Wicked Whimsy

by Lily Harper Hart

  “We don’t know that Abraham was a specific target,” Jack pointed out. “It could’ve been a crime of opportunity.”

  “But … why?”

  “Who knows why,” Jack replied. “Maybe it’s another case like Nelson Delgado trying to hunt people in the woods because he’s nuts.” He scowled at his own mention of Nelson, a man who lost his mind and decided hunting people was more fun than animals. “It could be something like that.”

  “I guess.” Brian clearly wasn’t convinced. “What are the odds we would have two nutbags like that in a month? They can’t be good.”

  Something occurred to Jack. “Unless Nelson had a partner. Maybe we didn’t completely solve the last one. Maybe Nelson was working with someone and now that person has decided to pick up where they left off.”

  “I guess that’s possible, but it doesn’t feel right.” Brian straightened his shoulders. “If the killer came through here like Josh said there was no way for Abraham to avoid what happened. Everything is out in the open and there’s no place to hide.”

  “Okay.” Jack followed his partner’s thought process. “If we’re dealing with a hunting rifle, though, the killer probably had more than one shell in the barrel. Why not kill both Abraham and Josh? Why let the boy get away?”

  “We don’t know that he willingly let that happen.”

  “No, but Josh was terrified,” Jack pointed out. “You heard him. I think he was already going into shock before the first shot was even fired. He probably didn’t put a lot of effort into picking a route and hiding his tracks when he ran.”

  “True.” Brian mimed shooting an invisible person. “Bam. I’ve shot Abraham. This is after he’s told his son to run. He obviously recognized they were in real danger, although how he knew that if the killer didn’t speak is beyond me.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Jack countered. “If I was in the woods with my son and a stranger dressed like what Josh described showed up, I would definitely be on the alert. Also, Josh admits he can’t be sure if the man said anything. He said his ears weren’t working correctly.”

  “Shock.”

  Jack bobbed his head. “Definitely shock. For all we know, the killer held an entire conversation with the father. We need to give Josh time to decompress before talking to him again. I’m sure Ivy and Max will help with that.”

  “I’m sure they will, too.” Brian rubbed the back of his neck as he turned in a slow and deliberate circle. “Ivy’s house is back that way.” He gestured over his shoulder. “She said they were barely clear of the house when Josh stumbled upon them. That means he ran in that direction.

  “Since I’m going to guess Josh merely ran and didn’t think about anything but getting away, that means he ran past the killer,” he continued. “Why would he do that?”

  “Panic,” Jack answered simply. “He panicked and ran in the direction he was facing.”

  “So why didn’t the killer take advantage of his mental situation and kill him?” Brian challenged. “Why purposely leave a witness like that?”

  Jack turned grim. “I see what you’re getting at.”

  “I think we have two possibilities,” Brian continued. “I think either the killer purposely let Josh go because he didn’t realize the boy would find help so quickly and he wanted to turn it into a game of sorts, perhaps stalk him, or that he simply couldn’t bring himself to kill a kid.”

  “There is a third possibility,” Jack noted. “Maybe the killer did know Abraham Masters. Maybe he followed Abraham out here and wanted to kill him for a specific purpose. If the kid didn’t fit into that purpose, there was no reason to kill him.”

  “Except the kid can identify his father’s killer.”

  “No, the kid saw a guy in a mask,” Jack corrected. “He was too messed up to identify the killer. Maybe whoever did this understood that. Maybe he recognized Josh was too terrified and wasn’t worried about letting him go.

  “It’s hard enough to kill a grown man,” he continued. “It’s harder to kill a defenseless boy.”

  “So, are you suggesting we have a killer with a conscience?”

  Jack wasn’t sure how to answer and held his hands palms out. “I’m saying we have a puzzle on our hands and we’d better start putting it together if we want to make sense of it.”

  “Yeah, well, if you have any suggestions on that, I’m all ears.”

  “Let’s see what the tech team finds. They might be able to point us in the right direction.”

