“I think you’re very interesting and I’m not looking to throw around the C-word.”
“The C-word is something very different in my world,” Ivy muttered. “I grew up with a brother.”
“I know the word.” Margaret rested her hand on Ivy’s shoulder and sucked in a breath. “I need to know what’s going on if you expect me to help you.”
Ivy searched the woman’s face for signs she was leading her on but found nothing but open curiosity. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Try me.”
“I … .” Part of Ivy wanted to tell her. She wasn’t big on secrets and it would make things easier. The other part believed this would be the final straw and Margaret wouldn’t be able to take it. She would renew her fight to force Jack to return to the city … and this time she would double her efforts.
“Is this about you being a witch?” Margaret asked.
Ivy’s mouth dropped open as dumbfounded fury washed over her. “Who told you? Jack?”
“Jack would never betray your confidence,” Margaret replied. “Ava mentioned something about it the first day we stopped into the police department. I thought she was a bit nutty and reacting out of jealousy, but there’s something about you … .”
“I don’t really use the word witch,” Ivy supplied. “I’ve never thought of myself in that manner. Sure, I’ve got my bohemian earth mother thing going, but my aunt is much more into labels. She tells anyone who will listen that she’s a witch.”
“And what are you?”
“I’m a person who didn’t think she was anything other than normal until she started sharing dreams with a man she just met.”
Margaret stilled. “Jack?”
Ivy nodded. “Our heads pulled us together before our hearts caught up. He pulled me into his dreams. I saw … everything. That’s how we bonded so quickly. We worked through it together.”
Margaret arched an eyebrow and Ivy couldn’t tell if she was doubtful or impressed. “You share dreams, huh? That must be fun.”
“It depends where we go. Sometimes Jack makes me go fishing. I once made him go to a castle and a dead ghost stalked me while I was there. That was after I freaked out because the bearskin rug kept staring at us. Some of the adventures are goofy instead of gooey.”
Despite the surreal situation, Margaret couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “I guess that’s one way to do it. I see now why you’re so attached to one another. You literally go to other worlds together on a nightly basis.”
“Not every night. We try to keep it within reason. A few weeks ago, though, I started seeing things when I was awake. It happened after I found the body in the corn maze.”
“Okay.”
“I saw through a killer’s eyes and eventually it helped me protect myself when the killer decided to make me a target.”
“Was that the night Jack found you in the woods?”
“Jack has found me in the woods more than one night. I seem to attract trouble.”
“So does Jack. You two are a good match.” Margaret’s smile was kind. “Is that what just happened to you in the coffee shop? Did you see from a killer’s eyes?”
“Yes.” Ivy bobbed her head. “I saw a few quick flashes, including holes in the ground. I also saw Gilly screaming.”
“And Gilly is?”
“The daughter of the dead man,” Ivy explained. “She’s going to have a baby any second now. She’s in trouble, though.”
“Do you know where she is? Is she at the farm? Jack and Brian are already there. Surely they would hear her if she’s screaming.”
“That’s just it. The farm isn’t small. It has three different houses located on the property. I saw Gilly trying to run from someone in a nursery. That has to mean she’s at her house. Brian and Jack are at her father’s house.”
“Oh.” Margaret’s eyes brightened as realization flashed. “Well then, I guess you were right. You really do have to go after her.”
“Yeah, I just have one problem,” Ivy groused. “Jack drove this morning. I have no car.”
“I guess it’s good I do, huh?” Margaret jingled her keys. “It’s right on the corner. I’ll drive and you can navigate.”
Ivy balked. “Or I could just borrow your car and you could wait here.”
“No one drives my Cadillac but me.” Margaret was firm.
Ivy made a face. “Jack isn’t going to like it if I take you out to a potential murder scene. You could get hurt.”
“Is Jack going to like it if you go to a potential murder scene?”
“No. He’s going to yell.”
“Is that going to stop you?”
Ivy thought about Gilly and the relentless screams she heard in her head. “No.”
