Ivy Morgan Mystery Box Set 5

by Lily Harper Hart

  The corners of Ivy’s lips turned down. “I own this place. This is my business.”

  “Oh, well ... I’m sorry.”

  Annoyance, bubbling and bright, grabbed Ivy by the throat. “I’ve poured my blood, sweat, and tears into this place.”

  “And it’s lovely,” Roy lied. “I just happen to believe what we’re offering is better.”

  “Well, I don’t.” Ivy was firm. “Besides, I’m already engaged ... and happily so.”

  “Yes, you’re talking about the police detective. What if we allow him to be one of your dates for the show? You could field other offers but still keep him in play that way.”

  Ivy managed to hold off a scream, but just barely. “Do you think that’s funny?”

  “No. I’m being serious.”

  “So am I.” Ivy planted her hands on her narrow hips. “I have no interest in your show. You’re much better off picking Maisie or Ava. Heck, pick them both. They’ll have a catfight and scratch each other’s eyeballs out. That will make for great television.

  “While you’re at it, my brother would love to be one of the dates,” she continued. “Put him in the mix. He knows exactly how to push Maisie’s and Ava’s buttons. Trust me, that will be riveting television.”

  “We don’t want Maisie or Ava. We want you.”

  “Yeah? Well, you’d better get used to disappointment.”

  “So, you want to play hardball, huh?” Roy’s smile widened. “How much is it going to take?”

  “There is not enough money on this planet to get me to agree to what you’re suggesting.”

  “Everyone has a price.”

  “I don’t.”

  “Would you care to place a wager on that?”

  Twelve

  “So, you’re going to be a television star, huh?”

  Michael let the situation be for as long as he dared before teasing his only daughter. She, in turn, murdered him with the harshest look in her repertoire.

  “Don’t make things worse,” she warned.

  “I think you’re looking at this the wrong way,” he argued. “You could be a star.”

  “Ha, ha.”

  “Of course you’re already a star.”

  Ivy gritted her teeth to refrain from exploding at her father. She knew he was only messing around. His sensibilities often lined up with her sensibilities, which is why they were extremely close. She loved her mother, too, there was no doubt about that. She was closest with her father, though. He was her touchstone as a kid, the one who understood when she was feeling bad about being isolated.

  Michael sobered when he realized Ivy’s tenuous ties to serenity were already fraying. “Do you want to tell me what’s bothering you, kid?”

  Ivy averted her gaze. “What makes you think something is bothering me?”

  “Because you’re not the sort of person who can hide what you’re feeling,” he replied simply. “It’s all out there for anyone to see ... especially if the individual looking happens to know you as well as I do.”

  Ivy lifted her eyes and frowned. “I’m fine.”

  “I hate it when you say that.” Michael made a tsking sound as he shook his head. “That’s your go-to response when you mean the exact opposite. Why can’t you just tell me how you’re really feeling? It will save us time.”

  “I hate it that you know me so well,” Ivy grumbled, scuffing her foot against the ground as she sighed. “It’s a pain in the butt.”

  “You’re a pain in the butt,” he countered. “We’ll survive, though. Tell me what’s going on. I can’t help you fix things if I don’t know what the problem is.”

  “There’s no problem.”

  Michael waited, feigning patience.

  “One problem,” Ivy conceded finally. “Jack is worried.”

  “When isn’t Jack worried?” Michael chuckled at Ivy’s frown. “That wasn’t meant as an insult, Ivy. I happen to like Jack. In fact, I think he’s probably the best man I’ve ever met. It doesn’t hurt that he’s completely besotted with you.

  “Most fathers go their entire lives worrying their daughters are going to hook up with the wrong man,” he continued. “I always worried you were so strong you wouldn’t allow a man into your world. That changed with Jack. He’s made your life better. I happen to love him ... and I know you made the right choice where he’s concerned.

  “That doesn’t mean he’s not a bit of a worrier,” he said. “I like that trait, too. He goes out of his way to protect you. What is he worried about this time?”

