Wicked Haunts (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 12)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Soak your feet,” he instructed as he walked her to the door. “If you need me, don’t hesitate to call.”

  Ivy’s lips curved as she gave him a sidelong look. “You don’t have to worry. I’m perfectly fine.”

  Jack didn’t believe that. “You saw something that frightened you. I get it.”

  Was “frightened” the right word? Ivy wasn’t convinced. “I’m fine. I’m a big girl.”

  “You’re my girl.” He pressed a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

  Ivy graced him with a reassuring smile. “I know. It’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

  She waited for him to leave, stood at the window and waved him off because she was convinced he needed it, but as soon as his truck disappeared from the driveway she let her real emotions take over. She had no idea what to make of the images she saw, the visions that threatened to swallow her whole. As for the sounds, the ear-splitting screams that she feared she would never forget, Ivy knew it was very likely the sounds would wake her from a dead sleep for a long time to come.

  At a loss, Ivy dug into her pocket for her phone and called the one person she knew could hash things out with her in a pragmatic way.

  Harper Harlow, the ghost hunter Ivy met weeks before, picked up on the third ring. “Hey, Ivy.”

  Ivy smiled at the sound of her voice. “Hey.”

  Harper picked up right away that something was wrong. She was already used to the different tones of Ivy’s voice. “What’s wrong?”

  “Something weird happened.”

  “Isn’t that the story of our lives?”

  “Yeah, well, this was especially weird.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  JACK AND BRIAN HEADED for the bank. Ross was working in his office, the huge glass windows making him visible from the lobby. Brian explained to his secretary that they needed to talk to him, and after a brief conversation, the secretary motioned for them to enter the office.

  Ross was obviously distressed by the sight of the two police detectives. “What’s wrong? Has something happened?”

  Brian closed the door to ensure they had privacy and then sat in one of the chairs across from Ross’s desk. “We have some bad news.”

  “I figured.” Ross steepled his fingers and rested his elbows on his desk. “You guys don’t usually show up to spread joy and happiness to the world.”

  Brian cracked a wan smile. “Yeah, well ... I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you, but we just came from Janice Green’s house. She’s dead.”

  The oxygen whooshed out of Ross’s lungs and his already pale features turned ashen. “W-what?”

  “I understand you were seeing Janice.”

  “I ... what?”

  Brian licked his lips and called on his police training to center Ross on the current conversation. “You and Janice were dating, correct?”

  For several moments, Ross merely sat there and stared. Finally, he nodded. “We’ve been seeing each other for about two months. I wasn’t aware that news had spread across town.”

  “Ivy saw you together,” Jack supplied. “She directed us to you.”

  “Because you think I did something to her?” Ross’s voice turned squeaky.

  “No, because we need information on Janice’s life. We want to know who would have reason to hurt her, if she mentioned having issues with anyone. We also need to know if you have any ideas on where we might be able to find Phoebe.”

  He didn’t recover right away — more like in slow increments — but Ross slowly focused on what Jack and Brian were trying to say. “She was murdered. That’s what you’re saying? Ah, well, of course she was murdered. You guys wouldn’t be here if she died in her sleep.”

  “She was definitely murdered,” Brian confirmed. “The medical examiner believes it happened about three days ago. We obviously have some questions.”

  “I don’t know if I have the answers you’re looking for but, of course, I want to help. Janice was a good woman. I ... she was a good woman. I really liked her.”

  “We’re very sorry for your loss,” Jack said. “We want to find who did this to her. We can’t change what happened, but we can find justice.”

  “I guess that’s all I can ask for. What do you want to know?”

  “For starters, when was the last time you talked to Janice?”

  “Um ... that would’ve been four days ago, I guess,” Ross replied, searching his memory. “We had plans for lunch and met at the diner. She was in a good mood and was talking about a new listing she had.”

  “What kind of listing?”

  “Real estate. She was working as a real estate agent.”

