Wicked Decisions

by Lily Harper Hart

  “And what if I don’t want to tell you?” There was a challenge in Fanny’s voice that set Ivy’s teeth on edge.

  “Then we’ll have to transport you to the department for formal questioning.” Brian was matter-of-fact. “If you’re under the delusion that this is a voluntary interrogation, you’re wrong. It’s an informal setting … for now … but we could change that.”

  Fanny’s eyes turned dark. “Are you saying that you believe I did something wrong?”

  “I’m saying that we need clarification on your activities this afternoon. That’s non-negotiable.”

  For a long beat, Fanny remained silent. Then, as if having an internal debate with herself, she shook her head and dragged a hand through her messy hair. “I burned boxes. I always burn boxes out there. I’ve never gotten in trouble for it before. I don’t understand why you’re making such a big deal about it.”

  “Honestly, I don’t care about the boxes,” Brian explained. “I care about the binder that was discovered in the burn barrel.”

  “What binder?” Fanny’s eyes flashed with impatience. “You’ve mentioned a binder multiple times now. I have no idea what binder you’re referring to.”

  “Well, then let me lay it out for you.” Brian was unnaturally calm given the circumstances. “Yesterday, someone broke into Zelda’s store after it was closed for the night and stole a binder she had from the counter. We know it was there in the afternoon on the day she died because we saw it. It was gone the next morning. The binder we found partially destroyed in your barrel featured wedding items … the sort that would belong in a binder owned by a wedding coordinator.”

  “And you think I broke into Zelda’s store to steal a wedding binder?” Fanny was incredulous. “Why would I possibly want to do that?”

  “Why do you think we’re questioning you?”

  “I have no idea why you’re questioning me. I didn’t burn a binder. I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

  “We found the binder in the barrel.”

  “That doesn’t mean I burned it. Heck, I’m not even the only one who uses that barrel. Zelda burned her boxes in that barrel … and Larry does sometimes, too. It’s a community barrel.”

  “I didn’t realize that.” Brian turned thoughtful. “Just for the record, you’re denying entering Zelda’s store, correct?”

  “When? The day she died? You’re darned tooting I didn’t enter the store that day.”

  “What about the day after?” Jack queried.

  “I haven’t been in her store in weeks.”

  “When was the last time you entered the store?” Brian asked. “I know when we talked to you at the senior center you said that you hadn’t seen Zelda in weeks, but I’m curious when the last time you were in her store was.”

  “I haven’t been in her store in … I don’t know.” Fanny shook her head, clearly frustrated. “I don’t think I’ve been in there four times over the course of my entire life. It’s not as if we were friends.”

  “That wasn’t what I asked.” Brian was firm. “When was the last time you were in her store?”

  “Three weeks ago,” Lucy volunteered, her voice clear as it floated over the small group. “She went into Zelda’s store three weeks ago and they had a huge fight.”

  “You’re such a tattletale,” Fanny hissed, murder lurking in the depths of her eyes. “You just couldn’t wait to tell them that, could you?”

  “They’re looking for the truth,” Lucy replied reasonably. “Zelda was murdered. They need all the information.”

  “I didn’t murder her.” Fanny was beside herself. “Why can’t you see that? Why would I murder her?”

  “Well, for starters, it could be because you were jealous of Henry’s relationship with Zelda.”

  “Wait a second.” Henry held up a hand. He didn’t look uncomfortable. In fact, if Ivy had to guess, he seemed rather pleased with himself. Apparently he enjoyed being the center of attention. “Are you saying that Fanny killed Zelda because of me?”

  Jack had to bite back a laugh. It wasn’t a funny situation. Ivy’s eye roll, however, was so pronounced it bordered on absurd.

  “We’re not accusing anybody,” Brian clarified. “That’s not the point of this conversation. We’re trying to find answers.”

  “I don’t have any answers for you,” Fanny snapped. “I didn’t kill Zelda. I already told you that I had no reason to kill her. Henry and I are going to be together down the road. We’ve already talked about it.”

