Ghostly Wedding

A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 17

Lily Harper Hart

HarperHart Publications

Copyright © 2021 by Lily Harper Hart

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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Contents

Prologue

1. One

2. Two

3. Three

4. Four

5. Five

6. Six

7. Seven

8. Eight

9. Nine

10. Ten

11. Eleven

12. Twelve

13. Thirteen

14. Fourteen

15. Fifteen

16. Sixteen

17. Seventeen

18. Eighteen

Mailing List

About the Author

Books by Lily Harper Hart

Books by Amanda M. Lee

Prologue

21 years ago

“You’re wearing it wrong.”

Zander Pritchett stomped over to his best friend Harper Harlow and grabbed the veil from the top of her head.

“It’s cockeyed,” he complained. “It needs to be straight.”

For her part, Harper merely shook her head. “I don’t understand why we’re playing this.” She was only eight but already set in her ways, as was Zander. They were best friends but didn’t always have the same interests. Normally, that wasn’t a problem. Today, Harper couldn’t see beyond her annoyance.

“It’s fun.” Zander pushed his dark hair back from his face and regarded his best friend with a pointed stare. “It’s my day to pick what we play. You picked yesterday.”

“Yes, but space pirates is fun for both of us.”

Zander’s eye roll was pronounced. “It’s not fun. It’s dirty.”

“We didn’t get dirty. Your mother warned us about getting dirty.”

“Um ... my pants were totally dirty from rolling around on the ground. I don’t get why space pirates would be on the ground anyway. I mean ... they’re in space.” He drew out the final word in such a manner that it irritated Harper.

“They go on away missions,” Harper shot back, making a face when Zander jabbed something into her head to keep the veil in place. “You can’t live on a spaceship forever. You have to visit planets or you’ll die.”

Zander folded his arms over his chest. “Die of what?”

“Of ... stuff.” Harper knew she was treading into dangerous territory. Making up stuff on the spot when dealing with Zander was never a good idea. He had a memory like an elephant. Er, well, he had a memory like the elephants Harper read about. It always made her leery because he would pretend to believe stuff and then throw it in her face months later that she’d been wrong once he did a bit of research.

“I don’t believe you.” Zander shook his head. “There’s no disease that kills you for living in space.”

“Yes, there is.”

“No, there’s not.”

“Yes, there is.”

“Let’s hear it then,” Zander demanded, his eyes flashing. “I want to know exactly what sort of disease kills you in space, and remember, I’m totally going to look it up later so lying will get you nowhere.”

Even though Harper knew he was telling the truth, she couldn’t stop herself from pressing the issue. “I don’t know what it’s called. I can’t remember. It’s something to do with gravity, though. Gravity on a ship is different than gravity on a planet so you have to make regular stops on planets to fix the gravity thing.”

Zander worked his jaw. Even though he wanted to argue, that made an odd sort of sense to him. “Do the astronauts’ jaws and toes fall off?”

The question threw Harper. “What? Why would they?”

“Because they stick out, and I’m guessing if you don’t have gravity, the parts that stick out fall off.”

“You’re guessing?”

“I read stuff, too.” He made a face. “None of that matters. We’re playing the game I want to play today.”

“It’s not a game, though,” Harper complained. “We’re just dressing up.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Zander went back to fussing with Harper’s hair. “I think you’re a pretty bride.”

Harper had never thought of herself as a bride. In truth, the idea of being a wife seemed more alien to her than being a space pirate. All she knew about marriage was what she saw from her parents, and they were constantly fighting. Rather than bring that up, though, Harper decided to change the subject.

“Where did you even get this veil thing?” She glanced in the mirror to get a gander at her reflection. “It looks old.”

“My mom keeps it in the chest by her bed. She wore it at her wedding.”

That set off alarm bells in Harper’s head. “Are you supposed to touch it?”

“Of course. Why not?”

“Because ... maybe it’s something she wants to keep clean or something.”

“It’s not dirty. We’re not taking it outside.”

Harper wasn’t convinced, but she knew better than arguing with Zander. He’d been her best friend for three years, ever since they were in the same kindergarten class and started hanging out. Now she couldn’t imagine a single day going by without seeing him.

“Why do you want to play wedding anyway?” Harper queried, her gaze drifting back to her reflection. Zander kept calling her a beautiful bride, but she didn’t feel beautiful. She felt awkward, and she couldn’t explain it.

Zander shrugged, noncommittal. “I don’t know. I just do.”

“That’s not really an answer.”

“I don’t know that I have an answer,” he admitted. “I just think weddings are fun.”

Harper could count on one finger the number of weddings she’d attended over the course of her short life, and that was only because an aunt had insisted she serve as a flower girl, a job that she’d found humiliating. “I think weddings are boring,” she admitted.

“How can you say that?”

“They just are. It’s old people dancing and talking to each other.”

“There’s cake.”

Harper nodded in agreement. She had to give him that one. “There is cake,” she agreed. “Sometimes it’s good. Sometimes it isn’t, though.”

“I hate the people who get white cake,” Zander said as he sank to the ground.

Harper joined him, being careful to keep the veil in place. “I know, right? Cake shouldn’t exist if it’s not chocolate.”

“Frosting is good no matter what, though,” Zander said.

“Yeah.”

They lapsed into amiable silence. Harper was the first to break it, which was unusual for their friendship. Usually Zander was the chatty one. “Do you think you’ll get married one day?”

Zander nodded without hesitation. “Yeah, and I’m going to have a huge wedding. It’s going to have birds flying all around in the church.”

Harper wrinkled her nose. “Birds? You can’t have birds in a church. They’ll crap everywhere.”

Zander snorted. “You can train them not to crap.”

“No, you can’t.”

“Yes, you can.”

“Uh-uh.” Harper was firm. “You can’t train birds not to crap inside. That’s not a thing.”

“It is so. I saw this video on the television where people trained birds to talk, like humans. If you can train them to do that, then you can train them not to crap inside. I mean ... talking is much harder than holding it in.”

He had a point and still Harper thought it was a strange conversation. “How come you’re so excited to get married?”

“How come you’re not?” Zander shot back defensively. “You’re a girl. You’re supposed to think about marriage all the time. That’s a rule or something.”

“I guess I’m not a normal girl.”

“I could’ve told you that.”

“I just don’t think about it.” Harper moved her feet so they rested on top of Zander’s dress shoes. Why he’d decided to dig them out and dress in his best suit in the first place was beyond her. When you added to that the fact that he’d made her dress in a sheet and pretend it was a wedding gown and then adamantly wrestled the veil on her, she was starting to think that the entire day was going to be a waste.

“How come?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think I’m going to get married.”

Zander’s mouth dropped open. “You have to get married. It’s the law.”

“No, it’s not. I know lots of people who aren’t married.”

“What will you do if you don’t get married?”

“I think I want to own my own business.”

“Not a space pirate ship?”

“No, just a regular business. Like ... maybe I’ll be a private investigator or something like Nancy Drew. Or maybe I’ll own a restaurant.”

“Can you cook?”

“No.”

“Your mom can’t cook either.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t learn to cook.”

“Yeah, I don’t see you cooking.” Zander leaned forward and regarded her with mild interest. “I could see you being a private investigator. Nancy Drew is lame, though. You should try to be like Trixie Belden. She’s more fun.”

“Yeah.” Harper rubbed her cheek and watched Zander fuss with the hem of the veil. “Who do you think you’re going to marry?”

“I don’t know.” He didn’t meet her gaze. “I haven’t gotten that far.”

“You could marry Wonder Woman.”

“Only if she let me borrow her bracelets.”

“True.” Harper nodded in understanding. “I want those bracelets, too.”

“Who would you marry if you could?” Zander queried. “I mean ... if you could marry anyone in the world, who would it be?”

Harper cocked her head, considering. “Keanu Reeves,” she said finally. “He’s really cute in that new movie with the cool special effects.”

Zander popped his lips and nodded. “I could see that.”

“What about you? Who would you marry?”

“Oh, I don’t know.”

“What about the girl in 10 Things I Hate About You? She’s pretty.”

“I like her attitude.”

“Me, too.” Harper grinned. “She might make a good wife.”

“I don’t really have a person in mind to marry,” Zander hedged. “I don’t think about that part of it.”

“You could marry me.” Even as the words escaped, Harper had to wonder if it was a sentiment worthy of giving voice to. “I mean ... you could get the wedding you want and I wouldn’t have to worry about picking a husband. It might work out well for both of us.”

Zander shook his head. “You can’t marry your best friend. It’s illegal.”

That didn’t sound right to Harper. “Why would it be illegal?”

“Because you can’t kiss your best friend. It’s gross. That’s like kissing a sister ... or a toe with fungus on it.”

Harper made a face. “I think I’m a little better than a toe with fungus on it.”

“You are but other people aren’t. That’s one of those rules that’s made for all people.”

“Oh.” Harper nodded in understanding. “It’s like when my dad says, ‘this is why we can’t have nice things’.”

“Totally.” Zander shifted so he was staring directly into her face. “I can’t believe you don’t want to get married,” he said finally. “You’re totally screwing up your life.”

That made Harper laugh. “I know people who don’t get married and they’re happy. That will probably be me.”

“I still don’t understand.”

Harper held out her hands and shrugged. “Married people boss each other around. They tell each other what to do and fight all the time.” She thought of her parents and involuntarily shuddered. “I don’t want to end up that way. I don’t want to fight all the time.”

“Not all married people are like that,” Zander argued. “Your parents don’t count because I think they might’ve been taken over by aliens, and not those face-hugger ones, but the other ones that make you act weird.”

“It would be nice if the aliens came back to get them,” Harper said. “They give me headaches.”

“That’s because they’re loud and forget you can hear them.” Sympathy washed over Zander’s face as he patted Harper’s shoulder. “Don’t let them get to you. They’re not the sort of married people we’re going to want to be.”

“What sort of married people do we want to be?”

“The sort who smile all the time ... and dance in the living room ... and take walks on the beach at night.” He took on a far-off expression. “Some people are happy all the time when they’re married. That’s the sort of married person I want to be.”

He made it sound so nice, Harper mused. She wasn’t certain she believed it was possible to love someone like that, though. “Are you sure there are real married people like that? Maybe that’s just in the movies.”

“No. There are real people like that. I’ve read it in books, too.”

“Then that doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Right?” Zander’s eyes sparkled. “I’m sure you and Keanu will have a great wedding. We should practice for it.” He held out his hand to help her up.

Harper didn’t look thrilled at the prospect of returning to their fake wedding games, but she didn’t see where she had a lot of choice. “Okay.” She slipped her hand into his. “I get to pick tomorrow, though, and it’s going to involve sharks.”

“But of course.” Zander grinned at her. “Who doesn’t love sharks?”

And that right there was why they were best friends. “Let’s get this over with. I want ice cream after.”

“Mom left money on the counter. Twenty more minutes and we’re out of here.”

“I guess I can deal with that.”

1

One

Present Day

Harper Harlow woke with a jolt, her heart pounding and her brain threatening to fry.

“I need to get the thing for the thing.” She blurted out that statement before looking around to see if anybody was within hearing distance. She needn’t have worried, because next to her, his head still on a pillow, her fiancé was just beginning to stir.

“Okay,” Jared Monroe murmured as he slipped his arm around her waist and tugged her to him. “You need to get the thing for the thing. You can do that later.” He absently brushed a kiss over her forehead as he tried to settle her into the spot right next to him.

“I do,” Harper murmured, pressing her eyes shut. “I really, really do.”

“Okay.” His fingers fluttered over her collarbone. He wanted nothing more than for her to go back to sleep. Sure, he only had thirty minutes before the alarm would go off and force him to turn to the business of the day, fighting crime in Whisper Cove, but he was more than happy to spend those thirty minutes dozing and holding her.

“Okay.” She willed herself to drift off. Jared needed his sleep after all. What he didn’t need was a neurotic girlfriend. Despite her determination, she couldn’t shake the dream. “We can’t give Zander a flyswatter at the wedding.”

