“You followed your files here?” Harper wrinkled her forehead as she repeated the words. “Oh, your files. You mean the files from your office, right?”
“I do.” Carl puffed out his chest. “I can’t say that I’m happy about Stanley just turning over my files without considering what’s right for my clients.”
“He’s probably betting that one of those clients — or, more likely, the spouse of a client — killed you. If that’s true, won’t that be better for the client in question because the ex will be going to prison for the rest of his or her life?”
“That is a very good point. Still ... we’re not supposed to willingly turn over files this way.”
“I think they got a warrant.” Harper looked to Jared for confirmation. “You got a warrant, right?”
“We did.”
“See. You have nothing to complain about.” She pinned Carl with a serious look. “Absolutely nothing.”
Jared smirked as he put his hand to the small of her back and prodded her into the conference room. There, four huge boxes of files sat on the table ... and somehow made the space look tiny because they took up so much room.
“Holy moly.” Harper was taken aback. “You don’t expect me to go through all those files, do you?”
Jared cast her a sidelong look and shrugged. “I thought you wanted to help.”
“Oh, puh-leez.” She let loose a derisive look. “You’re not fooling anybody. You just want me to do the boring work.”
“I’m pretty sure I should be offended by that remark.”
“And I’m pretty sure this is an obscene number of files.” Harper strolled to the edge of the table and pulled the top off the first box. “I mean ... there’s like fifty files in here and each one is jam-packed with notes. It’s going to take me forever to go through all these.”
Jared couldn’t help agreeing with her. That didn’t mean he was going to let her off the hook. “Think of it as a bonding exercise. We’re working together.”
“No, you’re going to be out interviewing people and I’m going to be stuck here with Carl, Jr. How is that a bonding exercise for you and me?”
“Because I’m going to massage you until my fingers fall off later tonight as thanks.”
“That’s a start.” Harper pulled out the first file and flipped it open, her eyes going wide as she read a transcript. “Son of a ... this is the file for Laura Dorchester and her ex-husband. Do you have any idea how many times she claimed he cheated on her?”
“I have no idea who she is,” Jared said blankly.
“He cheated on her seventy-three times,” Carl announced, his grin turning evil and reminding Harper of the Grinch. “Because of that — and we managed to prove without a shadow of a doubt he was a serial philanderer — Laura got sixty-five percent in the divorce. That’s practically unheard of.”
“She got sixty-five percent?”
Since Harper was focusing on what appeared to be thin air to Jared, he assumed Carl was still with them. “You know, having Carl here might be helpful. He can tell you what clients threatened him.”
“He can,” Harper agreed. “When his son gets here, however, I won’t be able to ask him questions.”
“That’s not happening for another hour. You can get a jump on things.”
“Whoopee.” Harper gave the boxes a dubious look and then heaved out a sigh as she removed her coat. “You are going to owe me big time.”
“I know. I’m going to help here at the start. I’m hoping we come up with a list of people for us to interview.”
“Well, if this first file is any indication, you’re going to have more suspects than you can shake a stick at. Although ... I’ve never really gotten the meaning of that saying.”
“I know what it means.” Carl’s hand shot in the air. “Would you like me to demonstrate?”
Harper was confused ... until Carl started gyrating his hips. “No. I have no intention of seeing your ... stick. Why do you have to be so gross? It’s no wonder you were killed. The only thing that’s surprising is that it didn’t happen sooner.”
“You’ve got that right.” Jared glared at the empty space. “Don’t hit on my girl. She doesn’t like it.”
“Look at this macho man,” Carl teased, rolling his eyes. “He thinks he’s actually talking to me. I mean ... come on.”
“He is actually talking to you,” Harper pointed out. “He knows you’re there even though he can’t see you.”
“Yeah, but ... .” Carl trailed off. “I don’t like where this conversation is going. We should talk about something else.”
“You mean I’m right and you don’t want to admit it,” she corrected. “I know how you are. It doesn’t matter. Let’s focus on the files and go from there, shall we?”
“Fine. I’m eager to find my killer.”
“Since when?” Harper challenged.
“Since I’m curious to find out how I died ... and get some of that ghost Viagra you promised me.”
Harper wisely kept her mouth shut and instead plucked out a file to peruse. She had a feeling it was going to be a long day.
“THIS IS MICHAEL PITMAN,” she said an hour later, rubbing her forehead to stave off an oncoming headache. “We went to high school together. Apparently he’s fathered two children that no one knows about ... including Corbin Barton, who I thought was the son of another classmate.”
Jared glanced over her shoulder — they’d moved to the floor so they could spread out the files and create stacks — and furrowed his brow as he read the top page of the listing. “Michael was Carl’s client and he didn’t want the woman he was divorcing, one Nan Pitman, to know he’d been running around on her. It looks like Carl helped pay off the mothers of the two children Michael fathered on the side to keep their mouths shut until after the divorce.”
Harper turned a set of murderous eyes on Carl, who had mostly lost interest in the conversation regarding his legal prowess. “You’re disgusting. You know that, right?”