  “So you’ve mentioned.” Jack’s gaze was dark when it landed on Henry. “Fanny here seems to believe that you’re going to settle down with her one day. The thing is, Lucy seems to believe the same thing. They’ve been calling each other liars for a good ten minutes. Would you like to clear up that potential fight?”

  For the first time since he arrived on the scene, Henry looked legitimately uneasy. “Oh, well … .”

  “It’s okay, Henry,” Lucy prodded, her voice softer than it had been. “I know you wanted to keep it a secret until you could let everyone down as gently as possible, but it’s too late for that. Just tell them.”

  “Yes, just tell us,” Jack prodded, folding his arms over his chest.

  Even though he was the verbose sort, suddenly Henry couldn’t find the words. He hemmed and hawed as he shifted from one foot to the other. He didn’t as much as get a coherent sentence out. That only served to infuriate Fanny and Lucy.

  “Just tell them,” Fanny snapped, venom practically dripping from her tongue. “There’s no reason to keep it quiet now. We can be out in the open.”

  When Henry refused to speak, Ivy made a clucking sound with her tongue and glared. “He has spoken,” she offered. “He told you when you started dating that he was always going to play the field. As you got more attached to him and started making demands, he began lying to stave off the inevitable.

  “He doesn’t like confrontation,” she continued. “He’s admitted that. He likes the idea of getting all your attention, but he doesn’t like being called on the carpet for his actions. To avoid that, he lies and tells you what you want to hear. He keeps lying until he’s backed in a corner. It’s only then that he ends a relationship.”

  “Is that true?” Fanny sounded hurt, as if her heart was shattering into a million pieces, when she focused her full attention on Henry. “That can’t be true.”

  Even though she was annoyed at the entire thing, Ivy felt sorry for the woman. “It’s true,” she said. “Look at him. Even now he won’t own up to what he’s done. He’s a coward. All of you are fighting for a coward who you claim is a great man. It’s crap.”

  Henry was offended. “Excuse me, young lady, but it’s not crap. I am a good man. I’ve always been a good man.”

  Ivy was done. She was exhausted … and just wanted a break from the insanity. “You’re not, though. You’re preying on people who are lonely and want someone to call their own. You know exactly what you’re doing. You pretend to care, but the only person you care about is yourself.”

  “That is not true.” Henry was adamant. “I care about all of them. It’s just … I’m a wild stallion. I can’t be tamed. I’m meant to run free, gallop across the highway of love.” He took on a far-off expression. “I do the best I can.”

  Ivy was having none of it. “You listen here.” She grabbed the front of his shirt and hauled him down so he had no choice but to stare into her eyes. “I don’t like you. You’re a pig … and that was some of the most ridiculous nonsense I’ve ever heard in my life.”

  Her eyes were fierce. “I want you to stay away from my aunt. She deserves ten times better than you. Do you hear me?”

  Henry fruitlessly fought against the grip she had on his shirt. “Your aunt and I are very close. I don’t want to end things with her. I’ll miss her.”

  “You’re going to be missing a certain piece of your anatomy that you happen to love a lot if you don’t agree to my demands.”

  Henry looke
d to Jack and Brian for help. “Aren’t you going to do something? She’s threatening me.”

  Jack merely shrugged. “I didn’t hear a thing.”

  When Henry gave Brian a pleading look, all the older detective could do was smile. “I didn’t hear a thing either. As for you, Fanny, I’m putting you on notice. Until we have this figured out – and I mean all of it – you’re not to leave town. Is that understood?”

  Fanny was stiff as she nodded. “I understand. You’re crazy, but I understand.”

  “That’s all I ask.”

  JACK, SENSING IVY WAS ABOUT TO BLOW, put together a bubble bath for the two of them upon returning to the cottage. There, in the oversized tub she loved so much, she could relax and allow the dregs of the day to slip away.

