.”

  “I see.” Ivy pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. It all felt like so much. “I guess it’s good to know, in case of an emergency, there are options. In fact ... .” She jerked up her eyes again when Jason hurried out of the woods.

  “That was fast, even for him,” Betsy noted. “I’m betting he’s fast at everything, and that’s not a good thing, Angel.” She shot the teenager a pointed look.

  Ivy couldn’t participate in the good-natured ribbing because her attention was firmly on Jason. He looked unnaturally pale and shaky, as if he was going to fall over at any moment.

  “What’s wrong?” Greg asked, his interest on his own lunch. “Did you see Bigfoot or something?”

  “Or something,” Jason replied, his eyes wide. “I ... there’s a body in there.”

  Greg didn’t bother looking up. “Okay. Just ignore it.”

  “There’s a body in there,” Jason repeated, this time with enough force that Greg looked up. “I’m being serious. There’s a dead person in there ... and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t natural causes or anything. You’re going to want to call someone.”

  That was enough to get Greg’s full attention. “Show me.”

  2

  Two

  Greg made the trip to the other side of the trees on his own. He was just as pale as Jason when he returned and Ivy knew without a shadow of a doubt that he’d found exactly what the younger man said he would. His hands shook as he pulled out his phone and started dialing.

  From her spot on the log, Ivy wanted to offer to make the call herself. She knew better than drawing attention to herself, though, and instead remained quiet.

  “Everybody needs to remain here,” Greg ordered when he disconnected. “The operator says two police officers are en route, but we shouldn’t traipse all over potential evidence, so we need to wait right here.”

  That’s what everybody did.

  Ivy wasn’t surprised when a cruiser pulled up about seven minutes later. She was even less surprised when she caught sight of Jack and his partner, Brian Nixon, climbing out of the vehicle. They were the only two detectives assigned to the Shadow Lake Police Department, so it made sense they would be called out to the scene.

  The expression on Jack’s face when he saw Ivy would’ve been comical under different circumstances. He looked as if the last thing he wanted to do was start laughing, though. “Ivy?” He skirted around Brian and hurried to her side, carefully brushing her hair out of her face when he got to her. “Are you okay?”

  The confusion rippling through the other trash collectors was palpable and it took everything Ivy had to hold it together, even though she wanted to nudge Jack’s hand away. Most days she was more than happy to have him fawning over her. Today was different, though.

  “I’m fine.” She took a deliberate step away from him. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

  Jack gave her a narrow-eyed look. “What’s going on?” He was instantly alert. “Are you okay? Did something happen? Did one of those people threaten you?”

  “I think you left out something important about your fiancé,” Alison drawled, her eyes lit with interest as she looked Jack up and down. “Actually, you might’ve left out a few things ... like how stinking hot he is.”

  Jack slid his eyes to the woman and shook his head. “I’m sorry but ... who are you?”

  “Alison Bertrand.” She extended her hand. “Credit card fraud.”

  Jack, always polite, took her hand and shook it. “I’m pleased to meet you.” He turned his attention back to Ivy. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”

  Ivy opened her mouth to explain, but Alison was nowhere near done.

  “I’m a Virgo, which means I’m organized and love vacuuming,” she offered. “I’m single, have no children, and would absolutely love to see you without a shirt on.”

  Jack shot her a quelling look. “That’s lovely. I’m already spoken for, though.”

  “That doesn’t mean you can’t trade up.”

  Ivy finally reacted by shooting Alison a “shh” look. “He’s not going to be in the mood to play games,” she warned. “This is a serious situation.”

  “Completely serious,” Greg agreed, cutting through the crowd. His eyes glanced between faces, lingered on Ivy, and then ultimately landed on Jack. “I’m Greg Decker. I’m in charge of this group. I’m the one who made the call.”

  “Hello.” Jack extended his hand. He was a large man, tall and rangy, and he towered a good six inches over Greg. “I’m Detective Harker. I’m sorry to be so ... scattered. It’s just, Ivy is my fiancée. I was understandably worried when I saw her.”

  “Your fiancé is a cop?” Greg’s expression was hard to read as he looked Ivy up and down. “That wasn’t mentioned in your paperwork.”

  Ivy’s confusion only grew. “Was it supposed to be mentioned?”

  “It’s usually common courtesy.” Greg shifted his attention back to Jack. “She’s perfectly fine. This is a quiet group. They pick up their trash and don’t get into any trouble. They were having lunch when a member of our group moved over to those trees to relieve himself. He’s the one who found the body.”

  “Okay.” Jack gave Ivy’s shoulder a squeeze and then moved away from her. “Can you show us?”

  Greg bobbed his head. “I verified so I know exactly where it is.” He motioned for Brian and Jack to follow him. “This way.”

