Wicked Ghosts_A Harper Harlow and Ivy Morgan Mystery

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Because I’m not stupid and know Jack’s opinion of morels,” Ivy replied. “I’m so going to put morels in everything he eats for the next three weeks. Just you wait.”

  “Oh, he’s already expecting that,” Shawn offered.

  “And, no offense, he doesn’t seem excited about it,” Zander added. “If you love the man, why would you torture him?”

  “Because that’s how love works,” Ivy replied, shaking her head. “By the way, morels don’t taste like feet. They’re delicious.”

  “We had our first batch come in today,” Helen offered. “We’re doing French Dip sandwiches with mushroom sauce. I know you’re a vegetarian, Ivy, so if you want a pita pocket with morels, just tell the waitress I okayed something off the menu.”

  Ivy brightened considerably. “That sounds great. Thanks.”

  “By the way, who died?” Helen asked. “Do you happen to know who you found out there? It’s not a tourist, is it? That won’t be good for the season if it is.”

  “I can’t say who it is,” Ivy replied. “Jack will have to make notification first. It’s not a tourist, though. It’s a local.”

  “Oh.” Helen’s smile drooped. “That’s too bad. Was it an accident?”

  Ivy shook her head. “Not even a little.”

  “That makes it worse.”

  “Yeah. Definitely.”

  NANCY DECKER looked sleepy and a little hungover when Jack, Brian, and Jared knocked on her door. Even though he knew it was out of the ordinary, Jack opted to keep Jared with them for notification. He figured the police officer could do very little harm and a set of fresh eyes – eyes that knew no one involved – might be helpful.

  “What’s wrong? I swear I caught a ride home last night and didn’t drive. My car is still at the bar, if you want to check.”

  Brian kept his face impassive as he ran his eyes over Nancy’s disheveled form. They’d clearly woke her – even though it was after noon – and she smelled as if she’d tied one on the previous evening. The scent of stale whiskey and cigarettes was palpable. “It’s not about that, Nancy,” he said. “You did good catching a ride, though.”

  “Oh.” Nancy relaxed, although only marginally. “Then why are you here?”

  “We need to talk to you,” Jack supplied. “Can we come in?”

  “Oh, well … .” Nancy shuffled as she glanced over her shoulder.

  As if reading her mind, Brian offered up a conciliatory grimace. “We don’t care if the place is a mess or if there’s pot on the table.” He was well aware of Nancy’s proclivities and he wasn’t in the mood to bust her for marijuana possession. “We’ll pretend we don’t see it.”

  “Okay, but I’m going to remember you said that,” Nancy grumbled, opening the door to allow the three men entrance. Her gaze lingered on Jared as he moved behind Jack. “Did we acquire another cop when I wasn’t looking? If we did, I have to say, I think the last thing this area needs is another cop.”

  “I’m well aware how you feel about law enforcement, Nancy,” Brian said. “Detective Monroe isn’t sticking in the area. He’s merely on loan for this particular case.”

  “I guess that’s better than the alternative.” Nancy didn’t offer up beverages as she grabbed her cigarettes from the coffee table and lit one. She attempted to hide a partially-smoked joint underneath her cigarette packaging all the while keeping a serene smile on her face.

  Brian opted not to mention the joint because it had no bearing on why they were visiting. “Nancy, there’s no easy way to tell you this, but we found Tabitha this morning.”

  Whatever she was expecting, that wasn’t it. Nancy took a long drag on her cigarette as she stared hard at Brian. “Did you arrest her? How much money am I going to need for bail? Crap. I warned her about drinking and driving.”

  Brian swallowed hard. “We didn’t arrest her, Nancy. As far as I know, she wasn’t drinking and driving either. We found her in the woods on the other side of the Morgan Nursery. She’d been in there for a few days.”

  “But … that can’t be right.” Nancy rolled her neck, uncertain. “Are you saying Tabby is dead?”

  “That’s exactly what we’re saying.”

  “How is that even possible?”