“What?” Carl wasn’t in the mood to make apologies for his behavior. He was long over that. “He has a right to procreate with as many people as he wants.”
“Oh, really?” Something occurred to Harper as she studied the annoyed ghost. “Did you have children outside of your marriage with Fran?”
Jared jerked up his head, intrigued. “Good question, Heart.”
“Ugh. Did he just call you ‘Heart’?” Carl made an exaggerated face. “Could you guys be any more vomit-inducing?”
“We could try,” Harper warned. “It’s a serious question. Did you have other children? I mean ... one of those kids could’ve been angry at you and arranged for you to take a header into the living room floor.”
“Oh, I get what you’re saying.” Carl’s eyes gleamed with intrigue. “Alas, I was very careful about procreating. I’ve known where babies come from since I was a kid. After Junior, I knew I didn’t want to add to the bills I already had to pay. I had a vasectomy ... and then didn’t tell Fran.”
“You are a king amongst ... dogs,” Harper muttered, shaking her head when Jared shot her a questioning look. “He had a vasectomy.”
“Oh, well ... .” Jared chewed on his bottom lip as he studied the fact sheet in Harper’s hand. “Do you think your old high school buddy is capable of killing Carl?”
Harper immediately started shaking her head. “He was a big wuss. He married Cindy Monaghan, though, and she was definitely capable of killing him.”
“I can vouch for that,” Carl added, turning his eyes to the conference room door when it opened to allow Junior entrance. “Look who it is. It’s about time he showed up to help.”
Harper kept her eyes on the living man and forced a smile as Jared introduced them.
“I thought she could help,” Jared explained, gesturing toward the boxes of files. “We’re going to have way more suspects when we finish than I thought.”
“I’m fine with her helping.” Junior’s smile was shy as he lowered h
imself to the ground and studied the piles Harper was creating “What’s the organizational process here?”
“This small pile is people who probably don’t want to kill your father. This much bigger pile is people who would gladly have snapped his neck.”
“Ah.” Junior’s lips quirked. “I know it’s not funny but ... my father was a character. He would probably be thrilled to know that everyone is making such a big deal about him.”
“That shows what you know,” Carl barked. “I was a big deal so I didn’t need anyone to do anything that wasn’t genuine.”
Junior didn’t as much as look in his direction so Harper forced herself to keep from looking at the morose ghost. “I’m sorry I’m late,” he offered as he grabbed a folder from the pile Harper was currently working her way through. “I had to stop by my father’s house so I could get a copy of his will from the office and his filing system was such a mess I couldn’t find it. I guess I’m going to have to go through his probate attorney.”
“That’s okay.” Jared’s gaze was on the file he held. “We’ve already been in touch with his probate attorney. It’s some guy named Elliot Taubman. We need to put in a request through the judge — which requires the medical examiner filling out paperwork — and then we can get a copy of the will. Apparently it was updated two weeks ago, which means there are additional hoops to jump through.”
Junior stilled. “Updated? What did he update?”
Jared shrugged. “I have no idea. You’re his only child, which makes me believe you’ll get the bulk of his estate. Maybe he had some charitable organizations in there or something.”
That didn’t sound likely to Harper, who flicked her eyes to Carl and found him watching his son with gleeful eyes. The older man was so excited, she couldn’t hold back the wave of dread that washed over her. “Did your father tell you he was leaving everything to you?” she asked after a beat.
“We never talked about things like that,” Junior replied. “I don’t even know what his finances looked like. It’s possible I won’t get anything because there’s nothing to inherit.”
He said the words, but Harper had a hard time believing them. “Your father strikes me as the sort of person who would leave his money to someone else just to be a jerk,” she noted, causing Jared to slide his eyes to her. “Have you considered the possibility that he did have money and he decided to keep it from you because he was ... horrible?”
Junior blinked several times in rapid succession and then shrugged. “I guess it doesn’t matter over the long haul. I’ve made it this far in life without his help. It’s probable I will have to make it the rest of the way without him doing the right thing, too.”
“Yeah.” Harper briefly rubbed the back of her neck and then turned back to the files. “It would almost be easier at this point to make a list of the wronged individuals who didn’t want to kill him. This is going to get unruly before it’s all said and done.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Jared said. “We have to keep pushing through, though. I don’t see where there’s anything else we can do.”
Fourteen
Harper liked Junior.
Well, to be more precise, she was impressed with the fact that he seemed to be a normal human being despite what a terrible father figure he had in his life. Jared was right about him being thoughtful and easy to converse with. He was also guarded, and no matter how Harper tried to draw him out of his shell, the man refused to talk about anything that didn’t have to do with the task they were wading through.
“I’m going to run to the vending machine,” Harper offered about two hours into their records search. Jared had left not long after Junior arrived so he could start placing calls. “Would you like anything?”
“Oh, well, you don’t have to do that. I can get my own beverage.”
Harper kept her expression neutral even as she wanted to blurt out the obvious question. Who uses the word beverage? It was odd to her. “I’m going to get something for myself. I would be happy to get something for you, too. It’s no big deal.”
“Oh, well, if you don’t mind.” Junior’s smile was sheepish. “A Coke would be great.”
