Ivy was caught off guard by the question. “I … well … yeah.”
“So you saw the future seconds before it happened. Hmm.” Jack increased his stroking as he considered the implications. “That’s interesting, honey.”
Ivy was dumbfounded. “Interesting?” she screeched, glaring when Jack held a finger to his lips to quiet her. “It’s not interesting,” she barked. “I’m a freak, Jack. How can you stand being around me?”
“I happen to love my freak.” Jack didn’t hesitate to pull her into his arms and hug her. “It’s okay, honey. Everything is okay.” Jack swayed back and forth, his lips pressed to her forehead.
“How can you say that?” Ivy found herself near tears. “I saw the future.”
“Yes, and you’ve seen through the eyes of a killer before, too,” Jack noted. “You’re getting stronger.”
The simple statement was enough to cause Ivy to freeze. “What?”
“You’re getting stronger,” Jack repeated. “Whatever is happening, the magic you possess is getting stronger.”
“Magic?” Ivy’s voice was unnaturally squeaky, causing Jack to let loose with a genuine grin.
“Honey, it’s been happening since we met,” he pointed out. “Heck, for all I know, it was happening before we met and you simply refused to acknowledge it.”
“It wasn’t happening before we met,” Ivy argued, regaining a modicum of her sassy attitude. “Nothing happened until we shared that first dream.”
“Then maybe I’m the one who brought it out in you.” Jack never suffered from bouts of insecurity and he liked the idea of being the one to bolster Ivy’s powers. “Either way, you’re getting stronger. More and more things are starting to happen around you. It’s okay. There’s nothing to panic about.”
“You just said that my magical powers are getting stronger,” Ivy whispered. “If that’s not something to panic about, I don’t know what is.”
Jack grinned, genuinely amused. “You are all sorts of adorable.” He dropped a soft kiss on her upturned mouth. “I love you more than anything. We’re going to figure this out.”
Ivy wasn’t so sure. “What do you think it means?”
“I have no idea.” Jack refused to lie to her. “I do know that we’re going to work together to make sure that we figure this out and that you’re going to be fine. Although … you passed out after the fact. You scared the crap out of me, by the way, when you did that.”
“I’m okay.” Ivy pressed her hand to his chest, reassured by his steady heartbeat. “I was just overwhelmed for a second. It was weird. My head couldn’t keep up with … well, my head … and I somehow mentally tripped, if that makes sense.”
“Well, I still want you checked out.”
Ivy balked. “I said I was fine.”
Jack cocked an eyebrow at her aggressive stance. “Honey, I want to be the judge of that.”
Ivy vehemently shook her head. “I’m not going to explain that I had a psychic flash regarding that girl. It’s not going to happen.”
Jack opened his mouth to argue, switching gears when he recognized the adamant tilt of her chin. “Fine. You don’t have to be checked out. I want you to agree, though, that if it happens again you’ll let me take you to the doctor.”
Ivy wasn’t sure she wanted to agree, but it seemed the easiest way out given their current circumstances. “That sounds fair.”
“Good.” Jack gave her a swift kiss and grabbed her hand. “Now, come on. Let’s see what’s going on with our patient.”
“Yeah, speaking of that … um … what do you think happened?”
“I have no idea, but it didn’t look good.”
“You can say that again.”
Four
Jack kept a firm hold of Ivy’s hand as he led her through the clinic’s front door. He didn’t let it show, but he was worried. Odd things kept happening around the woman he loved. It was almost as if she was manifesting powers – like in a movie – and he didn’t know how to handle it.
It wasn’t that he was afraid of her. He was definitely afraid for her, though. If she ended up hurt – or possibly worse – because of this, he would never forgive himself for not properly protecting her.
Still, Jack needed to give himself time to think, and he needed to do it when Ivy wasn’t around to gauge his reaction. If she read the situation wrong and felt as if he was judging her, or somehow recoiling because he was turned off by the latest development, she would close herself off. That’s the last thing he wanted.
