Wicked Reunion

by Lily Harper Hart

  The woman staggered forward, her eyes going wide, and Ivy finally managed to move. She leapt forward and caught the woman before she could hit the ground.

  “Call 911!” Ivy screamed. “I ... get her some help!”

  3

  Three

  Bellaire was small enough that emergency personnel arrived within three minutes. Ivy was coated with blood when they pushed their way through the door and the first man on the scene sent her a sympathetic look as he dropped to his knees.

  “Let me help her, ma’am.”

  Ivy was so disjointed she didn’t even have time to muster outrage that someone had called her “ma’am,” which was one of her pet peeves. “I ... some guy just walked in and shot her and left.” She was breathless.

  “We’ll let the police worry about that,” he reassured her. “I’ll take over from here.”

  Dorian had his wits about him enough to move behind Ivy and slide his hands under her arms to pull her away. “Give them some room, Ivy.” His voice was low as he led her to a spot behind the counter. He wanted to help her, perhaps offer her something to clean off the blood, but it seemed like a wasted effort. “How about some water?”

  Ivy slid her eyes to him, surprised by the offer. “I don’t need water. I’m okay.”

  Dorian wasn’t convinced, but he didn’t push her. That was the last thing she needed. “Okay.”

  They watched in horrified silence as the paramedics assessed the woman, moved her to a stretcher, and then bustled her toward the door. That’s when two detectives joined the fray — Ivy recognized them by the way they were dressed because Jack’s closet items looked much the same — and took control of the situation.

  “What do we have?” the older detective asked. He was in his fifties and looked distinguished.

  “Female. Twenties. Gunshot wound to the back.”

  “Is she going to make it?” the younger detective queried.

  The paramedic shrugged. “I have no idea. We’re taking her into the hospital hot. You’ll have to check in with them later.”

  The detectives watched with impassioned faces as the woman was wheeled out. Then, when it was just the four of them, they focused on Ivy and Dorian.

  “What happened here?” the younger detective barked, causing Ivy to jolt.

  The older detective was smoother. “You’ll have to excuse my partner. We don’t deal with situations like this very often. Obviously emotions are running high.” He moved toward the counter, his eyes speculative as he looked between Ivy and Dorian. “I’m Detective Gordon Halsey. This guy, the one with the poor manners, is Dan Archibald. Can you tell us what happened?”

  Dorian was the one who spoke first. “I’m honestly not sure what happened. We were just talking and ... she came in. The victim, I mean.” He inclined his head toward the door. “She seemed out of it and asked for help. Before we could do anything — and I mean anything — a man came in and shot her in the back. Then he left and we called you.”

  “I see.” Archibald looked dubious. “You’re saying a guy just walked in off the street and shot our victim, huh? That doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

  Ivy found her voice. “I’ve never found attempted murder to make sense,” she growled. “That’s what happened, though. The woman wasn’t in here ten seconds before that guy came in. I think ... I think he was following her.”

  Halsey’s eyes lit with interest. “Why do you say that?”

  “Because she was upset when she walked through the door. Something had obviously happened to her.” Ivy swallowed hard at the implication. “Her hair was a mess. Her face was dirty. When she spoke, her throat was really dry ... and she was crying. She was already crying when she walked through the door.”

  “That’s true,” Dorian interjected. “I remember being shocked when I saw her. The first thing that popped into my mind is that she’d been in an accident or something ... but obviously it was something else.”

  “And what do you think that something was?” Archibald queried.

  “I have no idea.”

  “That’s not our question to answer,” Ivy shot back. “You’re the detectives. Shouldn’t you be out there looking for the shooter? Or are you just going to stand here doing nothing while an armed man is wandering around? Maybe he’s looking for someone else to shoot.”

  “You just said he followed this woman,” Archibald pointed out. “If that’s the case, I very much doubt that he’s looking for other victims. Unless ... do you want to change your statement about a stranger entering the premises?”

