Ghostly Interests (13 page)

“Why are we even talking about this?”

“Because you think Jared Monroe looks at you and sees a crazy woman who runs around in her pajamas talking to ghosts,” Zander replied, not missing a beat.

“That
is
what he sees.”

“He sees more than that,” Zander said. “I’m curious why you care what he thinks, though. You said you weren’t interested in him.”

“I’m not,” Harper scoffed.

“I think you might be,” Zander said. “That’s neither here nor there until he gets his head out of his rear end, though. For now he’s off limits because he doesn’t understand about the outer limits.”

“Nice play on words,” Harper muttered.

“Harp, I love you more than anything in this world,” Zander said. “We can only handle one catastrophe at a time, though. For now, I think we should focus on Annie. The Jared stuff will work itself out when the time is right.”

“How many times do I have to tell you I’m not interested in Jared Monroe?”

“Just until I believe it,” Zander said, scooping the omelet onto a plate and using the spatula to cut it in half so he could divvy it up between them. “I … .” He didn’t get a chance to finish what he was about to say because the back door opened at that precise moment and Phil Harlow let himself into the kitchen. He didn’t look happy.

“Hi, Dad,” Harper said.

“I don’t even know why we pretend to lock the doors in this house,” Zander said. “Everyone just lets themselves in whenever they feel like it.”

Phil grabbed one of the plates before Zander could stop him. “This looks good.”

Zander sighed and shoved the second plate toward Harper before returning to the stove so he could cook another omelet for himself. “Help yourself, Phil.”

“Thanks, Zander,” Phil said, either missing the sarcasm or opting not to acknowledge it. He sat down in the open chair next to Harper and dug into his omelet. After tasting a sample of Zander’s culinary genius, he poured himself a glass of juice and then fixed his full attention on his daughter. “I’m totally pissed off at you.”

“Oh, good,” Harper deadpanned. “I thought this morning couldn’t get any worse. I was wrong. What did I do to you?”

“You got arrested last night and didn’t bother calling your only father,” Phil said. “Do you have any idea how that made me feel?”

“I didn’t call anyone,” Harper said. “I didn’t get the chance.”

“You called your mother,” Phil challenged. “Sandy Hannigan said Gloria and her new boy toy showed up to bail you out.”

“I wasn’t charged with anything so I didn’t have to be bailed out.”

“I wouldn’t call Walter a ‘boy toy’ either,” Zander said. “He’s more like … a building block. One of those ones that’s a knock-off, though. He’s not a name brand block.”

Phil snorted, winking his appreciation in Zander’s direction. “Did Harper call you when she got arrested, too? Why am I always the last one to know?”

“I told you I didn’t call anyone,” Harper said.

“She’s telling the truth,” Zander offered. “My mother called me because someone saw Harper being led into the police station. After my mother was done giving me an earful she called Gloria. Harper didn’t call anyone.”

“Oh,” Phil said, brightening considerably. “Well, that makes me feel a little bit better.”

“Why?” Harper asked.

“I don’t like being the forgotten parent,” Phil replied. “I know it’s normal for children to take sides in a divorce, but I never thought you’d take your mother’s side.”

“First off, I’m not taking anyone’s side,” Harper said. “Second … I would never take her side even if I was taking sides.”

Phil reached over and tousled Harper’s already snarled hair. “That’s my girl.”

Zander exchanged an amused look with Harper and then turned his full attention to the new omelet. “So, Phil, I heard you’re threatening to beat Gloria’s new boyfriend up.”

“Who told you that?” Phil asked, narrowing his blue eyes.

“Someone down at the basketball court said you were, and I quote, threatening to put a boot in Walter’s ass for stealing your woman,” Zander said. “I thought you wanted the divorce.”

“I do want the divorce.”

“Why are you calling Mom ‘your woman’ then?” Harper asked.

“Because we’re not divorced yet and I don’t like anyone taking what’s mine before I’m ready to give it up,” Phil said. “That’s not the way things work.”

“You and Mom have been haggling over everything – including thumbtacks – since you announced you were getting divorced,” Harper said. “I’m starting to think it’s not going to happen.”

“It’s happening,” Phil countered. “I can’t wait to get rid of that woman.”

