“I wish I could say I was being altruistic, but I did that for monetary reasons,” Oliver explained. “I always have two experienced workers and two newer ones. That way the older ones can teach the newer ones the ropes. If I had four experienced ones, my bottom line would take quite the hit.”
“How does that work?” Jared asked. “Do the newer ones leave after training?”
“It seems to be a five-year rotation,” Oliver confirmed. “The new ones come in and learn from the experienced hygienists and then they become experienced hygienists in their own right but leave because my older ones aren’t going anywhere. That makes it so the younger ones get a lot of training but then cycle out so they can make more money at a bigger operation.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Jared said. “So you have turnover but it’s not extremely often. That’s what you’re saying, right?”
“Pretty much,” Oliver said. “In fact, Rosie was about due to cycle out. She started making noise about two months ago or so and I knew she was looking for a new job.”
“Did you take that personally?”
Oliver shook his head. “I don’t think that is the type of thing you can take personally,” he replied. “This is a job. I like my employees, don’t get me wrong, but that’s the nature of the beast.”
“Well, if you can think of something else, please gives us a call,” Mel said, extending a business card. “We’ll interview the other workers quickly and be out of your hair.”
“Sure,” Oliver said. “If there’s anything else you need, don’t hesitate to stop by or call. I hope you catch whoever did this.”
“What makes you think someone did this?” Jared asked. “We didn’t say how she died.”
“Because the police wouldn’t be here asking questions if it was an accident,” Oliver answered. “If you need anything else, you know where to find me.”
“SHE WAS a nice girl, but she didn’t really confide in me or anything.”
Cecilia Bowen twirled her hair around her finger as she answered Mel and Jared’s questions. The two police officers could tell the forty-something woman was anxious to leave and yet she patiently answered everything they threw at her.
“How long have you been here?”
“About seventeen years,” Cecilia replied. “Rosie came in about five years ago, at least I think that’s when she came in.”
“That coincides with what Mr. Kennedy told us,” Jared said. “Can you tell us anything about Rosie?”
Cecilia shrugged. “She seemed like a normal woman,” she said. “She was young. I mean she was twenty-seven and all but she acted young, if you know what I mean?”
“She was immature?” Mel prodded.
“She just liked going out a lot,” Cecelia replied. “That’s one of those things that you eventually get over. I think you have to find someone to settle down with before that can happen, though.”
“Do you think Rosie wanted to settle down?” Jared asked.
“She was definitely on the prowl, but I’m not sure how settled she wanted to get,” Cecelia said.
“I’m not sure what that means,” Mel said.
“She liked men and she was looking for a rich one to take care of her,” Cecelia said. “It seems rotten to say with her being dead and all, but she was more interested in a fat wallet than a big heart.”
“What makes you say that?” Jared asked.
“She didn’t understand why I was with my husband,” Cecelia replied. “She thought I was stupid for settling down with a man who earned less than a hundred grand a year and having kids to take care of. She kept saying she was going to find a man with money and hire someone to take care of her kids.”
Mel and Jared exchanged a quick look.
“Was she dating anyone?”
“No one that I know of,” Cecelia replied. “We weren’t exactly close. We didn’t dislike each other or anything, but we didn’t have anything in common. I like cooking and needlepoint and she liked margaritas and men.”
“Do you remember her saying anything about the men she dated?” Jared asked.
“Just that she wouldn’t settle for anyone who didn’t have a boat,” Cecelia replied. “Other than that … I’m sorry she’s dead.”
“Okay, thanks. We’ll be in touch if we have any other questions.”
Jared and Mel waited for Cecelia to depart the building before heading toward their car in the parking lot.
“What do you think?” Mel asked when he was certain no one was within earshot.
“I think that it sounds as if Rosie wanted a rich guy and perhaps she found one and got in over her head,” Jared replied.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking, too,” Mel said. “Where to now?”
