Harper jolted at the new voice and swiveled so she was facing the backseat, frowning when she caught sight of the ethereal figure sitting in the middle of the leather bench. “Who are you?”
“Who are you talking to?” Zander asked, confused.
“There’s a ghost back there.” Harper pointed for emphasis, wrinkling her nose as she looked the man’s dated clothing up and down. “I recognize you. I’ve seen photos of you, although … they don’t quite do you justice.”
“You’re not the first woman to tell me that.” Jack Corgan offered Harper a saucy wink as he squared his broad shoulders. “So, I heard a pretty woman was looking for me. I’m glad to see you finally care enough to ask about me, Harper Harlow.”
“You know who I am?” Harper couldn’t help being surprised … and a little proud. “You’ve heard of me?”
“Oh, geez,” Zander complained. “I hate it when this happens.” He reclined in the driver’s seat and pressed his eyes shut. “Wake me when you’re talking to me again.”
Harper ignored his attitude. “Don’t worry. I will. We have an ice cream date, after all.”
“I won’t let you forget that either,” Zander muttered.
“He’s a complainer, huh?” Jack shot Zander a derisive look. “I remember him from when you were kids, too.”
Harper stilled, dumbfounded. “You saw us when we were kids?”
Jack bobbed his head. “I did. I used to hang out with your grandfather when he was fishing.”
“Because he was so good at it?”
“Because he could see and hear me and he was the only one who could do that on a regular basis,” Jack replied. “I thought you knew, honey. Your grandfather was just like you.”
Harper’s mouth dropped open. “He was?” For some reason the knowledge warmed her, made her feel better, as if she wasn’t alone in the world. “He came to see me the night he died. He didn’t mention that he could see ghosts, though. He simply seemed to know that I could see them.”
“That’s because you inherited it from him,” Jack said, adopting a sympathetic expression. “He introduced me to you when you were a kid. You were probably too young to remember, although you were an adorable little thing. You had pigtails and overalls … and that moron sleeping next to you was screeching about baiting his own hook. I was glad he couldn’t see me. You and I talked for quite a long time, though. You were cute … and the apple of your grandfather’s eye.”
Harper didn’t remember the meeting, but she did remember how much she loved her grandfather. “He was a good man. Zander is a good man, too. My grandfather loved him.”
“What did he say about me?” Zander asked, opening one eye, suspicious. “I’ll beat his ghostly butt if he’s not careful.”
“Oh, well, he’s terrifying,” Jack muttered, shaking his head. “You, on the other hand, I’ve been waiting a long time for you to come looking for me.”
“How come you didn’t come to me?”
“Because I like being the one in charge and if I went looking for you that would be ceding the power position. No one likes that.” Jack offered up a charming wink. “And I knew you would find me on your own when you were ready. That’s why I waited. I saw you the other night talking to Andrew Farmer, by the way. I thought about approaching you then, but you seemed distracted with your boyfriend.”
“Jared is a good man, too.”
“Oh, geez,” Zander muttered. “It’s as if you’ve stumbled across the king ghost of insults, huh? I already don’t like this one.”
Harper pretended Zander wasn’t in the car as the cooler air began circulating. “Are all of the stories about you true?”
Jack held his hands palms up and shrugged. “I haven’t been privileged enough to hear all of the stories.”
“Do you help people get back to shore when they’re lost on the lake?”
Jack nodded. “If I can.”
“Did you help the Reiters the other night?”
“I don’t generally catch names,” Jack replied. “You’ll have to be more specific.”
“The couple with the young daughter,” I prodded. “She said she heard someone mention the name Jack. For some reason, and I’m not quite sure why, I think she’s talking about you and yet … does that mean she can see and talk to ghosts, too?”
“I can’t answer that question for you because I didn’t get a chance to talk to her,” Jack replied. “Everything happened too fast.”
“You know who I’m talking about, though, don’t you?”
