Ghostly Charms

by Lily Harper Hart

  “I think it sounds like a plan.”

  ARTIE FLETCHER WAS ON PINS and needles when Mel and Jared walked through his front door. He was in his fifties, balding, and he always wore a shirt that had coffee stains down the front. He once told Mel that was a deliberate choice — his doctor made him give up coffee for his heart health two years prior — but it helped sell the pawnbroker cliché everyone expected from him. He was flushed when he rushed toward them today.

  “What took you so long?”

  “It’s been thirty minutes,” Mel complained, making a face. “We got here as quick as we could.”

  “You’re two blocks away. Did one of you carry the other on your back?”

  Mel scowled, forcing Jared to take control of the situation.

  “It’s my fault,” Jared offered. “I was setting up a search on my computer. We got here as quickly as we could.”

  “Where is the razor?” Mel queried.

  “Here.” Artie led them behind the counter. “I honestly didn’t think anything of it when the guy brought it in. He said it belonged to his grandfather, and as much as he would like to hold onto it, he had no use for it and needed the money. It’s a fine piece, so I gave him five hundred bucks for it — the resale on it is triple that — and sent him on his way. It wasn’t until I was watching the news last night that I heard about Lionel and I remembered he had a razor just like this.”

  “Well, I think that’s definitely Lionel’s piece,” Mel said as he leaned forward to stare at the item in question. “How much did you touch it?”

  Artie’s expression turned rueful. “More than you’re going to like. My fingerprints are all over it. Not only that, but I shined it up, too.”

  Mel made a groaning sound deep in his throat. “Why did you do that? That’s going to make getting prints impossible.”

  “Hey! I didn’t know.”

  Jared held up a hand to calm Artie. It was clear he had a long history with Mel, and it was something that might drag on longer than necessary if he didn’t nip this in the bud. “We’ll still check it for prints. We might need a copy of yours to rule them out, Artie.”

  “No problem.” Artie shot Mel an angry stare and then focused on Jared. “I didn’t mean to buy stolen property. Honest. The guy seemed sincere.”

  “And that’s what we want to talk to you about,” Jared reassured him. “We’re going to need a description. What did this guy look like? Did you recognize him?”

  Artie shook his head. “No, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. I don’t have a great memory for faces.”

  “I think you do that on purpose,” Mel countered. “You think if you can’t remember a face you won’t have to testify in court. If you can’t testify, people won’t be leery about visiting your shop.”

  “Lionel was a friend. Er, well, we were friendly. He was a bit of a crab, but I liked him. He always made me laugh when he yelled at the kids on Main Street for being imbeciles. I wouldn’t purposely protect his killer and you know it.”

  Mel held his hands palms out in apology. “I’m sorry. I do know that. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m truly sorry. It’s just ... we’re chasing our tails on this. We need to know who is behind these break-ins. If someone else dies ... .”

  “I get it.” Artie was genuinely apologetic. “I’m sorry. I can’t tell you much. He was younger, like ... maybe twenty or so. He could’ve been even younger than that, though. He also might’ve been older.”

  “Can you give us an age range?” Jared pressed.

  “Um ... sixteen to thirty.”

  “That’s quite the range.”

  “I just told you I don’t have the best luck with faces.”

  “What about a receipt?” Mel prodded. “You usually look at ID when you do a receipt.”

  “I only do that for people who might want to come back and claim their items in thirty days,” Artie countered. “This guy said he wasn’t coming back. There’s no receipt, other than a really vague one for tax purposes.”

  “Well, great.” Mel pinched the bridge of his nose. “What else do you have?”

  “Darkish hair, like a blond-sort-of-brown color. I can’t remember his eyes. He wasn’t overly large or anything either. Normal in that department.”

  “So ... a normal-sized sixteen-to-thirty-year-old with darkish hair,” Jared mused. “That cuts it down.”

  “It could be Andy Cornell,” Mel noted. “I mean ... that fits him.”

