“Just so you know, I’m still going to have to tell Jared what I found out,” Harper warned. “I promised not to keep things from him. Since I found Rosie’s love nest in the woods and he caught Zander and me arguing about breaking in – and whether or not a child-eating tick lived inside – I kind of owe him one so I can’t keep this from him.”
“I … um … have no idea what to say about most of what you just said,” Jason said, offering a hollow laugh. “I understand you have to tell Jared. He has a job to do.”
“He’s good at it, too.”
“I’m sure he is,” Jason gritted out, annoyed that yet another conversation between Harper and himself revolved around Whisper Cove’s newest police transplant. “I guess you’re still happy with him, huh?”
Harper nodded. “Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve very sure,” Harper said, wrinkling her nose as something occurred to her. “You said you had a feeling you knew why I was here but then you had no idea who Rosie was.”
“I … um … what?” Jason was flustered.
“Why did you think I was here?” Harper asked.
“I thought you just dropped in for a visit,” Jason lied.
“I don’t believe that for a second.”
“Perhaps I thought you stopped by for a booty call,” Jason said, flashing a smile that didn’t make it all the way up to his eyes.
Harper crossed her arms over her chest. “Spill.”
Jason blew out a frustrated sigh and dragged a hand through his tousled hair. “Okay, but you’re really not going to like it.”
“That seems to be the theme of the day.”
“COMB your hair, slap on some aftershave, and get moving,” Zander announced, striding into the police station without knocking and fixing Jared with a pointed look. “Jason is making a move on your woman. Oh, you’re probably going to need your gun, too.”
Jared pressed his index finger to the file he was perusing so he wouldn’t lose his spot and shifted his eyes to Zander. “What?”
“Oh, good grief,” Mel intoned, smacking his hand against his forehead. “I can already tell this is going to be a massive meltdown in the making.”
Zander ignored his uncle. “Jason Thurman is a murderer and he’s moving in on your woman even as we speak.”
Jared heaved out a heavy sigh. “I see. I’m not sure which one of those things I should handle first, but I’m leaning toward the murderer part. Let’s start there.”
“Harper and I had that job at the library,” Zander said. “Do you remember?”
“Miss Daisy? Yeah.”
“Miss Swoosie,” Zander corrected. “She was a real trip, too. Harper ended up soaking wet and Donna was mad as the dickens. It took us two hours to get her, but things worked out in the end … and I didn’t even get dirty.”
“Bully for you,” Jared said, tamping down his irritation. “How does that turn Jason into a murderer?”
“While we were in the basement – Harper had to put the dreamcatcher on top of a toilet to catch Miss Swoosie because she was floating above the tank … it was so cool – Harper noticed that there were some books on a library cart,” Zander explained.
“Zander, if this story doesn’t get to the point in exactly thirty seconds I’m going to make sure you get dirty,” Jared warned.
“Fine.” Zander’s eyes flashed. “Donna told Harper the books were for a woman who was looking to snag a man with money. Harper described Rosie and Donna said she was the woman who wanted them.”
“Okay.” Jared was still confused. “So Rosie was getting self-help books from the library. That’s an interesting tidbit, but I’m still confused how it makes Jason a murderer.”
“I’m getting there!”
“Not fast enough,” Jared shot back. “I would like to finish this paperwork before it gets dark tonight so I can spend some time with Harper.”
“You won’t be able to do it at this rate because she’ll be dead!”
“Zander!”
“Okay.” Mel hopped to his feet and held his hands up to silence the squabbling men. “Zander, tell us what’s going on and do it in as few words as possible. If you drag this out, I can’t be held responsible for what happens to you. I’m pretty sure Jared can take me.”
“Donna said that she felt sorry for Rosie because her priorities were all screwed up but then mentioned she saw her a few days ago and that gave her hope Rosie would get over herself,” Zander said. “She said she saw Rosie with Jason.”
