“We haven’t,” Quinn replied, opting for honesty. “I was going to track you down earlier, but I got distracted talking to some of the guests traveling with Tasha. That wasn’t her real name, by the way. It was Tara. She changed it years ago to go along with her magic shop persona.”
“I think she might have told me that,” Zander admitted as he rubbed his cheek. “I can’t remember, though. It’s all a blur.”
“How much did you drink?” Harper queried. “You can usually hold your liquor well enough not to black out. The only time I remember you blacking out is when we were in high school and had no idea how stupid we were being by drinking an entire bottle of Jim Beam.”
“I don’t know.” Zander pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. He was fidgety and couldn’t quite get comfortable. “I honestly don’t know how much I drank. I don’t think it was all that much.”
“Think hard,” Jared prodded. “What do you remember?”
“Just being at the bar. She was upset because the psychic said she was going to die. She paid him to take the curse off her, of course, and was angry at herself for doing it. She knew he was a grifter, but she was nervous enough that she said she would rather be safe than sorry.”
Quinn broke a breadstick in half and handed one side to Rowan, who was busily shoving gumbo into her mouth as if her life depended on it. If he had to guess, he figured she’d skipped lunch, which was not a habit he wanted her embracing.
“I talked to Brady,” Quinn volunteered after a beat. He had no idea why he was sharing information with the Michigan trio, but he was curious how they would react so he decided to go with his gut instinct. “He didn’t come right out and say he made up that nonsense, but he couldn’t remember who he said was going to die and he was nursing a hangover of his own.”
“Do you think he was drunk when he made the predictions?” Harper asked.
Quinn shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m honestly not sure it matters. He was a real jerk and had no idea who Tasha was. He told so many different women they were dying that he forgot their faces.”
“Wait ... women?” Jared tilted his head to the side as he stuck out his tongue and panted for a second. “Sorry. I think my mouth is on fire.”
Harper giggled as he slammed half of his glass of water before breaking off to pant again. “He’s not used to spicy food. Sorry.”
“I hate to break it to you, but this isn’t spicy when it comes to New Orleans fare,” Quinn noted. “Our chef tames it down because true Cajun food will make you sweat through your shirt.”
“That’s a lovely visual,” Zander drawled. “Go back to the psychic guy. Do you think he’s involved?”
“I have no idea,” Quinn said. “He answered my questions, although grudgingly, and I have no proof he was there last night. I don’t have anything to hold him on.”
“What about cameras?” Jared asked. “I would think this ship would be full of them.”
“It is, but the ones on the deck aren’t always reliable after dark,” Quinn explained. “Up close to the actual structures, they’re pretty good. Toward the railings, they’re not great. We keep improving them, buying the better technology when it becomes available, but there’s no perfect system.”
“I guess I didn’t think about that.” Jared leaned back in his chair as Harper’s fingers snaked onto his plate to grab a crawdad. “Go ahead and eat all of them. I told you I wasn’t going to eat bugs no matter what.”
“They’re not bugs,” Harper argued.
“Technically they are,” Rowan countered. “They’re good bugs, though.” As if to prove it, she cracked one open and popped it into her mouth. “Our chef is from New Orleans and she keeps promising she’s going to take me there for the real deal. I’m looking forward to it.”
Quinn’s smile was indulgent as he watched her. “I swear, you could live off shellfish for your entire life. Every meal. You wouldn’t care.”
“This is true,” Rowan agreed. “Not fish, though.”
“Not fish. You hate fish.” Quinn turned his attention to the other side of the table and found Jared lost in thought. “What are you thinking?”
“You said that Brady told a bunch of women they were going to die. Does that mean he didn’t tell men the same thing?”
“I ... .” Quinn took a moment to think about his response. “You know, I’m not sure. Everyone I talked to who had a curse was female. That doesn’t necessarily mean he left men out, though.”
