Ghostly Business

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Harper.”

  “And who else is there?”

  Jared jabbed a finger in his partner’s direction. “Don’t be gross. Harper is the only one for me.”

  “You just said daydreams are allowed. Do you really think she doesn’t have a few fantasies? Like ... maybe she has a Thor fetish or something. I know that’s a thing because Zander told me.”

  “She’s only allowed to dream about me.” Even as he said the words, the younger detective couldn’t hide his smile. “Or at least pretend that she’s only dreaming about me.”

  “Uh-huh.” Mel snickered as he shook his head and turned back to the footage. “Most of these people look like they came out to watch the fire. If I was the killer, though, that’s exactly what I would do.”

  Jared was confused. “Exactly what would you do?”

  “I’d go out the back. When I realized I couldn’t leave because of the fire trucks, I would circle around front and pretend to be interested in what was happening. It’s natural camouflage.”

  It was an interesting notion and Jared couldn’t help but agree. “Do you see anyone of interest?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do. Slide over here.”

  Jared did as his partner instructed and rolled his chair to the spot next to Mel. The footage was paused on a familiar face when he got comfortable. “Brett Lane.”

  “Yup.” Mel bobbed his head. “Don’t get too excited, though. He’s not the only one. Just watch.” He started the footage again. After a few seconds, he paused a second time. “That’s McKinley talking to Barry.”

  “And Barry is who again?” Jared racked his brain.

  “He’s the guy you said came out of the bedroom while you were trying to get Harper and Zander out of the house.”

  “Oh, right.” Jared rubbed the back of his neck as it slowly came back to him. “I didn’t identify him, though. Harper did. She seemed agitated. I couldn’t focus on him, though, because I needed to get her to safety and she was arguing up a storm.”

  “That’s what women do, son. I can’t believe you haven’t already figured that out.”

  “Ha, ha, ha.” Jared’s brow creased as he stared at the two men. “Start the footage again.” He watched for a few beats, deep in thought. “They look pretty serious, don’t they?”

  “They do.”

  “Earlier you mentioned that guy when we were interviewing McKinley. He acted like he hadn’t seen him.”

  “Oh, you have a point there.”

  “We didn’t track down the Barry guy because we didn’t need to confirm him. Harper and Zander already did it for us. That might’ve been a mistake. Maybe we should make that a priority this afternoon.”

  Mel grabbed the phone from the cradle on the desk. “I happen to know the secretary at Barry’s office. She’ll tell me if he’s in or on a showing.”

  “Cool.” Jared rolled his chair back to the spot behind his desk with a flourish and pulled up short when he caught sight of a diminutive frame standing in the doorway. He almost didn’t see the girl, but the way she darted her head back and forth caught his attention. “Hello, Rain.”

  Mel snapped up his head and immediately dropped the phone, his attention momentarily directed elsewhere. “Do you need something?”

  Rain’s gaze shifted between Jared and Mel and it was obvious she was mired in discomfort. Still, she plastered a smile on her face and took a tentative step forward. “Um ... actually I’m here for two reasons.”

  “Well, you can talk to me,” Mel said. “It’s probably best if you stay away from Detective Monroe.”

  Jared cleared his throat to get his partner’s attention. “That’s not necessary,” he countered, calm. “Rain and I are fine. We even had a picnic with Harper not long ago. There’s nothing to worry about. Isn’t that right, Rain?”

  “There’s not,” she reassured the two detectives, taking another step forward. She was a small girl and she looked lost in the oversized hoodie she was wearing. “I do want to apologize, though. I’m not sure I ever really did.”

  “You don’t have to apologize.” Jared was firm. “It’s unnecessary.”

  “I beg to differ,” Mel countered. “She did wrong. She should own up to it. I’m going to be right here when she does, though, just so there are no more ... errors in judgment.”

  Rain swallowed hard and smoothed the front of the hoodie. “That sounds fair.”

