“I don’t want to touch the meat if I don’t have to,” Ivy announced to Jared.
“I don’t understand how you can be a vegetarian,” Jared argued. “That cuts off like half your food choices … and eliminates all the good ones.”
“I happen to like vegetables.”
“I do, too, as long as they’re wrapped around a steak.”
Ivy merely shrugged as she turned to the door, hopping to her feet the moment she saw Jack. “Hey! I was wondering when you would get here. I guess we can start grilling.”
“I’ll handle that.” Jared was all smiles as he waved at Jack before turning to the plate of covered meat next to the grill. “I’m a master griller.”
“He’s very good,” Harper enthused. “I think it’s a man thing because he always insists on grilling.”
“It’s definitely a man thing,” Max agreed, using his hip to move Jack out of the way so he could join the party. “Jack never lets me grill now that he’s the man of the house.”
“Oh.” Jared’s expression reflected unease. “I suppose you want to grill, huh?”
He didn’t put a lot of effort behind the question and Jack put even less in the answer. “You can grill.” Jack dropped a perfunctory kiss on the corner of Ivy’s mouth before letting loose with a groan as he sank into one of the chairs. “I didn’t know you guys would be here.”
“Is that a problem?” Harper was intuitive and she could read the set of Jack’s shoulders. “If you want us to go … .”
“He doesn’t want you to go,” Ivy assured quickly. “You don’t, right?”
Her expression was so plaintive Jack could only come up with one answer. “Of course not.” He wasn’t rude enough to tell them otherwise anyway. “I was just surprised. I thought the vehicle belonged to one of the contractors and I couldn’t figure out why he was here so late.”
“They got a lot done today,” Ivy enthused. “They got the door in downstairs and everything. They don’t have the hardware in place for the lock yet, but they tied it shut so nobody can get in.”
“Oh, well, that makes me feel safe,” Jack drawled, dragging a strand of Ivy’s hair behind her ear before tugging her onto his lap. “I missed you today.” He buried his face in her hair and took a deep breath while pressing his eyes shut. He would have to struggle through a makeshift party, he was resigned to it, that didn’t mean he wasn’t open to a quiet moment with Ivy before the festivities took over his life. “You smell good.”
“We’ve been sampling lotions,” Harper volunteered, lifting her arm for Jared to take a sniff. “I’m in love with Ivy’s stuff.”
“That’s nice.” Jared smiled. “You smell like … a meadow.”
“That’s what I was going for.” Ivy beamed at him. “I’ve been experimenting all winter.”
“You did a good job.” Jared spread out the steaks on the aluminum foil, sparing a glance for Jack as he evenly spaced the slabs of meat. “You look tired, man.”
“I’ve had a long day.” Jack kept hold of Ivy when she tried to get up, refusing to let her leave his lap. “I haven’t gotten my fill yet so you’re going to have to stay here with me.”
Ivy smirked. “I thought you told me you would never get your fill.”
“Yes, well, I need a fast fix.” He rested his chin on her shoulder. “How was your day?”
“I think you’ve had a much worse day than me,” Ivy said. “Why don’t you tell me about your day first. You got my text, right?”
“I did, and I can’t tell you what a joy it was to interview Maisie. She made a big show of asking me if I wanted her to make me some cookies … or perhaps show me her world-famous doughnut.”
Ivy scowled. “I’m going to yank her hair out of her head if she’s not careful.”
“I told her I only wanted your cookies, which didn’t go over well.”
“Now you’re just sucking up.”
Jack managed a genuine smile. “It’s the truth. As for Maisie, she said she was at Friday’s party but she doesn’t remember seeing Tabitha.”
“Do you believe her?”
Jack shrugged. “I don’t believe she’s a murderer. If she’s hiding something, it probably has something to do with the pot I believe they’re supplying everyone with on party nights.”
“She’s definitely not a murderer,” Ivy agreed. “She would have to get dirty for that and the only way she gets dirty is when she goes after my man. Then she gets down and dirty.”
