Ghostly Wedding (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 17)

by Lily Harper Hart

  Jared ran a hand over his stubbled chin, considering. “Can you think of any reason this guy might have ties to Montgomery Manor?”

  “No. I don’t know anything about him, though. Right now he’s just a sad guy who died in the middle of town. He was oblivious and alone.”

  “If it’s any consolation, I don’t think he knew what was happening. The force of the impact likely killed him instantly.”

  “He’s still dead.”

  “He is, and I have every intention of finding out what happened to him ... as long as the answers come before the wedding. After that, it becomes Mel’s problem.”

  “Something tells me we’re going to solve this one before the wedding.”

  Jared couldn’t hide his frown. “We?”

  “Oh, yeah. I’m in this now. You know I can’t just ignore it when a ghost invades my dreams.”

  “I thought we agreed you were going to stay out of this one.”

  “I don’t remember agreeing to that.”

  “Yesterday you said that there was no reason for you to be involved.”

  “Yesterday it could’ve been an accident. Yesterday a ghost didn’t invade my dreams. Yesterday we had nothing to go on.”

  “Oh, well ... .” Jared blew out a sigh and studied her features. “Do you promise to be careful and not get into trouble?”

  “I promise to be careful. We both know I can’t always control whether or not there will be trouble.”

  “I would prefer you make it to our wedding without any bruises or broken bones.”

  Harper’s smile was sunny. “Oh, look, we agree on something.”

  He made a face. “I’m being serious. I want you to promise you’re going to be extra careful.”

  “Aren’t I always?”

  “No. Not by a long shot.”

  “Oh, geez.” Harper rolled her neck until it cracked and stared at the ceiling for a few moments. When she finally met Jared’s gaze again, she was holding out her hands. “I promise to do my very best. I’ll be alert ... and careful ... and keep reminding myself that the only thing I want is to be your wife.”

  Jared recognized the truth when he heard it. Still, he couldn’t hide his worry. “We’ll also check in with one another multiple times a day, right?”

  Harper bobbed her head without hesitation. “Absolutely. I need to know what the medical examiner says and see what information you can dig up on our victim.”

  “I just know this is going to go sideways,” Jared muttered under his breath.

  “What’s more us than solving a murder right before our wedding? It will bring us good luck.”

  That sounded like a load of hogwash to Jared, but he didn’t see where he had much choice in the matter. “Fine. One more case.”

  “Then you’ll become Mr. Harlow.”

  He fought a smile, and lost. “I don’t care what anybody calls me as long as I have you for the rest of my life.”

  “Right back at you.”

  5

  Five

  Jared was already running a search for Peter Humphrey when Mel strolled into the office with a box of doughnuts.

  “I figured you were Cookie Crisp-ing it today,” Mel offered when he saw Jared’s questioning stare. “You were in a bad mood last night, which means you probably avoided my nephew and his culinary gymnastics this morning.”

  “I was in a bad mood last night,” Jared agreed as he went back to studying his computer. “Zander was giving Harper a cooking lesson when I got home.”

  Mel made an exaggerated face. “I’m guessing that didn’t go well.”

  “Surprisingly, even Harper can’t ruin fajitas.” Realizing what he said too late to take it back, Jared extended a warning finger. “Don’t ever tell her I said that.”

  “I thought you were resigned to a life living on takeout.”

  “I am, and I’m fine with it. No, I’m totally blissed out at the idea. This is some new thing Zander has dreamed up. I figure he’ll lose interest in playing tutor relatively quickly. Besides, he gets off on serving as group chef.”

  “He does indeed.” Mel opened the box and extended it so Jared could pick a doughnut. “You’re in early.”

  “I want to get cracking on this case. If we don’t solve it before the wedding, I’m pretty sure Harper will be an unhappy bride. That’s the last thing I want.”

  “Well, since I happen to agree with you, what do you have?” Mel perched on the corner of Jared’s desk, feigning patience until his partner made his selection and then grabbed a long john for himself before shoving the box to the side.

