Wicked Whimsy

by Lily Harper Hart

  “They shot him!” he bellowed, his eyes going wide when he saw Ivy. “They shot him and he needs help! They’re coming. We have to get out of here.”

  Two

  For several moments, Ivy felt as if she was caught in quicksand. Her mind worked at a fantastic rate, but she was paralyzed with fear and inaction as she tried to decide what to do. Thankfully for her, Max was the first to step forward and take control of the situation.

  “Slow down.” He moved to the spot in front of the boy and forced a friendly smile onto his face. “Tell us exactly what happened so we can figure out the best way to help you.”

  The boy, whom Ivy figured to be in his early teens, looked frustrated more than anything else as his gaze bounced between them. “Did you not hear what I said? My father has been shot! There’s someone in these woods who wants to hurt me. We have to get out of here.”

  “I did hear you.” Max purposely maintained an air of calmness as he leaned over to stare into the boy’s eyes. “We need more information if we’re going to be able to help, though. Let’s start with your name.”

  The boy’s eyes, green and wild, widened as he looked over his shoulder. Ivy followed his gaze, half-expecting a masked marauder to step through the trees and attack. The woods, however, remained quiet.

  “What does my name matter?”

  “We need to know,” Max pressed, lightly resting his hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Please. Tell us your name and we’ll go from there.”

  “Josh.” He swallowed hard. “My name is Josh.”

  “Good.” Max adopted his most soothing tone. “Josh what?”

  “Josh Masters.”

  “Okay, Josh.” Max gripped his pillowcase and straightened. “I want you to walk us back through the woods to where you last saw your father and tell us what happened on the way. Do you think you can do that?”

  Josh, clearly frustrated with Max’s reaction, turned a set of pleading emerald eyes on Ivy. “We have to run.”

  For her part, Ivy was uncertain how to respond. “Max, maybe we should take him back to the house and call Jack and Brian.”

  “Or maybe you should call Jack right now before we lose a signal and tell him we’re heading into the woods,” Max countered. “Tell him to head out and we’ll provide more details as soon as we can.”

  Ivy involuntarily cringed at the suggestion. The last thing Jack said to her was that he wanted her to have a good time but stay out of trouble. He was so adamant he actually called Max to reiterate how he wanted the day to go. He most certainly wasn’t going to like the turn of events. “He’s going to be mad.”

  “Yeah, he is,” Max agreed. “It’s not as if we can control it, though. We’re doing the best we can.” He kept his smile in place for Josh’s benefit, even though it looked a bit deranged given the circumstances. “Call him anyway. If Josh’s father is out here, he’s probably in need of medical attention.”

  Ivy nodded as she dug in her pocket for her phone. “Okay. I hope this is some sort of elaborate hoax, though.”

  Max stared hard into Josh’s eyes. “That would be nice, but I doubt very much that’s how things will turn out.”

  MAX WAS RIGHT ABOUT things turning out differently. After a lot of hemming and hawing – and one bout of foot stomping and bellowing – Josh managed to pick his way back through the woods and lead Ivy and Max to the spot where he last saw his father.

  Abraham Masters, the boy’s father, was dead on the ground. His sightless eyes were pointed at the sky and a pillowcase sat abandoned on the uneven wood carpet next to what looked to be a small orange bag. There was an ugly wound in his chest, blood completely covering his shirt and coat. It was obvious that emergency personnel wouldn’t be able to save him.

  “I’ll call Jack again,” Ivy said, resigned. “Brian should be able to find us in here. We’re not far from the road.”

  “I’ll stick with Josh.” Max slid his arm around the boy’s shoulders. For some reason – and Ivy was certain it had to do with shock – Josh couldn’t tear his eyes away from his father. The tableau was horrible and not something a young boy should see, but he couldn’t look away.

  “I’ll head out to the road and flag them down,” Ivy offered. “I won’t be gone long.”

