Ghostly Endeavor (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 19)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Oh.” Realization washed over Jason’s features. “That sucks. I know how excited you were for the closing to go smoothly. Does that mean you’re delayed?”

  “We didn’t find the body until after we closed. The cemetery is officially ours ... as is the headache associated with finding a body.”

  Sympathy washing over him, Jared rubbed Harper’s back. “Luckily you know the investigating detective really well. I’m almost positive he’s not going to make things difficult for you.”

  “Yes, we’ll do our best not to arrest the two of you,” Mel agreed.

  That hadn’t even occurred to Harper. “Wait, as the new owners, are we suspects?”

  “Of course not,” Jared answered.

  “You’re way far down on the suspect list,” Mel said. “I mean, we can’t officially cross you guys off the list, but you clearly have no motive.”

  “Unless they wanted a body to be discovered on the cemetery grounds the day they take ownership because that will sell the ghost mystique better,” Jason offered.

  Harper’s eyes were dark when they landed on her former classmate. “Really? Did you have to take it there?”

  Jason had the grace to be abashed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that I think you did that. I just ... um ... .”

  “You should probably stop talking now,” Zander said.

  “Yes, I don’t want to turn into you,” Jason agreed. “Out of curiosity — and I don’t know if you have to keep it a secret or anything — but who died?”

  “Cassie Clifton.”

  Jason remained rooted to his spot, his eyes briefly widening and his face completely draining of color. “What?”

  “Do you remember her?” Harper queried. “She was in the same class as us.”

  “I remember her.” Jason looked as if his legs were about to give out from under him.

  “Sit down,” Jared ordered, hopping to his feet long enough to retrieve a chair from one of the empty tables behind him. “Don’t pass out or anything. That’s only going to make things worse.”

  “Especially since we haven’t ordered our sandwiches yet,” Zander said, making a face when Harper jabbed a finger at him. “What? I’m just trying to be practical. We’re going to need energy to get through the rest of the day. However good this soup is, it’s not enough to provide fuel for endless hours.”

  Jared merely shook his head as Jason lowered himself into the chair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were going to be so upset about this.”

  “She was in school with us,” Harper reminded him. “Even if you don’t see someone every single day, it’s still hard to wrap your head around the fact that they’re gone.”

  “I guess,” Jared agreed.

  “I don’t understand,” Jason finally said. “I ... this is so weird. Are you saying she was murdered or something? I mean, Jared and Mel don’t usually get involved in accidental deaths.” None of the color had returned to his face and Harper found she was legitimately concerned about him.

  “It wasn’t an accident,” Jared said. “She was strangled.”

  “When?” Jason’s question came out in a croak.

  “Sometime during the night,” Mel replied. “We have a broad time frame from the medical examiner right now. He’s saying between midnight and seven. He’ll hopefully be able to give us more when he’s done with the autopsy.”

  “But ... I don’t understand.” Jason appeared to be completely baffled by the turn of events. “Why was she in the cemetery?”

  “Luther mentioned that she sometimes ran through the cemetery,” Harper volunteered. “He said he told her not to do it because the trails were uneven. I’m guessing she ran along that trail that runs back by the lake and then cut through the cemetery to get through town.”

  “She probably had a regular route,” Jared mused. “I wonder if somebody knew about the route. It wouldn’t be hard to figure it out if they watched her close enough.”

  “Do you think she was targeted?” Harper asked.

  “I don’t know. We have nothing to go on right now. She could’ve been a specific target or a victim of opportunity. It’s up to us to figure out which scenario we’re dealing with.”

  “And what about us?” Harper asked. “We own the cemetery now. Are we supposed to be doing anything?”

  “Not that I can think of. We’ll let you know, though.”

  “I guess there’s nothing we can do anyway.” She looked disappointed at the prospect. “This really sucks.”

  Jared was pained. “I know. It was supposed to be a good day for you.”

