“I can buy that for everything but Jack’s lunch in Bellaire yesterday,” Max countered. “She couldn’t have lucked out and found them in a different town.”
“No, but she could’ve called Ava,” Jennifer volunteered. “They’ve been hanging out.”
Ivy’s blood ran cold. “Seriously?” Ava Moffett was the chief of police’s daughter. She worked in the same office with Jack, which meant she was privy to some of his actions. “That could explain how she knew where Jack and Brian were eating lunch. They probably called it in before logging off for an hour.”
“That’s very true.” Max was officially intrigued. “Has Ava been out here?”
Jennifer nodded. “Twice. I’m not sure how they met one another, but they’ve hung out at least three times that I know of since that Holly woman hit town. I thought it was odd, but it wasn’t really any of my business.”
“Yes, well, I still want to hear about it.” Max squeezed Jennifer’s hand. “Tell us everything you know and don’t leave anything out.”
Jennifer was pleased to acquiesce. “Okay, but she’s a real jerkface.”
“I love jerkface stories,” Max crooned.
“Who doesn’t?” Ivy agreed. “Give us everything you’ve got.”
Fourteen
Max and Ivy tracked down Holly thanks to Ava. The busybody secretary was parked outside Shadow Lake’s only in-town bar, which meant the duo were probably having lunch inside.
“How do you want to do this?” Max asked, sliding Ivy a questioning look. “Do you want to storm in there and pull her hair or take a more measured approach?”
“I don’t pull hair.” Ivy was haughty. “If I go in there, I’m going to punch her in the face.”
“So maybe you shouldn’t go in there.”
“How does that help? We’ve spent the entire morning looking for Holly. If I don’t confront her now then it’s a wasted effort.”
“Or you could allow me to go in, get the lay of the land, and talk to her,” Max suggested. “I might have a softer touch than you.”
Ivy made a face. “Was that an insult?”
“Merely the truth. You can’t go in there and accuse her of stalking Jack – and you by extension – since we’ve spent the day trying to stalk her. It will make you look hypocritical.”
“I don’t really care about that.”
“Well, I do.” Max was firm. “Let me try first. I might be able to get her to talk before she realizes who I am. We might get important information.”
Ivy wasn’t sure she believed that, but she was willing to try anything. “Okay. If you get nowhere, though, I’m going to punch her.”
“I look forward to seeing that.”
THE BAR WAS DARK and moody when Max strolled through the front door. He took a moment to let his eyes adjust to the gloom and then pointed himself toward the table in the corner where Ava and a woman he’d never seen before sat.
Ava widened her eyes to comical proportions when she realized Max was joining them without an invitation, but she recovered quickly and offered up a fake smile.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Max Morgan. I’m surprised you’re here during the middle of the day. Don’t you have a business to run?”
Max ignored the dig. “I’m the boss. That means I can take off whenever I want.” He took the open seat across from Holly and next to Ava, grabbing a fried pickle from Ava’s plate and biting into it before continuing. “These are good.”
“Why do you think we’re here?” Ava challenged. “It’s not for the ambiance.”
“I happen to like the ambiance, too.” Max ate the rest of the pickle and wiped his hands off on a napkin before continuing. “Who’s your friend?”
Ava studied him for a long beat, her narrow features contorting. “Oh, don’t play games with me. You know exactly who this is. There’s no way your sister hasn’t been complaining about Jack’s former girlfriend hitting town. She has to be worried, which is exactly why you’re here.”
Max kicked back in his chair, extending his long legs in front of him and giving the appearance that he was completely at ease. In truth, he wasn’t a fan of Ava’s tone. He’d never liked the woman – although they had made out a time or two due to a lack of options and drunken parties – but he wasn’t about to sit back and watch Ava help a crazy woman terrorize his sister.
