Wicked Games (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 17)

by Lily Harper Hart

  Jack was patient as she fumbled with the controls and immediately pulled her into his arms when she threw herself at him upon his entry to the vehicle.

  “I didn’t like that one bit,” she announced, furiously brushing at the tears tracing her cheeks. She was angry, not sad, and it annoyed her that she was crying.

  “I didn’t like it either,” he reassured her, running his hands over her back. “I’m sorry. I had to see.”

  “Did you find anyone?”

  “No.” Jack was thoughtful as he turned back to stare at the trees. “I didn’t want to go in too far in case ... well, just in case.”

  Ivy didn’t want to dwell on that possibility so she briskly changed the subject. “Are you going to call Brian and search the woods?”

  “No.”

  “No?” She couldn’t contain her surprise. “How come?”

  “Because we have no evidence.”

  “We kind of have evidence.”

  “Oh, it’s a good thing you’re cute because you would make a lousy cop.” He leaned in and gave her a swift kiss, enjoying the way she scowled. “We have zero evidence. What we have is a series of coincidences which might lead to evidence ... eventually.”

  Ivy rolled her eyes. “I think we have evidence.”

  “You’re still cute.”

  She pinched his flank, causing his eyes to narrow. “We can’t just let this guy go, Jack.” She used her most reasonable voice, the one she only whipped out when she was trying to convince him that morels were delicious and didn’t taste like feet. “He could be dangerous.”

  “He could be,” Jack agreed. “We still don’t have evidence. We’ll look at him hard — in fact, while you’re getting the cake out at home, I’ll call Brian and give him a quick heads-up — but there’s nothing else we can do tonight.”

  “But ... .” Ivy shook her head, frustration shining through. “He could run, Jack. If he thinks you’re on to him, he could run.”

  “He could. We still can’t do anything without evidence.”

  “Ugh. You sound like a broken record.” She flopped back into her spot and tugged on the seatbelt. “If I were in charge of this investigation he would already be in custody. I just want you to know that.”

  “Duly noted.” Jack grinned at her for a beat longer and then fastened his own seatbelt. “It’s gratifying to me to know that you were worried about me when I was out in the woods. I didn’t have that for a long time ... at least not like this. You changed my life, Ivy Morgan.”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “In a good way, of course.”

  “Oh, that goes without saying. I can’t imagine my life without you.”

  She softened her stance, if only marginally. “Me either.”

  “Even if you’re a criminal at heart.”

  She pinched his side again, causing him to laugh and dodge because he was expecting the move. “I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to distract me so I won’t feel sorry for myself when I have to go back to picking up trash on the side of the highway tomorrow.”

  His smile slipped. “Let’s not talk about that, huh? Let’s spend the rest of the night getting lost in each other. We’ll leave the real-world stuff until then.”

  “I guess I can live with that.”

  “Good. I just want a night of you and me. Actually, if I could spend the rest of my life with only one person, it would most definitely be you. Maybe we should see if we can make that happen.”

  “I’m already on it.”

  “That’s music to my ears.”

  THEY SLEPT HARD. JACK WAS UP A FULL hour before Ivy, making sure to tuck the feet she always poked out from beneath the covers under the comforter before making his way to the kitchen. He had hot water on the stove when she joined him for breakfast and she immediately poured herself a cup of tea before acknowledging him.

  “What are you doing?” Her voice was husky enough that it drew Jack’s full attention.

  “Are you sick?” The question was laced with worry ... and maybe a bit of hope.

  Ivy sipped her tea and shook her head. “I just woke up. I’m fine.” This time her voice was much clearer.

  “Oh, well ... that’s great.” Jack couldn’t hide his disappointment so he went back to staring at his computer. “I was going to wake you up … eventually. You still had another twenty minutes to sleep, though.”

  “I’m good,” she reassured him, moving to a spot where she could see the screen over his shoulder. She wasn’t surprised to see Jason’s file up. “Anything?”

  “Well, I was able to dig a little deeper on my laptop,” Jack replied. “The mobile system is slow and buggy. There were files I missed ... and they’re interesting.”

