Wicked Fog (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 6)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “That’s okay,” Brian said. “You might remember more when you’ve had a little more rest.”

  “I’m sure it was Dave Johnson,” Don said. “You need to arrest him.”

  Brian kept his smile in place as he locked gazes with Don. “You just said you don’t remember who attacked you.”

  “That doesn’t mean I don’t know who did it,” Don argued. “It was Dave. You saw him at the funeral home. He wants me dead.”

  “But … why?” Brian asked. “What would he get out of your death?”

  “He wants Karen’s baby,” Don said. “He told everyone at the funeral home he was going to take it. The only thing standing in his way is me because he knows I’ll help Karen with money and babysitting.”

  Brian and Jack exchanged a quick look. As far as motives went, it was kind of weak. That didn’t mean it was out of the realm of possibility.

  “We’re going to talk to Dave right now, and if he’s guilty, we’ll arrest him,” Brian said. “I don’t want you to worry about that. Just … relax. If you remember anything, tell Dr. Nesbitt. He’ll give us a call.”

  “I don’t need to remember,” Don said, his stubbornness apparent even as his strength flagged and his eyes lost the battle to remain open. “I know it was Dave. He threatened that he was going to come after my family. I guess he did it.”

  “We’re going to talk to him,” Brian soothed. “You have my word he won’t touch Karen’s baby. Just rest. You’re going to need your strength for when you become a grandfather.”

  Twenty

  “How do I look?”

  Despite her troubles over the past few days, Ivy found she was still excited to celebrate Halloween. There was nothing that could diminish her delight with the season, and even though the actual holiday was still two days away, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t enjoy tonight’s festivities. This was her favorite time of the year, after all. She wouldn’t let anything ruin her first Halloween with Jack.

  Max, who was studying his own costume in Ivy’s bathroom mirror, shifted his eyes from the vampire countenance he’d painted on his face and grinned when he saw his sister’s costume. She’d opted for a long black dress with a slit up the leg, orange and black leggings – which looked to be thigh-highs, if the slit was to be believed – peeking out from the split fabric, and over-the-top makeup. The outfit was complete thanks to a conical hat.

  “You look cute,” Max said. “You look a little slutty, too.”

  Ivy balked. “Hey!”

  “I don’t remember that costume being quite that … risqué … last year,” Max pointed out. “There definitely wasn’t a slit.”

  “That’s because this is a new dress,” Ivy shot back. “The old one … was falling apart.”

  “Yeah, I can see that,” Max deadpanned. “You wore it once a year for five years so … yup. Five times totally ruined it.”

  “Shut up,” Ivy grumbled, smacking her brother’s arm. “Do you always have to be such a pain?”

  “I believe that being a pain is listed as my top job in the Big Brother Handbook,” Max replied, not missing a beat. “Tell me about the costume, though. Now that I look at it closer, it seems to be cut a little lower than the other one, too. I’m guessing this is all for Jack’s benefit.”

  Ivy glanced down at her dress, frowning. There was no visible cleavage. She would never risk that for a children’s event. “What are you talking about?”

  “Ha, ha. Made you look.”

  Ivy lashed out to smack Max and missed, growling when he hopped out of range and hurried down the hallway toward the living room. She gave chase, only stopping when the front door opened, making room for Jack to enter.

  “I’m going to kill you,” Ivy warned, laughing when Jack caught her before she could launch herself at her brother. “You’re dead the second Jack isn’t around to protect you.”

  “Oh, I’m so scared,” Max said, feigning as if his hands were shaking. “Whatever will I do?”

  “Leave your sister alone or I’ll thump you,” Jack warned, making sure Ivy was firmly on her feet before he released her and took a long gander at her costume. The smile that split his face was wide and delighted. “You look … smoking hot.”

  Ivy blushed at the appraising way he looked her over. “Thank you.”

  “Oh, and I was just telling her she looked slutty,” Max said.

  “Knock that off,” Jack said, extending a finger. “She looks adorable.”

