Ghostly Ordeal

by Lily Harper Hart

“Not that. I love your dirty mind, though.” He gave her a soft kiss, reluctant to let the morning slip away from them. “I want you involved in this and you can’t do certain things because of your mother. However, Junior is going to be coming into the office today and going through some of his father’s files. We’ve asked him to recall any stories his father might’ve told him about the clients — apparently Carl was a braggart of the utmost order — and I thought you might want to go through the files with him. You might recognize some of the names.”

  Harper was instantly suspicious. “You want me to go through files with Carl, Jr.?”

  “I want you to go through files and see if you can pick up on any red flags.”

  “That doesn’t sound like something you would normally want.”

  “Well ... I’m eager for you to be involved in this process.”

  “Okay. Why else?”

  He blew out a long-suffering sigh. “You’re so much work.” He tickled her ribs and caused her to giggle — a sound that warmed him to his very core — and laughed as she squirmed. “Does there have to be another reason?”

  “I sense there’s another reason.”

  “Yeah?” He met her gaze. “That’s why I love you. You’re beautiful and brilliant. There is another reason.”

  Harper was practically salivating. It had to be good for him to be drawing things out the way he was. “What’s the reason?”

  “I want to know what you think of Junior. I also want you to see if you can get him to trust you enough to confide in you.”

  That wasn’t what she was expecting. “I don’t understand,” she said after a beat. “Don’t you trust him?”

  “I do. It’s just ... he’s Carl’s son. You said yourself that the man was a shark. His ghost is still a jerk. There’s every chance Junior inherited something other than a pair of dark eyes from his father.”

  “Oh.” Realization dawned on Harper and she propped herself on an elbow as she ran several possibilities through her head. “Do you think he’s covering for his mother? Do you think she finally snapped fifteen years after the fact and decided to take out the jerk who screwed her over so badly? If so, I’ve got to tell you, I can’t say I want her locked up. He kind of had it coming.”

  “I agree.” Jared moved his hands to the back of her neck and started rubbing, causing her to moan.

  “That feels so good.”

  “Keep making those noises and we’ll genuinely never get out of this bed.”

  “That’s not much of a threat.”

  “Yeah, well ... as for Fran, I don’t know that I believe she’s capable of killing Carl. She seems far too nice and sweet. I’ve seen nice and sweet women lose it, though. If she did snap, I think it’s far more likely she hired someone to kill him than did it herself.”

  “How? She doesn’t have any money.”

  “Yeah, which is why I want you to spend some time talking to Carl Jr. He might know of some money she’s got hidden away or something.”

  “And you think he’s just going to volunteer that information to me?”

  “Probably not. He’s a very controlled individual, though. He never says anything without thinking about it first.”

  “I think that probably makes him smart,” Harper noted. “I never think about what I say before it comes flying out of my mouth and I’ve lived to regret it a time or two.”

  “As have I. I simply don’t think it’s possible to be controlled every second of every day. He might let his guard down with you because you’re so cute.”

  Harper made a wry face. “Why else?”

  “Your mother was dating his father. He might be curious about you. If that’s the case, he’s more likely to share information.”

  “Ah. You want me to complain about my mother and see how he reacts.”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Such a dastardly plan.” She smacked a kiss against his mouth. “I’ll do it, but you’re going to owe me payment later tonight.”

  “Oh, yeah?” He arched an eyebrow. “What did you have in mind?”

  “Well ... I was thinking chocolate cake and pot roast. You know how I love the pot roast at the diner.”

  “I thought maybe you were going to request something dirty.”

  “Maybe I plan to request that right now.”

  “Ah, well, I think we’re about to come to a meeting of the minds.”

  “Somehow I knew you would say that.”

  TO HARPER’S SURPRISE — and chagrin — Carl was in the police station lobby when she followed Jared through the front door two hours later. She was so taken aback, she let out a squeak ... and then she glared.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Jared glanced around, confused. “Who are you talking to?”

  She scanned the lobby to make sure they were truly alone before answering. “Carl is here. I was surprised to see him.”

  “Ah.” Jared furrowed his brow. “What is he doing here?”

  That was a good question, and Harper was curious herself. “He hasn’t answered that question yet.” She looked to the ghost expectantly. “Do you want to tell me what you’re doing here?”

  Carl was haughty. “Not that I think it’s any of your business — you’re kind of a bossy thing, you know — but I followed my files here.”

  “You followed your files here?” Harper wrinkled her forehead as she repeated the words. “Oh, your files. You mean the files from your office, right?”

  “I do.” Carl puffed out his chest. “I can’t say that I’m happy about Stanley just turning over my files without considering what’s right for my clients.”

  “He’s probably betting that one of those clients — or, more likely, the spouse of a client — killed you. If that’s true, won’t that be better for the client in question because the ex will be going to prison for the rest of his or her life?”

  “That is a very good point. Still ... we’re not supposed to willingly turn over files this way.”

  “I think they got a warrant.” Harper looked to Jared for confirmation. “You got a warrant, right?”

  “We did.”

  “See. You have nothing to complain about.” She pinned Carl with a serious look. “Absolutely nothing.”

