Wicked Ghosts_A Harper Harlow and Ivy Morgan Mystery

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Yay.” Ivy clapped, excited.

  “Oh, geez.” Jack wrinkled his nose. “They don’t add morels to everything, do they? I would rather have my burger not taste like feet tonight.”

  “Yeah, speaking of that … .” Ivy slid Jack a sidelong look. “What did you tell Zander about morels this afternoon?”

  “Who is Zander?” Max asked.

  Ivy held up a finger to still her brother. “Just a second. I asked Jack a question.”

  Jack, who had eaten at the diner at least a hundred times since landing in Shadow Lake, suddenly became obsessed with the menu. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “You do, too. We had morels at Helen’s place for lunch. Zander loved them, by the way. He says they don’t even remotely taste like feet.”

  “Like that guy knows what a foot tastes like,” Jack grumbled. “He’s far too fussy to go around kissing feet.”

  “Like you did this morning?” Ivy teased.

  “Don’t go to a dirty place,” Max warned, wagging a finger. “I’m dying to know who this Zander guy is, though. Did you make new friends without me, Ivy? I’m shocked.”

  Ivy made a face only a brother could love … or at least tolerate. “I make friends all the time. I’m friendly.”

  Max snorted. “You are not.”

  “I am so.”

  “You are not.”

  “I am so.”

  Max looked to Jack for help. “Tell her she’s not friendly.”

  “Yeah, I prefer not sleeping on the couch tonight,” Jack drawled. “You’re very friendly, honey. I would never say otherwise.”

  “Only because he doesn’t want to get cut off,” Max grumbled.

  “As for making friends, Ivy did admirably today under very difficult circumstances,” Jack said.

  Max leaned forward, intrigued. “What circumstances?”

  Jack launched into the tale, taking special care to explain how Ivy browbeat him into morel hunting for their anniversary. When he was done, Max was understandably flabbergasted.

  “Tabitha is dead?”

  Ivy glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was eavesdropping and then shot her brother a quelling look. “Why don’t you say it a little louder? I don’t think old Chester Burton in the corner heard you. He is, of course, deaf, but I’m sure you can find a way around that.”

  Max rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m just … shocked. I always thought she would grow up one day and get it together. She made me a little sad when I saw her.”

  “She was definitely wasting her life,” Ivy agreed. “I feel bad for her.”

  “How did she die?”

  “Gunshot to the chest.”

  “Ivy.” Jack sent his fiancée a warning look. “Maybe you shouldn’t be spreading the details of a murder around town. Did you ever think of that?”

  Ivy balked. “It’s just Max.”

  “So?”

  “So he’s my brother and I can’t lie to him.”

  Jack made an exaggerated face. “Whatever. I’m just glad you’re getting your morel fix here so I won’t have to eat the stinky things at home.”

  “I have the bag I gathered before we found the body. What do you think I’m putting in the eggs tomorrow?”

  “A lot of love and nothing else for me,” Jack replied. “I have trouble believing you would purposely torture me with morels when you know I hate them … especially after I gave you that big engagement ring and everything.”

  Ivy’s expression was dour. “Oh, that’s just playing dirty.”

  Jack snickered. “I know. That’s how much I hate morels, though.”

  “I guess we know you won’t be having morels as part of your wedding dinner, huh?” Max was genuinely amused by the interplay. He enjoyed watching his sister smile and she was almost always smiling when she was with Jack. “When are you guys getting married, by the way?”

  “We haven’t decided yet,” Ivy replied. “We’re going to finish the house renovations and then decide. We can’t deal with both things at once.”

  “She can’t deal with both things at once,” Jack corrected. “Having people in and out of the house every day is making her cranky. We’ll be able to sit down and make some decisions in a few weeks.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Max shifted his eyes to the door when the bell jangled. “Huh. I don’t want to be presumptuous, but are those the people you met this morning?”

  Ivy followed his gaze, breaking into a smile when she saw Harper and offering up an excited wave. “Yes. Hi, guys. You should join us.”