  Ivy’s annoyance was on full display. “No.”

  “I have security cameras,” Dorian volunteered. “You can watch the footage for yourselves. It’s obvious you don’t believe us.”

  “I think that’s a fine idea,” Halsey offered. “Perhaps we should do that before things get any more ... heated.”

  Ivy rolled her eyes and slid out from behind the counter, digging in her pocket for her phone. “You do that.”

  “Who do you think you’re calling?” Archibald challenged. “Let me guess: You’re already gunning for a lawyer. Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

  Ivy hated his attitude, but she managed to hold it together. There was every possibility that the younger detective was merely sowing his oats. After all, it wasn’t like Bellaire was a hotbed of activity. He’d probably never investigated a shooting like this before. “I’m calling my fiancé.”

  “For what purpose?”

  “Because I feel like it,” she shot back. “Is there some law that says I can’t call him?”

  “No, Miss ... ?”

  “Morgan,” she snapped. “My name is Ivy Morgan, and I believe you guys have footage you’re supposed to be watching. Why don’t you focus on that?”

  JACK WAS BESIDE HIMSELF BY THE time he arrived at the store. He stormed through the door, his intent obvious, and immediately started looking for Ivy. When he found her, his heart gave a hard roll. She was covered in drying blood and looked as if she’d been through a war.

  “Ivy.”

  She turned to look at him, hollow-eyed, and then immediately burst into tears. She’d only been holding it together by the skin of her teeth and the sight of his concerned features was enough to break her. “Jack.” She hurried to him and fell into his embrace, not caring that she might ruin his outfit if the blood transferred. “It was awful.”

  “You’re okay.” Jack smoothed her hair as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. He was already searching the other faces. “What happened here?”

  “And who are you?” Archibald asked, sliding between rows of framing options and fixing Jack with a pointed look. “Are you the lawyer?”

  “I already told you I wasn’t calling a lawyer,” Ivy spat. “Why do you keep saying that?”

  Sensing trouble, Jack rubbed her back and calmed himself. The most important thing was that she was okay. The rest could be sorted out. “I’m Detective Jack Harker. I’m with the Shadow Lake department. Ms. Morgan is my fiancée.”

  “Oh, I thought maybe she was lying about having a fiancée.” Archibald was blasé. “Women do that sometimes.”

  Jack gritted his teeth. “Well, she’s not lying. You don’t have to worry about that.”

  “Still, Shadow Lake isn’t Bellaire ... which means you don’t have jurisdiction.”

  It took everything Jack had not to explode. “I don’t want jurisdiction. I want to know what happened to my fiancée ... and make sure she’s okay. That’s what I care about.”

  “If you say so.” Archibald offered up a haphazard shrug as Halsey joined the party. “Just remember that you’re outside of your jurisdiction.”

  Jack focused his attention on Halsey. The older detective appeared to be a calmer representative. “I need to know what happened here. She’s my fiancée ... and I’m obviously concerned.”

  “It’s okay.” Halsey shot his partner a dubious look and then forced a smile. He introduced himself, and his annoying younger counter
part, and offered Jack a sympathetic smile. “As for what happened here, we’re still trying to ascertain that.”

  “A woman came in,” Ivy blurted out. “She was upset ... and crying ... and this man in a mask came in behind her and shot her. It was horrible.”

  Jack tilted up Ivy’s chin and stared into her eyes. Horror was clearly reflected there, and he wanted to hurt the person who would dare put that expression on her face. “Were you in danger?”

  “No, but ... .”

  “It’s okay.” Jack pulled her tight against him and looked toward the door as Brian came in. His partner had dropped him in front of the entrance before finding a parking spot because Jack was rabid to find Ivy.

  “What happened?” Brian asked, glancing around. His eyes immediately found Halsey. “Hey, Gordie. Long time no see.”

  “You, too, Brian.” Halsey gave him a head bob. “Is this your partner?”

