“I think you should definitely ask him out,” Harper said. “That way you can go on two dates and then break up with him for whatever nonsensical reason you come up with this time and we can go back to a few of the other restaurants in town.”
“I do not have nonsensical reasons for dumping people,” Zander argued. “My reasons are always sound.”
“You broke up with the guy from the garage because he smelled like gasoline,” Harper said. “What was his name again? Chet, right? You should’ve known he would smell like gasoline because he worked in a garage. That relationship was doomed from the start. Who names their kid Chet?”
“That was a family name,” Zander said. “I didn’t realize the smell of gasoline gave me a headache until it was too late. That was completely out of my control.”
“What about the guy you met at the gym?” Harper asked.
“Don’t bring him up.”
Harper ignored Zander’s admonishment. “You cruised him for a week straight,” she said. “You even joined a water aerobics class because he was in it. You worked overtime to get him and what happened then?”
“He shaved his armpits,” Zander argued. “I like a muscular guy and I like that whole metrosexual thing. I like a little manscaping. I don’t trust anyone who shaves their armpits, though. That’s just … wrong.”
Harper pursed her lips to keep from laughing out loud. This was a fun game. “How about the guy you picked up at the deli?”
“Oh, I knew you were going to go there,” Zander muttered.
“You were in love with him from afar because he always picked fresh produce and you were on a health kick,” Harper said. “Why did that relationship last for exactly three dates again? Oh, that’s right, you can’t trust anyone who is vegan because if a person dislikes cheese that’s the same thing as disliking America.”
“I’m a patriot at heart,” Zander sniffed.
Harper loved her best friend beyond reason, but his fickle nature irked her on the best of days. Two straight weeks of eating the same lunch on the same patio was getting old. She wanted Zander to ask the waiter out so he could dump him before the following week. She wasn’t having clam chowder for lunch again – not until the fall when soup was a welcome meal.
“Ask him out,” Harper prodded. “We both know you want to. Heck, he knows you want to. If you do it now we can go back to that place that has that great Creole shrimp dish next week. I’ve been dreaming about that.”
“You need to find a man so you can dream about something spicier than food,” Zander said, making a face. “Seriously, why don’t you go out with Eric? He loves you. He worships the ground you walk on.”
“There’s no sexual chemistry there,” Harper replied. “I’m not attracted to him. He’s a nice guy. He’s too young for me, though.”
“He’s three years younger than you,” Zander countered. “It’s not like you’re Mrs. Robinson … or that creepy teacher who got knocked up by her student twice and then ended up marrying him.”
“Thanks for that visual,” Harper said, shaking her head. “I’m not really in a place where a relationship makes sense right now. You know that.”
“I think you’re scared to be in a relationship because you’re only attracted to non-believers and they all think you’re strange when you admit you can see and talk to ghosts.”
“I … you’re a pain,” Harper muttered.
“And yet you love me anyway,” Zander said. “Eat your soup. Once you’re done I’ll hit on the waiter and we can get going. I’m ready to blow this popsicle stand. Yes, I heard the double entendre the second I said it. There’s no reason to comment on it.”
HARPER busied herself on the beach while Zander prettied himself up in the bathroom, visions of getting busy with the waiter practically lifting like thought bubbles from his head.
Spring in Michigan was one of her favorite times of the year. The trees were budding, the grass was greening, and the air smelled of possibilities. Zander often fell under the spring’s thrall when it came to his dating life. That wasn’t a surprise. He liked the idea of falling in love more than the reality of having to put up with someone else’s quirks. Since Zander and Harper shared a house, Harper was often relieved Zander was incapable of settling down. While she knew they couldn’t live together forever, the idea of separating from her strongest ally was troubling.
It wasn’t something she was going to have to worry about today – or tomorrow even. It was inevitable, though. Sooner or later one or both of them was going to find someone to settle down with. Given Harper’s lack of a dating life, odds were that Zander was the one who was destined to be hit by the love truck first.
Harper was so lost in thought she didn’t notice she wasn’t alone until she caught a hint of movement out of the corner of her eye. She snapped her head up, an apology on her lips in case she was blocking someone from their path to the water, but the words died on her lips when she saw the ghost.
“Hi,” Harper said, sighing loudly when she saw the auburn-haired woman. She was dressed in simple jeans and a T-shirt, and her peaches-and-cream complexion glowed with the appearance of life even as her ethereal body was proof of death. “What are you doing here?”
The ghost widened her eyes in surprise. Harper had no idea how long she’d been wandering aimlessly, but it was clear she didn’t think anyone could see her.
“You’re dead,” Harper said, nodding sadly. “I … do you know how you died?”
The woman opened her mouth as if to respond and then snapped it shut, her ghostly hand flying to her lips as she absorbed Harper’s words.
“It’s okay,” Harper said softly. “I want to help you. If you tell me what happened I might be able to help you move on.”
The ghost remained rooted to her spot, immovable and silent as she tried to come to terms with her new reality. Harper realized the woman might be laboring under the delusion this wasn’t really happening to her – or she was dreaming. That meant her death was fresh … and possibly violent.
