Ghostly Visions: A Harper Harlow Mystery Books 10-12

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Really?” Agatha brightened considerably. “In that case … .” She lifted her middle finger and shot it in the air. “I’m not sorry you’re dead, Carl. You had it coming. I’m betting we’ll end up in the same place so we can sort it all out on the wrong side of the pearly gates. Until then … suck it.”

  Harper pressed her lips together to keep from laughing at the surreal situation. Jared sent her an admonishing look, but even he looked tickled by the turn of events. Only Junior seemed unsure.

  “Why did you do it, Granny?” he asked, solemn. “Why did you kill him? You had to know that you would get caught.”

  “I didn’t mean to kill him,” Agatha offered. “Truly. I didn’t mean it. I snuck out of the home that night because I wanted to confront him. Heck, I had a ridiculous notion of being a cat burglar that night, too. I thought I would break into his house, scare him until he gave me what I wanted, or just take something of value and sell it. I didn’t think he would be there.

  “The thing is, I heard through the grapevine that he was dating Gloria Harlow,” she continued, shooting Harper an apologetic look. “I’ve heard nothing but nice things about you, girlie, but your mother is a known quantity … and that reputation of hers isn’t a good thing.”

  Harper swallowed hard and nodded. “I’m well aware of my mother’s reputation.”

  “In truth, I thought it was funny when I heard he was dating Gloria. If anyone could chew him up and spit him out, it was her. I always thought what he truly needed was to care about a woman … and then have her crush him.”

  “Oh, nice.” Carl made a face. “Can you believe this? My role model, ladies and gentlemen.”

  Harper scowled at him. “Shut up. She’s ten times the role model that you were.”

  Junior watched Harper interact with an invisible version of his father and could do nothing but shake his head. “I see death hasn’t changed him.”

  “Not even a little,” Harper agreed.

  “How did you do it, Agatha?” Mel asked gently. “Did you take the knife with you?”

  She nodded. “Like I said, the plan was steal from him … or scare him. I didn’t want to kill him. He just wouldn’t shut up. I didn’t know he was going to be there, and when he woke up and found me in his house … well … he wouldn’t stop saying absolutely ridiculous things. I couldn’t deal with it.”

  Mel nodded in understanding. “Did he tell you he was taking you out of his will?”

  “He did,” she confirmed. “I didn’t even know I was in his will so, at first, I didn’t know what to think. He said I was old and didn’t need the money anyway. I assumed that meant that Junior was getting that money – all of it – and I was okay with that. Then he told me he was going to spend it on a place in Florida.

  “He still planned to allow Junior to inherit,” she continued, clearly lost in her story. “He was going to spend the bulk of what he’d squirreled away on a condo in Tampa, though. He didn’t even care if there was nothing left to leave Junior.”

  She turned to Jared, her eyes clear. “I know you probably don’t believe this, but that’s what sent me over the edge,” she said. “I don’t know how I raised such a terrible human being. I was angry at myself. I was mostly angry at him, though. I just lashed out … and once I stabbed him the first time, I couldn’t stop.”

  Harper’s stomach gave a small lurch at the visual the older woman was painting.

  “Did you think you would get away with it?” Mel asked. “I mean … did you think no one would look in your direction because you’re older?”

  Agatha merely shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t even know that I wanted to get away with it. I just know that I’m not sorry.”

  “What about after the fact? Why did you break into the house a second time?”

  “To find the will. I wanted to make sure that Junior was getting everything. I didn’t care about myself. I still have the will … and everything is going to him. I just wanted to make sure that Carl didn’t do something really bad and cut out Junior. I was going to destroy the will if I found that he’d been playing King Jerk.”

  Mel let loose a sigh. “You know we’re going to have to take you in, right?”

  Agatha nodded. “I know.”

  “Wait.” Junior moved to put himself between Mel and his grandmother. “Don’t do that. She’s elderly. Where is she going to go? Can’t you just put her on house arrest?”

  “It would be nice if we could,” Mel acknowledged. “She’s already proven that she can’t be trusted to stay here, though. There’s no security. She can wander out any time she chooses. I’m sorry. She has to go with us.”

  Jared rested his hand on Junior’s shoulder. “We’ll make sure she’s comfortable. I’m betting a good attorney – maybe someone you know, like your grandfather – will be able to get her out on a monitor with a little effort.”

  Junior nodded. “I’ll call him.”

  “That’s good. No matter what, she’s going to have to spend the night in a cell. The good news is, she’ll have the place to herself and we’ll make sure she has a nice bunk, plenty of blankets, and takeout from the diner for dinner.”

  “That’s better than the slop they have here,” Agatha said brightly. “Maybe jail won’t be so bad.”