“I’m betting he didn’t want to run the risk of ticking off a guy,” Harper offered, grabbing another crawdad from Jared’s plate. “He probably assumes that women are more gullible, ready to fall for anything, and less likely to put a boot in his behind if they catch him being a jerk.”
“Then he’s never met you, Heart,” Jared teased, kissing her temple. “You would kick him hard.”
“I would,” she agreed, grinning.
“Is it important to find out if that guy puts curses on people?” Zander asked.
Quinn’s shoulders hopped. “I don’t know. Now that Jared mentions it, though, I wouldn’t mind finding out. It seems a little pointed if he’s only going after women. I’m curious enough to initiate a full background search on him.”
“Well, I can find out if he does the curse shtick with men,” Zander offered, taking everyone at the table by surprise.
“How are you going to do that?” Harper asked, curious.
“I figured I would just head over there and stroke his ego,” Zander replied. “He’s the center of attention, and it’s mostly women oohing and aahing over him. As Harper can testify, straight women love me. They’ll make it difficult for him to send me away.”
“Straight women love you?” Quinn asked, dubious. “Is that really a thing?”
“It’s definitely a thing,” Harper agreed. “People try to steal him from me all the time. He’s like a unicorn. He’s pretty ... and perfect ... and draws attention no matter how many people are around.”
Quinn looked to Jared for help. “What do you think?”
“I don’t see where it can hurt,” Jared replied, his hand rubbing soothing circles on Harper’s back as he stared at the gregarious psychic. “There’s something about that guy I don’t like. I don’t know that he’s dangerous, but if you go over there, Zander, make sure you don’t start drinking and lose your head.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” Zander said. “I have no intention of drinking ever again. I mean ... ever. I’m going to message Shawn and have him throw out every bottle of liquor in the house.”
Harper snorted. “You always say that. In two days, you’ll be back to drinking.”
“I will not. I’m strong.” He thumped his chest for emphasis. “If I say I’m not going to drink, I’m not going to drink.”
“Well, good luck with that,” Jared encouraged. “I think you should go over there, though. Try to see if you can feel him out about the curse thing.”
“If he’s smart, he won’t be doling out curses on the heels of a woman’s death,” Quinn supplied. “I don’t think he’s that smart, though.”
“I guess we’ll see.” Zander wiped his mouth with his napkin and sucked down the rest of his water before smoothing his hair. “How do I look, Harp?”
She nodded at him as she popped another crawdad in her mouth. “Good. No drinking, and be careful.” She leaned forward and smacked a kiss against his cheek. “If you don’t behave yourself, I’ll puke on you again. That’s going to be my new threat whenever you get in over your head, by the way, so get used to it.”
Zander scowled. “You are so much work.”
Harper smiled as she watched him go. “You don’t think I’m work, do you, Jared?”
“Only the best kind, Heart.” Jared kissed her before turning back to Quinn. “So, what do you want from us? I’m not stupid enough to believe you randomly decided to sit at our table.”
“Maybe I’m just being sociable,” Quinn suggested.
“Wow. That’s fun.” Harper brightened. “What do you want to know about ghosts, Quinn?”
“Tell me absolutely everything,” he replied. “I want to know anything you can tell me.”
“And then what?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea, but I’m a curious fellow.”
“I can vouch for that,” Rowan said. “He’s a regular busybody.”
Quinn tweaked her nose. “Keep it up. I’m going to add to that list you were making earlier if you’re not careful.”
It was an empty threat and they both knew it. Quinn was simply happy she’d put the dregs of the day behind her. He wanted to keep the conversation moving forward.
“So, tell me about ghosts,” he prodded. “How does it work?”
Nine
It was an odd assortment of people.
That’s what Quinn told himself as he relaxed in his chair, rested his hand on Rowan’s thigh under the table, and listened to tales of Harper’s ghost exploits.
Still, as he listened, he couldn’t stop himself from being fascinated.