  “I meant for Cassie.” Harper managed a smile, although it didn’t touch her eyes. “I might not have liked her constantly pointing out the amount of calories I was taking in, but she wasn’t a bad person. I don’t understand how this happened.”

  “We’ll figure it out,” Jared promised. “It might take some time, but we’ll get answers. You can bank on that.”

  4

  Four

  Harper stopped in front of Jared’s patrol car long enough to kiss him goodbye once they were finished with lunch.

  “What’s your plan?” he asked as he brushed her hair away from her face.

  “Now or forever?” she teased. “Now I was thinking I would head back to the cemetery. Eric and Molly should be there by now — they’re starting to move over our equipment because we need to be out of the office in two weeks — and Luther should be gone so we might perform a ritual to exorcise his obnoxious energy.”

  Jared smirked. “And your plans for forever?”

  “I’m looking at them.”

  “So cute.” He wrapped his arms around her and held tight, burying his face in her neck and inhaling her scent. “Lime and coconuts,” he murmured.

  “Hmm?”

  “I was just getting my full dose of Harper.” He pulled back and smiled. “That part of the cemetery is going to be taped off for at least twenty-four hours. You can’t mess with the tape.”

  “I’m not new. I know how it works.”

  “I’m just saying ... .” He held up his hands in a placating manner. “Since it’s by that storage building and not cutting off any graves, I figured it would be fine.”

  “It will encourage people to stop by asking for gossip. Do you want us to keep Cassie’s name secret?”

  He shook his head. “That shouldn’t be necessary. We’re going to head out and talk to the ex-husband first.”

  “Chuck.”

  “Do you know anything about him?” Jared had been in town for almost two years at this point, but he was still meeting new faces all the time, and Chuck was one of them.

  “He was a few years older than us. We never hung out with him. My first inclination is that he was a decent guy. I don’t remember hearing anything bad about him.”

  “Okay.” He leaned in again and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth. “Have I mentioned that you’re my favorite person in the world lately?”

  Harper knew it was schmaltzy, but she delighted in his reaction to her anyway. “I feel the same way about you.”

  “Um, I’m pretty sure I’m everybody’s favorite person in the world,” Zander countered as he appeared next to them. “As for this ... I can’t deal with this. You guys are officially gross.” He slid his arm around Harper’s waist and gave her a tug. “We’ll be leaving now. Thank you for lunch.”

  Jared refused to cede his grip on his wife. “Can’t you just give us thirty seconds to be together?”

  “No.”

  “Well ... you’re going to.” Jared slapped at Zander’s hand.

  “Ow!” Zander cradled his hand against his chest and fixed Jared with an accusatory glare. “Officer! I want him arrested.”

  Mel, who was heading toward the driver’s seat of the patrol cruiser, fixed his nephew with a dark glare. “Are you talking to me?”

  “Aren’t you a police officer?”

  “Yes, but so is Jared.”

  “Yes, well, he’s bru
talizing me.” Zander’s voice ratcheted up a notch. “I want him arrested.”

  “I’ll take it under consideration,” Mel said blandly.

  “No, you need to arrest him.”

  Jared found he was amused by Zander’s reaction ... right up until the moment he glanced at Harper and saw the worry lines appearing on her forehead. He adjusted his attitude quickly. “Harper, it’s okay.”

  “What?” She forced a smile. “Of course it is.”

  Jared’s heart did a long, slow roll when he realized she was putting on an act for him. “Oh, I’m sorry.” He pulled her close again. He knew that she didn’t like when he fought with Zander. There were times when she laughed at the banter. Other times, though, she showed the strain she was really feeling. Zander was her best friend and that was never going to change. Jared was her husband and that was also never going to change. Jared knew he needed to make a better effort.

  “It’s okay,” he repeated as he stroked his hand down her hair and rested his cheek against hers. “I’m done fighting with Zander for the day.”

  Harper managed a choked laugh. “You guys will never stop fighting.”