  “That’s him,” Brian confirmed, his eyes immediately going to the blood on the floor. “I’m confused about what happened here. Is Ivy okay?”

  “She’s just shaken up,” Jack replied. “I don’t think it helps that this one is terrorizing her.” He inclined his head toward Archibald, practically daring him to pick a fight.

  Instead, the younger detective rolled his eyes. “Oh, man. Somebody wake me when the soap opera is over.”

  Halsey shot his partner a quelling look before focusing on Brian. “I’m sorry you got the call to come over here. This is clearly our jurisdiction.”

  “We’re not here as cops,” Brian countered. “We’re here because Ivy called Jack.”

  “Yes, apparently Miss Morgan needs her teddy bear to hold her tight.”

  Jack’s fury was palpable and Brian held up a hand to quiet him.

  “Jack and Ivy are tight,” Brian confirmed. “They’re getting married. I think most people would want to check on the person they love under similar circumstances. I’m not marrying Ivy, but I’ve known her since she was a little girl. I wanted to check on her, too.” The statement was delivered in blunt fashion.

  Archibald, continuing his streak as the most annoying cop in the land, opened his mouth to say something smart, but his partner cut him off with a curt shake of the head.

  “Will you let it go, Dan?” Halsey sounded exasperated. “The poor woman has been through it today. You’re not helping matters. I know you’re afraid of women and it causes you to act out but ... come on. You’re being a douche.”

  “A total douche,” Ivy agreed, glaring at the man in question.

  Jack smiled at her return to form and slowly pulled away so he could look her up and down. The blood on her clothing was troubling. “Honey, how close were you when the woman was shot?”

  “Not very close. I was talking to Dorian.” She gestured vaguely at the silent man behind the counter. “I was over there. She came in, looked around, asked for help ... and then he shot her. It was literally over in twenty seconds.”

  “Even though it sounds like the plot of a movie,” Archibald groused.

  “Well, movie or not, they’re telling the truth,” Halsey said. “I saw the footage from the camera above the door. It’s not the greatest quality, but there was definitely another individual in the store and it happened exactly how they said it did.”

  Archibald remained rooted to his spot for a moment, seemingly incredulous, and then he shook his head. “Well, that’s a kicker, isn’t it?”

  “I’d like to kick you,” Ivy muttered under her breath.

  Jack shot her a warning look and brushed his thumb over her plump bottom lip to silence her. As much as he didn’t like the man, starting a fight wasn’t going to do any of them any good. “What do we know about the victim?” he asked when he was certain she wasn’t going to make matters worse.

  “We don’t know anything about her,” Archibald replied. “We are not working this together. This is our case.” He moved his finger so it pointed between Halsey and himself. “This has nothing to do with you.”

  Jack finally lost his temper. “What is your problem?”

  “I believe you are my problem.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Because you came waltzing in here as if you owned the place ... or, rather, the investigation. You don’t, by the way. This is our investigation.”

  “As you’ve said ten times now,” Jack shot back. “I don’t want your stupid investigation. I want my fiancée safe. I want to know that no one is coming after her. That’s what I want.”

  “And I want to know about that poor woman,” Ivy added, ignoring the warning look Brian shot her and focusing on Halsey because he seemed more open to a friendly conversation. “Is she going to survive? Who is she? Why did this happen to her?”

  “Those are all excellent questions,” Halsey replied. “We don’t know. We’ll be heading to the hospital shortly. Hopefully she’ll survive so we can ask her those questions. Right now, we simply don’t know.”

  “Maybe we should go to the hospital,” Ivy suggested to Jack. “I mean ... just to make sure she’s going to be okay.”

  Jack nodded without hesitation. “We can do that. I can take the rest of the day off and hang with you. Brian and I weren’t doing anything anyway.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Brian countered. “I was looking forward to watching Corbin Patterson jaywalk in front of the department all day because he’s convinced the food in jail is better than what his wife makes.”

  A ghost of a smile flitted around Ivy’s mouth. “Thank you.”