  “Mel,” Jared chastised. “She went through an ordeal. She’s working on moving past it. You need to give her a chance to do just that.”

  “I’ll give her a chance when I’m certain she’s really sorry.”

  “I am really sorry,” Rain reassured him, rushing the rest of the way forward. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I said it. I was ... messed up. I have no excuse, though.”

  “It’s okay,” Jared said softly. “I know you were going through a thing.”

  “It’s not okay.” Rain was firm. “I’ve been seeing a therapist. We’ve been talking about things and it’s important for me to make amends. What I did to you was horrible and I’m so sorry. I mean ... so sorry.

  “I’m also sorry for what I said to Harper, although I want to tell her that myself in person,” she continued. “You’re the one I hurt the most, though. You’re the one I wanted to apologize to first.”

  Even though he was still leery, Jared’s heart went out to the girl. “It’s okay,” he repeated. “You’re getting the help you need. That’s the most important thing.”

  “Yeah.” She rubbed her cheek. “It’s hard, but I’m trying.”

  “You’re doing really well,” he encouraged. “I’m proud of you.”

  Rain’s face flooded with pleasure instead of embarrassment this time. “Thank you.”

  Mel nodded in agreement. “You’re doing well. You said you had two reasons for being here, though. You’ve apologized and that’s nice and everything, but what is the second reason? We’re knee-deep in a murder here.”

  “Oh, right. I do.” Rain turned serious. “So, I was talking to Harper at the fire the other night and she didn’t seem to know that house was a brothel.”

  “None of us knew,” Mel said dryly. “Even those of us who should’ve known.”

  “Well, I got to thinking that if you didn’t know it was a brothel, you probably wouldn’t know where to find the girls who were working there.”

  Jared’s eyebrows hopped. “Do you know where to find the girls who were working there?”

  “At least some of them.”

  “Well, don’t leave us in suspense,” Mel chided. “Where?”

  “The art college. That’s what the other kids at school say at least. Most of the girls were from there.”

  “Well, isn’t that interesting?” Mel popped his lips and drummed his fingers on the desk. “I wonder how hard it will be to find the right girls on a campus.”

  Jared shrugged. “There’s only one way to find out.”

  12

  Twelve

  The Motor City Art Academy was something of an anomaly in the Detroit area. The campus was small — only ten buildings total — and the student body consisted of less than five hundred people. Despite that, it had a good reputation and Harper had briefly considered attending the school when she was still young, conflicted, and trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life.

  “Which way should we go?” Zander asked as he surveyed the student body.

  “I don’t know.” Harper glanced over her shoulder and focused on Patty, who had agreed to go with them ... if only because she didn’t want to be left behind. “Which way?”

  “It’s not as if they all clump together in a group.” Patty made a face. “I used to come out here and just watch for people who I thought would be good. It was a long game. It’s not as if I could just walk up to random people and ask them if they wanted to be prostitutes. I had to feel them out first.”

  “That makes sense,” Harper muttered, her eyes returning to the busy sidewa
lk. “There has to be a central spot for the campus, like a quad or something. Where is that?”

  “I’m guessing it’s that way,” Zander replied, pointing to the north. “The foot traffic seems to naturally be designed to head in that direction. That’s probably on purpose, right?”

  Harper shot him an appraising look. “I forget that you’re really good at this stuff when you want to be.”

  “I am really good at this stuff,” Zander agreed as they set out in the direction he indicated. “I should always be in charge of this stuff.”

  Harper snickered as she linked her arm through his, her eyes busy as they bounced between student faces. “It’s not just young people,” she noted after a beat.

  “Hmm.” Zander arched an eyebrow and glanced at her. “What do you mean?”

  “It’s not just young people,” she repeated. “I mean ... yeah, there are a lot of younger students. There are older students, too, though. It’s an eclectic student body. It’s not like when we went to school.”

  “There were older people on campus when we went to school, too,” Zander argued. “They simply didn’t live on campus so we only saw them in classes ... when we bothered to go to classes.”