Jared had almost made it to that hazy place where you can float and recharge when the words sank in. “Excuse me?” He opened one eye.

“A flyswatter,” Harper murmured. “He can’t have one. He’ll beat the guests with it.”

“Uh-huh.” Jared didn’t know what to think. When he proposed months before, he thought it was a natural step. They were living together. They loved one another. They wanted to build a forever life with one another. He had no idea the wedding was going to cause his beloved to break down in the buildup to the ceremony.

In truth, Jared didn’t see Harper’s meltdown coming. She wasn’t the sort of woman to fuss over small details. The big detail — pledging herself to Jared for the rest of her life — wasn’t a problem in the least. Somehow, though, the little details had started to eat away at Harper over the past two weeks ... and Jared wasn’t thrilled with the development.

“Why would we give Zander a flyswatter?” he asked, referring to her best friend and the man who would be standing up with her at the wedding. As much as Harper loved him, Jared often wished he could send Zander on frequent business trips out of town just to get a break.

“I don’t know.” Harper’s voice was soft. “He had one, though. It was white with intricate beadwork.”

Jared recognized the tone. “Intricate beadwork like what’s on your dress?”

“He’s the one who calls it intricate beadwork. That’s not me.”

“I’m well aware.” Jared shifted his arm so he could wrap it around her, readjusting so her head rested on his chest. He wanted her to sleep. Even more than that, though, he wanted her to stop panicking. “You have something planned for today, right?” He searched his memory. He couldn’t exactly remember what was on her itinerary for the day.

“My final dress fitting.” Harper didn’t open her eyes, instead resting her hand on Jared’s chest. She appreciated the way the steady beat of his heart caused the excess chatter in her brain to dissipate.

“Is that a big deal?”

“The dress? I should think so, unless you want me to get married naked.”

“I would be fine with that. I think our guests might feel differently, though.”

“Yeah.” Harper made a murmuring sound as she traced a heart above his heart. “It’s just a formality. I need to make sure the dress fits and that none of the beads have come loose. Then that’s it. I bring it home and put it in the closet until the big day.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“It could be worse,” Harper agreed. “Zander is going with me, though.”

Ah, Jared mused, that was the source of her anxiety. Zander may have been Harper’s best friend, but he’d been a constant source of turmoil over the last few weeks. He’d managed to fill Harper’s stomach with squirming worms, to the point where Harper often felt sick to her stomach, and now everybody was walking on eggshells around everybody else.

“You don’t have to go with Zander,” Jared offered, searching for a way to alleviate some of her stress. “I can call Mel, tell him I’ll be late. I’ll go with you. I haven’t seen the dress yet anyway.”

“There’s a reason for that.” Harper was completely awake now and the look she pinned him with as she propped herself on her elbow was dark. “It’s bad luck to see the wedding dress before the ceremony.”

Her serious face made him grin. “That’s kind of superstitious, don’t you think?”

“I can see and talk to ghosts. If anybody has a right to be superstitious, it’s me.”

“That’s fair,” Jared agreed, brushing his fingers through her flaxen hair. She was so beautiful there were times he wondered why his heart didn’t explode when he was looking at her. “I don’t have to see the dress, though. I can hide outside the dressing room and talk to you while you’re trying it on.”

“That’s not really how it works.” Harper rested her chin on his chest and regarded him. “It’s a nice offer, though.”

“Yeah?” He stroked his hand over her hair, debating. Just how far did he want to take this conversation? He’d been meaning to talk to her about the nervous energy clinging to her these days and yet he kept pushing it off in the hopes she would settle. That didn’t look likely today. “You still want to marry me, right?”

Harper was taken aback. “What are you talking about?”

Jared tried to ignore the fact that she hadn’t really answered him. “Getting married.” He searched for the right words. “You haven’t exactly been happy the past two weeks. That’s not because you’re regretting agreeing to marry me, is it?”

Horror washed over Harper’s face. “Is that what you think?”

Jared shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just a little worried.”

And that, Harper realized, put things into perspective. “I’m sorry.” She meant it. “I didn’t mean to make you worry. I’m just ... tired.”

“Of me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” She made a face that warmed Jared to his very core. “I’m tired of Zander ... and my mother ... and tiny little details.” She found his hand and gripped it tightly. “I could never regret marrying you. I don’t understand how you could possibly think that.”

“You’ve been crabby.”

“At them, not you.”

Jared arched a challenging eyebrow.

“Okay, maybe I’ve been a little short with you at times,” Harper hedged, blowing out a sigh. “I didn’t mean for things to go that way. You have to believe me.”

“I believe you. It’s not a big deal.” The last thing he wanted was to ruin what had been one of their more comfortable mornings in recent memory, so he decided not to push. “We have a few minutes left. Why don’t you come over here to cuddle?”

Harper’s snort was dubious. “Cuddle? Is that code for something?”

He shook his head. “No. I just want to hold you. It doesn’t feel like we’ve had much time together over the past few weeks.”

And that was an even worse slap, Harper realized. “Oh, geez.” She pressed herself to him and hugged tight. “I’m sorry. You should’ve told me I was being a bridezilla before this. I probably would’ve been mad at the time, but I would’ve gotten over it sooner and focused on you. I apologize.”

He kissed her forehead, the frayed edges of his nerves settling. She was his favorite person in the world and that would never change. “I don’t need you to focus on me. I know you have stuff that needs to be done. I just ... you’ve been agitated.”

“Blame Zander.”

“Oh, I do.”

That made her laugh, and when she lifted her eyes to meet his, there was nothing but love reflected back. “I really am sorry. Zander and my mother have been making me crazy. Even though I told them we wanted a small wedding they keep trying to sneak in big-ticket items and it’s making me crazier than a Kardashian who can’t find a mirror.”

“Just tell them no.”

“Have you ever tried fending off my mother and Zander when they decide to work as a team?”

“No, but ... .” Jared trailed off, understanding washing over hm. “Do you want me to talk to them?”

Under different circumstances, the question would’ve made Harper laugh. Since she recognized he was being heart-stopping serious, all she could do was shake her head. “They’ll run over you, back up, run over you again, and then chew on your masticated bones. You can’t take them on.”

Jared narrowed his eyes. “I could beat both of them with one arm tied behind my back.”

“Keep telling yourself that. Maybe it will make you feel better.”

Now it was Jared’s turn to be annoyed. “Are you saying I can’t take them?”

“I’m saying they’re both pains in the behind,” Harper replied. “They know exactly what they’re doing to drive me crazy. They’re good at it.”

“Which is why you should let me talk to them?”

Harper’s smile was rueful. “I’m pretty sure if I left you in a room alone with them for any stretch of time that you would not only run away from them screaming but me, too.”

He shook his head, firm. “Nothing will ever make me run away from you.” He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss, running his hands up and down her arms as he debated how to soothe her. “You know I love you, right?”

“Of course you love me. What’s not to love? I mean, the neurotic mess I am right now aside, normally I’m pretty chill and easygoing.”

“You are,” Jared agreed. Despite her bold words, he was determined to make things easier for her. If that meant sitting down Zander Pritchett and Gloria Harlow and giving them a good talking to before the day was out, he would try to find a way to make it happen. “I’m sorry they’re making life so difficult for you.”

“You and me both.” Harper sighed as she burrowed into his side. “How long until the alarm goes off?”

Jared checked the clock on the nightstand. “Fifteen minutes.”

“That’s probably enough time.”

“Enough time for what?”

“For you to make me forget that my mother and best friend are giving me an ulcer.”

He didn’t miss the flirty tone of her voice, which had his lips curving. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well, how does this sound?” She leaned in and whispered a suggestion dirty enough to have his eyes crossing.

“That sounds like the best offer I’ve had all day.”

“Somehow I knew you would say that.”

HARPER SPENT THE MORNING DOING PAPERWORK at Ghost Hunters, Inc., the business she owned with Zander, and then headed off to the dress store on the east side of town. Zander suggested she go to a fancier boutique in Oakland County when they first started looking, but Harper opted to shop locally. She wanted a simple dress, nothing too overblown or fancy. She found exactly what she wanted in Stella Markham’s shop, and she was so happy with the dress, she found herself smiling as she strolled into the store.

“Hello, everybody,” she called out when she found Stella and Zander talking in the middle of the showroom.

“You’re late,” Zander shot back darkly.

“Like two minutes,” Harper said defensively. “I was finishing up paperwork at GHI. We’re almost completely caught up.”

“Great.” Zander put his hand to Harper’s back and prodded her toward the dressing rooms. “Get naked.”

Harper made a face. “That’s kind of rude. Don’t you want to ask about my night last night?”

“Not really. I’m assuming Captain Bossypants brought home dinner and then you did the dance of the dirty people.”

Harper rolled her eyes. “I had a weird dream. Don’t you want to hear about my dream?”

“No.”

“You were in it. It started when we were kids and you made me dress up as a bride. It was that time you stole your mother’s veil and she threatened to smack us around with the flyswatter after the fact.”

Zander brightened. “That was pretty funny.”

“Then the dream turned into a nightmare because you somehow ended up with the flyswatter and were chasing people at the wedding when they didn’t compliment the cake. The first part was fun, though.”

The gleam in Zander’s eye had Harper taking an inadvertent step back.

“I didn’t think about a flyswatter,” Zander mused. “That might be a good idea. I bet I can get a white one so it doesn’t clash with your dress.” He gave her a light shove toward the dressing rooms. “The dress is already waiting for you. Let’s make sure it fits, huh?”

“Fine.” Harper was a little disappointed that Zander didn’t want to talk about her dream. The first part had been fun, a walk down memory lane. The second part had been disturbing but nowhere near as disturbing as the dream from several days before where he’d demanded a cake that looked just like him for her wedding to Jared.

It took Harper a few minutes to get into her dress, and when she exited the dressing room, she found Zander and Stella sipping champagne and having a good time. They seemed far more interested in each other than her.

“What’s this?” she demanded as she stalked into the room.

“Snacks,” Zander replied, placing his champagne flute on the nearby table and standing. “You can have some as soon as you’re out of your dress. There’s aerated chocolate, too.”

“Really?” Harper lifted her nose and sniffed. “I love aerated chocolate.”

“I’m well aware.” Zander’s eyebrows were knitted as he studied her up and down.

“It looks okay, right?” Harper pressed when nerves got the better of her.

“It looks amazing,” Zander confirmed on a shaky breath. “You look amazing.”

She studied his face, confused. “If I look amazing, why are you so sad?”

To her utter surprise, rather than answer, Zander burst into tears. “You’re just so pretty. I always knew you were going to be a beautiful bride.” His expression was morose when he met her gaze. “You’re going to be a prettier bride than me.”

The love that had been bubbling up for her best friend only moments before vacated and Harper glared at him. “Oh, so this is about you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Zander dug for a handkerchief in his pocket and dabbed at his cheeks. “This is about us. You’re getting married, and in a few days. After that you won’t be my Harper any longer.”

Despite her earlier agitation, Harper felt a small tug of pity for her best friend. She decided to embrace it. “I’ll always be your Harper. I’m just Jared’s Harper, too.” She cocked her head, considering. “I’m also my Harper. I guess it’s fair to say I belong to three people.”

“But I’m the one who has the biggest chunk of your heart, right?”

“It’s not a competition.”

His eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. “Right?”

She wasn’t going to allow him to back her into a corner. “Do you have some things you want to check, Stella?”

“I’ve been over all the beadwork ten times,” Stella reassured her, abandoning her champagne and chocolate to circle the dress. “You’re about three pounds lighter than you were when you were fitted but that’s normal when it comes to weddings. You might try to eat a lot of pizza and candy over the next few days to put it back on, though. As it is, I don’t think people will notice.”

“So, it’s good?” Harper found she was relieved to be able to mark an item off her wedding checklist. “That’s great.”

