Ghostly Camping (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 16)

by Lily Harper Hart

“I’ve found a Becky Trout up in your neck of the woods,” Mel said finally. “She’s twenty-three and only exists on paper as far as I can tell. There’s a credit card and nothing else.”

  “That’s because she’s Leia Rebecca Horton.” Jared was already on his feet, pushing away from the picnic table. “And Holly Horton is her mother.”

  “And what does that mean to you?”

  “Becky Trout is one of the workers up here. She’s the personal assistant to Harris Turnball. She says he was a friend of her father’s and offered her a job.”

  “Hold up.” Mel’s fingers danced across the keyboard on the other end of the call. “That fits this scenario, too. Harris Turnball and Will Horton went to college together at Northwood. I mean, I can’t guarantee they stayed in touch, but they definitely went to the school at the same time.”

  “Then that’s it.” Jared moved steadily toward the woods. “Holly is Becky’s mother, and she came up here for some reason, probably to reclaim her daughter. Becky didn’t like that ... or maybe Harris didn’t like that. Maybe they were having an inappropriate relationship. Either way, one of them is guilty.”

  “And what’s the motive for killing the other woman? That Leslie woman.”

  “That I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to figure it out down the line. Right now, I have to get to Harper. The rest of it will fall into place.”

  “Do you need anything else from me?”

  “Keep digging if you can ... and thank you. I really appreciate you coming through for me.”

  “That’s my job.”

  “You’ve gone above and beyond your job. I’m about to lose my cell signal, though. See what you can come up with. I’ll be in touch when I find the rest of my team.”

  “Keep them safe.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  HARPER RUBBED HER FOREHEAD AND studied Holly’s body, a sick sense of dread washing over her.

  “Can you tell how long she’s been here?” Shawn asked. He made sure not to get too close. He had no inclination to see what was in the log. The hand was creepy enough.

  “I’m not a medical examiner,” Harper reminded him. “I can’t say with any degree of certainty.”

  “You know more than me.”

  “I guess.” Harper cocked her head. “She’s been here at least a few weeks. I would guess more than a month. She’s been kind of ... entombed ... in this log. There’s moss and other stuff. I’m sure animals have been in here.”

  “Okay, that will be enough of that.” Shawn shot her a disgusted look. “We need to leave the scene alone – don’t touch absolutely anything – and get back to Jared. We can’t call this in from out here because cell service doesn’t work this deep into the woods. That means we need to go to him.”

  Harper nodded, her eyes briefly drifting to Holly, who seemed fascinated by the sight of her own body. “We need to bring Jared out here. It won’t take us long to get back to the campground and return. I ... um ... do you want to come with us?”

  “Hmm?” Holly stirred and shook her head. “There’s no reason for me to go with you. I think my work here is done.”

  “Nothing is done,” Harper countered. “Not yet. I ... .” She wasn’t certain how far she should push things, but she wasn’t quite ready to let Holly off the hook. “Can you tell me who did this? Do you know?”

  “I know.” Holly’s voice was a remote whisper. “I created the monster who changed my world.”

  Harper blinked several times in rapid succession, her mind busy. She was about to ask Holly if her daughter was the one to kill her when footsteps in the foliage drew her attention to the east.

  “Oh, excuse me.” Becky stood at the top of the hill, her expression blank. “I ... um ... what are you doing here?”

  Harper grimaced. The last thing she wanted to deal with now was the enthusiastic — and dramatic — assistant. Despite that, there was no sense in lying. “We found a body. We need to get back to the campground and tell Jared what we found.”

  All the color drained from Becky’s face. “You found a ... wait, is this a joke?”

  “Yes, we often walk around telling people we found bodies,” Zander deadpanned. “Who doesn’t love guffawing over the tragedy that is murder?”

  Becky didn’t immediately react. Harper chalked it up to shock and decided to jolt the girl out of her reverie by standing.