  IVY SETTLED JOSH AT her small kitchen table with Max before setting about to make some hot chocolate. She was something of a health food enthusiast – a vegetarian who enjoyed a good carrot stick as much as a cookie on most occasions – but she had a few items that would appeal to a teenager.

  “I have some cookies.” Ivy rummaged in the refrigerator until she came back with a plate of chocolate chip cookies. “I just made them yesterday.”

  “I see you’ve been holding out on me,” Max said, going for jocularity even though the situation didn’t seem to warrant it. “Did you hide those earlier because you knew I would eat them all?”

  “I hid them so Jack would have something to munch on when he got home tonight,” Ivy replied. “I can make more, though. It will just take a second for the water to boil and then we’ll add hot chocolate to the mix.”

  “Yum.” Max’s eyes sparkled. “You know how much I love hot chocolate.”

  “I do,” Ivy confirmed before turning her full attention on Josh. “How about you, sweetie? Do you like hot chocolate?”

  For his part, Josh had become more and more morose as they hiked through the woods. He barely spared Ivy’s cottage a glance when they arrived in the yard and she led him to the front porch. Once inside, he sank into one of the chairs she indicated and stared into nothing. The reality of his situation was slowly starting to sink in and Ivy felt helpless in the wake of the boy’s grief.

  “It’s fine,” Josh replied woodenly. “Whatever you have is fine.”

  “Well, it’s going to be hot chocolate.” Ivy forced a smile as she sat in a chair next to him. “I know you’re upset. I can’t even imagine what you’re going through. You and your father were obviously close.”

  “He wanted to teach me things.” Josh’s affect was dull and muted, as if he’d just woken up and needed eight cups of coffee to spur him to movement. “He always said that was important. Like … he wanted to teach me how to change spark plugs on his truck and stuff like that. He said there were certain things all men should know.”

  “I think that’s very wise,” Max intoned. “I wish my father had taught me things like that.”

  Ivy made a face. Max was not the sort of guy who enjoyed working on a car engine. He liked construction well enough, fiddling around with wood and home projects. Vehicles were another story. He was as helpless as she was when it came to a vehicle. Still, that wasn’t the sort of thing Josh needed to hear now.

  “That was very smart of your father,” Ivy encouraged. “I bet you have a lot of good memories of working with him in the garage.”

  “Yeah.” Josh rubbed the crease between his eyebrows as he stared at the table. “What’s going to happen to me now?”

  Ivy was expecting the question, although perhaps not worded the way Josh opted to express himself. “Well, we need to talk about that.” She slowly returned to the stove and removed the kettle when it began whistling. She had three mugs ready for water and cocoa already sitting on the counter. “Where is your mother, sweetie? Is she close?”

  “She’s dead.” Josh’s response was so bland and devoid of emotion it floored Ivy.

  “Dead?” Ivy swallowed hard as she stirred the cocoa mix. “How long ago did that happen?”

  “A year.” Josh’s delivery was hollow as he rubbed his thumb against the smooth wood of the table. “She’d been sick for a long time before it happened. My dad was sad but said it was a relief because she wasn’t in pain any longer.”

  Ivy had no idea how to pro
ceed. Thankfully Max stepped in to handle the next round of questioning.

  “That sounds awful,” Max offered. “Was she in the hospital?”

  “At the end. Before that she was at home, but she was always getting sick and they had no idea what was making her that way. She went to the emergency room a lot and was always tired. Before she got sick she was always out doing stuff, like playing tennis and working in her garden. After, though, she didn’t do anything but try to get better.”

  “Well … I think that’s probably a normal reaction,” Max said. “How long was she sick?”

  “A long time.”

  “Like … years?”

  Josh nodded. “She was in the hospital for almost a month the last time,” he explained. “Dad was there with her whenever he could be, but he had to work because otherwise he wouldn’t keep his insurance and he had to keep that. I know because I heard them talking.”

  Ivy felt sick to her stomach as she carried the hot chocolate to the table. “That’s awful, sweetheart. What was wrong with her?”