“Anything?” Jack asked Max as they stepped into the lobby.
“She’s only been back there a few minutes,” Max replied. “We need to give them time to work. They know we’re out here waiting for answers.”
“Then let’s give them time to work.” Jack led Ivy to a group of chairs in the corner, helping her remove her jacket before sitting in the chair next to her. He held her hand, tracing the lines in her palm with his finger, and compared her small hand to his much larger one.
That’s where Simone found them fifteen minutes later. “Any word?”
Ivy did her best not to scowl. “They’re working on her. They won’t come out to give us an update until they have her stabilized.”
“How do you know that?” Simone challenged.
“Because I’ve spent some time in the hospital.”
“Oh, right.” Simone was blasé as she sat on the other side of Jack. “You were in here because you were shot a few months ago. I almost forgot. What happened with all of that?”
Ivy swallowed hard and averted her gaze. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, but we clearly have time to burn,” Simone pointed out. “Aubrey’s parents are out of town until tomorrow afternoon. I was watching her. I placed a call to them, but they won’t be here for several hours. They asked me to watch her and talk to the doctors on their behalf.”
“That was nice of you.”
“Yeah, I’m a real saint,” Simone agreed. “How come you don’t want to talk about the time you were shot?”
“Maybe it’s none of your business,” Jack barked, causing Simone to jolt. Ivy’s shooting was still a sore subject with him, for multiple reasons.
“I think you want to pretend it didn’t happen to protect yourself,” Simone shot back. “Didn’t you dump her after that? Everyone in town was buzzing about it. Ava said that Ivy had a broken heart. We all had a good laugh about it.”
“That did it.” Jack moved to get up, but Ivy stopped him with a shake of her head.
“It’s not worth it,” she said. “She’s just doing it to get a rise out of you. That’s the way she is. That’s the way she’s always been. Ignore her.”
Jack grudgingly reclaimed his chair, making a pointed showing of increasing the distance between his seat and Simone before twisting his body so he could focus solely on Ivy. “You know, honey, you don’t have to stay here. Max can take you home. Heck, you can go back to the festival if you want. You don’t have to stay here.”
“I don’t want to go back to the festival,” Ivy said. “I told you that was a bad luck festival.”
“You’re only saying that because you never won the pageant,” Simone argued. “I won it and think it’s a great festival. Heck, I almost won the pageant twice – only losing out that second time because Peg Lindley cheated on her talent and bamboozled the judges. No one else has ever almost won it twice.”
“Oh, well, how great for you,” Jack drawled. “How does that look on a résumé?”
“I don’t need a résumé,” Simone scoffed. “I’m a cheerleading coach and pageant coordinator. Why would I need a résumé for that?”
“Yeah. I’m done talking to you.” Jack held up his hand to silence Simone and spared a glance for Max. “Can’t you do something to shut her up?”
Max shrugged, noncommittal. “I used to make out with girls to shut them up sometimes when we were teenagers,” he admitted. “I guess I could try it with Simone, although girls were a lot
more open to it when we were teenagers.”
Simone made an exaggerated face and stuck out her tongue. “Oh, you would love it if I would make out with you. Admit it.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Max hedged, his face impassive as his eyes lit with amusement. “I’m a fan of living Chlamydia-free these days.”
This time there was nothing playful about Simone’s ugly expression. “I don’t have to take this,” she hissed.
“Then leave,” Jack suggested, rubbing his hand over Ivy’s knee. “None of us want you here.”
“I already told you that Aubrey’s parents asked me to stay with her.”
“Then sit in the corner and shut up,” Jack ordered, rolling his neck as the front door opened to allow his partner, Brian Nixon, entrance.
“I got the call from dispatch,” Brian said, his gaze busy as it bounced between faces. “What happened?”
Jack filled him in on the events of the day, being sure to leave out Ivy’s foray into psychic visions, and when he was done, Brian was confused.
“How is this a criminal case?”