“I still think a veil might be cute,” Stella pressed. “I know you said you didn’t want one ... .”

“I don’t.” Harper was firm on that. “It’s going to be a casual ceremony. The dress is going to be the fanciest thing.”

“I’m going to be the fanciest thing,” Zander countered. “As for the veil ... .” He trailed off as he regarded her and sighed. “You’re going to be the prettiest bride who ever walked the planet regardless. You don’t need a veil. It will just detract from that face of yours.”

Funnily enough, Harper thought that might’ve been the sweetest thing Zander had ever said to her. She reached over and squeezed his hand before heading back to the dressing room. “Let me tell you about my dream,” she started.

“I remember the day with the veil,” Zander said as the dressing room door shut, a nostalgic smile on his face. “My mother threatened to tan my hide when she caught us with it.”

“She didn’t, though,” Harper noted. “Instead she made a new veil out of newspaper and let me run around in that.”

“She let us watch a whole string of famous weddings that she had on VHS, too,” Zander added. “That was still a thing back then, VHS tapes that you had to rewind.”

“I remember, although I think your mother held on to VHS tapes longer than almost anybody else.” Harper grinned at the memory as she carefully hung up her dress. “We watched the wedding of Luke and Laura on General Hospital.”

Zander chuckled. “She did love her soaps.”

“And we watched Princess Diana’s wedding to Prince Charles,” Harper added. “I didn’t understand at the time why she taped a royal wedding, but she was really into it.”

“That was a beautiful wedding.”

“My favorite was the A Different World wedding. Dwayne and Whitley. I freaking loved that wedding.”

“Me, too,” Zander agreed. “It was dramatic and amazing. I also liked Becky and Jesse on Full House. I want to sing to Shawn the day we get married.”

Harper snorted as she returned to the front of the shop with her dress safely tucked away in a zipped bag. “You can’t sing.”

Zander made a face. “I could totally sing. I’m good at it.”

“You sound like a frog croaking his life away,” Harper countered. “I should know. I’ve heard you sing a million times.”

“I’m an amazing singer,” Zander shot back. “I could totally go on The Voice if I wanted.”

Harper honked out a laugh that was halfway to a snort. “Oh, please. I love you dearly, but you couldn’t even make it on Star Search, let alone The Voice. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Do you believe this?” Zander jabbed his thumb toward Harper while holding Stella’s gaze. “She’s calling me a bad singer.”

“All I have for reference is that talent show from when you guys were in high school,” Stella replied. “I made the costumes. I believe you sang then.”

“I did.” Zander took on a far-off expression. “I sang like Celine Dion.”

Harper worked overtime to hide her eye roll ... and failed. “You sang the song from Titanic and everybody wanted to go down with the ship rather than listen to you for another second.”

Annoyance kindled as Zander straightened and jabbed a finger at her. “You take that back.”

“I can’t. I promised to always tell you the truth.”

“The truth is that I’m an amazing singer.”

“Yeah, that’s not the truth. In fact ... .” Harper trailed off, her eyes going to the street, to where a very loud red car was zooming down the road.

“That’s not very safe,” Stella noted, following Harper’s gaze. “The speed limit out there is twenty-five.”

“And he has to be going at least eighty,” Harper said, cringing when the sound of someone screaming made her lean to the side in an attempt to see the car more clearly.

To her utter horror, the car showed no signs of slowing. Instead, it barreled through the red light at the intersection ahead ... and careened directly into a man who was crossing the street.

Harper couldn’t hear the noise the collision made, although she could imagine it, and she had to press her eyes shut when the body flew up into the air. She didn’t want to picture the landing.

When she forced her eyes open a second time, it was over. The car hadn’t slowed down, instead speeding toward the other end of town. As for the man who had been crossing, he was on the ground, and not moving.

Harper made up her mind on the spot as she dropped the dress on a chair and started for the door. “Stella, call 911. Get Jared and Mel out here.”

The woman nodded without hesitation. “Where are you going?”

“To see if I can help.”

“There’s no way he survived that,” Zander argued. “The hit was too hard.”

“I still have to try.”

And, because he knew that was true, Zander gave chase. There was no way he would let Harper head down there alone. She was his best friend. He would be there for her, no matter what.

2

Two

Harper was out the door first. She had long legs and raced toward the prone figure in the intersection. She didn’t have to look over her shoulder to know Zander was following. Even though he would likely complain after the fact, they were a unit when it came to running headlong into trouble.

All traffic had come to a standstill, drivers putting their vehicles into park and poking their heads out windows to gawk. No one approached the man except for Harper, and when she drew close, she had no doubt it was already too late.

“He’s gone,” Zander gasped as he caught up with her. “I mean ... well and truly gone.”

“Yeah.” Despite that, Harper crouched down on the pavement to get a good look at his features. He looked to be in his early forties if she had to guess, although it was possible he was older. He was so pale, and there was blood everywhere, that it wouldn’t have surprised her to find out she was wrong by ten years in either direction. He could’ve definitely been older.

“Make sure you tell Jared to bring the medical examiner,” she said dully.

Zander shook his head. “Stella is calling. They’re probably already on their way.”

“Yeah.” Tentatively, Harper reached out to touch the inside of the man’s wrist. He didn’t move — not that she expected him to — and his eyes remained open and sightless. “There’s no pulse.”

“There’s definitely no pulse, Harp. This guy’s entire blood volume is all over the road. I’m pretty sure there’s more than one piece, too.”

The words were enough to snap Harper out of her reverie and she gave her best friend a solid jab in the stomach with her elbow. “Don’t be disgusting.”

“I was just saying ... .” Zander broke off, sheepish. “Ignore me. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

That made two of them. They’d seen death, numerous times. They’d seen murder victims, accident victims, and even suicides. The aftermath of this, though, was something neither of them were likely to forget.

“Do you know what happened?” a voice asked from behind them.

Harper turned to find, of all people, her father standing in the middle of the road. His vehicle was the third back and he’d turned it off to check on his daughter when she blew past his car. “I didn’t see you,” she said dumbly.

“I saw you. I wasn’t even sure why we were stopping, but when I saw you, I knew that it was serious. Which vehicle hit him?”

“It took off that way.” Harper gestured. “It didn’t stop.”

“It didn’t even slow down,” Zander noted. “We heard the car right before the collision. We were in the dress shop.”

“Oh, right.” Phil Harlow flashed a huge smile at his daughter. “The big day is almost here. I can’t wait to see you in the dress.”

Harper didn’t return the smile. She knew her father meant well. This, however, was not a happy occasion. “It’s in the shop. We have to pick it up on our way back.”

“Stella will watch it,” Zander reassured her. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

Oh, if only that were true, Harper mused. The body on the ground said there was a lot to be worried about.

JARED AND MEL TOOK LONGER TO REACH the scene than either of them would’ve preferred.

When the call came in — and from the woman responsible for making Harper’s wedding dress, no less — Jared instantly jumped to the conclusion that Zander had found some sort of trouble and dragged Harper along for the ride. Once the details started flooding in from multiple calls, though, it became apparent that both Harper and Zander were nothing more than innocent victims.

Mel parked on the side of the road, leaving the light pulsing but killing the siren. Jared exited the vehicle first and he was halfway across the road before his partner managed to climb out.

“Harper?”

Harper turned at the sound of Jared’s voice, relief washing over her. “I thought you would be here right away.” Her tone wasn’t accusatory but the long minutes waiting for Mel and Jared to arrive at the scene had dragged out to the point where Harper thought she might scream.

“We were out at the Rivers’ ranch,” he replied, instinctively pulling her in for a hug. He didn’t care that half the town was out and about watching. By this time, everybody knew they were getting married in a few days. They’d become famous for public displays of affection. He certainly wasn’t going to curb his natural instincts now.

Harper sank into the embrace, soaking up his warmth, and then pulled back. “It was unbelievable.”

“What happened?” Jared scooped his hand down the back of her head before separating and focusing on the body. “Did anybody see who hit him?”

“We did,” Zander volunteered, moving in from the other side of the road. He had an ice cream cone in his hand.

Jared scowled at him. “Do you really think now is the time for a snack?”

“I’m traumatized,” Zander fired back. “I’m also a stress eater, so when I’m upset, I feel the need to eat. My only other option was a sandwich from Maya’s place, and I didn’t think it would look good to be eating pastrami on rye over a dead body.”

“I’ve got news for you, the ice cream is a bad look, too.”

“Oh, whatever.” Zander rolled his eyes and licked his ice cream. “You’re not even here. I’m going to my happy place.”

Jared waited, and when Zander didn’t leave, he decided to prod him. “I thought you were going to your happy place.”

“He means in his mind,” Harper volunteered. “He creates an idealistic society when things get overwhelming, one where he serves as king and can issue edicts on a regular basis.”

Briefly, Jared wondered how he’d yet to hear about this quirk, but then he realized it didn’t matter. He would likely never catch up on all the weird things Zander did on any given day. He was fine being surprised, and even left in the dark on some occasions.

“Well, that’s lovely.” Jared blew out a sigh as he watched Mel kneel next to the body. “Who is he?”

Harper held out her hands and shrugged. “I honestly have no idea. I don’t recognize him.”

“What about everybody else? I mean ... has he ever visited Zander’s mind palace?”

“I’m not sure he’s local,” Mel replied, cocking his head. “I don’t recognize him either.”

Since Mel had lived in Whisper Cove the bulk of his life, and the town wasn’t overly large, to Jared that meant they were dealing with a visitor, not a resident.

“He could’ve just moved here, I guess,” Mel hedged. “If he’s new, I wouldn’t necessarily know.”

“The medical examiner is on the way,” Jared volunteered, snapping on a pair of rubber gloves before reaching into the dead man’s pockets to search for a wallet. “Hmm.”

“Nothing?” Mel made a face. “Who walks around without identification in this day and age?”

“I walk around the neighborhood without my purse,” Harper countered. “I mean ... I could easily be hit and left for dead and I wouldn’t have identification on me. The difference is that everybody in this town knows me.”

Since the notion of Harper being struck by a vehicle and stolen from his life left Jared feeling uncomfortable, he merely shook his head. “Mel is right. Why was he downtown without identification? He didn’t even have a wallet to buy anything.”

Why Harper felt the need to stand up for a dead man she’d never met she couldn’t say, but she was in it now. “Maybe he did just move to the area. Maybe he lives two blocks away and just wanted to get a feel for the town.”

“Or maybe someone stole his wallet,” Zander suggested, his eyes closed as he licked his ice cream cone. “Maybe a pickpocket lifted his wallet in the bakery and assumed the guy was trying to get it back and ran him over to escape?”

“Is that the sort of thing that happens in your mind palace?” Jared queried.

“Nobody needs your snotty attitude.” Zander licked again. “I’m just saying there are multiple reasons why he might not have had a wallet on him.”

“He could have a vehicle, too,” Harper noted. “Maybe he left the wallet inside, forgot it or something. He could be parked anywhere.”

Jared nodded in agreement. He hadn’t really considered that, but parking in downtown Whisper Cove was abundant if you knew where to look. “That’s actually a good idea.”

“I’m full of them.”

“You are,” Jared agreed, managing a smile. “Where were you guys when this went down?”

“The dress shop.” Harper inclined her head. “We were just finishing up when we heard the car. It was speeding down the road, like really loud. We commented about how it wasn’t safe and then we heard someone screaming.”

“Do you know who was screaming?”

Harper shook her head. “We saw the collision, but it was from a distance.”

“And an angle,” Zander added.

“What about a license plate?”

“It happened too fast.” Harper was apologetic. “We weren’t really looking. It was over in a few seconds, and by the time we registered that the vehicle had struck someone, it was already gone. It just blew through the light and continued.”

“Can you describe the vehicle?”

“It was red. I know that. I’m not familiar with cars, though. It looked sort of sporty. That’s the best I can do.”

