Ghostly Worries (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 4)

by Hart, Lily Harper

  “For the record, I do hate hunting,” Zander conceded. “That doesn’t mean the yeti story wasn’t real.”

  “Yeah, whatever,” Mel said. “Just so I have this right, you came out here to see how the restaurant was coming along and just stumbled upon the body?”

  “Harper wanted to see the deck,” Zander replied. “She had grand visions – which she wouldn’t stop yammering about – of bringing Jared here for a romantic meal.”

  “Oh, that’s sweet,” Jared said, kissing Harper’s forehead before taking a step back. It was one thing to kiss his girlfriend in front of his partner. It was quite another to coddle a witness in front of the approaching coroner.

  “Yes, it’s very sweet,” Zander said, making a face. “She didn’t even care that we made a pact in high school to always visit restaurants together before taking dates in case the food made us throw up.”

  “Oh, good grief,” Jared muttered, shaking his head. “Every time I turn around you guys have a new pact.”

  “Welcome to Whisper Cove,” Mel said brightly. “You can set your watch by the newspaper delivery and Zander and Harper’s pacts.”

  “What a fun town,” Jared said. “Okay, guys, I need you to go over there so we can handle the next part. I won’t keep you too long, but we might have some more questions before we cut you loose.”

  Zander obediently stepped away, but Harper hesitated.

  “What’s wrong?” Jared asked.

  “I didn’t see a ghost.” Harper kept her voice low so only Jared could hear. “If she was murdered, I’m not sure it was here.”

  Jared was aware of Harper’s ability, and while he struggled with it in the beginning, he’d learned to accept. “Okay, Heart. We’ll take it one step at a time.”

  “WHAT DO you think?” Mel asked, leaning over one of the county’s assistant coroners as she worked. Whisper Cove was tiny so it couldn’t afford its own medical examiner. They were forced to rely on the county’s cadre of death detectors and it was never a pleasant experience when locals and county personnel mixed. “Was it murder?”

  “It’s a little soon to be sure, but I don’t think this was natural,” Cheryl Dobson, a longtime figure at the county medical examiner’s office, replied. “The only thing I can say with any certainty is that she didn’t spend a lot of time in the water.”

  “We figured that out ourselves,” Jared said. “The body isn’t bloated.”

  “And it hasn’t been here for a long time,” Cheryl said. “I’m going to estimate the body was dumped during the overnight hours.”

  “I’m surprised it’s not worse off,” Mel admitted. “The heat is a monster. I would think that would increase decomposition.”

  “In theory, yes,” Cheryl said. “It’s cool under the deck, though. The sun doesn’t hit that area directly at any time of day and the proximity to the lake keeps the sand cool. For our purposes, we couldn’t ask for a better scenario given the weather.”

  “Which begs the question of why anyone would be stupid enough to dump a body in this location knowing that,” Jared said, rubbing the back of his neck as he shifted to study the growing crowd. Because of Whisper Cove’s size gossip spread like wildfire. The town knew about the death before Mel and Jared had a chance to digest it. “Maybe we’re dealing with a heat of the moment thing. Maybe someone panicked and didn’t realize what they were doing.”

  “Or maybe someone knew exactly what they were doing and felt remorse so they tried to put the body in a place where it wouldn’t be shredded by the elements,” Cheryl suggested. “I have no idea what to tell you on the motive. I’ll get a report together as soon as possible when we get her back to the office, though. She’s young and she looks to have taken good care of herself. Someone has to be missing her.”

  “Thanks.” Jared watched the medical examiner zip up the body bag before directing her aides to roll the gurney up the sandy embankment and toward the parking lot. “For a small town, this place sees a lot of death.”

  “It does indeed,” Mel agreed, sighing. “We need an identity before we can move forward. I have men scouring the area for a purse or wallet, but as it stands what we need right now is a positive hit on the fingerprints.”

