Ghostly Camping (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 16)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Seven,” Jared muttered bitterly.

  “We want to know about you.” Zander was smooth when it came to eliciting information. He wasn’t always the guy you wanted with you in a crisis, but when trying to charm someone — male or female, gay or straight — he was almost always the guy you wanted on your team. “You seem young. Did you go to college?”

  “Oh, well ... .” Becky darted her eyes to Jared as if gauging his reaction. “I’m not all that young. I mean ... I’m a woman. I’m not a kid or anything.”

  Harper hid a smile as she bent over to pick up a stick. She wasn’t the type of woman to feel threatened when someone else showed interest in her fiancé. In fact, in this particular instance, she was amused more than anything else.

  “You’re a lovely woman,” Zander agreed in his smoothest voice. “Don’t you think she’s a lovely woman, Jared?”

  Jared scowled at Zander but managed a stiff nod. “She’s very lovely. I can’t help thinking that whenever I see her.”

  Becky preened at the compliment. “Oh, you guys are so awesome. I just love you guys.”

  “And we love you,” Zander offered. “You still haven’t told us about your background, though, and we’re dying to know.”

  “I’m not sure what to tell you.”

  “Start with where you grew up,” Zander suggested. “Was it up here?”

  “Oh, no.” Becky was solemn as she shook her head. “I find this area fascinating, but I would’ve gone crazy here as a teenager. They don’t even have a movie theater in this town. You have to drive almost an hour to get to one.”

  “I’m fairly certain that’s normal for these parts,” Shawn offered. “The population can’t sustain a theater or even a big box store. I think that’s why I like this area so much. It doesn’t have that corporate feel that’s overtaking us in the city.”

  Zander shot his boyfriend a “you’ve got to be kidding me” look. “You would lose your mind if you didn’t have your daily Starbucks treat. It doesn’t get much more corporate than that.”

  “I know.” Shawn turned sheepish. “I am a slave for Starbucks. I like a good mom-and-pop place, too. That general store we were in yesterday was absolutely charming.”

  “Yes, I especially loved the Aqua Net,” Zander drawled.

  If Becky found the banter strange, she didn’t show it. Instead, she merely giggled and played along. “I grew up in Midland. It’s not a huge city, but we have a theater and stores. I’m with Zander, though. I don’t think I would’ve made it if I grew up in a place this isolated.

  “Oh, don’t get me wrong, I find it beautiful up here, and I’m hoping that I will be able to build a home up here if this all works out,” she continued. “I was kind of a restless teenager, though. I think I would’ve found trouble if I was forced to grow up here.”

  “I think most teenagers would find trouble here,” Jared agreed. “Even when there’s stuff to do, though, teenagers manage to find trouble.”

  “Right, you get to see that firsthand.” Becky gazed at him adoringly. “You put your life on the line every single day to protect the people of our great state.”

  Jared squirmed under her steady gaze, the over-the-top statement causing him great discomfort. “I don’t often have to protect the populace from bored teenagers.”

  “But it has happened,” Zander offered brightly. “Our Jared here is a fearsome wrangler of teenagers.”

  “Oh, don’t say it like that,” Jared whined. “You put the inflection in a weird place and it sounds dirty. For the record, I do not enjoy wrangling teenagers in any form.”

  Harper choked on a laugh and got a glare from her intended for the effort.

  “That’s why I’m glad I’m not a teenager,” Becky offered solemnly. “I’m an adult.”

  Her statement was so pointed, Harper had to bite back a sigh. Since she was getting nowhere on her ghost search, she decided to direct her full attention to Becky. At least it was something tangible to focus on. “How old are you, Becky?” she asked, hoping she came across as merely curious instead of informationally predatory.

  “I’m twenty-three.” She looked proud. “Er, well, I will be in eight months.”

  Harper nodded. “That’s a fun age. I remember being that young. Zander and I were just getting out of college and deciding what we wanted to do with our lives. Zander came up with the idea for GHI about that time. It took me a little bit of time to hop on the bandwagon with him, though.”