  Jared smirked as he put his hand to the small of her back and prodded her into the conference room. There, four huge boxes of files sat on the table ... and somehow made the space look tiny because they took up so much room.

  “Holy moly.” Harper was taken aback. “You don’t expect me to go through all those files, do you?”

  Jared cast her a sidelong look and shrugged. “I thought you wanted to help.”

  “Oh, puh-leez.” She let loose a derisive look. “You’re not fooling anybody. You just want me to do the boring work.”

  “I’m pretty sure I should be offended by that remark.”

  “And I’m pretty sure this is an obscene number of files.” Harper strolled to the edge of the table and pulled the top off the first box. “I mean ... there’s like fifty files in here and each one is jam-packed with notes. It’s going to take me forever to go through all these.”

  Jared couldn’t help agreeing with her. That didn’t mean he was going to let her off the hook. “Think of it as a bonding exercise. We’re working together.”

  “No, you’re going to be out interviewing people and I’m going to be stuck here with Carl, Jr. How is that a bonding exercise for you and me?”

  “Because I’m going to massage you until my fingers fall off later tonight as thanks.”

  “That’s a start.” Harper pulled out the first file and flipped it open, her eyes going wide as she read a transcript. “Son of a ... this is the file for Laura Dorchester and her ex-husband. Do you have any idea how many times she claimed he cheated on her?”

  “I have no idea who she is,” Jared said blankly.

  “He cheated on her seventy-three times,” Carl announced, his grin turning evil and reminding Harper of the Grinch. “Because of
that — and we managed to prove without a shadow of a doubt he was a serial philanderer — Laura got sixty-five percent in the divorce. That’s practically unheard of.”

  “She got sixty-five percent?”

  Since Harper was focusing on what appeared to be thin air to Jared, he assumed Carl was still with them. “You know, having Carl here might be helpful. He can tell you what clients threatened him.”

  “He can,” Harper agreed. “When his son gets here, however, I won’t be able to ask him questions.”

  “That’s not happening for another hour. You can get a jump on things.”

  “Whoopee.” Harper gave the boxes a dubious look and then heaved out a sigh as she removed her coat. “You are going to owe me big time.”

  “I know. I’m going to help here at the start. I’m hoping we come up with a list of people for us to interview.”

  “Well, if this first file is any indication, you’re going to have more suspects than you can shake a stick at. Although ... I’ve never really gotten the meaning of that saying.”

  “I know what it means.” Carl’s hand shot in the air. “Would you like me to demonstrate?”

  Harper was confused ... until Carl started gyrating his hips. “No. I have no intention of seeing your ... stick. Why do you have to be so gross? It’s no wonder you were killed. The only thing that’s surprising is that it didn’t happen sooner.”

  “You’ve got that right.” Jared glared at the empty space. “Don’t hit on my girl. She doesn’t like it.”

  “Look at this macho man,” Carl teased, rolling his eyes. “He thinks he’s actually talking to me. I mean ... come on.”

  “He is actually talking to you,” Harper pointed out. “He knows you’re there even though he can’t see you.”

  “Yeah, but ... .” Carl trailed off. “I don’t like where this conversation is going. We should talk about something else.”

  “You mean I’m right and you don’t want to admit it,” she corrected. “I know how you are. It doesn’t matter. Let’s focus on the files and go from there, shall we?”

  “Fine. I’m eager to find my killer.”

  “Since when?” Harper challenged.

  “Since I’m curious to find out how I died ... and get some of that ghost Viagra you promised me.”

  Harper wisely kept her mouth shut and instead plucked out a file to peruse. She had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

  “THIS IS MICHAEL PITMAN,” she said an hour later, rubbing her forehead to stave off an oncoming headache. “We went to high school together. Apparently he’s fathered two children that no one knows about ... including Corbin Barton, who I thought was the son of another classmate.”

  Jared glanced over her shoulder — they’d moved to the floor so they could spread out the files and create stacks — and furrowed his brow as he read the top page of the listing. “Michael was Carl’s client and he didn’t want the woman he was divorcing, one Nan Pitman, to know he’d been running around on her. It looks like Carl helped pay off the mothers of the two children Michael fathered on the side to keep their mouths shut until after the divorce.”

  Harper turned a set of murderous eyes on Carl, who had mostly lost interest in the conversation regarding his legal prowess. “You’re disgusting. You know that, right?”

  “What?” Carl wasn’t in the mood to make apologies for his behavior. He was long over that. “He has a right to procreate with as many people as he wants.”

  “Oh, really?” Something occurred to Harper as she studied the annoyed ghost. “Did you have children outside of your marriage with Fran?”

  Jared jerked up his head, intrigued. “Good question, Heart.”

  “Ugh. Did he just call you ‘Heart’?” Carl made an exaggerated face. “Could you guys be any more vomit-inducing?”

  “We could try,” Harper warned. “It’s a serious question. Did you have other children? I mean ... one of those kids could’ve been angry at you and arranged for you to take a header into the living room floor.”

  “Oh, I get what you’re saying.” Carl’s eyes gleamed with intrigue. “Alas, I was very careful about procreating. I’ve known where babies come from since I was a kid. After Junior, I knew I didn’t want to add to the bills I already had to pay. I had a vasectomy ... and then didn’t tell Fran.”

