Ivy’s jaw dropped open. “That is just … mean.”
Jack was fresh out of sympathy. “You’ve brought this on yourself.”
Max chuckled, delighted. “He knows exactly how to play you, Ivy. It’s hilarious.”
Ivy slammed an elbow into her brother’s stomach. “I’m going to make you pay before the day is out. You should prepare yourself.”
“Whatever.” Max wasn’t particularly bothered. “I can keep her with me at the lumberyard for the bulk of the day, but I have plans for tonight.”
“I’ll be home in plenty of time to watch her tonight,” Jack said. “If you can distract her for the afternoon, I’ll be forever grateful.”
Max dutifully nodded. “You’ve got it.”
“I really don’t like any of you right now,” Ivy grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.
“You’ll live.” Jack leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “We’re not done fighting about the fact that you didn’t tell me about Mary Jackson’s visit, by the way.”
“Oh, I know.”
Jack had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at Ivy’s murderous expression. He opened his mouth to say something cute, but the words died on his lips when he caught sight of one of the firefighters approaching. He immediately straightened and returned his attention to the business at hand.
“Anything?”
“The fire is out,” the man replied. “There’s a body toward the back of the property.”
Jack stilled, dumbfounded. “A body?”
The man nodded. “I think it’s a man but that’s about the only thing I can say right now. The fire burned hot. Accelerants were definitely used. You can smell gasoline all over the place.”
Jack swallowed hard. “Okay. We’ll follow you back there.” He flicked his eyes to Ivy. “Go with Max. Promise me you’ll stay with him for the afternoon.”
Ivy considered arguing – she’d been looking for a way to torture Jack, after all – but now didn’t seem to be the time. “I’ll stay with Max. I’m … sorry.”
“I know you are.” Jack forced a smile. “We’ll talk about it later.”
“I’ll cook dinner tonight.”
“That’s not going to get you out of trouble.”
“No, but it will give me something to do with my hands.” Ivy rolled her neck until it cracked. “Keep in touch … if you can.”
“I’ll keep in touch,” Jack promised. “Be good.”
“I will. I promise.”
“I’m counting on you to keep that promise.”
Twelve
Jack watched Ivy until she was safely in Max’s truck and then followed Brian and the firefighter to the back side of the lot.
“This is Trevor Denham,” Brian offered by way of introduction. “He’s been with the fire department for a good five years now.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Jack bobbed his head in greeting.
“Was that Max and Ivy Morgan I saw you talking to?” Trevor asked, filling in the conversational gap as they stepped around the charred and skeletal remains of several fallen trees.
“Yes.”
“Ivy is very pretty.” Trevor glanced over his shoulder so he could study Jack. “I haven’t had occasion to meet you yet, but I heard you and Ivy were dating.”
“We are,” Jack confirmed. “For better or worse.”
Brian barked out a laugh. “Son, I know she’s going to ride you ragged, but if it’s any consolation I think you handled that situation in a way that’s unique to your relationship with Ivy. It will all work out.”
“What situation?” Trevor was legitimately curious.
“It doesn’t matter,” Jack answered hurriedly. “I don’t want my private business spread all over Shadow Lake.”
“I understand that, but Max knows so everyone will know by the end of the week,” Brian pointed out. “Max is a good boy, but he can’t seem to stop himself from gossiping. He’s clearly having a good time at Ivy’s expense.”
Jack mustered a small smile. “It is kind of fun. She’s a firecracker when she wants to be.”
“I would’ve paid good money to see her face when you told her what was what last night,” Brian said. “How did she take it?”
“You saw her. She was worse last night.”
“Oh, I’m practically salivating here,” Trevor said. “Are you going to break up with Ivy? I know a lot of people who will be interested if she’s back on the market. The fact that she dated you made people realize she’s open for offers, which is something people didn’t believe for a really long time.”
Jack narrowed his eyes to dangerous slits. “She is not open for offers.”
“Certainly not,” Brian agreed.
“We’re not breaking up either,” Jack added. “In fact, we’re moving in together.” He figured that was safe to acknowledge in public. He hoped his proposal plans would remain under wraps for a few days at least, but Brian was right about Max’s mouth. Jack was in a pickle and he had to come up with a plan. Until he did, though, the less others knew, the better. “She is not open for offers so don’t even consider spreading that around.”
“I was just asking.” Trevor’s eyes twinkled until he caught sight of two of his men standing close to the wild tree line at the back of the property. “The body is over here.”
Jack and Brian returned to the business at hand as they moved closer to the burned husk on the ground. Jack’s nostrils flared as he knelt, his stomach twisting.
“Do we have any idea who this is?” Jack asked, choking back the bile rising in his throat. The body was badly burned and the smell was … unmistakable.
Trevor shook his head. “I figure that’s your job. For all we know he started the fire and got caught.”
“I don’t think so.” The set of Brian’s mouth was grim as he pointed to the back of the deceased individual’s head. “That is a gunshot wound.”
Jack widened his eyes as he leaned to look. “You’re right.”