  “I guess we should find out who owns this place,” Jared said. “Harper said she knew him. Do you know who she was talking about?”

  “Actually, I did hear who bought this place, but for the life of me I can’t remember what my sister told me,” Mel said, his eyes bouncing between faces until they latched onto Zander. “My nephew will know, though. I … huh.”

  “What?” Jared followed Mel’s gaze, frowning when he caught sight of a handsome man approaching Harper and Zander on the beach. Harper’s smile wasn’t forced when she greeted him … and neither was the hug. “Who is that?”

  “That is Jason Thurman,” Mel replied. “He’s the owner of this restaurant.”

  “You just said you couldn’t remember.”

  “That was before I saw Jason,” Mel said. “Things clicked into place when I saw him hug Harper.”

  “Why would she hug him?” Jared asked, hoping the question came off as general curiosity instead of raging jealousy. “I was under the impression that Zander and Harper only hung out with each other in high school.”

  “They did … for the most part,” Mel said. “Jason didn’t graduate with them. He spent his senior year in Interlochen.”

  “The music school?” Jared perked up a bit. “Did he play the flute or something?”

  “He played the guitar,” Mel answered, internally grinning at his partner’s scowl. “He and Harper dated for like two months before he left. There were a lot of dramatic teenage tears when the love story came to an abrupt end.”

  Jared made an exaggerated face. “Love story? They were teenagers.”

  “Of course they were,” Mel said, clapping Jared on the back. “Come on. We need to question the new owner.”

  “I JUST can’t believe this,” Jason said, licking is lips as he studied the crime scene tape. “How did this even happen?”

  “Well, someone killed a woman and shoved her body under your deck,” Zander replied. “Where were you last night?”

  “I know that,” Jason said, ignoring Zander’s pointed question. “I just … I don’t remember things like this happening back when I lived in Whisper Cove the first time around.”

  “Things like this always happened here,” Harper said, her eyes landing on Jared and Mel as they approached. “We just lived in a bubble so we didn’t notice. Here come the police.”

  Jason turned expectantly, extending his hand to shake Mel’s as the familiar face closed the distance. “Officer Kelsey.”

  “How are you, Jason?” Mel asked.

  “Good. Well, good-ish. I wasn’t expecting this.” Jason gestured to the scene on the beach. “I was hoping for a big crowd for the opening. This wasn’t what I had in mind.”

  “I suppose not,” Mel said. “This is my partner Jared Monroe.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Jason said.

  “Likewise.” Jared’s face was unreadable as his busy gaze moved between Harper and Jason. “How long have you been back in town?”

  “A few weeks,” Jason replied. “I bought this place, but a lot of the upgrades happened while I was still living in Chicago. I came back and forth but have been here for two weeks now.”

  “I don’t suppose you know of a long-haired brunette woman who would have a reason to hang around this area, would you?” Jared asked, causing Jason to shake his head. “What about help?”

  “I’ve hired a few people, but I know all of them and no one fits that description,” Jason said. “I just … this is terrible. Do you think I’ll be able to open on time?”

  “I don’t know,” Jared replied, arching an eyebrow. “I guess we’ll have to see how things go.”

  “I’m sure it will be fine,” Harper supplied. “In a few days people will forget about this.”

  “I don’t think
people are going to forget a dead body was found under the deck,” Jason said. “Hopefully, they’ll overlook it because this town loves a new restaurant.”

  “Yes, that’s what really matters,” Zander deadpanned, rolling his eyes. “Come on, Harp. We need to get back to the office.”

  “But … why?” Harper was confused. “We’re done for the day.”

  “Because I said so,” Zander snapped, shooting Jason a dirty look. “I don’t want to be here any longer. I need to get out of this place.”

  “Okay.” Harper was confused, but she wasn’t in the mood to fight. “It was nice seeing you again, Jason. I hope everything works out.”

  “Me, too,” Jason said. “You’ll come to the opening, right? I didn’t get a chance to ask you before.”