“If you say so,” Harper said, finishing off her omelet and downing the rest of her glass of orange juice. “I’ll hop in the shower first,” she said. “We’re going to have to drive together to work until I can pick up my car.”

“We’ll stop and get it before we go to the office,” Zander said.

Harper dropped a kiss on her father’s forehead as she moved past him. “It was nice seeing you, Dad. You know you can drop in for other reasons than accusing me of favoring Mom over you, right?”

“That’s not what I was doing,” Phil protested.

“Well, it was nice seeing you anyway.” Harper shuffled down the hallway.

Phil waited until she was out of earshot before turning to Zander. “What’s going on? Why is she so depressed?”

“She has a crush on the cop who arrested her,” Zander said. “She’s convinced that he thinks she’s crazy because of the whole ghost thing.”

“This is the new cop?”

Zander nodded.

“Do you like him?”

“I can’t decide,” Zander said. “On one hand I think he’s smoking hot and he’s the first guy Harper has even looked sideways at in almost two years.”

“What about the other hand?” Phil pressed.

“On the other hand I’m going to have to kill him if he hurts her and that’s a possibility as long as he keeps acting all weird about the ghost stuff,” Zander said. “He looks like he works out. Killing him might be difficult.”

Phil pursed his lips. When his daughter first started hanging out with Zander he thought it was odd for children of the opposite sex to be so close to one another. When he realized Zander was gay, he was initially uncomfortable around the teenage boy. Now he couldn’t be happier that his only child had such a loyal friend. “I’ll help you kill him if it comes to it.”

Zander smiled. “Give it time. I think Jared just needs to wrap his mind around what’s going on.”

“What if he never believes?” Phil asked. “Some people are like that, you know? No matter how much proof you show them they can’t accept what’s happening right in front of them.”

“We’ll see how things go today,” Zander said. “Harper gave Jared a tip on where to find the dead woman’s car before leaving last night. If it pans out, I think we’re going to be seeing a lot more of Jared Monroe than Harper realizes.”

“How do you know she likes him?” Phil asked.

“Because she can’t stop watching him when he’s around,” Zander replied. “I’m not saying she likes him yet. I’m definitely saying there’s some sexual attraction there, though. It’s mutual. Jared looks at her the same way.”

“I don’t know how to feel about that,” Phil said. “She’s my daughter. I like to think of her as sexless.”

“That’s funny because Harper has been doing that for two years,” Zander said. “I know you’re her father and you don’t want to dwell on it, but she deserves some happiness.”

“And you think this Jared Monroe guy could give it to her?” Phil looked both concerned and hopeful.

“I think he’s our best shot right now,” Zander said. “It’s too early to tell, though. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Fourteen

Jared’s mood wasn’t much better than Harper’s when he rolled into the station. Mel was already there, a mug of coffee in his hand, and the older police officer looked as if sleep mostly evaded him the night before.

“What happened to you?” Jared asked.

“My family happened to me,” Mel said, glaring at Jared. “I was on the phone with various sisters until two in the morning because you arrested Harper. I have no idea how I got blamed for your actions ... but there it is.”

“Your family seems awfully worried about what’s going on with Harper Harlow,” Jared pointed out. “Why is that? Is there some relationship I don’t know about?”

“Harper is Zander’s best friend,” Mel replied.

“I know.”

“They’re thicker than thieves.”

“I figured that out when I realized they were both in their late twenties and lived together,” Jared said. “Don’t you think they’re a little old to be roommates?”

Mel sighed, exasperated. “You don’t get it,” he said. “They’re not just friends … they’re
friends
.”

“Did you just explain something to me?” Jared asked, confused.

“Those two have been joined at the hip since the moment they met,” Mel said. “It was the first day of kindergarten. They took one look at each other and fell in love.”

“This was obviously before Zander realized he was gay,” Jared said, his tone dry.

“There are a lot of different kinds of love, son,” Mel chided. “There are a lot of different kinds of soul mates. Zander and Harper are soul mates of a different kind. One day they’ll find romantic soul mates, but they’re always going to be soul mates of the friend variety.”