“Wait ... so you told your parents you saw a ghost when you were little, that your grandfather was already dead, and they didn’t believe you?” Rowan was incredulous. “That doesn’t seem fair. You were just a little girl.”
Rowan seemed fascinated by Harper, Quinn internally noted. She’d spent the past twenty minutes openly gaping as the woman told stories, and she appeared to be completely enamored with the idea of being a ghost hunter. Since Quinn thought the entire idea was ridiculous, he wisely kept his opinion to himself.
“My parents are ... good people,” Harper hedged, looking to Jared for confirmation. “They were just confused by what was happening. They really wanted me to be normal.”
“Being normal is highly overrated,” Jared countered, tucking a strand of blond hair behind an ear as he grinned at her. “I happen to like my women odd.”
“Ha, ha.” Harper rolled her eyes. “You didn’t think the ghost thing was all that cool when we first met either.”
Intrigued despite himself, Quinn leaned forward. “How did you find out she could see ghosts?”
Jared shrugged as he sipped his coffee. “Well, it was my first case in Whisper Cove and I kept finding her in really odd places. She basically told me what she was doing from the start and I thought there was a chance she might be crazy.
“You have to understand: Whisper Cove is tiny,” he continued. “I thought maybe she was the town kook and everyone indulged her fantasies so she wouldn’t feel bad.”
“Town kook, huh?” Harper shook her head and pinched his flank. “You didn’t tell me that part.”
He squirmed as he tried to escape from her determined fingers. “Heart, it all worked out in the end. I came to see you were telling the truth. And, quite frankly, I think I came around a lot faster than anyone else would’ve been capable of doing.”
“That’s not true,” Harper shot back. “Zander believed me from the moment I told him I could see ghosts. He never once questioned me.”
Jared’s expression darkened. “Zander was six, so the idea of ghosts didn’t throw him. He also thought Bigfoot was real back then, if I remember correctly.”
“He still believes in Bigfoot,” Harper admitted, rolling her neck. “I’m just saying ... he always believed me. You took a few days.”
“Yes, but did I ever doubt you once I believed?”
Harper’s lips curved. “No. You were really good that way.”
“I was,” Jared agreed, planting a loud kiss against her cheek and causing her to giggle before focusing on Quinn. The way the man watched him was intense, and he couldn’t quite figure out what information the security chief was trying to ascertain.
“So ... you believed pretty quickly, huh?” Quinn pressed. “That must have been difficult. I’m sure all your training told you that she was crazy and to run away.”
“My training told me that she was up to something,” he clarified. “My heart told me she was earnest and didn’t seem all that crazy. And my hormones ... well, my hormones told me that I couldn’t escape from her. She was it for me and there was no sense fighting.”
“Oh, that’s so sweet,” Rowan cooed, her eyes lighting with amusement. “You knew she was your match even though you thought she might be crazy. Isn’t that romantic, Quinn?”
In truth, Quinn understood exactly what Jared was saying. He accepted what Rowan told him about the omen before he had proof she knew what she was talking about. His heart was essentially gone by the time he had confirmation, so if she’d been wrong, he would’ve already been besotted by the ship’s resident loon. The difference was, Harper put her gift out there on display. Everyone knew about it, and she wasn’t overly worried about people questioning her. Rowan’s gift was still a secret, so Quinn obviously couldn’t share his own stories.
It was a sticky situation.
“I’m romantic,” Quinn said finally, sliding a flirty grin in Rowan’s direction. “Are you saying I’m not romantic? I’m pretty sure I should be insulted.”
“Of course you’re romantic,” Rowan shot back. “It’s just ... Jared fell in love with Harper even though there was a possibility she was the town nut. I find that super romantic.”
“Yes, it would’ve been a love story for the ages,” Jared drawled. “I would’ve taken Harper huge bouquets of fabric flowers at the loony bin as I swept her off her feet. In between bouts of electroshock therapy, we would’ve pledged our love to one another.”
