Ghostly Business

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Is this tunnel part of the original design of the house?” Mel queried.

  “I would have to get the blueprints to answer that definitively, but I’m going to say no,” Sorensen replied. “The tunnel doesn’t look new — if I had to guess it was added during prohibition times — but some of the upgrades are new. The railing on the stairs, for example, can’t be more than two years old and those lights I pointed out earlier only started being manufactured in the past five years or so.”

  “So this place was undergoing renovations and nobody knew about it,” Mel mused. “That’s ... interesting.”

  “Why is that interesting?” Genuine curiosity sparked in Sorenson’s eyes.

  “Because the house is a historic landmark,” Jared replied, filling in the gaps. “Any construction had to be approved by the historical commission and DDA.”

  “I see Harper has been filling you in,” Mel said approvingly.

  “She has,” Jared agreed, inclining his head toward the tunnel. “Do you know where that leads?”

  Sorenson nodded. “To the basement, where there’s an exit that lets out behind that little lot on the other side of the big fence thing.”

  “That explains how we didn’t see more people escaping,” Jared mused. “They left through the tunnel.”

  “Except for Barry,” Mel added. “He must not have realized anything was going on right away.”

  “Which is unfortunate for him.” Jared rolled his neck. “It’s too bad we didn’t think to photograph the vehicles that were out here last night. Now tracking down the people who were here is going to be next to impossible.”

  “You think one of the brothel customers killed her, huh?” Sorenson pressed. “I guess that makes sense.”

  “It’s a theory,” Jared confirmed.

  “The only one we’ve got right now,” Mel added. “I just don’t understand how Patty managed to run a brothel out of this house — and that certainly seems to be what she was doing — without anybody knowing.”

  “People knew,” Jared argued. “The kids knew. Rain told Harper it was common knowledge.”

  “Which means word should’ve trickled down to us.” Mel was adamant. “Patty was in her late seventies. How did she manage to keep this a secret?”

  It was a good question, Jared realized. It opened up the bigger picture of the investigation. “It means she probably had help.”

  Mel nodded. “So ... who was it?”

  “I don’t know. We really need those license plate numbers.”

  “I have a thought on that,” Sorenson said, catching them both by surprise. “Do you know Al Fox?”

  The name meant nothing to Jared and he shook his head. “No. Am I supposed to know who that is?”

  Mel, who had been working in Whisper Cove his entire adult life, nodded in understanding. “He was here last night. I saw him.”

  “He was here,” Sorenson agreed. “I came in at the tail end of things, but he was busy filming.”

  “I’m still confused,” Jared pressed. “Who is Al Fox?”

  “He’s a local fire aficionado,” Mel explained. “I mean ... he doesn’t like setting fires or anything. Well, at least to my knowledge he doesn’t like setting them. He likes filming them, though. He was the guy close to Harper and Zander, the one with the expensive equipment, when we were waiting for the all-clear from the fire department.”

  “Oh.” Realization dawned on Jared. “You’re saying he’s one of those guys who listens to the scanner and shows up at fire scenes so he can film the action.”

  Mel bobbed his head. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. He was here last night ... and the fire trucks probably arrived before everyone could flee that lot. The vehicles are gone now, but I’m betting some of them abandoned their cars to get home, away from the hubbub, and came back later.”

  “Which means this Fox guy might have our license plates on film,” Jared surmised. “It’s worth a shot to find out, huh?”

  Mel nodded. “Yeah. There’s just one thing.” He turned to Sorenson. “Does he still charge for his footage?”

  Sorenson nodded. “Yeah. I’ve had to pay him for access during a few investigations. He doesn’t ask for much. It’s usually two hundred bucks. He’s older and retired so I always give it to him because I figure he needs it. If it’s not in your budget, though, you can always pressure him to give it to you for free.”

  “No, we’ll pay.” Mel was decisive. “I don’t know that we’ll be able to get numbers off a video taken at night, but it’s worth a try.”

  “You might be surprised. He has really good equipment.”

  “We’ll take anything we can get right now.”

  AL FOX WAS EAGER TO SHARE HIS FOOTAGE with Mel and Jared and he invited them into his office so he could show off what he had. Mel paid the fee without complaint and Fox looked so happy that Mel didn’t regret his decision, even though the footage was dark in some places.

  “Here are the cars.” Fox pointed at the screen and froze the footage. “I can blow up the license plates and print them out for you if that helps.”

  “That helps a great deal,” Mel encouraged, narrowing his eyes as he pointed to a spot behind the vehicles. “That looks like people moving behind the trees, doesn’t it?”

  Jared squinted to see better and then nodded. “It really does. I’m assuming there’s no way to zoom in and see who we’re dealing with, huh?”

  Fox shook his head. “Sorry. Had I known that it would be necessary I would’ve brought my night-vision camera. I didn’t because I assumed it was a simple fire.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Jared reassured him. “How many cars can you get license plates from?”

  “I’m going to say at least seven,” Fox replied. “Eight if you count mine. I parked on that side. I might be able to get a few more partials, too.”

