Ghostly Asylum

by Lily Harper Hart

  Zander’s smile slipped. “Oh, geez. Captain Killjoy is going to veto the idea right out of the gate. Why would you want to do that?”

  “Because I want to hear what he has to say.” That was the truth, although Harper also wanted to give herself a bit of time to absorb the idea before agreeing to it. “We need to look over the contract and talk to a few people but … we’ll be in touch.”

  2

  Two

  “There’s my favorite girl.”

  Jared Monroe let himself into Harper’s bedroom shortly after finishing his shift at the Whisper Cove Police Department. It had been a boring day – two jaywalkers and a property dispute by a divorcing couple that turned into a public scene in the middle of Main Street – and he was looking forward to spending a romantic evening with his ladylove.

  Instead of greeting him with a bright smile and enthusiastic hug, like she usually did, Harper stared through her bedroom window.

  “What’s wrong?” Jared was instantly on alert. He met Harper the previous spring, when the trees were just coming into full bloom, and now that the leaves were beginning to turn as autumn hit he felt as if he’d known her his entire life. He’d become very familiar with her moods.

  “What do you mean?” Harper forced her gaze from the window and offered up a wan smile. “Why do you naturally assume something is wrong?”

  “Because Zander isn’t in the kitchen cooking a big dinner and you’re hiding in here,” Jared replied. He knew better than getting in the middle of a fight between Harper and her best friend, but he wasn’t keen on sitting through an uncomfortable evening if they were in the middle of one of their notorious fights. “What happened?”

  “Well, for starters, I told Zander not to move and he did … twice … and I got pelted with rotten fruit for half the afternoon.”

  “That would explain why you’ve showered.” Jared shuffled closer, running his fingers through Harper’s damp hair. “It looks like you’ve taken care of that problem, though.”

  “You should’ve smelled me an hour ago.”

  “I was looking forward to nothing else all day.” Jared’s grin was contagious because Harper couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from tipping up. “In fact, I sat at my desk doing a ridiculous amount of paperwork and my mind kept drifting to exactly when I would be able to sniff you.”

  “Ha, ha.” Harper poked Jared’s side. “I told him not to move.”

  “Yes, well, it sounds as if you’ve had a difficult day.” Jared navigated Harper to the bed so they could get comfortable. If it led to something else after they talked, he wasn’t opposed to that either. Given her mood, though, he knew he would have to drag her out of her doldrums before they got to the fun part of their evening. “You usually don’t let Zander’s hijinks derail you like this, though. That makes me think something else is going on.”

  Harper’s expression was rueful as she settled next to him, enjoying the way Jared’s hand automatically went to the tense spot on the back of her neck. He dug his fingers in and began to massage, hoping to loosen up her mouth as well as her muscles.

  “You read me pretty well,” Harper supplied. “Before Zander, no one read me as well as you.”

  “I’m going to take that as a compliment even though you know how much I hate being compared to Zander.”

  “He’s angry with me.”

  “Ah.” Now we’re getting somewhere, Jared internally mused. “Why is he angry with you? Does he smell like rotten apples, too?”

  “I washed my hair,” Harper complained. “You shouldn’t be able to smell it.”

  “It’s very faint. Don’t worry about it. I happen to love the smell of apples.”

  “I only like apples when they’re cooked in a pie. That’s something else I discovered today.”

  “So you have had a busy day,” Jared teased, tickling her ribs. He didn’t like how tense she was. Whatever was bothering her was bigger than she wanted to let on. Or perhaps she didn’t even realize how agitated she was. It wouldn’t be the first time her emotions took hold before her brain caught up.

  “Yeah.” Harper chewed on her lip as her expression darkened. “There were two people in the office when we got back.”

  “Okay.” Jared waited for her to tell the story in her own way. If he needed to step in, make his presence known because someone was threatening her, he would do it without hesitation. It took him a bit to grasp the fact that she really did talk to ghosts, but he believed it with his whole heart now. If someone was going after her because of that … well … it wouldn’t end well for that individual.

  “Michael Knox and Lucy Bush.”

  “Are those names supposed to mean something to me?” Jared asked, legitimately curious. He’d only been in Whisper Cove for six months, but he thought he knew all of the locals. Neither name sparked recognition.

  “I don’t know. I thought you might.” Harper shifted on her hip, her fingers moving to Jared’s toned stomach so she could trace his abs through the shirt. “They work for IGH.”

  “I don’t know what that is.”

  “Independent Ghost Hunters Network.”

  Jared knit his eyebrows as he racked his brain. “Is that the channel you and Zander watch when you want to make fun of how other people hunt for ghosts?”

  Harper nodded. “Michael Knox produces the show Phantoms, and Lucy Bush is the woman who does the interviews and narration.”

  “Ah. Okay. I can’t say I know who she is, but I’m sure I’d recognize her if you pointed her out. You’ve made me sit through hundreds of those shows.”

  “I haven’t made you sit through them,” Harper clarified. “I invited you to hang out with me while I did it. There’s a difference.”

  Her feisty attitude returned a bit, which made Jared grin. “Thank you for the clarification.”