“Okay.” Jared rubbed his chin, considering. “The medical examiner is on his way. We’re going to have to block off this intersection and get the sheriff’s department in here to do their accident recreation thing. While that’s happening, we need to question the witnesses.”

“What do you want me to do?” Harper asked.

Jared hesitated. “There’s really nothing you can do. There’s no ghost, right?”

Harper shook her head. “Not so far. That doesn’t mean one won’t show up.”

“Well, until that happens, there’s literally nothing you can do.”

Harper didn’t like to admit it, but she found she was forced to agree. “It’s kind of a bummer of a day.”

“You have your dress, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then better days are to come. I have to get to it, though.”

“Go.” Harper waved him off. “Do your job. I’ll be hanging around, at least for a little while.”

Jared wanted to ask why, but he knew better than pressuring her. “Maybe you should get some ice cream, too.”

“It’s a thought. I’m not sure I’m up to eating, though.”

Given the state of the body, Jared couldn’t really blame her.

THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS WAS figuring out who had seen the incident and who was hanging around simply to gawk. The amount of people who had witnessed the actual collision was larger than Jared was anticipating.

“You, too?” He couldn’t hide his surprise when he came upon Phil, who was sitting in the shade in the designated witness area drinking from a bottle of water.

“I guess so.” Phil didn’t look thrilled at the prospect of being questioned, especially by his future son-in-law. “I was a few cars back.”

“Did you see the incident?”

“Not really. I heard a car revving its engine, but I couldn’t really tell if anything had happened. All I know is that the traffic stopped and then I saw Harper running out of the store and directly toward ... something. I figured I should make sure she was okay. When I caught up to her, that’s when I saw the body.”

“I don’t suppose you recognize him.”

Phil swallowed hard. “If I’m being honest, I didn’t look. Not really. I ... it was too much.”

“It was definitely too much.” Jared clapped his shoulder and sighed. “How was Harper when you caught up?”

Phil shrugged. “Stalwart. How is she always when things like this happen?”

“This was a little different from the normal trouble she finds.”

“True but ... it was still horrible.” Phil involuntarily shuddered. “It was bad. She didn’t look away, though. She even tried to check for a pulse. Everybody could see he was dead and yet she still tried.”

“That’s who she is.” Jared blew out a sigh. “In this particular instance, I don’t think she’ll have a reason to be involved. That should come as a comfort.”

“I figured out a long time ago that Harper was going to do what she was going to do. It never mattered how I felt about it. I don’t think it’s going to matter how you feel about it either.

“I’m not saying that to be a jerk,” he continued hurriedly. “I know she loves you. I know she values your opinion. It’s just ... sometimes she can’t help herself. She’s a good girl at heart and when she sees injustice, she wants to fix it.”

Because he knew Phil was right, Jared simply nodded. “She’s definitely a good girl.”

“She’ll be a good wife.”

Jared managed a grin. “I’m well aware.”

“She’s not like her mother. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with being like Gloria or anything. It’s just ... Harper has always been different. You know how parents fight over what aspects their kid got from them? Gloria and I have never done that because Harper is her own person. She got very little from us.”

“I wouldn’t say that. She got a few personality quirks from you.”

“Maybe, but mostly she’s her own person. That’s probably why she turned out so good.”

Jared didn’t know what to say. It was rare that Phil could be counted on to be so observant.

“She’s definitely her own person,” he said finally. “She’s still part of you. You should take pride in that.”

“I do. I also worry for her.”

“I do, too. I wouldn’t change her, though.”

This time the smile Phil managed was legitimate. “I wouldn’t change her either. She’s amazing. Like ... completely amazing. I think you guys are a good match.”

And that was the nicest thing Phil had ever said to him, Jared decided. “If you didn’t see the actual accident, you can go. We’re only interested in interviewing people who had a unique view.”

“Then I would check with those kids over there.” Phil jerked his thumb toward the park across the way, to where a small group of teenagers loitered about. “They were there when the accident happened. I don’t think anyone had a better view than them.”

Jared narrowed his eyes as he regarded the teens. He recognized one of them, and although the girl had been working overtime to right some wrongs, she still made him leery. “Thanks. I guess I’ll head over there next.”

“Good luck.”

Jared worried he was going to need it.

RAIN PORTER LAUGHED WITH HER FRIENDS EVEN as her body language shifted. Jared’s approach made her nervous. She still thought he was ridiculously handsome, but since she’d made false accusations against him months prior, he’d purposely kept his distance as much as possible. She didn’t blame him, and wasn’t surprised he grabbed his partner before making his way over. He didn’t want to be alone with her in case she caused trouble a second time.

“It’s the fuzz,” Rain called out, going for levity. “Everybody run.”

Jared didn’t crack a smile. In truth, the girl made him unbelievably nervous. “We just want to ask about the accident.”

“We didn’t do it,” a young blonde with bright green eyes volunteered almost immediately. “We don’t even have cars. We were just hanging around the park.”

“He knows that,” Rain volunteered. She didn’t want Mel and Jared to grow frustrated right off the bat. “They just want to know what we saw.”

“That’s exactly what we want,” Jared agreed, forcing a smile he didn’t feel as he glanced between slouching bodies. He recognized the others, although not well enough to put names to the faces. That meant Rain would be their touchstone. “My understanding is that you guys were over here when the accident happened.”

“We were,” Rain confirmed on a head bob. “We were just hanging out, not doing anything bad.”

“Of course not,” Mel prodded. “We just need to hear about the accident. We don’t care about anything else.”

“We’re not a hundred percent sure,” the blonde volunteered. “You should talk to somebody else.”

Rain shook her head. “We saw it. We’re sure. They’re not going to do anything to us for telling the truth.”

“It’s really none of our business.” The blonde’s tone was pointed. “We shouldn’t get involved in things that aren’t our business.”

Mel’s lip curved as he regarded the girl. “You’re Jessica Tate, right?”

The girl stiffened. “Maybe. Why?”

“Because I happen to know your father works in the clerk’s office. If you would prefer, we can call him and make sure it’s okay to interview you. As you’re still a minor, he can okay it.”

The unspoken threat wasn’t lost on Jessica. “You mean you’re going to tattle on me for not narcing on some other person.”

“Well, since a man is dead, I wouldn’t exactly phrase it that way. If that’s the way you want to look at it, though, knock yourself out.” Mel made to pull out his phone, but Jessica emitted a hissing noise to stop him.

“Fine. What do you want to know?”

Mel didn’t even have the energy to be smug. “Tell us what happened.”

“It was quick,” Rain volunteered, drawing their attention to her. “I mean ... really quick. We saw the guy crossing the road. He was minding his own business, not doing anything, and he was obeying the laws. He waited to cross until the sign thing was white.”

Jared nodded encouragingly. “Then what happened?”

“This red car came out of nowhere.”

“Did you get a plate?”

“I wasn’t looking. Sorry.”

“That’s fine. Just tell us what you saw.”

“She sped up.”

“Who?”

“The woman driving the car.”

Well, that was something new, Jared mused. Nobody else had seen the driver. “You’re sure it was a woman?”

Rain nodded. “She had long blond hair. I didn’t see a face, so I don’t know if she was young or old. If I had to guess, she was older than us but not really old or anything. When she saw the guy, she sped up and actually pointed her car directly at him.”

Jared was taken aback. “Wait ... you think she did it on purpose?”

“I know she did. She actually had to dip to the left a little bit to hit him. There’s no doubt she was doing it on purpose.”

“Did she slow down after striking him?”

“Nope. She kept going really fast and headed that way.” Rain pointed in the same direction Harper had indicated earlier. “She didn’t slow down at all.”

“And you think it looked like she hit him on purpose, right?”

“I don’t see how it could be an accident.”

“Right.” Jared rubbed his chin and glanced at his partner. “Maybe there’s more to this than we originally thought.”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” Mel agreed. “Thanks, guys. That should be all we need. I’m looking forward to seeing your father again real soon, Jessica. I think we’re going to have a nice discussion.”

Jessica scowled. “I helped, didn’t I?”

“Not without prodding.”

“I still helped.”

“I’ll be sure to mention that to your father.”

And, with that, the conversation was over. Mel and Jared had a new direction to look, and it was one neither of them were expecting.

3

Three

Jared was tired when he got home. All he wanted was to order pizza and eat it in bed with Harper. Unfortunately, that wasn’t in the cards, because when he walked through the front door, the noise level in the kitchen told him it was a full house.

“There he is.” Shawn lifted the beer he was drinking at one of the kitchen stools and toasted Jared. “We were wondering if you were going to make it.”

Harper looked up from her spot behind the counter, where she and Zander appeared to be arguing over cooking techniques. “Zander and I are making fajitas.”

“Fun.” Jared hoped he sounded more enthusiastic than he felt.

“I’ve decided that Harper needs to learn to cook,” Zander volunteered. “I won’t always be around to feed the two of you.”

“Are you moving?” Jared asked with faux brightness as he padded to the kitchen. The first thing he did was swoop Harper into his arms and give her a smacking kiss. The second thing he did was move to the refrigerator and grab a beer. “May I suggest California? I think you would love it there.”

“Ha, ha.” Zander studied Jared for a long beat. “You look tired. Was your day really that bad?”

It was rare that Zander showed any interest in Jared’s emotions, and the fact that he was expressing what looked to be genuine concern now wasn’t lost on Jared.

“It was just a long day.” Jared cracked open his beer and regarded Harper’s earnest face. Rather than drink, he put the bottle on the counter and pulled her into his arms. “I love you.”

His greeting surprised her. “I love you, too.” She rubbed her hands over his back, confused, and met Shawn’s curious stare over his shoulder. “Did something happen? Are you okay?”

He managed a smile when he pulled back. “I’m okay. I have you, right? How could I not be okay?”

“You don’t act like you’re okay.”

“I’m just ... really tired.”

That much was obvious. Harper chewed on her bottom lip, debating, and then leaned close. “Do you want me to kick them out? I can finish the fajitas and pretend I did it all by myself if you want.”

That earned an outright chuckle and he pulled her in for another hug. “I’m good.” He recognized that was legitimately true. Sure, when he first headed home, all he wanted was his future wife and a quiet atmosphere, but now that he was inside, amongst those closest to him, he realized he needed family above all else, not just Harper.

“Are you sure?” Harper ran her finger down his cheek. “I’m willing to do filthy things in the bedroom to cheer you up and everything.”

He brightened. “How about we save that for dessert?”

“That sounds like a plan.” She pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth and then moved back to the other side of the counter so she could work with Zander. “Do you want to tell us what happened?”

“It’s okay if you don’t,” Shawn offered. “From the sound of it, the entire thing was incredibly sad.”

“And messy,” Zander added. “Don’t forget messy.”

“Let’s not talk about that part, huh?” Jared suggested. “As for what happened, it’s pretty much a nightmare. We still don’t know who he is.”

Harper was taken aback. “What?” The mere thought broke her heart. “You’ll find out who he is eventually, right?”

“We’re hopeful. It’s not like it was fifty years ago. We have ways to track down his identity. They just might take some time.”

“Is that what’s bothering you?”

“Only partially. There’s ... other stuff.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask.”

“Rain was there.” Jared blurted it out, and upon reflection, he wondered if it was the wisest move. “She was with a group of friends. They witnessed the accident.”

“Oh, yeah?” Harper wiped her hands on a towel and abandoned Zander to the cooking. “I suppose she mentioned that I’ve been having coffee with her twice a week.”

Jared’s eyebrows practically flew off his forehead. “She did not mention that.”

“Oh.” Color flooded Harper’s cheeks. “Well, I have.”

Jared wasn’t sure how to respond. “You’re an adult,” he said finally. “You’re allowed to do whatever you want to do.”

“I think it’s more complicated than that given what happened.” Harper searched for the right words. “I haven’t forgotten that she could’ve ruined your career, or how badly the accusation hurt you. It’s just ... .”

Jared sipped his beer and waited. He didn’t have the energy to react with anger. In truth, he knew exactly what Harper was going to say and he didn’t necessarily disagree with her.