  Harper shot him a dirty look. “I always went to classes.”

  “You did not,” Zander scoffed. “You liked to sleep in and always missed your morning classes.”

  “Um, I think you have me confused with you.”

  “Not even.” Zander poked her side, causing her to squirm and laugh. When he turned his attention back to the students, though, it was with a sigh of whimsical nostalgia. “We had a lot of fun in college, huh?”

  “We did.”

  “Do you ever wish you could go back and do it again? I mean ... it might mean more if you could do it when you’re smarter and understand how important getting an education is.”

  The question caught her off guard. “Are you thinking about going back to school?”

  He shrugged, noncommittal. “I don’t know that I would go that far. I’ve considered taking a few classes. I like accounting classes, you know that. I kind of miss them a little bit.”

  “Then you should definitely do it.” Harper was earnest. “We’ll figure out a way for you to go to classes, fit it in around your work schedule.”

  “That might be fun.” He fell silent a moment, something occurring to him. “I’m not unhappy, Harp. I can practically hear your mind working from here and that’s not the case.”

  “Then ... what is it?”

  “Shawn.”

  The answer threw her and she slowed her pace. “What about Shawn? Is something wrong? Other than you keep pressuring him for a proposal he’s not quite ready to give you, I mean.”

  Zander scowled at her. “Oh, he’s going to propose. I feel it here.” He thumped his chest. “That’s not what I’m talking about today, though.”

  “Then what are you talking about?”

  “Shawn asked for help with his books.”

  Harper waited for him to expand. When he didn’t, she furrowed her brow. “And? It only makes sense that he would ask for your help with the books. You’re good at it.”

  “Yes, that’s what I thought, too,” Zander drawled. “It turns out that he uses a program I’ve never heard of. Do you know how embarrassing that is?”

  And that’s when things fell into place for Harper. “You want to get caught up on the new programs. This isn’t about you being dissatisfied at all. This is about you being a know-it-all.”

  “Um ... duh.” Zander rolled his eyes as they approached the busy square at the center of the campus. “I can’t believe you thought I was dissatisfied. Like I would ever allow myself to get to that point.”

  Harper swished her lips to hide her amusement and flicked her eyes to Patty, who seemed fixated on a single spot beyond them. When Harper shifted her eyes in that direction, she found a blond woman sitting at a table by herself. She had a cup of coffee in her hand and a newspaper open to a story that seemed to have her full attention.

  “Is that one of them?” Harper asked, her voice low.

  Patty nodded slowly, although she looked pained. “Jewel. That’s what she called herself. She worked for me for about six months.”

  Harper tapped her bottom lip as she regarded the woman. In truth, she hadn’t expected to actually find one of Patty’s girls. Now that they had, she wasn’t quite sure how to tackle the situation. “What can you tell me about her?”

  “We didn’t get into specifics,” Patty replied, her tone harsh. “How many times do I have to tell you that?”

  “I get that you didn’t share specifics.” Harper managed to keep her anger in check, although just barely. “You’re the sort of person who can suss things out about people with a single glance, though. You couldn’t have made a go of it as long as you did without being able to read people. What do you know about her?”

  Annoyance flashed in the depths of Patty’s eyes but she tamped it down. “I know you’re trying to help me so I’m going to ignore ... that.” She whipped her finger around in a deliberate matter.

  “What that are you referring to?” Harper challenged.

  “That.” She jabbed her finger again. “You’re being judgmental and you don’t even realize it. My lifestyle might not have been for everyone, but I did the very best I could. I don’t need you sitting there looking down your nose at me.”

  “I’m not looking down my nose at you,” Harper shot back. “I’m simply trying to ... understand ... how you managed to pull this off. While it’s not my cup of tea, I have to admit that I’m impressed with the operation. The fact that you kept it on the down low the way you did was also impressive.”

  Patty preened under the compliment. “I’ve always been good at that, flying under the radar. I would’ve been able to keep it up indefinitely if ... well ... I hadn’t died.”

