Wicked Hearts (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 9)

by Lily Harper Hart

  It was a nasty slap, but Ivy couldn’t argue the point. “Fine. There’s nothing wrong with getting a divorce. I don’t even know why I said that because I don’t believe it. Simone has always brought out the worst in me, though. She’s too old for you, Max. She has a seventeen-year-old daughter.”

  “So what? She’s fun and she’s hot. You forget who you’re talking to, Ivy. I care about having fun. I’m not ready to settle down with someone forever. I’m not Jack.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing.” Max held up his hands in mock surrender. “It’s not supposed to mean anything bad. I swear it. I’m happy you found Jack. You guys work so well together it gives me hope that I’ll find the right person … eventually. I’m not looking for the right person now and that should be okay.”

  Ivy balked. “I didn’t say it wasn’t.”

  “You’re insinuating it because you hate Simone,” Max countered. “I love you, Ivy, but you are not in charge of my life and I’m not going to allow you to make decisions for me. If I decide to date Simone – and that’s still a big if – you’re going to have to get over it. This is my life. It’s not your life.”

  Ivy wanted to press the issue further, but she recognized the fact that Max had his heels dug in. She would have to think of a different way to approach him if she wanted him to see her line of thinking. “Fine.” She threw up her hands. “Do what you want. You always do.”

  “I don’t need your permission.”

  Ivy let loose with a strangled sound as she turned on her heel. She accidentally tripped over the shoes Mackenzie discarded on the floor and pitched forward. Max was close enough to see what was happening so he caught her, which was a good thing, because Ivy’s mind became clouded with an overwhelming vision at the same moment and she lost all semblance of reflexes.

  “Ivy?” Max grunted as he held her upright, tilting his head so he could stare at her face. For one moment, his world went topsy-turvy when he saw the way her eyes rolled back in her head. His first thought was that she’d been poisoned without knowing it, that she would break into a seizure and potentially die like Aubrey Daniels.

  Instead, Ivy blinked twice, her eyes returning to normal on the second blink. She gasped as she grabbed Max’s arm and regained her footing.

  “What was that?” Max asked, panic poking at his stomach lining.

  “Mackenzie,” Ivy gritted out, swiveling. She scanned the room, catching sight of the girl almost instantly. Mackenzie stood with several girls, listening as they talked. She had a bottle of water in her hand and was about to take a drink.

  Ivy didn’t hesitate, instead stomping in that direction and slapping the bottle of water out of Mackenzie’s hand and ignoring it as it bounced against the floor, sloshing water in every direction. The girl widened her eyes to saucer-like proportions.

  “What … ?”

  “Where did you get that?” Ivy asked, her voice laced with fury.

  “Ivy, what are you doing?” Max asked, chasing after her.

  Ivy shrugged off Max’s concern and remained focused on Mackenzie. She saw something in her mind’s eye – something terrible – and she knew it to be true. “Where did you get that bottle of water, Mackenzie? No one touch it!”

  The girl who was about to bend over and retrieve the plastic bottle shrunk away.

  “I got it from Simone,” Mackenzie forced out, her hands shaking. “I … why? What’s going on?”

  “That’s a very good question,” Max said. “What is going on, Ivy?”

  “Call Jack,” Ivy instructed, keeping her arm on Mackenzie’s shoulder to steady the girl as she lowered her voice. “Get him over here right now. I think he’s going to find there was antifreeze in that bottle.”

  Max did as instructed without complaint. “We’re going to have a talk about what just happened as soon as this all is settled.”

  “Just call Jack. We’ll worry about the other stuff later.”

  Nine

  Jack was alert when he walked into the barn, the atmosphere roiling through the enclosed space making him wary. He briefly met Ivy’s gaze before turning to the animated-looking girl standing in the center of the room, the other girls grouped around her as she lobbed annoyed glares in Ivy’s direction.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Your girlfriend has lost her mind,” Simone replied. “That’s what is going on.”