  “He doesn’t like the cameras.”

  “You don’t like them either.”

  “I don’t but ... Jack is the one who is really worried.” Ivy licked her lips and glanced around to make sure none of the customers or other workers were listening. “He’s afraid that someone will accidentally see me ... doing something.”

  Michael arched a surprised eyebrow. “I’m guessing you don’t mean doing your hair or nails.”

  “No.”

  “You mean the other stuff.”

  “That would be what I’m referring to,” Ivy agreed, nervously rubbing her sweaty palms against her jeans. “I’ve been careful, you don’t have to worry about that, but the opportunity is there if someone sneaks up on me.”

  “Then why did you participate in that nutty seance your mother and aunt put together last night?” Michael was legitimately curious. “I mean ... that’s generally not your scene.”

  “Mom made me.”

  “Since when has your mother had the power to make you do anything?”

  Ivy shrugged, noncommittal. “I don’t know. She gave me the look. You know the look I’m talking about. She said she would be really disappointed.”

  “I know the look.” Michael made a face. “You know I love your mother, right? Well, I hate that look.”

  Ivy cracked a smile. “I thought I could get out of it until Aunt Felicity lost her head and insisted on participating, too. That was the part I didn’t understand. She usually shuns attention but last night it was as if she was craving it.”

  “People surprise you sometimes,” Michael said. “I’m sure she already feels like an idiot for whatever it is you two said to each other. There’s no reason to dwell on it. Felicity doesn’t have it in her to stay angry.”

  “Yeah.” Ivy dragged a hand through her hair, suddenly weary. “Jack couldn’t get me away from there fast enough. Now, for these guys to show up the way they did, he’s going to be upset.”

  “You handled the situation. You told them no. We saw them leave. There’s no reason for Jack to freak.”

  Ivy shot her father a knowing look. “We both know he’s still going to freak. Don’t pretend otherwise.”

  “Fine. He’s going to freak.” Michael’s smile was rueful. “That doesn’t mean you did anything wrong. In fact, I thought you handled yourself well. Jack will stew about it for five minutes and then realize he’s making you unhappy with the pouting and straighten up. That’s his way.”

  “Yeah.”

  “He’s a good guy,” Michael added. “I think you guys are going to be happy together.”

  “Yeah.” Ivy’s lips curved. “We set the wedding date.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Michael patted his daughter’s shoulder. “I’m glad. When am I giving my only daughter away? I only ask because I’m excited to make you Jack’s problem. He’ll be the one who has to give these little pep talks in the future.”

  Ivy’s smile slipped. “You’re kind of a pain sometimes.”

  “Oh, I know. Where do you think you get it from? You’re just like me.”

  “I’m not sure that’s a good thing.”

  “I think it’s the best thing.”

  “I DON’T UNDERSTAND what you’re asking.”

  Donahue sat at the picnic table in the town square, a cup of coffee in his hand, and fixed Jack with a quizzical look.

  “We’re asking, who disliked Éclair?” the tall detective replied, not missing a beat. “We know she
wasn’t exactly popular with ... well, pretty much anyone she met.”

  “Oh, well, I don’t know if I’d say that,” Donahue hedged.

  “You didn’t say it,” Brian pointed out, his patience wearing thin. “We said it. Other people have said it to us. Heck, multiple people have said it to us at this point. We’re simply looking for confirmation.”

  Donahue worked his jaw as he looked between the two men. “Well, the thing is, she wasn’t horrible as much as set in her ways.”

  Jack bit back a sigh. “We’ve got multiple people calling her horrible on the record.”

  Donahue blinked several times before shaking his head. “I don’t get the point of speaking ill of the dead.”

  “It’s not about badmouthing a dead woman,” Brian argued. “It’s about finding a killer. Éclair was the sort of woman who made enemies at every turn. One of those enemies beat her to death. That’s not a pleasant way to go, which means whoever it was really had to dislike her.”

