“From what you described to me, the person who killed Shannon was cold-blooded,” Max noted. “She was shot twice and the second shot was much closer, perhaps to make sure Shannon could see who was killing her.”
That possibility hadn’t even occurred to Ivy. “Or maybe Holly moved closer, saw it wasn’t me and panicked and shot Shannon a second time so she couldn’t rat out Holly to the police.”
Max exhaled heavily as he considered the possibility. After almost a full minute, he shook his head. “I still don’t buy it.”
“But you do think Holly is weird, right?”
“Oh, I can definitely get behind that,” Max agreed. “I don’t like that she cornered you here at the nursery. That suggests to me that she was watching and knew Jack left you here and you were alone.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because your car was back at the house. Let’s say this Holly chick – and I don’t like that name, for the record, it makes me think of Christmas, which makes me think of mistletoe, which makes me think of chicks who aren’t crazy and Holly is now ruining that – stopped at your house to either see Jack or mess with you. She would’ve knocked on the door and, when you didn’t answer, she would’ve left.
“You can’t see the nursery from your yard, even when the trees are bare,” he continued. “She had to know you were at the nursery, which means she either followed Jack and Brian when they drove you to the nursery or somehow she figured out where you were through other means.”
Ivy scratched her cheek. “I didn’t consider any of that before. You’re a lot smarter than you look.”
“I’m handsome and wise,” Max agreed. “What’s your plan for dealing with this Holly woman? She clearly needs to be dealt with and I don’t care how severe Brian pretended to be, I doubt very much his warning is going to scare her off if she’s truly nuts.”
“See, now you’re thinking like me.” Ivy offered up a mischievous smile. “I have an idea.”
“I hate it when you say things like that.”
“You’re not going to hate this idea. It’s a good idea. You’re going to love it.”
Tell me what it is. Wait … don’t tell me.” Max waited a bit. “Okay, tell me. No, wait, I don’t want to know.”
“I’m going to tell you regardless,” Ivy argued. “You’re going to love the idea, too. Don’t worry about that.”
Thirteen
“This is a terrible idea.”
Max pocketed his keys as he exited his truck in the parking lot of the Shadow Lake Motor Lodge and shifted his eyes to Ivy over the truck’s hood. “How did I let you talk me into this?”
Ivy shrugged. She wasn’t particularly bothered by Max’s attitude. He was always reticent at the beginning of an adventure and gung-ho by the end. She was used to his whining. “You want to find out what she’s up to as much as I do.”
“I want to make sure you’re safe,” Max grumbled. “I don’t really care what she’s up to.”
“Don’t lie. You’re as gossipy as I am.”
“I’m not lying.”
“You are.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Max held up his hands in a placating manner to stall the argument. “Fine. I want to know what she’s up to.”
Ivy turned impish. “It probably doesn’t hurt that Jennifer Dawkins works at the front desk here either, does it?”
Max brightened considerably. “I totally forgot about that. Last time I saw her she was looking hot.”
“And she thinks you’re dreamy.” Ivy added a skip to her step as she moved toward the lobby. “Come on. We’re not sure she’s here but this is my best guess and I want to see if I’m right.”
“That’s a woman thing, you know. Women always want to be right.” Max fell into step with his sister. “Men aren’t like that.”
Ivy snorted. “Men are totally like that.”
“They are not.”
“They are, too.”
“They are not.”
“Don’t make me smack you!”
“Yeah, you don’t have to be right at all,” Max drawled. “I don’t know why I thought that.”
“HI, MOM.”
Jack did his best to present himself as calm and casual as he addressed the woman who gave him life with a patently bright voice. “How are you doing?”
Margaret Harker was many things, a moron was not one of them. She knew Jack was fishing for specific information the moment he called. Rather than attack him out of the gate, she opted to feel him out for clues first. “I’m delightful, son. How are you?”
“Great.”
“How is Ivy?”
“She’s great.”
“How are the wedding plans?”
“They’re great.”
“Uh-huh.” Margaret rolled her eyes even though her son couldn’t see her expression. “How are the house renovations going? Wait, let me guess, they’re going great, too, aren’t they?”
Jack made a face as he looked across the desk and found Brian smirking. He put the call on speakerphone even though he was uncomfortable at the prospect. He thought it was better to let Brian listen rather than repeat everything a second time after the fact. It would save time.
“The renovations are almost done.” Jack chose his words carefully. “We still have the floor and drywall to do. After that it’s simply a matter of picking out paint and starting the decorating process.”
“Is Ivy going with pink? I bet she is because of her hair.”
“No pink. We might do pink in the future for one of the bedrooms if we have a daughter, but for now there’s no pink.”
“Wow. You guys are already talking about kids, huh?” Margaret was impressed despite herself. “I wasn’t sure I would ever get grandchildren out of you because you were so focused on your job. I guess that’s changed.”
“It has,” Jack agreed. “I want a future with Ivy and when I picture it I see a kid or two.”
“Boys or girls?”
“One of each.”
Margaret snorted. “You really are a different person, Jack. I don’t know what to make of it.”
