“Those are things that can be fixed.” Harper’s voice was gentle. “You should probably cut down on the drinking regardless, but kids love pizza. You can still turn your life around and turn into a functioning member of society. You can still be a father.”
“Not if she isn’t found.”
“Yeah, well ... .” Harper broke off when the doorbell rang. “Are you expecting someone?”
“No. I’ll be right back.”
Harper busied herself with the teakettle while he was gone, pouring two mugs of tea and sliding some of the beer bottles into cardboard sleeves to get them out of the way. She turned at the sound of feet and lowered voices, and when her gaze locked with Jared’s furious brown orbs, she made a face.
“What are you doing here?” They asked each other at the same time.
“I asked you first,” Jared snapped.
“You did not. We asked at the exact same time.”
“No, I distinctly heard myself asking first.”
“Oh, geez.”
Mel coughed into his hand to draw their attention, his disgust at the ridiculous argument evident. “Let’s focus on the important things, shall we? We need to ask you a few more questions, Luke.”
“I figured when I saw you at the door.” Luke joined Harper behind the counter and grabbed a garbage bag from underneath the sink so they could start loading pizza boxes into it. “Fire away. I’m taking it you have no leads so you have to keep circling around to me or be sure.”
Jared cocked an eyebrow in Harper’s direction. “Didn’t you tell him where we were?”
She shook her head. “I was here to talk about something else.”
“What?”
“The fact that I’m a crappy father and it’s not too late to turn things around if we ever get Zoe back,” Luke replied for her. “Sadly, I still want to smack myself for being such a fool.”
“I think you’ll have to get in line because half the town feels that way,” Mel said. “We have serious questions, though, and they might come as a bit of a surprise so maybe you should sit down.”
Instead of acquiescing, Luke merely shook his head. “I’ve been sitting down and feeling sorry for myself for days. Why don’t you just tell me why you’re here, and if I need to sit down, I will. How does that sound?”
“It’s up to you.” Mel tugged on his shirt to straighten it. “You obviously know about Jessica’s death,” he started.
“What?” Luke whipped his head toward the two police detectives. “Jessica is dead?”
“You didn’t tell him?” Jared asked Harper, his confusion returning.
“Well, I mentioned seeing Jessica dead,” Harper said. “He didn’t say anything so I assumed he knew.”
“I didn’t realize that’s what you were saying,” Luke barked, his eyes flashing. “I didn’t understand what you meant when you said you saw her. I ... how did she die?”
Jared and Mel exchanged a quick look.
“She was bashed over the head with a rock in the park,” Jared replied after a beat. “It happened sometime yesterday, although the medical examiner is still working on a firm time of death.”
“But ... why?”
“We don’t know, but we believe it has to do with Zoe,” Jared replied honestly. “We found her hat in the backseat of Jessica’s car.”
“What?” Luke’s expression was wild as he looked to Harper for confirmation. “I don’t understand,” he said when she nodded. “Why would Jessica take Zoe? That makes no sense.”
“Jessica seemed to be having a bit of trouble with your breakup,” Jared explained. “She was ... struggling.”
“But she was no worse than the others when I told her,” Luke argued. “Sure, she called me names and said I was less than a man, but that’s par for the course and I’m used to it. She didn’t act like she was out of control or anything.”
“Well, apparently she was good at hiding it,” Mel said. “She hired a private investigator to follow you. His name is Chet Masters. We found financial records and had a meeting with him about an hour ago. He confirmed that she was obsessed with you and wanted to know what you were up to.”
“This is unbelievable.” Luke dropped the garbage bag and slowly sank to the linoleum floor, his back to the cupboards. “I don’t understand this. Are you saying you believe Jessica had something to do with Zoe’s disappearance? If so, where is she now? Zoe, I mean. I’m assuming Jessica is in the morgue.”
