Ghostly Wrecks (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 6)

by Hart, Lily Harper

  Shawn nodded. “Okay. I promise.”

  “Good. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Go ahead and order the pizza without me. It will be fine.”

  “We’ll wait,” Harper countered. “We’ll do it as a group, a family.”

  Jared swallowed hard, appreciating the sentiment. “Okay. We’ll do it as a family. I won’t be long. Everything is going to be perfectly all right. I promise.”

  TOMMY LUPONE’S smile suggested he thought it was perfectly normal to show up in the driveway of the woman who testified against his client only hours before. The expression was happy and congenial … and yet it sent a chill down Jared’s spine. He approached the man with squared shoulders and a determined countenance.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Hello again,” Lupone called out, his voice booming. “This is a lovely town. I don’t believe I’ve ever been here before, which is a crime since the proximity to the lake and nice camping areas is phenomenal.”

  “Uh-huh.” Jared rolled his neck until it cracked. “That wasn’t really an answer.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear the question.”

  Jared crossed his arms over his chest and stared down Lupone, practically daring him to play mind games. “What are you doing here?”

  “Oh, well, I came to see how Ms. Harlow was doing,” Lupone answered, smiling so wide he displayed a row of teeth that looked as if they belonged to a wolf rather than a human. “She seemed extremely shaken up during the arraignment.”

  “It was a trying day for her.”

  “And her friend,” Lupone added. “They were both very convincing in front of the judge. It’s almost as if they were coached to say the things they said. I mean … when the guy held his hand to his forehead and said he’d never been so terrified in his entire life I almost cried.”

  “Did you bother to consider that he was being honest?” Jared challenged.

  “Not really.” Lupone’s smile wavered. “I decided to take a chance and visit Ms. Harlow. I was surprised when I ran her through our search engine and realized she lives with the other individual who happened to witness the event. I was under the impression that she belonged to you.”

  Jared cocked a challenging eyebrow. “Belonged to me? I don’t believe in owning other human beings. Harper is my girlfriend. Zander is my friend.”

  “And yet they live together. How does that work?”

  “Very well,” Jared replied. “You have no right to be here. You should go.”

  “Well, as you’re not a homeowner, I’m fairly certain you don’t have the legal right to ask me to leave,” Lupone pointed out. “If Ms. Harlow wants me to go, she’s going to have to come out here and tell me that herself.”

  “Will that do it? If Zander comes out here and orders you off the property, will you go?”

  “Zander? Does that mean Mr. Pritchett is inside, too?”

  “Mr. Pritchett lives here,” Jared intoned. “As for not being able to remove you from the property, I think you might find you’re wrong on that front. I’m a duly sworn police officer in Whisper Cove. All I have to do is ask Ms. Harlow and Mr. Pritchett if they want you here and if you refuse to leave … .”

  “You seem pretty sure of yourself.”

  “I am,” Jared confirmed. “What do you want, Mr. Lupone?”

  “I simply want to talk to Ms. Harlow and see if she’s willing to … let’s say adjust … her statement,” Lupone replied. “I believe she was confused about today’s events. That’s completely understandable, of course. She was flustered and it was hot. She was probably feeling lightheaded.”

  “I’m fairly certain that she understood everything that was going on,” Jared replied, his tone icy. “If she needs a reminder, all she needs to do is look at the marks on her neck.”

  “Yes, well, that was a mistake,” Lupone offered. “Mr. Dalton accidentally slipped.”

  “He slipped?” Jared fought to control his temper. “He slipped and put his hands on my girlfriend? Are you honestly going with that defense?”

  Lupone clearly realized he’d misjudged the situation because he held up his hands and took an instinctive step back. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “Oh, your client putting his filthy hands on my woman is what upset me,” Jared seethed, taking an intimidating step in Lupone’s direction. “You listen to me, you piece of crap, I will not allow anyone to touch Harper. I won’t let them touch Zander either, for that matter.