Jack’s eyes sparkled at Ivy’s feisty nature. “How many of those have you had to drink?” He inclined his head toward the half-empty martini glass on the table.
“Two.”
Jack arched an eyebrow.
“And a half,” Ivy conceded.
“No more until you get some food in your stomach,” Jack said. “I don’t want you passing out halfway through dinner.”
Ivy balked. “I can hold my liquor.”
“Since when?”
“Since … forever.”
“Yeah, you’re done until dinner.” Jack ignored the dirty look Ivy shot in his direction. “You’ll thank me when you don’t have a hangover tomorrow.”
“We’ll see.”
“We will.” Jack brushed his lips along Ivy’s tense jaw before returning his focus to Jared. “We also interviewed Kendra Tudor and Brent Sisco. They said they saw Tabitha but didn’t speak to her. Kendra seemed agitated when we interviewed her, anxious to get us out of the house before her husband came home.”
“Obviously he doesn’t know about her newfound party habits,” Ivy said.
“I don’t think so. I also don’t think she is the type to chase a woman through the forest with a hunting rifle. I think she’s covering up the fact that she’s probably cutting loose a bit with the guys who live there.”
“Cheating on her husband?” Harper asked.
“I don’t know if it goes that far,” Jack hedged. “I think it’s far more likely she’s smoking pot and doesn’t want anyone to know.”
“That leaves the guys who live there,” Jared prodded. “Did they have anything to say?”
“They are all some of the biggest turds you’ve ever met.” Jack stretched his legs out in front of him, making sure to balance Ivy on his thighs. He was in no mood to separate from her even though he knew she was seriously considering reclaiming her martini. Since she had a low tolerance, he was keen on making sure she didn’t drink enough to derail his bath plans once everyone was gone. “I think it could’ve easily been any one of those guys … even the fat one.”
“I don’t think you’re supposed to say fat,” Max noted. “I don’t think that’s politically correct.”
“Well, that guy is either pregnant or he drinks his weight in beer every night,” Jack noted. “If he’s pregnant, I’ll apologize for calling him fat.”
Max snickered. “Which guy is this?”
“Dan Lively. Why? Do you know them?”
“I’ve had occasion to run into them at the bar,” Max replied. “It’s only been twice. My understanding is that they prefer to host parties at their house. Still, they’ve come into the bar twice when I’ve been there.”
Jack was intrigued despite himself. “What can you tell me about them?” He tipped back his beer to take a swig, frowning when Ivy reached for it. “No.”
“You said no more liquor,” Ivy pointed out. “That’s beer.”
“Honey, I don’t want you getting drunk,” Jack said. “I have plans for you later.”
Ivy, her cheeks flushed with alcohol and flirty energy, smiled. “Fine. I won’t drink any more liquor or beer.”
“I didn’t say that. I simply want you to wait until you have food in your stomach.”
“Fine.” Ivy leaned back and rested her head on his shoulder. “I believe you were going to tell us about the guys you met at the bar, Max.”
“I was before you and your love monkey so rudely interrupted my train of thought,” Max complained.
“Don’t be
a pain,” Jack ordered, idly running his fingers up and down Ivy’s arm. “Just tell me what you saw.”
Max turned serious. “There’s not much to tell. The crowd at the bar runs a bit older, as you know, and the people who hang out there are in their late twenties to late forties or so. It’s not exactly a place where young people hang out.
“I was sitting at the bar having a drink and talking up Ruthie Burton when they came in,” he continued. “They started at the bar. The one – I’m pretty sure his name was Logan – tried hitting on Ruthie, but she wasn’t overly impressed.”
“Is that because you were sitting on the other side of her?” Harper teased. “I’m betting you’re much more handsome than those guys.”
“And I own my own lumber yard.” Max gave Harper a saucy wink, earning a growl from Jared. “Dude, you need to chill. We had this discussion this afternoon. I’m not after your woman. I’m like this with everyone.”
“He honestly is,” Jack agreed. “Don’t let it bother you. He would hit on his own sister if it wasn’t frowned upon in society.”