“There are a couple of possibilities.” Mel chose his words carefully. “One is that Jessica took Zoe as payback and killed her in a fit of rage, perhaps leaving her body out in the woods somewhere. We might never find her if that’s the case.”
“I don’t believe that’s true,” Harper argued. “I think Zoe is still alive.”
Mel ignored her and remained focused on Luke. “The other possibility is that Jessica was working with someone, perhaps holding on to Zoe in an attempt to create panic. She might’ve planned to say she stumbled across Zoe, return her, and bask in the limelight of being a hero. Surely you couldn’t ignore her if she did that.”
“That seems a little far out there,” Luke hedged. “I mean ... she hired a private investigator to watch me. That must have been quite the boring job over the last few days.”
“That’s exactly what Chet said,” Mel confirmed. “Apparently Jessica had it in her head that you broke up with her for another woman.”
“I’m not seeing anyone right now. I don’t foresee that changing anytime soon, especially with Zoe being missing.”
“Yes, well, Jessica was convinced you were seeing Ally.”
Luke’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“Yes. She said she was convinced you were going back to Ally and she wanted proof of it to confront you with. Do you have any idea why she would believe that?”
“No. Unless ... well, I might have mentioned to her once that I made a mistake with Ally. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. I wasn’t just talking about the relationship, though. I was talking about Zoe.”
“Which might have been enough to set Jessica off,” Jared mused.
“So ... this is my fault?” Luke looked horrified at the prospect. “Am I the reason that Ally might lose Zoe forever?”
“We don’t know,” Mel replied simply. “As for never seeing her again, we don’t know that’s the case. There’s still hope.”
“What hope?” Luke was miserable as he buried his face in his hands. “What have I done? I can’t believe this is my fault.”
Harper wanted to offer him comfort, but she didn’t know how to give it. It was looking more and more likely that he was at the center of this. What that meant for Zoe, though, was anyone’s guess.
Thirteen
Jared walked Harper out to her car when they were done interrogating Luke. He had a few questions for her, too, and she knew she wasn’t going to like them.
“How was your day shopping with Zander?” he started.
Harper shrugged, noncommittal. “Not as much fun as I would’ve liked,” she said truthfully. “He won’t tell me what you got me, so I had to buy ten extra things to make sure I purchased you enough gifts.”
Jared knit his eyebrows. “I think you’re missing the meaning of Christmas.”
“Perhaps,” she admitted. “That’s easy for you to say when you’ve apparently bought the perfect gift. I don’t suppose you’ll tell me what it is, will you?”
“No.” Jared’s lips curved as he shook his head. “You can wait until Christmas. As for the gifts ... I think you’re the best gift I’ve ever received. I don’t need anything else.”
“Oh, so sweet.” She tapped his chin. “That’s what I told Zander and he said I was severely mistaken. Then he let slip that I would never be able to match your gift, and when I tried to browbeat him into telling me what it was, he refused to give me anything. I was a little disappointed.”
Jared chuckled. “Leave it be. You’ll be happy with the surprise when it c
omes.”
“I guess.” She flicked her eyes to her car, and the light dusting of snow covering it. “We’re supposed to get a few inches tonight. How long until you come home?”
“It’s still going to be a few hours. We have to speak to Jessica’s mother. She’s been notified about her daughter’s death, but we wanted to give her a bit of time to settle before going back. I’m not sure when I’ll be home. Don’t wait on dinner for me.”
“I’ll make sure you have something to eat when you get home.” She breezily brushed a kiss against the corner of his mouth. “I’ll see you later, huh?”
Jared knew exactly what she was doing and found it amusing ... almost. There was no way he was going to let her slide, though, so he grabbed her wrist before she could ease away. “Heart, we’re not done here.”
Harper briefly pressed her eyes shut before planting a huge fake smile on her face. “Do you want to kiss me some more? I think I can make time.”
“You’re very cute. Like ... so cute I just want to kiss you senseless.” He tapped the end of her nose. “I’m not falling for this, though, and you know it. Why were you here? Oh, and Heart, don’t leave anything out.”