“No problem.”
Harper’s mind was busy as she let herself out of the conference room. She found Junior’s demeanor stiff but there was nothing unfriendly about the man. In fact, there was every chance his mother had raised him to be polite to a fault, the exact opposite of his father.
“He’s boring as sin, huh?” Carl leaned against the vending machine as Harper fed dollar bills into it. “He has way too much of his mother in him. I was hoping he would turn out more like me. He’s the reason I only have the one kid.”
If Carl boasted a body, Harper wondered if she would be able to stop herself from kicking him in the testicles. “He’s easy to get along with,” she countered. “Stop being a jerk. He’s ten times the man you are.”
“You barely know him.”
“I know enough. He’s way more pleasant to be around than you.”
“He’s boring. Don’t kid yourself.” Carl made a face as he inclined his chin in the direction of the hallway behind Harper. “Here comes your boyfriend.”
Harper glanced over her shoulder and smiled as Jared closed the distance between them. “Hi.”
“Hello.” He swooped in and gave her a kiss, not caring in the least that he was supposed to be working and Mel could be watching. “How are you?”
“My butt hurts from sitting on the ground and I’m already tired of reading files. Other than that, I’m just peachy.”
“I’m sorry.” Jared immediately reached for her shoulders and gave them a squeeze. “You don’t have to keep going if you don’t want to. I just thought … .” He left it hanging.
“You thought you wanted me close because we had a bad day yesterday,” she finished, understanding perfectly well. “It’s okay. I want to be close to you, too. I’m not complaining. Er, well, I’m not complaining a lot.”
He chuckled as he pulled her in for a hug. “You don’t have to keep going through the files. It’s not your job.”
“It’s not Junior’s job either.”
“Junior has no life,” Carl pointed out as he watched Jared with dark eyes. “He’s kind of neutered, huh? He basically does whatever you want because he only cares about making you happy. What a loser.”
Harper shot the ghost a death glare. “Shut up!”
Jared arched an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“Not you.” She patted his chest and went back to selecting drinks from the vending machine. “I cannot stand our friendly neighborhood ghost. He’s a complete and total tool.”
“Ah.” Jared made a face as he stared at the empty spot where she glared. “I don’t know how to fix this for you. It’s not as if I can beat him up.”
“You can’t do anything.” Harper selected a Coke for Junior and a Diet Coke for herself. “He’s just a jerk. You should’ve seen the look on his face when Junior mentioned the will. I think he did something bad with that will, by the way. I would recommend talking to his estate lawyer as soon as possible.”
“Really?” Jared was officially intrigued. “Ask him what he did with the will.”
“I can hear you myself,” Carl challenged. “I don’t need her to tell me what to do.”
The look Harper shot him was withering. “What’s the deal with your will?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I don’t understand why you’re being evasive. They’re going to find out eventually.”
“Well … good for them. Until then, it’s none of their business.”
Harper made a disgusted sound deep in her throat and shook her head. “He won’t say. He’s acting like it’s a big deal, though.”
“Then I guess I need to track down that estate lawyer after all. I assumed he left everything to Junior. It’s not as if he was dating your mother long enough to leave her anything … and he has no other children.”
“He
had a vasectomy and didn’t tell Fran because he’s the world’s biggest … I can’t even think of a word bad enough to describe him.”
“I’m sure you will come up with something by the time I get back.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Until then … I’m off to see an estate lawyer.”
“Good luck.”
Harper offered a half-wave as Jared left to collect Mel.
“They’re going to see Elliot.” Carl barked out a raucous laugh. “They’re going to have so much fun.”
Harper didn’t like the sound of that.
ELLIOT TAUBMAN WORE AN EXPENSIVE suit and what looked to be the world’s cheapest toupee. It was so distracting that Jared found he had trouble tearing his eyes away from it.
“Did you say something?” Jared asked when he realized the room was completely silent and Elliot and Mel were watching him.
“I asked if you were the one engaged to the ghost hunter,” Elliot replied, amused.
“That would be me.” Jared shifted in his chair and forced himself to look away from the bad hairpiece. “Harper.”
“I’m mildly familiar with her,” Elliot said. “Mel and I used to golf together in a league and he often had Zander and Harper with him when they were kids. They were odd little ducks.”
Jared wasn’t sure how to take the comment. “She’s a beautiful soul.”
“I’m sure she is. When she was a kid, she and Zander were terrors. They used to run Mel ragged … although that was more Zander than Harper and he didn’t seem to mind.”
“Oh, I minded,” Mel intoned, making a face. “There simply wasn’t much I could do about it. My mother doted on them … as did my sister. It was either kowtow to their whims or live in fear.”
“Hey.” Jared extended a warning finger. “There’s no way my Harper was ever the terror you’re describing.”
Mel’s smile was rueful. “You’re right. Zander was definitely the terror.”
“He’s still a terror.”
“And I doubt the two of you are here to talk about Zander,” Elliot noted. “Is this official business?”
Ghostly Visions: A Harper Harlow Mystery Books 10-12 Page 52