  “I guess I didn’t know that,” Brian admitted. “Last time I heard, she was working as an aide at the school.”

  “She hated that job, said the kids were hard to deal with. She took classes and got her real estate license a few months before we started dating. She was enjoying herself a lot more now that she wasn’t anchored to the school.”

  “Well, I’m glad for that.” Brian flashed a smile that didn’t make it all the way to his eyes. “Did she seem agitated at lunch? Perhaps she had trouble with a client or something.”

  “If she was having trouble with a client, she didn’t mention it. I know she managed to get three good listings in the past three weeks and was happy about that. Honestly, she didn’t act as if anything was wrong during our lunch.”

  “Okay. What about after that? Was it normal for you guys to go four days without talking on the phone?”

  “We didn’t talk every day,” Ross replied, rubbing his forehead. “Our relationship was still relatively new. We were happy to keep it casual, at least for the time being. I just went through a divorce two years ago ... and we all know what Brad did to her. We didn’t want to push things.

  “I called her yesterday,” he continued, a line forming between his eyebrows. “She was already dead when I placed the call. That’s hard to wrap my head around. I left a message, asking if she wanted to go to a movie and dinner this weekend. I didn’t expect her to return the call until sometime today.”

  “There was nothing you could’ve done,” Jack offered sympathetically. “I mean ... she was gone long before you called. You can’t blame yourself.”

  “Yes, but if we made a habit to talk more frequently then I might’ve realized sooner that something was off. The truth is, it was difficult for both of us to carve time into our schedules during the week. I haven’t been the branch manager for very long and I want to make a good impression, and she was trying to work her way up to being one of the premier real estate agents in the area. It just made sense for us to spend the bulk of our time together on the weekends.”

  “I can see that,” Jack said. “What about Phoebe? What can you tell us about her?”

  “I didn’t see a lot of Phoebe. I know she was living with Janice — something that didn’t seem to make her happy, mind you — but she was out and about on her own most of the time. She’s an adult, after all, so she didn’t exactly appreciate Janice watching over her constantly.”

  “Probably not,” Brian agreed. “Why was Phoebe back with her mother? I thought she graduated from college.”

  “She did, but she couldn’t find a job. The labor market isn’t exactly easy for fresh graduates right now.”

  “Right.” Jack bobbed his head. “Do you know where she was working?”

  “The Dairy Twist.”

  Brian arched an eyebrow. “The Dairy Twist? That can’t pay very well.”

  “No, but there aren’t a lot of options in Shadow Lake. It’s not exactly full of coveted positions.”

  “No.” Brian exchanged a long look with Jack. “What about Brad? Did Janice ever talk about what happened between the two of them?”

  Ross’s lips twisted. “You mean when he cheated on her with her best friend and then blindsided her with a divorce?”

  “I believe that’s what I
was talking about.”

  “She talked about it a little bit,” Ross hedged, shaking his head. “She said she was still angry, but she wanted to get to a point where she didn’t think about it at all because she was sick of Brad and Nikki dictating what she did in her life. She was embarrassed by what happened.”

  “Why would she be embarrassed?” Jack was legitimately curious. “She wasn’t the one who cheated.”

  “No, but she feels as if she should’ve known ... or at least seen the signs. She was completely blindsided, basically knocked on her ass. Brad took pleasure in torturing her with the revelation. It was as if he enjoyed putting the screws to her, breaking her heart.

  “He walked away with a chip on his shoulder,” he continued. “He told Janice it was her fault that he strayed, that she wasn’t pretty enough to keep him and boring in bed. Janice had multiple complexes because of that. She was trying to get over them, but it wasn’t easy. Brad truly did destroy her.”

  “I remember all that,” Brian confirmed. “It was nasty business. She didn’t do anything wrong. Brad was to blame ... and Nikki.”

  “What about Nikki?” Jack prodded. “How did Janice feel about her former best friend?”