“I’m hoping you’ll be happy for me.” Jack opted for the truth. “I’m certainly happy.”
“I know you are.” Margaret heaved out a sigh. “It kills me because you’re not happy down here, but I want you to be happy more than anything so I guess it’s something I’m simply going to have to put up with even though I hate your current location.”
“That is definitely true.” Jack refused to back down even though he knew his mother was giving it her all. “Speaking of being happy up here versus down there, I ran into an old … um, friend … a few days ago. I was a little surprised.”
“Really?” Margaret sounded intrigued. “Was it someone on the force? Do they want you back?”
Jack bit back a retort. He knew his mother meant well. She simply refused to see what was right in front of her. He hoped with time she would realize Jack was exactly where he belonged.
“It wasn’t someone with the force.” Jack ignored the amused look on Brian’s face. His partner was having way too much fun with this conversation. “The thing is … Holly Doherty showed up.”
Margaret was so quiet on the other end of the call Jack was certain he’d lost her.
“Mom?”
“I’m here.” Margaret cleared her throat. “I guess I don’t understand why you’re calling me in regards to Holly showing up.”
Jack instantly knew that at least part of Holly’s story was true. His mother was doing her very best to act innocent, but he could hear the guilt coursing through her voice. “Mom, I know you talked to her. She’s told anyone who will listen … and that includes Ivy.”
Margaret swore under her breath, causing Brian’s grin to widen. Jack cursed the exact same way when he was frustrated. It was mildly cute to realize he’d learned the behavior from his mother.
“I knew she was going to turn into trouble,” Margaret complained.
“Actually, I didn’t know. Denise was with me when we just happened to run into her, though, and she said Holly was going to be trouble.”
Since Denise was Jack’s sister and was a master at stirring up her own brand of trouble, Jack wasn’t surprised in the least that Denise recognized Holly for the manipulator she was. “I need you to tell me exactly what happened.”
“There’s not much to tell,” Margaret hedged. “I was in Meijer, the one over by Little Mack, and I was minding my own business when I heard someone call out my name.”
Jack loved his mother, but he couldn’t remember her ever minding her own business at the store. She much preferred spending her time making fun of other people’s outfits and complaining about prices. Oh, and soy milk. She ridiculed anyone who bought soy milk. “Uh-huh. I’m guessing that was Holly, right?”
“It was.” Margaret paused for a beat. “She really showed up there?”
“Since you’re being reticent to tell me everything that happened when you ran into Holly, I’m going to break things down for you, Mom,” Jack offered. “Holly showed up at my rental and made a big stink about me coming home. She mentioned running into you, and I’m going to guess you fed into her delusion about me returning.”
“That’s not exactly how it happened,” Margaret clarified. “I mean … it’s kind of how it happened. It’s not really how it happened, though.” She changed course quickly. “This is not my fault. It’s all Holly’s fault.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Jack rolled his eyes. “I brushed Holly off when she suggested we should give it another go. I told her I was engaged. She said she knew about the engagement because of you – and just for the record, if you badmouthed Ivy to Holly we’re going to have issues – and then implied that I didn’t really want to be engaged to Ivy but would follow through on the wedding because I was loyal and that would be a mistake.”
Margaret made a series of noises Jack had trouble making out. When she finally recovered, she sounded absolutely livid. “I didn’t say anything bad about Ivy.”
“You mentioned her pink hair because Holly couldn’t get enough of talking about that.”
“Well, she has pink hair.” Margaret didn’t back down. “It takes some getting used to. Pink is not a normal color for hair.”
“I happen to like her hair and think it fits her personality perfectly,” Jack snapped. “I don’t want to hear another thing about her hair.”
“I think you simply love Ivy to distraction so you don’t even notice her hair,” Margaret grumbled.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No. I like Ivy.”
“You’d better after everything you went through together,” Jack said. “She risked herself to keep you safe.”
“I know.” Margaret was contrite. “It’s just … I’m a mother. I can’t help wanting my son with me.”
“Yes, well, we’ve been over this.” Jack was firm. “I want to stay here. I like it here. In fact, I love it here. I would want to stay here whether Ivy lived here or not.”
“She only adds to your love of the town, though, doesn’t she?”
“You have no idea.” Jack cleared his throat when he realized Brian was looking at his watch. “We’re getting off topic, Mom. I need to know about Holly. She’s been acting a little … um, off … since she got to town.”
“If you ask me the girl was always off, but I can only imagine what kind of trouble she’s trying to stir up.” Margaret’s voice was stronger. “The thing is, I honestly didn’t say that much to her. I probably would’ve said more if your sister didn’t step in and tell me I was being a ninny.
“I can’t figure out why Holly was even at that store,” she continued. “She told me when you guys were dating that she did all her shopping at Trader Joe’s even though it was out of her way. I distinctly remember that because it was the one time you introduced me to her and I didn’t like her attitude. It felt as if she were talking down to me.”
“No one likes her attitude, Mom.” Jack rubbed the back of his neck, frustrated. “So you think she followed you to the store. That’s what you’re saying, right?”