  “We need to find Jared,” Harper repeated. “In fact, maybe you should head back and find Jared for us. That means we won’t have to leave.”

  “What?” Becky’s voice was squeaky. “Why would I want to do that?”

  “You like Jared,” Zander reminded her.

  “Yeah, but ... .”

  “We can’t send her back by herself,” Shawn argued. “She’s just as much at risk as everybody else, including us.”

  “You have a point.” Harper tilted her head. “You should walk her back and get Jared out here. Zander and I will wait.”

  “Oh, why do I have to be the one to wait with you?” Zander whined. “I don’t want to sit with the dead body.”

  “Then you can go with Becky.”

  “I don’t want to do that either.” Zander planted himself on the ground and made a face. “My feet hurt. Camping is nowhere near as fun as I thought it would be.”

  “Oh, you didn’t think camping was going to be fun,” Shawn shot back. “You were badmouthing the idea of camping before we even left Whisper Cove.”

  Zander cast his fiancé a sidelong look. “And who turned out to be right on that?”

  “Me,” Shawn replied, not missing a beat. “I’m always right.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Zander offered up a haphazard wave. “If anybody is walking back to the campground, I think it should be the individual who is always right. I guess that means you.”

  “Well, I’m not leaving the two of you.” Shawn was firm. “That means we all have to go together.”

  “I was afraid you were going to say that,” Harper muttered. “Fine.” She threw up her hands. “Let’s head back to the campground.” She started stalking up the hill, barely sparing a glance for Becky. Her gaze immediately landed on Holly when she reached the top, and to her utter surprise, the ghost was completely fixated on the murder-mystery assistant. She paid zero attention to anyone else.

  Harper opened her mouth to ask Holly to keep watch over her body, but the ghost spoke before she could utter a syllable.

  “She’s not even sorry.”

  “What?” Harper fixated on the ghost. “What did you say?”

  The color hadn’t returned to Becky’s features, but she was much more animated than she had been only seconds before. “Who are you talking to?” the young woman queried, glancing around. “Are you talking to me?”

  “She’s not even a little bit sorry,” Holly repeated. “I came up here to save her. I figured out what was happening and did the right thing even though it wasn’t required. She was an adult, and I didn’t have to do anything ... and yet here we are.”

  Harper’s heart sank as things began coalescing in her mind. “Holly Horton was your mother.”

  Becky jerked up her chin, her eyes wide. “How do you know that name?”

  “I just do.”

  “No, how do you know it?” Becky grabbed Harper’s shirt and spun the ghost hunter around so she could look her directly in the face. “Are you here for me? Did you come here for me?”

  Harper had no idea how she was supposed to respond. “I ... .”

  Shawn, uncomfortable with the proximity of the two women, used his hip to knock Becky aside. Thrown off-balance, the campground assistant stumbled down the hill, landing directly next to the log.

  “Let’s go.” He grabbed Harper’s hand and moved to drag her to the trail, but the blonde wasn’t ready to be removed from the equation.

  “Wait.” Harper moved so she could better see Becky, who seemed transfixed by the fingers poking out from the log. “Why did you kill your mother?”

 
; “I didn’t,” Becky replied automatically, her voice soft and distant. “Why would you think I killed my mother? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

  “Because it’s the only thing that makes sense,” Harper replied, matter-of-fact. “Your mother came to this campground because ... what? Was she trying to get you to go back home with her?”

  Becky didn’t respond, so Harper shifted her eyes to the ghost.

  “Just tell me,” Harper ordered, her patience wearing thin.

  “She let it slip,” Holly volunteered, disgust twisting her lips as she stared at her only child. “She called to tell me how well things were going up here. It was more a way to twist the knife than anything else. I told her this was a mistake — I mean, a murder camp in the middle of the woods? Come on — and she cried ... and stomped her feet ... and told me I didn’t understand.