“It’s not going to stop me either,” Margaret intoned. “We should probably get moving. Gilly doesn’t have all day if that flash you saw is to be believed.”
“It’s not as if I have much of a choice.” Ivy forced a smile. “Let’s do it.”
“We’ll be like Thelma and Louise.” Margaret almost seemed excited.
“Yes, I’m just hoping we don’t end up like them,” Ivy said.
“BACK SO soon?” Lionel offered Jack a lazy smile as he leaned against the main house’s front porch and crossed his arms over his chest. “No offense to Officer Nixon here, but I prefer the look of your last partner.”
Even though Jack knew Lionel was trying to be funny and amiable, there was something about the man that set his teeth on edge. “Ivy had things to do in town.”
“What happened to your trip to Bellaire?”
Jack narrowed his eyes. “Something came up.”
“It’s a shame when that happens, huh?” Lionel shoved his rangy frame away from the porch railing and threw open the front door. “Wayne! You have visitors.” Lionel didn’t wait for Wayne to appear in the open door frame. “I have work to do. I’m sure Wayne will be with you directly.”
“Of course,” Brian said, nodding. He kept his expression even until Lionel disappeared around the corner of the house and then he shot Jack a dubious look. “Okay. That was weird.”
“Everyone here is weird,” Jack said. “I’m telling you … something isn’t right.”
“Chill out, drama queen. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
Jack could only hope he was right. “Where is Wayne?”
“We should probably check inside the house,” Brian said, stepping over the threshold. “Maybe he didn’t hear us.”
“STOP RIGHT here.”
Ivy leaned forward in the passenger seat of the car and stared at the quiet façade of Gilly’s house. The simple ranch abode looked stark and quiet without Gilly’s trademark flowers adorning the front porch. There was no movement in front of the windows and everything was utterly silent.
“It doesn’t look like anybody is home,” Margaret noted, following Ivy’s gaze.
“I know but … I believe she’s in there.”
“Then where’s her car?”
Ivy pointed at the garage. “The door is shut. It’s probably in there. She snuck out the other day and paid me a visit, but her husband most likely put the kibosh on that.”
“Speaking of her husband, where is he?” Margaret glanced around. “This place looks deserted.”
“Darren has been running the turkey farm for the past couple of weeks but now that Thanksgiving has passed he’s probably focusing on something else,” Ivy explained. “Of course, for all I know there could be an after-holiday run on turkeys. It is Black Friday, after all.”
Margaret snorted, amused. “You’ve got a sarcastic streak about you. I can’t help but like that.”
“I’ve also got a bad feeling about what’s inside that house,” Ivy said, pressing her lips together as she tilted her head. “Okay, here’s what’s going to happen, I’m going inside to get Gilly and you’re continuing that way – down that road right there – to find Jack.”
Margaret balked at the suggesti
on. “You’ve got to be kidding. I’m not leaving you here.”
“You don’t have a choice,” Ivy said, choosing her words carefully. “I can’t leave Gilly but that doesn’t mean I’m an idiot. Something bad is liable to happen in that house and the only way I know to fight it is for you to find Jack and Brian since we can’t get them on the phone.”
“But … .” Margaret wasn’t convinced Ivy’s course of action was the best for all parties concerned. “Why don’t you ride with me to get Jack and Brian and we’ll all come back together. Doesn’t that sound better?”
“In an ideal world, yes,” Ivy confirmed, her eyes flat. “We don’t live in an ideal world, though. Gilly is extremely vulnerable given her size. She can’t move. She can’t get away. She needs help. I know it.”
“And what about you?” Margaret pressed. “Don’t you need help?”
Ivy held her hands palms up, helpless. “I can’t walk away from Gilly.”
“And I can’t walk away from you.”
“The smart thing to do is to get Brian and Jack.”
“Maybe I don’t want to be smart, did you ever think of that?” Margaret forced a smile even though it didn’t make it all the way to her eyes. “I don’t think we should split up.”