  “Yeah.” Jared wasn’t convinced but dug in his pocket all the same and retrieved his phone, pulling up a photo of Andy from the database and holding it out. “Is this the guy?”

  Artie took the phone and stared for a long time. Finally, he shrugged. “I don’t know. It could be. Maybe if I could talk to him I bet I would remember his voice. It was a little ... wishy-washy.”

  “What does that even mean?” Jared asked, frustration bubbling up.

  “You know ... wishy-washy.”

  “I can’t even ... .” Jared shook his head and looked at Mel. “What do you want to do?”

  Mel was grim. “I don’t see where we have a choice. We’re going to have to start interviewing some of the bad actors in our teenage ranks. We might as well start with Andy. We know he’s been hanging around back alleys.”

  “I guess we have to,” Jared agreed. “It’s going to be rough if his father puts up a fight.”

  “Yeah, well, it is what it is.”

  11

  Eleven

  Since it was a school day, Andy wasn’t home. Mel and Jared agreed it was best to talk to the elder Cornell first, although he didn’t look pleased when he finally opened the door.

  “What now?”

  Jared took a moment to absorb the sight of the man. He was tall, well over six feet, and he had wide shoulders. At one point he was probably fit, probably even ripped, but he’d let himself go over the years and sported a huge beer belly and an unfortunate smell. It was the scent that caused him to raise his chin.

  “Have you been drinking, sir?”

  Mel arched an eyebrow. He obviously hadn’t yet picked up on that. “Late night, Pete?”

  For his part, Pete Cornell looked as if the last thing he wanted was to answer the question. “What’s it to you?” he sneered, his bad attitude firmly on display. “I’m pretty sure I’m an adult, which means I’m allowed to do whatever I want. And, besides, a beer here or there never hurt anybody.”

  “Smells like bourbon to me,” Jared noted.

  “I don’t really care what you smell,” Pete snapped. “I don’t even know you. Maybe you should tell me why you’re here ... and then leave. Or maybe you should just leave. That sounds like an even better idea.”

  The man’s tone didn’t worry Jared. He might’ve been a brawler at one point, but it was obvious his reflexes — and perhaps brain power — had been dulled at some point. Now he came off as an ignorant and aggressive galoot, something that Jared didn’t like in the least.

  “I find it interesting that you haven’t yet asked why we’re here,” Jared supplied, refusing to back down. “I mean ... it seems to me that would be the first question out of your mouth. A normal parent may jump to the assumption that something had happened to his son. You haven’t asked about Andy yet, though.”

  Pete’s expression didn’t change. “Andy is at school. If you were here about him, you would’ve led with that. I assume you’re here about me, and I’m guessing it’s because that old biddy Leslie Carlson called and said I was drinking and driving last night. That sounds just like her.”

  Jared slid his eyes to Mel, unsure. “Who is Leslie Carlson?”

  “Pete’s neighbor,” Mel replied, pointing at the house across the street. Sure enough, a curtain was moving, suggesting that someone was inside watching them.

  “Ah.” Jared pursed his lips and turned back to find Pete glaring across the street. He looked as if he wanted to carry out a murder. “Were you drinking and driving last night?”

 
“What?” Pete shook his head and returned to the present. “Of course not. That’s against the law.” He let loose a smile that was more sneer than anything else. “I’m a law-abiding citizen. I always have been.”

  “Yes, there’s little you like more than following the letter of the law,” Mel noted dryly. “That’s why I found you passed out in the ditch last August ... without any pants.”

  “I still maintain that thieves stole my pants,” Pete argued. “That wasn’t my fault. Just because you didn’t want to follow up and make them pay, that’s not on me.”

  “Right.” Mel rolled his neck, the resounding crack serving as a rallying point for the conversation. “We’re here about Andy ... although, if you’re drinking and driving, you’d better stop. I would like nothing more than to throw you in jail over that.”