  “Just do what you can,” Mel said. “This is a lot more than we had an hour ago. We’ll take anything we can get.”

  “You’ve got it.”

  5

  Five

  Harper and Zander watched from the heavy trees to the east of Patty’s property as Jared and Mel headed off. There was another vehicle in the driveway and Harper recognized it as belonging to the county fire inspector. She hadn’t yet seen him but figured he was inside.

  “This is a bust,” she muttered as she scanned the windows on the second and third floors. “What do you remember about the inside of the house?”

  Zander, who was rapidly losing interest in their mission, simply shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t really committed it to memory. We were only allowed on the first floor.”

  “Right. We both saw the first floor last night. It didn’t look even remotely the same.”

  “I ... .” Zander broke off and worked his jaw. “You’re right.”

  “I’m always right.”

  He smirked. “I see you’re channeling me today.” He flicked her elbow in a good-natured manner and turned back to the house. “I don’t remember paying a lot of attention when we were kids. That being said, I distinctly remember an ornate parlor right off that front door. It was circular because it was in one of the turrets.”

  Harper enthusiastically bobbed her head. “I remember that, too. Did you see that last night?”

  “No.”

  “Me either.” She gnawed on her bottom lip for a beat. “I remember the house being more open. We walked into a weird hallway situation that clearly had rooms located on either side.”

  “That goes back to the brothel theory.”

  “It does. How many doors do you remember?”

  Zander cocked his head. “Four.”

  “Me, too.” She nodded slowly. “If we figure another four on each floor ... although Patty probably had a room of her own that was off limits. Still, we’re probably talking at least eight ‘business’ rooms.” She used the appropriate air quotes, causing Zander to grin.

  “You’re really uncomfortable with this conversation, aren
’t you?”

  She nodded without hesitation. “I really am. I mean ... Patty was older.”

  “Way to throw in that ‘er’ so you don’t look completely insensitive.”

  Harper ignored the jab. “What makes a woman in her seventies decide to start running a brothel?”

  “How do you know she hasn’t been doing it her entire life? I mean ... it’s possible she ran a similar business in a different location, right? Maybe her age simply forced her to move it closer to home. Like ... inside her home.”

  Honestly, it was something Harper hadn’t considered. In a weird way, though, it made sense. “Well ... crap. Who knew her well enough to confirm that for us?”

  “I don’t know.” Zander held out his hands. “Patty was kind of a loner.”

  “That was probably by design. Nobody can out you if they don’t know the real you.”

  “True story.” Zander’s eyes shifted to the house across the road from the damaged Victorian. “Wait ... didn’t Olivia Dasher used to hang out with Patty?”

  Harper cocked her head and stared in the same direction. “They’re roughly the same age, but I don’t remember them hanging out.”

  “I don’t remember it either. My mother does, though. I remember her telling stories about Olivia and Patty running around together.”

  “It can’t hurt to ask.” Harper cast another look toward the Victorian and then sighed. “We can’t risk trying to get into the house to look for Patty’s ghost until the fire inspector is gone. We might as well see if Olivia has something to offer. She’s a neighbor at the very least. What have we got to lose?”

  MEL AND JARED HIT A HOMERUN ON THE very first license plate they ran. It belonged to Mike Todd, the principal of the high school. Ironically enough, they had interviewed him weeks before when discussing the Rain situation. This time they were going in for a completely different reason.

  “Hello.” Mike looked nervous as he gestured toward the chairs across from his desk. “This is a surprise. I hope nothing is wrong with one of our students.”

  Jared leaned back and stretched his legs out in front of him to get comfortable. This was not the same man he remembered from weeks before. That individual had been concerned and yet blunt. This man was something else entirely.

  “We’re investigating the fire at Patty Porter’s house last night,” Mel replied calmly.

  “That’s terrible news,” Mike agreed. “Just ... terrible. That’s a historic home. I can’t imagine the damage that was done. Although, to be fair, I’ve never seen the inside — or really paid attention to the outside for that matter — so I have no idea if an extended effort at refurbishing the home would be warranted.”

  His voice was shriller than Jared remembered and he chalked it up to nerves. It was the only thing that made sense. The main difference between the previous visit and this one was that Mike was now a person of interest in Patty’s death ... even if he didn’t yet realize it.

  “The house was well-maintained,” Mel replied, choosing his words carefully. “I’m sure it will be fixed rather than demolished. The third floor took extensive damage, but the first floor is still relatively intact.”

  Mike’s smile was stiff. “That’s good.”

  “Yeah. We got lucky,” Jared agreed. “Someone poured accelerants going down the stairs but it failed to ignite properly. Only the third floor was truly damaged by anything other than smoke and water. Of course, they can do tremendous damage in their own right. Things could’ve been much, much worse.”

  “Well, that’s good.” Mike tapped his fingers on his desk, causing a staccato beat to fill the room. “So, is that all?”

  Mel would’ve been amused by the man’s reaction under different circumstances. Now, though, he was distinctly uncomfortable. “We were talking to some of the kids outside the house last night,” he started.