“I know who you’re talking about,” Jack confirmed. “I watched the boat. I could smell the storm coming. They weren’t prepared and I was worried for the girl.”
“Did you talk to her at all?”
“No. There were others on the boat, though. Two men. I knew the boat wouldn’t survive the storm intact and I also knew she was in danger under the deck because the boat could’ve flipped. I tried to wake her, but when I touched her … I think she saw something from my past and it muddled her mind.”
Harper tilted her head to the side, considering. “Hmm. I didn’t know that was possible.”
“It’s possible sometimes with children because they’re not predisposed to disbelief, at least not yet. When someone sleeps, they’re mildly aware of their surroundings. That girl was open to her surroundings even as she was closed off to what was happening.
“She saw and heard things,” he continued. “Then, accidentally, she heard me. She heard my past and it mixed up with the present as near as I can figure.”
Harper ran her tongue over her teeth. “What did she hear?”
“Something she probably shouldn’t have heard.”
“Something bad?”
“It wasn’t good.”
Jack Corgan was being cagey and Harper didn’t bother hiding her agitation regarding that fact. She decided to ask him the obvious question. “Did you kill your wives? Is that what she saw? Is that what she heard?”
Jack pinned Harper with a speculative gaze for several seconds and then shook himself to escape from his reverie. “And on that note … I have to get going. I have a date.”
“You’re a ghost,” Harper snapped. “You can’t have a date.”
“You don’t know that,” Jack shot back. “I’m the crème de la crème of the ghost pickings here in Whisper Cove. All of the see-through ladies love me.”
“There are more ghosts wandering around Whisper Cove? You mean people I’ve never seen?”
“There’s a whole world out there you’ve never seen, kid,” Jack said, his visage fading. “You just have to open your heart and mind and you’ll see it. I’ll be around, perhaps even converse with you again.”
“Wait! What about Quinn? Is he still hanging around?”
Jack didn’t answer. He was already gone. When Harper shifted her eyes to Zander she found him staring at her with impassive eyes.
“He wouldn’t answer the question about his wives,” Harper offered.
“What about Quinn?”
“He didn’t answer that one either.”
“Do you think he’s doing that on purpose, or does he honestly not know?” Zander was well aware that guilt fueled Harper more than anything else where Quinn was concerned. He refused to let her wallow in the grief that almost consumed her yet again. He would figure a way around it no matter what.
“I have no idea.” Harper grabbed the door handle and yanked it shut. “He’ll be back.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because he likes playing games and I’m probably the only one in the area who can play on a regular basis,” Harper answered, surprisingly upbeat despite Jack’s untimely departure. “Let’s go home. I want a nap before I have to listen to Jared yell for two hours.”
“That, my Harp, sounds like a plan.”
16
Sixteen
Jared rested against his personal truck, arms crossed and eyes keen as he waited for the back door of the Oakland County Jail to o
pen. When it did, Jared managed to remain calm – although just barely – as Tim Dalton strolled out of the building. Tommy Lupone, a smug smile on his face, chatted nonstop as he walked next to the man. The duo looked as if they didn’t have a care in the world.
Jared remained where he stood, unmoving. The courthouse clerk called him not long after his shift started to warn that Lupone managed to switch out judges and the new judge granted Dalton bail. That meant Dalton would be free to roam the streets, even though the judge warned him to stay within two miles of his home, while stopping short of making him wear an electronic monitoring device. Jared knew a man like Tim Dalton didn’t believe rules applied to him so it ultimately didn’t matter what the judge ordered.
“Well, well, well.” Dalton’s eyes brightened when he caught sight of Jared. “Look who it is.”
Unlike his client, Lupone appeared surprised – and a bit nervous – to see Jared waiting for them outside of the jail. “Mr. Monroe … .”
Jared ignored Lupone and kept his gaze fixed on Dalton.
“I don’t think he wants to talk to you, Tommy.” Dalton snorted, genuinely amused. “I think he’s here to talk to me.”