  Pete furrowed his brow. “What about Andy? He’s at school ... isn’t he?” Suddenly, he didn’t sound so sure. “If that little idiot skipped school again, he’s in big trouble. He promised he would go after that visit from the truancy officer. He’s got to stick to it until he graduates. If he didn’t show up, that’s not on me. I can’t control him.”

  “We have no reason to believe he’s not at school,” Mel replied blandly. “That will most likely be our next stop ... after we talk to you, of course.”

  “If he’s at school, then why are you here? The kid couldn’t have done anything. You just said it yourself. He’s present and accounted for.”

  “We assume he is,” Mel corrected. “We don’t have proof of that, although it will be easy enough to ascertain once we’re done with you.”

  “And I repeat again, why are you here?” Pete rubbed his bloodshot eyes. He looked to be losing interest in the conversation. “I’m too tired to deal with you.”

  “I don’t see where you have a choice,” Mel shot back. “We’re here because we believe there’s a chance that Andy might be getting in some trouble. He’s been caught hanging out in the alley behind the Chinese restaurant.”

  Pete waited a beat and then made an exaggerated face. “So what? Last time I heard, it’s not a crime to hang out in the alley. Should I get the belt out and give him a good thrashing for that? How come nobody told me?”

  Jared absolutely hated the man’s attitude. “No one is suggesting that, sir. Are you aware of what’s been going on in Whisper Cove over the past two weeks?”

  Pete’s gaze was disdainful when it landed on Jared. “You’re the one living with the ghost hunter, right? I think that’s what I heard. The Harlow girl. She’s a fine-looking little thing. How is she in the bedroom?”

  Jared gripped his hands into fists at his sides but managed to maintain his temper ... just barely. “We’re here about your son.”

  “We are,” Mel agreed. “There have been a series of break-ins at area businesses and Andy has been seen downtown close to the times of those incidents.”

  “Unless you have video footage of him doing the deed, I don’t really care,” Pete fired back. “It’s not a crime for the kid to hang out downtown ... or in an alley ... or even right on top of one of these businesses. What does it even matter? I’m sure they’re all covered by insurance.”

  “That’s neither here nor there,” Mel countered. “It’s not just break-ins any longer, although that was bad enough. Now we’re dealing with a murder.”

  Whatever Pete was expecting, it wasn’t that. He did a huge double-take. “Excuse me? Are you accusing Andy of murder? Are you joking?”

  “I don’t really consider murder a laughing matter,” Mel replied dryly. “As for accusing, that’s a strong term. We are trying to ascertain his whereabouts the night Lionel Peterson was killed.”

  “Lionel?” Pete’s eyebrows drew together. “Are you talking about the old guy at the barbershop? I heard about that. They say he died of a heart attack. They were talking about it at Edna’s place out on the highway last night.”

  “It doesn’t matter that he died of a heart attack,” Jared explained. “It happened during a crime, a felony, which means that it’s murder. We will be hauling in a suspect no matter what.”

  “And you’ve already decided my boy is guilty,” Pete said grimly. “I should’ve seen this coming. Mel has been gunning for him for years.”

  “That’s not true.” Mel refused to be drawn into a needless argument. “Andy has been finding trouble here and there for years. You can’t argue with that. Whether we had enough evidence to lock him up for the incident with his teacher is no longer important. What is important is that we’re going to talk to him.

  “Now, you can either agree to allow it or force us to go through the prosecutor’s office and get a warrant,” he continued. “That’s completely up to you.”

  “Oh, really?” Pete turned haughty. “Well, if it’s completely up to me, then I’m not going to allow you to talk to my kid. I’ll be hiring an attorney. If you want to talk to Andy, you’re going to have to go through him.”

  “I figured that was the route you would go,” Mel said. “Be prepared. We’re going after the warrant and will be talking to your son by the end of the day.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.” Pete stepped inside the house and slammed the door with enough force that it shook the windows.

  Jared offered his partner a sidelong look. “That could’ve gone better.”

  “It went how I figured it would,” Mel admitted. “I knew he wouldn’t cooperate. He has ... issues.”