“Fine. I know who she is.” Max wasn’t embarrassed in the least to be caught playing spy and he made that abundantly clear when he snagged gazes with Holly. “Let’s speed things up here. I’m Max Morgan. Ivy is my sister. I happen to love her a great deal.”
“How wonderful for you,” Holly drawled, rolling her eyes.
“You’re Holly Doherty,” Max continued, ignoring the woman’s tone. “You came to town to cause trouble for Jack even though you never loved him and I’m kind of curious why you’re here.”
Holly balked. “How do you know I never loved him?”
“Because you’ve got an agenda and love isn’t on it. You’re here for a reason, but I can’t quite figure out what that reason is. You don’t want Jack as much as you don’t want anyone else to have him. What’s up with that?”
“I happen to love Jack a great deal.” Holly made a big show of staring at her manicured fingernails. “He’s very important to me. We were together two years and he broke my heart when he pulled away after the accident.”
“It sounds traumatic,” Ava offered, patting Holly’s wrist and making sympathetic noises. “The poor guy was in the hospital and confused because his partner betrayed him. That story you told me is harrowing, Holly, and I had no idea the turmoil Jack was in when he hit town. That explains a lot of things that I always had questions about.”
Max rolled his eyes. “Really? What questions?”
“Well, for starters, he didn’t so much as look at another woman upon arrival and he had plenty of offers,” Ava replied. “He kept to himself, actually told people he wasn’t in the market for a girlfriend, and then he completely changed his mind and fell for Ivy before anyone got a chance to figure him out.”
Max’s face was blank. “So what?”
“So, that’s not normal. Ivy isn’t exactly what I would call a sexpot and she managed to lock Jack in before anyone else realized he was on the market.”
“Is that what this is about?” Max found the entire conversation tedious. “You’re upset because you threw yourself at Jack and he saw through you? Good grief, Ava. Do you have any idea how pathetic you sound?”
If looks could kill, Max had no doubt he would be dead. The hateful glare Ava lobbed in his direction was designed to shrivel testicles and make mortal men cower. Max always fancied himself stronger than mere mortals, though.
“Ivy did something to Jack,” Ava persisted. “Maybe she cast a spell on him because she’s a witch. Oh, yes, Max. Everyone knows your sister is a witch. She does all sorts of odd things and refuses to explain them.
“Now, when Holly showed up in town and we ran into each other at the department, I knew she had a story to tell,” she continued. “Once I heard that story I wanted to help her. Whatever Ivy did to steal Jack is not fair to Holly. Heck, it’s not fair to Jack either. Someone has to help him.”
Max didn’t believe in hitting women, but he had a strong urge to shake Ava until some sense seeped into her tiny brain. “You’re so full of it you should work for the sewer department,” he snapped. “You have no idea what’s going on here. You’re working Holly because you want to see if she can plant a wedge between Jack and Ivy.
“The thing is, you don’t want Holly to reclaim Jack,” he continued. “You want to move in on him yourself. Part of it is because there are so few male choices of a certain age in Shadow Lake, but part of it is because you’ve always been jealous of Ivy.”
Ava snorted. “Why would I be jealous of Ivy?”
“Because she is who she is and doesn’t pretend otherwise. People gravitate toward her for that simple fact. She doesn’t pretend to be any
thing she isn’t.”
Ava fake yawned. “Sometimes I think you just talk to hear yourself talk, Max.”
“And sometimes I wonder what you would do if your daddy wasn’t chief of police and you had to find your own job,” Max shot back, shifting his eyes to Holly. “As for you, I see you’ve conveniently left out parts of your story.”
Holly shifted on her chair, uncomfortable. “And what parts are those?”
“For one, the part where Jack broke up with you months before he was shot and you only came back around when the news cameras were present because you wanted to be on television.”
Ava’s eyes widened and Max could tell she was interested despite her previous words. “Is that true?”
“It’s difficult to explain,” Holly hedged. “Jack and I were going through a rough patch, but I always knew we would work through it. I never got the chance to prove my love, though. He was gone before I could put in the effort.”
