Ghostly Deceits (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 3) (14 page)

“Did Linden kill you?”

“I don’t know who killed me,” Alice replied. “I only have an idea who might have killed me. There’s a difference. I will not cast aspersions on someone long after my passing ceased to matter.”

“You shouldn’t say things like that,” Harper said. “You’re Josh’s mother. Your passing means something to him.”

“Are you even sure Josh knows I’m his mother?” Alice challenged. “I’ve seen him throughout the years. He was a handsome boy and he’s grown into a fine man. He does not look out here to find his mother, though.”

“Well, I don’t care,” Harper sniffed. “That’s not fair. You’re his mother and he has a right to know where he came from. You have a right to claim him, too.”

“Claiming him is not as important as his happiness.”

“And that’s why you’re his true mother,” Harper said, hopping to her feet. “Okay. We’ve got a lot going on and we have to prioritize. I don’t think it’s a coincidence we have two ghosts running around the same piece of property.”

“You don’t?” Jared was flummoxed. “How do you think Alice’s murder play’s into Hal’s?”

“I have no idea yet, but we’re going to find out,” Harper said, dusting off her hands. “We’re all going to have jobs to do, including you, Alice.”

“Me? What do you want me to do?”

“There’s a body on this parcel of land,” Harper explained. “I’m not talking about one of the bodies that belongs in this mausoleum. A man named Hal was killed yesterday – he believes he was murdered, but can’t remember how it happened. We can’t find his body. I need you to find it.”

“Where should I look?”

“Wherever someone would go to hide a body,” Harper answered. “We’re in the corner room on the east side of the building looking out at the lake. You’ll find us there when you discover where the body is.”

“Okay,” Alice said, unbothered by Harper’s bossy attitude. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to find out why everyone in this family has been covering up your existence for thirty years,” Harper said. “There has to be a reason, and when we find that reason we’ll probably be able to put all of the past pieces and current pieces together to solve the Stokes family’s ultimate jigsaw puzzle.”

“I love it when you get feisty and motivated,” Jared said, grinning. “I would hate to be the person standing between you and your answers when this is all said and done.”

“Me, too.”

“
I
don’t understand
any of this,” Jared said forty minutes later, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it on the floor in front of the bathroom. Despite his best efforts to cover himself with a rain slicker, the storm remnants were strong and he was soaked to the bone. “Why would the Stokes cover up Alice’s death?”

“Forget covering up her death. They covered up her entire existence,” Harper said, appearing in the space between the bathroom and bedroom wearing nothing but her panties and bra. “Why would Linden erase his wife’s memory?”

“I … um … what did you say?” Jared lost his train of thought as he looked Harper up and down. Her hair was wet and snarled from the elements. Her eye makeup ran down her face. She was still beautiful, and he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering when he saw her.

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Honestly? I can’t when you look like that,” Jared admitted sheepishly. “I keep having flashbacks to when I was sixteen and was desperate to see a girl in her underwear. If grown-up me could go back and whisper something in the ear of teenage me it would be not to worry because it’s going to happen, and it’s going to be marvelous.”

“Ha, ha,” Harper intoned, although she couldn’t help but laugh at Jared’s honesty and self-deprecating humor. “You’re good for my ego.”

“You’re good for my everything,” Jared said. “Come here.”

“No way,” Harper said, dodging his hands when he reached for her. “If we touch one another right now we’re going to lose the whole afternoon.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Jared reached for Harper’s narrow waist again, but she was expecting the move and easily sidestepped him.

“We have serious things to discuss,” Harper said. “We have a dead body somewhere in this house.”

“I know,” Jared said. “It’s terrible. If you don’t stop running from me, though, I’m going to have to wrestle you down and no one wants that. Well, wait, I might want that.”

“Jared, we have to talk about serious things.”

“I know we do, Harper,” Jared said, his face full of faux concern. “I just need to do one other thing first.”

“Fine,” Harper said. “Once we’re done, though, I’m in charge and I’m going to mean business.”

“Good,” Jared said, his hand already at Harper’s hip. “I love it when you use your stern face.”

“
W
HAT
are you doing
?” Jared murmured a half hour later, refusing to open his eyes as he cuddled behind Harper. “You need to take a nap with me.”

“I can’t take a nap,” Harper replied. “There’s too much going on. We’ve already lost too much time.”

“Shh,” Jared said, blindly kissing her cheek. “You’re sleepy. You want me to hold you so we can take a nap and then figure out what to do over dinner. You’re very sleepy and need rest. Shh.”

“I can’t take a nap when I need information,” Harper countered. “Go to sleep. I’ll handle everything we need and then I’ll join you.”

“Something tells me that’s not going to happen,” Jared said, although he couldn’t force his eyes open to see what Harper worked on with her cell phone as he draped an arm over her hip. “I need you to sleep with me.”