  “I know what your client is and I know he thinks he’s above the law,” he continued. “I follow the letter of the law as a point of pride, but if he shows up in this area – if he or any of his associates moves on Harper or Zander – I might forget my oath to uphold the law.”

  “I wasn’t suggesting anything of the sort,” Lupone protested. “I was merely suggesting she was confused.”

  “She’s not confused. She knows what happened to her. I know what happened to her. Heck, you know what happened to her. Let me make something very clear, though, if something else happens to her, I won’t stop until your client is dead.”

  Lupone’s eyebrows flew up his forehead, surprise evident. “Is that a threat?”

  “That’s a promise.”

  “I could report that threat to the judge,” Lupone noted.

  “You could,” Jared conceded. “Then you would have to explain what you’re doing in Whisper Cove even though you live in Southfield, more than an hour away. I’m willing to argue my point if you’re willing to argue yours.”

  Lupone wet his lips, his eyes never straying from Jared’s hateful gaze. “Perhaps I’ll tell the judge I’m in town because I have a few ghosts I’m looking to bust. Oh, yes, I did a search on Ms. Harlow after the fact. I’m sure the judge had no idea what she did for a living when he decided to take her word on the earlier incident.”

  “You can try,” Jared said. “Of course, my partner already hit up the zoo and got the video from the area of the attack. We had it authenticated with the main office, too. We were a little worried it might disappear so I had him gather it, make multiple copies, and distribute those copies to the court, the judge, his clerk, and several other people here in town just to be on the safe side.”

  Jared knew the tidbit hit home when Lupone grimaced. “Oh, what, you didn’t expect that? My guess is you have an associate there right now. It’s too late. However, if you want to attack Ms. Harlow’s integrity on the stand, you go right ahead. I have video footage and all that attack is going to do is make you look like a bigger tool.”

  Lupone clutched his hands at his sides and Jared found himself hoping that the man would take a swing at him so he’d have a reason to lock him up. Lupone was too smart for that, though, and he sucked in a breath to calm himself before adopting his trademark fake smile. “I think we got off on the wrong foot here.”

  “Yes, that must be it,” Jared muttered.

  “I simply stopped by to tell Ms. Harlow and Mr. Pritchett that what happened at the zoo was a mistake and they have nothing to worry about,” Lupone said. “I swear … it was a case of mistaken identity and they’re not targets or anything where my client is concerned.”

  “Yeah, let’s see that there are no more mistakes,” Jared warned. “If I see you or any of Dalton’s cronies near my girlfriend, I won’t stop until I take them all down. That includes you, just so there’s no … confusion.”

  “I think we understand each other fine.”

  “Let’s hope so,” Jared said, inclining his head toward Lupone’s vehicle. “Now get out of here. You’re ruining pizza night.”

  15

  Fifteen

  “This was a great idea.”

  Phil Harlow, Harper’s father, grinned as he navigated his small fishing boat toward the main lake channel the next morning and leaned back in the captain’s chair, a happy water king surveying his realm.

  “I mean, I hardly ever get to spend time with my favorite daughter,” Phil added.

  “And her bes
t friend, right?” Zander pressed, arching a challenging eyebrow as he leaned back in his seat and slid a sidelong look in Harper’s direction, curiosity evident.

  “Of course I love seeing you, too, Zander.” Phil was used to dealing with Zander so he didn’t find the way his daughter and her best friend interacted this hot and humid day any different from the way they normally talked to one another. Their entire friendship was odd in his book. It also fit and he couldn’t imagine Harper being best friends with anyone else.

  “It’s lovely to be seen,” Zander enthused. “I happen to love a good day on the boat … even if it’s a tiny boat that smells like fish.”

  Harper elbowed Zander and sent him a dark look. “You’ll live.”

  “Let’s hope we do live,” Zander hissed, lowering his voice so Phil couldn’t hear him over the roar of the engine and whipping waves. “This is a terrible idea and if anything goes wrong I’m telling Jared you forced me to do it and this is all your fault.”

  “I would expect nothing less.”

  “What are you two whispering about?” Phil asked, curious.

