Wicked Whimsy

by Lily Harper Hart

  “He’s definitely upset. He blames you for bullying me into letting the CPS people take him.”

  “Ivy, if we’re going to get into another fight about this, it’s going to have to wait until later. I can’t have this discussion again. I thought we talked things out.”

  “We did, and I understand your point of view,” Ivy supplied. “Josh is too young to understand. He’s very upset by everything that’s happened. I can’t say I blame him. He’s an orphan and he was shoved into a group home last night. That would be unsettling for anyone.”

  “I agree. I guess that means he kicked you out, huh?”

  “No, he did not kick me out. Dana and I talked, though, and we agreed that perhaps keeping him in the home wasn’t such a hot idea.”

  The hair on the back of Jack’s neck stood up. “Oh, please tell me you didn’t somehow sweet talk that woman into giving you custody of that kid. If you did, we’re going to have a problem.”

  “First off, if I did, you would have to deal with it because it would mean I was doing what I thought was right,” Ivy shot back. “Secondly, that’s not what I did so you can chill out.”

  Jack took a cleansing breath. “Well, at least that’s one thing we won’t have to fight about.”

  “I didn’t do it solely for you,” Ivy offered. “I did it for both of us. We’re not ready to take care of a kid with Josh’s emotional needs. I know you think I’m all heart and no brains, but I’m honestly not a complete and total idiot.”

  “I think you have a huge heart and your brains are fine,” Jack clarified. “In fact, I happen to love every part of you, including that mouth of yours even though it tends to get ahead of you sometimes.”

  “I think that was an insult and compliment all rolled into one.”

  “It was merely the truth,” Jack countered. “If you weren’t kicked out of the home and you’re on your way back to Shadow Lake, what happened?”

  “I talked Dana into allowing Josh to visit the nursery for the afternoon,” Ivy replied, opting to stick to the truth. “She’s driving him over and once she ascertains the facility is safe she’s going to leave him with Dad and me for a few hours and then I’m going to drive him back.”

  Jack didn’t say a word, which was the opposite of the reaction Ivy expected.

  “If you’re going to yell at me about this,” Ivy continued. “I would prefer you do it now. I don’t want to carry the dread around with me all day.”

  “I’m not going to yell at you,” Jack said after a moment of silent contemplation. “I actually think it’s a good idea.”

  His admission floored her. “You do?”

  “I do. This will allow you to spend time with Josh in a relaxed setting and possibly get him to talk. The story he told doesn’t make any sense given the evidence we’ve collected. My guess is that he knows who killed his father but is terrified to admit it.”

  “Oh.” Ivy didn’t know what to make of the statement. “Why wouldn’t he tell us? I mean … I get being afraid. Wouldn’t you want to make sure the person who killed your father was put away for life?”

  “I would, but we don’t know what Josh was thinking when he made his escape,” Jack noted. “He could’ve panicked and told the killer that he wouldn’t tell anyone what happened if he let him go. Maybe that’s weighing on him. The truth is, I don’t want to push the kid so hard he curls up in a ball and refuses to talk to anyone.”

  “You just want me to push him.”

  “I don’t want that,” Jack countered. “I want you to spend time with him, get him talking. We need more information about his family, too. We’re running searches, but the pickings are slim. We’ve found a step-grandmother and an aunt who are in the area. We’re going to be talking to both of them.”

  “Do you think they might take Josh?”

  “I don’t know, honey. We haven’t even talked to them yet. I can’t answer that question.”

  “I know.” Ivy momentarily felt guilty about putting too much pressure on Jack. He’d barely started working the case. “I’ll do my best to get him talking, but I’m not going to push him if I think it will damage him. I’m going to play it by ear.”

  “That’s all I ask.”

  Ivy could practically see Jack smiling through the phone. “What are you thinking?”

  “That I love you.”

  “I love you, too, but that’s not what you were thinking.”