  “And you think that was me?” Donahue’s voice came out squeaky. “I would never do that to a woman. Heck, I wouldn’t do that to a man either. I’m a lover, not a fighter.”

  “Yeah, we all are,” Brian drawled. His irritation with the Hollywood crew was growing in leaps and bounds with every passing moment. “We need to know who you saw her fighting with in the days leading up to her death.”

  “We also need to know your movements,” Jack added. “It’s possible she managed to make a new enemy at one of your filming locations and you’re not even aware.”

  Donahue looked between them several times and sighed. It was obvious he wasn’t getting out of this so he had no choice but to talk. “The thing is, we didn’t really film anything,” he admitted. “We did scout locations, and we took a bit of footage, but only to see how Éclair looked on film and in certain types of lighting.

  “She insisted she looked great in every type of lighting but that wasn’t entirely true,” he continued. “She looked great outdoors. Indoors was another story.”

  “We don’t really care about which lighting was best for her,” Brian noted.

  “I know. I’m simply explaining why almost every location we scouted was outdoors.”

  “Oh.” Jack bobbed his head. “Were all the dates going to be outside?”

  “Most of them. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t find enough differing locations to make the entire thing an outdoor series.”

  “What places did you visit before her death?”

  “Grand Traverse Bay, Round Lake, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Hartwick Pines, Dead Man’s Hill.” He rattled them off. “Those were all outdoor locations. “We were also going to arrange kayaking down the Au Sable River and camping at one of the parks ... although Éclair was fighting the camping hard.”

  “I don’t doubt that.” Jack pictured the one and only time he’d gone camping with Ivy. She was a professional, knew exactly what to do at every turn. He’d been completely useless. Other than spending time with her, he’d found the entire trip lacking even though he loved the outdoors. Of course, one of his old friends turned out to be a killer on that trip so that could’ve tainted the memory. “What else?”

  “We were going to do a winery tour,” Donahue replied. “Éclair was very excited about that. She enjoyed wine.”

  “And how did these scouting locations work?” Brian asked. “I mean ... were the men present?”

  “Absolutely not.” Donahue was vehement as he shook his head. “We made sure to keep Éclair separated from the men. That was our biggest rule. We wanted all of the interaction to happen organically on camera.”

  “And you really think you can manufacture romance like that?” Jack asked, making a face. “Doesn’t that feel a bit ... cynical ... to you?”

  “The entire world is cynical,” Donahue replied. “We didn’t really care about the romance. We knew everyone would give it their all to make the best out of their time on camera. Even Éclair, who was a complete and total narcissist, wanted to make sure the show was a hit. It was her one and only chance.”

  “Did she talk about her father at all?” Brian queried. “Did she mention having problems with him?”

  “Not to my knowledge. She didn’t act as if they were that close. We asked if he would be available for filming and she said he was too important to participate in stuff like that because he had a business to run. Her mother was fine to shoot. Her father ... we weren’t to even call him and ask. She stressed that, got almost manic about it.”

  Brian and Jack exchanged a look. That made sense given the lack of relationship between Sheridan and his daughter.

  “What will you do now?” Brian asked. “Do you have a replacement woman waiting in the wings to get her shot at stardom? Is it possible whoever it is might’ve wanted to get Éclair out of the way so she could be the star?”

  “We don’t have a replacement,” Donahue replied. “We do have an idea, but it’s a recent thing.”

  “Oh, and who is that?” Brian was intrigued.

  “Ivy Morgan.”

  Jack almost choked on the coffee he was drinking. “Excuse me?”

  Despite himself, Brian was amused at his partner’s reaction. “He said he’s interested in making Ivy a television star. How great is that?”

  Jack slid him a slit-eyed look. “Don’t make me hurt you.”

  “We know that the two of you are tight,” Donahue barreled forward. “We tried talking to her at that horrible place where she works — women should not be doing manual labor — but she got defensive and kicked us out.”