Harper let loose an exaggerated sigh. “I couldn’t let things go, even after an afternoon of shopping with Zander. The part that bothered me the most was Luke, and since I was fairly certain you’d cleared him as a suspect, I decided there was no harm in stopping for a visit.”
“I never said we’d cleared him as a suspect.”
“So ... you do suspect him?”
“I didn’t say that either.”
Harper frowned. “Jared, I wanted to talk to him about his choices. I think he gets it. He understands that leaving Ally while she was pregnant was probably the worst mistake of his life. Now, though, he’s terrified that he’s not going to be able to make up for it. I simply wanted to feel him out.”
“And now that you have, are you going to stay out of it?”
“Of course not.”
Jared sighed. “I knew you were going to say that.”
“You know me well.” She lightly patted his cheek and grinned. “I can’t let it go. You know that as well as me. If you try to force the matter, we’re going to fight. Do you want to fight at Christmas?”
“Oh, that was low.” He made a tsking sound in the back of his throat as he shook his head. “That was really low.”
“It’s the truth. I can’t look away. Zoe is out there. I feel it here.” She tapped the spot above her heart.
Jared grabbed her hand and moved it to the spot over his heart. “Do you have any idea of what I feel here when I look at you?”
She nodded, solemn. “Probably the same thing I feel.”
“I’m a competitive soul so I like to think I feel it just a little bit more than you.” His grin was lightning quick. “I need you to stay safe. I don’t want you running around and finding trouble. Just ... promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I promise. I’ll also have something warm ready for your dinner when you get home.”
“Then we can properly make up after I eat,” he teased.
“I didn’t think this was much of a fight. Do we need to make up?”
He shrugged. “I happen to like making up. If we have to fake another fight to do it, we’ll merely have to suck it up.”
She returned his smile. “Maybe you’ll let what I’m getting for Christmas slip during the fight.”
“Not a chance.”
EVEN THOUGH SHAWN AND Zander were annoyed when Harper announced they were going back to the park, they bundled up in five different layers and insisted on accompanying her. Since it was Michigan in December, that meant it got dark before six o’clock. While Harper might not have been an obvious target, there was no way they intended to simply let her wander around after dark without chaperones.
“I don’t understand why we’re coming back to the park,” Shawn admitted as Zander killed the engine to his truck and hopped out. They were parked on the road located on the far side of the park so as not to draw attention to themselves, and it was so cold their breath came out in foggy batches as their feet crunched against the snow softly landing on the ground.
“We’re looking for Jessica,” Harper replied, her eyes keen as she scanned the darkness. “Zander, did you bring the flashlights I asked for?”
He made a growling sound before turning around to tug open the truck door. He rummaged behind the seat for what felt like a really long time before returning with three flashlights, which he proceeded to dole out. “Happy?”
“You’re in a mood,” Harper muttered, making a face. “No one made you come. I was perfectly willing to make the trek by myself.”
“Yes, and can you imagine the meltdown we would’ve been facing when Jared got home and realized we’d allowed you to wander around in the woods by yourself with a killer on the loose? Like I really have the energy to put up with that.”
“This is hardly the woods,” she scoffed, flicking on her flashlight and pointing it toward the trees. “No one would dare come after me here. We’re close to the middle of town.”
“Not really,” Shawn argued, pointing his beam in the direction of downtown. “That’s quite a walk ... and it’s so dark, no one would be able to see you unless they were looking directly at you. When you add in the fact that it’s cold enough to force everyone inside, it wouldn’t have been wise to come out here alone.”
“Well, I’m thankful you came with me.” Harper smiled at him. “You’re a prince amongst men.”
“Hey!” Zander barreled between them, his eyes on fire. “I’m a prince amongst me. Me!” He thumped his chest to make sure all eyes were on him. “In fact, I’m better than a prince. I’m a king amongst men. You guys are simply my court jester and lady-in-waiting.”