  Ivy was practically salivating. “Tell me.”

  “I will if you cook breakfast.” Jack shot her a flirty smile. “I was going to cook because I know you have a rotten day ahead of you, but I’m terrible at it and I want to make sure you have a full meal inside of you when you leave this house. If you make omelets, I’ll tell you the whole story.”

  “I guess I can manage that.” She dropped a kiss on top of his head. “Do you want some of the frozen morels I have in yours?”

  “Oh, that is just cruel.” He playfully swatted her behind as she danced past him, grinning at her back as she dutifully moved to the stove. Even though she was going through a terrible time, very little could keep her down. He loved that about her. “So, the reason Jason’s mother didn’t notice he was taking the car is because she was an addict.”

  Ivy stilled next to the stove, a frying pan clutched in her hand. “I guess that’s supposed to make me feel bad for him, huh?”

  Jack shrugged. “You can feel bad for the neglected child, but he’s an adult now and knows better.” He spent the next twenty minutes laying out a sad tale of a boy who was basically ignored by an addicted mother and a jailbird father. When he was finished, Ivy was divvying up the omelets and hash browns onto plates.

  “On one hand, I feel sorry for him,” Ivy admitted as she carried the plates to the table. “On the other, I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that he killed Sasha ... so I believe he’s probably a jerk, a potential murderer, but one who had a bad childhood. No matter what, I don’t trust him.”

  “I don’t trust him either.” Jack used his fork to pick at the omelet. Ultimately satisfied with what he found, he cut into it and forked a huge portion into his mouth, chewing and swallowing before speaking again. “Because of that, I need you to be really careful when you’re out with your team today. If he shows up, I need you to contact me.”

  Ivy was quiet for a beat and then shook her head. “First off, did you just check that omelet for morels?”

  Jack recognized he was caught. There was no sense denying the charge. “Perhaps.”

  “Such a trusting soul.” She poked her index finger into his cheek and grinned before turning to her own breakfast. “Secondly, as you’re well aware, I’m not allowed to keep my phone on me while working. How do you suggest I let you know if he shows up?”

  Jack hadn’t considered that. “Well ... Deacon might be out there again. I’m not sure if they finished collecting evidence. If he’s there, and you see Jason, ask him to call me.”

  “And when Greg threatens to report me for not following the rules?”

  Jack flexed his fingers, frustration bubbling up. It wasn’t directed at her but Greg. He didn’t like the man and he hated how fearful Ivy sounded when discussing him. “Maybe I will find a reason to go out there myself. That will probably be best for both of us.”

  Ivy had her doubts but kept them to herself. “Jason would be an idiot to show up. I’m betting he doesn’t.”

  “It would be better for my heart if he didn’t,” Jack agreed. “I don’t want him anywhere near you.”

  “He probably already fled the state.”

  “Maybe, but where would he go?”

  Ivy didn’t have an answer so she merely shrugged. “That’s yo
ur job. You’re the top cop in Shadow Lake. I’m going to leave that for you.”

  “Make sure you tell Brian I’m the top cop the next time you see him.”

  “I’ll get right on that.”

  IVY WAS EARLY, WHICH ALLOWED her to get a good spot to watch the arrivals. As she suspected, Jason wasn’t with the group by the time Greg joined them and started roll call.

  “Where’s Jason?” he asked blankly, glancing around. In Ivy’s mind, it was almost as if he expected Jason to jump out from behind a bush and yell “surprise” while laughing like a loon. “Does anybody know where Jason is?” he pressed when nobody answered his initial query.

  “He’s obviously not here,” Betsy pointed out. She had less patience for Greg’s shenanigans than the rest of the group. She felt she was too old to put up with petulant children — something she had explained to Ivy on more than one occasion — and the look she shot the crew chief was something of a dare.

  “Well, where is he?” Greg looked flummoxed, making Ivy wonder if he’d never dealt with a no-show before. That seemed unlikely and yet his tone was growing increasingly more screechy.

