Ghostly Despair (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 10)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “I don’t disagree with that,” Mel said. “The thing is, I can’t guarantee anything. Not until I know more, at least. We need to look at the cameras and see the report on the substance found in the IV bag. As of right now, poisoning as a cause of death is still a theory.”

  “Yes, there is always the possibility that Ms. Thompson succumbed to an injury we weren’t aware of,” Steele said. “The odds are slim, but it’s not impossible.”

  “We also need to start digging into her life,” Mel continued. “If someone wanted her dead, there has to be a reason.”

  Jared’s mind drifted to the woman’s story from the previous day. “What about the guy on the road? Could he somehow be a part of this? It never felt right to me that he would help her out of the vehicle and then abandon her.”

  “What guy?” Steele asked, his eyes lighting with curiosity. “Is there someone else I should be aware of? Perhaps someone I should be on the lookout for.”

  “Ms. Thompson claimed there was a man who rushed to her aid after she rolled her vehicle,” Mel explained. “He pulled her out of the car and then instructed her to call for help. He didn’t hang around to make sure she was okay or call 911.”

  “That’s odd, right?”

  “I would say so,” Mel confirmed. “We thought it was odd yesterday, and that was before Ms. Thompson died. Now it seems downright suspicious.”

  “And you have no idea who this man is?”

  “None. I think our first order of business is tracking him down, though. He seems like the obvious place to start.”

  “Agreed.” Jared got to his feet. “We have to find him if we expect to get answers. He’s the clear place to start.”

  “So ... let’s do it.”

  Four

  “I’m sorry but ... what?”

  Harper thought she had a poker face when it came to her job, but nothing could’ve prepared her for the story Betty Miller was spinning from her driveway.

  “It’s true.” Betty, a formidable woman in her seventies, folded her arms over her chest and defiantly met Harper’s gaze. “The scarecrow is possessed.”

  “Oh, well ... .” Harper broke off as she scratched her nose and cast a furtive look toward Zander.

  For his part, Zander managed to maintain control of his facial responses ... but just barely. “I’m going to need more specific information.” He efficiently clicked the ballpoint pen he carried and flipped open the tiny notebook he kept in his pocket. “How did the haunting originate?”

  Betty made an exaggerated face. “How do you think? Three days ago, I went out there, and the scarecrow started flapping his arms like he had ants in his pants or something. I thought for sure it was a trick of the eye ... Er, what are they called again?”

  “Optical illusions,” Harper volunteered helpfully.

  “Right. Optical illusions.” Betty bobbed her head. “I went to check it out, thinking the birds might’ve messed with the stuffing and the wind was making it move, but it spoke to me while I was out there and that was enough for me.”

  Zander furrowed his brow. “It spoke to you?”

  “It asked about my day.”

  Confused, Harper rubbed her cheek. She had no idea what to make of the situation. “Are you certain someone else wasn’t in the field with you?”

  “I’m sure.” Betty refused to back down and the expression she shot Harper promised mayhem if the woman continued to question her mental acuity. “The scarecrow is possessed.”

  “Okay, well ... .” Harper licked her lips. “We’ll check out the scarecrow.”

  “You do that.” Betty’s tone told Harper she meant business. “My family is coming for Thanksgiving. I don’t want that thing making a scene. That’s my daughter’s job. Get rid of it.”

  “We’re on it.”

  LINDA PALTROW WAS unbelievably nervous when Jared and Mel sat the night nurse down to talk. She was essentially alone on the night shift for the bulk of the previous evening, and she was obviously worried she was about to be blamed for Vicky Thompson’s death.

  “Maybe I should call a lawyer.” Linda licked her lips as she shifted on her chair. “I mean ... I didn’t do anything, but I see on television that you should always have a lawyer when being questioned by the cops. Maybe I should call one.

  “Of course, the only one I know is Lenny Dunham,” she continued. “He’s an ambulance chaser and he’s dating my sister. I don’t think he will be much help.”