“I didn’t say it was a criminal case,” Jack replied. “I simply had Max call the paramedics. You must’ve been alerted because you’re my partner. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, well, that’s okay.” Brian looked almost disappointed as he sat next to Max. “Any news on her yet?”
“No.” Jack shook his head and squeezed Ivy’s hand. If Brian sensed something else was going on, he kept it to himself. “Hopefully the doctors won’t be too long.”
As if on cue, the doors that led to the back of the clinic whooshed open to allow Dr. Martin Nesbitt entrance. He looked tired as he mopped his brow and scanned the room. “Are you all here for Aubrey Daniels?”
Jack bobbed his head as he got to his feet. “How is she?”
“Alive, but we’re transferring her to a full-care facility in Traverse City,” Nesbitt announced.
“Does she have epilepsy or something?” Simone asked.
“No, as far as we can tell, she was poisoned.”
Jack stilled, his stomach twisting. “I’m sorry but … what did you say?”
“She’s been poisoned,” Nesbitt reiterated. “We ran a blood sample and found ethylene glycol in her system. We believe it was a high dosage and we’re worried about organ damage. That’s why she’s being transferred. We almost missed it because seizures aren’t often associated with antifreeze poisoning, but she might have an underlying condition and we want to be really careful.”
“Antifreeze?” Ivy flicked her eyes to Jack. “How would someone be able to poison her with that without her noticing?”
“I’ll leave that up to you to figure out,” Nesbitt said. “She hasn’t regained consciousness and I don’t expect her to while she’s here. I’m sorry, but she’s not going to have any answers to give you in the immediate future.”
“Thanks,” Jack said absently, rubbing the back of his head as he turned to Brian. “I think that means we need to run back to the barn and do a search. It also wouldn’t hurt to collect all the water bottles and test them.”
“That sounds like a plan,” Brian said. “I guess this is a criminal matter after all.”
“Yeah.” Jack forced a smile as he gazed down at Ivy. “I’m sorry our night got ruined. Do you think you can catch a ride home with your brother? I promise not to be too long.”
Ivy nodded without hesitation. “Do what you have to do. I understand.”
“I’ll be as quick as possible,” Jack said. “Take it easy when you get home. I promise I won’t be far behind.”
“WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH you and Ivy?” Brian asked once the partners entered the vacant barn and began searching through the discarded clothing items and water bottles.
Jack avoided his partner’s studied gaze. “What do you mean? She’s pretty, mouthy, and amazing. That’s always her deal, though.”
Brian let loose with a low growl. “You know, I’m starting to think you say things like that simply to annoy me.”
Jack snorted, the simple act washing away some of the stress he’d been carrying since Ivy’s fainting spell. “She’s just … worked up.” He considered telling his partner what happened. It wasn’t as if Brian was in the dark in regards to Ivy’s abilities. Still, it wasn’t his place. He wouldn’t share Ivy’s secret unless she said it was okay.
“I can tell she’s worked up. That’s why I asked the question.”
“The girl hit the ground hard and Ivy clearly doesn’t like Simone Graham. What’s the deal with that?”
“Simone is a skank.” Brian was so matter-of-fact it caused Jack to bark out a laugh.
“Tell me how you really feel.”
“That’s how I really feel,” Brian said. “Ivy was always a good girl who kept to herself. The boys liked that and developed regular crushes on her. That caused the other girls to go after her because they were jealous. Sometimes they went after her hard. Simone was older than Ivy but, for some reason, that didn’t stop her from competing with Ivy. I can’t explain it. Women are crazy sometimes.”
Jack didn’t like the sound of that. “You know, I like Shadow Lake a great deal and I’m glad I moved here, but one thing the city has over the country is choice when it comes to friends,” he said. “There’s a lot more choice in friends in the big city. You don’t have to conform or be ostracized. You can be who you want to be and still have a good time.”
“I think you’re right.” Brian began collecting water bottles, shoving them in a plastic bag as he moved around the room. “What do you think happened here? Do you think one of the other girls poisoned Aubrey?”