  “You probably would have,” Harper agreed. “Just because I’m impressed with the business end of things doesn’t mean I’m okay with the way you hooked these women and used them to your advantage, though. I’m kind of grossed out by that. I can’t change who I am.”

  “You tell her, Harp,” Zander enthused. He was busy staring at Jewel, who hadn’t as much as looked in their direction. “She’s reading a newspaper article about the fire.”

  Harper jolted and turned back in the woman’s direction. “Are you sure?”

  Zander nodded. “I think now would be a good time to approach her. I didn’t see her that night but ... she doesn’t know that.”

  Harper thought of the video Jared told her about, the one they managed to lift the license plate numbers from. “That’s a very good idea. Let’s head over.”

  “Definitely.” Zander was ready for action. “You should probably let me do the talking.”

  Harper made a face. “Why would I let you do the talking?”

  “Because I’ve seen Pretty Woman more than a hundred times. I know how to talk to a lady of the night.”

  That was the most ridiculous thing Harper had ever heard. “And that right there is why I’m going to do the talking. Just follow my lead. I’ve got this.”

  JARED AND MEL WERE FULL OF ENERGY WHEN THEY landed at the Motor City Art Academy, but it quickly waned when they realized the true scope of what they were dealing with. There were hundreds of students and no way to pare them down.

  “Well, this was both helpful and something of a bust,” Mel noted as he studied the female faces streaming past. “How are we supposed to identify any of the women working for Patty?”

  “I have no idea.” Jared rubbed his chin as they trudged down the sidewalk. “I just ... don’t know. I guess we weren’t thinking when the information came in. It’s not as if we can go up to random women and ask if they were working as prostitutes in an old lady’s brothel.”

  Mel made a face. “No, I don’t think that would go over well. Not even a little.”

  “So ... how do we approach these women?”

  �
�I ... .” Mel trailed off as they crested a small hill and the school’s central quad came into view. “Isn’t that Harper?”

  “What?” Jared jerked his head in the direction Mel indicated and when he caught sight of his fiancée having a discussion with a pretty blonde he almost melted down. He managed to rein himself in ... but just barely. “I’m going to kill her.”

  Mel’s lips twitched. “You might not want to admit that in front of a cop.”

  “Oh, I’m beyond caring. I’m definitely going to kill her.” Jared virtually stomped across the quad, not stopping until he was directly behind Harper. The woman who was conversing with Harper and Zander went wide-eyed and ceased talking in the middle of a sentence.

  Harper swiveled quickly, finally sensing an invading presence, but when she realized it was Jared she looked relieved rather than upset. “Oh, hey. This is Jenny. She used to work for Patty, although she’s a little nervous when it comes to talking about it so tread lightly.”

  Jared worked his jaw. “Jenny, huh?”

  Harper nodded without hesitation. “She went by Jewel while working for Patty.”

  Jared wanted to ask how Harper knew that, but he had a sneaking suspicion she couldn’t answer honestly in front of the frightened woman. Because he knew this was an opportunity he simply couldn’t ignore, he sucked in a breath and flashed a smile for Jenny’s benefit. “Hello.”

  The terrified woman nodded in greeting as she gripped her hands together. “I should probably be going,” she sputtered out after a beat.

  “No, that’s not necessary.” Harper was earnest as she swiveled back. “Seriously, there’s no reason to get upset. Jared and Mel are ... good guys. They’re not going to arrest you. I promise.”

  Jared was agitated that she would dare make that promise without consulting him, but he also understood exactly why she felt it was necessary. This woman was likely to rabbit and they would have to start all over if she did. Harper wasn’t trying to usurp Jared’s authority. She was desperately trying to calm a frightened woman.

  This time the smile Jared shot in the woman’s direction was welcoming and pleasant. Carefully, so he didn’t frighten her, he sat across from her and rested his hands on the table. He didn’t want to make any sudden moves or talk in a tone that would unnerve her.