  “You don’t need to worry about a lawyer right now,” Mel reassured her. He knew her from around town — Whisper Cove was a small place, after all — and he believed her reputation as something of a spaz was well earned. “We’re not questioning you in conjunction with Ms. Thompson’s death. We’re questioning you because you were in charge of the floor last night, and we need to know if anyone who isn’t on the visitor’s list stopped in for a chat.”

  “Oh, well ... .” Linda chewed on her bottom lip as she tilted her head to the side. “I don’t think so. You have to understand, it’s quiet on the floor after ten and before five. That’s the reason I volunteered for the shift even though I have seniority.

  “I’m working on a book and I can write while everyone is asleep,” she continued. “Once the meds are passed out at ten, I only need to do a few passes through the rooms. It’s not as if this place is particularly happening right now, so the passes are quick.”

  “You checked on Ms. Thompson, right?” Jared queried. “You saw her after ten, didn’t you?”

  Linda nodded without hesitation. “I made a round at about midnight and she was sleeping soundly. I was in the middle of my rounds two hours later when the machines in her room started going off.”

  “Wait.” Jared held up a hand to still her. “You weren’t at your station when the machines alerted?”

  “No. Why? Is that important?”

  “I don’t know.” Jared was careful to keep his face neutral. “I need you to describe what happened, though.”

  “I don’t know what happened.” Linda’s frustration bubbled up and she spoke more harshly than she intended. “I was down at the end of the hallway, in Jed Wharton’s room, when I heard the first machine go off.

  “Of course, that was the most isolated room on the floor, so I had to go around two bends to get back,” she explained. “By the time I got to her room, she was coding. I called for a team and they tried for twenty minutes to save her ... but it didn’t happen.”

  “Right.” Jared was thoughtful as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Thank you for your time, Linda. We might have more questions later.”

  Linda exhaled heavily, relief evident. “Does that mean I can go?”

  “Yeah, you can go.”

  Jared waited until Linda vacated the room to speak. “Do you find it a little convenient that Vicky Thompson coded when Linda happened to be away from the room?”

  “I don’t know if I would use the word ‘convenient’ or not,” Mel hedged. “I find it suspect that it happened that way. It seems to me, someone had to be watching the floor and knew exactly when to slip into our victim’s room and inject the cyanide into the bag.”

  “Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking.” Jared felt as if a ball of lead was sitting in the pit of his stomach. “This doesn’t feel right.”

  “Oh, what was your first clue?”

  “We’re clearly missing the bigger picture here,” Jared persisted. “Either someone was out to get Vicky Thompson because of something she did, some perceived slight, or ... .” He trailed off.

  “Someone was out to get Vicky because he or she was afraid she knew something,” Mel finished. “I’m right there with you. I don’t like the odds.”

  “We need to look at those cameras,” Jared said, straightening. “The footage might not help, but it can’t possibly hurt.”

  “I happen to agree.”

  “HUH.”

  Harper tapped her chin as she circled Betty’s demonic scarecrow, being careful to avoid a rut in
the ground. It looked recently disturbed, as if someone had been digging, but it was a crop field so that didn’t seem out of the ordinary.

  “Do you see a ghost?” Zander asked.

  “No.”

  “Do you see anything?”

  Harper held her hands palms out and shrugged as she circled the staked figure. “It’s kind of creepy, huh? Like a clown made out of straw.”

  “I hate it when you talk about clowns,” Zander grumbled.

  “You thought it was funny when you made fun of my clown fear.”

  “That’s because I’m always up for making fun of you. It’s nowhere near as much fun when you make fun of me.”

  “It’s fun for me.”

  “We both know I’m the important one.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Harper made a dismissive waving motion with her hand as she eyed the scarecrow. “It’s creepy, though, right?”