“Because he never loved you and needed to be away from the city,” Max supplied. “Why are you even here? You don’t want him because you love him. You have something else up your sleeve. I want to know what it is.”
“And why would I tell you anything?” Holly was haughty. “I don’t know anything about you other than you have a sister with pink hair. She’s all wrong for Jack, by the way. He needs a woman of substance.”
“Ugh.” Max let loose a long groan. “Is that all you’ve got? If it is, you’re going to be booted out of this town so fast your head is going to spin.”
“Oh, I’ve got plenty more than that.”
“Why don’t you share it with me, huh? Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.”
“Fine. Let’s do that.”
JACK WAS FURIOUS WHEN he parked at the bar and stormed across the lot. It took some doing to track down Holly – Brian finally had to call in a favor from one of his town spies and the woman explained that Holly and Ava were plotting together at the bar – but now that he had more information, Jack was positively livid.
He was so focused on his task, in fact, he almost didn’t notice Ivy ducking down in Max’s truck when he passed. He pulled up short, turned around, and yanked open the door with little preamble. He had to extend an arm to catch her so she wouldn’t go spilling out onto the pavement, but his reflexes were keen and he had her on her feet in two seconds.
“What are you doing here?” There was bite to Jack’s tone.
“Um …. .” Ivy pressed her lips together as her cheeks burned.
“I’m guessing she’s here because Holly is here,” Brian offered, catching up with his partner and grinning at Ivy’s discomfort. “I don’t think she’s been at the nursery working this entire morning, despite what her texts have said to the contrary.”
Ivy found her voice. “I never lied about where I was. I was very careful about that.”
“Obviously,” Jack said dryly. “Did you call Max to help you spy or something?”
Ivy nodded. “Pretty much. Holly is staying at the Shadow Lake Motor Lodge and Jennifer Dawkins shared some gossip with us, including the fact that Ava and Holly have been hanging together. That made it easy for us to track down Holly.”
“I guess that explains how Holly knew where we were having lunch yesterday,” Brian mused. “Ava told her.”
“How did Ava know?” Jack asked.
“I mentioned it when I called to log us off the board for an hour.”
“So she hasn’t been following us,” Jack said. “That makes me feel a little better, although I’m still not certain how she knew where to find Ivy.”
“Jennifer told her because Holly asked where I worked,” Ivy supplied. “Jennifer didn’t realize it was a big deal.”
“Well, it’s about to be a small deal.” Jack grabbed Ivy’s hand and tugged her toward the bar’s front door. “I happen to know exactly what’s going on and I’m going to end it right now.”
Ivy’s eyebrows flew up her forehead as she struggled to keep up with Jack’s long strides. “How do you know?”
“I talked to my mother.”
“SO, YOU SEE, Jack and I belong together,” Holly finished, crossing her arms over her chest. “It’s simply a fact that cannot be disputed.”
Max made a face that was almost comical. “All you’ve told me is that you want Jack and somehow you think you deserve him even though Jack wants Ivy. That’s not evidence.”
“Of course it is.”
“Not even a little.” Max rolled his neck and flicked his eyes to the front door when he heard a commotion, fighting the urge to shrink in his chair when he realized Jack, Ivy close to his side, was heading in their direction. “Oh, well, this won’t be good.”
Ava followed his gaze, her eyes lighting up. “I think it looks fun.”
The bar was dark, but Max didn’t miss the color rushing across Holly’s cheeks.
“He’s going to make a big show about standing up for his little girlfriend, but I happen to know that he’s only staying with her out of a sense of loyalty.” Holly hissed the words, trying to keep her voice low, but the bar was empty enough – only four couples and a young woman sitting by herself in the corner as she read a book – that her words carried.
“You’re full of crap and I’ve had it with you,” Jack announced, taking up position next to Max and gripping Ivy’s hand tightly. “I placed a few calls today, Holly. I found out some interesting things.”