  Jack sent Ivy a reassuring glance and then left her with the others. He was quiet as he allowed Brian to take the lead, but his mind was busy.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Brian offered as they cut through the heavy underbrush. “It’s just a coincidence. It’s not as if this has anything to do with her. She just happened to be out here with a group that stumbled across a body. It’s a coincidence, not some catastrophic plot.”

  Jack wanted to believe that, although he wasn’t sure he could. “Yes, well ... why does it always have to be her? I mean, why can’t she just be a normal fiancée? She should be sitting at home, flipping through bridal magazines, painting her toenails ... .” He trailed off, wistful.

  The look on his partner’s face was enoug
h to make Brian bark out a laugh. “Oh, please. If that’s the way she spent her days, you wouldn’t have even looked twice.” He paused a beat, considering. “Okay, maybe you would’ve looked,” he said after beat. “You would’ve even lingered. You wouldn’t have held, though. You two need the fire to keep you together.”

  Because he was annoyed that his partner was probably right, Jack felt the need to argue the point. “I still wish she was home painting her toenails.”

  “Perhaps she should’ve thought about that before she broke the law,” Greg suggested, interjecting himself into the conversation.

  “She thought she was doing the right thing,” Jack argued.

  Greg slowed his pace. “So you, as a duly sworn officer of the law, are making excuses for a woman who broke the law, huh? I find that ... interesting.”

  Jack’s expression darkened. “She saved a woman’s life. Yes, she went about it the wrong way. She would be the first one to tell you that. However, the outcome can’t be argued with.”

  “If you say so.” Greg gestured toward the trees. “She’s right on the other side of those trunks. I would prefer hanging out over here, if you don’t mind. I don’t necessarily want to see her again.”

  “Whatever floats your boat,” Jack muttered, shifting so he could see the other side of the tree. His eyes were alert as he scanned the ground, his heart doing a long roll when he caught sight of the woman poking out from beneath the bush.

  “She’s definitely dead,” Brian noted as he moved into the spot next to his partner.

  “Of course she’s dead,” Greg muttered at their backs. “I would’ve called for an ambulance if there was a question about her being dead.”

  “I was mostly talking to myself,” Brian countered, shaking his head as he knelt next to the woman in question. He reached into his back pocket and retrieved a set of rubber gloves, snapping them on before pressing his fingers to the woman’s skin. “Lividity makes me think she’s been here for more than a day, maybe thirty-six hours or so,” he murmured. “We should probably get the medical examiner out here.”

  “Yeah.” Jack donned his own gloves and moved to the woman’s feet to study her shoes. “Do you recognize her?”

  “I’m ... not sure.”

  Jack picked up on the moment of hesitation. “Do you think you might recognize her?”

  Brian slowly lifted his chin and met Jack’s gaze over the length of the body. “I think I might.”

  Despite his insistence that he wanted to keep his distance, Greg took both detectives by surprise with his proximity when he spoke again. “Is she a local girl?”

  Jack’s agitation was on full display when he fixed Greg with a pointed look. “Do you mind not getting too close? We don’t want you trampling all over our evidence.”

  “I’m not close,” Greg shot back. “Besides, Jason and I have both been through here already. We didn’t know she was here. We can’t take it back, so it’s not as if you have a pristine crime scene to begin with.”

  “Well, let’s not make it any worse, shall we?” Jack suggested, wiggling his fingers to get Greg to back up. “Just ... keep it back there, okay?”

  “Whatever.” Greg folded his arms over his chest and leaned against a nearby tree. “You guys think you’re so much better than me because you get to wear uniforms ...although neither of you guys are wearing uniforms. Hey, you know what? You didn’t show me any identification. How do I know you’re even real detectives?”

  Jack was at the end of his rope. “We showed up in a police car.”

  “So?”

  “So ... where do you think we got the police car if we’re not the real deal?”

  “You could’ve stolen it.”

  “What sort of idiot would steal a police cruiser?”

  “The sort who wants to pretend to be a cop and solve a crime,” Greg shot back. “What? That’s a thing. I saw it on a Dateline episode once.”

  “Well, if you saw it on television,” Jack drawled, shaking his head. His full attention went back to the girl. “She looks young.”

  “If it’s who I think it is, she’s young,” Brian confirmed. “She was in middle school when my kids were in high school. Actually ... .” He shifted on his haunches and sent a look toward Greg. “I don’t suppose you could do me a favor, could you?”

  Greg almost looked eager at the prospect. “Do you want me to help you collect evidence?”

  “Actually, I was hoping you could fetch Ivy for us.”

  Greg’s excitement diminished in the blink of an eye. “You want me to get a criminal for you?”

  “Oh, she’s not a criminal,” Jack snapped. “She illegally gained entrance to a home to save a woman from certain death. She was collateral damage in our case and she’s paying a price. Why do you have to be like this?”