  “I think we should hide under the covers and not leave the house tomorrow,” she said as he idly rubbed his hand up and down her back.

  “I could live with that.” He brushed her forehead with his lips. “Too bad we don’t have any food. We’ll starve before we make that a reality.”

  “We’ll live on love.”

  His grin widened. “There are worse ways to survive.”

  They lapsed into comfortable silence for a few minutes. Ivy was the first to break it. When she spoke again, she was apologetic.

  “I’m sorry about the way my mother treated you.”

  “Shh.” He didn’t want to get into a deep discussion, especially so late at night. She wouldn’t sleep well if she allowed herself to dwell on what happened earlier. “It’s not your fault, honey.”

  “She’s my mother. Who else are you going to blame?”

  “Circumstances. Your mother is upset. Felicity is her sister. They’re beyond close. Can you honestly say you would be acting any differently if Max were the one on the hot seat?”

  Ivy opened her mouth to deny the accusation, but she realized he had a point. She would fight to the death to protect her brother. “It’s still not fair to you,” she said finally. “You’re a member of our family, too. She shouldn’t be treating you like this.”

  “I’m an adult. I can take it.”

  “I’m still mad.”

  He loved the obstinate tilt of her chin. “Your mother is going to be fine. I mean … you were there tonight. Felicity is obviously no longer the prime suspect.”

  “Do you think Fanny somehow found her earring and stole it?”

  “I don’t know. Felicity said she wasn’t intimate with Henry. I had no reason not to believe her. It seems to me that earring would be hard to discover if Felicity wasn’t hanging around Henry’s house.”

  “She’d better not be having sex with him.” Ivy’s lip curled. “I’m seriously going to find her an appropriate boyfriend. You’ve been warned.”

  “I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with. As for the earring … I don’t know. Maybe I should touch base with her again tomorrow to see if she has any insight into Fanny’s relationship with Henry. It can’t hurt, right?”

  “I guess.” Ivy made a grumbling noise as she rolled to rest her chin on his chest. “I don’t want to talk about Henry right now.”

  “Oh, yeah?” His eyes sparked with mirth. “What do you want to talk about?”

  “Nothing. I want to enjoy our time together in here and then go somewhere fun in our dreams.”

  “You want to dream walk twice in the same week? I thought we put the kibosh on that.”

  “We did but … .” She wasn’t sure how to finish.

  “You need a break from the real world,” he surmised.

  “We need a break from the real world.”

  “Actually, I couldn’t agree more. I think a dream destination sounds good. Where do you want to go?”

  “I don’t care. You can pick. I just want to be with you … and rest. My brain hurts from all this Henry stuff.”

  “Consider it done.”

  Eighteen

  Jack’s choice of location for their dream date took Ivy by surprise.

  “Really?” Ivy glanced around her fairy ring, a place she regularly visited in the real world, and lowered herself to the blanket Jack had spread out. He chose a picnic activity — which wasn’t unheard of for their dates — and was already stretched out and relaxed.

  “You need a mental break,” he said, opening his arms so she could roll into them. “You relax here. That’s what I want for you.”

  Ivy pressed her face to his chest. “You always know how to make me feel better.”

  He stroked the back of her hair. “I certainly hope so. We’re getting married. That’s my goal for the rest of our lives.”

  “Mine, too.”

  They were quiet for a long time, the only sound coming from the imaginary birds in the clearing. Eventually, Ivy shifted so she could stare at the wizened face of the old tree. “When I was a kid, I used to pretend he was real.” She inclined her chin toward it. “I was alone a lot and would play in the woods. I held entire conversations with him.”

  Jack hated hearing stories about her being lonely. “Now you have me. You don’t have to talk to him.”

  “He’s a great conversationalist.”

  Jack chuckled. “I’ll have to take your word for that.”

  “I used to love escaping out here. I don’t visit as much as I used to.”

  “Why do you think that is?”

  “You.” Her answer was simple. “I used to come once a day, sometimes even twice. Now I’m down to once a week or so. I don’t need this place like I used to. You’ve changed my life.”