  “That horrible place you’re referring to is her baby,” Jack supplied. “That’s her business. She started it from scratch and she loves it.”

  “Well, she was definitely crabby,” Donahue noted. “She kept going on and on about how she was engaged. I told her it didn’t matter. We’ll let you be one of her ‘dates’ and you two can run off in the sunset together after filming is wrapped. She just needs to give the other guys a chance, too.”

  Jack stilled, his cheeks burning with agitation. “We’re getting married. That means we don’t date other people.”

  Donahue cocked his head to the side. “Not even a little?”

  “I can’t even.” Jack made a growling sound as Brian hiked an amused eyebrow.

  “I would probably let that line of thinking go if I were you,” the older detective suggested.

  “I don’t want to do that,” Donahue complained. “We think Ivy is perfect. She’s pretty but not too overbearing. That pink hair is cool. We think she has a unique look.”

  “Oh, well, a unique look,” Jack mocked.

  “Do you think you could talk to her?” Donahue asked. “We’re willing to double the amount of money we were going to pay Éclair. We really want Ivy. We think she’s going to come across sensational on screen.”

  Jack snarled, showing his teeth.

  “I think we’re going to have to get back to you on that one,” Brian said hurriedly. “I have a feeling he’s not ready to negotiate just yet.”

  IVY NEEDED A BREAK AFTER several hours of work so she headed into the woods with her father’s blessing. He could read the unease that lingered over her and he thought a nice, air-clearing hike was in both their best interests.

  “Don’t hurry back,” he ordered. “I have everything under control. You just need a break.”

  Ivy didn’t argue. She recognized she needed a break, too. That’s why she meandered through the woods for a good twenty minutes before heading to her fairy ring. It was her favorite spot in the world, not far from the cottage or nursery. She could visit whenever she wanted as long as the weather allowed for woodsy hikes.

  “I wondered if you’d stop out here today.”

  Ivy jolted at the new voice, jerking her head to the left as an ethereal figure took shape. Susan Bishop, the witchy ghost she met weeks before, grinned when she caught sight of Ivy’s wide-eyed panic.

  “Don’t have a fit or anything,” she war
ned. “I don’t have enough energy to put up with a fit.”

  Ivy recovered quickly. “I don’t have fits,” she said, shaking her head as she sank to the ground and dropped her head in her hands. “That’s not really the way I operate.”

  “No?” Susan didn’t look convinced. “I’ve seen you throw a fit or two. Sometimes I’m around when you don’t even know it.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Ivy pursed her lips. “I guess that makes sense. It probably drains your energy to show yourself all the time.”

  “Even when I do show myself, only a handful of people can see me,” Susan noted, her gaze falling on the mushrooms that made a wide circle in the small clearing. “This is your magical place.”

  “It is,” Ivy agreed. “I come here when I need a break.”

  “And why do you need a break today?”

  Ivy shrugged, noncommittal. “I don’t know.”

  “You know.” Susan’s voice was gentle, non-accusatory. “Perhaps you should simply tell me so we can get to the heart of matters.”

  Ivy exhaled heavily. “I’m having some family issues. Although ... .” She broke off, thinking about the shadow she saw the previous morning. “Have you ever heard of a shadow being present rather than a ghost? I swear a shadow led me to a body yesterday.”

  “A shadow?”

  “Yeah. I don’t know how else to explain it. It was black ... and I could kind of see through it. There was a human shape but no face or identifying marks.”

  “Hmm.” Susan tipped her head to the side. “That sounds like a shade.”

  Ivy was officially intrigued. “What’s that?”

  “A soul that’s split between two worlds.”

  “You mean a ghost.”

  Susan shook her head. “No. A ghost is not caught between two worlds. A ghost is in this world and cannot leave for one reason or another. A shade has one foot in another world and one foot in this one.”

  “Is it possible for someone to die and become a shade rather than a ghost?”

  “Anything is possible.”