  “I almost think that betrayal was worse than what Brad did to her,” Ross replied. “To have someone who is supposed to be your best friend use and abuse you that way ... and then not even be sorry about it ... well, I’m not sure Janice would’ve ever gotten over that.”

  “I don’t think so either.” Brian slowly got to his feet. “We’ll be in touch. At this point, we’re not sure what we’re dealing with. I’m sure we’ll have more questions.”

  “I’ll be around. I ... want to make sure someone looks out for Janice at least once in her life.”

  “We all want that.”

  THEIR NEXT STOP WAS THE house Nikki and Brad shared. It was a nondescript ranch on the opposite side of town from Janice’s house.

  Jack cast a dubious look at the overgrown flowerbeds as they trudged up the walkway — Ivy was obsessive about keeping her gardens weeded and pretty — and rapped loudly when he reached the door.

  It took a few minutes for someone to answer, and Jack could hear shuffling on the other side of the door before an annoyed face finally appeared in the crack. When Nikki realized who was darkening her doorstep, her expression twisted.

  “Oh, geez,” she groused bitterly. “I haven’t done anything. Why are you guys here bugging me? If that nosy neighbor of mine called again, you can tell her to stuff it. I’m well within my rights to park on the street. It doesn’t matter if I have a driveway.”

  Brian blinked several times in rapid succession. “We’re not here about your parking situation.”

  “Then why are you here? I haven’t done anything that warrants you coming here. I mind my own business.”

  “We’re here to talk about Janice Green.”

  Nikki’s lips curved down. “Are you kidding me? Years after the fact she’s sending you after me? Why can’t she just get over herself? Brad loves me. He never loved her. Their relationship was like pure torture to him. He only stayed because of Phoebe.”

  Jack couldn’t remember ever meeting Nikki before and he was hopeful he would never have to cross paths with her again. He found her to be an absolutely horrible human being. “Janice is dead.”

  Nikki’s eyes went wide. “What?”

  “She’s dead,” he repeated. “We discovered her body earlier this afternoon. That’s why we’re here. We need to have a conversation with you and Mr. Green.”

  Nikki licked her lips as she rubbed her cheek, her head moving back and forth as if the mere act of denying the death would change things. “That can’t be right. Are you sure she’s dead?”

  Jack was incredulous. “Really? That’s our job. That’s the one thing we’re absolutely required to get right.”

  “But ... she can’t be dead. That makes no sense. She wasn’t old enough to die.”

  “She was murdered,” Brian supplied. “That’s why we want to talk to you and Brad.”

  Realization finally jarred Nikki back to the here and now. “Are you kidding? You think we had something to do with it? Are you crazy?”

  “We have questions,” Jack replied simply. “We need you to answer them.”

  “And what if I don’t want to?”

  “Then we can haul you into the station as a material witness and hold you there until you comply.” That was a bit of a stretch, Jack internally acknowledged. They had no grounds to hold Nikki. She didn’t know that, of course.

  “You can’t be serious!” Nikki lost her temper and stomped her foot on the ground. “This is so typical from you guys and the rest of this town. Brad and I get zero respect from anybody. We’re treated as lepers, as if we’re child abusers or murderers.”

  Jack remained calm. “We have questions that need to be answered. This isn’t about what you need. It’s about a dead woman and what you know regarding her death.”

  Nikki narrowed her eyes until they were nothing but glittery green slits. “Are you suggesting I killed Janice? Why would I possibly want to do that? I already won.”

  “I believe you just told us why you would want to do that,” Brian pointed out. “The town has never forgiven you and Brad for what you did to Janice. You’re looked at as a trollop and Brad as a faithless weasel. That was never going to change as long as Janice was around. Maybe you decided to off her to ease your burden.”

  “And maybe you’re an idiot,” Nikki shot back, her tone withering. “What are you even saying? How can you morons believe anything of the sort? I would never hurt Janice. She was my best friend.”