  Brian, who followed Jack into the room, offered up a friendly smile to calm everyone. “We’ll sort it out. For now, I want everyone to take a seat and we’ll make the rounds.”

  “What if I don’t want to take a seat?” Simone challenged. “What if I have things to do … or places to go … ?”

  “Or men to devour,” Ivy suggested, cutting her off.

  “Shut up!” Simone barked.

  “Both of you shut up,” Jack instructed, internally cringing at the way Ivy narrowed her eyes. “We’re going to do this in a calm manner. That means you’re part of it, Simone, so don’t give us any grief.”

  “Fine!” Simone crossed her arms over her chest, practically daring the men to approach and question her. Instead, Jack focused on Max first.

  “I think we should start with Max.”

  Max’s eyebrows flew up his forehead. “Me?”

  “You,” Jack confirmed. Even though he wasn’t keen to see the expression on Ivy’s face, he risked a look in her direction as he crossed the room. She met his eyes, fire burning across her features, but remained utterly silent and still. “Things are not going to go well with her tonight.”

  “Do you think?” Brian was amused by the situation. “Max, come over here.” He drew the older Morgan sibling toward the corner so the three men could talk in private. “What’s going on here?”

  “What’s going on is that you’re putting me in an awkward position,” Max answered. “You have an entire room full of women and you decided to talk to the only man. How do you think that looks?”

  “That’s the reason we want to talk to you,” Jack said. “No offense to the women but … I need answers that aren’t wrapped around a bunch of whining and foot stomping.”

  “And tossed hair, snarling, and dramatic sighs,” Brian added.

  “It’s a wonder you’ve been married for as long as you have, Brian,” Max drawled. “You have such a great way with placating women that I’m stunned your wife hasn’t killed you yet in your sleep.”

  “Just talk.”

  Max heaved out a sigh. “I don’t know what happened. Ivy and I were talking – actually, we were kind of arguing – and then she raced over to Mackenzie Sutton and knocked the bottle of water out of her hand.”

  Jack furrowed his brow. “Did she say anything before that?”

  “Just that she thought I was an idiot for considering dating Simone.”

  “Not that. You are an idiot for doing that, by the way, but about the bottle?”

  “No.” Max shook his head. “She didn’t say anything really. Before Ivy and I started arguing, though, she spent some time talking to Mackenzie. I got the impression they were bonding.”

  Jack’s eyebrows winged up. “Bonding?”

  “I listened a little bit,” Max admitted. “I thought maybe they were talking about me.”

  “Why would Ivy be talking about you with a teenager?”

  “Because … I have no idea.” Max looked miserable and Jack couldn’t stop himself from feeling sorry for the man, at least a little bit. “I knew Ivy was going to melt down and I was watching her for signs.”

  “So she talked to Mackenzie,” Brian prodded. “What did they say to each other?”

  “Mackenzie wasn’t thrilled about being here because she didn’t think she belonged,” Max explained. “She said her mother made her sign up. Ivy understood that because our mother did the same to her – that was the last time my mother ever did anything of the sort, by the way – and she just kind of talked her down.”

  “Meaning?”

  �
��Meaning that Ivy told her she shouldn’t sing if she didn’t want to sing and if she wanted to read a poem to go ahead and do it,” Max replied. “She also told her that the pageant will only be a big thing for the day she has to suffer through it and then she can forget it. She said that Mackenzie will realize what’s important as she gets older.”

  “That sounds like her.” Jack cast a fond look in his girlfriend’s direction and found her glaring holes into him. He swallowed hard. “She’s going to make me sleep on the couch for telling her to be quiet.”

  Brian followed Jack’s gaze and grinned. “Oh, yeah she is.”

  “You don’t have to sound so giddy about it,” Jack complained.

  “You should’ve thought about this before you picked a feisty woman. Now you’re trapped for life with no way out.” Brian flicked his eyes back to Max. “And after that, what happened?”

  “Ivy came over to talk to me,” Max replied. “I told her to mind her own business about Simone because I hadn’t made up my mind either way. She got huffy.”