Ivy licked her lips as she darted a look toward the field to her right. She didn’t see any signs of life. That concerned her. “We have to because we need Jack and Brian.” This time Ivy didn’t allow any doubt to creep into her voice. “Gilly is having a son. She’s going to name it after her father. He died right before he met his first grandchild and Gilly loved him so very much. He was a good man and Gilly is struggling because she’s torn between being happy and sad.
“I cannot leave Gilly alone because I know what’s going to happen – what could be happening at this very second,” she continued. “I also know that I need help. I need Jack. He’s not answering his phone. That only leaves me with one option.”
Margaret blew out a sigh, resigned. “Me.”
“You,” Ivy repeated. “I need you to get him for me. We have to save Gilly and that baby.”
Even though her heart screamed for her to argue, her head disagreed and Margaret opted to do the right thing. “Okay,” she said after a beat. “Don’t put yourself in unreasonable danger, though. You said the farm is just that way, right? I’ll be back before you know it.”
“That’s good,” Ivy said, reaching for the door handle. “I have a feeling I’m going to need the backup.”
“WAYNE?”
Jack pressed his hand to the door as he leaned against it and took a long, hard look down the hallway. Something was very wrong in the house. Jack had no idea how he knew it, but he did. He could feel it. He wasn’t the only one feeling unsettled.
“I don’t like this,” Brian mumbled, pulling his gun from the holster on his hip. “What the hell is going on here?”
“I don’t know, but we need to find out,” Jack said, following suit. “You go left. I’ll go right.”
Brian stilled Jack with a hand on his arm and shook his head. “We’ll go together. It will be safer.”
Jack opened his mouth to argue and then snapped it shut. The thought of not returning to Ivy tonight, of not being able to snuggle with her in front of the fire or tuck her feet beneath the covers after she drifted off, was enough to cause his heart to hurt. “We’ll go together.”
Jack followed Brian down the hallway, the two men taking turns checking rooms. When they reached the kitchen, Jack widened his eyes at the pool of blood on the linoleum floor. He glanced to his left before hurrying around the counter, pulling up short when he saw Wayne leaning against the cupboards, his hand coated with blood as he tried to staunch the flow from a wound in his abdomen.
“Okay, we got you,” Jack said, dropping to his knees so he could study the wound. “You’ve lost a lot of blood.”
“How did this happen?” Brian asked. He didn’t bother to holster his weapon as his gaze bounced from window to window.
“Lionel,” Wayne gritted out. Even though he was obviously in pain, his voice was strong. “He’s lost his mind or something. There can be no other explanation.”
“Did he stab you?” Jack asked, glancing at the knife on the floor.
“He didn’t want anyone to hear a gunshot,” Wayne explained. “That’s what this was all about. The gun. I asked him about the Colt because … well … it bothered me a bit. I knew Ron was looking for a Colt for years, but I couldn’t remember if he ever got one.”
“And you think Lionel took it?” Brian asked, moving to the back of the room so he could stare out through the glass panel in the back door. “It’s empty out there.”
“We gave the men the day off,” Wayne explained. “There was no reason for them to be here because the season is essentially over. Only Lionel, Darren, and I are working today.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Brian said, fumbling in his pocket for his phone. “I’ll call for an ambulance.”
“You’re not going to be able to get through,” Wayne countered, tapping the cell phone next to his knee for emphasis. “Lionel used one of those signal jammers. He wanted me to bleed out over time so he made it so I couldn’t call for help. We haven’t had a landline in this house for years.”
Jack furrowed his brow as he glanced at his phone screen. “He’s right. I have no service.”
“How far away does the jammer go?” Brian asked.
“You should be clear in about a quarter of a mile or so. I can’t be sure.”
“I’ll drive down the road a bit and call for help,” Brian offered.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Jack said, his expression grim. “While you’re gone, Wayne and I are going to have a talk about why he was involved in killing his brother.”
Brian balked. “You don’t know … .”