  “Did you see the slit?”

  “That was the first thing I saw,” Jack said, tickling Ivy’s ribs before he bent over to kiss her cheek. “I didn’t realize you guys would already be in your costumes. I’m obviously running late.”

  “If I were you, I would just go as a tired police officer,” Max said. “You’re already in costume for that.”

  “You do look exhausted,” Ivy said, running her finger over his cheek. “You only texted once this afternoon and I was still asleep when you left so I missed our usual breakfast together. How did things go?”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry about that, but we were pretty busy,” Jack said, sighing as he sat in the armchair before tumbling her into his lap. He buried his face in her hair as he hugged her, taking solace in her warmth and strength before lifting his head. “Don Merriman is awake.”

  “He is?” Ivy was relieved. “Did he tell you who attacked him?”

  “He doesn’t remember,” Jack answered. “He said he remembers being in the house and talking to his wife while she was shopping. Then he remembers being in the garage. Everything else is a blank.”

  “Is there a possibility he’ll remember more as he recovers?” Max asked, cutting himself a slice of pie in the kitchen. “That happens to people, right?”

  “Don’t eat my pie,” Jack snapped. “That’s mine.”

  “Too late,” Max said, forking a huge mound into his mouth and chewing as Jack glared at him.

  “I’ll make you another one,” Ivy said. “I’ll even make you a pumpkin one, too, just because you’re so cute.”

  “Oh, and I thought my day was going to be terrible,” Jack said, grinning as Max mimed throwing up in the adjacent room. “Where was I in the story, though?”

  “You were about to tell us if Don could remember who attacked him later,” Max prodded.

  “Right. He could remember, but the problem we have is that Don is convinced that Dave Johnson is the one who attacked him,” Jack said. “He won’t give it up and I’m worried if he does remember it’s Dave, we won’t be able to trust the information because he’s already convinced himself that’s the truth without actual memories to back it up. It could end up being a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

  “Why would Dave want to kill Don?” Max asked. “Does he even have a motive?”

  “The baby,” Ivy supplied. “Dave was threatening to take it away from Karen at the funeral home. Don was angry and they said some nasty things to one another. Maybe Dave did it because Don would be a hurdle in his efforts to claim the baby.”

  “That’s what Don said, and we’re not ruling it out,” Jack said. “We went to Dave’s house to talk to him and he claims that he was working in the insurance office at the time Don was attacked.”

  “Does that check out?”

  “The office was closed yesterday,” Jack replied. “That’s either incredibly convenient or inconvenient, depending on which side of this you’re on.”

  “Which side are you on?” Max asked.

  “I’m not picking a side because I don’t want to make any mistakes,” Jack said. “Whoever did this is after Ivy. He was in the woods following her and he broke into the greenhouse.”

  “What about the greenhouse?” Ivy asked. “Did you get a match on the fingerprints?”

  “We haven’t gotten results back yet,” Jack said, rubbing his nose against Ivy’s soft cheek. “Right now we’re in a holding pattern.”

  “You can hold me in your pattern,” Ivy teased.

  “Oh, honey, I’m goin
g to hold you in a multitude of different patterns tonight.”

  “And I’m back to wanting to barf,” Max said.

  “As much as I would like to continue watching you mess with Max, you need to change into your costume,” Ivy said. “We have to be over at the greenhouse in twenty minutes to make sure everything is ready for the kids to arrive.”

  Jack blew out a sigh. “Do I really have to wear a costume?”

  “You said you would.”

  “I know, but … .”

  “You don’t have to.” Ivy cut him off quickly and moved to climb off of his lap. “It’s fine. You’ve had a long day.”

  She said the words, but Jack could practically feel the disappointment wafting off of her.

  “I can’t wait to wear the costume,” Jack said, holding her hips steady and leaning forward to nuzzle her neck. “Give me ten minutes to change.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure this is going to be a great night,” Jack replied. “That’s the most important thing to me. I’ll be right back.”