“Just give me five minutes to text Zander a few instructions and I’ll be right with you. I promise.”

T
HE NEXT
time
Jared woke he was more aware of his surroundings. He had no idea what wore him out so completely before – other than spending quality time with Harper – but he was aware and ready to take on the day when his eyes popped open about two hours before dinner.

Unfortunately for him, Harper was now dead to the world. Jared smiled as he looked her over, carefully taking the cell phone clutched in her hand and jolting when Zander’s face appeared in the window.

“What are you doing?” Zander asked.

“What are you doing?” Jared shot back. “Were you sitting on Skype waiting for her to wake up?”

“Is she asleep?”

Jared moved the phone so Zander could get a gander at his drooling best friend. He was laughing when Jared pulled the phone back up to his chest.

“She’s going to kill you when she finds out you did that,” Zander said. Jared couldn’t help but notice that Zander was purposely keeping his voice low so he wouldn’t wake Harper. “I’m going to laugh so hard next time I talk to her.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” Jared prodded. “Were you waiting for Harper to wake up so you could talk to her?”

“You happened to pick up at the exact same moment I placed a call,” Zander replied. “I thought it was on purpose.”

“It was an accident,” Jared said. “I didn’t want to wake her, but I was curious what she was working on while I slept. I have no idea why I was so exhausted, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open.”

“It was a heady mixture of rain, sex, and heat,” Zander supplied. “That’s what Harper and I decided while you were asleep anyway.”

“I see,” Jared said, tamping down his irritation. He found that he missed Zander, and it was a surprising revelation. That didn’t mean the man didn’t irritate him, or that he wouldn’t enjoy a bit more privacy when the three of them were together under the same roof. “What did she have you looking up?”

“Oh, she wanted to see what kind of information I could get on Alice Thorpe,” Zander said.

Things clicked into place for Jared. “Did you find anything? This whole situation is weird and she’s obsessed with finding out why no one talks about Alice.”

“This whole situation
is
weird,” Zander agreed, leaning back in his desk chair. “I wasn’t sure where to look so I called for help.”

“Who?” Jared asked, genuinely confused. “Is Eric there? You’re not letting him see Harper drooling in her sleep, are you? She won’t like that. She’s going to be ticked off enough that you saw her.”

“It’s not Eric,” Zander answered, smiling as his uncle Mel pushed himself into the frame. “I need someone who could look at old police records and my options were limited.”

“Oh,” Jared said, fighting the urge to laugh when he saw his partner. “Hi, Mel. How are you?”

“How are you?” Mel asked. “I hear things aren’t going great for you on your vacation. I’m sorry. I know you were looking forward to having time alone with Harper without this one bothering you.” He affectionately tousled Zander’s hair. “It sounds like you might have trouble.”

“We might,” Jared confirmed. “The problem is that I won’t know if we have trouble until we find a body and we can’t find a body without help from ghosts.”

Mel made a face. He waffled on whether or not he believed Harper could see and talk to ghosts. He was convinced she was special. It was the ghost aspects that threw him from time to time.

“Harper provided us with names to run. Which one do you want first?” Mel asked.

“Hal Baker,” Jared sad, rubbing his thumb up and down Harper’s bare arm as she blissfully slumbered. “He’s the one who is missing and presumed dead. He has to be our focus.”

“Hal Baker is sixty-one years old,” Mel supplied. “He has ties to this area, although they’re kind of muddy. He went to high school in Harbor Beach, which is up in the thumb but not terribly far away.”

“You’re saying he was familiar with Harsens Island?” Jared asked.

“We can’t prove that,” Mel cautioned. “He was familiar with Michigan. We can’t put him on Harsens Island specifically.”

“Still, it seems like too much of a coincidence to ignore,” Jared said. “One of the other mystery actors said that Hal was offended because he was put in a room in the basement. The level used to be quarters for the help a really long time ago, but when they turned the house into a hotel they upgraded those rooms.”

“Is that Cara?” Zander asked, making a face.

“How did you know that?”

“Because Harper didn’t like how she was throwing herself at you,” Zander said. “You were out like a light so you missed that part of our conversation.”

“Harper has nothing to be jealous about,” Jared said. “She should know that. I told Cara I was happy with my blonde.”

“I know,” Zander said. “Harper was almost giddy when she told me that part of the conversation. Sometimes I forget she’s still a girl and can’t help herself from reacting to things like a normal woman.”

Jared rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Harper has nothing to worry about. Do not fan any flames about stuff like this. I don’t like it.”

“You should like it,” Zander argued. “Harper is basically telling you she’s jealous and wants you. This is the girl version of ‘marking your territory.’ It’s the same thing you do when you put your hand on her waist when another guy approaches Harper to talk to her.

