Ghostly Visions: A Harper Harlow Mystery Books 10-12

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Then don’t tell me. I’ll go to the police station tomorrow and ask him to tell me.”

  “That would probably be easier. It’s just … well … I want to tell you.”

  Junior chuckled. “Then tell me. I’ll try to act surprised when Jared brings it up so you don’t get in trouble.”

  “Oh, no. I’ll own up to my idiocy. He’ll be angry, but he won’t stay that way. Besides, he took my mother in for questioning this week. It kind of seems I’ve got a freebie built in somewhere.”

  “Fair enough. Tell me the thing.”

  Harper sucked in a breath. It was now or never. He’d given her an out and she’d blown it off. There was no reason to drag things out. “What do you know about your father’s will?”

  “We already talked about that,” Junior replied, blasé. “I’m not going to be in my father’s will. I never assumed I would be.”

  “But you are. Or, at least you were.” Harper explained about the wills, leaving nothing out. When she was finished, Junior looked legitimately surprised. “So, you see, you might have a motive and not even realize it.”

  “I would never kill for money, not even him.”

  “I know. I was just saying that because Jared and Mel will argue it when they bring you in for questioning. I want you to be ready.”

  “There’s nothing to be ready for. I didn’t know about the old will. I don’t really care about the new will.”

  “You don’t want a million dollars? Or, I guess it was originally less than that because he gave your grandmother a hundred grand. Still, though, that’s a lot of money.”

  “It is,” Junior agreed. “I plan to make that much money … someday. Do you know what I’m going to do when that happens?”

  “What?”

  “I’m going to send my mother on a cruise. She’s always wanted to go on a cruise. She claims they’re magical.”

  Harper had never given it much thought, other than from a business perspective. “I heard the rooms on cruise ships are small.”

  “I’ve heard that, too. My mother won’t care, though. She loves the idea of being on the ocean.”

  “Well, that sounds like a fabulous gift.” She meant it. “You could give it to her now if you inherited that money.”

  “And trust me, that’s something I would do. I would also make it so she could retire … or at least cut down to forty hours a week.”

  “That seems fair.”

  “I don’t believe that he was changing that will for my benefit,” Junior pressed. “That’s not the sort of person he is. You said two months ago? Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s about the time I got in a fight with him about Grandma.”

  “You fought with him about your grandmother?”

  “He was trying to cut her monthly allowance. She gets to stay at the home for free thanks to government assistance, but my father still gives her money each month. It’s not much. Two hundred bucks. It’s enough for a few treats and she plays nickel poker with her friends at the home.”

  “And he was going to take that away from her?” Harper was horrified. “Why?”

  “He said she didn’t need it, that the home gave her everything she needed.”

  “I take it you argued with him about it.”

  “I did. I told him that my grandmother gave birth to him, that he wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for her, and that he needed to suck it up and be a man.”

  “And how did he respond?”

  “Not well. He called me a few names, one a derogatory term for female genitalia I won’t repeat in mixed company, and told me I was too old to be so naïve. He said that I would end up doing the same to my mother. I told him that was never going to happen.

  “It didn’t matter, though,” he continued. “He said he was taking the money from Grandma. He said she was talking smack about him down at the senior center. I guess someone asked if he was really born with both female and male parts. Grandma tells a story where that happened and they let him choose if he wanted to be a man or woman. Then she always adds on that he chose to be a woman.”

  Harper pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. “I see. That’s … um … .”

  “It’s funny,” Junior supplied. “You can say it. I know it’s funny, too. My grandmother doesn’t have much to laugh about, but she absolutely loves that story.”

  “I can’t believe your father would take away her allowance over something like that.”

  “Yeah, well, he was a jerk.”

  “Maybe he was taking away more than that,” Harper mused, absently scratching the side of her nose. “I don’t suppose he would’ve told her if he planned on cutting her out of his will, would he?”

  Junior shrugged. “Why would it matter? I’m sure she assumed he would outlive her.”

  “Yeah, but he didn’t.”

  Junior’s eyebrows hopped. “You’re not suggesting my grandmother killed him, are you?”

  Harper held out her hands and shrugged. “I don’t know. Do you think she’s capable of it? I mean … I know she had a stroke, but if she managed to get one good blow in he would’ve probably been incapacitated and she would’ve had an easy enough time finishing him off.”

  “Yeah, but … huh.”

  Harper watched him as the wheels turned. “Can she pick up and leave her home whenever she wants?”

  “She can. She does it quite often. She makes runs to the liquor store just because she likes getting the nurses at the home stirred up. They’re not supposed to have liquor, although they never take it away from Grandma. I sneak stuff in for her, too.”

  “So, she could’ve gotten out of the home,” Harper mused. “Do you think your father was mean enough to take your grandmother out of his will just because he was embarrassed?”

  “Most definitely. The thing is, I’m betting he took me out, too. He was really mad when I confronted him.”

  “Well … how late can your grandmother receive guests?” She glanced at the clock on the wall. It wasn’t even seven yet.

  “For another hour,” Junior replied. “Do you really want to go over there and question her?”