  “OKAY, honey, we have a problem.”

  When Jack stepped into the living room, Max could do nothing but burst out laughing. Since he was drinking a mug of hot chocolate, he spewed the liquid all over the counter and earned a positively hateful glance from Ivy.

  “What’s the problem?” Ivy asked, her hands landing on her hips as she regarded Jack. “I think you look great.”

  “Yes, and I think you’re messing with me,” Jack said, shifting his eyes to Max. “What do you think?”

  “I think you’re downright handsome,” Max said, fighting the urge to guffaw. “In fact, I think you look like you have nine lives … and all of them are fuzzy and have a tail.”

  Jack pursed his lips as he glanced down at his costume. He appreciated the fact that Ivy got him simple black pants and a shirt for the bulk of his costume. When she brought up the subject of a costume, he agreed as long as she didn’t go overboard. It was the felt tail and ears that were giving him pause.

  “I don’t hate it,” Jack said. “I just think maybe we should pick something else.”

  “We don’t have anything else,” Ivy said, jutting out her lower lip. “I picked that because I have a black cat and I thought you would look adorable … which you do.”

  “Honey, it’s one thing for you to find me adorable when we’re alone,” Jack pointed out. “It’s quite another for the entire town to find me adorable. I would think that’s something you would want to keep all for yourself.”

  “Oh, that was a brilliant save, man,” Max said, snickering. “I mean … it was masterful. Really.”

  “Shut up, Max,” Jack barked.

  “So you’re saying you don’t want to be a cat?” Ivy was obviously annoyed when she crossed her arms over her chest.

  “I don’t want to be a cat,” Jack said.

  “He just doesn’t want to wear a costume at all,” Max said, purposely stoking the flames of Ivy’s fury. “He wants to ruin one of your favorite holidays.”

  “That’s not true,” Jack protested. “That’s just crap. I want to make this night special for her. I really do. I just … I can’t go out in public dressed up like a cat. It’s not dignified.”

  “Then take off the costume,” Ivy said. “It doesn’t matter. I thought you would like it, but obviously I was wrong.”

  “Ivy.” Jack felt helpless. He didn’t want to upset her, but he refused to wear the cat costume no matter how pouty she got.

  “There’s an old costume hanging on my side of the closet,” Ivy said. Technically, the entire closet belonged to her, but she made room for some of Jack’s items when he started spending almost every night with her. “Maybe that will fit. If not, it doesn’t matter. I guess Halloween is ruined.”

  Jack ran his tongue over his teeth. She didn’t seem excited about the other costume, but he was desperate to do something – anything really – to salvage the night. “Just give me a second to look at the other costume,” he said. “I’m sure everything will be okay.”

  “I’m sure you’re delusional,” Max called to his back. “You might want to see if that new costume has a cup attached.”

  Jack’s back was already to Max so he didn’t see the conspiratorial smile the siblings shared as he disappeared into the bedroom. He immediately headed for the closet and scanned the racks where Ivy kept her clothes. He finally found a garment bag at the far end, and when he tugged it out, he found a slip of paper on the zipper. It had a small purple heart on it.

  Jack had no idea what it meant, but when he opened the second costume his heart felt like it was expanding in his chest. He tugged out the suede pants and matching vest, grinning when he saw the cowboy hat and fake badge that accompanied the outfit.

  Ivy surprised him when she slid into the room. “The boots are on the floor next to mine.”

  “I can’t believe you remembered this,” Jack said, his eyes burning. “I … just can’t believe it.”

  “You said you always wanted to be a cowboy cop when you were a kid, but your mother never got you the costume,” Ivy said. “It’s never too late to live out your childhood dreams, Jack.”

  “And the cat costume?”

  “Well, that was part of my dream,” Ivy conceded. “I wanted to see if you would put it on. Max actually wore it a few years ago … and ironically, he scored a lot of tail because women thought he was adorable.”

