Ivy Morgan Mystery 18 - Wicked Wedding

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Because none of them are missing.” Brian gestured toward the mantel and end tables in turn. “Each table has at least two photos and there are another eight up here on the mantel. That seems to be photo overkill to me. Just out of curiosity, how many photos do you and Ivy have up in your house?”

  “Of us?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Um ... I think there are five or so throughout the entire cottage. That includes the bedroom, and the bathroom for some reason. I have no idea why she wanted a photo of us in the bathroom.”

  Brian chuckled. “It’s a woman thing. Don’t ever try to understand the inner workings of a woman’s brain.”

  “Oh, that sounds like sage advice.”

  “It is.”

  “If you say so.”

  “The point is that you and Ivy love each other so much it’s sickening. You only have five photos, though, and you’re getting married in a few days. “There are twelve photos in this room alone. More on the table in the entryway. More in the kitchen.”

  “And you think that’s overkill,” Jack mused.

  “I think it’s an act,” Brian corrected. “Oliver is the one who wanted all the photos. He wanted people to see something that wasn’t really there.”

  “A happy family.”

  “It was optics. He knew his family was broken but as long as people believed it wasn’t, he was okay. When Dana packed up Jenny and left, she shattered the illusion.”

  “Right.” Jack wasn’t certain what point his partner was trying to make. “So ... what does it mean?”

  “The house is in chaos even though he hates that. The photos are all still here, though. He hasn’t given up on the illusion.”

  “Which means you think he’ll keep gunning for Dana.”

  “I don’t think he cares about Dana as much as he does about Jenny. The child is the key to his delusion. He’s fine killing Dana. He’ll do whatever it takes to reclaim Jenny.”

  “So, what do we do?”

  “Find him. It’s all we can do.”

  SERENA AND AMY HIT IT OFF FROM their first shared smile and Ivy was happy to leave them chatting in the front office. She opted to take JJ with her to the play area so she would have an excuse to hang around and talk to the other women. More importantly, she wanted to see if Jenny and Dana were conversing with the others so she could talk to them. She didn’t want to be too obvious about it, though.

  “I don’t get this place,” JJ admitted as they walked down the hallway. He was a shy boy with an exceptional imagination. “It looks like a business building or something, but people live here.”

  Ivy nodded as she debated how to explain the set-up to him. “It used to be a community center, but they decided about ten years ago that they needed that building to be closer to town. It’s the building where all the seniors play cards now.”

  “You mean the really old people.”

  Ivy glanced over her shoulder to make sure nobody was listening before she laughed. “You probably shouldn’t say stuff like that out loud. You’re going to tick off your mom and maybe hurt a few people’s feelings.”

  “Whose feelings would I hurt?”

  Ivy shrugged. “I don’t know. My parents aren’t all that young any longer. However, they would be upset to be referred to as ‘old.’”

  “I guess.” JJ’s expression was hard to read. “Why are there people living in this building if the other people thought it wasn’t good enough to use? And why so many of them?”

  “Well ....” Ivy cocked her head, considering. “Okay, you remember how things were with your dad before you ran away with your mom?”

  JJ nodded, his gaze dark. “I remember.”

  “Well, all the people staying here have the same problem.”

  The boy looked taken aback. “They had dads like my dad?”

  “Yes.”

  JJ swallowed hard and glanced around. “Their dads aren’t here, are they?”

  “Absolutely not.” Ivy used her most reassuring tone. “This is a safe place for those mothers and children to get back on their feet and make some decisions. The dads aren’t here. Nobody knows where the building is. Basically, people move in and decide what they’re going to do and then they move out and start a new life.”

  “My mom and I didn’t come to a place like this, though.”

  “No,” Ivy agreed. “Your mom was too afraid for that. We don’t want people to be afraid. That’s why we’re both going to volunteer our time here to help. That way there will be less fear.”

  “Huh.” JJ looked genuinely perplexed. “It’s interesting.”