“I think it’s weird she showed up at our store when she doesn’t live nearby,” Margaret clarified. “She acted surprised when she saw me, overly friendly, but there was something off about her.”
“Like what?”
“Well, she seemed a little intense.”
“I’m going to need more than that.”
“Okay, well, she basically asked two generic questions and then immediately started probing about you,” Margaret explained. “She wanted to know where you were, if you were happy, if you ever asked about her, and when you planned on coming back.
“I told her you had no plans to come back, which is how Ivy came up, and she seemed worked up about the fact that you’d moved on,” she continued. “I thought her reaction was a little out there considering you and her were never that tight – at least as far as I could tell – but she was worked up all the same.”
“What did you tell her about Ivy?”
Margaret exhaled heavily. “I told her you were happy and in love and not coming back. I said Ivy was a good match for you despite her pink hair – yes, I mentioned the hair – but I was glad you were happy. I did complain a bit about you never moving home again, but that’s it.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.” Jack leaned back in his chair, conflicted. “Mom, have you heard any other gossip about her? I need you to be honest. She approached Ivy in the greenhouse yesterday and said some weird things. She also showed up at a restaurant in a different town where Brian and I were eating lunch, and that’s before she ended up at the table across from us at the diner for breakfast this morning.”
“Holy crap!” Margaret was stunned. “She’s stalking you.”
“I’m not as worried about me as I am about Ivy,” Jack admitted. “Something else happened the day before yesterday. I wasn’t going to tell you because I knew it would drive you over the edge but I don’t see where I have a choice.”
Jack related the sad story of Shannon’s death, including how and where she died, and when he was done, Margaret was beside herself.
“Do you think Holly killed her?”
“I don’t think Holly has it in her to kill,” Jack replied. “It’s not that she’s not mean enough. It’s that she’s lazy. I guess I wouldn’t put it past her to hire someone to do the job, but I’m honestly not sure that happened here.”
“How much would it cost to hire a professional?”
“At least ten grand is my guess, although I’ve never done it so I don’t have confirmation on that number.”
Margaret made a growling noise, as if internally debating something, and then started talking again. “I don’t think Holly has the money to hire a professional.”
“You sound as if you know something.”
“I know a little something,” Margaret admitted. “I don’t know how important it is, but I definitely know something.”
“Tell me.”
JENNIFER DAWKINS LOOKED completely bored when Ivy and Max walked through the lobby door. She didn’t even bother to look up from the magazine she was flipping through before speaking.
“Welcome to the Shadow Lake Motor Lodge,” she droned. “We’re happy to serve all of your lodging needs.”
“Wow. Put some enthusiasm behind it next time,” Max teased.
Jennifer flicked her eyes to Max and Ivy and brightened. “Oh, hey. I thought you were another set of lost tourists.” She flipped the magazine shut. “You have no idea how annoying lost tourists are.”
“I can imagine.” Ivy pasted a wide smile on her face. “It’s actually tourists we’re here to talk to you about.”
“Ivy is here to talk to you about tourists,” Max clarified, leaning against the counter. “I’m here to flirt with you and see if you want to hit the bar this weekend.”
Jennifer giggled as she tucked a strand of black
hair behind her ear. “I’m always ready to hit the bar.”
“That’s why I like you.” Max winked, causing Jennifer’s cheeks to flush with pink. “You’re beautiful and energetic.”
Ivy rolled her eyes. “Oh, I’m so going to gag.”
Max’s smile slipped. “Hey, if you’re going to make me act as a spy, I get to flirt with the pretty eye candy. Those are the rules.”
“Oh, you’re freaking adorable, Max.” Jennifer playfully smacked his arm and Ivy knew they would opt for a different game over the weekend. It was one they played from time to time but never took seriously. “You’re here about tourists, though?”
“One tourist,” Ivy clarified. “Her name is Holly Doherty and I want to know if she’s staying here.”
“Oh, she’s staying here.” Jennifer made a face. “She’s a real pain in the butt. She keeps calling for room service even though I’ve told her a million times we don’t have room service. We’re a motor lodge, for crying out loud. All she does is whine.”
“How long has she been here?”
“Um … .” Jennifer tapped her chin as she thought. “She arrived early in the day on Tuesday. She was here before noon and we didn’t have her room ready yet and she complained about that, too.”
“Did she ask you any questions?”
“Like what?”
“Like, I don’t know, maybe she might have asked you about Jack or something.”
“You know what, now that you mention it, she did ask me about Jack,” Jennifer admitted. “I didn’t know what to tell her, though. She said she knew him from down south, that they used to be close, but she didn’t strike me as his type so I thought she might be lying.”
“What did you tell her?” Max snagged a butterscotch candy from the bowl on the counter. “Did you talk to her about Ivy at all?”
“She didn’t really ask about Ivy other than to find out where the nursery was located,” Jennifer explained. “She came in yesterday morning and wanted to know where Ivy worked. I had to explain about the nursery, which she didn’t get, and then show her on the map.”
Ivy wrinkled her nose as she glanced at Max. “Maybe she’s not following us at all. Maybe she’s simply asking around and lucking out.”
Wicked Wishes (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 10) Page 13