“You’re saying she’s yours,” he continued. “Harper being jealous is saying the same thing, just in a girly way.”

“I’m not sure I followed that,” Mel said.

“I’m pretty sure you don’t want to follow it,” Jared said. “Go back to Hal. What are his financials like?”

“I wouldn’t say they’re dire, but he’s not exactly rolling in dough,” Mel replied. “I don’t think there’s a lot of money in murder mystery troupes. He does okay, but he doesn’t own a home and he basically lives in a crappy rental in Ohio during his off time, which isn’t much because he’s constantly working.”

“Does he have any enemies you can find?”

“Not really,” Mel said. “He doesn’t have ties to anyone because he’s always moving around. I guess you could say he has ties to members of the mystery troupe, but he’s the only long-term holdout. The turnover in that group is pretty high.”

“I’m guessing it’s because everyone thinks the mystery troupe is a stepping stone to greatness,” Jared said. “Cara thinks she’s going to be a big actress and she suggested I hop on her before that happens because I would regret it afterward.”

“And what do you think?” Mel asked.

“I think the only thing I would regret is losing Harper,” Jared said, his fingers drifting over the graceful curve of Harper’s neck. “What about Alice Thorpe?”

“Alice is another story,” Mel said. “Information on her is tight. I don’t think it helps that she died before the Internet was big, but it seems something else might be going on here.”

“Like?”

“Like maybe the Stokes family paid money to lock her records up,” Mel supplied. “There’s no digital information on her other than a few cursory things. We have a date of birth and death. We have a marriage certificate. We have a death certificate. That’s about it.”

“What does the death certificate say?”

“She died of a heart attack in her sleep,” Mel answered.

“How old was she?”

“Twenty-Nine.”

“She died of a heart attack in her sleep when she was twenty-nine?” Jared asked, incredulous. “That seems highly unlikely, especially since she told Harper she was suffocated in her sleep not long after she gave birth to Josh.”

“I can’t speak for the investigators because they’re all long gone,” Mel said. “There might have been a cover up. There might not have been a cover up. We simply don’t know and I’m not sure how we could get that information even if it’s out there to claim.”

“Have Harper talk to Alice again,” Zander suggested. “She said Alice had an idea who killed her but wouldn’t say who it was. My money is on the husband. It’s always the husband.”

“In theory, that’s a possibility,” Jared said. “I’ve known Linden a number of years, though, and I’ve never considered him as someone who would be capable of murder. You also have the second wife, who I always thought was the only wife, and she’s extremely unpleasant.

“Alice told Harper that Janet was her best friend and Josh’s godmother,” he continued. “Josh made it sound as if he’s never gotten along with his mother and things have gotten out of hand recently because of the financial problems. What if Janet killed Alice because she wanted a slice of the Stokes financial pie?”

“If that’s the case, do you think she’s capable of killing Josh if he stands in her way of spending money?” Mel asked.

“I honestly don’t know,” Jared said. “There’s a lot to consider here and we only have an hour and a half before dinner. Keep looking and see what you can find. I need to wake up Sleeping Beauty and get her in the shower. We have a lot to deal with over the next few hours and we’re going to have to come up with a game plan.”

“You need to be careful,” Mel said. “You’re cut off and the police presence on Harsens Island is minimal. Even if you could get help, the Stokes family is like royalty out there. There’s a chance the local boys might not be willing to help.”

“We’ll keep our eyes open and be in touch,” Jared said. “If you find any information, email it to us. Don’t call us unless it’s really important. We’re going to be following people around and feeling them out tonight. An ill-timed phone call might cause problems.”

“You’re saying that for my benefit, right?” Zander asked.

Jared smirked. “Do you know what? I was just thinking when I answered the phone that I actually missed you. I have no idea how long that will last – and not long if your attitude stays like this – but I actually miss you.”

“Of course you do,” Zander said. “I make everyone’s life richer and fun.”

“Especially Harper’s,” Jared said. “I know she misses you, too, even if she won’t admit it because she thinks it would bother me.”

“Give Harper a kiss for me, but not a filthy one,” Zander said. “We’ll keep digging. It sounds like things are going to come to a head there no matter what.”

“I don’t see any other way around it,” Jared said. “Hal is dead on this property somewhere. The house is huge, but we can’t let these people go until we know how he died and who killed him if he was murdered.”

“What about Alice’s murder?” Mel asked. “What are you going to do about that?”

“I’m not sure there’s anything we can do,” Jared replied. “We can’t take the word of a ghost to a judge for a warrant, that’s for sure. I’ll talk to Josh, but … I honestly don’t know if he realizes Janet isn’t his mother.”

“If he doesn’t, his father certainly did him a disservice,” Mel said. “There’s no reason Josh couldn’t love Janet like a second mother. He deserved to know about his real mother, though.”