  “I was thinking that I want you to be safe when you take Josh back to the home,” Jack admitted. “I doubt very much our killer is going to expect that you would take the boy to the nursery. In fact, that’s the exact opposite of anything I would expect if I were in that position. The children’s home is another story. Keep your eyes open for strange vehicles when you drop him off.”

  “I will. I’m always careful.”

  Jack snorted, disdain evident. “Honey, you’re never careful. I’ve learned to live with that. Be alert for me, though, okay? We still have no idea what we’re dealing with here.”

  “I promise to be alert.”

  “I’ll see you for dinner,” Jack said. “I’ll be in touch if I get more information.”

  “Me, too.”

  “I’ll see you as soon as I can.”

  “I’ll be waiting with fresh cookies if I can pull it off.”

  “And that’s only one reason you’re my favorite person in the world.”

  MICHAEL MORGAN WAS WORKING behind the front cash register when Dana arrived with Josh. He knew what to expect thanks to a brief explanation from Ivy, but he met the boy’s stern countenance with a wide smile despite the grief that he figured was weighing down the poor child.

  “Hello, Dana. It’s been a long time.”

  Dana grinned when she saw him. She was familiar with Michael – like everyone in Shadow Lake was – and she’d always found him to be a pleasant conversationalist. “Hello, Mr. Morgan. I wasn’t sure you were back from Florida after your winter break until Ivy mentioned it earlier in the day.”

  “Please, call me Michael.” He gripped the woman’s hand and gave it a firm shake before focusing on the boy. “We’ve only been back for a little bit. I’m always eager to get out of the brutal Michigan winters, but I’m always ready to come back, too, because I love a Michigan spring.”

  “I think you do things the right way,” Dana said. “Eventually I would love to leave this place for the winter and come back for spring, summer, and fall, too. That’s the best way to do things.”

  “I agree, for the most part.” Michael’s eyes were thoughtful as they roamed Josh’s face. The boy appeared disinterested in the conversation, but Michael was convinced it was a rather unconvincing act. “This year was particularly hard for Luna to be away,” he said, referring to his wife. “We knew Jack was going to propose to Ivy before we left and it was pure torture for Luna not to be present for it.”

  “Oh, I didn’t even think about the timing of that,” Dana said. “I was actually surprised when I heard they got engaged so quickly. It seems like just yesterday that Jack arrived in town and all the eligible women started vrooming their engines trying to get his attention.”

  Michael snickered, amusement lighting his eyes. “Yes, well, I happen to think they’re a good match. They fight quite a bit but that keeps the fires burning. They like to make up.” Michael hunkered down a bit so he could look Josh in the face. He was tall, like Max, and that often put people off. “I understand you spent some time with my kids yesterday.”

  Josh made a face as he looked Michael up and down. “And who are your kids?”

  “Mr. Morgan is Max and Ivy’s father,” Dana explained. “He’s a nice guy. You should be polite.”

  Josh glanced between the woman admonishing him and the man trying so hard to appease him and ultimately shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry. I’m just sick of people asking me questions and treating me like I’m slow or something. It’s getting old.”

  “I can see that.” If Michael was bothered by Josh�
��s tone, he didn’t show it. “You’ve been through a lot.”

  “Let me guess, you’re going to make me feel better,” Josh drawled. “No offense, sir, but I don’t think that’s possible.”

  “We didn’t bring you here to make you feel better,” Ivy announced, taking Josh by surprise when she appeared in the space behind him. The boy clearly didn’t sense her invading his space, but he was thrilled at the sight of her and broke out in a relieved smile.

  “If you didn’t bring me here to make me feel better, why did you bring me here?”

  “To put you to work, of course.” Ivy’s grin was wide and just a little bit sloppy. “It’s the spring season here and that means we have a lot to do. I thought you and I would work in the greenhouse today. How does that sound?”

  Josh followed Ivy’s finger as she pointed at the building in question. “That looks familiar. I … think we were here yesterday.”