  Harper answered before anyone else could. “Sounds good.”

  “We’ll get a bigger table.” Ivy was already on her feet. “Get moving. We need more room.”

  Max and Jack exchanged amused looks.

  “She’s cute when she has a new friend, isn’t she?” Max teased.

  “She’s always cute,” Jack replied. “She’s extra cute now.”

  Ivy tapped her foot. “You’re not moving fast enough. Get up and … move.”

  “The cuteness is fading a bit,” Jack lamented.

  “Now!”

  HARPER PURPOSELY SEATED herself between Jared and Ivy, earning a withering glance from Zander in the process.

  “Oh, I see how things are,” Zander complained.

  Harper ignored his tone. “Sit over there.”

  Ivy made quick introductions, pretending she didn’t notice the way her brother smiled at her – it was one of those knowing brother grins that set her teeth on edge – and then settled in her chair.

  “Anything new on the case?” Jared asked Jack as Max handed him a menu.

  “Not really,” Jack replied. “We should get the full autopsy report tomorrow. We spent the afternoon running cursory checks on the owner and background checks on the guys who live in that house.”

  “And?”

  “And they’re young partiers with a few things on their rap sheets,” Jack replied. “Nothing that would suggest murder, though. We’re hoping to be able to run a ballistics check with the state police and come up with something there, but right now we don’t have much. We also need to do more in-depth searches on the renters. What we ran today was very brief and we didn’t dig deep.”

  “That’s a bummer.”

  “Definitely.”

  “So, Harper, tell me about yourself,” Max prodded, making for an awkward conversational shift. “You seem … fun.”

  Jared narrowed his eyes. “Excuse me?”

  Max was taken aback. “Did I say something bad?”

  “Ignore him.” Ivy waved off her brother. “He’s trying to get a dig in at me, not you, Jared. He thinks it’s funny that I like Harper.”

  Jared wasn’t placated. “Funny how?”

  “Ivy isn’t known for making friends,” Max explained. “When Jack said she made a new friend I wasn’t sure I believed him. Then I saw how she reacted to Harper and … well … I thought it would be funny to tease her. I wasn’t moving in on your turf.”

  “You couldn’t move in on his turf anyway,” Zander offered. “Jared and Harp are like those Swiss Rolls cupcakes that come all snug in a package together. There’s no separating them without taking skin off.”

  “Ah.” Max’s face lit with amusement. “Are you the guy who likes morels?”

  “Yes!” Zander clapped his hands, catching everyone off guard. “They most certainly do not taste like feet. I’m hoping to have more for dinner.”

  Ivy shot Jack a pointed look. “See. I told you they were good.”

  Jack was blasé. “I stand corrected.”

  “Does that mean you want morels with your dinner?”

  “I love you more than life itself, honey, but you’re going to have to offer me up something good to eat the feet mushrooms.”

  Ivy leaned closer and whispered something in Jack’s ear that only he could hear. Whatever it was, it caused his cheeks to redden.

  “And I think you hit my price,” Jack said after a
beat. “I will try the mushrooms again. I want something where they’re served on the side, though, so if I don’t like them then I can shove them off on someone else.”

  “They have a good porterhouse steak tonight,” Max suggested. “Get the mushrooms on the side of that. If you don’t like them, I’ll add them to my plate.”

  “Yes, Max is a human Dumpster,” Ivy drawled.

  “Ha, ha.” Max tossed a breadstick in her direction. “So, Harper, I hear you hunt ghosts. Is that true or did Ivy make that up to mess with me?”

  “It’s true,” Harper replied. “Zander and I own a company together. We help displaced spirits move to the other side.”

  “So you can see ghosts?” Max was intrigued.

  “I can,” Harper confirmed. “I can see and talk to them.”

  “Can you see and talk to them?” Max focused his attention on Zander, who was very overtly checking out Max’s muscled arms. “Do I have a tick on me or something?”

  Zander balked. “Why would you say something like that?”