  “And you’re currently with her ex-husband because you broke up their marriage,” Jack pointed out. “You married Brad after the fact even though you know it crushed your friend’s spirit. That doesn’t exactly speak to you being loyal, if you ask me.”

  Nikki’s scowl was so pronounced her mouth looked like an upside-down U. “Brad and I were in love. He never loved Janice. I’m sorry she got hurt, but what about us? Were we supposed to be unhappy for the rest of our lives because Janice was living in La-La-Land?”

  “That’s really not for us to say,” Brian replied, matter-of-fact. “What’s important now is that Janice is dead, murdered by someone three days ago, and we need to know where you were at the time. We also need to talk to your husband.”

  Nikki balked. “I don’t have to talk to you without an attorney. You can’t make me. I know my rights.”

  “You certainly don’t have to talk to us without an attorney,” Jack said agreeably. “Would you like us to take you in so you can call an attorney to represent you during questioning?”

  “I know what you’re doing,” Nikki hissed. “You’re trying to intimidate me. Well, that’s not going to work.”

  “Good for you.” Jack flashed a smile that he knew would irritate Nikki down to her marrow. He used it on Ivy when he was spoiling for a fight and it never failed to raise her blood pressure. “If you want to call an attorney, we can arrange to transport you to the police station and you can make the call there.”

  “Oh, why do you have to be such a pain?” Nikki practically exploded. “You know darned well I had nothing to do with Janice’s death. Her dying hurts me even more, because even though Brad and I are innocent, we’re going to be looked at as the jerks who ruined the last years of her life.”

  “I can’t really argue with that,” Brian agreed. “That’s not our worry, though. You can handle your image repair on your own time. We have questions about Janice, your relationship with her and what was going on with Brad. You can either answer those questions here or we’ll take a walk downtown.”

  “Oh, I hate you,” Nikki seethed. “I mean ... I truly hate you. I hope you fall into a doughnut hole and never come out.”

  “That seems like a stereotypical threat.”

  “I don’t care what you say. I didn’t hurt Janice. I wouldn’t.”

  “T
hen you should have no problem answering our questions.”

  Nikki’s bitterness was palpable as she pushed open the door. “Fine. Do what you want. Just know that I’m going to hate you no matter what.”

  “I think we can both live with that.”

  Five

  Ivy felt better after her conversation with Harper. Although the women didn’t share the same gift, Harper understood what it was like for Ivy to constantly feel different. She didn’t let her friend sag under the weight of new abilities. She was a sounding board Ivy didn’t know she needed until after the fact.

  Since her spirits were buoyed, Ivy decided to head into town and do a little investigating of her own. That entailed stopping at the Dairy Twist, but only because she finally remembered that the last time she saw Phoebe was at the establishment.

  Cassandra Gottlieb was behind the counter when Ivy approached the window. She had a ready smile that was perfectly suited for selling ice cream. She was only nineteen, but Ivy had a feeling she would go far if she ever focused her efforts on furthering a marketing career.

  “Hello, Ms. Morgan.” Cassandra, as always, was perky. “Do you want your usual?”

  Ivy hated being referred to as “Ms. Morgan” because it made her feel old. She didn’t admonish Cassandra, though, because it wasn’t the girl’s fault. She was merely being polite. “Am I the only one who has a regular order?” Ivy was disheartened at the thought. “Perhaps I’m in an ice cream rut. Maybe I should try something new.”

  “We have fresh strawberries if you want to go that route.”

  Ivy made a face. “Strawberries and ice cream don’t mix. Chocolate and ice cream belong together.”

  “So ... a medium twist cone dipped in chocolate with a cherry on the side?”

  Ivy’s smile was rueful. “Yes. I guess I shall keep my ice cream rut alive.” She leaned her hip against the counter as Cassandra got to work on her order. “So, I’m not just here for the ice cream, although it is the main draw.”