  Max mutely nodded as he focused on Josh. “It’s going to be okay, Josh. We’re going to get you out of here really soon. We’ll figure this out.”

  Ivy gave them one more look before breaking into a slow jog and pointing herself toward the trees on her right. She waited until she was almost through the foliage before calling Jack a second time and turning her expectant eyes to the country road.

  It didn’t take Jack and his partner long to track her down. Jack was out of the cruiser like a shot before Brian Nixon even had the vehicle in park.

  “Are you okay?” Jack pulled her flush against his chest, smoothing her hair in the same manner he tried to smooth his own frazzled nerves. He knew she was safe because of the first call, but the idea of her running around the woods when a shooter might be on the loose was traumatizing.

  “I’m fine.” Ivy awkwardly patted his back. “He came out of nowhere, though. One minute Max and I were arguing about who was going to win the contest and the next … well … we had a terrified boy to contend with.”

  “Did you find his father?” Brian asked as he joined them.

  Ivy nodded. “He’s dead.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. There’s no doubt about that. He’s been shot.”

  “How far away was he from you and Max?” Jack asked. “I mean … was he close enough that you guys could’ve been hurt if you ran into whoever did that?”

  Ivy tilted her head to the side, considering. She honestly hadn’t even thought about the possibility. “We didn’t hear a gunshot. Perhaps it happened when we were still inside. He was about three-quarters of a mile from us, so we probably should’ve heard something but … we didn’t.”

  “How long were you in the woods before he found you?” Brian asked.

  “Not long. We were barely clear of the house.”

  “You were probably inside then.” Brian started typing on his phone. “How far in are they?”

  “About a quarter of a mile. Max is with Josh.”

  Jack cocked an eyebrow. “Josh?”

  “Josh Masters,” Ivy supplied. “His father is Abraham Masters. I didn’t recognize the name – or face – but I didn’t look too closely.”

  “Of course not, honey.” Jack pressed a kiss to her forehead before releasing her. “You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. Just direct us to the spot and head back to the house. It’s okay.”

  Ivy opened her mouth to argue with the sentiment, but Brian did it before she could.

  “It’s not okay,” Brian countered, shaking his head. “She has to stay out here and answer some questions. She doesn’t get special treatment simply because she’s engaged to one of the detectives on the case.”

  Jack scowled. “I wasn’t suggesting she get special treatment.”

  “That’s exactly what you were doing.”

  Jack looked to Ivy for support and found her lips curving. “I wasn’t giving you special treatment.”

  “I like getting special treatment,” Ivy volunteered as she patted his arm. “I can’t leave, though. I feel responsible. I need to stay until we get Josh home. He’s … upset.”

  “I can understand that.” Brian gestured toward the woods, prodding Ivy to turn on her heel and lead the way back to the scene. “Has he said anything to you that would indicate what he was doing out here, or what happened?”

  “When he first showed up he said his father was shot and that they were coming,” Ivy replied. “He didn’t say who he was and we didn’t press him too much. Max kind of took control because I wasn’t sure what to do. I think we both thought there was a chance Josh was playing a game or got confused. It turns out that wasn’t the case.”

  “Yeah.”

  Jack
linked his fingers with Ivy’s as they walked, taking a moment to enjoy the tactile contact. He would have to turn to business as soon as they reached the body but, for now, he had a few minutes to thank his lucky stars that she was all right … again. “Did he say anything else?”

  “He was reluctant to go back into the woods with us when Max asked him to take us to his father,” Ivy explained. “I think that was fear. He ran when his father was shot. His survival instincts took over. Going back forced him to see what he left behind.”

  “He did the right thing,” Jack countered. “If he’d stayed, in all likelihood he would’ve been killed, too.”

  “Oh, I know that,” Ivy reassured him. “I just don’t think he realizes it yet. I feel sorry for him.”

  “We all feel sorry for him,” Brian supplied. “We have to find out who did this, though. That’s the most important thing. It’s too late to go back in time and save Abraham Masters. It’s not, however, too late to get him justice. That’s what we’re going to do.”