  “I bet,” Jack muttered, his mind traveling back to their tense lunch.

  “Then, all of a sudden, Ivy kind of had some sort of … fit.”

  Jack stiffened. “Fit? You didn’t mention a fit before.”

  “I didn’t think about it,” Max said. “Her eyes – I swear they rolled back in her head – and I thought she was having a seizure or something. I thought maybe she drank whatever it is that Aubrey drank.

  “She was out of it for about five seconds, although it felt longer, and then she just hurried over to Mackenzie and knocked the bottle out of her hand,” he continued. “I have no idea what to make of it.”

  Jack had an idea. Unfortunately, it was one that worried him to no end. “Okay. Stay here.” He headed straight for Ivy even though Brian thought it was a bad idea.

  “Maybe I should question her,” Brian suggested.

  Jack ignored him and focused on Ivy, not stopping until he was directly in front of her. “Are you okay?”

  Ivy remained absolutely still for a long beat. When she finally answered, her tone was clipped. “I thought you wanted me to be quiet.”

  Brian chuckled under his breath as Jack tugged on his limited patience.

  “I would like you to tell me what happened,” Jack said, leaning forward so Ivy had no place to look but in his eyes. “I also want you to tell me if you feel lightheaded … or like if you need to sit down … or like if you need to go to the hospital.”

  Ivy realized what he was referring to and her expression softened. “I’m fine. It wasn’t a big deal.”

  “You’re still going to the clinic,” Jack muttered.

  “No, I’m not.”

  “You are.”

  “You’re not the boss of me,” Ivy hissed.

  “You agreed that if something like this happened again that you would go to the clinic,” Jack barked. “You said you would … so you’re going. Just as soon as we’re done here, you betcha, you’re going.”

  Ivy stared him down, not worried in the least that he would somehow bully her in to visiting the clinic. “No, I’m not.”

  “Son of a … .” Jack gripped his hands together, squeezing so tightly that Brian worried he might rip off his own fingers.

  Instead of playing in to their dramatic game, Brian merely cleared his throat and drew Ivy’s attention to him. “I need to know what happened. I understand you two have … something … going on here. I still need to understand why you did what you did.”

  “I can’t explain it and you’re going to think I’m crazy no matter what,” Ivy said. “I saw something in my head. It happened when I touched Mackenzie’s shoes. Things went a little fuzzy in my brain. I almost tripped, but Max caught me.”

  Brian was calm. “And then what happened?”

  “Then? Then I saw something in my head.”

  “What?”

  “I saw Mackenzie drinking from her water bottle and getting sick,” Ivy replied, nervously licking her lips as she tried to remain calm. Odds were that Brian would think she was crazy and call the men with white jackets to haul her away. There was nothing she could do about it so she opted to tell the truth. “I just reacted. I didn’t know what else to do. I slapped the bottle away and told everyone to stay away from it.”

  “Where is the bottle now?” Brian asked, glancing around.

  Ivy pointed toward the bench at the edge of the room. “It rolled under there.”

  “Okay.” Brian smiled. “Hang tight for a second.” He left Jack and Ivy alone as he searched for the bottle, seemingly relieved to be out of the line of fire.

  When it was just the two of them, Ivy scalded Jack with a dark look. “I’m mad at you.”

  “I know.” Jack barely managed to contain his frustration. “I’m sorry. I can’t treat you differently.”

  “Oh, really? Did you threaten to send Simone to the health clinic, too?” Sarcasm practically dripped from Ivy’s tongue.

  “That’s different,” Jack argued. “This is the second time this has happened in as many days.”

  “You’re not my king.”

  “That’s funny, because I often think you’re my queen.” Jack leaned closer. “I’m not going to let you turn this into a fight because you don’t want to go to the clinic. You’re going to the clinic.”

  “No, I’m not.” Ivy crossed her arms over her chest and defiantly stared down Jack. “I’m not telling them about this. Neither are you. It’s my business.”

  “Our business,” Jack corrected. “We’re an us now … and I’m afraid.”