  Jack was humbled by the statement. “You’ve changed everything for me, too.” He pressed a soft kiss to her lips, sank into it. The sound of footsteps on the ground threw him, though, and he jerked up his head. “What the ... ?”

  Ivy followed his gaze, her brow furrowing. This was the dreamscape. They were supposed to control it. They created everything that entered their domain ... and yet Maisie was standing on the edge of the clearing staring at them. It shouldn’t have been possible.

  “I don’t understand.” Jack was alert as he glanced around. He almost looked as if he expected more people from the real world to intrude on their private time. “What is she doing here?”

  “I don’t know.” Ivy struggled to a sitting position and stared hard at Maisie. “What are you doing here?”

  The woman looked positively apoplectic. “I have no idea. I was just about to ask you the same thing. I can guarantee that I didn’t choose to be here. I mean ... really. This is ridiculous. Why would I want to hang out in the woods for no good reason?”

  Ivy arched an eyebrow. “Well ... we didn’t bring you here.” Even as she said the words, she wasn’t sure if she believed them. There was no way for Maisie to enter the dream. That meant one of them had to conjure her. And, as much as she didn’t want to take credit for the feat, Ivy had a sneaking suspicion that she was the one who made it happen. “Where are you, Maisie?”

  Jack was curious about the new wrinkle, but he allowed Ivy to take control. She understood this world so much better than he did. He was amazed by the things she could do — and would always remain so — but this was her show.

  “How should I know what I’m doing here?” Maisie was shrill. “I already told you that I hate the woods. You know that. I mean ... I really hate the woods.” She wrinkled her nose as she glanced around the clearing. “There’s nothing to do here and there are bugs ... and animals ... and bugs. Do you know how much I hate bugs?”

  “You’re here for a reason.” Ivy was adamant as she rubbed her palms — which were suddenly sweaty — over her knees. “You didn’t just magically slip into our dreams.”

  Realization swept over Jack. “She’s here because you brought her here.”

  “It’s not really her,” Ivy corrected. “That’s not the real Maisie. This is my head trying to ... do something.”

  It didn’t take a psychologist to figure that out, Jack noted. “You’re afraid we won’t find her. You think she’s in troubl
e.”

  “Don’t you?”

  “I ... .” Jack wasn’t sure how to respond. His cop training told him that grown women went voluntarily missing all the time. There was a still a chance Maisie was the guilty party. And yet, even as he ran the notion through his head, it didn’t feel right. When he was a police officer on the streets of Detroit, he instinctively followed his gut over his head. It almost never failed him ... well, except for the time his partner shot him in an alley. That instance caused him to second guess himself for a long time. Ivy’s instincts, however, were always spot on.

  “I don’t think she’s a murderer,” he said finally, choosing his words carefully. “You’re right. She’s too lazy for that. She’s more manipulative than homicidal. I don’t want to overlook her, though. I mean ... it’s not totally out of the realm of possibility.”

  Ivy didn’t look convinced. “She’s here because something inside of me believes she’s in danger. We have to find her.”

  “Where do you suggest we look?”

  “I don’t know. We need to figure it out, though.”

  “Then we will.” He pressed a kiss to her neck and frowned as Maisie started making gagging noises. “Can you please get rid of her? This isn’t going to be relaxing. I don’t want her to die or anything, but I desperately need her to shut up.”

  Ivy choked back a strangled laugh. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  JACK WAS SNORING LIGHTLY IN IVY’S ear when she woke the next morning. They’d finally managed to evict Maisie from the dreamscape, and even though Ivy had gone out of her way to relax after the fact, she’d never truly managed to settle.

  They had to finish this. Today.

  “You’re thinking too loudly,” Jack complained as he rolled to his back and stared at the ceiling. His sleep had been restful despite the dreamscape snafu. He had to wonder if things were that easy for Ivy.

  “I can’t help it.” She mustered a smile for his benefit and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”