Ivy Morgan Mystery 18 - Wicked Wedding

by Lily Harper Hart

  Jack scowled. “Mr. Ivy Morgan?”

  Brian’s smile was wide and pronounced. “I knew that would snap you out of your reverie.”

  “I’m not going to be Mr. Ivy Morgan.”

  “Is she going to be Mrs. Jack Harker? Because, let me tell you something, I don’t foresee that going over well.”

  “Nobody is losing their identity, and if you suggest anything of the sort to her, I’ll lock you in a closet until after the wedding is over.” Jack jabbed a warning finger in his partner’s direction. “I’m not even sure if she’s taking my last name.”

  “Really?” Despite himself, Brian found he was intrigued. “The wedding is a few days away. How can you not have talked about that?”

  Jack’s discomfort was palpable as he shifted in his chair. “I don’t know. It doesn’t seem important.”

  Brian paused for a beat. “You’re afraid to ask her to take your name, aren’t you?”

  “No.” Jack hurriedly shook his head. “It doesn’t matter if she takes my name.”

  Brian sipped his coffee and studied the younger detective over the rim. “Really? Are you sure about that?”

  Jack had no idea how to answer. In truth, he wasn’t certain about it. Part of him wanted her to take his last name and wear it with pride. The other part knew that she was her own person and was likely to keep her own name. The entire thing made him uneasy, although he couldn’t identify why.

  “Whatever she wants to do is up to her.” Jack kept his tone breezy even as he went back to staring at his computer. “I think I’m going to catch up on some paperwork. It’s been quiet for a few days, and if everything works out as planned, I won’t leave you with a single case to finish typing up and file while I’m gone on my honeymoon.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” Brian admonished. “If I have to take care of a few files, it’s not the end of the world. Just focus on your wedding ... and honeymoon ... and the fact that you’re afraid to tell your future wife that you want to be an alpha jerk and request that she take your name.”

  “Ugh.” Jack slapped his hand to his forehead. “This conversation is going to come back to bite me. If you mention it to Ivy ....”

  “Oh, when you offer up unfinished threats like that, it only makes me want to be a bad man,” Brian teased, groaning when the phone on his desk rang. “Crap. I hope this isn’t something big.”

  Jack watched his partner answer the phone, fervently hoping it was a false alarm, or something easily handled. Brian’s expression was hard to read, but when the older man hung up Jack knew they were heading out.

  “What is it?”

  “I need you to remain calm,” Brian started, all traces of mirth missing from his features.

  Jack was instantly alert. “What is it? What happened?”

  “The alarm at the shelter has been triggered.”

  Jack was already on his feet. “The shelter where Ivy is finishing her community service?”

  “It could be a false alarm.”

  “When is it ever a false alarm when she’s concerned?”

  Brian worked his jaw and then joined his partner. “You’re right. We’d best get out there.”

  “The faster the better.”

  2

  TWO

  Ivy told herself that the alarm going off didn’t necessarily mean anything. Things were still new, including the security system, and it was entirely possible that it was a snafu of some sort. Still, she couldn’t tamp down her worry.

  “Where should we start?”

  Serena hesitated once they were in the hallway and glanced around. “The classrooms. We need to keep the kids and women there.”

  “Okay. You should do that. I’ll head to the dorms.” The women and children were housed in a separate part of the building, one that had been turned into apartments for individuals and families.

  “Wait.” Serena’s hand shot out. “Why would you go there? Everybody is in the classrooms. That’s children and adults.”

  Ivy forced herself to remain patient. She’d been in situations like this before — well, not exactly like this but close enough — and she knew better than showing her agitation. “Because not everybody is in the classes.”

  “It’s mandatory.”

  “Not for the first week. We’ve had two intakes this week. The classes aren’t required until next week.”

  “Oh.” The color drained from Serena’s face. “You’re right. I didn’t even think about that.”

  “It will be fine.” Ivy was firm as she patted the other woman’s arm. “It’s probably a glitch. We still have to check, and we’ll be able to do it faster if we split up.”

  “But ... what if there really is someone in the building?” Serena, who was normally self-assured and on top of things, suddenly appeared to be vulnerable. “We won’t even have the new security guards in place until next week.”

  “If someone is in the building, we’ll deal with it,” Ivy replied. “In fact ....” She trailed off, something occurring to her. “Wait, when the alarm sounds, the company automatically notifies the police, right?”

  Relief washed over Serena’s features. “That’s right. We should just wait for the police.”

  “No.” Ivy was firm as she shook her head. “I guarantee Jack and Brian will be the ones responding.” She had no doubt that Jack would melt down in fantastic fashion until he saw her with his own eyes and he was well aware she was serving her community service at the facility today. “Just make sure you let them in when they get here.”

  “But ... I can’t just let you handle the entire other side of the building by yourself.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Ivy reassured her. “You don’t have to worry about me. Believe it or not, I’ve dealt with things like this before.”

  Because the pink-haired woman was so calm, Serena felt better — although only marginally — about separating from her. “Okay. I’ll do a headcount to see who we’re missing and text you. Hopefully, even though they weren’t required to attend the classes, the new recruits got a jump on things.”