  “She left even though I didn’t want her to,” she continued. “I thought getting a good job and paying for a realistic degree made more sense. If she worked hard for a few years, she could’ve had everything I never got.”

  “Something happened to change that,” Harper prodded. “What was it?”

  Becky watched Harper in mystified silence. It was obvious she didn’t understand what was going down.

  “I told you what happened,” Holly snapped. “She let it slip. She left with him even though she knew how I felt and then she let it slip.”

  A sick feeling invaded Harper’s stomach. “Oh, my ... .” Her gaze drifted back to Becky, who looked completely lost.

  “What’s happening?” Shawn asked, bewildered. “What’s going on?”

  It took Harper a moment to find her voice. “Holly is Becky’s mother.”

  “I figured that out myself.”

  “Holly was either involved with Harris, or wanted to be involved with him,” Harper added.

  “So ... Harris killed Holly?”

  Harper shook her head. “Harris seduced Becky.”

  Shawn let loose a groaning sound. “Oh, please tell me she was an adult when that happened.”

  Harper honestly wasn’t certain. Now, from her vantage point above, all she felt was sympathy when she looked down at the lost girl sitting next to her mother’s body.

  “Now you know why I’m so angry,” Holly interjected. “She took him from me.”

  “Were you actually involved with him?” Harper pressed the ghost. “Did you have a relationship?”

  “He helped after Will died. He took over as the father figure in Becky’s life. He was supposed to be with me.”

  It wasn’t really an answer, but it was enough for Harper to suss out the rest. “When did you and Harris start your relationship, Becky?” she asked dully.

  “What?” Becky’s lower lip quivered as she shifted her attention to Harper. It was as if she hadn’t been following the conversation.

  “How old were you?”

  The question was enough to jar Becky back to reality. “It’s not what you think. We love each other. I mean ... we fell in love with each other. Just because the law says it’s not right, that doesn’t mean we can ignore what our hearts tell us.”

  “I think I’m going to be sick,” Shawn muttered, resting his hands on his knees as he bent over at the waist. “I just ... this is so wrong.”

  “It is,” Harper agreed. “Did your mother attack you, Becky?” She remained focused on the young woman. “Did she threaten you?”

  “She said she was going to turn him into the police,” Becky replied dully. “She said he could still be arrested. I thought she would be happy for me when I told her how things were working out. I mean ... I knew I had to keep it secret from her when I was a kid, but I’m an adult now. She should’ve been happy for me.”

  “I think she should’ve been a lot of things for you that she wasn’t,” Harper noted. “You still haven’t told me what happened to her, though.”

  “She got in my face.” Becky held up her hands. “She threatened to take him from me. He’s all that I have. We were working to build this place together. We had plans.”

  “Plans,” Harper echoed. “What about Leslie? Why did you kill her?”

  “I didn’t mean to do it.” Becky turned rueful. “It was an accident. She stumbled upon me after I had been arguing with Harris about whether or not you were a good fit for our group. He said yes and I knew otherwise. I just saw her from behind. I thought she was someone else.”

  “Who?”

  For the first time since she landed on the ground by her mother’s corpse, Becky’s vision cleared. “I thought she was you.”

  “What?” Zander squawked, immediately moving to Harper’s side. “Why would you want to hurt Harper?”

  “Harris said he needed publicity for his camp. He made a joke about how a real dead body would actually be the best thing that ever happened to him. Then he admitted after the fact that he was telling the truth. A fake dead body could only get him so far.

  “He talked about you a lot,” she continued, her tone flat. “He said you were famous, that you talked to ghosts. I figured that a dead ghost hunter would lift this place to mythical levels. I mean ... if you’re famous and you die here, what does that mean for those who come after?”

  “It means you’re a sick individual,” Zander shot back. “Why would you think this is okay?”

  “We just wanted a happy life together,” Becky replied, morose. “We just wanted to be able to spend forever together.”

  Harper had her doubts about that statement. “If that’s true, why were you chasing Jared?”