“I think she’s trying,” Harper explained. “I think she’s giving it a really good effort. I don’t agree with what she’s done — and she knows that — but if we don’t give her the opportunity to get better, then it’s like sending a message that she’s only going to be one thing her entire life. I don’t want to send that message because then she has nothing to work toward.”

“I happen to agree with you.”

“You do?”

“Yes. I don’t want Rain’s entire future decided because she made a mistake when she was a teenager. That doesn’t mean I’m comfortable with her.”

“No, I don’t blame you.”

“I made sure Mel was with me when I questioned her. It was actually your father who pointed me in her direction. He said he didn’t witness anything but the kids did.”

“Did you know the other kids?”

“No, but Mel did. He said one of them was the daughter of some guy who works in the clerk’s office. Jessica Something-or-Other.”

“Jessica Tate.”

“That’s her. She was giving us lip until Mel threatened to go to her parents.”

“Ah, that old standby.” Zander let loose a nostalgic smile. “He used to threaten our classmates with the same thing when we were in high school.”

“Yes, it was delightful,” Harper agreed. “Everyone was afraid to invite us anywhere in case Mel showed up looking for Zander.”

“It’s no wonder you two were always alone,” Shawn noted. “Nobody wanted to hang out with Mel.”

“Pretty much,” Zander agreed as he used a spatula on the fajita ingredients. “There’s no way it was me because I’m a freaking delight.”

Harper smirked as she ran her hands through Jared’s hair. His mood wasn’t exactly light, but it was better than when he’d first walked through the door. “Could they tell you anything?”

“Actually, they had some very important information.”

Harper waited for him to expand. When he didn’t, she prodded him. “And what information is that?”

“See, I kind of don’t want to tell you.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re getting married in a few days and I want you focused on the wedding.”

“Why would this information have me focusing elsewhere?” Even as she asked the question, Harper knew the answer. “It wasn’t an accident.”

“It wasn’t?” Zander jerked up his chin. “Are you saying someone hit that man on purpose?”

“That’s what it looks like.” Jared took another sip of his beer and sighed. “According to the kids, a woman was driving the car. They couldn’t make out her features. All they know is that she was blond and sped up when she saw our victim in the crosswalk. Apparently she had to aim to the left to hit him.”

“Oh, wow.” Harper felt mildly sick to her stomach. “Why?”

“We don’t know. We don’t know who the dead guy is. We’ve got feelers out to the hotels, but you know how they are when it comes to guest privacy. We’re trying to come up with a sketch to send to them because we can’t exactly send a photo of a dead body.”

“Definitely not,” Zander agreed. “That would be tacky.”

“Yes, because that’s what I’m worried about,” Jared drawled. “I hate being tacky.”

Harper moved her hands to his shoulders and rubbed. “What’s your next step?”

“The medical examiner is sending in a blood sample for DNA comparison. The system is pretty big these days. Even if we don’t find our guy, we might find a relative.”

“That could take time, though.”

“It could.”

“Too much time.”

Jared furrowed his brow, confused, and then grinned when he realized what she was really worried about. “There is nothing that will keep me from marrying you.”

“I know.” Harper hated how defensive she sounded. “I wasn’t saying that I thought you would willingly leave me at the altar or anything.”

“That will never happen,” he promised, pulling her to him. “There’s nothing I want more in this world than to be your husband.”

“What about a lazy Sunday in bed? We’re talking no clothes but a fresh jar of chocolate sauce.”

He barked out a laugh, love for her washing over him. “As lovely as that sounds — and we’re totally going to spend a day doing just that in the winter when we’re snowed in — I want to marry you even more.”

“Wow. You’ve got it bad.” Harper twined her arms around his neck and leaned in to kiss him. “I guess it’s good that I’ve got it bad, too.”

Their lips locked as they melted into one another, everything else forgotten. They were so lost in their own little world that they forgot Shawn and Zander were even there ... right up until Zander used the sink sprayer on them.

“No!”

Harper made a sputtering noise as she pulled back from Jared and murdered her best friend with a single glare. “Do you want me to kill you?”

Zander was blasé. “It’s going to be hard for you to catch me and carry out that threat with your pants around your ankles, you dirty pervert.”

“You’re asking for it,” Jared threatened. “I’m going to beat you with that spatula if you’re not careful.”

“I’m all atwitter,” Zander drawled, causing Harper to choke on a laugh as she pushed her wet hair away from her face. “Seriously, though, what are you going to do if this case isn’t solved before the wedding?”

“Mel is capable of solving a case on his own. My time off is written in stone. There’s absolutely nothing that is going to derail this wedding, including you, Zander.”

“I have no intention of derailing this wedding,” Zander promised. “Not because I like you or anything, but because we’ve turned Harper’s old room into an office. She can’t have it back.”

“Oh, it’s good to know where I rank in the pecking order,” Harper noted.

“I would totally move you into the house over Zander,” Shawn offered. “Just say the word and I’ll order twin beds.”

“Ha, ha.” Zander made a face and then went back to his food preparations. “Harp, you’re supposed to be learning how to cook so you can feed your man. Occasionally you’re going to have to be the one to shut him up with food.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that,” Harper countered. “I’ve decided to shut him up with sex and order takeout. I think I’ll be better at that combination than any other.”

“Oh, that’s exactly what I want to hear,” Jared cooed, smacking a kiss against her lips. “You really do know the way to my heart.”

“Absolutely,” Harper agreed. “Tacos and kisses.”

Jared’s grin was so wide it practically swallowed his entire face. “Ah, it’s good to be loved.”

AFTER DINNER, ZANDER AND SHAWN lingered long enough to help with the dishes. Zander would’ve stayed longer, but Shawn practically forced him out. When it was just the two of them, Harper enticed Jared into the bedroom with the promise of a massage ... and then she actually delivered.

“Oh, wow.” He made a groaning noise, his face buried in the sheets, as Harper dug into his lower back and went to town on his tense muscles. “You have no idea how good that feels.”

“Sure I do. You give me massages all the time. I figured it was my turn for a change.”

“You give me massages.”

“Nowhere near as often as you give me massages.”

“Yeah, but I like giving you massages. You make these incredible noises.”

“Kind of like you just did?”

“I think somehow my reaction to the noises you make is more visceral.”

“Get back to me in thirty minutes and we’ll compare notes.”

Jared made a sound like a cat in heat, causing Harper to smile. She was glad he was relaxing. He clearly needed it. She moved her hands to his shoulder blades, laughing when he made another goofy sound.

“Clearly I’ve been neglecting you,” she noted. “I guess I’ll have to make it up to you once we’re married, maybe even on our honeymoon.”

He chuckled. “Is that your way of trying to weasel information out of me on our honeymoon? You did agree to let me pick out the spot if I’m not mistaken.”

“I did, but only because we couldn’t agree on a location. We kept jumping around.”

“We sort of agreed on New Orleans, and then agreed it was better to save that for a winter trip.”

“True. I was all for a tropical location until you reminded me it’s hurricane season.”

“I guess that means we’re not going anywhere tropical.”

“Nope. I decided on something else.”

“Are you going to give me a hint?”

“Nope.”

Harper ceased her rubbing. “Are you sure?”

Jared made a protesting sound. “Oh, that’s cruel and unusual. Do you have any idea how much my muscles hurt? It’s been a really long day. Talking to Rain always makes me feel uncomfortable.”

And because she felt guilty about keeping her coffee dates with the teenager a secret, Harper went back to rubbing him. That didn’t stop her from issuing a petulant sigh, though. “Fine. Keep your secrets.”

“I’m not keeping the secret from you.”

Harper’s forehead wrinkled. “If not from me, then who?”

“Who do you think?”

It took her a moment to realize who he was referring to. “No way? You can’t be keeping it from Zander.”

“Oh, but I am.”

“Why? Are you afraid he’ll make fun of your choice?”

“Actually, I did wonder about that. I don’t really care if he makes fun of my choice as long as he doesn’t show up on our honeymoon.”

Harper stilled. “He wouldn’t,” she scoffed. Even as she said it, she wondered if she was correct. “I mean ... he probably wouldn’t.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Jared took her by surprise when he quickly rolled to his back, using his hands on her hips to keep her steady. When he landed how he wanted, they were face to face and she was sitting on his stomach. “This is an interesting situation, huh?”

“It would be more interesting if we could celebrate where we were going on our honeymoon.”

He regarded her with speculative eyes. “It’s not that I don’t trust you.”

“But?”

“I don’t trust you to keep your mouth shut around Zander.”

“That’s a horrible thing to say about your future wife.”

His grin was flirty as he pulled himself to a sitting position and tugged her close. “My wife. Do you have any idea how excited I am to call you that?”

“I’m kind of excited, too,” she admitted, running her fingers through his hair as she rubbed her nose against his. “There’s a few things we need to talk about, though.”

“Uh-oh.” His hope for a romantic evening seemed to be slipping from his grasp. “I would really prefer avoiding a serious conversation this evening.”

“I’m right there with you, but I think we kind of need to talk about it.”

“You’re not dumping me this close to the wedding, are you?”

“That’s not funny.” She shifted so her bottom rested between his legs and her thighs wrapped around his waist. “I’m never going to want anyone but you. As for marriage? I didn’t know if it would be in the cards for me. I come with a lot of baggage.”

“You’re worth every suitcase.”

She snickered. “I knew when I met you that marriage was in the cards as long as we always made an effort to communicate. We fit. We’ve always fit. I don’t know how it happened but ... you don’t ever have to worry about me wanting a life that doesn’t include you.”

Her earnest nature touched his heart. “Right back at you.” The kiss he offered her was soft. “If you don’t want to talk about that, what do you want to talk about? If it’s about Zander singing at the reception, I refuse to revisit that topic. It’s not happening.”

Harper’s giggle was light and fluffy. “Not that. It’s something else.”

“Tell me.”

“It’s ... your name.”

“Jared? I didn’t know you disliked my name.”

“Not that name.”

“Ah, you mean Monroe. You don’t want to take my last name.”

“I do, but I’m a little worried about the business.”

“GHI? I don’t understand.”

“Harper Harlow is a known commodity. Harper Monroe isn’t.”

“Oh, right.” Was he disappointed? He couldn’t say. He didn’t want to stamp his name on her to prove she was his. He was a bit more enlightened than that. Still, there was a small pang he couldn’t identify.

“I plan to hyphenate my name,” she explained. “Harper Harlow-Monroe. Then I would still have the Harper Harlow part on cards and not lose any ground on the professional front. I mean ... if that’s okay.”

He smirked. “I think that’s a fun idea. Can I call you Mrs. Monroe?”

“Only if we’re playing very specific games ... and I can call you Mr. Harlow.”

“Oh, well, that sounds like a fun game.” The move was lightning quick, and Harper told herself she should’ve seen it coming. He had her on her back, his body on top of hers, within two seconds. “Would you like to give me a preview of this game?”

“I thought you would never ask, Mr. Harlow.”

“Bring it on, Mrs. Monroe.”

With hearts connected in a way that could never be severed, they dissolved into giggles. The real world remained, as well as a mystery to solve, but tonight all they needed was each other.

4

Four

Harper woke in a dream. She knew it the second she saw the hazy landscape. The question was: What sort of dream was she trapped in?

The first time she saw a ghost it was her grandfather, who had passed away while she slept. He wanted to say goodbye. When she told her parents what happened, they wrote it off as a dream. Even at such a young age, Harper knew that it hadn’t been a dream. That didn’t mean ghostly dreams wouldn’t follow.

Through the years she’d been plagued by dreams and yet often discarded them. She figured it was her subconscious trying to work things out. She didn’t live a normal life after all. Over the past year and a half, though, her dreams had become something else entirely and Harper was convinced that they were turning into something else.

That’s why she paid attention now.