  TO IVY’S UTTER SURPRISE, Josh eagerly pulled away from Max upon her return and threw his arms around her waist. Since she’d barely talked to the boy – certainly hadn’t bonded with him – she was dumbfounded by his greeting.

  “Are you okay?”

  Josh nodded but kept his face buried in her shoulder. “I didn’t know if you were going to come back.”

  “Of course I came back.” Ivy stroked the back of his soft hair as she met Max’s quizzical gaze. She read her brother’s shrug as him saying he had no idea what was going on either. “I just had to make sure the police knew where to enter and how to find us.”

  “The police?” Josh reluctantly pulled back his face so he could study Brian and Jack with something akin to hostility. “Are you sure they’re the police?”

  “I’m sure.”

  “They could be the people who did this,” Josh argued. “I only saw one person shoot my father but … it might have been more. I was too afraid to look around for another person, but it could’ve been them.”

  Josh was clearly paranoid – and Ivy couldn’t blame him – but his reaction to Jack and Brian threw her for a loop.

  “I swear they’re the police.” Ivy kept her voice calm. “I’ve known Brian – er, Detective Nixon – since I was a little girl. He’s been friends with my family for years. As for Detective Harker over there, he might look tall and mean, but he’s actually a big pussycat.”

  Jack scowled. “Thanks for that, honey.” He held his hands up in a placating manner as he slowly approached Josh. He didn’t want to startle the boy. It was clear he’d been through something traumatic. “The rest of what Ms. Morgan said is true. I am a police officer. I’m here to help you and your father.”

  “He’s dead.” Josh was emotionless. “You can’t help him.”

  “We can get justice for him,” Brian clarified. “We can help you, though. We need some information to do that.”

  “I don’t have any information,” Josh shot back. “I don’t know who did this. For all I know, you did this.”

  He wasn’t about to let go of his suspicions. Ivy understood that, although the boy’s determination to be belligerent taxed her patience. “Josh, look at me.” When he didn’t immediately acquiesce, Ivy adopted her best “I’m the boss and you have to listen to me” voice. “Look at me,” she repeated.

  Josh slowly turned so he was facing her, his arms still wrapped tightly around her waist as if he was using her as a life preserver. “What?”

  “Jack and Brian want to help. If you want them to find the person who did this, you need to tell them exactly what you remember. They need a place to start looking.”

  “I … .” Josh heaved out a sigh and nodded, slowly releasing his iron grip on Ivy as he stared at the two police officers. “What do you need me to do?”

  “We need you to start at the beginning,” Brian prodded gently, his eyes sweeping over Abraham Masters’ prone body as he scanned the area. “For starters, what were you guys doing out here? Are you local?”

  “We live in Bellaire,” Josh volunteered, his voice low but strong. “We come over to Shadow Lake every few months or so, but not very often. We came today because my father has been teaching me how to shoot a gun. He thought we could do some target practice and hunt for morels at the same time. He loves morels.”

  Ivy’s eyes briefly flicked to the pillowcase on the ground. It looked half full. They’d obviously been in the woods a decent amount of time before it happened. “I love morels, too,” she offered. “That’s what Max and I were doing out here.”

  “You came from Bellaire,” Brian noted as he jotted down information in the small notebook he carried. “Do you remember where your father parked when you arrived?”

  “I … um … .” Josh screwed up his face in concentration. “I’m honestly not sure,” he replied finally. “I don’t spend a lot of time paying attention to the roads. My father seemed to know where he was going.”

  “Did you see any landmarks?” Jack asked. “Like … was there a road sign close by? Or perhaps it was a paved road rather than a dirt one.”

  “It was definitely a paved road,” Josh provided. “Also, um, I’m pretty sure there was a greenhouse close by. I saw the sun hitting the windows. There might even have been more than one.”

  Jack exchanged a quick look with Ivy. “That means they must have parked close to your nursery. That will definitely cut down the search area.”