  “Yeah, and I want to bring Mel and Jared along for the ride. I think they’re going to want to hear this new information.”

  “Okay, but I’m telling you, there’s no way she’s capable of this.”

  “For your sake, I hope you’re right.”

  Nineteen

  Jared met Junior and Harper in the parking lot of the assisted living center and the first thing he did when he caught sight of his fiancée was to flick the spot between her eyebrows. She was expecting a hug — and maybe a kiss — so she was understandably taken aback.

  “What’s that for?” she asked.

  “That’s for meeting with a guy who could potentially be a murderer after dark without backup.”

  Harper jutted her lower lip out. “I didn’t plan it.”

  “It’s not her fault.” Junior raised his hand quickly. “If you’re going to be mad at someone, be mad at me. She didn’t have any choice in the matter. And, to be honest, I didn’t think about it.”

  “Well, think about it.” Jared refused to back down. “She was alone and vulnerable. You could’ve been a dangerous individual for all she knew. I love her. I don’t want her hurt.”

  “I don’t want her hurt either. I have no intention of hurting her, in fact. It’s just ... I had some questions to ask and I thought maybe she could help.”

  Jared rubbed at the mounting tension in his forehead. “Questions about your grandmother?”

  “No.” Junior was solemn. “Questions about my father.”

  “And how did you think she was going to answer them? She didn’t know your father.”

  Harper cleared her throat and hopped from one foot to the other. “Um ... the thing is, he’s talking about what I do for a living.”

  Realization dawned on Jared and he felt like an idiot. “Oh.” He instinctively moved his hand to Harper’s back. “I guess that ma
kes sense. I didn’t even think about it.” He made a rueful face as he regarded his girlfriend. “Did you help him there?”

  Harper shook her head. “Not yet. It’s not as if Carl was hanging around my office. I’ll have to handle that meeting once things settle a bit. As for now, well, I thought it best we talk to Agatha. The fact that Carl was cutting her allowance is a new wrinkle in the wallpaper.”

  “He was? Then it is,” Jared agreed, drawing his hand through his hair. “I still don’t know how she would’ve managed it. Mel will be here in a few minutes. I want to know everything you know about this situation and then I want the two of you to wait in the parking lot until we’re done questioning her.”

  Harper immediately started putting up a fight. “You can’t shut me out now. That’s not fair.”

  Jared cocked an eyebrow. “Life isn’t fair.”

  “Jared.”

  He wanted to hold strong, cut her out of the final takedown ... if that’s what this really was. He wanted her safe and warm at home. One look at her face told him that wasn’t going to be an option, though.

  “Okay, here’s the situation,” he said after a beat. “I’m going to allow you to go in with me but you can’t talk. You have to let Mel and me handle all the questions. Do you understand?”

  Harper nodded gravely. “Yes. I’ll be good.”

  “You’d better be.” Jared slid his arm around her shoulders and tugged her close so he could kiss her temple and focused on Junior. “What about you? Do you want in on this? You might be able to help us trap her under the right circumstances.”

  Junior nodded, thoughtful. “I don’t think she did this, but I want to be with you to question her if she did. I ... I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

  “I guess we will.”

  AGATHA WAS IN A HOUSE ROBE and slippers when Mel knocked on the door. The look on her face when she answered was harsh enough to peel the skin of a potato that hadn’t been boiled.

  “Oh, what do you want now?” she groused, her temper on full display.

  “We want to talk to you,” Mel replied, his voice light and easy. “There are a few things that have come up.”

  “I see.” Her eyes floated between faces before lingering on Harper. “I know who you are. You’re the one who can see and talk to ghosts.”

  “I am,” Harper agreed. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “I would say the same to you but when you get to be my age, you don’t want a ghost whisperer darkening your doorstep.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “Why are you here?” Agatha didn’t usher them inside, instead glaring from her spot. “I’m getting ready for bed. I don’t think I have the time or inclination to be a hostess tonight.”

  “Grandma, you should let them in,” Junior prodded. “They want to talk to you about Dad’s death.”

  “Uh-huh.” Agatha worked her jaw. “Fine,” she said finally and turned on her heel. “This had better be quick, though.”

  Harper made sure to lag at the tail end of the group, frowning when she caught sight of Carl. He stood in the kitchen, his expression dour, and barely looked up when the others entered the space. His gaze was fixed solely on his mother.

  “She did it, didn’t she?” Harper kept her voice low when she asked the question, her eyes boring holes into Carl.

  “She’s evil,” Carl replied, his tone gravelly. “Why do you think I turned out the way I did?”

  “I think you made your own decisions and enjoyed being evil,” Harper replied without hesitation. “Your son was partially raised by evil and he turned out nothing like you.”

  “He’s weak,” Carl muttered. “He’s always been weak. Fran made him that way.”

  “No, he’s strong.” Harper refused to back down. “He’s the man you should’ve been.”

  “Yeah, well, I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?” Carl almost looked sad when he met Harper’s steady stare. “I remember what happened.”

  “Was it her?”

  “She surprised me. I thought she was going to disown me, maybe threaten to curse me or something. She used to threaten that when I was a kid. Instead she had a knife. It was already too late when I realized what was happening.”