  And that, Jared realized, was her biggest worry. “We’re done for the day.” He met Zander’s gaze over her shoulder, a silent understanding blossoming between them. “We were just screwing around.”

  Zander instantly straightened. “We were,” he agreed. “I’ve always wanted to yell ‘officer’ like that.”

  “Even though I’m a detective,” Mel groused.

  Zander ignored him. “I just like to get a rise out of him, Harp. You know that. We’re going to get along for the rest of the day.”

  “We are,” Jared agreed. Silently, he reminded himself that he’d made this promise before. “We’re also going to make a better effort going forward. We won’t fight as much.”

  “It’s fine if you fight.” Harper had blanked her face when she pulled back to meet her husband’s concerned gaze. “That’s what you do.”

  And it’s tearing you apart, Jared mused to himself. “We’re fine. I’ve been a bit of a pain since we got back from the honeymoon. I’ve been letting my annoyance with Zander rule my world. That’s not fair to you or him.”

  “It’s okay. You have a right to your feelings.”

  “I do,” Jared readily agreed. “It’s time to let it go, though.” And time to stop torturing her, he added to himself. “I have to go, though.” He flashed a smile for her benefit. “I’ll be in touch later. We’ll figure things out.”

  “We’ll cook dinner,” Zander corrected. “Shawn has been wanting to barbecue since we got back. We’ll handle dinner.”

  “That sounds good.” Jared beamed at Zander. “I love barbecue.”

  Harper glanced between them. It was obvious something had gone down between the two men. She didn’t fully understand what, though. “Well, that sounds good.”

  “I’ll be in touch when I know more,” Jared reassured her. “You just need to enjoy your day. You’re an entrepreneur now. You should bask in it.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  MEL AND JARED WERE SILENT FOR THE bulk of their ride across town. Mel wasn’t always the most observant individual, but he could read his partner’s moods and knew something was up with Jared.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked as he pulled into the driveway of a nondescript ranch house.

  “I’m fine,” Jared replied hurriedly. “I just have a lot on my mind.”

  “You’re newly married. All you should be thinking about is early bedtimes with your wife.” Mel took on a nostalgic look. “I loved the first month of my marriage. We didn’t get out of bed unless we absolutely had to.”

  Jared made a face. “Thanks for sharing that.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “I was being sarcastic.”

  “Oh, I know. I was being serious. You guys haven’t been in it long enough to be having marital problems.”

  “We’re not having marital problems.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “It’s just ... Harper is starting to get upset when Zander and I fight. He and I have fallen into a rhythm. Sometimes we’re not really fighting but communicating. To her it all sounds the same, though.”

  “And it’s wearing on Harper.”

  “Yup. I’m trying to do better.”

  “How’s it going?”

  “I keep forgetting.” Jared pushed open his door. “It’s not a big deal. Zander and I need to think about her feelings more often. We’ll figure it out.”

  Mel wasn’t so certain, but he nodded all the same. “Good luck with that.”

  Jared followed Mel to the front door, allowing his partner to take the lead. The man who opened the door — who happened to be decked out in a nice suit and comfortable loafers — seemed surprised to find two police officers darkening his doorstep.

  “Mel?” Chuck’s forehead creased as he glanced between the two intense detectives. “Is something wrong?”

  “We need to talk to you, Chuck,” Mel replied, his tone somber. This wasn’t his first time delivering bad news and he knew exactly how to do it. “It’s about Cassie.”

  Chuck’s expression remained flat. “We’re no longer married.”

  “I’m well aware.” Mel gestured toward the door. “We should probably take this inside.”

  Chuck hesitated and then held open the door. “I’m running late for work.”

  “This is important,” Mel stressed.

  “Where do you work?” Jared queried. “I could call your place of business and explain you’ll be late.”