  Ivy didn’t want to dwell on that, so she simply nodded. “This is my nursery. I own it. It’s close to my cottage. We’re going to be in the greenhouse, not in the woods.”

  For a brief moment, fear clouded Josh’s eyes. “Are we … safe?”

  “Absolutely.” Ivy bobbed her head without hesitation. “No one can get you here.”

  Josh didn’t look convinced, but he was resolved to try anything that got him out of the children’s home. “Okay, where do we start?”

  Ivy gestured with her hand. “Come with me. I’ll show you.”

  EVEN THOUGH IVY DIDN’T want to dwell on it, Jack’s instructions for getting Josh to talk were at the forefront of her brain. Her first task was to explain to Josh what they were doing. Once he was settled with a small trowel and a bunch of pots, he seemed intrigued by the work. Enough so that he barely glanced up as he started.

  “How did you learn how to do all this?” Josh asked as Ivy settled a few feet away and began transplanting plants. “I mean … did you take a class or something?”

  “Not a class.” Ivy shook her head and wiped the back of her hand over her brow. It was early in the season, but the greenhouse was warm. “My father always enjoyed working with plants – my mother to a certain degree, too – so they taught me.”

  “Did you always know you wanted to own your own place like this?”

  “No, I went through a phase where I wanted to do a lot of different things.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, I wanted to be a garden gnome when I was five.”

  Josh lifted his eyes, confused. “What?”

  Ivy chuckled at his mystified expression. “It’s true. My mother had this garden gnome for years and he always hung out close to the tulips and daffodils in the spring. Since those were some of my favorite flowers, I was convinced the garden gnome had my dream job.”

  “Didn’t you know he wasn’t real?”

  Ivy shrugged. “I had a big imagination when I was a kid. I’m sure you were the same at that age. I thought he was real for a long time.”

  “But … he’s plastic.” Josh’s baffled expression caused Ivy to snicker. “How could you possibly think he was real?”

  “I don’t know. I just did. Didn’t you have toys – maybe a stuffed animal or something or an action figure – that you thought were real when you were a kid?”

  “No. I always knew they were fake. I didn’t even like playing with toys all that much.”

  He was thirteen, Ivy reminded herself. He was at an age where playing with toys was considered beneath him. It happened to all kids once hormones and middle school came into play. “Well, that makes me a little sad. What did you like to play with when you were younger?”

  Josh shrugged, noncommittal. “I don’t know. I liked video games.”

  “What about your parents? What did you do with them? I mean, I know your father took you morel hunting – that’s always fun – and he taught you about cars and stuff. What else did you do?”

  “Not a lot. He was always busy at work.”

  “What about your mother?”

  Josh’s shoulders hopped again. “I don’t like to think about her a lot. It makes me sad.”

  “I can imagine.” Ivy’s heart went out to him. “Still, you must have good memories, something that you enjoy looking back on. What did she do before she got sick?”

  “She liked to run … and work outside.”

  “What did she do with you?”

  “She didn’t do a lot with me,” Josh replied, his hands dirty from packing the earth around his transplanted tomato plant. “She was always too busy for me. She said I was needy and wanted too much attention.”

  The boy’s sharp response threw Ivy for a loop. “I’m sure she didn’t mean that. She probably just said it one day because she was frazzled … or tired … or maybe something else went wrong.”

  “Maybe, but she still said it.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s terrible.” Ivy was beginning to realize that Josh was a lot more damaged than she initially realized. Not only had he watched his father die right in front of him, but he was also carrying around a lot of unhappiness revolving around his mother’s death. He was trapped in a dark hole of despair, this little man, and she had no idea how to help him.

  For the first time since Jack insisted they were ill-equipped to deal with his needs the previous night, Ivy truly understood what he meant. Josh needed a therapist, someone to talk to and help him work out his pain. Ivy wasn’t that person, although she was still determined to help.

  “So, tell me about the rest of your family,” she prodded. “I know you said you didn’t see them a lot before this happened, but it’s important we know who is out there.”