“I’m always right.” Brian let loose with a heavy sigh. “We need to call the medical examiner and get him out here. Then we need to talk to the workers. We have to check the vehicles in the lot and figure out who we have here.”
“We also need to have the medical examiner run the ballistics on the bullet against the ones from the mall that they removed from Dorian Jackson,” Jack added, his voice low.
Trevor tilted his head, his interest piqued. “You think this has something to do with that? Is that why Ivy was here? I heard she was at the mall when all of that went down.”
Jack tugged on his limited patience as he fought to remain calm. “I just want to be sure,” he replied evasively. “I don’t want to accidentally miss something.”
“We’ll definitely do that,” Brian said, clapping his hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Come on. I think it’s going to be a long day, partner. We should start tracking down leads now.”
JACK WAS unbelievably weary when he let himself into Ivy’s house shortly after five. He’d spent the entire day questioning people, talking to the medical examiner, and notifying the deceased man’s relatives before finally calling it a day. The only thing he wanted upon his return to the house was a quiet night with his woman. One look at Ivy – and the bags and boxes piled up on the other side of the living room – told Jack that wasn’t going to be in the cards.
“What the … ?”
“Um … so … I was a little antsy this afternoon,” Ivy admitted, wringing her hands together. She wore an apron and boasted a smudge of flour on her face. “I might’ve done something stupid.”
Jack stared at the mound of bags and boxes and nodded. “I’m seeing that. What is all of this?”
“Your stuff.”
“My stuff?” Jack’s eyebrows flew up his forehead. “This is my stuff from the rental house?”
Ivy nodded, worry evident. “I don’t know why I did it. Max says I’m a control freak and I’m beginning to think that he’s right.”<
br />
“I’m not sure I understand.” Jack rolled his neck, tension gathering in the tender spot between his shoulder blades. “I thought you were spending the day with Max. You promised.”
“Oh, I spent the day with Max. I simply made him go with me to pack up all your stuff. That’s not an exaggeration, by the way. We packed up everything. In case you’re worried, I didn’t look in any boxes or anything because I figured my ring was in there … somewhere.
“Okay, if I’m telling the truth, I wanted to look in boxes, but Max wouldn’t let me,” she continued, her mouth moving at a fantastic pace. “He didn’t want to do it, but I convinced him it would be a nice gift for you since you’re going through so much thanks to me.”
“Uh-huh.” Jack had no idea what to say so he merely stared at the mountain of belongings.
“I needed something to do and Max wouldn’t let me run the table saw because he said he was worried I would cut off a hand.”
“I happen to agree with Max on that front.” Jack exhaled heavily. “Well, okay. This is fine. I thought we would have a quiet night, but I can unpack. That sounds … really exhausting.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Ivy said hurriedly, taking a tentative step in Jack’s direction. “I figured I could focus on that tomorrow. With the nursery closed, I don’t have a lot to do with my time and I’m too agitated to make lotion. I’ll do that after the holidays.”
“I’m getting the feeling that you’re feeling a little penned in,” Jack noted, pursing his lips. “Still, if you want to unpack everything, I’m not going to argue. It’s just … some of the furniture at that house is mine, too. I wasn’t planning on abandoning the rental completely until the basement renovation is finished because we have nowhere to put the furniture until then.”
“Oh.” Realization dawned on Ivy. “If you want to move your stuff back … .” She didn’t look thrilled with the prospect.
“No, I don’t want that,” Jack clarified. “I want to be with you … despite how crazy I sometimes think you are.”
“Okay … um … good.” Ivy exhaled so heavily her bangs flew up.
“I cannot believe you did this in one afternoon,” Jack said, impressed. “You’re nothing if not efficient, honey.”
“I also made you a pot roast and red velvet cupcakes,” Ivy offered. “I put little Christmas trees on top of the cupcakes because I thought they were festive.”
“Wow.” Jack blinked a few times to clear the fog from his brain. “You don’t eat pot roast, though.”
“I cooked the potatoes, onions, and carrots in a separate roasting pan,” Ivy explained. “I’m going to heat up a soy patty to go with my stuff. I … hope that’s all right.”
“Yeah, apparently we need to talk if you think I’m going to be upset about you making pot roast.” Jack sat in the chair at the edge of the living room and patted his lap. “Come here, please.”
Ivy was surprised by the invitation but did as he asked, melting against him as he brought his arms around her. “How was your day?”
“Long,” Jack answered, smoothing her hair as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m not sure where to start on all of this.”
“Start with the dead guy. I’ve been driving myself to distraction since it happened.”
“I think you’ve been driving Max to distraction, too, but okay.” Jack idly rubbed his fingers against the back of Ivy’s neck. “Do you know who Norman Fell is?”
Ivy racked her brain. “Yeah. He owns the tree lot. He also rents canoes and kayaks on the river during the summer months.”
Jack nodded. “That’s him. He’s the dead man. He was shot in the head and then set on fire after the fact. The medical examiner seems to think it was a forensic countermeasure, but we can’t be sure about that right now. The fire inspector thinks that whoever set the fire only meant to burn Fell and the few trees in that immediate area. The fire got out of hand and burned almost everything in the lot.”