“Hello?” she called out, surveying the landscape. It wasn’t exactly stark as much as muted and depressing. There was something sad about it, although she couldn’t put her name to it. “Hello?”

Nobody answered, and yet there was a familiar noise to her right. She followed that noise, frowning when she realized she was on a bluff overlooking a lake. It was the sound of water lapping at the shore that had called to her. She didn’t recognize her location, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. This was Michigan. It was surrounded by lakes.

“Hello?”

There had to be a reason she was called to this place, she rationalized. And, although she wasn’t a betting person, she would’ve thrown down a healthy chunk of change on odds that it was because of the man she watched die. She was about to call out again when a sound to her left drew her gaze. She wasn’t at all surprised to find the dead man waiting for her.

He was whole in the dream, the injuries he’d sustained in the accident somehow forgotten. He appeared bewildered as he looked between her and the lake, and sympathy washed over her as she tried to decide how to approach him.

“Where is this place?” she asked finally, going for the mundane.

“How should I know?” The man shot her a dirty look. “I have no idea what I’m even doing here.”

“So, this isn’t your home?”

“The water? No, I don’t live in the lake. I’m not a mermaid.”

Now it was Harper’s turn to frown. “I don’t think I deserve the attitude.”

“Well, what do you expect when you bring me to a place like this against my will?”

Is that what he really thought? It seemed ridiculous on the face of things and yet Harper understood he was likely confused. He’d been walking across the street, minding his own business, and now he was here. How was he supposed to react?

“I didn’t bring you here,” she said in a gentle voice, debating the best way to break the bad news to him. “I think we got off on the wrong foot. My name is Harper Harlow.”

He furrowed his brow and took a moment to look her up and down. “And what are you doing hanging out here in the middle of the night alone, Harper Harlow? Better yet, what am I doing here?”

“I don’t know this place so I can’t answer that.”

“Then what are you doing here?”

“I believe you brought me here.”

He made a sputtering noise and shook his head. “I most certainly didn’t bring you here. If you’re about to accuse me of something—”

Harper held up her hand to still him. “I’m not accusing you of anything, at least not the way you believe. It’s just ... I saw you earlier today. I was in a wedding shop on Main Street in Whisper Cove. I heard a loud noise out the window, looked outside, and saw a car speeding through an intersection.” She was trying to lead him to the truth without having to relate all the horrible details. Saying it was beyond her comfort level.

“Do you want me to congratulate you or something?”

“No.”

“Then why mention a wedding dress? Just for the record, I’m not your type. You’re too ... annoying ... for me.”

“Hey!” Harper knew better than letting her temper get the better of her and yet she couldn’t help herself. “Trust me. I’m not interested in you ... at all. I have a fiancé, and in a few days he’s going to be my husband. He’s the only person I’m interested in.”

“Woohoo!” He let loose a sarcastic clap and then went back to staring at the water. “This place feels familiar to me and yet it’s not right.”

“What’s not right about it?”

“I don’t know. It’s just ... not right.”

“Okay.” Harper licked her lips and wrestled with her temper. “You were in Whisper Cove today. Do you remember what you were doing there?”

“I ... don’t know.”

“Are you familiar with Whisper Cove?”

“Yes. I’m not an idiot.”

He might not have been an idiot, but he had an attitude Harper didn’t appreciate. Part of her wanted to strangle him and the other wanted to pat his back and tell him everything would be okay. Neither was an option.

“You were hit by a car today,” she volunteered. Dragging out the conversation wasn’t going to get either of them anywhere. “You were crossing at an intersection and a woman in a red car struck you.”

“I don’t remember that.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What do you have to be sorry about?” His attitude was still surly and yet his stance seemed to be softening. “You’re not the woman who hit me, are you?”

“I just told you I was in a wedding shop when it happened.”

“Maybe you’re lying.”

“What’s my motive for lying? For that matter, what’s my motive for hitting you? I don’t even know you.”

“Maybe you’re one of those irrational women I see on the news, There are stories out there about women getting their periods and losing their minds.”

Harper folded her arms across her chest. The more this guy talked, the more she disliked him. “Do you believe that?”

He held her gaze for a beat and then chuckled. “Not really. I kind of wanted to see how you would react, though.”

“Did I disappoint?”

“No.” His smile disappeared. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t feel as if I belong here, and yet I can’t leave. I don’t ... understand.”

“I think you don’t want to understand,” Harper countered. “You were hit by a car today.”

“You’ve told me that twice now.”

“And yet you haven’t asked what happened to you after you were struck, if you were transported to the hospital, or maybe sustained a head injury. That says to me that you already know what happened.”

Slowly, he tracked his eyes to her. “You’re saying I died.”

“What do you think?”

“I think this is all really weird, and I would like to wake up now.”

“You’re not asleep. I am, but you’re not.”

“How do I know you’re even real?” His voice took on an edge. “Maybe I was in an accident. Maybe I really am in the hospital. Maybe you’re a figment of my imagination.”

“Or maybe this is what I do,” Harper shot back. “It is, by the way. This is what I do. I communicate with ghosts. Sometimes I help them cross over. Other times I forcefully remove them from situations. Always I try to listen and serve as a sounding board.”

“Is that what you’re doing for me now?”

“I don’t know. Like I said, you called me to this place. I’m actually at home, in bed with my fiancé.”

“So, this is a dream.”

“My dream. It’s more for you.”

“Well, that’s just great.” He worked his jaw and went back to staring at the water. “I don’t want to be dead. I’m not done. I ... can’t be done.”

“I’m really sorry. You’re most definitely dead, though.”

“How do you know you’re not dead?”

“Because I’ve been at this a very long time. I get that you’re frustrated, and I don’t blame you for being angry, but if I’m going to help you I need some information.”

“You’re going to help me?” He rolled his eyes. “How are you going to help me? You just told me I’m dead. I think that means I’m beyond help.”

“Nobody is beyond help,” Harper countered. “Just because your earthly body has failed, that doesn’t mean your soul can’t be helped.” She took a tentative step toward him. “There’s more than one world. You can move on to the next with my help.”

“And what if I don’t want your help?”

“I don’t think it’s going to matter. My fiancé is a detective with the Whisper Cove Police Department. He’s working your case. Whether you like it or not — or he does, for that matter — I’m in this.”

“And what do you need from me?”

“Anything you can give me.”

“I don’t remember what happened.”

“Fair enough. Can you tell me what you were doing in Whisper Cove?”

“I ... don’t know. It’s all very hazy. None of it makes sense. I just keep circling.”

“That’s not unheard of. Being ripped from your life is often traumatic. Tell me something about yourself, though. Like ... what’s your name?”

He snorted. “Your fiancé isn’t very good if he hasn’t been able to figure out my name.”

“You didn’t have a wallet on you, no identification. They’re hoping to get a hit on DNA, or from the news coverage. There’s been nothing yet, though.”

“Well, great.” He rubbed his forehead. “That’s just great.”

“You could help us if you give me your name.”

“Peter Humphrey. I at least know that.”

Harper had to tamp down her excitement. The name was definitely a good start. “What do you do for a living?”

Peter raised his chin and stared at the moon, which was perched high above the bluff. It looked unnaturally large, but that was also a result of dreams and ghostly conscious colliding. “I don’t remember it all, and I’m starting to feel funny, as if I won’t be able to stay here much longer.”

“That’s also normal,” Harper reassured him. “It’s going to take you some time to work out how to adjust to your new reality.”

“Lovely.”

“I still need a place to look. The name is great. You have to give me something else, though.”

“There’s only two words that keep rolling through my head. I feel as if I should know what they mean and yet ... it’s just beyond my grasp. Have you ever known something and then somehow forgot? You get that feeling that if you could just relax, you would remember.”

“I’m familiar with the feeling.”

“No matter how hard I try, I can’t remember.”

“I’m sorry. Tell me the two words.”

“Montgomery Manor.”

Harper was taken aback. “Wait ... are you talking about the mansion on the bluff?” Even as the question escaped, she drank in her surroundings again. This time, when she looked at the spot over Peter’s shoulder, she could see lights shining through the fog. They were the sort of lights that would accompany a huge house, all alone in the darkness.

“I don’t know what it means,” he insisted, his voice becoming faint. He was starting to disappear. “I just know it’s important. It was so, so important.” He looked momentarily lost. “Why can’t I remember why?”

“I don’t know.” Harper reached out her hand but it passed right through him. “I’ll do some research. We’ll figure it out.”

“That won’t make me any less dead.”

“No, but it might give you the strength you need to move on to the next world. I promise I won’t give up looking for answers.”

Peter was already gone before she finished the sentence.

JARED WOKE BEFORE HARPER, WHICH was the norm in their house. On weekends, when neither of them had to work, they enjoyed lounging around in bed until noon. They spent entire mornings chatting, laughing about old movies and television shows, talking about what they had planned for the week. There was nothing they loved more than spending time together.

On weekdays, however, Jared often had to pull a kicking and grousing — sometimes even grunting — Harper into work mode. Today, though, she seemed to sense he was awake and opened her eyes accordingly.

“Hi.” Her smile was sleepy but genuine. “I love that when I wake up now I know it’s going to be a good day because you’re here.”

Jared grinned at her. “I love you, too.” He wrapped his arms around her tightly. “Can you believe, in a few days, you’re going to be my wife?”

“I can, Mr. Harlow.”

He smirked and kissed the tip of her nose. “So cute.”

“Yes, I’m like a bunny in a suit.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“Bunnies are cute. That means bunnies in suits are extra cute.”

“Oh, well, I’ve never been one to gush over bunnies. I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“I guess,” Harper agreed, running her hand over his chest. “I’m a little excited about the wedding, too. I don’t like to admit it to Zander because he keeps reminding me of when I was a kid and kept telling him I was never going to get married, but it’s pretty much all I can think about.”

“I’m glad, because you’re all I can think about.”

They lapsed into amiable silence, Jared running his hands over her back as he kissed her forehead and thought about the day he could refer to her as his wife. Harper, however, suddenly remembered the dream from the previous evening.

“Oh, something happened,” she said, bolting to a sitting position. “I can’t believe I forgot about it.”

Jared cocked an eyebrow. “Do I even want to know?”

“I had a dream.”

“Was I naked?”

She shot him a rueful smile. “It wasn’t that sort of dream. It was the other kind.”

All traces of mirth left his features as he regarded her. “Meaning the sort of dream that involves ghosts and dead bodies.”

“That would be the kind,” Harper agreed. “I talked to him. The dead guy. He was standing on a bluff, overlooking the lake. He didn’t know he was dead.”

“How do you know it was the real deal and not a normal dream?”

“Because he gave me a name.”

Jared rolled to a sitting position. She’d pulled names out of dreams more than once at this point, and they’d always checked out. “What’s the name?”

“Peter Humphrey.”

“Did he give you anything else?”

“No, he was all over the place. He was crabby, said he couldn’t remember what he was doing in Whisper Cove. He didn’t tell me much of anything about himself. He was bitter about being dead.”

“Do you blame him? As far as I can tell, he was minding his own business when his life was cut short.”

“I don’t blame him, although we don’t yet know the circumstances that led to him being targeted the way he was.”

“Don’t we? Someone ran him over in cold blood.”

“But why? Maybe he was a bad guy. Maybe he hurt this woman’s mother ... or daughter ... or even her. Maybe she lost her mind when she saw him or something.”

“I guess that’s possible. We have no proof of it, though. Right now, he’s simply a victim. I don’t want to cast aspersions on him before we have proof.”

“I don’t either,” Harper conceded. “I mean ... he was kind of rude. He didn’t come across as an altogether bad guy, though. Part of me felt sorry for him.”

“And the other part?”

“I was a little annoyed that he was meandering through what little time we had together. It took me forever to convince him he was dead. He thought maybe he was dreaming and I wasn’t a real person.”

“And you have such a trustworthy face.” Jared smiled as he combed his fingers through her morning-mussed hair. She slept hard, which often meant her hair was standing on end when she woke in the morning.