  “I was supposed to. Harris thought if I could seduce Jared you would be more likely to accept his offer and move up here. I didn’t want you to move up here, don’t get me wrong, but the only thing I’ve ever wanted is to make him happy. I had to do it for him.”

  Harper pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead, completely dumbfounded. “Was he part of all of it? Did he know about your mother?”

  “No. I couldn’t tell him about that. He would’ve been so disappointed.”

  “And Leslie? Did he know about her?”

  “No. I figured it was best if I kept that to myself, at least for the time being. I probably would’ve told him down the road. Eventually, I mean.”

  “Eventually.” Harper felt helpless as she shifted her eyes to Shawn. “We really need to get Jared out here.”

  “Yes, but I’m not leaving you with her,” Shawn shot back, his gaze wandering to Zander. “I think you need to get Jared.”

  Zander didn’t look thrilled at the prospect but he nodded. “Fine. Don’t let anything weird happen without me, though. You know how much FOMO I have. I’ll never forgive you if I miss out on the good stuff and have to suffer through memories of bad hair. I can only take so much.”

  “Duly noted.”

  19

  Nineteen

  Becky was already in the back seat of a patrol car when Harris showed up on the scene. His face was red, as if from some form of physical exertion, and he looked positively furious.

  “What is going on here?”

  Jared was the first to step forward. “We have some questions for you.”

  “Oh, really? Well, I have some questions for you, too. Actually, I have questions for you.” He swiveled to face Harper, his eyes accusatory. “Why aren’t you solving the case? That’s what you’re supposed to be doing. How can you possibly make an endorsement if you’re not even playing the game?”

  Harper was dumbfounded. “Are you kidding me?”

  “No. Everyone else is out by the cemetery. That’s where the final clues are. You’re supposed to be with them.”

  Harper turned her baffled eyes to Jared. “I don’t even know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything,” Jared reassured her. “I’ll handle this. I think you’ve gone through enough for one day.”

  “Handle what?” Harris snapped. “What is going on?”

  “Look in the back of the cruiser,” J
ared suggested.

  “I ... what?” Harris turned his attention to the patrol car as if seeing it for the first time. His eyes widened when he finally caught sight of Becky. “I don’t understand. What is happening? Why has my assistant been placed into custody?”

  “She’s been arrested for the murder of Leslie Duncan.”

  “What? That’s preposterous. Why would she want to kill one of our guests?”

  “Because she thought it was me,” Harper replied, her gaze never leaving Harris’ face. She wanted to see his reaction because she wasn’t certain he was as oblivious to everything around him as Becky claimed. “She said you thought a real body appearing at your campground would get you the free publicity you need.”

  “She said ... what?” Harris looked legitimately bewildered. “I don’t understand any of this.”

  “That makes all of us,” Jared said. “She confessed, though.”

  “To this one?” Harris jabbed his finger at Harper. “Well, no offense, but I don’t know that I believe she’s all that trustworthy.”

  “There was more than one person there,” Jared shot back. “We have three witnesses to the confession. You’re going to have to do better than that.”

  “I’m not going to have to do anything,” Harris fired back. “I’m not a part of this.”

  “Oh, but you are,” Jared shot back, his tone no-nonsense. “You caused all of this.”

  “How do you figure that? I made a joke. It was an off-color joke — I’ll admit that — but a joke all the same. I never thought she would set out to try and help me in this manner.”

  “Well, she did.” Jared folded his arms across his chest and internally debated how he wanted to reveal the next bit. “That’s not all. Another body was discovered by the trail fork. It hasn’t been removed yet, and the identification will likely take a few days, but we believe the deceased is Holly Horton.”

  Harris openly gaped. “You can’t be serious.”

  “You know her,” Jared prodded. “You’ve known her for years.”

  “Yes, she was married to Will. He and I were good friends.”

  “She was also Becky’s mother,” Harper said.