“Don’t make things worse, Tim,” Lupone intoned, wrinkling his nose. “You’re on camera here. Don’t forget that.”
“I was on camera at the zoo, too, and that didn’t matter.” Dalton’s smug attitude was enough to put Jared’s teeth on edge, but he managed to remain calm. “What are you doing here? I believe you’re out of your jurisdiction, Detective Monroe.”
“I believe I don’t care,” Jared replied, keeping his voice even. “I was given a heads-up by one of the workers in the courthouse that bail was granted after all. I wanted to make sure I was here when you were released so you understand what will happen if you show up in Whisper Cove.”
“My client has no inclination to go to Whisper Cove,” Lupone intoned.
“Oh, I don’t know.” Dalton made a big show of tapping his chin. “I’ve heard lovely things about the town. I’ve heard it has a pretty lake … and boats … and a smoking hot blonde.”
Jared’s stomach twisted, but he refused to let Dalton gain the upper hand by acting out of emotion instead of intelligence. “You’re supposed to remain within two miles of your home, which is in Grosse Pointe,” Jared reminded him. “Whisper Cove is far away from Grosse Pointe and if you show up there … .”
Dalton cut off Jared with a flash of the eyes and hands clenched at his sides. “Don’t threaten me.”
“It’s not a threat,” Jared shot back. “It is a promise, though. You stay away from Harper. You stay away from Zander, too. They have no idea what you’re looking for.”
“Oh, is that what the blonde told you?” Dalton made a tsking sound with his tongue. “She’s lying to you. She has it. She’s hiding it. She was the first one on the boat and I know she’s the one keeping it from me. I will get it back.”
Jared stared at Dalton a moment, dumbfounded. “She doesn’t have anything. She doesn’t know what you’re looking for. If you have issues with Chad Reiter … .”
“Oh, I have issues with Chad Reiter,” Dalton said, bobbing his head. “I have issues with him that have nothing to do with you. Heck, dude, I don’t want to have issues with you at all. You’re the one who came looking for me.”
“That’s because I want you to stay away from my girlfriend,” Jared barked, his temper coming out to play. “She has nothing to do with this situation and if you put your hands on her again … .”
“You’ll what?” Dalton challenged, amused. “What are you going to do? You’re a police officer. The law shackles you. I don’t have that problem.”
“I’ll show you shackles if you want,” Jared suggested, his heart rate increasing. “You stay away from Harper and Zander. They don’t have what you’re looking for.”
Dalton stared at Jared for a long moment, as if gauging his worth. Then he merely shook his head, annoyance evident. “I almost believe you. Almost.”
“My client will be following the rules set forth by the judge and there will be no deviations,” Lupone interjected, lifting his hand and waving it between the two men in an effort to keep them from attacking one another. “Ms. Harlow will be perfectly safe.”
“She will,” Jared agreed. “Whisper Cove is the size of a postage stamp and everyone knows everyone there. Harper is well loved in that town.”
“And, well, she has the ghosts to back her up,” Dalton added, snickering. “I about crapped my pants when Tommy told me what she does for a living. That’s some funny stuff there. Do you have a thing for crazy chicks?”
“I have a thing for her,” Jared replied, fighting the urge to panic and shoot Dalton on the spot. “It would be a mistake for you to underestimate Harper. It would be even a bigger mistake for you to underestimate me. You need to stay away from her.”
“I have no intention of going near her,” Dalton said, flashing a big smile for a deputy as he stepped out of the building and headed in their direction. “Oh, good. Here comes trouble.”
Jared ignored the approaching deputy. “If you threaten Harper, I’ll do what needs to be done to protect her. You should know that, Mr. Dalton.”
“You don’t frighten me,” Dalton said, puffing out his chest. “No one frightens me.”
“Then you’re as dumb as you look,” Jared growled, narrowing his eyes.
“Is something going on here?” The deputy’s voice was smooth as he stepped between the men, his gaze keen as he looked both parties up and down. “I’m fairly certain you were warned to go straight home and stay out of trouble, Dalton. Is there a reason you’re still here?”