  “Just our wonderful friendship,” Harper lied, patting Zander’s hand.

  In truth, she was exceedingly worried what would happen when Jared found out she left the house without telling him about her plans. She wasn’t oblivious and she watched him closely the previous evening. He’d been keyed up, constantly looking out the windows and insisting on walking around the house before going to sleep.

  He was scared. Harper instinctively knew that and the idea terrified her. Jared was never frightened. Sure, he went out of his way to make sure Harper was safe and never leaped before looking where she might land, but he tended to be fairly easygoing on most matters. That wasn’t the case now.

  Harper didn’t know a lot about Tim Dalton, but the moment Jared left for work – which was after making both Harper and Zander promise to be extra careful – she plugged his name into Google and was horrified by what popped up. Dalton had quite the reputation in the Detroit area, and it wasn’t a pleasant one. She checked out Tommy Lupone, too, and he was almost as bad … although there were no mentions of “missing fingers” in his dossier.

  Harper understood why Jared was so worried, but that didn’t mean she was willing to hide under a rock. So, instead, she convinced Zander that they needed a day of rest and relaxation under the sun while conning her father into taking them for a boat ride. She had a specific plan for the day and she was desperate for it to work.

  “So, tell me what’s going on in your life,” Phil prodded. “How is your boyfriend?”

  “He’s great,” Zander answered. “He’s ridiculously sweet and handsome. He’s the perfect man.”

  Phil smirked. “I heard you had a boyfriend, too. Shawn, right? I was going to ask you about him once I asked Harper about Jared. I had no intention of forgetting about you.”

  “Oh, well, in that case Harper can answer while I relax,” Zander said, grinning.

  “Jared is fine,” Harper offered, swishing her lips as she scorched Zander with an irritated look. “He’s great, in fact.”

  “From that sloppy smile on your face, I would guess love is in the air,” Phil teased, his expression warm and pleasing for a few moments, until the smile slid into a frown. “Just remember that love dies eventually. I know it seems all great and nice now, but one day in the distant future you’ll turn into me and Jared will turn into your mother.”

  Harper fought the urge to roll her eyes. Her parents had been embroiled in the nastiest divorce known to man for what felt like forever. They never made any forward progress on the legal proceedings because they continued to argue about anything and everything. The last time Harper caught up with her father the outdoor melamine dishes were on the line and he refused to give an inch if it meant her mother got the octopus plates and he got the turtle ones. It had to be the other way around or life would certainly end.

  “Sometimes marriage doesn’t end up that way,” Harper noted. “Sometimes things work out. It doesn’t matter, though, because Jared and I are nowhere near that level of commitment. You can rest easy.”

  Instead of being placated, Phil snorted. “Please. You two are on the marriage track. I see it every time that boy looks at you. It’s very … .”

  “Sweet?” Harper suggested.

  “I was going to say disappointing,” Phil corrected. “I thought you were above all of that. Obviously I was wrong.”

  “Everyone wants to be in love,” Zander challenged. He wasn’t Harper’s biggest fan at the current moment given her insistence on hitting the lake in an effort to track down Jack Corgan’s ghost, but he would always stand up for her no matter what. “Harper and Jared are very much in love.”

  “I’m not saying they’re not,” Phil argued. “I’m merely saying that things won’t end well for them and Harper should get out now so she doesn’t end up with a broken heart.”

  “You don’t know that … and it’s already too late to save her from a potential broken heart,” Zander countered. “Just because things went poorly for you, that doesn’t mean that will happen to Harper and Jared. Even if it doesn’t end well, though, I’m pretty sure they should have the chance to live their lives however they want and make those discoveries when and if they want to make them.”

  Phil had the grace to look abashed. “You’re not wrong.”

  “I never am.”

  Phil snorted. “Okay, we’ll let that part of the conversation go,” he said. “How about we switch topics to what we’re really doing out here?”

  Harper balked. “How do you know we don’t simply want a ride on your boat?”