Jared shrugged. “I think we need to look closer at her past before we can focus on her present. There might be clues there we’re missing.”
“That’s as good a place to start as any,” Mel said. “Let’s get to it.”
Six
Jared was exhausted when he let himself into Harper’s house that night. The house was sparingly lit and Zander wasn’t loitering around the communal living areas, but he found Harper in a tank top and cotton shorts on her bed when he entered.
“Hey.”
Harper lifted her face, which was bare of makeup as she readied herself to settle down for the night, and smiled. “I wasn’t sure you would make it. You’re late.”
“Did you think I was going to leave you hanging?” Jared kicked off his shoes and stripped off his shirt before reaching for the button to his pants. “I would’ve called. I considered calling when I knew I was going to be late, but I had no idea I would be this late.”
“It’s okay,” Harper said, resting her hands on an open hardcover book on her lap. “I was just worried you were going to be exhausted when you got here. I put a plate with pasta salad and a sandwich in the refrigerator for you.”
Jared dropped his pants onto the floor and stepped out of them, revealing a festive pair of boxer shorts with turtles adorning them as he showed off his impressive body. “You are the best thing that ever happened to me,” he said, dropping a kiss on her cheek. “That sounds really good. I thought about picking something up on my way here, but I was too tired.”
“Zander made the pasta salad, but I made the sandwich.”
“So I’ll definitely like the sandwich more,” Jared teased, narrowing his eyes as he glanced at the book. It didn’t look like a normal fiction novel. “What are you reading?”
“It’s my high school yearbook,” Harper said, flashing a rueful smile. “Seeing Jason and listening to Zander complain about him stealing his thunder kind of made me nostalgic.”
“Oh, is that what he stole?” Jared made a face. “Mel said Zander hated him because he stole his underwear. It made absolutely no sense. I couldn’t figure out what he was talking about.”
“That was Darrin Bonkowski,” Harper said. “He stole Zander’s underwear after gym one day.”
“Well, I’m not sure if that makes things better or worse,” Jared said, sitting on the bed next to Harper. “I thought Jason might’ve stolen Zander’s underwear and that was weird enough. Hearing it really happened is confusing.”
“Yeah, Whisper Cove is lovely in many ways, but it’s still a small town,” Harper said. “Don’t worry about Darrin. I stole his underwear and paid him back.”
Jared arched an eyebrow. “How did you do that?”
“I convinced him I wanted to go skinny dipping down at the hidden cove by the lake and he got naked first,” Harper replied, not missing a beat. “He went into the water while I pretended I was so drunk it took me forever to get out of my clothes. Then I stole his and left him there.”
Jared barked out a laugh, delighted. “How did he get home?”
“He walked.”
“That’s a tough dilemma at that age,” Jared said. “I might’ve moved into the woods and become a crazy hermit guy with a beard rather than show up home
in the middle of the night with no clothes.”
“Yes, he was grounded for a month and complained to anyone who would listen about how I was a tease and someone should teach me a lesson.”
Jared frowned. He didn’t like how that sounded one bit. “What kind of lesson?”
Harper shrugged. “He didn’t really say. It doesn’t matter. He was too afraid to come after me. I think Mel might’ve threatened him, but I can’t be sure.”
Jared rubbed his thumb against Harper’s cheek, marveling at her soft skin. “So you were a complete and total badass in high school, huh?”
“Not if you ask Jenny,” Harper replied. “She reminded me that Zander and I had a club only we were members of and that the other kids in our school called us band geeks without instruments.”
Her expression was so serious Jared didn’t want to laugh. Ultimately he couldn’t help himself. “Oh, Heart, that is just … too cute.” He pressed an amused kiss to her cheek. “Show me photos.”
Harper flipped the yearbook open and pointed toward the photograph she’d been staring at when Jared entered. “That was us at lunch one day.”
Jared grinned when he saw the blonde beauty with the bright smile and geeky T-shirt. She had her head resting against Zander’s shoulder and whatever he whispered had her in stitches. “Is that a ‘bookworm’ shirt?”