  “You’re welcome.” Harper rested her chin on Jared’s chest and bit back a sigh as he stroked the back of her head. He was blessed with infinite patience – something she wasn’t used to because everyone else in her life, including her parents, was something of a spaz. She needed that patience now because she was having trouble sorting through her emotions.

  “Do they want to film you?” Jared asked.

  Harper’s eyebrows hopped. “How did you know that?”

  “It’s the only thing that made sense. Plus, I’m a detective.” He playfully tapped his temple.

  “Right.” Harper snuggled closer. “They do want to film us. They want to do an episode featuring us.”

  “And you don’t want to be on television?” Jared didn’t want to voice his concerns until she’d already expressed hers. He wasn’t sure how he felt about his girlfriend being on a television show, but the network wasn’t exactly popular and it’s not as if Harper would pick up thousands of fans by doing it. Plus, well, it ultimately wasn’t his decision. She had to decide and he would support her no matter what.

  “I honestly don’t know how I feel about that,” Harper admitted. “I don’t always look my best after a takedown.”

  “No one looks better than you. Ever.”

  “Cute.”

  “I do my best.” Jared brushed his lips over Harper’s forehead, doing his best to soothe her even though he wasn’t yet aware why she was so bothered. “What does Zander think?”

  “Oh, he’s already picturing himself going to ghost conventions and posing for photos with his adoring fans.”

  Jared didn’t bother hiding his smirk. “I can see that.”

  “I would do the show just for him because of that,” Harper admitted. “It’s not the show. Even if we look like idiots – which we do on a daily basis, so it’s not a big deal – I would be okay with that if it made him happy.”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  “It’s the place they want to go.”

  “And where is that?”

  “Ludington Asylum.”

  The name meant absolutely nothing to Jared. He grew up on the west side of the state and
wasn’t familiar with a lot of the Whisper Cove landmarks and lore. “I didn’t know you guys had an asylum. How did I miss that?”

  “It’s not in Whisper Cove,” Harper clarified. “It’s about an hour away, in the middle of the lake.”

  Jared shifted, confused. “The asylum is in the middle of the lake? How?”

  “It’s on a small island,” Harper explained. “The Ludington Asylum was famous back in the day. It was built in the 1940s and there was a lot of fanfare when it happened.”

  “And you remember that because you were there? And here I thought you were young and fresh.”

  “Ha, ha.” Harper rolled her eyes. “I did a lot of research about the asylum when I was younger because everyone whispered about it being haunted. I wanted to know more.”

  “Ah.” Things clicked into place for Jared. “I get where you’re going. Go back to the beginning, though. I’m listening.”

  “Are you done with your comedy routine?”

  “For the moment.”

  Harper took her time and visibly swallowed. “They built the asylum on the island because it was only accessible by boat. They thought that would mean fewer escape attempts.”

  “I would think they’d have security at an asylum,” Jared pointed out.

  “I’m sure they did, but between the time the asylum opened and shut down in the early 1970s they housed more than crazy people there. Wait … using the term ‘crazy people’ is probably offensive, isn’t it?”

  “Probably. I’m not offended, though.”

  “I should’ve learned my lesson after this morning,” Harper muttered. “By the way, if you don’t want to get on Zander’s bad side, don’t point out that his new Sperry Topsiders look like the chosen footwear of a gay man. He’s in a mood about that.”

  “You mean the peach boat shoes that make me think Sonny Crocket would’ve been jealous … and taking notes?”

  Harper snorted. “Sonny Crocket. Good reference. Zander loves that show.”

  “I loved that show, too,” Jared noted. “I wanted to be a vice cop and live in Miami for a time because of it.”

  “If that happened we never would’ve met.”

  “So it clearly wasn’t my destiny.” Jared pressed Harper close and gave her a soft kiss. “Go back to the asylum.”

  Harper shook herself out of her reverie. “Right. You have to remember that back in the day they didn’t have the medical standards and regulations they do now. People were locked up for weird things back then – things that very clearly aren’t mental challenges – and they were treated in abhorrent ways.”

  “Like electroshock therapy?”

  “Among others,” Harper replied. “Homosexuality, for example, was considered a mental defect and a lot of patients were treated with aversion therapy.”

  “Which is?”

  “They would be given a medication to make them sick to their stomach, shown a bunch of same-sex photos and movies, and then forced to throw up while watching.”

  Jared was horrified. “Seriously?”

  “It’s not just that,” Harper said. “Women were sometimes locked up for having PMS, which was essentially a way for a man to get rid of his wife without killing her. He had all the power and could lock her up on just his word and there wasn’t anything she could do about it.”

  “I guess that means I can’t lock you in the closet next time you have PMS even if I mean it as a joke, huh?” Jared was teasing, but the story bothered him. “So you’re saying the people who were locked up in this asylum didn’t deserve to be there.”

  “No, that’s not exactly what I’m saying,” Harper clarified. “Some of the people sent there needed to be there. It’s just, back then, they lumped all mental issues together. A woman who had mood swings was just as dangerous as a man who killed his wife and children.”

  Jared’s hand tightened on the back of Harper’s neck. “Oh. I get what you’re saying.”