  “It’s not like we hang out when we’re done here,” Alison pointed out. “We don’t all go to a coffee shop and talk about our days. We have no idea where Jason is.”

  Greg’s eyes sought — and found — Ivy. The way he focused on her caused her skin to itch. “Do you know anything about his whereabouts? I saw you and him exchanging words when you were leaving yesterday.”

  “That doesn’t mean we’re friends,” Ivy pointed out. “I don’t know what to tell you. He seemed agitated that I heard whatever that woman was saying to him and he told me to mind my own business.”

  “And what did that woman say?” Greg leaned closer, his eyes keen. “Were they talking about drugs?”

  “Not to my knowledge. If they were, they were using some sort of code.”

  “Drug dealers use codewords.”

  “I ... .” Genuinely at a loss, Ivy held her hands palms out. “I didn’t hear him say anything. I’m sorry.”

  “Well, this is just great.” Greg threw his hands in the air and turned on his heel. “I have to do paperwork if somebody doesn’t show. Do you have any idea how much paperwork that entails? It’s crappy paperwork, too.”

  “Boo-hoo,” Alison muttered under her breath, shaking her head.

  It took everything Ivy had not to laugh at the woman’s reaction. She had an expressive face, to the point where she went googly-eyed when she shifted her head back and forth.

  “Well, get to work,” Greg ordered. “Without Jason here, you’re going to have to pick up the slack.”

  “Somehow I think we’ll manage,” Betsy muttered under her breath as she moved to the spot next to Ivy. “Who knew community service could be so dramatic, huh?”

  “It’s actually worse than that,” Ivy admitted, glancing around to make sure Greg wasn’t listening. To her relief, only Betsy and Alison were close. “That woman who was here yesterday was screaming at Jason because apparently he took her car and got in an accident with it without telling her.”

  “That sounds like Jason,” Alison noted. “He’s a terrible driver. There’s a reason we all let him leave first. We don’t want to get stuck with him behind us. He has a lead foot and pays zero attention to where he’s going.”

  Betsy’s gaze was steady as it washed over Ivy’s face. “There’s more that you’re not telling us,” she noted after a beat. “There’s something you’re not saying.”

  Ivy hesitated and then blew out a sigh. Jack wouldn’t be happy about her spilling the beans regarding his investigation, but she needed someone to talk it out with. “The dead girl, Sasha Carmichael, she was dating a guy named Jason. We don’t have a last name and we don’t know for certain that she was dating our Jason, but it’s a little suspicious.”

  “A little?” Alison’s eyebrows hopped. “I watch a lot of television — I mean a lot of television — and it’s always the person who finds the body who turns out to be the killer.”

  Even though she was suspicious of Jason and his motivations, Ivy couldn’t quite jump on the “he’s definitely guilty” train just yet. “I agree that’s weird. We don’t know that it’s him, though.”

  “Except he’s not here today,” Alison pointed out. “I mean ... he’ll get in trouble for not showing up. If he was innocent, you’d think he’d show up.”

  “He’s Jason,” Betsy pointed out. “The boy has to set three alarms to wake up. I’ve been on different crews with him over the past few weeks and this is hardly the first time he’s been late. He probably overslept.”

  “No, he’s definitely a murderer.” Alison pointed her attention toward a small mound of trash. “I knew it the moment I saw him.”

  Betsy rolled her eyes in exaggerated fashion until they landed on Ivy. “I know he’s crass and hard to deal with, but I have trouble believing he’s a murderer. It’s not that he’s an upstanding citizen or anything, but he’s too lazy to kill someone.”

  “It doesn’t take a lot of effort to run someone off the road and flee,” Ivy pointed out.

  “No, but he still doesn’t seem the type.”

  As much as she wanted to argue, Ivy had to agree. She wouldn’t have pegged Jason as the violent sort before all the case information started coalescing. “I’m not sure how it’s going to play out. All I know is that Jason isn’t here ... and I want to get through this day without any drama.”

  “That would be a nice change of pace, huh?”