  “That would be nice,” Ivy agreed. She didn’t believe it, though. She’d seen the two women in question and knew that they weren’t yet ready for socializing. “Just count everybody. I’ll be back before you know it.”

  IVY WAS FAMILIAR ENOUGH WITH THE BUILDING to take a shortcut through the center patio area — it was used as a spot for the smaller children to congregate without chance of them running away or being seen — and she walked into the dormitory wing with a bit of swagger.

  She wasn’t afraid. That’s not who she was. There was a time when she might’ve been leery about facing off with a dangerous individual. That was no longer the case, not since her ego had been growing in lockstep with her magic.

  She was a witch. It wasn’t something she would’ve been able to admit, even to herself, two years before. Now, however, she was growing comfortable in her abilities. It was Jack who made her see that she was more than just a nursery owner ... or Max Morgan’s sister ... or Michael Morgan’s daughter. She’d always boasted a strong personality. A lack of self-esteem was never her problem. Now, though, she was more confident than she’d ever been and that was on full display today.

  “What’s that noise?” A red-haired woman clutching a toddler — the boy wasn’t yet two years old — appeared in the open doorway of one of the rooms. She looked desperate, as if ready to flee at any moment, and Ivy knew it was her job to reassure her.

  “It’s the alarm.” Ivy refused to lie. The women who found themselves in this place needed to be able to trust the people helping them. “We think it’s a malfunction, but we don’t know.”

  “What should I do?”

  “You can go over to the main part of the building. Everybody is congregating in the classrooms. Do you remember where that is?”

  The woman hesitated and then nodded. “That’s a long walk.”

  “Not if you go through the patio.” Ivy pointed for good measure. “It’
s literally three minutes if you cut through those doors. They don’t lock when the alarm goes off. The other external doors do.”

  The woman licked her lips. “I don’t know.”

  “Debbie, right?” Ivy hoped the smile she offered up was friendly rather than grim. “I met you when you checked in yesterday. There’s no exit to that patio. It was one of the major selling features for the building. It’s completely enclosed, which is why they turned it into a playground for the smaller kids. There’s no chance they can run away ... or be taken.”

  “What if I just stay here?”

  “You can do that. I just ask that you close and lock the door while I check things out.”

  Panic whipped across Debbie’s face. “I thought you said it was a malfunction.”

  “We believe it is. We still have to check. That’s part of our job description.”

  “I ....” Debbie glanced down the hallway, as if debating, and then made up her mind. “I’ll go to the classrooms.”

  “I think that’s your best bet,” Ivy encouraged. “Cut through the patio area. It will make things so much faster.”

  “Okay. Um ... thank you.” Debbie tried to force a smile, but her lips refused to curve. Ivy remained rooted to her spot until Debbie disappeared into the patio area, and then she resumed her search.

  On a whim, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and texted Serena so she knew the woman would be on the lookout for the terrified mother. Then she continued her search. The other woman, Dana Taylor, was still over here ... somewhere.

  Ivy was the observant sort, so she took the time to check every room. Privacy was at a premium for these women because so many of them had been terrorized to the point of no return, which meant the bulk of the rooms were locked. Ivy searched the few that were open and methodically made her way down the hallway. It was possible, if somebody made it inside the building, he or she could’ve taken refuge in one of the locked rooms to wait until things died down. Since she was certain Jack and Brian were on their way, though, she decided to leave the task of searching those rooms for them. Jack could tear apart every room while lecturing her for taking off on her own during what might turn out to be a fraught situation.

  She was almost to the end of the hallway before she saw a hint of movement. So far, none of the windows — which were located higher on the walls — showed signs of tampering with or breakage. She’d practically convinced herself that everything was perfectly fine ... and then saw a hint of a shadow.

  “Hello?” She pulled up short at the intersection of another hallway. She was convinced she’d seen movement, but it was over before she could truly register what she’d seen. “Is anybody there?” She licked her lips when nobody answered. “My name is Ivy Morgan. I’m a volunteer with the shelter. I work in the front office. If the alarm makes you nervous, don’t worry. The police are on their way.”

  Still nothing.

  She glanced behind her again to make sure nobody was closing in and then took a deep breath before rounding the corner. She braced herself, hands raised, for some form of attack. It didn’t come, though. There was nobody there. This section of hallway was much shorter. There were only six total rooms — three on each side — and only one door was open. That’s where Ivy pointed herself now.

  “Dana?” She poked her head inside the room, hoping to find the woman and her daughter — if she remembered correctly, the girl was about ten or so — and frowned when she saw a lamp was on, but the room was empty. Serena was strict with the girls about wasting electricity. “Hello?” Ivy pushed further into the room, her heart threatening to leap out of her chest when she caught sight of a body on the floor. Her thoughts were jumbled as she attempted to wrap her head around what she was seeing.

  There was blood, although not a lot of it. She was only able to tell what it was because of the white tile. She dropped to her knees, her fingers immediately going to Dana’s neck. She was relieved to find a strong pulse waiting for her.