  “He was just checking you out,” Harper explained. “He likes looking at guys who work out … and you very clearly enjoy working out.”

  Max winked, amused. “I do indeed.”

  “I’m starting to be uncomfortable with the flirting,” Jared announced pointedly.

  “I’m not flirting with him,” Harper protested. “I was merely trying to explain why Zander is staring at him as if he’s the yummiest hot dog on the stick.”

  “And thank you for that,” Zander snapped, casting a worried look in Shawn’s direction. “I wasn’t checking him out.”

  Instead of being offended, Shawn was amused. “Why? I’ve been checking him out. He’s hot.”

  Max shifted on his chair, uncomfortable. “Ivy, I think you should switch seats with me.”

  “Oh, no.” Ivy’s smile was smug. “I think it’s only fair you make some new friends, too.”

  Jared snorted, relaxing a bit when he realized Max was all talk … and most of that talk was aimed at his sister. “I see you guys are close. It’s kind of nice. I only talk to my sister when my mother forces me.”

  “Me, too,” Jack said. “Ivy and Max are ridiculously close. I used to be bothered by it, but now I kind of like it. I know he’s always around to help if she needs it … and because she finds trouble, she often needs it.”

  “I know how that goes,” Jared said. “Harper is the same way. It used to frustrate me to no end, but now I’m kind of used to it.”

  “I hardly think I find trouble,” Harper argued.

  “Really?” Jared’s tone was dry. “Was it not you and Zander I found hiding underneath a table in a murderous dentist’s office last fall?”

  Harper was affronted. “That was not our fault. That could’ve happened to anyone.”

  “And the time you got kidnapped by the guy you went to high school with?”

  “Also not my fault.”

  Jack snorted. “That almost happened to Ivy, too,” he volunteered. “Her ex-boyfriend runs a cult north of here. It turned out to be his underling, not him, who was the killer. Ivy ended up in danger, though. I wasn’t as worked up then because we weren’t dating, but now I worry whenever I leave the house.”

  “Word.” Jared offered up a lame fist bump to Jack as Harper and Ivy rolled their eyes in unison.

  “Oh, they’re even making the same faces.” Max was tickled. “I’m going to need a photograph of you guys together. You’re freaking cute.”

  “You’re making me uncomfortable again,” Jared warned.

  “Dude, chill,” Max offered. “I have no interest in making a move on your girlfriend.”

  “I think he rolls our way.” Zander waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

  “I don’t, but if I did, you would totally be on my radar,” Max said, causing Zander to preen. “I’m just excited that my sister found a friend. Have you ever had a female friend, Ivy?”

  Ivy scowled at her brother. “I’ve had female friends.”

  “Name one.”

  “You could be a female by the end of the night if I get my hands on you and you’re my best friend,” Ivy shot back.

  “Oh, you’re so terrifying.” Max feigned chewing his fingernails as he grinned. “What about you, Harper? Do you have a lot of female friends?”

  “Zander is better than any female,” Jared answered.

  “Oh, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” Zander gushed. “Thank you.”

  “I’m just repeating what you told me when I picked up Harper for our first date,” Jared shot back. “I’m paraphrasing a little bit, but you said not to take no for an answer because Harper needed some loving, you would kill me if I broke her heart, and that you were always going to have top billing in her life.”

  Harper’s mouth dropped open. “You said that to him?”

  Zander shrugged, unconcerned. “It’s not a big thing. He’s come to terms with my place in your universe.”

  “Not that.” Harper wrinkled her nose. “I can’t believe you told him not to take no for an answer.”

  “I don’t think I worded it exactly like that,” Zander hedged. “I wanted you to get a shot at the prize, though.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I was afraid your prize had cobwebs and I figured Jared was my last shot to make sure you found happiness,” Zander replied without hesitation. “I knew the minute I saw you guys together that you had chemistry. I had no idea how much chemistry – and there was a time I wanted to pop his head like a zit because I thought he was stealing you from me – but everything worked out for the best.”