“Really?” Jared rubbed the tender spot between his eyebrows. “Shouldn’t Jason have mentioned that the day we saw the body?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” Zander snapped.
“Unless he doesn’t know,” Mel said. “The body was covered for certain and I’m pretty sure it was already gone by the time he showed up. We haven’t released the name.”
“Yeah, but everyone knows it,” Jared argued.
“Only the people we surround ourselves with,” Mel pointed out. “There’s a very real possibility Jason had no idea who was under that deck.”
“Or there’s a very real possibility he knew the area and hid the body there because the odds of someone finding it were slim,” Jared said.
“I guess that’s a possibility, too,” Mel conceded.
The two men lapsed into silence as they considered the scenario. It was too much for Zander to bear. “What about Harper?”
“What about her?” Jared asked, annoyed. “Why isn’t she with you? I would think she’d come with you to tell me this. Unless … is she still wet? You said she got wet at your job.”
“She’s not with me because she made up a lie about walking back out to the cottage to find you.”
“Why would she do that?” Jared asked.
Instead of answering, Zander cocked a challenging eyebrow. It took a few moments for things to slip into place for Jared.
“Son of a … .”
“There it is,” Zander intoned. “Now, come on. Either Harper is in danger of being murdered or Mr. Butthead is trying to get to first base. Both of those scenarios are terrible in my book.”
“Let’s go,” Jared said, clenching his jaw. “I’m going to kill her.”
“YOU SAID what to Jared?”
Harper’s face was an immovable mask as she locked gazes with Jason, causing him to swallow hard.
“I really thought he would’ve told you what I said.” Jason gripped his hands together on top of the table. “I was kind of counting on it, in fact.”
“Because you thought I would get angry at him for questioning my loyalty and come and talk to you,” Harper surmised.
“Pretty much,” Jason admitted. “I need you to know that I was up front with him. I told him I was interested in you and I had plans to ask you out.”
“And I told you that I was with Jared and I was happy in my relationship.”
“Yeah, but … you haven’t been together very long,” Jason argued. “I thought that meant I had a chance.”
“You don’t,” Harper snapped, shaking her head. “I can’t believe you said that to him.”
“I can’t believe he didn’t tell you,” Jason lamented. “I thought for sure that would be the first thing out of his mouth when you guys got home.”
“Just out of curiosity’s sake, what did Jared say to you when you told him you were going to go after me?” Harper felt guilty for asking the question given Jared’s blind faith in their relationship but she was dying to know.
“He said that he believed your relationship was strong and that you guys were happy,” Jason answered. “He said that he had every intention of keeping you happy and wouldn’t turn himself into some controlling jerk to hold onto you.”
Harper’s chest warmed at the admission. “That sounds like him.”
“Yeah, he’s practically perfect,” Jason deadpanned. “I hate him for that, by the way.”
“Jason, I’m sorry that you’re
upset, but … no, you know what? I’m not sorry,” Harper said. “I spent a lot of time alone before Jared showed up and I’m not apologizing for having my life exactly how I want it for the first time ever.
“It’s not anyone’s fault that things happened the way they did,” she continued. “Some things are beyond planning. I knew the second I saw Jared there was something different about him, though. I felt him inside of me that very first day.”
“Was it the muscles?”
“The dimples.”
Jason scowled.
“It was also his heart,” Harper added, opting for honesty. “Jared is extremely important to me. I don’t want anyone but him.”
“I’m sorry,” Jason said. “The last thing I wanted was to make you uncomfortable or ruin your happiness. I just thought … .”
“I know what you thought and it’s truly flattering,” Harper said. “I also know that we can never be anything other than friends.”
“Because of Jared?”
“Because of me,” Harper replied. “I look at you and see fond memories. I look at Jared and hopefully see my future.”
“Well, I’m happy for you,” Jason said. His tone didn’t match the words and caused Harper to arch a dubious eyebrow. “Okay, I’m mostly happy for you. Hey, I need twenty-four hours to feel sorry for myself. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”
“It’s not too much to ask,” Harper conceded. “I … .” She broke off, her eyes darting to the door as it flew open to allow Jared entrance. She was taken aback by his mussed hair and wild eyes. “What the … ?”