“I know. Who wouldn’t trust this face?” Harper circled her finger in front of her nose before turning serious. “He did say one other thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Montgomery Manor.”

Jared waited for her to expand. When she didn’t, he held out his hands and shrugged. “Am I supposed to know what that means?”

“It’s a house, up the lakeshore a bit. It’s not technically in Whisper Cove.”

“Is there something special about the house?”

“Not that I know of. It’s owned by a woman named Lila Montgomery. It’s been in her family for at least three generations, I think. She’s older, keeps to herself. She lost her family a long time ago. She’s really rich and used to throw amazing parties back in the day. That’s the rumor anyway.

“I read about some of the parties when I was researching property that might be haunted back when Zander and I were first starting up GHI,” she continued. “I was trying to drum up clients by offering my services for free. I thought for sure Montgomery Manor was haunted — it has that look — but I never found anything actionable so I didn’t visit the house.”

Jared ran a hand over his stubbled chin, considering. “Can you think of any reason this guy might have ties to Montgomery Manor?”

“No. I don’t know anything about him, though. Right now he’s just a sad guy who died in the middle of town. He was oblivious and alone.”

“If it’s any consolation, I don’t think he knew what was happening. The force of the impact likely killed him instantly.”

“He’s still dead.”

“He is, and I have every intention of finding out what happened to him ... as long as the answers come before the wedding. After that, it becomes Mel’s problem.”

“Something tells me we’re going to solve this one before the wedding.”

Jared couldn’t hide his frown. “We?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m in this now. You know I can’t just ignore it when a ghost invades my dreams.”

“I thought we agreed you were going to stay out of this one.”

“I don’t remember agreeing to that.”

“Yesterday you said that there was no reason for you to be involved.”

“Yesterday it could’ve been an accident. Yesterday a ghost didn’t invade my dreams. Yesterday we had nothing to go on.”

“Oh, well ... .” Jared blew out a sigh and studied her features. “Do you promise to be careful and not get into trouble?”

“I promise to be careful. We both know I can’t always control whether or not there will be trouble.”

“I would prefer you make it to our wedding without any bruises or broken bones.”

Harper’s smile was sunny. “Oh, look, we agree on something.”

He made a face. “I’m being serious. I want you to promise you’re going to be extra careful.”

“Aren’t I always?”

“No. Not by a long shot.”

“Oh, geez.” Harper rolled her neck until it cracked and stared at the ceiling for a few moments. When she finally met Jared’s gaze again, she was holding out her hands. “I promise to do my very best. I’ll be alert ... and careful ... and keep reminding myself that the only thing I want is to be your wife.”

Jared recognized the truth when he heard it. Still, he couldn’t hide his worry. “We’ll also check in with one another multiple times a day, right?”

Harper bobbed her head without hesitation. “Absolutely. I need to know what the medical examiner says and see what information you can dig up on our victim.”

“I just know this is going to go sideways,” Jared muttered under his breath.

“What’s more us than solving a murder right before our wedding? It will bring us good luck.”

That sounded like a load of hogwash to Jared, but he didn’t see where he had much choice in the matter. “Fine. One more case.”

“Then you’ll become Mr. Harlow.”

He fought a smile, and lost. “I don’t care what anybody calls me as long as I have you for the rest of my life.”

“Right back at you.”

5

Five

Jared was already running a search for Peter Humphrey when Mel strolled into the office with a box of doughnuts.

“I figured you were Cookie Crisp-ing it today,” Mel offered when he saw Jared’s questioning stare. “You were in a bad mood last night, which means you probably avoided my nephew and his culinary gymnastics this morning.”

“I was in a bad mood last night,” Jared agreed as he went back to studying his computer. “Zander was giving Harper a cooking lesson when I got home.”

Mel made an exaggerated face. “I’m guessing that didn’t go well.”

“Surprisingly, even Harper can’t ruin fajitas.” Realizing what he said too late to take it back, Jared extended a warning finger. “Don’t ever tell her I said that.”

“I thought you were resigned to a life living on takeout.”

“I am, and I’m fine with it. No, I’m totally blissed out at the idea. This is some new thing Zander has dreamed up. I figure he’ll lose interest in playing tutor relatively quickly. Besides, he gets off on serving as group chef.”

“He does indeed.” Mel opened the box and extended it so Jared could pick a doughnut. “You’re in early.”

“I want to get cracking on this case. If we don’t solve it before the wedding, I’m pretty sure Harper will be an unhappy bride. That’s the last thing I want.”

“Well, since I happen to agree with you, what do you have?” Mel perched on the corner of Jared’s desk, feigning patience until his partner made his selection and then grabbed a long john for himself before shoving the box to the side.

“Harper had a dream last night.”

“Oh, gross.” Mel shook his head. “I don’t want to listen to any story that involves you two doing the dirty. I’m too old ... and I’ve known her since she was a small child. It freaks me out.”

Jared pinned him with a hard look. “It wasn’t that sort of dream. Trust me. I would be thrilled if she dreamed about that. I also wouldn’t share it with you.”

“Oh.” Mel was aware of Harper’s abilities. In fact, he was the one who warned Jared not long after Harper and the new detective met that she was the real deal. That didn’t mean he wasn’t uncomfortable talking about it. “Was it one of those freaky dreams?”

“I thought you didn’t want to talk about our sex life.” Jared was smug as he bit into his doughnut, methodically chewing and swallowing before continuing. “And, yes, it was a ghost dream. She talked to our dead guy.”

“How do you know it wasn’t just a dream-dream?”

Since Jared had asked the same question of Harper, he managed to curtail his temper. “Because he gave her a name.”

“He knows who killed him?” Suddenly Mel was intrigued.

“His name,” Jared corrected. “It’s Peter Humphrey, and I’m pretty sure I found him. He lives in New Baltimore. He’s divorced but has a teenaged daughter. This is his photo from the Secretary of State.”

Mel leaned in so he could study the image. “That’s definitely our dead guy.”

“It is. I figure we should forward the information to the medical examiner’s office and then head over to question the ex-wife.”

“Do you think she’s responsible?”

“I think they share a child. I would hate to think that kid has been trying to get in touch with her dad only to believe he isn’t returning her calls because he’s too busy or simply ignoring her.”

“Oh, right.” Mel bobbed his head. “Well, I guess that means we should be heading out. Where does the wife live?”

“She also lives in New Baltimore.”

“That’s only a few minutes away.”

“It is. Maybe she’ll know why Humphrey was in Whisper Cove.”

“It’s worth a shot. Let’s get to it.”

HARPER THOUGHT THE GHI OFFICE WOULD be empty when she let herself inside shortly after nine. Instead, she found herself in the middle of a maelstrom, and Zander was the one stirring up the gale force winds.

“I said we weren’t taking on any new jobs until after the honeymoon,” he barked. “Was anybody listening to me, or do you just pretend to agree before completely discarding what I have to say?”

“We didn’t agree to the job,” Eric Tyler, one of the longtime office workers, argued. “We simply said we would forward the information to you and see what you thought.”

“I told you what I thought a week ago,” Zander fired back. “No new jobs. Harper is getting married and I don’t want her to look like she’s gone through a war before it happens.”

“It’s an easy job,” Molly Parker, GHI’s youngest worker, argued. Her hair was a serene shade of pink today. She’d been messing with Overtone conditioning rinses of late and you never knew which color she would go with. Sometimes they changed on a daily basis. “It’s one cranky ghost in a stable. He’s been haunting the horses and making them nervous. Are you saying you don’t want to help the horses?”

“I’m saying that I want my best friend’s wedding to go off without a hitch,” Zander fired back. “That’s the most important thing right now. The horses will survive until she gets back from her honeymoon.”

“What if they don’t?” Molly was earnest. “What if the horses have heart attacks because they’re so upset by the ghosts? And what if during one of those heart attacks the horse falls on a trainer and kills him or her? Then we’ll be responsible for multiple deaths.”

Zander wrinkled his nose. “What are the odds of that?”

“I have no idea, but I don’t want to be responsible for the death of a horse.”

Sensing that the conversation would keep circling until Zander exploded, Harper made a throat-clearing sound as she dropped her bag on her desk and drew her co-workers’ attention. “What did I miss?”

“Nothing,” Zander replied hurriedly, shooting Molly a warning look. “We were just discussing how Molly’s hair color is all wrong for her complexion. She should be wearing cooler tones if she doesn’t want to look like a strawberry on legs.”

“Hey!” Molly planted her hands on her narrow hips. “I’ll have you know that I look good in any color, even orange.”

“Nobody looks good in orange,” Zander shot back. “You don’t look good in pink either. You need to go for purple or blue and shut your hole.”

“Maybe you should shut your hole,” Molly grumbled under her breath. “I think we’d all be a lot happier if you would just stop talking.”

On a normal day, Harper might’ve been amused by the fight. Her co-workers were nothing if not argumentative. Today she had other things on her mind. “What’s the deal with the horses?”

Zander’s glare was accusatory when it landed on Molly. “Nothing. You don’t have to worry about it. The horses are fine.”

“I’d still like to hear the story,” Harper insisted.

“We agreed that we were done taking jobs until you get back from your honeymoon,” Zander insisted. “I think it’s a good policy to stick to because you tend to get banged up when you go on jobs.”

“That’s usually because you use me as a human shield when the ghosts appear.”

“That’s a lie!” Zander was indignant. “I’m strong, sassy, and courageous. You take that back.”

Harper held back a sigh, but just barely. “What’s the deal with the horses again?”

“It’s Statham Farms,” Molly volunteered, ignoring the evil glares Zander lobbed at her. “Do you know where that is?”

Harper nodded, thoughtful. “It’s that big ranch out by the lake. It shares a property line with Montgomery Manor.”

Molly excitedly bobbed her head. “That’s the one. Apparently there’s a ghost in the stables and it’s riling up the horses. I don’t think it would take very long to catch it and the woman who called sounded legitimately upset. I think she’s afraid for the horses.”

Molly had a big heart, and it was just like her to fret over horses. Harper happened to have a soft spot for animals, too, but the more intriguing aspect of the case to her was the location. “Maybe we should do it.”

“Absolutely not.” Zander was firm as he shook his head. “We are not taking on a case. You’ll end up bruising your face or something if you do, and then your wedding photos will be ruined forever.”

“I won’t get bruised.” Harper was almost positive that was true. If history was any indication, she had a better chance of getting filthy and ruining an outfit than suffering a legitimate injury. “I think we should give it a shot.”

Zander was nowhere near ready to concede. “Why?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why do you think we should take on a job?” he demanded. “No, I’m being serious. We agreed two weeks ago to take a break. Now you’re going back on that agreement. I don’t like it.”

Harper thought about lying. Odds were that Zander would see right through her, though. She figured it was best to tell the truth. “I had a dream last night.” She laid everything out in clear and concise terms. When she was finished, Molly was positively gleeful.

“So, we’re going to save the horses?”

Harper nodded. “I don’t see what it could hurt. While we’re out there, though, I want to get a better look at Montgomery Manor.”

“To what end?” Eric challenged. He was the pragmatic sort and preferred everything spelled out for him. The fact that he and Molly were now a couple when their personalities were opposite of one another remained one of life’s little surprises, and yet they were absolutely adorable together.

Harper shrugged. “I don’t know. I feel like I should at least give it a try, though.”

“You can’t postpone your wedding, Harp,” Zander insisted. “You’ve been waiting for this day since you were five years old.”

“I think you have me confused with you. You can rest easy, though. I have no interest in delaying the wedding. That doesn’t mean, in the run-up to the wedding, I can’t nose around and ask a few questions.”

“Absolutely,” Molly agreed. “I think that’s a great idea ... as long as we save the horses, too.”

“We’ll save the horses,” Harper reassured her. “As for Montgomery Manor, it might be nothing. It might be something, though, too. I think the fact that we got this job when we did feels fated. I happen to believe we should see it through.”