  “Harper had a dream last night.”

  “Oh, gross.” Mel shook his head. “I don’t want to listen to any story that involves you two doing the dirty. I’m too old ... and I’ve known her since she was a small child. It freaks me out.”

  Jared pinned him with a hard look. “It wasn’t that sort of dream. Trust me. I would be thrilled if she dreamed about that. I also wouldn’t share it with you.”

  “Oh.” Mel was aware of Harper’s abilities. In fact, he was the one who warned Jared not long after Harper and the new detective met that she was the real deal. That didn’t mean he wasn’t uncomfortable talking about it. “Was it one of those freaky dreams?”

  “I thought you didn’t want to talk about our sex life.” Jared was smug as he bit into his doughnut, methodically chewing and swallowing before continuing. “And, yes, it was a ghost dream. She talked to our dead guy.”

  “How do you know it wasn’t just a dream-dream?”

  Since Jared had asked the same question of Harper, he managed to curtail his temper. “Because he gave her a name.”

  “He knows who killed him?” Suddenly Mel was intrigued.

  “His name,” Jared corrected. “It’s Peter Humphrey, and I’m pretty sure I found him. He lives in New Baltimore. He’s divorced but has a teenaged daughter. This is his photo from the Secretary of State.”

  Mel leaned in so he could study the image. “That’s definitely our dead guy.”

  “It is. I figure we should forward the information to the medical examiner’s office and then head over to question the ex-wife.”

  “Do you think she’s responsible?”

  “I think they share a child. I would hate to think that kid has been trying to get in touch with her dad only to believe he isn’t returning her calls because he’s too busy or simply ignoring her.”

  “Oh, right.” Mel bobbed his head. “Well, I guess that means we should be heading out. Where does the wife live?”

  “She also lives in New Baltimore.”

  “That’s only a few minutes away.”

  “It is. Maybe she’ll know why Humphrey was in Whisper Cove.”

  “It’s worth a shot. Let’s get to it.”

  HARPER THOUGHT THE GHI OFFICE WOULD be empty when she let herself inside shortly after nine. Instead, she found herself in the middle of a maelstrom, and Zander was the one stirring up the gale force winds.

  “I said we weren’t taking on any new jobs until after the honeymoon,” he barked. “Was anybody listening to me, or do you just pretend to agree before completely discarding what I have to say?”

  “We didn’t agree to the job,” Eric Tyler, one of the longtime office workers, argued. “We simply said we would forward the information to you and see what you thought.”

  “I told you what I thought a week ago,” Zander fired back. “No new jobs. Harper is getting married and I don’t want her to look like she’s gone through a war before it happens.”

  “It’s an easy job,” Molly Parker, GHI’s youngest worker, argued. Her hair was a serene shade of pink today. She’d been messing with Overtone conditioning rinses of late and you never knew which color she would go with. Sometimes they changed on a daily basis. “It’s one cranky ghost in a stable. He’s been haunting the horses and making them nervous. Are you saying you don’t want to help the horses?”

  “I’m saying that I want my best friend’s wedd
ing to go off without a hitch,” Zander fired back. “That’s the most important thing right now. The horses will survive until she gets back from her honeymoon.”

  “What if they don’t?” Molly was earnest. “What if the horses have heart attacks because they’re so upset by the ghosts? And what if during one of those heart attacks the horse falls on a trainer and kills him or her? Then we’ll be responsible for multiple deaths.”

  Zander wrinkled his nose. “What are the odds of that?”

  “I have no idea, but I don’t want to be responsible for the death of a horse.”

  Sensing that the conversation would keep circling until Zander exploded, Harper made a throat-clearing sound as she dropped her bag on her desk and drew her co-workers’ attention. “What did I miss?”

  “Nothing,” Zander replied hurriedly, shooting Molly a warning look. “We were just discussing how Molly’s hair color is all wrong for her complexion. She should be wearing cooler tones if she doesn’t want to look like a strawberry on legs.”