  “If only you hadn’t tried to screw her out of two hundred bucks a month, huh?”

  “She didn’t need that money. She was wasting it.”

  “Who are you to say that?”

  “Oh, stuff it.” Carl moved away from Harper and positioned himself behind Junior so he could openly glare at his mother.

  When Harper turned, she found Mel, Jared, Junior, and Agatha watching her. She straightened quickly, squared her shoulders, and then moved to the chair Jared had left open for her. He clearly wanted to make sure she wasn’t in Agatha’s swing zone should the woman lose her mind and attack.

  “Sorry about that,” she said quickly. “I was just … talking to myself.”

  Junior’s eyes lit with interest. “Were you talking to my father?”

  Harper opened her mouth to answer, but Agatha spoke before she could.

  “Of course she wasn’t talking to your father,” the older woman snapped. “Ghosts aren’t real.”

  Jared held Harper’s gaze a moment and then cleared his throat. “A few things of interest have turned up since we last spoke. One of those things is that we found out your son cut off your allowance. You didn’t mention that before.”

  “I didn’t realize I was under any obligation to mention it,” Agatha shot back. “I must have missed the part where you read me my rights.”

  “We don’t need to read you your rights if you’re not under arrest.”

  “Oh, well, you learn something new every day, huh?” She was flippant, but her eyes were keen when they landed on Harper. “Your mother was sleeping with my son. I bet she killed him.”

  “I don’t happen to share that opinion,” Harper replied primly.

  “Of course not. You’re going to side with your mother. I bet you even make up stuff that’s supposedly said by ghosts from time to time to make sure people believe the con you’re running, huh?”

  Harper opted not to answer.

  “Ma’am, we’re not here to talk about ghosts,” Jared supplied. “We’re here to talk about Carl and what he did to you. How come you didn’t mention that he’d cut you off financially?”

  “You didn’t ask.”

  “It seems to me that you had a motive to kill him even though you denied it when we stopped by to see you earlier,” Mel interjected, his tone grave. “Not only did your son cut you off financially, but he also was in the midst of changing his will. Were you aware of that?”

  “I believe we already talked about that.”

  “Yes, but now I’m starting to wonder if you were telling the truth.” Mel rubbed his palms on his knees and stared at the older woman. For the first time since he’d met her, he saw what she really was. “Were you aware that your son was changing his will?”

  “Why would I be aware of that?” Agatha opted for an elusive tone. “I mean … it’s not as if we talked a lot. I told you that. I hadn’t seen my son in two years.”

  “Oh, she’s lying,” Carl protested, his temper finally getting the better of him as he sputtered. “I told her what I had planned. It was fun. I mean … it was a heckuva lot of fun. The look on her face when I told her the gravy train had gone dry, well, it was beautiful.”

  Harper felt sick to her stomach as she shifted on her seat. Jared slid her a sidelong look, a question in his gaze, but she couldn’t very well answer with Agatha present.

  “Are you positive you didn’t see your son for those two years?” Jared queried, playing a hunch. “I mean … if we check with the front desk, are they going to tell the same story?”

  Agatha’s expression turned foul. “How should I know? I’m not responsible for them. I only know that I haven’t seen him for two years.”

  “I guess we should probably check on that.” Jared slowly got to his feet. �
��If I go out to that front desk and they tell me Carl has been here in the past two years, you’re going to be in a lot of trouble. Is that what you want me to do?”

  For a long beat, Agatha met his gaze, unblinking. It was as if she was daring him to take her on. Then, possibly realizing she was out of options, she let loose a long sigh and lowered her challenging glare. “How did you figure it out?”

  “We didn’t until right now,” Mel admitted. “We had a feeling that it was you thanks to something your grandson said. We wanted to be sure, though.”

  “I’m sorry, Granny,” Junior offered, his voice cracking. “I didn’t know. I … thought there was no way it could be you. I still don’t know how you managed to do it. I mean … why?”

  “You know why.” Agatha didn’t look sorry about what she’d done. The only regret present was due to the fact that she’d been caught. Harper had no doubt about that. “Your father was an awful individual. I mean … just awful.”

  “That seems to be the general consensus,” Jared agreed.

  “Oh, that shows what you know,” Carl sneered. “I was revered. Other men wanted to be like me and women wanted to get with me.”

  Harper shot him a derisive look.

  “Oh, it’s true,” Carl intoned. “Your mother couldn’t get enough of me.”

  “Which must be why she had sex with my father five minutes after you died,” Harper shot back, realizing too late that she was making a fool of herself thanks to Carl’s grating presence. “I’m sorry,” she said finally when four sets of eyes turned to her. “Your son is an absolute tool, though, Mrs. Gibbons. I’m surprised you didn’t kill him sooner.”

  Instead of being upset, or calling Harper a filthy liar, Agatha merely croaked out a raspy laugh. “Are you really talking to him?”

  “It’s more like he’s talking to me and he says absolutely nothing of interest.”

  “That’s how he’s been his whole life,” Agatha conceded. “Give him a message for me, will you?”

  “He’s here. He can hear anything you say.”