  “Oh, well … .” Harper shifted her eyes to Jared, unsure.

  “We’d love to come.” The words were out of Jared’s mouth before he realized what he was saying – or more importantly, how he was saying it.

  Jason’s eyes widened as he swiveled. It took him a moment to sort out the relationship threads, but when he did, realization flickered in the depths of his eyes. “Of course,” he said, swallowing hard. “You’re both invited.”

  “Great,” Jared said.

  “Just don’t eat the chowder,” Zander instructed. “It smells like sardines and tastes like feet.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Five

  “Do you want to tell me what that was about?”

  Mel sat behind the steering wheel of the police cruiser and navigated away from The Landing, pointing the car in the direction of the station as he kept one eye on a fuming Jared.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jared said, adjusting the air-conditioning vents and pointing them toward his face. “I was doing my job.”

  “Uh-huh.” It was a serious situation, but Mel couldn’t stop himself from snickering. After Harper and Zander beat a hasty retreat, Jared was all business when questioning Jason. He was also icy when asking about his day. When Jason got to the part about seeing Zander and Harper at the house he was considering buying, Mel was convinced Jared was going to question him about his intentions regarding the comely blonde. Jared maintained his cool quotient, though, not breaking into a sweat until they hit the car. Then he seemed to deflate like a balloon. “You know Harper dated Jason when she was seventeen, right?”

  Jared scowled. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “It’s just that you seem to have your nose out of joint about this,” Mel said.

  “That’s ridiculous,” Jared sputtered.

  “I agree.”

  “No, it’s ridiculous because Harper is a grown woman and she dated this guy for two minutes when she was a kid,” Jared charged. “Why would that possibly bother me?”

  “I have no idea why it would bother you,” Mel said. “I wasn’t asking to get you all riled up. I was just asking to see if you wanted to talk about it. There’s no need to … do whatever it is you’re doing.”

  “Great.” Jared stared out the window as Mel drove down the familiar tree-lined main drag, happy to let the conversation drift into the ether. “Do you know what bothers me?”

  “Here we go,” Mel muttered under his breath.

  “It doesn’t bother me that she dated a guy in high school and hugged him when she saw him,” Jared said.

  “That’s good. I would hate to think you’re letting an innocent hug derange you.”

  Jared ignored the dig. “It bothers me that Zander and Harper shared a look before admitting why they were down at the restaurant in the first place.”

  “Huh.” That wasn’t what Mel was expecting at all, but now that Jared brought it up he remembered the look in question. He thought the duo were hiding some immature game they were playing – or something of the like – but now that he looked back on it, he realized Jared might have a point. “I did notice that. I thought they were just snooping around the restaurant because they were busybodies.”

  “I thought that, too,” Jared said. “Then I saw … that guy … and realized they were probably hiding something else.”

  Mel blew out a frustrated sigh. “Son, you can’t let this bother you,” he said. “You’re coming off as … a little controlling and weird.”

  Jared balked. “Controlling? I’m not controlling.”

  “I didn’t say you were controlling,” Mel clarified. “I said you were coming off that way.”

  Jared’s “harrumph” was pronounced as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I am not controlling.”

  “Jared, think about it,” Mel prodded. “Harper dated Jason for two months when they were in high school. It was one of those brief summer flings you have as a teenager. I’m sure you had a few yourself.”

  The corners of Jared’s mouth tipped up as memories flooded his brain. “I was the king of the summer fling when I was in high school. I avoided it when I got older, but back then I was quite the summer catch.”

  “Uh-huh.” Mel fought the urge to roll his eyes. The male ego was a strange thing and the last thing he wanted to do was set Jared off again. “And what do you think when you look back at those girls?”

  “I think … it was a fun time, but I can barely remember their names,” Jared admitted. “We went to the beach … and had ice cream … and there was some kissing and messing around, but in the grand scheme of things they ended as soon as they began.”