  “Hey!” Molly planted her hands on her narrow hips. “I’ll have you know that I look good in any color, even orange.”

  “Nobody looks good in orange,” Zander shot back. “You don’t look good in pink either. You need to go for purple or blue and shut your hole.”

  “Maybe you should shut your hole,” Molly grumbled under her breath. “I think we’d all be a lot happier if you would just stop talking.”

  On a normal day, Harper might’ve been amused by the fight. Her co-workers were nothing if not argumentative. Today she had other things on her mind. “What’s the deal with the horses?”

  Zander’s glare was accusatory when it landed on Molly. “Nothing. You don’t have to worry about it. The horses are fine.”

  “I’d still like to hear the story,” Harper insisted.

  “We agreed that we were done taking jobs until you get back from your honeymoon,” Zander insisted. “I think it’s a good policy to stick to because you tend to get banged up when you go on jobs.”

  “That’s usually because you use me as a human shield when the ghosts appear.”

  “That’s a lie!” Zander was indignant. “I’m strong, sassy, and courageous. You take that back.”

  Harper held back a sigh, but just barely. “What’s the deal with the horses again?”

  “It’s Statham Farms,” Molly volunteered, ignoring the evil glares Zander lobbed at her. “Do you know where that is?”

  Harper nodded, thoughtful. “It’s that big ranch out by the lake. It shares a property line with Montgomery Manor.”

  Molly excitedly bobbed her head. “That’s the one. Apparently there’s a ghost in the stables and it’s riling up the horses. I don’t think it would take very long to catch it and the woman who called sounded legitimately upset. I think she’s afraid for the horses.”

  Molly had a big heart, and it was just like her to fret over horses. Harper happened to have a soft spot for animals, too, but the more intriguing aspect of the case to her was the location. “Maybe we should do it.”

  “Absolutely not.” Zander was firm as he shook his head. “We are not taking on a case. You’ll end up bruising your face or something if you do, and then your wedding photos will be ruined forever.”

  “I won’t get bruised.” Harper was almost positive that was true. If history was any indication, she had a better chance of getting filthy and ruining an outfit than suffering a legitimate injury. “I think we should give it a shot.”

  Zander was nowhere near ready to concede. “Why?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Why do you think we should take on a job?” he demanded. “No, I’m being serious. We agreed two weeks ago to take a break. Now you’re going back on that agreement. I don’t like it.”

  Harper thought about lying. Odds were that Zander would see right through her, though. She figured it was best to tell the truth. “I had a dream last night.” She laid everything out in clear and concise terms. When she was finished, Molly was positively gleeful.

  “So, we’re going to save the horses?”

  Harper nodded. “I don’t see what it could hurt. While we’re out there, though, I want to get a better look at Montgomery Manor.”

  “To what end?” Eric challenged. He was the pragmatic sort and preferred everything spelled out for him. The fact that he and Molly were now a couple when their personalities were opposite of one another remained one of life’s little surprises, and yet they were absolutely adorable together.

  Harper shrugged. “I don’t know. I feel like I should at least give it a try, though.”

  “You can’t postpone your wedding, Harp,” Zander insisted. “You’ve been waiting for this day since you were five years old.”

  “I think you have me confused with you. You can rest easy, though. I have no interest in delaying the wedding. That doesn’t mean, in the run-up to the wedding, I can’t nose around and ask a few questions.”

  “Absolutely,” Molly agreed. “I think that’s a great idea ... as long as we save the horses, too.”

  “We’ll save the horses,” Harper reassured her. “As for Montgomery Manor, it might be nothing. It might be something, though, too. I think the fact that we got this job when we did feels fated. I happen to believe we should see it through.”

  Zander’s exaggerated sigh told Harper she’d already won.

  “Fine,” Zander muttered, refusing to make eye contact. “We’ll see it through. I’m telling you, though, the second I don’t like the vibe out there, I’m pulling the plug. You’ve been warned.”