“Wait ... .” Shawn drew his eyebrows together. “Am I the jester or lady-in-waiting?”
Harper giggled as she shifted her flashlight to a clump of bushes about twenty feet away. “I don’t want to be the jester, so that has to be you. In fact ... .” She trailed off when the beam bounced over a ghostly face. Slowly, she tracked the light back to the spot where she saw a pair of dead eyes staring at her and sucked in a breath when she recognized Jessica. The woman looked almost blue in the lighting, and it was an eerie sight.
“She’s here,” Harper said quietly, exhaling heavily.
“Well, that’s good,” Zander said, putting his hand to her back. “Get this conversation started so we can get out of here. It’s freaky cold and I want to build a fire when we get back to the house.”
“That’s the plan.” Harper forced a smile that felt somehow unnatural and took a tentative step forward. “Jessica, do you know where you are?”
The woman merely stared.
“Do you know what happened to you?” Harper asked, unsure how far she should press the obviously traumatized woman. “We want to help.”
“We definitely want to help,” Zander agreed. “It would be easier if you would join us in my truck, though. I invite you in for a conversation ... not to haunt it or anything. We’re still alive so we shouldn’t have to suffer to get information.”
Shawn slid his boyfriend a sidelong look. “I thought the invitation thing was only an issue if you were dealing with vampires.”
Zander’s glare was withering. “It could be true for more than one thing. I’m simply covering my bases.”
“Oh, well, good.” Shawn shook his head. “I would hate to have to deal with ghosts who refuse to leave after the fact.”
“Shut up,” Harper barked, never moving her eyes from Jessica’s sad face. “Jessica, we need your help. There’s a little girl who is still out there, missing. Are you aware of what happened to Zoe Mathers?”
For the first time since Harper started talking, Jessica’s expression changed and she registered something the woman said. “Zoe,” she murmured, shaking her head. “I ... think I knew she was missing. There was a candlelight vigil the othe
r night. I attended it. That’s the last thing I remember.”
Harper tilted her head to the side, conflicted. “You were already dead at the time of the candlelight vigil,” she corrected finally. Ghosts often had screwed-up inner clocks, but no good could come of letting the ghost drift without actual knowledge. “You died before then. I believe it was earlier in the day.”
“I wasn’t at the vigil?” She screwed her face up in concentration. “That doesn’t sound right. I remember being there.”
“You were. I saw you there. It’s just ... you were already a ghost.”
“Is that what I am?” Jessica looked intrigued despite herself. “I didn’t know I was a ghost.” She studied her hand, as if seeing it for the first time. “How did I become a ghost?”
“That’s what we’re here to ask you,” Harper replied simply. “We want to know what happened to you. We believe you were struck from behind here, right in this park.”
“Struck from behind.” Jessica repeated the words. She seemed ridiculously slow, and Harper was starting to wonder if that was a byproduct of the weather. Maybe a new ghost had issues when it was cold. That was something she hadn’t considered before, but she could hardly rule it out now. “Maybe. I don’t know. Everything is jumbled.”
“Okay.” Harper decided to take a different approach. “What can you tell me about Luke Mathers?”
“What?” This time there was definite life in Jessica’s eyes as she snapped her head in Harper’s direction. “Is Luke here? Has he come to see me?”
Harper felt sad for the woman. She was a little pathetic, after all, and completely lost. That was not something Harper could focus on given the current circumstances, though. “Luke is at home dealing with things. With Zoe missing, he’s had to answer a lot of questions.”
“So ... he’s not here?”
“No. He’s not here. He’s at home, although he knows you hired a private investigator to spy on him.”
Jessica’s face crumbled as she started making odd sobbing noises that set Harper’s teeth on edge. “He knows about that? Oh, how embarrassing.”
Ghostly Visions: A Harper Harlow Mystery Books 10-12 Page 32