Ivy shifted as she absorbed the information. “So someone was trying to burn the body to cover up the bullet wound?”
Jack shrugged. “That’s as good of a guess as anything. We questioned all of the workers and they expressed shock and outrage, but I have to think whoever the culprit is works there.”
“There are only three of them. Can’t you check alibis?”
“There were three of them present last night,” Jack corrected. “There are twenty total workers. It’s seasonal so people pick up hours whenever they can.”
“Oh,” Ivy intoned, feeling foolish. “I never even thought of that. It makes total sense, though. I don’t suppose one of them is named Mitchell, by any chance?”
Jack shook his head. “That was our first instinct, too, but no. Right now we’re simply in the evidence-gathering phase. We have to look at payroll and bank accounts starting tomorrow.”
“That sucks.” Ivy ran her fingertip over Jack’s strong jaw. “You were complaining about being bored at work this week, though.”
“I would prefer being bored, especially when your name pops up in the investigation,” Jack countered. “I called Detective Crawford, by the way. He claims he never considered you a serious suspect but needed to rule you out all the same.”
“Do you believe him?”
“I have no reason not to believe him right now,” Jack answered. “He says he’s ruled you out because he’s seen the store security footage and you clearly weren’t involved. I’m taking him at his word. We’re waiting to see if the bullet in Norman Fell matches the one removed from Dorian Jackson, though. We won’t know that until tomorrow at the earliest … maybe later.”
“Do you think it will match?”
“I honestly have no idea.” Jack licked his lips as he turned his full attention to Ivy. “As for what you did today … thank you.”
Whatever she was expecting, that wasn’t it. Ivy widened her eyes, dumbfounded. “You’re not angry? Max told me it was a terrible idea and I couldn’t help but worry after the fact that you would think I was invading your privacy.”
“Why would you think that?”
“I … don’t know.”
“Maybe because I yelled at you for going through those folders?” Jack suggested. “Here’s the thing, Ivy, I only yelled at you because you took me by surprise. I didn’t want you to see what I was working on. Now that’s out in the open. I have nothing to hide. You can go through my stuff to your heart’s content.”
“Believe it or not, I don’t want to invade your privacy,” Ivy offered. “I’m not sure why I got so crazy about the folders. I have a theory, though, if you’re interested.”
Jack smiled indulgently. “Lay it on me.”
“I think I needed something to focus on that wasn’t the dead man in my lap,” Ivy explained. “I felt the life literally drain out of him and I think it affected me more than I want to admit.”
“I think that, too,” Jack said, stroking the back of her head. “I’m here to talk about it if you want.”
“I’m not sure what to say,” Ivy said. “I just think that pretending it didn’t happen doesn’t really work for me. I’m sorry about going through your stuff. I’m also sorry about moving your stuff without asking. That seems like something a crazy woman would do.”
“Yeah?” Jack shifted his eyes to the mountain of belongings. “Well, you’re my crazy woman. I happen to love you no matter what. I’m fine with it. I hate moving anyway.”
Ivy visibly brightened. “Really? You’re not angry.”
“I’m not happy that you didn’t tell me about Mary Jackson stopping by for a visit, but I understand you’ve been dealing with a lot and I’m not angry.”
“Oh, good.” Ivy rested her forehead against Jack’s chin, happy to snuggle with him for a few minutes before finishing dinner. “I don’t suppose that means you’ll give me my ring anytime soon, does it?”
Jack snorted, legitimately amused. “No.”
“Oh, but … come on,” Ivy protested. �
��I want it.”
“And I want you to have it, but you’re not getting it right now,” Jack said. “I’m not proposing in the middle of a murder investigation. I have other plans for you.”
“That bites.” Ivy leaned back and grabbed a paper bag from the top of the end table, digging inside until she retrieved a headband. Jack noted it was a Christmas themed band with a metal spring that boasted mistletoe at one end. Ivy slid it onto her head and leaned closer so the mistletoe rested above both of their heads. “Just so you know, I’m not letting it go. I plan to work on you in every way known to man to get what I want.”
Jack’s grin was so wide it swallowed his entire face. He flicked the mistletoe with his finger and made it dance. “Somehow I think I might like whatever you come up with.”
“I think you will, too.” Ivy grabbed both sides of his face and planted a wet kiss on his mouth. “Prepare to be dazzled.”
“Give me another kiss like that and you can dazzle me until dawn,” Jack teased.
“Oh, no. I’m going to dazzle you forever. That’s the plan.”
Jack tightened his grip on her. “It’s a good plan. Now … kiss me. I think I’ve earned it.”
“Finally, something I want to do today.”
Thirteen
“Get up.”
As far as morning greetings went, Ivy was expecting more. She wrenched open one eye and glared at the freshly showered man hovering near the side of the bed.
“Are you trying to kill me?”
“Not even remotely,” Jack replied, flashing an impish grin. “That’s the last thing I want. One day you’re going to be my wife. I don’t want a dead wife. I like how that sounds. Wife. Of course, that’s now a day far, far into the future thanks to you … but I have faith it will eventually happen.”
Wicked Winter (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 8) Page 10