“You placed calls about me?” Holly batted her eyelashes. “I guess you were curious about how I was doing after all, huh?”
“I was curious what you had planned,” Jack clarified. “I wanted to confirm with my mother that she actually ran into you by accident at the grocery store, which is what I believe started this whole obsession of yours.”
“And she admitted it’s true.” Holly was sure of herself. “We ran into each other at the grocery store and got to talking. That’s a true story.”
“Except you had no reason to be shopping at the Meijer at Little Mack and Thirteen Mile,” Jack countered. “You don’t live in that area.”
“I was there for work.”
“You work in Grosse Pointe.”
“I was there for a meeting.”
“Like the conference you’re supposed to be attending in Traverse City right now?” Jack challenged. “By the way, I called your boss. I haven’t heard back from him yet, but it’s only a matter of time. I’m curious if you really have a conference.”
Holly’s face drained of color. “You called my boss? How dare you. You had no right.”
“I had every right,” Jack shot back. “You showed up in my town, out of the blue, and you decided to cause trouble for the woman I love for no apparent reason. I have every right.”
Ava made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. “Here we go.”
“Yes, here we go,” Jack agreed. “You’re a part of this, too, by the way. I’m going to have a long talk with your father about you supplying information to an outsider.”
Ava balked. “I did nothing of the sort.”
“Really? Then how did Holly know where we were for lunch yesterday? Keep in mind, we’re going to pull the phone records so lying isn’t an option.”
“I … um … it slipped out.” Ava was obviously uncomfortable as she dipped her chin and averted her eyes. “I didn’t realize she was going to stalk you with the information. It was a total accident.”
“You gave me the information so I could stalk him!” Holly’s voice was shrill. “Don’t bother denying it.”
“I wish both of you would stop denying it.” Jack’s temper was on full display. “As for you, Holly, I happen to know a little more information than you originally let slip. For example, I know that you’re in financial trouble to the point where you’ve been lying to people, telling them you’re getting engaged, and your credit is in the toilet.”
Holly opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out.
“Don’t bother,” Jack sneered. �
�I’ve figured out most of this. I’ve figured out that you need a fiancé to fix your credit problems. You work for a bank, by the way, which means you better not have done something illegal under the guise of doing your job because you could be facing real time.”
“Don’t you even think of accusing me of doing something illegal,” Holly hissed.
Jack ignored the threat. “You need a fiancé because you need help paying bills. You have the personality of a rabid cocker spaniel on uppers so you can’t snag a man on your own. You got desperate, which is why you chased down my mother. You were hoping I was bad off enough to welcome you back.
“Instead you found out I was happy and engaged and you knew you were about to lose your one shot of crawling out of the hole you created for yourself,” he continued. “That’s why you decided to cause trouble for Ivy. You wanted to chase her away and then swoop in and try to get me to give you money.
“I should’ve seen it coming,” he said, his lips thin and tight as he shook his head. “You’ve always been a user. I never thought you would take it this far, but I’ve been wrong before.”
Instead of admitting what she’d done or even apologizing for her misdeeds, Holly hopped to her feet and slammed her hands on the table. Her eyes were full of murder and mayhem. “You’re not going to want to tell people any of that. I’ll sue you for slander.”
“It’s not slander if it’s the truth.” Jack gripped Ivy’s hand tighter. “Your cover is blown here, Holly. No one is going to believe a word you have to say. I want you out of this town, and I want you out tonight.”
Holly’s expression was hard to read. “You’re not the boss of me.”
“No, but I can make things difficult for you if you choose to stay.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Think of it as more of a promise.”
“Well, then. I guess it’s game on.” With those words, Holly swooped toward the door, her icepick heels snapping against the linoleum, and stormed out. She didn’t so much as glance over her shoulder as she retreated.
Wicked Wishes (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 10) Page 14