  “It is,” she agreed. “It’s very interesting. I think your mom brought you here because she thought you might want to help her and spend some of your time volunteering, too.”

  “What would I do?”

  Ivy held out her hands and shrugged. “I don’t know. What do you want to do?”

  The sound of children laughing caught JJ’s attention and he immediately looked to the right, his eyes going wide when he saw the shelter kids laughing and playing together in the outdoor area between the building ells.

  “And all those people live here?” he asked finally. “They all live together in this place?”

  “Yes.”

  JJ’s eyes were clear when he flicked them to Ivy. “Is it because when there are a lot of people together, they can stop a bad man?”

  “Basically.”

  “It sounds like a good idea.” He turned back to the playing children. “Can we go in there?”

  “That’s the plan.” Ivy moved toward the glass door, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw Jenny hanging by the outskirts of the group. The girl wasn’t exactly engaging with the others. Thankfully, she wasn’t hiding in a corner either. “I thought we would hang out for a little bit while your mom is talking to Serena.”

  “I ....” JJ trailed off, his eyes going wide. “Wait ... we’re not coming to live here, are we?” JJ looked suddenly fearful. “I’m going to see Max again, aren’t I?”

  Ivy’s heart almost broke at the boy’s fearful expression. “You are. You don’t have to worry. You’re not coming here. Your mom just wants to volunteer her time for people who were struggling like she was. You’re not losing anything.”

  JJ nodded, although he still looked wary. “Okay, but I don’t want to live here.”

  “You don’t have to live here.” Ivy put her hand on his shoulder, a rattling door to her left catching her attention. She almost ignored the noise until she realized it was an external door ... and one that was only to be used as an emergency exit. Before she could register what she was seeing, the door popped open, and Oliver appeared in the opening. He looked as surprised to see her as she was to see him.

  “What are you doing here?” he seethed, fury on full display.

  Ivy reacted quickly, giving JJ a shove in the opposite direction. “Get to Serena,” she ordered. “Tell her to pull the alarm.”

  JJ didn’t have to be told twice. He wasn’t the sort of kid who struggled with indecision. He could read a room, and what he knew with absolute certainty was that Oliver was trouble. He broke into a run and raced back toward the main office, leaving Ivy to face off with Oliver.

  “You probably shouldn’t have come back,” Ivy offered.

  “I’m not leaving without my daughter this time.”

  “You won’t get near her.” Ivy was firm. “I’ll kill you first.”

  “I’m not falling for your act this time. I will get my daughter back.”

  “It’s not happening.”

  “Let’s see who is right, shall we?”

  7

  SEVEN

  “You’re not going to stop me.” Oliver’s tone was icy as he regarded Ivy. “You caught me by surprise the first time.” He held up a bandaged arm. “I’m not sure what you did, but I won’t let it happen again.”

  Ivy swallowed hard. “Yes, well ... I’m not going to let you touch Jenny.”

  “She’s m
ine!” His eyes lit with fire. “You can’t stop me. I’m her father and she belongs to me.”

  “And it’s statements like that that prove men like you should never be fathers.”

  Oliver took a menacing step in Ivy’s direction, but she was ready for him and squared her shoulders. His eyes narrowed when she didn’t cower and flee, his gaze automatically moving to the hands she raised to serve as her defense.

  “Don’t even think about touching me again,” he warned.

  Ivy didn’t have a lot of time to think. The fact that Oliver had yet to rush at her, even roughly grab or shove her aside, told her all she needed to know. He was frightened of her because of what she’d managed to pull off the last time they interacted. She needed to use that to her advantage.

  “I won’t hold back this time,” she threatened, brandishing her hands and wiggling her fingers. Briefly, she wished she could get her fingers to ignite in fire like all the heroines she saw on the covers of books. Since it was out of the realm of possibility — at least for now — she opted to use her mouth. “I won’t feel bad about killing you.”