  “Because it’s never happened before and I know you,” Phil replied. “Also, you have bruises around your neck. At first I thought the cop put them there, but Zander wouldn’t be taking up for him if that were the case.”

  Harper swallowed hard. She wondered why her father was so insistent when arguing about Jared turning into her mother. Now she understood he was merely feeling her out. “Jared would never touch me, at least not in a mean way,” she said. “He didn’t do this. It’s a case we’re working on.”

  Phil arched an eyebrow, surprised. “A ghost did that to you?”

  “A bookie.”

  Phil throttled back on the boat engine and scratched his nose. “I think you need to start explaining … and you might want to start at the beginning.”

  “Okay, well, yesterday Tim Dalton attacked us at the zoo because he thinks we took something off the boat that wrecked on the beach the other night,” Harper volunteered. “Then his attorney showed up at the house last night and Jared is not happy about that. Oh, and we’re out here because we’re hoping to run into Jack Corgan because I think he was on that boat, too, and I’m desperate to talk to his ghost.”

  “Oh, well, of course,” Phil intoned, unruffled. “That makes perfect sense. Cripes! Why couldn’t I have a normal kid?”

  Harper beamed. “Just lucky I guess.”

  Phil chuckled. “That I was. Tell me more. This sounds like a humdinger of a story.”

  SIX HOURS, one whopper of a headache, and a painful sunburn later Harper and Zander waved goodbye to Phil and trudged toward the parking lot by the beach.

  “Well, that was a big, honking waste of time,” Harper complained, cringing as she stepped on the hot sand. “Ow! Where are my shoes? This sand is freaking hot!”

  “They’re in your hand,” Zander replied, unbothered by Harper’s tone. “The sand is good for your feet, though. You should squinch your toes and stuff. It’s like a natural exfoliator.”

  “Yes, that’s the most important thing to worry about today,” Harper deadpanned, rolling her eyes. “Am I as red as I feel?”

  Zander pressed his lips together and debated how to answer. “You’re beautiful.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  “Let’s just say there’s no way you’re going to be able to hide the fact that you were out in the sun from Jared,” Z
ander supplied. “You’d better start coming up with a believable alibi.”

  “I’m not going to lie.”

  Zander rolled his eyes. “Apparently you’d also better learn the difference between a necessary white lie and a relationship-killing black lie. You need a white lie because Jared is going to be really mad when he finds out we spent the entire day looking for a ghost. Throw me the keys.”

  Zander’s transition was so jarring it took Harper a moment to realize he was giving instructions. “Oh, right.” She lobbed her keys to him and crossed to the passenger side of her car. Zander opened the vehicle and instead of climbing in and closing the doors, they left them open as Zander fired up the engine and let the air conditioner start blasting. They needed to chase the stifling air out of the car before they closed themselves inside.

  Harper sighed as she sank into the seat, extending her feet out the side of the car as she glanced at her reflection in the side mirror. “Oh, geez.” She leaned closer, her cheeks beet red, and frowned. “This is going to be a peeling nightmare.”

  “I tried warning you,” Zander said pragmatically. “You never listen to me.”

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I need to make my day brighter,” Harper drawled. “A nice ‘I told you so’ from my best friend is the whipped topping on a perfect ice cream day.”

  “Ooh, let’s get sundaes tonight.”

  “Sold.” Harper wasn’t really angry at Zander. She was mildly frustrated with herself because she knew Jared was going to be furious when she owned up to what she’d done. She wouldn’t blame Jared when his temper came out to play either. She didn’t exactly promise to stay in the house, but he was adamant when he insisted she take no outside risks. Harper was fairly certain that Jared wouldn’t consider a boat ride a risk-free endeavor, especially considering the fact that she was looking for a ghost. “I’m starting to think Jack Corgan doesn’t exist.”

  Zander managed to refrain from crowing “I told you so” a second time and instead sympathetically patted her hand. “Harp, I think you would’ve seen him long before this if he was real.”

  “Oh, well, listen to him. You’d think he was an expert or something.”