  “That’s what we’re here to ask you about.” Brian normally had infinite patience, but it waned in the face of Nancy’s seemingly muted reaction to her roommate’s death. “When was the last time you saw Tabitha?”

  “Um … let me see.” Nancy took another drag. “I guess it was Friday night. It’s Tuesday, right?”

  “It is.”

  “Yeah, then it was Friday night.” Nancy exhaled heavily, blowing a huge stream of smoke in Jared’s face. “We were at a party on the highway.”

  “On the highway?” Jack cocked an eyebrow. “Can you be more specific?”

  “It was at that house between the bar and the lumber yard,” Nancy replied, gesturing with her hand even though there was nothing to point at. “You know the one, Brian. It’s that white one with the big deck overlooking the woods, the one next to that cranky old guy who is constantly yelling for people to be quiet.”

  “You mean the Oxford rental?” Brian asked. “Shane Oxford used to live in the house, but now he rents it out because he spends all his time down in Muskegon, right?”

  Nancy nodded. “There’s a group of guys who have been living there for the past few months. Um … I can’t remember their names. They’re fun guys, though.”

  Brian eyed the half-hidden joint. “I bet. What can you tell us about that night?”

  “Not much,” Nancy replied. “I was blitzed before we even got there.” If she was ashamed of her drinking habits, she didn’t show it. “Tabby drove. We’ve been hanging out with these guys for a few weeks so I didn’t think much about separating.”

  “If Tabitha drove, how did you get home?” Brian asked.

  “Phil Martin was there and he gave me a ride.”

  Brian was fairly certain Phil gave her more than one kind of ride, but he let it be. “Okay. That means Tabitha was on her own to get home.”

  Jack moved to the front window of the apartment and stared into the parking lot. “What kind of car does Tabitha drive?”

  “Oh, um … it’s an old red Focus.”

  Jack scanned the assembled cars. “I don’t see it in the lot.”

  “Maybe she never drove it home,” Jared suggested. “Maybe it’s still at the party house.”

  “That will be our next stop,” Jack said.

  “Nancy, why didn’t you report Tabitha missing?” Brian asked, his tone level. “She’s obviously been missing for days.”

  Nancy shrugged. “I guess I didn’t know she was missing. I thought she hooked up with someone. I didn’t realize she was gone as long as she was.”

  “But … .” Brian broke off, frustrated. “She’s been dead for days, Nancy. I don’t understand how you couldn’t notice that.”

  “It’s a lot easier than you might think.” Nancy stubbed out her cigarette. “Is that all? I have a shift at the grocery store in an hour and I need to shower before then.”

  “Yeah, you do,” Brian agreed, getting to his feet. “We’ll be in touch, Nancy. I’m sure we’re going to have more questions.”

  “I’m sure you will, too. Although … .” Nancy tilted her head to the side. “Do you think I’ll be able to keep Tabby’s car when you find it? I’m going to have a hell of a time getting around now that Tabby isn’t here to drive me.”

  “I have no idea,” Brian replied, disgusted. “I’ll certainly put that on the top of my list of things to ask about, though.”

  Nancy brightened. “Hey … thanks.”

  “IF THESE MUSHROOMS really do taste like feet, I’m going to have to write you off as an evil minion,” Zander warned, the French Dip sandwich poised over the mushroom dipping sauce. “You won’t like it if I write you off.”

  Ivy grinned as she added ranch dressing to her vegetable pocket. “I think you’ll be pl
easantly surprised.”

  Harper watched the exchange with a small smile. “If you don’t like the mushrooms, you can always order something else, Zander. Whatever you do … don’t make a scene.”

  Zander offered up an exaggerated face. “What kind of scene would I possibly make?”

  Shawn and Harper exchanged a weighted look.

  “I still remember the time you accidentally ate the ice cream made with coconut milk,” Shawn pointed out.

  “That wasn’t ice cream,” Zander argued. “That was a travesty.”

  “You licked the wall to get the taste out of your mouth … and then you licked your sleeve when you realized you licked a germ-infested wall,” Shawn said. “Let’s try not to do that here, okay?”