“Don’t ever say that again,” Max warned, extending a finger.
Jack smirked. “I apologize. Please continue with your story, Max.”
Max lobbed another glare in Jack’s direction before doing just that. “So Logan hit on Ruthie and I ignored it at first. He was kind of fumbling through a bunch of lines I’m pretty sure he read in a bathroom stall or something. Then he got a little aggressive.”
Jack knit his eyebrows together. “Define aggressive.”
“Handsy, I guess would be the right word. At first he kept touching Ruthie’s elbow. That’s a standard ploy, though. Men do it to make women think about sex.”
Harper wrinkled her nose. “Men touch our arms to make us think about sex?”
“It’s the contact,” Max explained. “The more a man touches you, the more comfortable you get. Think about it.”
“That’s ridiculous.” The words were out of Harper’s mouth before she had a chance to consider them. When she turned to Jared, she had a thoughtful look on her face. “You know what? Now that I think about it, you touched me non-stop before we even had our first date. Do you remember when we met on the campus and had coffee? You touched me like eighty times that night. I remember because it was making me all hot and bothered.”
Jared didn’t even attempt to adopt an angelic look. “Imagine that.”
“That was before Zander told you to take advantage of me over dinner.”
“Hey, he didn’t say to take advantage of you,” Jared countered. “He simply said I shouldn’t take no for an answer. I told him that I wasn’t comfortable with that – mostly because I was far too nervous to even consider trying to get you to say yes – but he was adamant.”
“Ah, young love,” Max teased.
“Let’s go back to the important conversation, shall we?” Jared suggested. “I would rather not fight about our first date yet again.”
“Welcome to the club,” Jack drawled.
Jared snorted. “What happened next with Ruthie and Logan?”
“Oh, right.” Max returned to his story. “So he was only touching her arm at first. Then he started rubbing her back. The next thing I know is he’s kind of grinding up against her.”
“Grinding up against her?” Jared made a face.
“I would totally show you, but I’d have to use your girlfriend to do it and I’m guessing that would end with my death,” Max said.
Jared rolled his eyes. “Geez. You remind me of Zander.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Max rolled his neck. “Anyway, Ruthie was starting to get uncomfortable so I stepped in. I basically told him to stop touching her because she didn’t like it. He said he wanted Ruthie to say it for herself, which she did, but he didn’t take it well when she said it.”
“What did he say?”
“Just that he was sick of women leading him on, although he used the B-word and got even more derogatory from there.”
“Did anything else happen?” Jack asked.
“He tried to pick a fight. He actually asked if I wanted to go into the parking lot. He had one of his friends – I think the guy’s name was Caleb – ready to go outside with him. I’m not an idiot so I said I was more than happy to do it, and then I pointed to my eight friends who were by the pool table. They were all locals.”
“Obviously they didn’t take you up on the offer to fight because we would’ve heard that story a million times since it happened if they did,” Ivy said, turning a set of thoughtful blue eyes to Jack. “What do you think?”
“Logan has a record for assaulting his sister,” Jack replied. “He used a baseball bat. She dropped the charges and he moved out of his mother’s house after that. We questioned him about that today and he blamed everything on her.”
“He sounds volatile enough to chase a woman through the woods,” Jared noted, flipping the steaks. “What did you get from him while questioning?”
“Not a lot,” Jack replied. “Dan Lively is a blooming idiot. If he’s involved, I’ll be stunned. Not only is he out of shape, but he’s also deeply stupid. I don’t think he’s involved. As for the other three … .” Jack broke off as he considered how to answer. “Logan definitely set off some alarm bells in my head.”
“What about Caleb?” Max asked. “I found him creepier than Logan because he wasn’t a blowhard. He was quieter, which made me think he could probably do more damage.”
“Yeah, I got that feeling from him, too,” Jack said. “There’s something off about that guy. It was Mike Blake who was the smartest, though. He was congenial, acted like he was answering our questions, but feigned a bad memory whenever the questions got deep.