  “Tell us what happened when you hit the woods,” Brian instructed. “Your dad had a pillowcase for the mushrooms, right? You said you were going to practice shooting. Where is the gun he brought?”

  “I … don’t know.” Josh’s eyes widened as he looked around the clearing. “He had it in one of those things you carry on your back. It was like a bag shaped like a gun, with straps and stuff.”

  “I know what you’re talking about.” Brian bobbed his head. “Was he carrying that across his back?”

  “Yeah, but he had it around his arm at the time that it happened.”

  “Was the gun loaded?” Jack asked.

  “No.” Josh was solemn as he shook his head. “You’re never supposed to carry a loaded gun. My father has been teaching me proper gun safety. He said if I learned everything the right way he would buy me a gun of my own before hunting season this year.”

  “It’s good he was teaching you the right way to handle a firearm,” Brian acknowledged. “Tell us what happened after that.”

  “I don’t know,” Josh hedged. “We were talking about how bad the Pistons were this year and Dad said maybe we could go to a Cleveland game next year because it wasn’t that far away. He was carrying the pillowcase because he was better at finding mushrooms than me.

  “Then I heard a noise,” he continued, swallowing hard. “I heard a branch snap or something. I thought it was Dad and looked at him first. He was white, though. Like … really white. He was holding up his hands like they do in movies.”

  “Then what?” Jack prodded.

  “It all happened so fast.”

  “I know.” Jack awkwardly patted his hand against Josh’s shoulder. “We need you to tell us.”

  “There was a man standing right there.” Josh pointed toward a specific spot about ten feet from where his father’s body lay sprawled on the ground. “I don’t know where he came from.”

  “How was he dressed?” Brian asked.

  “Green pants. Black boots. A grayish kind of shirt. He had on one of those winter masks, the type you wear when you’re snowmobiling to make sure your face doesn’t hurt when you’re done.”

  “The knit kind you roll down this way?” Ivy asked for clarification’s sake.

  Josh nodded. “Yeah. It was black.”

  “Did he say anything?” Jack asked.

  “I … don’t know.” Josh wrinkled his forehead as he thought back to the event. “I know this is going to sound weird, but I don’t think my ears were working right. They were kind of muffled or
something, like I was wearing a hat and had it pulled low. I wasn’t wearing a hat, though.”

  “That’s okay.” Brian forced a grim smile. “I know what you’re talking about. We can come back to that. Did your father say anything?”

  “Yeah. He said ‘what are you doing?’.”

  “Did the man answer?”

  “I don’t think so. I don’t really know what happened or how long it took, but the next thing I know my father was yelling for me to run. He was loud and bossy, and I was afraid … like really afraid. I ran because I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “You did the right thing,” Jack said gently. “Your father was right to tell you to run and you did the right thing.”

  Josh didn’t look convinced that was true. “But I ran and he’s dead. How can that be the right thing?”

  “You can’t look at it that way,” Ivy countered. “You ran and you’re still alive. How can that be wrong?”

  “But what if my father would still be alive if I stayed?”

  “You can’t know that. Odds are you might be dead, too, if you stayed.”

  “And you can’t know that,” Josh said. “I shouldn’t have left him.”

  “You’ll never be able to know if things would’ve been different if you stayed,” Jack supplied. “You did what you had to do. I’m sure your father would be so happy to know that you’re still here, that you managed to escape.”

  “I hope so.” Josh looked lost and forlorn. “I don’t feel very happy about it.”

  Three

  Jack sent Ivy and Max back to the cottage with Josh in tow, pulling Ivy aside long enough to suggest she get as much information from Josh about his family as possible before focusing on the scene.

  Brian called for a state police tech team and then carefully wandered around the small clearing as they waited for more help to arrive.

  “This doesn’t make a lot of sense to me,” he said after a few minutes of quiet contemplation. “Why would a killer come out here to take out an enemy?”