“Just talking to Detective Monroe,” Dalton answered, adopting a sweet smile. “He wanted to give me his best wishes for a speedy trip back to Grosse Pointe.”
“Uh-huh.” The deputy didn’t look convinced. “You should go right now, Dalton. If you don’t, I have the authority to take you back into custody. Is that what you want?”
“Absolutely not.” Dalton offered up a cheeky smile and mock-saluted. “That’s the last thing I want.”
“Then go.”
Jared watched Lupone practically drag an unrepentant Dalton away, his temper building with each step.
When he was sure Lupone and Dalton were out of earshot, the deputy turned his full attention to Jared. “You need to be careful about him. He’s smart and he’s not above bribing people to get away with murder.”
“Is that what happened today?” Jared challenged. “Did he bribe someone?”
“The prosecutor’s office is looking into it,” the deputy replied. “For now, Tim Dalton is a free man. I understand you’re dating the woman he attacked yesterday.”
“I am.” Jared pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. “He’s going to come after her, isn’t he?”
“It depends what he wants from her,” the deputy replied. “He would be an idiot to go after her but … he clearly wants something.”
Jared nodded, resigned. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”
HARPER AND Zander sat in the shade in front of the ice cream shop, companionable silence washing over them as they debated how to finish out their day. They didn’t have a lot of time before Jared completed his shift. Ultimately Harper made the decision with little fanfare.
“I think I need to talk to Hayley again.”
Zander licked his chocolate cone, making sure to keep a pile of napkins wrapped around the base in case the ice cream should melt on his pants due to the heat, and arched an eyebrow. “What do you think Hayley is going to tell you?”
Harper shrugged, noncommittal. “I know more information now. She might remember something she didn’t before.”
Zander snorted, genuinely amused. “Harp, I love you more than anything, but exactly what information do you have that’s going to sway a young girl?”
Harper wrinkled her nose, confused at the way he worded the question. “What does her being a teen girl ha
ve to do with anything?”
“That means she’s naturally cynical.”
“So are you.”
“Yes, well, I’ve often said I would’ve made a fabulous female teenager,” Zander said calmly. “The problem is that you have nothing to share with that kid.”
“That’s not true,” Harper protested. “Jack said that at least two someone else’s were on the ship. He heard their voices.”
“Yes, Jack, the ghost who has magically managed to remain hidden from the town’s resident ghost hunter until today,” Zander intoned. “Jack who outlived three wives who were never heard from again. Jack who thinks he might’ve accidentally touched a young girl and shown her frightening things from his past. We should definitely trust him.”
“Well, when you say it like that,” Harper grumbled, tossing her soggy ice cream cone into the trash receptacle to her right. “I still want to talk to her.”
“Fine.” Zander blew out a sigh, resigned. “I think this is going to go badly, though, for the record. I just want to make sure you realize that before Jared grounds you for life later tonight and you can’t leave the house.”
Harper snorted. “Jared is not going to ground me.”
“Oh, honey, he’s going to completely melt down.” Zander smirked. “You’ll be lucky if all he does is ground you. Don’t worry, though. I’ll be grounded with you.”
“You will?”
“It’s too hot to go outside anyway.”
“Thanks so much for your support,” Harper said dryly. “Come on. I want to at least stop by the hotel.”
HARPER AND Zander lucked out when they hit Whisper Cove’s main hotel because Hayley was already in the main lobby and she didn’t look happy.
“I’m not asking you for the key to the safe,” Hayley snapped. “I want to know the Wi-Fi password, for crying out loud.”
“As I told you when you checked in, the Wi-Fi is not free,” the man behind the desk calmly explained. “Your mother said she didn’t want to pay for the extra feature so … no Wi-Fi.”
Hayley made an exaggerated face. “What am I supposed to do without the internet?”
“I suggest reading a book.”
“I need the internet to download a book.”
Ghostly Wrecks (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 6) Page 14