  “The doctors don’t know.” Josh nodded in thanks as he accepted his mug, his manners ingrained even though most people would’ve forgotten them given the circumstances. “No one told me a lot, but they often forgot I was around and could listen. It was a medical mystery. That’s what they called it. She had a lot of symptoms, but every test they ran came up empty.”

  “That is absolutely horrible.” Ivy tried to picture going through something similar with one of her parents and was utterly wrecked at the possibility. “So, it’s just been you and your dad ever since? Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

  “No. It’s just me.” Josh made a slurping sound when he drank his cocoa. “Mom wanted another kid, but then she got sick so it didn’t happen.”

  “That’s too bad,” Max said. “I wasn’t thrilled when my parents added Ivy to the mix, but I grew to love her … eventually. As embarrassed as I am to admit it, I tried to sell her to the neighbors when I was four. They wouldn’t take her.”

  Even though he was clearly upset, a ghost of a smile haunted Josh’s lips. “Did you get in trouble?”

  “Yes, although my father actually thought it was funny so it wasn’t big trouble or anything.” Max kicked back in his chair and crossed his feet at the ankles. “What about aunts and uncles, buddy? Do you have any of those?”

  Josh shrugged. “I have an aunt on my mom’s side, but I don’t know where she lives. It’s not close. We never see her. I have an uncle on my dad’s side, too, but they don’t get along. I think he lives in London, wherever that is.”

  Ivy didn’t find the news heartening. “What about grandparents?”

  “Dead.”

  Of course. It seemed everyone in young Josh’s life was gone. “What about family friends?” Ivy prodded gently. “I mean … who did your parents want you to live with in case something happened to them?”

  “I don’t know.” Josh’s eyes misted. “They never said. I don’t think they thought this would happen.”

  “Of course not,” Ivy agreed. “No one could’ve ever seen this happening.”

  That would make finding a home for Josh all the more difficult, she realized. The poor kid simply could not catch a break.

  IT WAS WELL PAST LUNCH time when Jack and Brian made their way to the cottage. Ivy made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches – that was all she had that appealed to a teenager – and Brian and Jack didn’t offer any complaints when they settled at the table and she served them the same.

  “Thank you, honey,” Jack said perfunctorily. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I walked through the door and smelled whatever it is you’re cooking.”

  “More cookies.” Ivy forced a smile that didn’t make it all the way to her eyes as she lightly rested her hand on Jack’s thigh under the table. It had been a long morning and she needed the tactile contact. “Josh here has quite the appetite, so we tore through everything I set aside for you. Of course, Max helped.”

  Max grinned when Jack sent him a mock threatening look. “I’m always happy to take cookies off your hands.”

  “That’s why we’re making more,” Ivy explained.

  “That’s good.” Jack winked at Josh, but the gesture elicited no reaction from the boy. “I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like the smell of fresh cookies.”

  “Me either,” Brian agreed, his eyes thoughtful as he watched Josh drink his hot cocoa and stare at the table. “How did the conversation go on family members? We need to start making some calls as soon as lunch is over.”

  “Well, that’s the thing,” Ivy hedged. “It seems Josh doesn’t have any family. His mother is dead and he doesn’t have any grandparents or aunts in the area. Well … maybe one aunt.” Ivy launched into the information, keeping her recital brief and to the point. “So, we clearly need to figure something out,” she finished. “I told Josh not to worry because you guys would know exactly what to do.”

  Jack shifted uncomfortably on his chair as he snagged gazes with Brian. It was true. He knew exactly what to do. It wasn’t something Ivy was going to like, though. “We’ll call CPS.”

  “What’s that?” Max asked, legitimately curious.

  “It’s a group of people with the state who help kids in situations like Josh here,” Jack replied. “They’ll know what to do. This is the sort of situation they were created for.”

  “But what is it?” Max pressed. “I mean … what do the letters stand for?”

  Jack wasn’t keen to answer so he paused before opening his mouth. That allowed Josh time to do it for him.