  “Totally creepy,” Zander agreed. “I don’t understand why anyone would put something like this up on their property. It’s as if they’re purposely trying to scare themselves. I’ve never seen a horror movie with a scarecrow that ended well.”

  Harper bit back a laugh. “I think it’s more apt to say that you’ve never seen a horror movie that ended well.”

  “True.” Zander tilted his head to the side as he stared into the scarecrow’s face. “Why would you put something like this in your field in the first place, though? I’m being serious. It’s like asking for trouble.”

  “I think they’re supposed to scare away birds.”

  “The birds have migrated for the season.”

  “Not all of them.”

  “Fine. The stupid birds are left.”

  Even though she knew she should be focusing on work, Harper couldn’t stop herself from smiling at Zander’s words. “I don’t have a lot of knowledge on the intelligence of birds so I’m going to cede the argument to you.”

  “You should always cede every argument to me. Our lives would be much better if you did.”

  “I think you mean that your life would be much better if I did what you wanted,” Harper countered. “My life would be much better if you would chill out a little bit.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Zander tentatively touched the scarecrow’s leg. “You’re right. It’s totally creepy. We should get out of here. We’ll tell Betty she’s cracked and the scarecrow isn’t possessed, and then head back to town for hot chocolate. How does that sound?”

  “The hot chocolate sounds good.”

  “We’ll tell Betty she’s cracked in a nice way, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  “I’m not willing to tell her she’s cracked at all right now,” Harper countered. “While the scarecrow is creepy but seems normal, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something different about it.”

  Zander was taken aback. “Like possessed different?”

  “Like ... different.” Harper’s shoulders hopped as her frustration mounted. “I don’t know how to explain it. I feel off ... and I think at least some of it has to do with this scarecrow.”

  Zander eyed his best friend for an extended beat. He wasn’t sure if he should ask the question that had been plaguing him since the previous evening, but he wasn’t one to bury questions and tiptoe around difficult situations. “Is some of your unease tied to what Jared said last night?”

  The question caught Harper off guard. “What are you talking about?”

  Zander had no intention of letting Harper weasel out of the conversation because she felt uncomfortable. “Quinn. You almost completely shut down when Jared brought up Quinn. I thought maybe you were off your game today because you were unnerved about what he said.”

  Harper balked. “Why would I be unnerved? Quinn died years ago. I’m not upset with Jared for bringing him up. I’m sure Mel mentioned what happened to Quinn when they were out there, and it was natural for Jared to bring it up.”

  “And you got all growly when he did bring it up,” Zander argued. “You shut down, abandoned your dinner, and disappeared to take a bath so you wouldn’t have to be around us. That wasn’t a normal reaction. I mean ... it’s a normal reaction for you whenever anyone brings up Quinn, but it’s not a normal reaction for most people.”

  “What do you want me to say?”

  Zander shrugged. “I don’t know.” That was the truth. He honestly didn’t know what he expected from her when it came to Quinn Jackson. “I simply know that you spent years refusing to talk about Quinn, and I let you set the tone for that particular topic because I didn’t want to hurt you.”

  It was rare for Zander to go an extended period of time without cracking a joke, but he was deathly serious now. “I never want to hurt you. Not ever. I knew that Quinn was a sore subject and I never pressed you, even though other people thought I should. I know you best, though, and I knew that was a mistake.

  “Still, you and Jared have been together for months and you’re great together,” he continued. “I would never admit that to Jared because it’s too much of an ego stroke, but you guys are amazing together. He loves you, listens to you, and goes out of his way to protect you. Don’t ever tell him I said that.”

  Harper’s lips twisted, although it was more of a grimace than a grin. “Your secret is safe with me.”

  “Jared makes you feel safe, which is what I want for you,” Zander said. “Last night, though, you acted as if you didn’t feel safe at all and shut down. I think it was weird.”

  Harper worked her mouth as she debated what to say. Finally, she went with her gut. “I don’t want to talk about my ex-boyfriend with my current one. That seems somehow disrespectful.”