  “Hold up,” Archibald said, raising his hand for emphasis. “I don’t believe you were invited to the hospital.”

  “I guess it’s good that it’s a public building, huh?” Jack didn’t want to cause a scene, but he was close to popping his cork. “No invitations are required.”

  “You can’t go to the hospital.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Because your girlfriend is a suspect, and generally it’s frowned upon when suspects try to visit their victims in the hospital.”

  Ivy’s mouth dropped open and dumbfounded disbelief washed over her. “What did you just say?”

  Jack’s face turned red. “Excuse me?”

  “Hold on.” Brian smoothly stepped between his partner and the combative detective. “I’m not sure I understand the thinking here. Your partner just said he saw the footage and there was a gunman. How is Ivy on the hook for that?”

  “Well, she was in the store, which seems a bit convenient to me,” Archibald replied. “She spoke with the victim. The killer walked through the door, plugged our victim in the back, and then left her standing even though she was a witness. That doesn’t sound likely to me unless she had a hand in this.”

  Jack couldn’t swallow another word. “You listen here—” He was moving toward Archibald when Ivy grabbed him around the waist to stop his forward momentum.

  “Don’t, Jack,” Brian warned, shaking his head. “It’s not worth it.”

  “Not worth it?” Jack’s eyebrows practically flew off his forehead. “He’s accusing Ivy of being involved with a murder.”

  “Which is a ludicrous statement no matter how you look at it,” Brian pointed out. “He’s either testing you because he gets off on it or he wants to see how Ivy reacts. You’re the one making a spectacle of yourself, not her.”

  “But—”

  “Shut up, Jack,” Brian ordered, keeping his expression reasonable as he shifted his attention to Halsey. “You can’t possibly believe she’s involved in this.”

  “I consider it unlikely,” Halsey replied after a beat. “Given her record, though, we can’t simply ignore the possibility.”

  Brian was legitimately baffled. “Her record?”

  “She’s a criminal,” Archibald volunteered. “We ran her once we got her name. She’s on probation right now, due to start community service shortly. She’s a problem child in Shadow Lake. That means she could very well have something to do with this situation.”
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br />   “Problem child?” Jack spat. “She broke into a house where a woman was being held against her will and freed her. The only reason she was charged was to keep the integrity of the case intact for the prosecution.”

  “If you say so.” Archibald let loose an exaggerated eye roll. “If you ask me, that sounds like a bit of a stretch.”

  “Nobody asked you,” Jack hissed.

  “Ivy’s conviction was unjust,” Brian volunteered. “She really did save a woman’s life.” He sent an imploring look to Halsey. “She’s not a suspect here. What’s her motive?”

  “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” Archibald drawled. “That’s for us to figure out. This is our case, after all.”

  Brian silently worked his jaw and then shook his head. “I think we’ll be going now.”

  “Knock yourself out. We didn’t invite you in anyway.”

  “And we’ll be taking Ivy with us,” Brian added.

  Archibald balked. “We’re not done questioning her.”

  “Yes, you are,” Jack countered, wrapping his arm tightly around Ivy’s waist. “If you want to question her again, it will be done in our home ... and with an attorney present. We’re done with you.” He prodded Ivy toward the door. “Don’t say another word to them, honey.”

  “Yeah, honey,” Archibald mocked. “Don’t tell the cops the truth. That’s always a bad idea. Who taught you to be a cop?”

  Jack didn’t respond.

  Ivy shot a glance over her shoulder and found Dorian watching the scene with a mixture of horror and curiosity. “I’m so sorry,” she called out. “I ... just think about what I said. I’m sorry we didn’t have a chance to talk more.”

  “Me, too.” He offered up a wave. “I’ll think about what you said. I’ll ... be careful, Ivy. Take care of yourself.”

  That was the last thing Ivy heard before Jack dragged her to the sidewalk in front of the store.

  “I’m going to—” Jack broke off and mimed wringing an invisible person’s neck.