  “So you know who to try to bug to take me in?”

  “So we know everything there is to know about your situation and can make the best decisions going forward,” Ivy clarified. “Your future is the most important thing to all of us.”

  “Okay.” Josh let loose a long sigh. “I don’t know how it will help, but I’ll tell you what I know. It’s a short and sad story.”

  Ivy managed to keep her smile in place, but just barely. “I still want to know.”

  “Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Seven

  Annette Hargrove had a baby in her arms and a toddler wrapped around her ankle when she answered the door of her Gaylord home. She looked harried … and also a bit murderous, causing Jack to take an inadvertent step back and Brian to swallow hard.

  “Um … Mrs. Hargrove?” Brian cleared his throat to get his bearings.

  Annette nodded without hesitation. “I am. If you’re here selling something, though, I don’t have time to buy.” She moved to shut the door, but Jack quickly stopped her by inserting his foot in the space between the frame and door.

  “Ma’am, we’re not solicitors,” Jack volunteered. “We’re police officers with the Shadow Lake Police Department.”

  “Oh.” Annette furrowed her brow, confusion evident. “I can’t remember the last time we were in Shadow Lake. We don’t have occasion to visit that often because there’s nothing for the kids to do there. What’s this about?”

  “Abraham Masters.”

  Jack didn’t miss the dark look that momentarily passed over Annette’s face. It was obvious she wasn’t expecting that answer.

  “I have even less to do with Abraham than I do with Shadow Lake.” Annette’s tone was clipped. “If he sent you over here for some reason … well … I don’t know what to say. We haven’t seen each other in more than a year and I have no intention of breaking that streak now.”

  Jack and Brian exchanged a quick look, something unsaid passing between them.

  “Ma’am, we’re here because Abraham is dead,” Jack said after a beat. “He was killed in Shadow Lake yesterday and we’re trying to gather information.”

  “Oh.” The look on Annette’s face didn’t exactly reflect sadness. In fact, she looked more surprised than upset. “Well, come in.” She stumbled a bit as she held open the door
and Jack decided to help her out by scooping up the toddler and giving him a tickle around the ribs.

  “And who is this?”

  Annette smiled as the little boy giggled. “That’s Jefferson. He’s two going on thirty. He’s a bit clingy today.” She gestured toward the infant sucking on a pacifier in her arms. “And this is Hunter. He’s teething and won’t stop crying.”

  “It seems like you have your hands full,” Brian noted as he followed the woman through the house. Even though she was clearly busy, the house was fairly neat except for the toys that were scattered about. It was clear that Jefferson liked to spread out when being rambunctious.

  “I do,” Annette confirmed as she sat in an armchair in the living room and automatically started rocking back and forth to keep the baby quiet. “We have an older son, too. His name is Carter and he’s at school. We decided we were going to have one more, which is how we ended up with Jefferson. This little guy … well … he was a surprise.” Even though she was clearly exhausted, she gave the baby’s diapered rear end a pat and caused him to smile up at her. “Some surprises are okay.”

  Jack smiled at the small family, his mind momentarily drifting and causing him to wonder how many children he would have with Ivy. He doubted very much they could handle three. Two seemed like a nice number – mostly because they wouldn’t be outnumbered – and there was always the chance, he told himself, they might have one and be happy with that.

  “Tell me what happened with Abraham,” Annette instructed, drawing Jack back to the here and now.

  “He was in the woods morel hunting,” Brian replied. “He was shot.”

  “Shot?” Annette wrinkled her forehead. “I saw that on the news. They didn’t give a name or anything. I had no idea that was Abraham.”

  “We didn’t release the name,” Jack explained. “We wanted to contact next of kin, although there doesn’t seem to be a lot of options. You’re only one of a handful of people we found who had ties to Abraham.”

  “Our ties were tenuous at best,” Annette volunteered. “Even when my sister was still alive, I never much cared for Abraham.”