Harper pressed her lips together. “Maybe.”
“You’re so stinking cute,” Jared muttered, running his finger over the two-dimensional photograph. “I wish I would’ve known you back then.”
“Oh, puh-leez,” Harper chuckled. “You were popular in high school. I was … that.”
“I think that is the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“You know I wasn’t technically legal there, right?” Harper’s eyes lit up as Jared shook his head.
“You’re still adorable,” Jared said. “The moment I saw you I thought that you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen in real life.”
“You probably shouldn’t have added the qualifier.”
“Probably not,” Jared agreed, resting his temple against hers. “Show me some others.”
“Are you sure? This must be boring for you.”
“Seeing you is never boring,” Jared said. “Show me some more photographs.”
Harper flipped through the book, pointing out a few photographs for Jared’s amusement. Zander dressed up in his Phantom of the Opera costume for the senior showcase was a favorite, as was Harper in her cap and gown before graduation. Near the end of the yearbook Jared stilled Harper’s flipping hands. “Is that Jason?”
“Where?” Harper followed Jared’s pointed finger. “Yeah. I didn’t even realize he was in that photo. This is my senior yearbook, but that’s a photo from near the end of junior year. They must’ve made a mistake.”
“That’s you next to him,” Jared said, shifting so he could study Harper’s profile. “You look happy.”
“Oh, geez, I knew this was going to come up,” Harper muttered. “I’m a big fan of the way you accepted an invitation to the restaurant opening for both of us, by the way.”
Jared pressed the palm of his hand to his forehead. “I knew you were going to bring that up, too,” he said. “I apologize for doing that. I don’t know what got into me. It was … wrong.”
“It was kind of hot,” Harper said, flashing a smile to make him feel better. “It’s okay. There’s no reason to be jealous of Jason, though. We dated for less than two months. Then he took off to Interlochen and I cried for two weeks. I moved on pretty quickly. Ten years later I found you.”
Jared laughed as he cupped the back of her head and exchanged a sweet kiss with her. “I just … you never mentioned him. It threw me off and you and Zander exchanged that look before admitting why you were down at the restaurant. This is all new so I kind of got worked up when I shouldn’t have.”
“Look?” Harper wrinkled her nose. “I can’t believe you noticed that.”
“I’m an observant guy.”
“The look was because we were in the middle of a mini fight when it happened,” Harper said. “Zander has his nose out of joint and thinks Jason came back in town to be his arch nemesis.”
“Harper, you don’t owe me an explanation,” Jared said. “I just … got jealous. I didn’t mean it and I’m embarrassed.”
“Well, I guess it’s good you’re hot,” Harper said, rubbing her nose against his cheek. “If you were ugly I wouldn’t forgive you. You’re just handsome enough to skate on your looks, though.”
Jared poked Harper’s ribs and he swiftly grabbed her around the waist and wrestled her to the bed, scorching her with a hot kiss as he knocked the yearbook to the floor. “I’ll show you how hot I can be.”
“What about your dinner?”
“After,” Jared replied. “I have priorities, Heart, and you’re number one on the list.”
“That was a really good answer. You don’t even have to steal my underwear. I’m going to give them to you.”
THE KITCHEN was quiet when Jared made his way into the room shortly before midnight. He didn’t want to get out of bed – mostly because Harper looked like an angel and he didn’t want to risk waking her – but his stomach refused to quit growling. He pulled up short when he found Zander leaning against the counter and eating a cookie.
“You scared the crap out of me,” Jared hissed. “Make a noise or something.”
“Sorry. I’ll chew louder next time.”
Jared arched an eyebrow as he opened the refrigerator and snagged Harper’s promised plate of food. His stomach growled in appreciation as he popped a tomato from the pasta salad into his mouth and took the opportunity to look Zander up and down. Thanks to the limited light emanating from the fixture above the sink they weren’t completely in the dark. “You look crabby.”