  “Yes, you should’ve just embraced my genius,” Zander agreed. “That should be the general rule for everyone when dealing with me.”

  Jared’s eye roll was withering. “Oh, geez.”

  Harper refused to allow the two of them to redirect the conversation into a fight, and instead, kept her attention on Becky. “How did you hook up with Harris?”

  “Oh, we’re not together like that.” Becky looked appropriately horrified at the notion. “He’s just my boss.”

  Harper swallowed hard. “I didn’t think you were together or anything.” Briefly, she wondered why Becky would jump to that conclusion. Then she pushed the ugly possibilities out of her mind. The girl was clearly nervous, and almost singularly fixated on Jared. She probably didn’t realize what she was saying. “I was just asking how you ended up working for Harris.”

  “Oh.” Becky almost looked relieved at the explanation. “Right. Duh.” She mimed smacking herself upside the head. “Harris was friends with my father. They went to school together and were close. When my father got sick — he died a few years ago, cancer — Harris stepped in to help around the house.

  “He arranged for our neighbor’s sons to mow the yard and stuff,” she continued. “He had a brother who worked as a handyman, and he came over and fixed stuff. I started acting up a bit in college, partying a lot, and he showed up to take me out to dinner. He had a long talk with me about how my mother was going through a lot and couldn’t spend all of her time worrying about me. For some reason, it hit home and I cleaned up my act.”

  “He sounds like he’s been good for your family,” Harper noted, internally chastising herself for always being so negative toward the man. Of course he had good qualities. Becky was proof of that.

  “He has.” Becky bobbed her head, solemn. “I went to school and got a business degree, but I didn’t have much luck finding a job.”

  “The market is brutal for college grads,” Shawn confirmed. “It’s tough to make your way through a world that demands experience for applicants. How are you supposed to get experience if no one will give it to you?”

  “That’s it exactly.” Becky looked relieved that somebody understood her predicament. “I got a job working as a hostess at a restaurant near the college.”

  “What college does Midland have?” Shawn queried, drawing his eyebrows together.

  “Northwood,” Harper and Zander replied in unison.

  “It’s a business college,” Zander added. “I took a few satellite classes there when Harp and I were in college. We lived in Mount Pleasant at the time, though. It was about thirty minutes away as long as traffic cooperated.”

  “Ah.” Shawn nodded in understanding. “I guess I’ve never heard of the college before.”

  “It’s small, but I think the students there are more serious,” Becky explained. “Not that students at other colleges aren’t serious. It’s just ... the classes at Northwood are more specific. There aren’t a lot of useless classes.”

  “It sounds like it was a good fit for you,” Zander prodded.

  “I liked it there. I could live at home. I got my degree and just assumed I would fall into a good job. That was really naïve of me, though. I worked as a hostess for about four months before Harris showed up to check on us. He was the one who suggested I work for him.

  “I was leery at first because I thought it would be weird to be up here, away from my mom, but I’ve enjoyed it for the most part,” she continued. “Sure, Harris is a little intense about this camp, but it’
s only because he wants it to be a success. He doesn’t mean to be a bad guy or anything.”

  Since the last statement was directed at her, Harper felt the need to address it. “I don’t think he’s a bad guy,” she reassured the young woman quickly. “It’s not that. Please don’t think that. He just ... bothered me with the Leslie stuff.” She was rueful. “I didn’t think he showed her a lot of respect.”

  “That’s just in public,” Becky supplied. “In private, he was torn up about it. He feels he has to be strong for everybody else here. If he falls apart then the participants fall apart, and if that happens they’re likely to leave.”

  “Would that be the end of the world?” Jared queried. “I mean ... given what’s happened, maybe it’s best if he lets this group go and set up another group in a few weeks.”