  “Because it’s my job,” Greg replied simply. “That ... woman ... is under my care. She has hours upon hours left to fulfill her debt. You might not like it, but you’re not in charge.”

  Jack opened his mouth, something particularly vile on the tip of his tongue, but Brian silenced him with a firm shake of his head.

  “I need Ivy because I believe she’ll recognize this woman,” Brian explained. “Ivy would’ve been ahead of her by several years in high school, but she’s familiar with the locals in town. It’s possible I’m wrong. I don’t see a purse out here or anything, though, so any help she could offer with identification would be ideal.”

  Greg stared at Brian a long beat and then let out a dramatic sigh. “Fine.” He stomped off in the direction they’d come from. “I’ll collect the prisoner. Don’t do anything interesting until I get back.”

  “We’ll try to refrain,” Brian said dryly.

  Jack waited until he was certain the man was out of earshot to make his opinion known. “I don’t like him.”

  “Oh, gee, I never would’ve guessed.” Brian’s eye roll was exaggerated. “You can’t go after him. You know that, right?”

  Jack was suddenly the picture of innocence. “What makes you think I’m going to go after him?”

  “I’ve met you.”

  Jack didn’t respond. “She’s not far from the road.” He craned his neck to look over his shoulder. “I mean ... the curve is right there. It’s possible she was hit and ended up here.”

  Brian nodded. “It is. You still can’t go after him.”

  Jack made a protesting sound and then met his partner’s steady gaze. “What makes you think I’m going to go after him?”

  “You don’t like what he said about Ivy.”

  “I—”

  Brian shook his head to cut him off. “I don’t like that Ivy is in this position either. Truly I don’t. We didn’t have a choice, though. She broke the law. Now she has to own up to the consequences.”

  “She doesn’t have to own up to them with a guy like that in charge of her,” Jack protested. “We have to be able to move her someplace else.”

  “You mean like when you tried to get her installed in the clerk’s office to do some filing full time?”

  Jack frowned. “How did you know?”

  “Because I’m not an idiot.” Brian tried to keep a stern expression on his face and failed ... miserably. “The judge came to me when he heard you made a call trying to get her put in that position permanently. He was willing to do it, but I talked him out of it.”

  Temper flared in the depths of Jack’s eyes. “You talked him out of it? May I ask why?”

  “Because, as frightened as she is over this whole thing, Ivy doesn’t want special treatment. She wants to do this on her own terms. She didn’t get that much community service in the grand scheme of things. She’ll be done in a couple of weeks and you guys will be right back to fawning all over each other.”

  Jack’s frown only grew more pronounced. “We don’t fawn all over each other.”

  “Uh-huh.” Brian went back to studying the body. “If she was hit, how did she make it this far in?”

  “Mayb
e she walked.” Jack was squeamish at the thought, but he couldn’t ignore the possibility. “Maybe she was clipped and managed to stumble into the woods. It could’ve been adrenaline.”

  “I guess.” Brian rubbed his chin. “Why didn’t whoever hit her stop, though?”

  “Maybe they were drunk.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Or maybe they thought they hit an animal,” Jack suggested. “I mean ... that’s possible on this stretch of the highway. We have the road crew out here picking up animal remains at least twice a week.”

  “That’s possible,” Brian agreed. However, the more he thought about it, the unlikelier he found the probability. “She’s wearing a pink jacket, though. Pink isn’t exactly a naturally occurring color.”

  “No,” Jack said, sadness washing over him. “It’s also possible someone realized they hit a person and panicked.”

  “Yeah.” Brian heaved out a sigh and then lifted his head when he heard footsteps on the ground. He forced a smile for Ivy’s benefit when he saw her trailing behind Greg. “Thanks for coming, Ivy. I know this probably isn’t high on your to-do list for the day.”

  “It’s okay.” Ivy felt awkward as she glanced between Brian and Jack. “What do you want me to do? Mr. Decker wasn’t very clear when he collected me.”

  “I need you to look at her,” Brian replied grimly. “I think ... I think I might recognize her. If I’m right, you’re going to recognize her, too.”

  Ivy swallowed hard and then nodded. “Okay.” She moved to slide around Brian so she could get a better look at the body, but Jack held up a hand to still her.

  “Wait,” Jack interjected. “You don’t have to look if you don’t want to look. It’s not necessary.”

  “Oh, geez.” Greg made an exasperated sound in the base of his throat. “I’m in charge of this operation. I say she has to look. So ... look.” He impatiently waved his hands to get Ivy to move faster.

  She acquiesced, but not because Greg told her to. She was naturally curious, and if Brian called her out here, he had to have a reason. She sucked in a breath when she got a better look at the woman. “Oh, man. That’s Sasha Carmichael.”