  “Yeah,” Harper agreed, bobbing her head. “I don’t think Helen is going to like it if you lick the wall.”

  “I don’t have to take this abuse,” Zander grumbled.

  Ivy watched with unveiled curiosity as Zander dunked the sandwich in the sauce and then took a bite. The man chewed with precision, his face unreadable, and when he finally swallowed Ivy could barely contain the obvious question. “Well?”

  “Not feet. They’re kind of good.” Zander took another bite, as if to prove to himself that he actually liked the mushrooms. This time when he smiled, he broke into a wide grin. “I don’t know what your crazy boyfriend is talking about. Morels don’t taste like feet at all.”

  “Make sure you tell him that when you see him.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  Harper tentatively tested her own sandwich and, while she didn’t think the morels were the best thing she’d ever eaten, she was happy with the new cuisine. “They are good.” She wiped the corners of her mouth. “So, what can you tell us about this Tabitha woman?”

  Ivy was expecting the question. “She’s a hard partier. She hangs out with a rough crowd. She smokes a lot of pot, but I don’t think she partakes other than that. The group she hangs out with is known for dabbling in meth, though.”

  “So Jared and Jack could be dealing with a dangerous crowd,” Harper noted.

  “Maybe, but I wouldn’t worry about it. Jack and Brian know what they’re doing.”

  “Jack thought these mushrooms tasted like feet,” Zander argued. “I have to wonder if his head is screwed on straight.”

  Ivy giggled, delighted. “I can’t wait until you guys run into Jack again.”

  THE MAN ANSWERING the door at the rental house looked as ragged as Nancy. Jack swallowed the urge to react with overt disgust when he saw the man’s open shirt and filthy beer gut. He was young, barely looking old enough to drink, but he already looked beaten down.

  “Can I help you?”

  Brian flashed his badge to get the man’s attention. “I’m Detective Nixon. This is my partner Detective Harker and our consultant Detective Monroe. We have a few questions to ask you regarding a woman we believe attended a party out here Friday night.”

  “Uh-huh.” The man wasn’t particularly impressed by the fact that he had three badges on his doorstep. “We had a lot of people out here Friday night. I’m sure I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

  “Yeah?” Brian arched an eyebrow. “How do you know that before we even show you a photo?”

  The man shrugged. “Because I remember very little about that night.”

  Jack had no doubt that was true. “Are your other roommates here?”

  “No, they’re at work,” the man replied. “I don’t know what you want me to tell you. We have a lot of people who come in and out of this place.”

  “And you don’t remember any of them, huh?”

  “No. Now, if that’s all … I have a raging hangover to sleep off.”

  “Yeah, you keep living the dream.” Brian’s expression was dark as he turned away from the door.

  “You’re going to let him off that easy?” Jared didn’t bother to mask his surprise. “Why not press him more?”

  “Because I want to talk to the neighbor first,” Brian replied.

  “Why?”

  “Because the neighbor is Nelson Delgado and I happen to know he’s a bit of a busybody,” Brian replied, stalking toward the immaculate lawn on the other side of a rickety fence. “I want to get some background on these imbeciles before I drag them in for formal questioning.”

  “That sounds like a plan.”

  NELSON DELGADO STARTED answering Brian’s question before he finished asking it.

  “They’re filthy beasts,” Nelson barked, crossing his arms over his chest. “They’re up partying at all hours of the night. They throw beer bottles in the middle of the yard and never pick them up. And I know those aren’t clove cigarettes they’re smoking when they’re outside no matter what they say.”

  Jared averted his gaze to keep from laughing at Nelson’s outrage. The man was in his late fifties, his shirt tucked in and every hair in place, and it was obvious he wasn’t a fan of chaos.

  “When did they move in?” Brian asked. He was used to Nelson’s theatrics. They’d known each other for the better part of forty years and he knew better than indulging one of Nelson’s rants.

  “About four months ago. Did I mention it’s been the longest four months of my life?”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Nelson, but we’re here about murder rather than partying right now,” Brian said. “What can you tell us about Friday’s party?”