  Jack grinned as he studied the costume, and then he took Ivy by surprise when he dropped it and grabbed the front of her dress. He hauled her to him, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her cheek as he struggled to maintain his emotions.

  “Wow. If this is the reaction I get for finding the perfect costume, I can’t wait to see what you do when I make you wear one of those hats that has mistletoe attached to it at Christmas.”

  “No one has ever listened to me like you do,” Jack murmured, brushing a kiss against her ear and sending shivers down her spine. “You really get me … and you understand me … and even though you made me put on the cat costume first, you have no idea how much I appreciate this.”

  Ivy was touched by the naked emotion on his face. “It’s okay,” she said, patting his back. “I always wanted to have sex with a cowboy, too.”

  “Well, honey, then it’s going to be a big night for you,” Jack teased, dropping a scorching kiss on her mouth before releasing her. “I need to get changed if we’re going to make it to the greenhouse on time.”

  “I’ll be with Max in the kitchen,” Ivy said, her eyes glazed as she fought off tears. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t eat the rest of your pie.”

  Jack watched her go, his heart full. “You already belong to me,” he whispered. “I belong to you, too.” He knew the time for waiting was over. It was Ivy’s favorite time of the year, and he was going to make it even more special by admitting his feelings. For the first time, the thought didn’t fill him with fear. It filled him with glee.

  It was definitely going to be a big night.

  Twenty-One

  Ivy practically skipped through the woods as she hurried toward the nursery, forcing Max and Jack to struggle to keep up. Jack was happy as long as he could keep an eye on her, and he chose to fall in step with Max rather than crowd Ivy and potentially bring down her happy mood.

  “You seem lost in thought,” Max said after a few minutes. “Are you considering challenging me to a gunfight at sundown?”

  Jack snorted. “It’s Michigan in the fall. The sun has already gone down.”

  “You’re such a killjoy.”

  “And you’re a vampire,” Jack said, looking Max up and down. “Is that so you can get close to women and suck on their necks or something?”

  Max smiled. “Pretty much.”

  “You’re kind of sick.”

  “I’m a work in progress,” Max clarified. “So are you … although you seem to be making a lot of progress. Just for the record, Ivy was so happy when you liked the costu
me I thought she was going to cry … but for a good reason.”

  “Well, I’m not thrilled she made me get into the cat costume first, but I actually always wanted to be a cowboy,” Jack said. “My mother didn’t like the idea because she didn’t want to encourage me to carry a gun. She thought I might like it too much.”

  Max barked out a laugh. “I guess that backfired on her, huh?”

  “Just a little.”

  Max was in a jovial mood, but he sobered and lowered his voice. “Thank you for being so good to my sister. I don’t want to make a thing out of it or anything, but you’ve been great to her and I really appreciate it.”

  Jack was surprised by Max’s earnest statement. “I love her.” The moment he uttered the words he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Sure, he hadn’t related his feelings to Ivy yet, but somehow admitting it to Max was just as difficult.

  “I know you do,” Max said, not missing a beat. “I told her that.”

  “You did?”

  “She loves you, too,” Max said. “She wants to tell you but is worried you won’t feel it … or maybe that you’ll think she’s pressuring you. I told her that was ridiculous, but you know women.”

  “I don’t know anything about women,” Jack said. “I do feel like I know Ivy, though, and I’ve been worrying about the same thing myself. Tonight, though, when I saw that costume … I just knew that it was going to be okay.”

  Even though the path between the house and nursery was dark, Jack didn’t miss the wide smile flitting across Max’s chiseled face.

  “You and Ivy are hilarious and fairly dramatic when you want to be, but I’m pretty sure you’re going to be happy together,” Max said. “You get her and you don’t try to change her. I always worried she would fall for someone who wanted to mold her into someone else. I don’t worry about that with you.”

  “I don’t want anyone else,” Jack said. “I like her just the way she is. Sure, she’s a little mouthy, but I even enjoy it when she flies off the handle.”