“You’re under arrest,” Jared barked, his chest heaving.
“On what charges?” Jason asked, legitimately alarmed.
“Stealing our woman!” Zander announced, racing into the restaurant behind Jared. “We don’t take kindly to people like you around these here parts.”
“I’m just here to watch the show,” Mel said dryly, trailing his nephew inside.
Harper didn’t have to ask questions to know how things got out of hand so quickly. “You’re in big trouble, Zander!”
Fourteen
“What’s going on?”
Harper’s gaze bounced between faces as she internally cringed at Jared’s flushed features and avoided eye contact with Mel out of fear he would burst out laughing and make matters worse.
“I told Jared about Jason being a murderer,” Zander announced. “He insisted on coming over at once to arrest this … thunder stealer.”
“Thunder stealer?” Jason made a face as he kept his hands flat on the table. Harper was convinced he was worried Jared would shoot him even though the police officer didn’t have a weapon in his hand. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, you know what it means,” Zander hissed.
“I really don’t.”
Harper rolled her eyes until they landed on Jared. “What are you doing here?”
“What are you doing here?” Jared shot back, annoyed. “This guy was dating the victim and failed to tell us and instead of sharing the information you gleaned at the library with me you couldn’t run over here fast enough.”
“That is not what happened,” Harper argued.
“Zander said you made up a lie about walking back to the cottage just so you could get rid of him,” Jared challenged.
“Okay, that happened,” Harper conceded. “I just didn’t want to bring Zander with me because … well … you know why.”
“Thunder stealer,” Zander whispered, shooting eye daggers in Jason’s direction.
“That doesn’t explain why you didn’t come to me,” Jared pointed out. “That should’ve been the first thing you did.”
“I considered it, but I wanted to talk to Jason first,” Harper explained. “I was worried that he would be the prime suspect no matter what – even if there was a reasonable explanation for why he was with Rosie. I wanted as much of the information as possible before I came to you.”
“I see,” Jared said, licking his lips as he kept a wary watch on Jason. “And how did that go?”
“Are you really interested or would you rather stare holes in Jason’s head?”
“Oh, let him stare holes,” Jason said. “I would rather him stare holes than shoot them. I’m innocent, by the way.”
“He is,” Harper confirmed. “Rosie came up to him outside of the restaurant and asked if he had a private room for dates. They weren’t on a date themselves.”
“I explained we didn’t have anything like that and she was really disappointed,” Jason volunteered. “She said that she wanted a romantic evening out, but she didn’t want people to stare.”
“Did she say why people would stare?” Mel asked curiously.
“No, and I didn’t ask,” Jason replied. “I didn’t think it was any of my business.”
“Oh, he’s lying,” Zander said. “No one could listen to a question like that from a woman and not be interested in whatever clandestine affair she had going on. It goes against human nature itself.”
“Perhaps it goes against your human nature, but it doesn’t go against mine,” Jason argued. “I really didn’t care. I’ve been busy with a million restaurant things and caring about why a strange woman wanted a private room wasn’t on top of my to-do list.”
“Oh, thunder stealer, thou art tricky,” Zander intoned.
“What is this ‘thunder stealer’ stuff?” Jason asked, risking a gaze in Harper’s direction. “Do you know?”
“I do, but I really can’t explain it,” Harper replied. “You two need to hash that stuff out on your own.”
“Oh, I can’t wait.” Jason’s tongue practically dripped sarcasm as he locked gazes with Zander. “Do you have something you want to tell me?”
“Yeah,” Zander said. “Your shoes are ugly and your guitar playing isn’t all that.”
“Okay, we’re getting off topic,” Mel said, resting his hand on Zander’s arm and shaking his head as he positioned himself between the two men. “Rosie didn’t mention who she wanted to have dinner with. Did she mention anything else to you?”