“I’m not crabby,” Zander shot back. “I’m … contemplating my next move.”
“Would your next move happen to be against Jason Thurman?”
“It would indeed.” Zander bobbed his head up and down. “Do you want to join my mighty avengers team and bring Jason to his knees?”
“Why would I want to do that?”
“He’s after our woman.”
Jared stilled. He wasn’t lying when he admitted to feeling ridiculous for letting his jealousy get away with him earlier. He also refused to ignore Jason should the man set his sights on Harper, which he figured was a very real possibility. He wasn’t going to overreact and make a fool of himself, though. “What makes you say that?”
“Oh, you’re playing it cool, but I see your mind working,” Zander said, wagging a finger. “You want in on the team. Just for the record, I am the Captain America of our group. I look great in skintight rubber. You can be … the Hulk.”
Jared frowned. “I’m not joining your crusade against this guy,” he said. “I have no reason to dislike him … so … I refuse to dislike him just because I might be a little insecure.”
“Wow, it’s great that you admitted that,” Zander said. “That doesn’t change the fact that he’s after our woman.”
“I would argue with your use of the word ‘our,’ but I can’t so I’m going to let it go,” Jared said. “What makes you think he’s after Harper?”
“Oh, you should’ve seen the look on his face when he saw her,” Zander said, making a disgusted expression at the memory. “He schmoozed her and told her this outrageous story about wanting to give up Interlochen because he had a bad case of puppy love.”
“That’s probably true,” Jared said. “When you’re young and dumb you think everything is the end of the world. You think you’re going to marry your prom date. How often does that happen?”
“In my case … um … never,” Zander replied. “Harper was my prom date.”
“Of course she was.” Jared ran his tongue over his teeth. “Why do you hate Jason so much? Harper said he stole your thunder – and Mel said he stole your underwear – but I want to hear what
you have to say.”
“He didn’t steal my underwear,” Zander protested. “That was another guy.”
“Harper set me straight on that.”
“It’s like my own uncle doesn’t even listen to me,” Zander grumbled.
“Zander, I’m hungry and tired so either spill your guts or I’m going to bed,” Jared warned.
“Let’s just say he always showed up and tried to make me look bad whenever he could and leave it at that,” Zander said. “He didn’t like how close Harp and I were back then and he’s not going to like how close the three of us are now.”
“And again we’re in a triangle relationship,” Jared said.
“Get used to it.”
“I’m working on it,” Jared said. “Did Harper flirt back with Jason?” He hoped the question didn’t come off too controlling, although he desperately wanted to know.
“No, of course not,” Zander scoffed. “She was happy to see him, don’t get me wrong, but she was oblivious to the way he looked at her. She’s always oblivious to that stuff. The only time she’s ever looked back is you.”
“And Quinn,” Jared added.
“She kind of looked back at Quinn,” Zander clarified. “You need to remember that Quinn died so he’s been built up in a lot of people’s memories. They weren’t going to survive as a couple if he … well … survived. She never had a chance to cut him loose so his death is bigger in her head than it should be.”
“I’m not sure you can make a death bigger than it should be.”
“Man, you are a pain in the keister tonight,” Zander snapped. “Are you seriously telling me you’re not worried about this guy moving in on Harper?”
“If I thought Harper was in danger, I would be upset and say something,” Jared said. “I trust her, though. We’re happy. I am not, however, making a complete and total jerk of myself and drawing a line in the sand with that guy because they had a high school romance. That’s just … ridiculous.”
Zander narrowed his eyes to dangerous slits. “Fine. I’ll do it myself.”
“Zander, don’t make things worse,” Jared chided. “Harper loves you dearly and no one can steal your thunder where she’s concerned. This guy is back in town and opening a restaurant. Just because he and Harper reminisced does not mean he’s interested in her.”
Ghostly Worries (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 4) Page 5