  “Murder?” Nelson instantly sobered. “Who died?”

  “A young girl from town,” Brian replied. “We’re not releasing the name until we notify her parents. We know she attended a party here Friday night. As far as we’ve been able to ascertain, this was the last place anybody saw her.”

  “Well, I don’t want to speak ill of young men but … these guys probably did it.” Nelson jerked his thumb toward the rental house for emphasis. “I’m not joking. You’ve never seen such annoying animals in your entire life. The noise alone is enough to make you want to scream.”

  “We can’t arrest them on your hunch, Nelson,” Brian noted. “I need specifics about Friday night, though. Did you see or hear anything out of the ordinary?”

  “I don’t think you understand,” Nelson replied. “Those parties are all thumping music, loose women, and … men of questionable morals.”

  “I do understand that,” Brian countered. “I need to know if you saw anything, though.”

  “I wasn’t looking. I don’t like to look because it makes me angry. I put headphones on to drown out the noise and watched the Tigers’ preseason game. I didn’t even look out the window. I’m sorry.”

  Brian heaved out a sigh. “Yeah, I’m sorry, too. I don’t blame you for trying to tune out the noise, though. Do me a favor and keep an eye on these guys. We’ll be back to question them again. I just need to check on a few things before that happens.”

  “I’ll watch them.” Nelson was solemn. “Do you think you’ll arrest them soon?”

  “I’m not sure we’re going to arrest them at all.”

  “Oh, I have faith you’ll arrest them.”

  Brian could do nothing but shake his head. “I’ll do my best, Nelson. No promises, though.”

  6

  Six

  “You sound as if you had a rough day.”

  Ivy was sympathetic as she linked her fingers with Jack’s as they walked into Shadow Lake’s lone diner shortly before seven.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry you had to call your brother for a ride,” Jack offered ruefully. “I didn’t expect to leave you stranded as long as I did. We needed to check down a few leads – run rental information – and then notify Tabitha’s mother.”

  “Where is Tabitha’s mother these days?” Ivy racked her brain. “I haven’t seen Evelyn in years.”

  “She lives in Traverse City now,” Jack replied. “Apparently she’s on her third husband and Tabitha didn’t like him and that’s why they had a falling out. Evelyn said she hadn’t talked to Tabitha in three years.”

>   “Was she upset? Wait, what am I asking? Of course she was upset.”

  “She was upset,” Jack confirmed. “She was nowhere near as upset as you might imagine, though. The first thing she asked was how much she would have to pay for Tabitha’s funeral. Then, a few minutes later, she asked me if I knew how to set up one of those ‘Give Me Money’ pages on the internet. I mentioned she probably meant ‘Go Fund Me’ but she thought I was wrong.”

  “Oh, that’s terrible.” Ivy pressed her hand to her stomach, unsettled. “I didn’t know Tabitha well. She was younger and had quite the wild streak. Still … that’s not how I want to be remembered when I die.”

  “You’re never going to die.” Jack squeezed Ivy’s hand. “You’re going to live forever.”

  “Like on Highlander?”

  “I have no idea what that is, but if it means you live forever, sure.”

  “It’s sweet you want me to live forever, but I’ll settle for living as long as you do. Maybe we’ll get lucky and die together.”

  Jack snorted. “You have a lovely way of looking at things, honey. I definitely think we should die together, though … as long as it’s in like seventy years.”

  “That’s a plan.”

  Jack held open the door for Ivy, rolling his eyes when he realized Max was already sitting at their usual booth. “I didn’t know you invited your brother.”

  Ivy balked. “You like Max.”

  “Yes, but I had romantic plans for you. I can’t whisper sweet nothings in your ear with your brother sitting across from me. He’s likely to punch me.”

  “I’ll protect you.”

  “Good to know.” Jack kept his hand on the small of Ivy’s back as he slid into the booth and fixed Max with a friendly smile. “You look like you’re in a good mood.”

  “I am.” Max beamed. “It’s the first official day of morel season. Look, Ivy, they’ve added morels to the stir-fry. I bet they did it just for you.”