“No,” Jason answered. “When I explained about the room she asked about the menu and we talked about how hard it is to open a new restaurant. The entire conversation lasted fifteen minutes. I didn’t even get her name and I had no idea it was the same woman Harper found under the deck until she came here asking questions. I didn’t see the body that day.”
“I told you,” Mel said.
“Well, great,” Jared muttered, his cheeks burning as mortification took over. “I … um … .”
“Don’t worry about it,” Jason said, taking pity on the fumbling cop. “I don’t blame you for thinking the worst of me. I didn’t exactly endear myself to you last night.”
“What does that mean?” Mel asked, genuinely curious.
“Nothing,” Jared replied hurriedly.
Harper crossed her arms over her chest as she stared her boyfriend down. “Nothing?” She already knew the gist of the conversation, but it irked her that Jared refused to discuss it. “Really?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Jared said. “I … it’s not important.”
“I still want to know,” Mel said.
“I’ll tell you later,” Zander offered.
“You stay out of this,” Harper snapped, wagging a finger in Zander’s direction. “You’re in so much trouble when we get home you’re going to have to invent a new word for it.”
“How is this my fault?” Zander’s voice hopped as he put his faux-innocent act on display. “I was looking out for my best friend … the liar.”
“I’m going to beat the crap out of you when we get home.”
“Whatever.” Zander didn’t look worried in the slightest. “If he’s not a murderer can I go? I need to moisturize tonight after all the walking in the sun Harper made me do this afternoon. I’m going to get wrinkles.”
“I think you should definitely go,” Mel said.
“Great.” Zander didn’t
even cast a glance over his shoulder – or an offhand apology in Jason’s direction – when he left. “I’ll leave a fresh pie on the counter for you, Harp.”
When she didn’t immediately respond he frowned.
“I’m also going to lock my door and leave you and the pie alone together so you can work out your anger without me around muddling the process,” Zander said. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“I can’t wait,” Harper spat.
Once Zander was gone the room fell into uncomfortable silence. Finally Mel cleared his throat and drew three sets of eyes to him. “I’m sorry for any confusion, Jason. We might have more questions later, but for now I think it’s fair to say you’re not under arrest.”
“That’s a relief,” Jason said, chuckling lightly. “I don’t think I would do well in prison.”
“I’m sorry,” Jared said stiffly. “I had no right to barge in here like that.”
“You thought Harper might be in trouble,” Jason said. “I don’t blame you.”
“It was still wrong,” Jared said. “You have my sincere apology.”
“Thank you.” Jason’s expression was unreadable as he watched Jared walk toward the door. Harper’s unhappy countenance could be read from a mile away, though.
“Where are you going?” Harper asked, hurrying after Jared. “Are you just leaving?”
Jared briefly locked gazes with his blonde, guilt and shame reflected in his eyes as his stomach revolted and threatened to betray him in front of an audience. “I have work to do.”
“That’s it?”
“I have work to do,” Jared repeated.
“Okay,” Harper said, swallowing hard as her heart lurched. “Will I see you later?”
“I’ll probably be pretty late,” Jared said. “I’ll go back to my place tonight and … um … call you tomorrow.”
That was it. He didn’t offer her a kiss … not a hug … not even a flirty lopsided grin. He just walked out the door and headed toward the parking lot.
Harper was at a total loss. “What just happened here?”
JARED stayed at the office until after dark, only dragging himself home when his eyes started to cross and he couldn’t look at another file. His heart was heavy as he let himself into his quiet house and he hated how empty the abode felt. He’d gotten used to the warmth at Harper’s place and found he missed it terribly when forced to spend the night alone. He wasn’t technically alone. His tenant Jeff Clarke lived in the room above his garage, but the lights were already out and Jared knew the man went to bed long before ten so he could rise early and get to mowing before the uncomfortable heat settled in on the day.
Ghostly Worries (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 4) Page 11