  “I work at the car dealership.” Chuck couldn’t stop himself from looking between Mel and Jared. He seemed to sense something bad was going to happen, but baffled bewilderment remained as his overriding emotion. “Are you here to tell me Cassie broke the law? If so, I’m going to have a hard time believing it. That’s not who she is. She’s a rule-follower.”

  “She is,” Mel agreed. “At least for the most part. That’s not why we’re here.”

  “Then why are you here?” Chuck didn’t sit. Instead, he leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. “Did she send you over here?” He looked alarmed. “If so, we haven’t seen each other in months. I’m not sure why she would possibly try to stir up trouble now, but we don’t interact any longer.”

  Mel looked pained as he regarded the other man. “That’s not it.”

  “So ... what is it?”

  “There’s no easy way to say this,” Mel replied calmly. “Cassie is dead. She was found in the cemetery this morning. I’m sorry for your loss.”

  Chuck blinked several times in rapid succession and then shook his head. “That’s not possible.”

  “Well, unfortunately that’s the situation we’re dealing with.”

  “It’s not possible,” Chuck insisted. “She works out twice a day. She keeps her caloric intake to under two thousand calories a day. That’s every day. She’s in great shape. She can’t be dead.”

  “She didn’t die of natural causes,” Mel hedged. “In fact, it was the exact opposite of natural causes. We believe someone strangled her inside the cemetery.”

  “No.” Chuck fervently shook his head. “That’s not possible.”

  “And yet it’s what happened.”

  “No.” Chuck refused to back down. “Why would somebody hurt Cassie?”

  “That’s why we’re here.”

  Chuck’s eyes went wide. “Wait ... you don’t think I did it, do you?”

  “We’re trying to ascertain who Cassie might’ve made an enemy of,” Mel replied. “You were married to her for a couple years.”

  “That doesn’t mean I knew her,” Chuck said darkly.

  “We need to know why the marriage broke up,” Mel pressed.

  “Because you think I killed her,” Chuck muttered.

  “We have to rule you out,” Mel countered. “You know how this goes. As the ex-husband, you need to gi
ve us a rundown of your relationship with Cassie.”

  “We no longer have a relationship.”

  “I’m going to need more than that. You guys were married. Please don’t make this difficult.”

  Chuck worked his jaw and then let loose a sigh. “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not right. Cassie and I didn’t have some big marital blowup to end things. There was no infidelity. There were no accusations. She just ... didn’t want this life.”

  Mel leaned back in his chair, keeping his hands clasped on his lap. “I don’t understand what you mean,” he said finally. “What life?”

  “This life.” Chuck gestured around the house. “She didn’t want to be here in Whisper Cove I mean. She most definitely didn’t want to stay in this house. She didn’t want to budget and live with a car salesman. She wanted more.”

  “What more did she want?”

  “Money. A big city. She wanted the things that Whisper Cove couldn’t give her.” His smile was small and rueful. “She wanted the things I couldn’t give her.”

  “You’re talking about an escape,” Jared interjected. “You’re saying she was plotting on getting away from here.”

  “Pretty much,” Chuck confirmed. “She acted as if she were happy when we first started dating. She said she wanted a house ... and children ... and local festivals. I thought we were on the same page there.”

  “Obviously you weren’t,” Mel said.

  Chuck shook his head. “It started as little things. She wanted to talk about us getting a lake house. I mean ... I do okay. I can’t afford a lake house, though. I’m never going to be able to afford the sort of house she wants no matter how hard I work. I’m okay with that. She … was not. She was mad I wasn’t trying to make more money and said I was settling. I told her I was being realistic. You know how that goes.”

  “I do,” Mel agreed. “The only people who can afford houses on the lake here are outsiders. The local people, the ones who hold down regular jobs, can’t afford it.”

  “She was bitter when I said it wasn’t going to happen,” Chuck continued. “She kept telling me I needed to change my mind. It wasn’t about not liking the lake. There was just no way we were ever going to manage it. I suggested we try moving out by the river, but she didn’t like that idea at all.”