“I don’t know. Ivy made it sound as if this pageant was a big deal. Maybe someone is really desperate to win.”
“Maybe,” Brian agreed. “Maybe she was poisoned at home or something. You said her parents are out of town, right?”
“They’re heading back. We’ll probably have to go to Traverse City to question them since Aubrey is being transferred.”
“We can leave that for tomorrow, or even later than that if need be,” Brian said. “We’ll collect all these bottles, look around, and then drop this stuff at the Michigan State Police Laboratory. Until we know more, there’s not much more we can do tonight. Then, tomorrow, we’ll question the parents and the girls who were present.”
“That sounds like a plan.” Jack searched through a backpack, frowning when he saw the huge pile of makeup items at the bottom. “Who needs this much makeup?”
“Teenage girls are different sorts of creatures,” Brian said. “You’ll find out when you and Ivy have a bundle of sarcasm all your own one day.”
Jack smirked at the thought. “I hope she looks like Ivy.”
“Oh, geez. You’re such a schmuck.”
“And you’re easy,” Jack said, moving to another backpack. “We’re not planning on having kids right away. We want some time to enjoy one another. When it’s time for kids, we’ll discuss the problem with teenage girls then. Hopefully I can talk her into having a kid that never grows.”
Brian snorted. “If the kid never grows, he or she will never move out and then it will never be just you and Ivy again.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. Good point.” Jack finished his search, ultimately straightening as he stood by the front door. “I think that’s everything.”
“Yup.” Brian tied the bag. “You know this could get ugly if we figure out that another teenage girl tried to kill Aubrey, right?”
Jack nodded. “Everyone in town is going to take sides.”
“Yeah, and we’re going to be stuck in the middle.”
“We can only do what we can do,” Jack said. “Right now, all we can do is get the bottles tested and go home. Tomorrow is another day.”
IVY WAS IN HER FUZZY pajama pants under a blanket on the couch, her hair pulled back in a ponytail so the pink streaks gleamed under the flickering light of the fire, when Jack let himself into the house.
“I t
hought you would be gone longer,” Ivy said by way of greeting.
“I think my feelings should be hurt,” Jack teased, shrugging out of his coat.
“I didn’t mean that.” Ivy lifted the blanket so Jack could slide underneath with her but stopped him before he could get comfortable. “You’re overdressed.”
Jack cocked an eyebrow, several fun ideas flowing through his head. Ultimately he knew he would have to answer questions before enjoying those ideas so he merely shrugged as he stripped out of his jeans and sweater, keeping his boxer shorts and undershirt in place as he grabbed the edge of the blanket. “Happy?”
Ivy nodded, making a hissing noise when she felt Jack’s cold hands brush against her neck. “Why didn’t you wear your gloves?”
“Because they were in my pocket and I was so eager to get home to you that I was willing to risk frostbite and finger amputations just to be able to touch you.”
Ivy made a hilarious face that made Jack want to kiss her senseless. “That one grossed even me out.”
“I’m starting to gross myself out,” Jack admitted. “It’s not nearly as much fun now as it was.”
“Maybe we should take it back a notch,” Ivy suggested. “We’ve been engaged six weeks now.”
“I’m as excited today as I was when you said yes.”
“Did you think I would say no?”
“Of course not. You’d have to be crazy to pass this up.” Jack gestured toward his loud boxer shorts for emphasis, causing Ivy to giggle. The sound warmed Jack to the tips of his toes and he slipped an arm around her waist and tugged her so she was positioned on top of his chest as he reclined on the couch. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. You need to stop worrying.”
“That’s never going to happen,” Jack said. “You’re going to need to stop worrying about me worrying because it’s not going to change.”
“Fine.” Ivy rested her cheek on Jack’s chest. “Hmm. Other than your hands, you’re really warm. I wish we could spend an entire day like this.”
Wicked Fun: An Ivy Morgan Mystery Books 7-9 Page 42