  “We’ll play it by ear when we get there,” Harper countered. “For now, let’s call the client and pack up. We have horses to save and a ghost to help. I happen to think we can handle both jobs and still coast right into the wedding.”

  “And I happen to believe you’re deluding yourself,” Zander fired back. “I guess we’ll have to see who is right.”

  DENISE HUMPHREY LIVED IN A CUTE, if a little boring, ranch house off Jefferson in New Baltimore. She resided on the side of the road opposite of the lake, which meant the houses were smaller and less ornate. Right across the road, mega-mansions and pricey condos took over the bulk of the property.

  A blond woman who looked to be in her forties answered the door when they landed. She had a haircut that was long on top and choppy on one side, reminding Jared of a reality star who became famous for having a bunch of kids more than a decade before. The woman had faded into obscurity and yet the hairstyle obviously remained.

  “Can I help you?” she asked, confused.

  Jared and Mel exchanged weighted looks. Unless she’d somehow managed an emergency haircut — which they would certainly check into — this wasn’t the individual they were looking for. Rain and the other teenagers had described a woman with long blond hair. The choppy haircut Denise boasted couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than what it was.

  “Denise Humphrey?” Mel queried.

  The woman nodded. “That’s me. Is something wrong?” Almost as if a switch had flicked over her face, she took a worried step forward. “It’s not Cami, is it?”

  “Cami would be your daughter, right?” Mel prodded. “As far as I know, nothing has happened to her. We’re here about your ex-husband.”

  Denise’s relief was brief because her forehead almost immediately wrinkled. “Wait ... you’re not here because you believe Peter broke the law. There’s no way.”

  “How did you know we were police officers?” Jared asked.

  Denise rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You’re in a cop car.” She pointed toward the driveway.

  “Right.” Jared was sheepish. “That makes sense.”

  “Whisper Cove.” She read the side of the car and shook her head. “I don’t think I understand. Are you saying you’re here about Peter?”

  “We are,” Mel confirmed. “May we come inside?”

  Denise hesitated. “It’s not that I don’t trust you but ... um ... can I see
your badges? I know you have the car and everything, but who’s to say you didn’t steal it?”

  “It’s always smart to ask for proof,” Mel replied as he retrieved his badge and held it up.

  Denise studied it for a moment and then flicked her eyes to Jared’s badge before nodding. “Please come inside.” She directed them through the house, toward the kitchen, and then inclined her head toward the coffee pot. “I can brew some fresh.”

  Mel waved her off. “That won’t be necessary.”

  “Okay.” Clearly nervous, Denise rubbed her hands over the front of her yoga pants. “I’m not going to lie. You guys are freaking me out. No matter what you think Peter did, though, he’s innocent.”

  “You seem certain of that,” Jared noted. “You don’t know why we’re here, though.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I know Peter. He’s a good man.”

  “And yet you’re divorced.”

  “Because we grew apart.” Denise offered up a shrug. “There was no one to blame. He wasn’t perfect. I certainly wasn’t perfect. We married young — we were barely old enough to drink — and thought we were going to live in a fairytale forever. Unfortunately, that wasn’t reality.”

  “Are you two still friends?”

  She held out her hands and shrugged. “I don’t know if I would call us friends. We’re friendly. We share a daughter.”

  “How is your custody configured?”

  “We split time. It used to be that I would get Cami half the week and then he would get her. We would switch off on weekends. Once she got older, she started spending weekends mostly with her friends. We tend to take it weekly now, and there are times she gets mad at me and crashes at his house. I’m pretty sure there’s some law that teenage girls can’t get along with their mothers.”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s a rule, too,” Mel said on a smile. “Here’s the thing ... there was an accident in Whisper Cove yesterday. A man was struck while crossing an intersection. He was killed.”

  Denise nodded. “I heard about that on the news. If you think Peter hit someone and kept driving, though, that’s not who he is.”