“They’re close,” Jared said. “I get that. I don’t understand why your family is up in arms about Harper. I can see them being upset because Zander is upset. This is something … different, though.”

“Harper is a part of our family,” Mel said. “Zander is a part of Harper’s family. They’re a unit. We all recognized that a long time ago. I can’t explain why they’re so close. Nothing in this world will ever tear them apart, though.

“Through the years it became expected to see them together,” he continued. “Harper had presents under our family Christmas tree and Zander had presents under hers. When Gloria sent Harper to girls-only summer camp the two of them went on a hunger strike until Phil picked her up and brought her home.”

“That sounds a little co-dependent.”

“It’s more than a ‘little co-dependent,’” Mel conceded. “They’ve shunned most other people who tried to be friends with them. Even when one of them is involved with someone else you can’t separate them.”

“That must be hard on the people they date,” Jared mused.

“Harper doesn’t really date,” Mel said. “Not since … well … not in a few years.”

Jared’s interest was piqued. “Not since what?”

“She had a rough go of it a few years ago,” Mel said, choosing his words carefully. “She was dating a guy named Quinn Jackson. They were pretty close. Zander even liked him. Then … well … his car was found down an embankment up on the bluff above the lake.”

Jared’s heart sank. “He died?”

“We think so,” Mel said. “He’s never been officially declared dead. The car was badly beaten up and the driver’s side window was broken out like someone tried to climb out. There was blood all over the door and it was identified as Quinn’s.

“Quinn’s injuries would’ve been quite severe from the accident,” he continued. “The working theory is he tried to climb out of the car and go for help, but that’s pretty rough terrain out there. We think he died of internal injuries.”

“You never found a body?” Jared was horrified.

“We looked for months,” Mel said. “Harper kept going out there by herself. It wasn’t that she didn’t think Quinn was dead. She believed he was dead. She wanted a body to put him to rest, though. She wanted to make sure … .”

“He wasn’t wandering around as a ghost,” Jared finished, his expression thoughtful. “How does your family feel about this whole ghost thing?”

“We love Harper,” Mel replied. “We adore Zander. Zander adores Harper. My family believes.”

“Do they really believe or do they just say they believe?” Jared couldn’t let it go.

“Most of them really believe,” Mel said. “You have to understand … Harper has proven herself so many times I’ve lost count. She’s led us to bodies. She’s saved lives. She’s solved a lot of missing person cases.”

“Why don’t you believe?” Jared pressed.

“I don’t know if I believe,” Mel clarified. “I’m one of those people who has to see things for himself before it sinks in. I do believe Harper has special abilities. I’m not sure what they are, but she’s not a normal girl.”

Jared believed that. He barely knew her and couldn’t help but see something “different” about her every time he was in close proximity. “When did she give up looking for Quinn?”

“Not for a long time,” Mel said. “Finally … one day she just let it go. She’s never been the same since.”

“I’m guessing Zander stood by her during all of this.”

“Zander will stand by her until the day he dies,” Mel said. “They’re joined for life. Whoever finally manages to snag Harper – or Zander, for that matter – is going to have to realize that they’re taking them both on.”

“I didn’t realize about the boyfriend,” Jared said. “I feel kind of bad for hauling her in last night.”

“She’ll survive,” Mel said. “She’s strong.”

“I guess.”

“Can I ask you something?”

Jared arched an eyebrow and waited.

“How come you’re so interested in Harper?” Mel asked. “Are you … attracted to her?”

“Of course not,” Jared scoffed. “She keeps showing up at odd places and never has a good reason for being there. She showed up where a body was found, she went to the college to question people, she broke into a dead woman’s house … all of those things make her suspicious.”

“And yet I don’t believe you’re suspicious that she has anything to do with this,” Mel said.

“I … she’s a person of interest.”

“Okay,” Mel said, holding up his hands. “A courier is dropping off the autopsy. Let’s focus on that and let Harper go back to … whatever it is she’ll be doing today.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” Jared said, turning and heading toward the small kitchenette.

Mel watched him go, a small grin playing at the corners of his mouth. Harper Harlow may be a “person of interest” to Jared Monroe, but Mel had a feeling that
interest
was a lot more varied than even Jared understood.