  Oliver’s frustration was obvious as he glared at her. “Get out of my way. I’m here for a reason.”

  “You’re here to take your daughter,” Ivy countered. “You want to steal her life, fill her with fear, and make her afraid of you. I’m not going to let that happen.”

  “A child should be afraid of her father. That’s how you instill discipline. If Jenny stays with her mother, she’ll become a dirty whore just like her, and I have no intention of letting that happen. I mean … do you have any idea what my wife did?”

  “No, and I don’t care.” Ivy knew better than to fall for whatever nonsense he was trying to spread. “Nothing she did makes it okay for you to beat her.”

  “I didn’t beat her!” Oliver’s hands formed fists and Ivy knew without a shadow of a doubt that he wanted to use them on her. “I made her understand what she was doing wrong, and why it was important that she learn to do things the right way. Pride in a job well done is important.”

  Disgust rolled through Ivy as she shook her head. “You really are disgusting. The fact that you could delude yourself this way is ... unbelievable. It doesn’t matter, though. I won’t let you near them.”

  “My wife talked to Jed Wilkerson down the street.”

  Ivy waited, and when Oliver didn’t expand, her fury only grew. “Your wife talked to another man and that gives you the right to do this?”

  “I know they were flirting. She denied it, but I knew better.”

  “You really are foul.” Ivy was over the conversation. “Here’s what’s going to happen.” She licked her lips, glanced around, and then barreled forward. “You’re going to leave. You’re going to get in your truck and keep driving. You’re never going to look back.”

  “That’s not what’s going happen.”

  Ivy ignored the statement. “The second you’re gone I’m going to call my fiancé and tell him you were here. He’s going to launch a manhunt for you. That means you have no choice but to get out of town and never come back unless you want to go to jail.”

  “I’m not going to jail. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

  “Inmates don’t like prisoners who abuse children. You’ll be popular on the inside.”

  The threat hit home and Oliver showed genuine signs of fear for the first time. That didn’t mean he was going to flee. “You can’t take my daughter from me. A girl needs her father.”

  “I had a good father growing up,” Ivy offered. “He was always there for me, listened to my problems, and instilled a love of books in me. I most definitely needed him. You terrorize your daughter, though. You make her afraid. You get off on hurting her. She’ll be better off without you.”

  “I won’t let you take her from me.” Oliver momentarily forgot his head and stepped close enough to allow Ivy to touch him. That’s all she needed to make her move.

  “You’ve already lost her.” Ivy put as much energy as she could into the shove, and when she planted her hands on Oliver’s chest, a sizzle went through the room.

  Oliver’s eyes widened, as if he’d been shocked with electricity, and then he flew back into the door. It made a terrific rattling noise, almost like a mini explosion. For a moment, Oliver remained right there, as if collecting himself. Then he opened his mouth. “What sort of monster are you?”

  “I think you’re confused. The only monster here is you.” Ivy’s voice was shaky as she uttered the words, but her determination didn’t wane.

  “You’re unnatural.”

  “Believe what you want. If you don’t leave, I’m going to give you another dose of it.”

  Oliver looked as if he wanted to test that theory, but the incoming sound of sirens drew his attention to the right. “How ...?”

  “Jack always comes for me,” Ivy replied simply. “You’d better hope he’s not the one who gets his hands on you first.”

  That was enough to fill Oliver with fear. He turned on his heel and shoved through the door, casting one hateful look in Ivy’s direction before racing toward the trees. He didn’t look back again.

  Ivy remained rooted to her spot until Jack arrived three minutes later. He was breathless from his run through the building, although his relief was palpable when he caught sight of his fiancée. He pulled up short when he got a full view of her face.

  “I don’t want to be mad,” he started.

  “Then don’t.” She was in no mood for games. “He went through that door.”

  Jack stared at the open door a beat and then focused on her. “How long?”

  “A few minutes. I’m pretty sure he’s already gone.”