  The earnest look on his face was enough for Ivy to reassess her attitude. “I’m not sick. I might be crazy, but I’m not sick.”

  “Honey … .”

  “I found the bottle,” Brian said, not glancing at either of them as he interrupted their conversation. “Look at his.” Brian, wearing gloves, tipped the bottle so Jack could study the bit of liquid left at the bottom.

  “It looks a little … yellowish,” Jack said after a beat.

  “And antifreeze is yellow,” Brian said.

  “Which means there’s probably antifreeze in there.” Jack wasn’t surprised as much as relieved. As long as Ivy was seeing real things during these little fits, however scary, he could handle what was to come. “You saved Mackenzie, Ivy.”

  “It looks like you really did,” Brian agreed. “We’re going to have to send the bottle to the state lab for confirmation, but you did a good thing here.”

  Ivy rubbed her cheek and nodded. “Okay.” Her voice was tiny. “Mackenzie said Simone gave her the bottle.”

  Brian arched an eyebrow as he stared at Jack for a moment, something unsaid passing between them. “Okay,” Brian said after a beat. “We have a new plan. The girls are being released – at least for the moment – and Simone is coming in for questioning.”

  “What about me?” Ivy asked.

  “You’re going home,” Jack answered. “You’re going home, making yourself some tea, and then resting until I get there.”

  Ivy opened her mouth to argue but snapped it shut when Jack offered up a firm headshake.

  “You’re going home,” Jack repeated. “If you push me too far, I swear I will toss you over my shoulder and haul you to the clinic myself. You might be angry – and even kick and scream – but I will do it.”

  Ivy stared at him for a long beat, anger pulsing off her in tsunami-like waves. “Fine,” she said after a few moments of deliberation. “We’re going to talk about this when you get home, though.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  SIMONE PUT UP A FIGHT when Jack and Brian explained they were taking her to the station for formal questioning. At first she tried whining to get out of it, ultimately faking tears and acting as if Jack and Brian were submitting her to torture rather than questions.

  When that didn’t work, she demanded a lawyer. Once it was explained to her that she would have to sit in a cell until the lawyer arrived, she changed her
mind and started pouting. When she realized that wasn’t going to work, she opted for belligerence.

  In the end, it was a long three hours of questioning that ended with Simone swearing up and down she had nothing to do with the potential poisoning. She pointed out she gave all the girls bottles of water and only one was tainted. She also rationalized that Mackenzie wasn’t a frontrunner so there was no gain to trying to knock her out of the pageant.

  Sadly, without hard evidence to go on because the bottle had to go to the state lab, Jack and Brian had no choice but to cut her loose.

  “What do you think?” Brian asked as he stood next to the window and watched Simone scurry away in the darkness.

  “I think she’s a pain the ass,” Jack replied, not missing a beat.

  “Not that.” Brian chuckled. “That’s a given. Do you think she’s capable of poisoning teenagers to make sure her daughter is crowned the Lady of Love.”

  “Please tell me that’s not the actual title,” Jack said.

  “I wish I could.”

  “This town is nutty sometimes.” Jack rolled his neck and stared at the ceiling. “I’m not sure what to believe. On one hand, I think Simone is capable of almost anything. On the other, this seems so … fantastical … that I don’t know what to make of it.”

  “Speaking of fantastical … .” Brian awkwardly shifted from one foot to the other as he cleared his throat. “I don’t want to make things worse here or anything but … what’s going on with Ivy?”

  Jack bristled at his partner’s tone. “There’s nothing wrong with Ivy.”

  Brian held up his hands in a placating manner. “I didn’t say there was anything wrong with her,” he clarified. “I asked what was up with her.”

  “Oh.” Jack had the grace to be abashed. “I don’t know what’s up with her. She’s … dealing with some stuff.”

  “I figured that out on my own,” Brian said dryly. “This isn’t the first time this has happened, is it?”

  “I … .”

  “It’s not even the second time,” Brian pushed forward, refusing to let Jack shut down. “She’s seeing things, isn’t she?”