  Ivy pressed her lips together and elbowed Jack, whose shoulders shook with silent laughter. Harper’s expression was murderous.

  “There weren’t cobwebs.”

  “I was going to sign you up for one of those haunted tours if you didn’t unclench and start dating soon,” Zander said. “It’s fine now. It’s all in the past.”

  Harper shifted her eyes to Jared. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me that.”

  “I told you some of that,” Jared clarified. “As for the rest … does it really matter? I clearly didn’t move on you that first night.”

  “You wanted to,” Harper grumbled.

  “Of course I wanted to.” He squeezed the back of her neck. “Zander is right, though. It all worked out in the end. We’re together. You made a new friend. We’re all going to eat funky mushrooms. All is right with the world.”

  Harper didn’t want to smile because it would encourage him. She couldn’t stop herself. “All is right with the world,” she agreed, flipping over her menu. “So … what’s good here that has the fun mushrooms?”

  “Mushrooms that don’t taste like feet,” Zander stressed.

  “Don’t push it,” Jack warned. “I’m going to make you eat my morels through your nose if they’re as gross as I remember.”

  Zander was haughty. “I’m not afraid of you.”

  “We’ll see if you say that in an hour.”

  7

  Seven

  “You seem quiet.”

  Jared watched Harper get ready for bed with a critical eye. His blonde, although energetic and enthusiastic over dinner, had been largely silent for the ride back to the hotel. He didn’t know what to make of it.

  “Do I?” Harper flashed a smile. “Maybe I’m simply digesting the fabulous dinner we had.”

  Jared recognized sarcasm when he heard it. “I think the morels taste like feet, by the way.”

  Harper stilled. “You ate them.”

  “Only because I didn’t want to incur the wrath of Ivy.” Jared offered up a charming smile. “She seems nice … other than her morel mania, that is.”

  “She does.” Harper bobbed her head. “I like her … a lot.”

  “You like her a lot, huh?” Jared sat on the corner of the bed. “Do you like her enough to run away with her and start a new life?”

  “No, I … what?” Harper furrowe
d her brow. “Why would you ask something like that?”

  “Because you’re clearly distracted and I enjoy watching you squirm,” Jared replied without hesitation. “What’s on your mind, Heart?”

  “What makes you think anything is on my mind?”

  “I know you. I love you. I can tell when your brain is one extra thought away from smoking because it’s working so hard.”

  “I love you, too. I’m going to make you pay for that smoking brain crack, though.”

  Jared grinned, thoroughly amused. “Heart, I know something is bothering you. It would be easier for both of us if you just told me so we can fix it together. That’s the way we work best, right? Together. Let’s do that instead of playing games, huh?”

  Harper blew out a reticent sigh. “Okay. It’s just … I don’t think you’re going to like what I have to say.”

  “I think that we’ve been together long enough that we both know it doesn’t matter if I like what you say. I still want to hear it.”

  “Right. So … um … I need to get back out to the spot where we found the body.”

  Harper’s admission was enough to throw Jared for a loop. “I’m sorry but … what?”

  “I need to get back out there,” Harper pressed. “I need to look around.”

  “Why?”

  “To see if Tabitha Darden’s ghost is hanging around.”

  Harper’s answer was simple and it was hardly the first time Jared heard her express the exact same sentiment. Given where they were, though, he couldn’t help being surprised. “You want to ghost hunt on our vacation?”

  “I don’t want to ghost hunt on our vacation,” she clarified. “I feel the need to at least try, though. If that woman is running around in the woods, shouldn’t we at least offer our services to help her?”

  “I don’t know.” Jared chose his words carefully. “It’s not my case.”

  “That didn’t stop you from spending your entire afternoon working with Jack and Brian.”

  “No, but … wait, did that upset you?” Jared searched Harper’s face for an answer. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “Because it didn’t upset me as much as make me curious,” Harper answered. “You were the one keen to spend time with me and you didn’t even hesitate to stay behind and work on a case you won’t get paid for.”