“Who are you talking to?” Zander asked, bounding to Harper’s side as he slipped a folded sheet of paper into his pocket. “Mission accomplished, by the way. I got his number and a promise of a good time.”
“There’s a ghost here,” Harper said, ignoring Zander’s side jaunt to La-La Land. “I think she’s new.”
“So send her on her way,” Zander suggested. “Do you want to get some ice cream? I know it’s early in the season, but ice cream sounds good. I’ll have to work it off at the gym later, but something tells me I’m up for the challenge.”
Harper kept her eyes fixed on the distraught woman. “I think she’s really new,” she said. “Like … a few hours new.”
“That’s horrible,” Zander said, his compassion on spring break. “Send her to your favorite hereafter and let’s go.”
“She’s young, Zander.”
“So? She probably died in an accident or something.” Harper’s earnest nature and determination to help the dead proved both lucrative and annoying to Zander on a daily basis. He loved her, but he often wanted to shake her. “Where did we come down on the ice cream decision?”
The ghost’s gaze bounced between Zander and Harper a moment, her face boasting a myriad of emotions that ranged from anger, hurt, and worry to hope, relief, and calm. Then, without saying a word, she turned on her filmy heel and moved away from Harper, fixing her course in the direction of the water line.
“We have to follow her,” Harper said. “I think that’s what she wants us to do.”
“What about the ice cream?”
“I’ll buy a pint of Ben & Jerry’s on my way home tonight,” Harper said, wrapping her fingers around Zander’s wrist and tugging him behind her. “Come on.”
“But … .”
“Come on!”
Zander knew better than to argue with her when she got in one of her moods. Twenty-three years together had taught him she couldn’t be talked down from a virtual ledge. Sh
e always had to jump.
Zander and Harper were almost to the pier when the swirling police lights finally registered. Harper lifted her eyes to scan the beach, and when she shifted her attention back to Zander they both knew what they were dealing with.
“Oh, crap,” Zander complained. “They’re here for her dead body, aren’t they?”
“I think so,” Harper said. “What are the odds someone else died here and she led us to another body?”
“How can this happen on my happy day?” Zander groused. “I’m not sure how, but I’m totally blaming you for this.”
Four
“Who is that?” Jared asked, lifting his blue eyes from the industrious medical examiner and focusing on the couple standing at the edge of the crime scene.
Mel followed Jared’s gaze, smirking when his eyes landed on Harper and Zander. “Oh, well, I shouldn’t be surprised,” he said. “Where there’s death there’s Harper Harlow.”
“What does that mean?” Jared asked, confused.
Mel didn’t answer. Instead he left his partner to oversee the medical examiner’s final task – loading the body into a bag – and trudged toward the familiar faces. “Kids,” Mel said, teasing the duo affectionately.
“What’s going on, Uncle Mel?” Zander asked. “Did someone drown?”
“We don’t know yet,” Mel said. “A morning walker discovered a body on the beach. We’re trying to ascertain how she died.”
“She probably got drunk and decided to take a swim,” Zander said.
“That’s what I said.” Mel grinned at his sister’s son. “Great minds think alike, huh?”
“It must be in the genes,” Zander agreed.
“Why are you two here?” Mel asked, shifting his gaze to Harlow. “Are you ghost busting?”
While Mel was one of Zander’s favorite uncles he was also of the mind that Zander and Harlow were basically performing theater instead of working when they rid property of ghosts. Because he loved his uncle, Zander ignored the digs. Harper didn’t have such an easy time with it.
“Who is the woman who died?”
“Who told you it was a woman?” Jared appeared behind Mel, his intense eyes landing on Harper.
“I … .” Harper wasn’t sure how to answer.
“We guessed,” Zander answered smoothly. “You must be Jared Monroe. I heard you were coming to town.”
“And who are you?” Jared asked, his eyes bouncing from Harper to Zander and then back again. Her face was magnetic and he found he didn’t want to look elsewhere.
“This is my nephew,” Mel said quickly. “He’s my sister’s boy. Zander Pritchett, this is my new partner. Make sure you show him some respect.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Zander said, extending his hand.
“You, too,” Jared said, his face softening even though his shoulders remained stiff. “You didn’t answer how you knew the body belonged to a woman.”
“We assumed it was a woman because the people up by the café told us a female body was found down here,” Zander lied.
“How did they find out?” Jared was incensed.
“It’s a small town,” Mel said, rolling his eyes. “You’re going to realize you can’t bend over to get a pebble out of your shoe in Whisper Cove without everyone knowing it.”
“I guess,” Jared said, scowling as he met Harper’s studied gaze. There was something about her face that appealed to him – and not in the obvious way. She was beautiful, her eyes sparkly, but there was something else about her he couldn’t put his finger on. “And who are you?”
“I’m sorry,” Mel said, rubbing his hands together sheepishly. “My manners are shot today. This is Harper Harlow. She’s my nephew’s … .”
“Girlfriend?” Jared supplied, hoping the answer would be yes so he could immediately tamp the physical attraction coursing through him down. He wasn’t ready to contemplate dating any of Whisper Cove’s finest – mostly because he had no intention of making the small town his permanent home. He didn’t need any romantic entanglements.