  “Maybe,” Jared agreed. “We’ll sit down with the prosecutor and see what sort of deal can be worked out. There’s always a chance you might end up in a hospital – not unlike where you are now – rather than a prison. Given your age … .”

  “Oh, do you hear that?” Agatha playfully smacked Junior’s arm. “My age is finally going to be a benefit.”

  Junior didn’t look as if he agreed, but he simply nodded. “Let’s get you settled, Granny. I’ll grab some of your puzzle books.”

  “Grab some whiskey, too.”

  “Don’t push it,” Mel warned, although he cracked a smile.

  Harper slid her eyes to Carl and found him glaring at the scene. “I bet you wish you wouldn’t have been such a hateful individual now, don’t you?”

  “People will remember me forever.”

  “Not for anything good.”

  “I’m fine with that.”

  “I certainly hope so, because it’s all you have.”

  Twenty

  Harper was exhausted when she let herself into the house the following Saturday. Jared’s truck was in the driveway, which meant he was home, but he’d been burning the candle at both ends over the past few days as he tried to secure a deal for Agatha and she didn’t want to risk waking him if he’d finally given in to his weariness and opted to take a nap.

  Sure enough, she found him asleep on the couch, a blanket tucked around him and the television muted in the background.

  She studied him for a long beat, love washing over her, and then frowned when he cocked an eyebrow and met her gaze.

  “I didn’t mean to wake you,” she said finally, internally cursing herself. “I should’ve let you sleep.”

  “I’m fine.” He smiled as he stretched. “Besides, there’s nothing better than waking up to your face.”

  Harper snorted. “Someone is feeling charming this afternoon.”

  “You have no idea.” He lifted the blanket and gestured for her to join him. “Come on. I’m tired and all I want is a few minutes with my girl. I think I’ve earned it.”

  Because it was true, Harper readily joined him without complaint. “Okay, but just for a few minutes.” She slid into his arms, giggling when he offered her a tickle before pulling her close. He let loose a sigh when she pressed her face to his chest and they basked in their shared warmth for a long stretch. Harper was the first to break the silence. “I sent Carl to the other side.”

  “Good.” He kissed her forehead. “I was sick of that jerk hanging around.”

  “Yes, well, there’s no way you were sicker of him than me.”

  “Try me. The guy was a pervert and wanted to hang around in our bedroom, which meant you became Harper the Prude fo
r those few days. I’m feeling neglected.”

  “You’re not the only one. I had to wait until I could arrange a time for Junior to say goodbye, though. He earned the right.”

  “He definitely did.” Jared pulled back so he could study her eyes. “Was it a warm goodbye?”

  “No. Junior tried being calm at the start, but then he unloaded. What’s going on with Agatha is weighing on him.”

  “She’s going to be okay,” Jared promised, his fingers gentle as he brushed Harper’s hair away from her face. “It looks like we’re going to plead her down to a manslaughter charge. Technically she’ll never be free again, but she won’t be in a prison.”

  “It seems wrong to be thankful for that, doesn’t it? I mean … she is a murderer.”

  “She is, but if anyone ever pushed people to justifiable homicide, it was Carl. I’m just glad he’s moved on. Do you think he went to the good place?”

  “I don’t know.” Harper had been considering that very question herself. “I didn’t see a flash this time when I engaged the dreamcatcher. It doesn’t always happen, so that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. I like to think he didn’t go to the good place, though. Maybe that makes me petty.”

  “You’re not petty. I’m petty and I’m going to throw a party in our bathtub later because of it.”

  The picture made Harper smile. “Yes, well … it’s something to look forward to. I am glad that Agatha isn’t going to be put into a state prison or anything. The idea of that would haunt me.”

  “They couldn’t have put her in a regular prison anyway. She’s too frail because of the stroke. She was always going to a hospital. It became a question of which hospital, but I’m hopeful she’ll end up in a local one so Fran and Junior can keep visiting her.”

  “Junior seemed okay when I saw him today,” Harper volunteered. “He’s been working with his grandfather on Agatha’s defense. He seems happy about the arrangement. He was a little sad while saying goodbye to Carl, but I’m glad I waited to send off that louse. Junior seemed lighter once everything was over and he got the last word. I didn’t repeat any of the hateful stuff Carl spouted back, and that only made him more obnoxious.”

  “I’m glad you waited, too. I’m also glad that he’s gone so our romance can continue unabated.”

  Harper laughed so hard she struggled to suck in a breath. “Who says things like that?”

  “I do. I heard it on a Lifetime movie and have been holding it back for just the right moment.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “In fact, I’m going to keep saying stuff like that until you let me romance you.”