  “He’s on a very specific timetable. He wants to make sure everything is up and running perfectly for Halloween. This summer is basically going to be a soft launch. Then he wants to have an absolutely huge fall season with the Halloween enthusiasts. If all goes as planned, by the time we close for winter, he’s hoping to have the bulk of next summer and fall booked.”

  “That actually sounds like a smart plan,” Zander noted. “He’s doing it the right way, having this really quiet launch to start to work out all the kinks. I’ve seen far too many people launch hard on stuff like this, and then, when something inevitably goes wrong, it’s hard to recover that momentum.”

  “That’s exactly it.” Becky preened a bit as she glanced at Jared. “It was my idea to do the launch like this. I actually did a project kind of similar to this in college — although not with a murder-mystery campground or anything — and I already had the basics in place. I was nervous to mention it to Harris, but he actually really loved the idea.”

  “I can see that.” Jared flashed a genuine smile. “I’m sure he feels lucky to have you.”

  “I don’t know how lucky he feels. This death could bury him.”

  “Or it could serve as free advertising,” Zander argued. “I mean ... a real murder at a murder-mystery camp? That’s going to get people massively excited. Word of mouth will be burning throughout the state.”

  Becky hesitated and then nodded. “I brought that up to him. It’s not as if I want to take advantage of that poor woman’s death,” she added hurriedly. “In fact, that’s the last thing I want.”

  Jared nodded encouragingly. “We know.”

  “This could ultimately be good for Harris, though. Of course, it could go the opposite way if the state shuts us down, too. I think that’s why we’re both on pins and needles until the determination comes in from the medical examiner’s office.”

  Jared stirred. “Any word on when that will be?”

  Becky shook her head. “No. They told us to sit tight. It’s difficult, but that’s what we’re trying to do.”

  “I’m sure everything will work out,” Zander offered, lightly clapping the girl on the shoulder. “I believe things always work out how they’re supposed to.”

  “I hope so.” Becky was silent a beat and then held up her hands. “You guys need to be looking for clues, though. I don’t want to interrupt you or serve as a distraction. I’ll just be standing over here if you need anything.” Her gaze was back on Jared. “Honestly, I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”

  Harper pressed her lips together as Jared lowered his eyes.

  “Thank you,” Jared said finally. “I’m pretty sure we can muddle through on our own, though.”

  “I’ll still be here. Take your time.”

  With nothing better to do, and expectations firmly in place, Harper and her friends went back to focusing on a fake murder. They had no other choice.

  12

  Twelve

  The group kept at it for the bulk of the day, gathering fake clues — that nobody had any interest in — while also keeping their eyes open for real clues as to what might’ve befallen Leslie. It wasn’t an easy endeavor.

  By the time dinner rolled around, Harper was happy to take a break ... even if her mind continued to function at a fantastic rate.

  “We didn’t get a chance to talk earlier,” Jared noted as they sat at their table, trays full of food. They’d purposely selected a spot that was away from the rest of the group so they could talk in relative peace, which was something that wasn’t possible with Becky hanging on their every word.

  “That’s because your new girlfriend has a tight leash on you,” Harper teased.

  Jared’s eyes narrowed. “It’s not funny.”

  She took pity on him, although only marginally. “It’s kind of funny,” she countered, refusing to let him wallow in self-pity. “You can’t tell me that you don’t enjoy spending time with your number one fan.”

  “Um, yes I can.” Jared was adamant. “Listen, I get that she’s a nice girl. She’s also a pain. She just ... doesn’t take a hint.”

  “She is a little lacking when it comes to picking up social cues,” Shawn agreed as he sat down across from them. He’d loaded up on food, two hamburgers and potato salad, and looked ready to dig in. “That could be youth, though. I don’t particularly remember being all that bright at that age.”

  “She’s not all that much younger than you,” Jared pointed out, amused despite himself at the way Shawn scowled. “She’s not that far removed from any of us. Like six and seven years in most cases.”