Mel, Zander, and Harper burst into simultaneous guffaws.
“What did I say?” Jared asked, confused.
“Harper isn’t my girlfriend,” Zander explained. “We live together – but not in sin.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” Jared hedged.
“I’m gay,” Zander said.
“You probably shouldn’t announce that to strangers, boy,” Mel admonished him. “They might not like it.”
“You don’t like it,” Zander countered. “You still think it’s a phase I’m going through. It’s not. I was born this way. I like boys. You’re going to have to deal with it.”
“You’re my favorite nephew and I have dealt with it,” Mel said. “I just don’t see why it’s necessary for you to announce to anyone who will listen that you … do that stuff.”
Jared couldn’t hide his smirk. “I’m fine with it,” he said. “I think it’s great Zander has no problem being himself. That shows he has character.”
“That shows he is a character,” Mel corrected. “The boy popped out of my sister’s womb shouting to the high heavens. He hasn’t stopped since.”
“You’re still mad I made you come to all three showings of the high school musical, aren’t you?” Zander teased.
“No one needs to see Grease that many times,” Mel grumbled.
“You got off easy,” Harper said. “I had to do his makeup and watch the show. Talk about torture.”
Mel snorted while Jared looked Harper up and down. She was thinly built, her waist narrow and her legs long. Her cheeks were high and angular, and the petulant pout of her lips looked naturally pink. She stood out in a town the size of Whisper Cove.
“And you two live together?” Jared asked, trying to get a handle on the relationship between Zander and Harper.
“We do,” Zander said. “We decided to buy a house together two years ago. Pooling our money allowed us to buy this great place out by the lake. We don’t have waterfront property, but we can walk there in five minutes.”
“What happens if one of you … hooks up?” Jared asked.
“We put a tie on our bedroom doors and promise not to listen,” Zander deadpanned. “What do you think happens? We’re roommates, not each other’s keepers.”
“I’m sorry,” Jared said, holding his hands up. “I didn’t mean anything. I’ve just never seen people as old as the two of you living together out of choice.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Harper asked, her hands moving to her hips. “There’s nothing wrong with us living together.”
“I didn’t mean that the way it came out.”
“Don’t get your panties in a bunch, Harper,” Mel warned. “Jared is new here and his first case is a naked woman on the beach who was probably murdered. We’ve both been thrown with this one.”
“She was naked?” Harper asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“I probably shouldn’t have said that,” Mel said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“No,” Jared agreed.
“Why was she naked?” Zander asked. “Was she … ?” He didn’t finish the sentence, the possibility too horrid to give it voice.
“We don’t know anything yet so I don’t want you two spreading rumors,” Mel said. “In fact, you two shouldn’t even be down here. You should be on your way.”
“But … .” Harper wanted to argue. She wanted to come up with a reason to stay. Her mind was a blank, though.
“Go,” Mel prodded. “This has nothing to do with the two of you and your … business.”
“You don’t know that,” Zander shot back. “This very well could have something to do with our business.”
“It doesn’t.” Mel’s voice was firm. “Now … off with the two of you.”
“You’re lucky I can’t stay mad at you,” Zander warned, grabbing Harper’s elbow and starting to direct her away from the crime scene. “Come on. I think we’re done here.”
&nb
sp; Harper’s eyes met Jared’s for one more moment, an invisible current passing between them, and then she reluctantly turned and followed her best friend. The dead woman stood next to her body, her eyes mournful as she watched the medical examiner tug the zipper up.
Harper silently offered a promise that she would return when the scene was cleared, although she knew the woman couldn’t hear her.
“YOUR nephew seems nice,” Jared said, sliding a mug of coffee onto Mel’s desk an hour later.
The two officers were in Whisper Cove’s small police station, eager to work but hampered without the victim’s identity to drum up leads. For now they were waiting for a call from the medical examiner. There was nothing else they could do but chat with one another until then. Since they were still getting to know one another, Jared took the opportunity to touch on Mel’s family, figuring it was a safe subject. He was about to get an earful to the contrary.
“He’s a good kid,” Mel said. “He does weird things, but they’re mostly from a good place and generally harmless.”
“I’m not sure what that means.”
“It’s Harper,” Mel explained. “Those two have been thicker than thieves since they sat next to each other in afternoon kindergarten twenty-three years ago.”
“She seems nice enough,” Jared said carefully. “I thought she was a little distracted, but other than that she was perfectly pleasant. Why don’t you like her?”
“I love Harper,” Mel said. “She’s a good girl and she’s grown into a beautiful woman. She’s still odd, though.”
“You’re going to have to expand on that,” Jared said. “She seemed normal to me.”
“That’s because you don’t know her,” Mel said. “This town is rife with stories about Harper Harlow. Ask anyone and you’ll find people won’t be able to shut up.”
“Like?”
“She thinks she can see and talk to ghosts,” Mel replied.
Whatever he was expecting his partner to say that wasn’t it. Jared exhaled heavily, dumbfounded. “Excuse me?”
“It started when she was seven and her grandfather died,” Mel explained. “She swore up and down he came into her room that night and told her he had to go away but would see her again.”
Ghostly Interests Page 3