Jack cut him off with a head shake. “I know. I think I’ve known from the beginning.”
“How did you figure it out?” Wayne asked, his expression weary and defeated.
“The way you talked about money. The way you were a little too eager to help. The way you went on and on about Gilly. You were trying too hard. You feigned shock at the death and yet you were prepared for all of our questions. The only time you registered real surprise is when we told you about the Colt.”
“I had no idea Lionel would use that gun,” Wayne admitted. “I wouldn’t have okayed that. I didn’t want Ron to suffer. I certainly didn’t want him shot with that gun because he loved it. That somehow seems … unfair.”
“You seemed worked up when you realized the gun was missing,” Jack said. “It wasn’t grief fueling you, though. It was anger.”
“I was definitely angry.”
“You did all of this for money?” Brian asked, disgusted. “He was your brother. Why didn’t you talk to him?”
“Because he never listened. I loved Ron, but it was always his way or no way and I couldn’t stand it any longer. I had ideas to earn some real money with this property and he refused to listen.”
“So he had to die,” Jack surmised. “Did you and Lionel work alone?”
“Not exactly,” Wayne hedged. “We had another partner.”
“Who?”
Wayne didn’t get a chance to answer because Margaret picked that moment to barrel into the house. Her face was red and she was breathless, but she looked so relieved when she caught sight of Jack that something inside of Jack clenched in anticipation.
“What are you doing here?” Jack asked, annoyed.
“Who cares?” Brian looked relieved. “We need you to drive down the road a bit and call for an ambulance. All of the phones are down here.”
“Sure. I’d be happy to do that after I deliver a message to my son.”
“Oh, Mom, I don’t have time for crap,” Jack complained, annoyed. “Now is not the time to tell me that you hate Ivy.”
“I don’t hate Ivy,” Margaret snapped. “We made up.”
“Then why are you her
e?”
“Because she had some weird flash and claims that Gilly woman is in trouble,” Margaret replied. “She tried calling but couldn’t get through to you and then insisted on helping Gilly herself. Instead of letting me go with her, she forced me to drop her at the house and come after you so she has backup.”
Jack’s heart sank as he briefly pressed his eyes shut. “I’m going to kill her.”
“That’s going to have to wait,” Brian barked. “We need to get to her.” He shifted his eyes to Wayne, all traces of sympathy absent. “You said you have a third partner. It’s Darren, isn’t it?”
Wayne helplessly shrugged. “We didn’t want anyone to suffer. We just wanted to make this place profitable again. Gilly still owns a huge piece of the pie and she’s been making noise about taking decisions away from Darren.”
“Son of a … .” Jack jerked away from Wayne and hopped to his feet. “Mom, you need to call an ambulance and then lock yourself in your car and don’t get out until someone you recognize comes for you. Do you understand?”
Margaret solemnly nodded. “What are you going to do?”
“Get my woman.”
“You probably shouldn’t call her that if you want to keep your head on your shoulders,” Margaret chided.
“I’m not worried about my head,” Jack hissed. “I’m worried about her head. If she survives this – and she’d better – I’m totally going to kill her.”
Twenty-Two
Ivy opted to let herself in through the back door instead of the front, not bothering to knock and alert anyone to her presence. The door was unlocked. Ivy wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad sign. Once inside, she left the door cracked and tilted her head to the side as she listened for the telltale sound of voices.
She heard nothing.
Ivy wasn’t familiar with the layout of Gilly’s house, but it was fairly straightforward. After ascertaining the kitchen and living room were empty, she quietly slipped into the hallway. The first doorway she passed led to the bathroom. Since that was clearly empty she moved on, stopping in front of the brightly painted blue room she saw in her vision. She recognized the animal mural on the wall right away, and when she stepped inside she pulled up short because Gilly sat in a rocking chair in the middle of the room, her hands resting on the chair’s arms as tears streamed down her face.
Wicked Fun: An Ivy Morgan Mystery Books 7-9 Page 18