  “Child Protective Services,” Josh supplied darkly. “They take kids and put them in a box when they have no parents.”

  Ivy was absolutely flabbergasted. “That’s not what happens.”

  “It is.” Josh’s temper flared to life. “I know it is. It happened to a kid in my school. His father got picked up for drunk driving and they put him in jail because it was like the tenth time he’d done it or something. The CPS people came and dragged him out of the school and they put him in a box.”

  “Is that what he told you?” Brian asked gently.

  “We never saw him again,” Josh fired back. “That’s what another girl who had been taken by CPS told us. I don’t want to go in a box.” Josh was practically choking on his tears when he turned to Ivy. “Don’t let them put me in a box. Please!”

  Ivy thought her heart was going to break. “Oh, sweetheart, they’re not going to put you in a box.” She wrapped her arm around Josh’s back to soothe him. “That’s just a story that girl told. That’s not what they do.”

  “I don’t want to go with them.” Josh was adamant. “Can’t I stay with you? I mean … I’ll be good. I’ll be quiet. You won’t hear a peep out of me. I’ll even do chores to earn my keep. Can’t I please stay with you?”

  Ivy wanted to acquiesce simply to stop the boy from crying, but she knew better than jumping the gun on something this serious. Instead, to buy time, she rubbed his back and turned to Jack. “We’ll figure something out, right?”

  Jack blinked several times in rapid succession when he realized Ivy was putting him on the hot seat. Did she really think they would be able to take a young teenager into their home out of the blue? “Honey, um … .” Jack stumbled over his words and was thankful when Brian smoothly stepped in to take the decision out of his hands.

  “Ivy, you know that Josh can’t just move in here and pretend that nothing happened,” Brian supplied. “He has to be processed by the state. There’s nothing we can do about that. It’s state law and we’re beholden to it.”

  Ivy was nothing if not obstinate. “But … can’t we work out something with them? I mean, you guys are cops. Can’t you force them to see things our way?”

  “No.” Brian didn’t back down and Jack was grateful for it. The last thing Jack wanted was to be the bad guy in Josh’s story. What Ivy was asking was ridiculous, though. “We have rules to follow, Ivy. We don’t have
a choice in the matter.”

  Ivy’s eyes glittered with tears when she met Jack’s conflicted gaze. “Are you sure?”

  “Honey, I wish I could give you a different answer.” Jack chose his words carefully. “Josh needs to be with people who can help him. We’re not those people.”

  “You don’t know that,” Josh challenged. “I don’t want to be taken away from Ivy. She’s the only one who cares.”

  The look on Ivy’s face was murderous when Jack opened his mouth to argue further. She wasn’t going to take whatever he had to say well. There was nothing he could do about that, though. She’d backed him into a corner and they both knew it.

  “We’re going to make sure you’re well taken care of, Josh,” Jack promised. “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to do right by you.”

  It was a lame offering, but it was all he had. One look at Ivy’s face told Jack it wasn’t going to be enough.

  “We’re going to do right by you,” he repeated. “You have my word on it.”

  Four

  Jack was annoyed when he woke the next morning and found Ivy on her side of the bed. Usually, and it was one of his favorite things about waking up with his feisty partner, she was almost on top of him when he woke most mornings.

  She rested her head on his shoulder, her hand on his heart, and proceeded to drool throughout the night. She also poked her bare feet out of the covers no matter the temperature and made sighing noises in his ear that he’d started to associate with soothing white noise. Since she was angry with him about turning Josh over to Child Protective Services, none of those things happened the previous evening. Er, well, except for the feet. Jack lifted his head to make sure and scowled when he saw her painted toenails gleaming under the morning light spilling through the bedroom window.

  He flicked his eyes to Ivy, who had her back to him, and weighed the best way to smooth things over. Jack didn’t consider himself one of the great talkers in the world, but he had a very good idea exactly how he saw things going and he had no intention of backing down until Ivy forgave him.