  “You think? If he’s out drinking and driving, though, we really should put a stop to it.”

  “I’ve yet to catch him doing it. Whenever I get a tip and stop by, he stops doing it for a few weeks. We don’t have a big enough department to sit on him every night forever.”

  “I guess. He’s a real joy, though. I can see why the kid is messed up.”

  “Yeah. Andy has all sorts of issues.” Mel fell into step with Jared as they headed back to the cruiser. “We can’t talk to Andy without his father’s consent because he’s a minor. That doesn’t mean we can’t talk to the principal.”

  “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  “It can’t hurt.”

  “Then I guess that’s our next stop.”

  “WHAT DO YOU THINK?”

  The dress Harper wore was simple and yet breathtaking. It boasted spaghetti straps, which set off her sculpted shoulders, and a plain bodice that flattered her less-than-ample assets. The lines were simple, long, and sleek. There was a slit on one side, but it was modest and allowed for just a hint of skin. The color wasn’t quite white as much as blush, and it set off her skin tone perfectly.

  “You look amazing.” Tears filled Zander’s eyes as he took her in.

  “Really?” Hope welled in Harper’s chest as she glanced at her best friend. “I thought you would hate this dress. It’s kind of plain for what you like.”

  “That’s true.” Zander swiped at a falling tear. “The thing is, I was thinking you had to pick a dress that makes you. You make the dress, though, and you look ... amazing.”

  Harper threw her arms around his neck, a sob catching in her throat. “Thank you.”

  Zander briefly pressed his eyes shut before hugging her tight. “I don’t want to give you away.”

  She pulled back, confused. “My father is going to give me away. You’re going to be my best Zander.”

  He laughed at the confused look on her face. “Not that.” He couldn’t stop the tears from falling and felt like something of a dolt as he attempted to get his emotions in order. “I don’t want to give you away to him. That’s what’s going to happen, though. You’re going to become his instead of mine.”

  Harper understood what he was saying, although she found the statement ridiculous. “First off, I don’t belong to anybody but myself. I’m my own person. I don’t like this ownership thing when it comes to relationships.

  “That being said, I’m already his in the way you mean,” she continued. “He’s already mine, too. That doesn’t mean you’r
e still not mine. It doesn’t mean I’m still not yours. The love we share is just different, Zander. That doesn’t mean it’s any less complete.

  “We’ve been together since we were kids. You’ve been with me for every wonderful and terrible thing that’s happened since I was five years old. You still live directly across the road. Do you really think that’s going to change?”

  “It already has changed.” Zander was morose. “We’re never going to go on a trip together just the two of us again. We’re never going to hunker down for an entire week, eating nothing but canned ravioli and Pop-Tarts because we can’t get anyone to deliver, thanks to a snowstorm. Those days are behind us.”

  “That’s true.” Harper squeezed his hand. “Look what’s ahead of us, though. Now we’ll have to wade through snowbanks to get to one another, but when we do, we’ll have hot chocolate parties. We’ll spike the hot chocolate with peppermint vodka and then go out and make snow angels. There will be four of us instead of two, and there will be that much more love.”

  He sighed. It was the only thing he could do. She was earnest ... and lovely ... and the other half of his soul. He could deny her nothing, including his love and approval. “You’re going to be the most beautiful bride ever.”

  “Yeah,” Harper grinned. “You’re going to be the most handsome groom ever. Other than Jared, I mean. You’ll be a close second.”

  “Oh, honey, I’m second to no one.” He wiped the back of his hand over his cheek. “I feel like an idiot. Why are we crying? We should be happy. You found a dress.”

  “We’ll laugh in a few minutes. It will be grand.”

  He slipped his arms around her and held tight. “That sounds like a plan.”

  MIKE TODD WAS THE NEW PRINCIPAL of the high school. He served as the vice-principal until the previous year, when his predecessor turned out to be a murderer and tried to take out Harper in the middle of the woods. Because of that, even though Jared didn’t know Mike, he found himself leery as he entered the office.