  THE HOUSE MARLENE FORTIN LIVED IN WAS vastly different from the hovel Jack visited the night before. Apparently the mother’s fortunes had improved while the son’s options had dwindled.

  “I sent a couple of uniforms over to search the woods by the house, but it’s doubtful he’s still there,” Brian noted as they walked up the driveway. “I plan to post a uniform there so Jason can’t return without anybody noticing ... but I have no idea what to think about any of it.”

  Jack found he was in the same boat. It was a lot of coincidences to swallow, but coincidences didn’t prove guilt. “Ivy was worked up about it. I might’ve let her get me worked up about it, too.” He flashed a rueful smile. “It could turn out to be nothing.”

  Brian’s eyes lit with amusement. “Ivy got you all worked up? I’m shocked. I never would’ve guessed.”

  “It’s hard for her right now. She just wants to be involved, like she usually is.”

  “Well, she’s a little too involved for my taste right now. She needs to get over it.”

  Jack heaved out a sigh. “I guess.” He rapped on the door and waited. It only took a few seconds for someone to open it, and the woman on the other side wasn’t what he was expecting. From the files he’d read on Jason (and tangentially his mother), he’d expected a strung-out drug addict with tracks over her arms. The petite blonde at the door wore a pastel suit and featured bright and inquisitive eyes.

  “May I help you?” she queried curiously.

  Jack and Brian exchange a quick look before the older detective cleared his throat.

  “I’m Detective Nixon, ma’am.” He held up his badge by way of proof. “I’m looking for Jason Fortin. He is your son, correct?”

  An exasperated expression took over her features. “Yes, he’s my son.” She looked positively furious ... and a bit resigned. “What has he done now?”

  “We’re not sure he’s done anything,” Jack replied.

  “Oh, please. I raised the boy. I know he likes to find trouble. There’s no sense in lying to me. Just tell me what he did and I’ll try to help you figure out where he is.”

  “Just like that?” Jack was understandably dubious.

  “I’m his mother, but I know he has issues,” Marlene replied. “I didn’t raise him well. That’s why I’ll stand by him no matter what. It took me a long time to get clean and I’ve told him I’ll be here when he’s ready to do the same. I keep hoping that day will come.”

&nbs
p; “Right now we’re just trying to find out if he was dating a woman named Sasha Carmichael,” Brian explained smoothly. “She was killed out on the highway a few days ago — looks to be a hit and run — and there’s been some confusion about the individual she was dating.”

  “And you think it was Jason?” Marlene’s forehead creased. “I don’t recognize that name. I’m sorry.”

  Jack struggled to hide his disappointment. “Would he tell you if he was dating someone?”

  “Probably not. After the last woman — that slutty Maisie girl — I told him I didn’t want to meet another one until he was clean. I pray and pray his taste in women will improve with clarity, but I’ve yet to be rewarded for my prayers.”

  Jack worked his jaw, his temper firing at the name. “Did you say Maisie?”

  “Yeah.” Marlene bobbed her head. “Maisie Washington. She’s a librarian or something. That’s what Jason said anyway. He was all proud when he brought her around. She was obviously a slut, though. The girl had the look.”

  Jack’s eyes tracked to Brian and he could see the older detective’s mind working a mile a minute. “Have you heard from your son recently?”

  “Not in the last two weeks or so. That’s not uncommon, though. He only comes around when he wants money and I’ll no longer give it to him because I need him to hit rock bottom. That might sound mean, but it’s where I’m at.”

  Honestly, Jack was impressed with her fortitude. “It sounds like a good plan, ma’am. We’re sorry to have taken up your time. We’ll be in touch if we have further questions.”

  10

  Ten

  “Why does it always come back to Maisie?”

  Jack’s disgust was so robust Brian wondered if it would need to be strapped in the backseat for the ride to the library.

  “She has her finger in every pie in Shadow Lake,” Brian said as he navigated the back streets that led to their destination. “Honestly, I’m not surprised. Maisie has run through half the guys in town — the other half are afraid to catch something from her — and she’s running out of men.”