  “It was a different world,” Harper said. “We think the practices they used back then sound barbaric now, but it was the norm. The Ludington Asylum was hardly the only facility using those methods.”

  “Okay, so I’m guessing it was shut down for good in the seventies. That’s what you said, right?”

  “It was, and that’s when things really got out of control,” Harper said. “The state shut down the hospital, but when they started going through patient records, they found a lot of them missing.”

  “Missing? The patients or the records?”

  “Both. People apparently checked in, but they never checked out.”

  “So they were murdered there?” The more Jared heard about this asylum, the more he wanted to keep Harper from setting foot inside of it.

  “No one knows. It’s assumed some of them probably died of natural causes, but the doctor who ran the place disappeared right after it was shut down. To my knowledge, they never found him.”

  “I see.” And, because he did, Jared couldn’t stop his stomach from flipping. “So some of the missing patients might have died from natural causes, but there were probably too many of them for that to be completely true.”

  “Pretty much.”

  “So a lot of people died on that island,” Jared mused. “Did they ever find the bodies?”

  “Not that I heard of and given the size of the island – which I’ve only seen in photographs, mind you – I’m guessing they dumped the bodies in the water rather than deal with burying them.”

  “Well, great. That sounds nice and tidy.” Jared ran his tongue over his lips as he considered Harper’s conundrum. “You’re worried the asylum is going to be so packed with ghosts it overwhelms you, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.” Harper saw no reason to lie.

  Jared went with his gut instinct. “So don’t go.”

  “I’ve been leaning toward that decision myself.”

  “But?” Jared prodded. He knew it wouldn’t be that easy.

  “But Zander really wants to go,” Harper replied. “Molly and Eric do, too.” Eric was the fourth and final member of the GHI team, and although he hadn’t been as excited as Molly, he voted with the others as soon as Michael and Lucy left the office a few hours before. “They think it sounds exciting.”

  “That’s easy for them to say,” Jared argued. “They don’t see what you see.”

  “No, but … I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious,” Harper admitted. “I’ve always wanted to see the island. This could be my only chance.”

  “Or we can borrow Mel’s boat one day next summer and I’ll take you out there,” Jared suggested. “We can spend an hour looking around at the grounds and give the building itself a wide berth.”

  “According to Michael Knox we’ll be perfectly safe because our team and his team will meld. He also said he would have people ready to launch in rescue boats should something happen, although I’m not sure how feasible that is.”

  Jared wasn’t convinced. “Heart, I don’t want to tell you what to do, but this whole thing worries me. What if you’re overwhelmed by this?”

  “I’m not going to pretend it absolutely won’t happen, but I don’t believe it will,” Harper replied. “I’m strong.”

  “You’re the strongest person I know,” Jared agreed. “That doesn’t mean I like this idea.”

  “The thing is, if I don’t go, I’m worried I’ll always be haunted because I wasn’t brave enough to try.”

  “Oh, geez.” Jared pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’ve already made up your mind to do it, haven’t you? I thought you were really leaning toward not doing it, but I was wrong.”

  “Part of me wanted you to talk me out of it,” Harper conceded. “The thing is, I think I need to go.”

  “Need?”

  Harper nodded. “I have to see or I’ll always wonder.”

  Jared studied her face for a long beat, his nerves unsettled. Finally, he gave in. There was nothing else he could do. “Well, luckily for you I’ve accrued some vacation time. If
you’re going to do this, I’m going with you.”

  Harper widened her eyes, surprised. “Really?” She didn’t want to admit she was relieved. She never would’ve asked him to do anything of the sort. Once he volunteered his time, though, there was absolutely no way she intended to put up a fight. “That makes me feel better about things.”

  “I live to serve.” Jared scooted lower on the bed and rolled Harper so she was on top of him. He used both of his hands to push her hair away from her face. “Did you really think I would let you go without me?”

  Harper shrugged, noncommittal. “I didn’t know. I can say that I’ve never been more relieved in my life. I’m not sure I could do this without you.”

  “Luckily for you, you don’t have to find out.” Jared wrapped his arms around Harper’s slim back, sighing as she burrowed her head into his chest. “It might be fun, right?”

  “We’ll treat it like a romantic adventure.”

  “Yes, a romantic adventure where tortured ghosts will probably try to kill us,” Jared muttered. “That sounds like the best vacation ever.”

  Harper tilted her head so she could lock gazes with him. “Have I mentioned that I love you?”

  Jared’s scowl slipped. “Not today.”

  “I do.”

  “I love you, too.” Jared planted a scorching kiss on Harper’s lips. “I think you should show me just how much.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  The couple was just about to shift gears and shed clothes when the bedroom door burst open, allowing Zander entrance. His eyes flashed when he saw what Harper and Jared were about to do.

  “Didn’t we talk about knocking?” Jared challenged, dropping Harper’s shirt to ensure she remained covered.

  “Yes, but I heard the conversation through the heat vent and I didn’t have time to knock in case you guys were already stripping,” Zander replied. “For the record, I think you’ve made the right decision.”

  “Oh, well, good. I always base my decisions on what will make you happy,” Jared drawled.