  “Okay, so knowing all that, why are you jealous of Jason and Harper?” Mel asked. “It was the same thing for them.”

  “Because Harper doesn’t have flings,” Jared replied honestly. “She spent her childhood with Zander and then she lost the one guy she dated as an adult to a horrible accident. She isolated herself other than that. I … just wasn’t expecting it.”

  “No, you thought you were special,” Mel corrected. “You are special … to her. She’s never been this happy as long as I’ve known her, and I’ve known her since she was shorter than my knee.”

  Jared pressed his lips together, embarrassment at having overreacted washing over him. “I didn’t mean to … do that.”

  “I know you didn’t,” Mel said. “You just need to chill out. Harper doesn’t care about Jason that way. It’s still fun to catch up with people.”

  “Do you think she’ll be mad when I get to her place tonight?”

  Jared’s expression was so earnest it caused Mel to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. “I think the fact that you answered her dinner invitation for the both of you will be brought up, but otherwise I’m guessing the worst thing that’s going to happen is some mild teasing.”

  Jared frowned. “Zander doesn’t understand the meaning of the word ‘mild.’”

  “Oh, I meant the mild teasing would come from Harper,” Mel said. “Zander is going to be a menace. If it’s any consolation, though, he hates Jason, too.”

  Jared brightened at the gossipy tidbit. “Really? Why?”

  “I don’t know. Something about stealing his underwear or something.”

  Jared wrinkled his nose. “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “Welcome to my world,” Mel said. “Come on. Let’s see if we can find out who our victim is, shall we?”

  “I CAN’T believe it.”

  Oliver Kennedy, a local dentist, let loose with a desolate sigh as he sank into the chair across from the couch where Jared and Mel sat later that afternoon. The medical examiner ran the fingerprints as soon as she got back to the office, and because the deceased woman had to register with the state to get her hygienist license, she got an immediate hit.

  “I can’t believe Rosie is dead,” Oliver repeated. “I … do you know … I mean … how?” His mind was jumbled as he tried to wrap his head around the disturbing news.

  “We’re still trying to figure things out,” Mel replied. “The medical examiner is doing the autopsy right now. We’re trying to figure out how Rosie ended up where she did. Do you have any id
ea why she would be in that area after dark?”

  Oliver shrugged, running his fingertips over his dark eyebrow as he considered the question. “I honestly don’t know,” he said finally. “We didn’t run in the same social circles.” He laughed hollowly. “She was young and liked to go out with friends, but that was generally a weekend thing. She never went out during the week.”

  “We only have very cursory information on her so far,” Jared said, keeping his voice calm and even as he regarded the obviously stunned man. “We know her name is Rosie Sawyer and she was twenty-seven years old. We know she grew up in Byron Center before attending college at Hillsdale and then she relocated to Marine City after graduation.”

  “That sounds right,” Oliver said. “I know she went out with her friends in the St. Clair area rather than here most of the time. They have more bars over there.”

  “The restaurant where Rosie was found isn’t open,” Mel said. “Do you know why she would be there? Did she know the owner?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Jason Thurman?”

  “That name doesn’t ring a bell,” Oliver said. “I honestly don’t know, though. This is going to sound horrible because she’s dead, but … I didn’t listen to her all that often. She gossiped with the other girls, although two of the four are older and have children so they’re not really into going out, if you know what I mean?”

  Mel nodded. “Rosie was still young and she obviously wasn’t married,” he said. “Did she date a lot?”

  “I think so,” Oliver said. “You would be better off talking to the other girls, though. They talked about men all of the time. The younger two constantly went on about how they wanted to find husbands and the older two explained how that wasn’t necessarily a good thing.”

  Mel forced a hollow chuckle for the man’s benefit. “We’re going to talk to the other workers before we go, but since you’re the boss, we thought you might have unique insight into Rosie. You hired her fresh out of college, after all.”