  “I have to look.”

  Ivy nodded in understanding. “I’ll stay right here.”

  “Good, because I feel the need to smother you with kisses and hugs.”

  She cracked a smile, although it faded quickly. “Be safe.”

  “Right back at you.”

  JACK SPENT TWENTY MINUTES LOOKING FOR Oliver in the woods before he gave up and returned to the shelter. He found Brian standing with Ivy, right where he left her, and they were grave as they studied the door and talked in low voices.

  “Anything?” Brian asked, lifting his head when he recognized his partner had returned.

  “No.” Jack was caught off guard when Ivy threw herself at him for a hug. “Did you miss me or something?” he asked when she pulled back.

  “I was worried.” Ivy saw no reason to lie. “It made me afraid when you didn’t come back right away.”

  “I’m sorry. I wanted to look around in case he was hiding. I don’t think he is, though.”

  “We can call the state police and ask them to bring the search dogs back,” Brian offered. “It can’t hurt.”

  “I think it’s a waste of time. He’s definitely gone.”

  “I warned him what would happen if he stayed,” Ivy offered. “If I realized you guys were so close, I might’ve refrained from warning him and antagonized him some more instead.”

  Jack pinned her with a dirty look. “How about you not say things that are going to make me lose my mind, huh?”

  “I’m just saying that I thought it was going to take you guys longer to get here.”

  “We were at the Taylor house looking for clues,” Brian volunteered. “He hasn’t been back — at least as far as we can tell — but I’m guessing he’s holed up somewhere close.”

  Ivy had been thinking the same thing. “Yeah, about that ....” She glanced around to make sure they were still alone. “I don’t think Dana and Jenny can stay here. It’s obviously not safe.”

  “It’s a shelter,” Jack reminded her. “I don’t think it gets much safer than this.”

  “He’s managed to get in twice.”

  “I know. He would have to be an idiot to try again.”

  Ivy thought back to her conversation with the man and slowly shook her head. “Or a zealot. He truly thinks that Jenny is his posse
ssion, that he somehow owns her. He also thinks that Dana betrayed him by talking to the guy who lives across the street.”

  “An affair?” Brian’s forehead wrinkled. “Dana didn’t mention anything about an affair.”

  “Neither did Oliver,” Ivy replied. “He said she talked to the guy across the street. I’m guessing he took that as a betrayal of some sort because he’s a freaking nut.”

  “That sounds possible.” Brian rubbed his neck. “He used simple tools to open this door. I’m kind of curious why he picked it, though. I mean ... it’s right out in the open.”

  “It’s close to the playground, though,” Jack noted, inclining his head toward the glass enclosure where kids continued to have a good time as their mothers eyed the trio ominously. “If he could’ve gotten inside without Ivy appearing on the scene at the exact worst moment for him, he would’ve had an easy time crossing the hallway and grabbing Jenny. It was the best spot for him to enter for an easy getaway ... if circumstances hadn’t conspired against him, that is.”

  Ivy furrowed her brow and glanced around, her mind working a mile a minute. “I hadn’t even considered that. How did he know to enter the building here?”

  “Maybe he’s been scouting the place out,” Brian suggested.

  “But ... there aren’t any windows.” Ivy gestured up and down the hallway. “The way this building was designed, all the light from this particular hallway is provided by the playground ... which is located inside. You can’t see it from the outside.”

  “Right.” Brian’s expression never changed. “What are you getting at?”

  “I’m just curious how he knew this was the best spot to enter.”

  Jack slid a sidelong look in her direction. “You’re insinuating he had help.”

  Ivy didn’t immediately respond. The last thing she wanted to do was accuse a victim of aiding and abetting a sick man like Oliver Taylor. Still, it was the only thing that made sense to her. “There are a lot of doors,” she offered in a measured tone. “I know from walking around the building to acquaint myself with the property when I first started working here. There has to be at least twenty of them.”