  “Good.” The single word wasn’t uttered loudly and yet it had the prone woman’s eyes snapping open. Dana immediately lashed out and grabbed Ivy’s wrist, her brown eyes fierce. In only a split-second, Ivy recognized several things. The first was that Dana was clearly in pain and fighting for consciousness. The second was that she was desperate.

  “Where is she?” Dana asked in a ragged voice, digging her fingernails into Ivy’s tender wrist. “Where did he take her?”

  “Are you talking about Jenny?” Ivy’s heart rate kicked up a notch. “That’s your daughter’s name, right? Was she here with you?”

  “He took her.” Dana made a grunting sound as she attempted to roll and find her footing. She didn’t have the strength, though.

  “Who has her?” Ivy asked automatically.

  “Her father. Oliver. He was here and ... he took her.”

  Ivy didn’t have to ask for further details. Time was of the essence and it was imperative she act. “Wait here.” She stood and headed for the door. “I’ll text Serena and tell her where to find you.”

  Desperate, Dana hissed out a breath and forced her head up. “Where are you going?”

  “To find Jenny.”

  “But you don’t know where he took her.”

  “No, but that doesn’t matter. I’m going to find her. That’s the only thing that’s important.”

  JACK AND BRIAN PARKED DIRECTLY IN FRONT of the shelter door and hopped out, both breaking into a jog as they approached the building. A security panel wouldn’t allow just anyone to walk inside, but there was a call button they intended to use. It turned out not to be necessary because the door was already swinging open before they’d covered half the distance.

  “Ivy knew you would come,” an attractive brunette announced as she appeared in the opening. “You guys got here faster than I anticipated.”

  “Is Ivy here?” Jack asked, hopeful.

  “She’s ... somewhere.” The brunette waved toward the interior of the building. “She went to check on the other women.”

  “Of course she did,” Jack muttered, annoyance rearing up. “She couldn’t just wait for me.”

  Brian shot his partner a quelling look and focused on the woman. “You’re Serena Shepherd, right? I believe we’ve met at a few events.”

  Serena nodded. “I’ve met both of you at events.”

  “That’s great,” Jack barked. “Which direction did Ivy go in?”

  “You’ll have to forgive my partner,” Brian pleaded. “He’s ... a real pain when he thinks Ivy is in trouble. I tried telling him on the way over here that it was likely a false alarm, but he wouldn’t listen. I mean ... you guys just moved in. There are bound to be some kinks in the system.”

  “Normally I would agree with you,” Serena offered. “That was my assumption from the start. The thing is, I just got a text from Ivy.”

  Jack was instantly alert. “What did it say?”

  Rather than read it, Serena held up the phone so he could have a clear view of the screen.

  Dana Taylor down in her room. Awake but confused. Said husband took daughter. I’m going after him.

  “I am going to kill her.” Jack positively vibrated with rage. “Is she trying to give me a stroke? I think she is. Or maybe she wants to give me a heart attack. That’s her goal.”

  “Calm down, Mr. Ivy Morgan,” Brian admonished, his eyes never leaving Serena’s face. “We’ll find her. I’m sure she’s perfectly okay.” He put on a brave face for his partner because he believed it was necessary, but inside he was worried. What would Ivy do if she came face-to-face with an abusive man trying to steal a child? Nothing good. That was the only answer he could come up with. “Where is Dana Taylor’s room? We need to head there right now.”

  IVY CONTINUED THE REST OF THE WAY down the short hallway. She knew there was an exit there — although it was supposed to be locked at all times — and she figured it was the only way Oliver Taylor could’ve escaped.

  She didn’t run — being reckless woul
d get her nowhere after all — but she kept up a brisk pace. When she reached the door, she found that it had been forced open. The locking mechanism was completely shattered and the push handle had been ripped off with some sort of tool.

  She didn’t think. She only acted. Jenny Taylor wasn’t big enough to fight back on her own. She needed help ... and Ivy was determined to serve as that help.

  The building on the east side was surrounded by woods. She almost tripped over what looked to be a crowbar as she raced out of the building but managed to stay on her feet. She didn’t break stride as she raced toward the woods, putting her head down instead, and then she heard it. Additional footsteps on a leafy ground. Someone else was running in the woods.

  “Hey!” Ivy yelled out when she lifted her head and caught sight of a furtive figure. Oliver Taylor. She’d seen his photo when inputting information on his wife and daughter. He must’ve been the movement she’d seen before heading inside Dana’s room, the unidentified shadow. He ran before she could get a good look at him. Now, in the bright light of day, he appeared normal, like an accountant really. She remembered the photo provided by Dana in her intake information. He’d appeared normal there, too. It was only when you dug deeper, into the information provided by his terrorized wife, that you realized he was truly a monster.

  He’d broken three of Dana’s teeth, dislocated her shoulder several times, threatened her with a gun. He was a jerk of the highest order, and yet that wasn’t the worst thing he did. He’d broken Jenny’s arm, too. He’d also caused a break in her foot so she didn’t walk correctly. The doctor said it would take surgery to fix when she was a bit older. There was also speculation about sexual abuse, although none of that was proven. Ivy didn’t care either way. She knew an animal when she saw one.

  “Put her down,” Ivy ordered.