  “You can pack a lifetime of learning in six or seven years,” Harper countered, testing the potato salad and grinning. “Oh, this is good. It tastes homemade. I don’t think they got it from a store. Or if they did, it was from a store where people knew what they were doing.”

  “That’s the important thing,” Jared teased as he watched her shove a huge forkful into her mouth, love for her spurting up from out of nowhere. He still marveled at the way his adoration of her could spring up and grab him by the throat. It was overwhelming and somehow warm at the same time. “All is good in the world as long as there’s decent potato salad.”

  “You joke, but that’s the way we live our lives,” Zander offered as he joined the group. He had as much food on his plate as Shawn. “I had no idea that walking around looking for fake clues could work up such an appetite.”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s the fresh air and exercise,” Jared drawled.

  “I exercise all the time.”

  “You exercise your mouth all the time.”

  “Harp, did you hear what he just said to me?” Zander turned petulant. “He’s being mean. Ban him from using the love machine.”

  Harper wrinkled her forehead and sipped from her Diet Coke as she considered the statement, swallowing before speaking. “Am I the love machine in this scenario?”

  Jared bobbed his head and poked her side, causing her to squirm. “You’re my love machine.”

  “Oh, don’t be gross,” Zander muttered. “I can only take so much, and you two have officially crossed the line.”

  “You’re such a joy to be around when you have bad hair,” Jared muttered, although the way his lips curved told Harper he was having more fun than he wanted to let on.

  “We should talk about something serious.” Harper decided that changing the subject was in everyone’s best interests. “I saw a ghost while we were out there.”

  Jared jerked up his head. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “Because your new girlfriend wouldn’t stop following you around.”

  “Stop referring to her that way.” Jared was deadly serious. “I know you think it’s funny — which actually makes me a little sad because it wouldn’t hurt my ego if you would at least pretend to be jealous — but Becky and her nonstop attention makes me uncomfortable.”

  Harper heaved out a sigh. “We’re just joking.”

  “I know. She looks like she’s twelve, though.”

  “Some dudes are into that,” Zander noted with his mouth full of hamburger.

  Jared extended a warning finger. “Don’t make me come o
ver there.”

  Harper gently nudged down Jared’s hand, determined to take control of the conversation. “I think all this togetherness is irritating a few people.”

  “I’m fine,” Shawn offered. “I’m having a good time.”

  “I wasn’t talking about you.” Harper flashed him a genuine smile. “You’re the good one. In fact, you’re practically perfect.”

  “Hey,” Zander and Jared groused at the same time.

  “You guys, however, are acting like children,” Harper shot back. “This is a difficult time for all of us. We need to work together rather than antagonize one another. Do you think we can all agree to do that?”

  Jared and Zander eyed each other for an extended beat.

  “You’re supposed to say yes,” Harper prodded.

  “We’re debating,” Zander replied finally. “I guess we can work together. I think you’re bucking for a miracle if you want us to refrain from antagonizing one another, though.”

  “I’m not the problem here,” Jared countered. “He’s the problem.”

  Harper tilted back her head and pinched the bridge of her nose, slowly counting to ten in her mind before continuing. “So, the ghost …”

  Shawn smiled at her, sympathy on full display. “Did you recognize her? I mean ... she wasn’t with the group earlier in the day or something, was she?”

  Harper shook her head. “No. I mean, I guess she could’ve been, but I have to believe I would’ve recognized her if that were the case. I think she was here before we arrived.”

  “Is she an old ghost?” Jared abandoned his argument with Zander and focused on his fiancée. “Could she have died up here years ago and gone unnoticed?”

  Harper hesitated and then held out her hands. “Anything is possible. That doesn’t feel right to me, though. I think she died within the last few months.”

  “You must have a reason for believing that.” Jared refused to let it go. He was convinced, had she not gone into the ghost hunting business, that Harper would’ve made a fabulous detective. Of course, her penchant for breaking the law probably would’ve killed that dream fairly quickly. “What stands out about her?”