“He was self-deprecating and admitted that he was extremely drunk Friday night,” he continued. “He also said he had the lowest tolerance of his friends and passed out early. They all said that, in fact.”
“Why is that suspicious?” Harper asked.
“Because I’ve never met a guy that age who will willingly admit he’s a lightweight,” Jack replied.
“He’s right,” Jared said. “Boys that age are boastful … like the one who tried to pick a fight with Max. If Caleb is the dark brooding one and Mike is the smart one, they’re probably more likely to be viable suspects because Logan can’t keep his trap shut and Dan is apparently an idiot.”
“That’s essentially where I’m leaning.” Jack drained the rest of his beer before leaving the bottle on the table and wrapping both arms tightly around Ivy. “I don’t like the setup of that house one bit. I’m also worried that Tabitha’s death won’t be the last.”
“Surely whoever did it wouldn’t act again so fast,” Harper argued. “It’s pretty far from a smart move to do something like that.”
“Unless whoever it is suddenly has a taste for killing,” Jack countered. “We’re working the theory that this was some sort of hunting game, that whoever it is purposely chased Tabitha in the woods. If the killer got off on that … .”
“Then he’ll want to repeat the experience as soon as possible,” Jared finished. “It could get a whole lot worse before it gets better.”
Jack nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
Eleven
Jack watched Ivy get dressed the next morning, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. She was humming – something he wasn’t sure she realized – and she seemed to be in a good mood even though mornings weren’t her favorite part of the day.
“Did I put that smile on your face and song in your heart, or are you simply excited to be going out with your friend for the day?”
Ivy swiveled, her expression unreadable. “What do you mean?”
“You’re humming, honey.”
“I am?” Ivy furrowed her brow. “Huh. I didn’t even notice.”
“Yeah, I figured that. I guess that means you’re not smiling because of me, huh?”
“I always smile because of y
ou.” Ivy crossed the room and took Jack’s outstretched hand. “Why are you looking at me that way?”
Jack pursed his lips and shrugged.
“You don’t know why you’re looking at me that way?” Ivy challenged.
“You just seem happy.”
“Don’t I always seem happy?”
“You seem happy a lot of the time lately.” Jack chose his words carefully. “You smile a lot. You’re still Ivy, though, which means you like to fight and occasionally you’re crabby.”
Ivy’s eyebrow winged up. “Crabby?”
“That’s what I said.”
Ivy rolled her eyes. “I hardly think I’m crabby.”
“Oh, don’t kid yourself. You’re crabby at times. I’m fine with it. I even like you crabby a little bit because I tend to be crabby at certain times of the day, too. I think it makes us a good match. I’m fine with it.”
Ivy scratched at an invisible itch on the side of her nose. “I’m sorry about last night.”
The conversational shift caught Jack off guard. “What do you mean?”
“I’m sorry,” Ivy repeated. “I know that having a house full of guests wasn’t what you had planned. I’m sorry I ruined whatever it is that you wanted.”
Jack tilted his head to the side as he regarded her. “What is it exactly that you think you’ve ruined?”
“I don’t know.” Ivy shifted from one foot to the other, uncomfortable. “You didn’t look happy when you came home and found a bunch of people in your house, though.”
“Our house,” Jack corrected. “Also, it started out as your house.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t want you to think of it as your home.”
“I think of you as my home,” Jack said. “Wherever you are, I’m home.”
Ivy’s heart swamped with love, although she felt a little ridiculous for responding that way. “You’re kind of a smooth talker.”
“I do my best.”
Ivy sidled closer and tilted up her chin, resting it on Jack’s chest as she looked up. “Still, you wanted to be alone last night.”
“I thought I wanted to be alone,” Jack corrected. “I had a long day and wanted you. I pictured us building a fire and taking a bath. The thing is, even though I was tired, ultimately I was glad to have everyone together.”
Wicked Ghostly Seas: A Rowan Gray, Harper Harlow and Ivy Morgan Mystery Omnibus Page 10