  “I have every intention of letting you romance me.”

  “Good.”

  “There’s just one thing.”

  Jared waited for her to continue, worry briefly washing over him as he wondered what sort of bad news bomb she was going to drop on him now.

  “I had lunch with Zander,” she started, choosing her words carefully. “I mentioned to him that you and I were considering taking a vacation.”

  “Absolutely not.” Jared immediately started shaking his head. “He’s not going with us. Our last vacation – and I use that term loosely – involved him and mushroom hunting. He didn’t stop whining the entire time. I’m not going through that again.”

  “Hold up.” Harper feigned patience as she raised her hand. “That’s not what this is about.”

  Jared arched a suspicious eyebrow. “Oh, you’re not about to tell me that Zander invited himself along on our vacation, are you?”

  “Nope.”

  Jared relaxed, if only marginally. He was still expecting bad news. “Then I’m sorry for barking at you. Please continue.”

  Harper’s lips twitched at his adorable expression. “So, the thing is … Zander had to remind me that we already have a trip planned … and it’s coming up in the next few weeks.”

  “We do?” Jared drew his eyebrows together. “I’m pretty sure I would remember if we made trip plans.”

  “Not you and me, but him and me.”

  Jared frowned. “What? Are you telling me you’re going on vacation with Zander instead of me?” He thought he was likely to lose it. “This is like the worst thing to ever happen to me.”

  “Knock it off.” Harper’s voice was low and full of warning. “This trip has been planned for two years. I’m the one who forgot about it.”

  “What trip?”

  “It’s a cruise. I kind of remembered it when Junior brought up how he wanted to buy a cruise for his mother, but I didn’t really think long and hard about it until Zander brought it up. We made plans two years ago because that’s how long the waiting list was for this particular getaway.”

  “So, you and Zander are going on a cruise together. That’s just … great.” Jared moved to pull away but she stilled him with a hand on his chest. “What?” His eyes flashed with annoyance.

  “The cruise is for paranormal hunters, or people in the business, like us. It’s a work cruise and we read about it in a magazine two years ago. I would like to point out that I didn’t know you two years ago.”

  “Whatever.” Jared’s mood was dour. “Will you let me up?”

  “No.” She shook her head, firm. “The thing is, we were thinking ahead. We bought four tickets in case we were dating people at the time. Zander was always optimistic about that stuff. Me? Not so much. I agreed to get him off my back, though, because there was no chance we would be able to buy extra tickets, but selling tickets is easy.”

  Jared stilled. “So … you have tickets for a cruise and want me to go with you?”

  “You and Shawn … although Zander isn’t sure Shawn will be able to go because this is his busiest time of year because everyone makes New Year’s resolutions to lose weight and that means they flood his gym for three months.”

  To buy himself time, Jared stroked his chin. “What would I be doing on this ship while you’re working?”

  “Drinking and soaking up sun. The conference only has two scheduled events. It’s basically about networking and getting to know people. That’s it. You wouldn’t be on your own much.”

  “Well … .” His expression was hard to read as he met her gaze. “I’m not sure what to say about all this,” he admitted after a beat. “It’s not exactly the vacation I had in mind.”

  “I know it’s not,” she conceded. “I can’t pull out, though. I promised. This is a way for everybody to benefit.”

  “I guess. I want another vacation, though. I want something that’s just you and me. I don’t care where or when, but I want something that belongs to just the two of us.”

  “I can make that happen.”

  “I also want a massage in the tub tonight.”

  Her lips quirked. “I can make that happen, too.”

  “Then … I guess I’m okay with that.” He settled back on the couch and considered her serene features. “It might actually be fun.”

  “It’s definitely going to be fun,” Harper agreed. “It’s only two weeks away. I can’t wait … and if I play my cards right, I’m going to be able to avoid my mother and father all that time so I don’t have to listen to their ridiculous excuses for why they’ve been hiding this sex thing they’ve been doing.”

  Jared snickered. “I have a plan to help you avoid them.”

  “You do? Tell me.”

  “It involves hiding under the covers and not coming out until we leave.”

  “I like that idea. Tell me more.”

  “How about I show you?”

  “That’s an even better idea.”

  “I thought you would agree.”

  She was already tugging her shirt over her head. It was the middle of the afternoon and she didn’t even care. “Less talk, more showing.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Finally something I want to do.”

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  Acknowledgments

  I’
m a romantic at heart. A true romantic. I love the idea of a happy ending, so much so I have trouble writing a sad one. The world is sad enough. I like escaping in fiction. That’s just me. I like sarcasm and snark – but I’m not sure a sad ending is in me. If you’re looking for an edge like that, you’re probably looking in the wrong place. Just FYI.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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