Harper playfully swatted his arm. “I don’t think that making jokes about electroshock therapy is nice,” she scolded around a giggle. “You were with me at the asylum. You saw what was done to the patients there. That certainly wasn’t funny.”
Jared sobered. “I did see. It wasn’t funny.”
Quinn watched the exchange with a studied eye. “After I ran Zander’s name this morning — I needed to do a background check on him for obvious reasons — I stumbled across the news coverage of what happened at the asylum. Is it true you were on television?”
Jared’s lips curved down. “Yeah. It’s true. It was absolutely ridiculous. We tried to keep them from broadcasting the episode, but since we signed releases at the start, there wasn’t much we could do about it.”
“That’s sad,” Rowan said. “I’ve never really watched one of those shows, but now I kind of want to watch your episode. It will be weird to see you on the small screen when I’ve met you in real life.”
“There were a lot of things left out of that episode,” Harper said quietly. “I mean ... a lot.”
“What did they leave out?” Quinn asked. “I read a synopsis on some forum and it said that you guys actually took down a murderer.”
“We did,” Jared confirmed, his hand automatically moving to the back of Harper’s neck so he could soothe her. “It’s a long story, but suffice it to say, one of the members of the crew was related to a woman who died at the asylum back in the day. He kind of lost his mind ... and a life or two was lost along the way.”
“That’s horrible,” Rowan intoned, her face draining of color. “Obviously you guys are okay.”
“Because we kept our little group together as much as possible,” Jared explained. “I knew we were in trouble and refused to be separated from Harper. Zander was there and we worked out a system so she was never alone. I guessed — and rightly so — that whoever we were dealing with wanted to isolate her.
“Luckily for us, things worked out in the end,” he continued. “Harper helped the trapped ghosts move on, we caught a murderer, and then we got off that freaking island. I don’t ever want to see that asylum again.”
Quinn shifted his eyes to Harper. “What about you? Do you want to see the asylum again?”
Harper shrugged. “I don’t know. It was an interesting trip ... but it was also terrifying. I was exhausted when we finally left. I think I slept for twenty-four hours straight.”
“You couldn’t sleep while there because you were afraid?” Rowan queried.
Harper shook her head. “I expended a lot of energy while we were there because of the number of ghosts that needed to cross over. Communicating with them isn’t always easy, and the ghosts on the island had been left behind for a really long time. They were a little set in their ways.”
“We returned to the island a few days after that anyway,” Jared added, his expression darkening. “Harper wanted to put the spirits to rest.”
“You can put them to rest?” Rowan was impressed. “How?”
“Zander and I created this dreamcatcher thing,” Harper explained. “It’s a trap of sorts to immobilize the ghosts, but when we spring it, the ghosts are transported to the other side.”
“And what’s there?” Quinn asked.
“I don’t know.” Harper opted for honesty. “I don’t know ... and I’m not sure I can explain the things I’ve seen. It’s peaceful, though. I’ve only gotten brief glimpses. There’s something beautiful about it. No fear ... or sadness. No regret.”
“It sounds lovely,” Jared drawled. “You’re not going to find out how great it is in its entirety for a very long time, though. We have another eighty years together before we’ll be visiting ... and at the exact same time.”
Harper snickered, genuinely amused. “You have plans for us to die together, huh?”
Jared shrugged. “That would be ideal, like that chick movie Zander made me watch with the old people dying together.”
“The Notebook,” Harper volunteered, grinning. “That’s a great movie.”
“That movie is a steaming pile of ... .”
Harper extended a warning finger. “If Zander hears you saying that, he’s simply going to make you watch it until you change your mind. You know how he is.”
Jared captured her finger and grinned. “Sadly, I do know. It will be our little secret.” He leaned in for a kiss that was so sweet it nudged a sigh out of Harper.
Wicked Ghostly Seas: A Rowan Gray, Harper Harlow and Ivy Morgan Mystery Omnibus Page 48