  “Actually, the kids let the information slip to other people and we’ve since followed up on it,” Jared countered. For some reason, he wanted to make sure that Mike understood at least part of the story had already been confirmed and there was no getting out of it.

  “That’s pretty much true,” Mel conceded. “We’ve done some checking since the initial report. Did you know that Patty was allegedly running a brothel out of her home?”

  The expressions that washed across Mike’s face were almost comical. His first reaction was to openly gape. His second was to bug his eyes out of his head. His third was to swallow three times in rapid succession. All that time he worked his lips like a guppy scooped out of the water and desperate for air.

  “Something tells me he knew that,” Jared drawled after a beat.

  “Something tells me you’re right,” Mel agreed, resting his hands on his knees as he regarded the principal. “Do you want to tell us about your experience with Patty?”

  Finally, after what felt like an excruciating amount of time to Jared, Mike let out a whoosh of oxygen and finally found his voice. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I can’t believe you would accuse me of doing ... well, what you’re accusing me of doing. I’m a happily married man.”

  “Uh-huh.” Mel maintained a neutral expression. “Before this goes any further, you should know that we have video of all the vehicles parked at the house last night. The first — the very first, mind you — plate we ran belonged to you. We know you were there.”

  “And we very much doubt that your wife was there with you,” Jared added dryly. “The kids told us what has been going on at that establishment.”

  “Apparently Patty was recruiting in the area schools,” Mel added. “She wanted girls who were legal but didn’t look legal.”

  “Is that what you were there for?” Jared queried.

  Mike made a strangled sound deep in his throat and then started to shake his head. Panic positively rolled off him in waves. When he did manage to form words, they were disappointing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I did not visit Patty Porter’s house.” He lowered his voice even though there were only three of them in the room. “And if you spread a different narrative, I will most certainly sue you.”

  “You can’t sue when we have proof.” Mel refused to back down. This was hardly the first time he’d been threatened while questioning a suspect. “We have your vehicle at the scene of the crime last night.”

  “And what?” Mike sputtered. “You think I set the house on fire? For what? Why would I possibly do that?”

  “To cover up Patty’s murder.”

  Mike’s eyelids started fluttering again, his features going paper white. “I ... are you telling me Patty is dead?”

  Jared had met good liars throughout his tenure as a police detective. Mike blew them all away. If he was lying, that is. It seemed to Jared that Mike appeared legitimately dumbfounded by the news, which meant he was unlikely to be their suspect. That didn’t mean he didn’t know the other individuals who were regular visitors to Patty’s love palace.

  “She’s dead,” Mel confirmed. “She was stabbed. The fire was likely set to cover up her death, but whoever dumped the accelerants didn’t understand what they were doing and failed at trying to cover up the evidence.”

  “And you think I did it?”

  “I think you were there,” Mel clarified. “I want to know what you saw. I want to interview whoever you were with.”

  “I ... wasn’t ... there.” Mike had to force out the words. “If you tell people I was, I really will sue you.”

  “Good luck with that.” Mel was unbothered by the man’s tone. “It’s certainly your prerogative to refrain from talking to us. If you do that and you’re innocent, it gives a killer more time to get away. If you do that and you’re guilty, it makes us want to go after you harder. Just be aware.”

  The set of Mike’s jaw hardened and a muscle began to work. “I believe we’ve said all there is to say here.”

  “And I believe that you’ll live to regret that, but it’s certainly up to you.” Mel forced a flat smil
e as he stood. “We’ll be in touch. You might want to get a lawyer because if we haul you in for formal questioning it will be at the police station.”

  Mike, who was already pale, went even whiter. “You’re basically threatening to perp-walk me through town.”

  “I wouldn’t phrase it that way.”

  “Well, I would.” Mike flicked his eyes to Jared. “You can’t allow him to do this. It’s not right or fair.”

  Jared held out his hands, feigning helplessness. “How you react in this situation is up to you.”

  “Just ... get out.” Mike looked positively nauseated. “Get out right now.”

  “We’re going.” Mel paused by the door. “If you change your mind and want to talk, you know where to find us.”

  OLIVIA WORE AN APRON AND HAD FLOUR on her hands when she opened the door to Harper and Zander. She wasn’t a woman who could hide her emotions so the surprise that etched across her face was obvious.

  “Hello.”

  Zander beamed at her. “Top of the morning to you.”

  Olivia’s lips twitched. “Are you two here selling something? I have no need of ghost removal.”

  “Actually we’re here to talk to you about Patty,” Harper replied, not missing a beat. “Do you have a few minutes?”

  Olivia’s expression darkened at the words, but she nodded and stepped away from the door. “Come on in. I figured somebody would be by to talk ... although I honestly didn’t expect you guys.”

  “We’re officially part of the investigative team,” Zander volunteered as he shut the door behind them.

  Harper shot him a look. “We’re not part of the investigative team at all,” she countered, firm. “We are, however, involved ... in that we’re sticking our noses where they don’t belong and trying to figure out a few things that seem odd to us.”