  “I think it’s more than that.”

  “And I know it’s not. I think I know my feelings better than you.”

  Zander wasn’t convinced of that. He recognized Harper’s brittle tone as a warning, though, so he opted to back off. “Fine. I simply want to make sure you’re okay.” He held up his hands in capitulation. “Do you want to do a full reading on the scarecrow just to be sure? I have some equipment in the truck.”

  “I think we should. Odds of it being evil are small, but I want to cover all our bases.”

  “I’ll get the stuff.”

  “AS YOU CAN SEE, there aren’t a lot of people who come in and out of the hospital after hours,” Daniel noted as he stood behind Jared and Mel in the security room and watched the monitors. “That’s Steven Lang. He’s a nighttime janitor. That’s Beverly Harper. She works on the sixth floor and was clearly late for her shift. I’ll have to talk to her about that. I’m not sure who that gentleman is, but we can blow up the image and get a print for you.”

  Jared watched the security guard as he fast forwarded the footage, lifting a finger when a blur of movement flitted across the screen. “Back it up. Who is that?”

  “I don’t know,” Daniel replied as he watched the man reverse the video. “It was too fast for me to see. That was after midnight, though. No one starts a shift at that time.”

  “Start from here,” Jared instructed. “Watch him. He’s coming from the visitor’s parking lot, not the employee parking lot.”

  Mel was quiet as he watched the screen, allowing Jared to lead the way. He couldn’t stop staring at the man in the video, though. There was something familiar about him ... although he couldn’t put his finger on what.

  “Does anyone recognize him?” Jared asked as the security guard paused the footage and tried to blow up the man’s facial features. “He looks to be in his early thirties or so, sandy blond hair and a beard. It’s too dark to get an eye color, but I’m going to estimate weight at about one hundred and ninety pounds or so.”

  “That sounds about right to me,” Daniel acknowledged. “I don’t know him. He doesn’t work here. Although ... he looks familiar. I can’t place him. It’s on the tip of my brain, but elusive.”

  A memory snapped into place in Mel’s head, causing his heart to roll and a gasp to escape. Jar
ed was curious as he slid his eyes to his partner.

  “Do you know who that is?”

  Mel’s mouth went dry as he nodded. “I’m afraid so.”

  “Who is it?”

  “I ... .” Mel pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead, his heart rate picking up a notch. “It’s impossible. I mean ... it’s impossible. There’s no way that’s who I think it is.”

  Clearly intrigued, Daniel leaned forward. “Who do you think it is?”

  “Um ... .”

  “Oh, do you know who it looks like?” Daniel, clearly oblivious, remained focused on the screen rather than the police officers so he missed the distressed look on Mel’s face. “It’s the beard that threw me off. I could swear that’s Quinn Jackson. Of course, he’s dead, so it couldn’t possibly be him.”

  Jared felt as if a fist was wrapping around his heart. “What?” He looked to Mel for reassurance, but the man’s ashen features gave him pause. “That’s Quinn Jackson?”

  Mel swallowed hard and nodded. “It is. He doesn’t look like a dead man either.”

  Jared swore viciously under his breath. “What could he possibly be doing here? He clearly hasn’t been hiding in the woods for years recovering from his injuries. That means he left of his own volition. Why come back?”

  The obvious answer washed over Jared before anyone else could speak and he pushed past Daniel so he could stride through the door.

  “Harper.”

  “I HATE TO SAY IT, but this was a total waste of a morning,” Zander complained as he walked through the cornfield with Harper after abandoning their scarecrow investigation. “There’s no way that thing is possessed.”

  Harper couldn’t help but agree with him, although her senses remained alert because she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong. “I don’t know. Maybe there’s something out there.”

  “I’ve seen Children of the Corn. If there’s something out there, I don’t want to know what it is.”

  “Children of the Corn isn’t real.”