  “You are a king amongst ... dogs,” Harper muttered, shaking her head when Jared shot her a questioning look. “He had a vasectomy.”

  “Oh, well ... .” Jared chewed on his bottom lip as he studied the fact sheet in Harper’s hand. “Do you think your old high school buddy is capable of killing Carl?”

  Harper immediately started shaking her head. “He was a big wuss. He married Cindy Monaghan, though, and she was definitely capable of killing him.”

  “I can vouch for that,” Carl added, turning his eyes to the conference room door when it opened to allow Junior entrance. “Look who it is. It’s about time he showed up to help.”

  Harper kept her eyes on the living man and forced a smile as Jared introduced them.

  “I thought she could help,” Jared explained, gesturing toward the boxes of files. “We’re going to have way more suspects when we finish than I thought.”

  “I’m fine with her helping.” Junior’s smile was shy as he lowered himself to the ground and studied the piles Harper was creating “What’s the organizational process here?”

  “This small pile is people who probably don’t want to kill your father. This much bigger pile is people who would gladly have snapped his neck.”

  “Ah.” Junior’s lips quirked. “I know it’s not funny but ... my father was a character. He would probably be thrilled to know that everyone is making such a big deal about him.”

  “That shows what you know,” Carl barked. “I was a big deal so I didn’t need anyone to do anything that wasn’t genuine.”

  Junior didn’t as much as look in his direction so Harper forced herself to keep from looking at the morose ghost. “I’m sorry I’m late,” he offered as he grabbed a folder from the pile Harper was currently working her way through. “I had to stop by my father’s house so I could get a copy of his will from the office and his filing system was such a mess I couldn’t find it. I guess I’m going to have to go through his probate attorney.”

  “That’s okay.” Jared’s gaze was on the file he held. “We’ve already been in touch with his probate attorney. It’s some guy named Elliot Taubman. We need to put in a request through the judge — which requires the medical examiner filling out paperwork — and then we can get a copy of the will. Apparently it was updated two weeks ago, which means there are additional hoops to jump through.”

  Junior stilled. “Updated? What did he update?”

  Jared shrugged. “I have no idea. You’re his only child, which makes me believe you’ll get the bulk of his estate. Maybe he had some charitable organizations in there or something.”

  That didn’t sound likely to Harper, who flicked her eyes to Carl and found him watching his son with gleeful eyes. The older man was so excited, she couldn’t hold back the wave of dread that washed over her. “Did your father tell you he was leaving everything to you?” she asked after a beat.

  “We never talked about things like that,” Junior replied. “I don’t even know what his finances looked like. It’s possible I won’t get anything because there’s nothing to inherit.”

  He said the words, but Harper had a hard time believing them. “Your father strikes me as the sort of person who would leave his money to someone else just to be a jerk,” she noted, causing Jared to slide his eyes to her. “Have you considered the possibility that he did have money and he decided to keep it from you because he was ... horrible?”

  Junior blinked several times in rapid succession and then shrugged. “I guess it doesn’t matter over the long haul. I’ve made it this far in life without his help. It’s probable I will have to make it the rest of the way without him doing the right thing, too.”

/>   “Yeah.” Harper briefly rubbed the back of her neck and then turned back to the files. “It would almost be easier at this point to make a list of the wronged individuals who didn’t want to kill him. This is going to get unruly before it’s all said and done.”

  “I don’t doubt that,” Jared said. “We have to keep pushing through, though. I don’t see where there’s anything else we can do.”

  Fourteen

  Harper liked Junior.

  Well, to be more precise, she was impressed with the fact that he seemed to be a normal human being despite what a terrible father figure he had in his life. Jared was right about him being thoughtful and easy to converse with. He was also guarded, and no matter how Harper tried to draw him out of his shell, the man refused to talk about anything that didn’t have to do with the task they were wading through.

  “I’m going to run to the vending machine,” Harper offered about two hours into their records search. Jared had left not long after Junior arrived so he could start placing calls. “Would you like anything?”

  “Oh, well, you don’t have to do that. I can get my own beverage.”

  Harper kept her expression neutral even as she wanted to blurt out the obvious question. Who uses the word beverage? It was odd to her. “I’m going to get something for myself. I would be happy to get something for you, too. It’s no big deal.”

  “Oh, well, if you don’t mind.” Junior’s smile was sheepish. “A Coke would be great.”

  “No problem.”

  Harper’s mind was busy as she let herself out of the conference room. She found Junior’s demeanor stiff but there was nothing unfriendly about the man. In fact, there was every chance his mother had raised him to be polite to a fault, the exact opposite of his father.

  “He’s boring as sin, huh?” Carl leaned against the vending machine as Harper fed dollar bills into it. “He has way too much of his mother in him. I was hoping he would turn out more like me. He’s the reason I only have the one kid.”

  If Carl boasted a body, Harper wondered if she would be able to stop herself from kicking him in the testicles. “He’s easy to get along with,” she countered. “Stop being a jerk. He’s ten times the man you are.”