Zander’s exaggerated sigh told Harper she’d already won.

“Fine,” Zander muttered, refusing to make eye contact. “We’ll see it through. I’m telling you, though, the second I don’t like the vibe out there, I’m pulling the plug. You’ve been warned.”

“We’ll play it by ear when we get there,” Harper countered. “For now, let’s call the client and pack up. We have horses to save and a ghost to help. I happen to think we can handle both jobs and still coast right into the wedding.”

“And I happen to believe you’re deluding yourself,” Zander fired back. “I guess we’ll have to see who is right.”

DENISE HUMPHREY LIVED IN A CUTE, if a little boring, ranch house off Jefferson in New Baltimore. She resided on the side of the road opposite of the lake, which meant the houses were smaller and less ornate. Right across the road, mega-mansions and pricey condos took over the bulk of the property.

A blond woman who looked to be in her forties answered the door when they landed. She had a haircut that was long on top and choppy on one side, reminding Jared of a reality star who became famous for having a bunch of kids more than a decade before. The woman had faded into obscurity and yet the hairstyle obviously remained.

“Can I help you?” she asked, confused.

Jared and Mel exchanged weighted looks. Unless she’d somehow managed an emergency haircut — which they would certainly check into — this wasn’t the individual they were looking for. Rain and the other teenagers had described a woman with long blond hair. The choppy haircut Denise boasted couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than what it was.

“Denise Humphrey?” Mel queried.

The woman nodded. “That’s me. Is something wrong?” Almost as if a switch had flicked over her face, she took a worried step forward. “It’s not Cami, is it?”

“Cami would be your daughter, right?” Mel prodded. “As far as I know, nothing has happened to her. We’re here about your ex-husband.”

Denise’s relief was brief because her forehead almost immediately wrinkled. “Wait ... you’re not here because you believe Peter broke the law. There’s no way.”

“How did you know we were police officers?” Jared asked.

Denise rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You’re in a cop car.” She pointed toward the driveway.

“Right.” Jared was sheepish. “That makes sense.”

“Whisper Cove.” She read the side of the car and shook her head. “I don’t think I understand. Are you saying you’re here about Peter?”

“We are,” Mel confirmed. “May we come inside?”

Denise hesitated. “It’s not that I don’t trust you but ... um ... can I see your badges? I know you have the car and everything, but who’s to say you didn’t steal it?”

“It’s always smart to ask for proof,” Mel replied as he retrieved his badge and held it up.

Denise studied it for a moment and then flicked her eyes to Jared’s badge before nodding. “Please come inside.” She directed them through the house, toward the kitchen, and then inclined her head toward the coffee pot. “I can brew some fresh.”

Mel waved her off. “That won’t be necessary.”

“Okay.” Clearly nervous, Denise rubbed her hands over the front of her yoga pants. “I’m not going to lie. You guys are freaking me out. No matter what you think Peter did, though, he’s innocent.”

“You seem certain of that,” Jared noted. “You don’t know why we’re here, though.”

“It doesn’t matter. I know Peter. He’s a good man.”

“And yet you’re divorced.”

“Because we grew apart.” Denise offered up a shrug. “There was no one to blame. He wasn’t perfect. I certainly wasn’t perfect. We married young — we were barely old enough to drink — and thought we were going to live in a fairytale forever. Unfortunately, that wasn’t reality.”

“Are you two still friends?”

She held out her hands and shrugged. “I don’t know if I would call us friends. We’re friendly. We share a daughter.”

“How is your custody configured?”

“We split time. It used to be that I would get Cami half the week and then he would get her. We would switch off on weekends. Once she got older, she started spending weekends mostly with her friends. We tend to take it weekly now, and there are times she gets mad at me and crashes at his house. I’m pretty sure there’s some law that teenage girls can’t get along with their mothers.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s a rule, too,” Mel said on a smile. “Here’s the thing ... there was an accident in Whisper Cove yesterday. A man was struck while crossing an intersection. He was killed.”

Denise nodded. “I heard about that on the news. If you think Peter hit someone and kept driving, though, that’s not who he is.”

“Peter was the individual hit.”

Denise remained absolutely frozen, to the point where Mel briefly wondered if she’d had some sort of stroke. Finally, after a full twenty seconds at least, she shook her head. “No, there’s been some mistake.”

“We don’t believe there has,” Jared said gently. “We are waiting for confirmation from the medical examiner, but both Detective Kelsey and I saw the body. We’ve matched it with his driver’s license photo.”

“But ... no.” Denise’s lower lip trembled. “That’s not right.”

“We’re very sorry,” Mel supplied. “We’re positive it’s him, though.”

“But ... .” Denise pulled out a chair and sank into it, her eyes focusing on nothing. “This can’t be happening.”

“We understand this is a blow for you,” Jared said. “I can’t imagine what you’re feeling. We have a few questions, though.”

“Questions about what?”

“Peter. Did he have any enemies?”

“Enemies?” Denise shook her head. “He sold insurance. We’re talking car insurance, home insurance. Heck, he sold renter’s insurance. He lived a very boring life.”

Briefly, Jared wondered if that was one of the things that led to the divorce. Denise said they’d been young. Perhaps Peter settled into a life that was incapable of titillating Denise. It sounded like the exes had made the mature decision to put Cami first and remained at least reasonably close. That reflected well on both of them in his eyes.

“He must’ve upset somebody at some point,” Mel insisted. “Nobody is perfect.”

“Peter is definitely not perfect,” she agreed. “He’s not a bad man either. He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. I just ... don’t understand how this could happen.”

Because he believed her, Mel merely nodded and flicked his eyes to Jared. “Maybe we should talk to the people at the insurance office.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Jared laid a gentle hand on Denise’s shoulder. “Is there anything we can do for you?”

“Can you bring Peter back?”

“No.”

“Then there’s nothing you can do for me.” Denise looked as if she was going to burst into tears at any moment, but she didn’t crumble. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to explain this to Cami.”

“Where is she?” Mel asked.

“She’s hanging out with her friends. She’s sixteen. It’s impossible to keep her here for more than a few hours at a time.”

“She’s at that age,” Mel agreed. “Can you ask her if she knows of anybody Peter was having trouble with? We’ll leave cards so you know how to get in touch with us.”

“I can ask her. I’m sure she would’ve already told me if she knew something, though. She’s going to be broken-hearted over this. She and Peter were extremely close.”

“At least she has you.” Mel searched in his wallet for a card and placed it on the table. “You’ll want to get in contact with the medical examiner’s office. They’ll transport the body to whatever funeral home you pick.” He hesitated. “According to the records we have, both Peter’s parents are dead.”

“They are.” Denise cleared her rusty throat. “His father died when he was in high school. Heart attack. His mother died two years ago from cancer. He was devastated. I helped him plan the funeral.”

“We’re really sorry,” Jared said. “If you need anything, you know where to find us.”

“Thank you. I ... thank you. Right now I just have to figure out how I’m going to tell Cami her father is gone. I will ask her if she knows anybody who would want to hurt Peter. I guarantee she doesn’t know anything about that, though.”

“We still have to ask, which means we’ll be grateful if you ask as well.”

“I’ll ask. Thank you for telling me what happened. I ... just don’t know what to make of it.”

Since Jared and Mel had nothing to offer, they let themselves out of Denise’s home, leaving her with only grief and memories to keep her company. There was nothing else they could do for her.

6

Six

Chelsea Crawford was only in her thirties — she’d inherited Statham Farms from her mother less than a year before — but Harper recognized her as high maintenance the second they landed on the property.

“I want it gone.” Chelsea wagged a wild finger as her gaze bounced between faces. “I want it gone right now!”

“Absolutely,” Harper agreed, her smile never wavering. “We’re just going to need a little bit of information. For starters, do you have any idea who it is?”

“It’s a ghost.”

“Yes, but ghosts were people at one time, too. It would be helpful if we knew who this ghost used to be.”

“How should I know?” Chelsea tugged a strand of dark hair behind her ear. She had the sort of pristine skin that only comes from exorbitant lotions and a pair of lips that looked close to exploding from too many fillers.

“You’ve lived here your entire life, right?” Harper challenged.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

Harper was close to losing her patience. “Has the ghost always been here? Is it a recent thing? Maybe there are stories going back years about a ghost haunting the stable.”

“Oh.” Chelsea popped her lips and tilted her head, considering. “I get what you’re saying. Um ... supposedly, if you ask the stable crew, the ghost has been around for years. It’s never been a problem up until the past six months or so.”

Harper did the math in her head. “Your mother died about six months ago, right?”

Chelsea’s eyes went wide. “You’re not suggesting it’s my mother, are you?”

“No. You said the ghost was hanging around before then but not acting up. I’m suggesting whoever it is might be upset that your mother is no longer around.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” Chelsea swished her hips and stared at a spot over Harper’s shoulder, making the intrepid spirit hunter realize the woman was interested in something other than the people she was hiring to handle her ghost problem.

When Harper glanced over her shoulder to see what had caught Chelsea’s interest, she found a mirror. Apparently what Chelsea was interested in was herself. “What about your father? Could the ghost be him?”

“I doubt it. My father died ten years ago and he didn’t like the horses. They were my mother’s thing.”

“Okay, well ... you signed the contract. We’ll take it from here. If we have any further questions, I’m assuming we can find you at the house.”

“Yes, that’s fine. As soon as the ghost is gone, come up to the house and I’ll have your payment. Just make sure it’s gone.”

“Sure.” Harper waited until the woman was out of earshot to speak. “She’s real piece of work. She barely made eye contact through all of that because she was too busy staring at her own reflection.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Zander drawled, checking his hair in the exact same mirror. “I happen to think it’s healthy to stare at yourself for long periods of time.”

“You would,” Eric drawled, setting his bag down on the ground. “We should probably get started.”

“Probably,” Harper agreed, flicking her gaze to one of the stable hands, a man who looked to be in his forties and was watching them with overt curiosity. “Just one second.” She padded over to the man, a friendly smile on her face. “I’m assuming you heard the bulk of that conversation.”

“I did.” The man’s tone was gruff as he folded his arms over his chest. “What about it?”

“I think you know something.” Harper saw no reason to hold back. “I’m Harper Harlow, by the way.”

“I’m Jim Beckett. I handle the horses.”

“I figured. Do you know who the ghost is?”

Jim hesitated before looking around. “I might have an idea.”

“I’m all ears.”

“I think it’s my father.”

Harper wasn’t nearly as surprised as she might’ve been under different circumstances. “And why would your father be haunting the stable?”

“Because, before I had this job, he did.”

Harper nodded in understanding. “When did he die?”

“About ten years ago.”

“And you’ve had this job ever since?”

“I have.” Jim was standoffish, but he seemed interested in the conversation. “Why?”

“Because I have a theory, and I’m wondering if you can confirm it for me.”

“And what theory is that?”

“Were your father and Margaret Crawford involved?”

Jim hesitated and then nodded. “They were. Why does that matter?”

“Because I’m willing to bet that your father hung around after his death because he wanted to stay close to Margaret. He was a benevolent ghost during that time. Margaret loved the horses, right?”

“She did.”

“And your father associated the horses with her. He was fine just hanging around. All he wanted was to get a glimpse of her. Then Margaret died. He might not realize she’s gone. He might simply be throwing a fit because he hasn’t seen her in a long time.”

“That sounds all well and good, but I haven’t seen my father.”

“Have you felt him?”

“I ... .”

Harper narrowed her eyes. “You have, haven’t you?”

“I might’ve had an inkling a time or two that he was near,” Jim conceded. “It was just one of those feelings you get, though.”

“I think it was more than that. He’s still here and Margaret has passed on. He misses her.”

“And how are you going to fix that?”

“I’m going to help him cross over.”

“You can do that?” Jim was understandably dubious.

“I can. You might miss being able to feel him, but I think it’s better for him to be with Margaret for the time being. You’ll be able to join him later.”

“I just want to know that he’s okay.” Jim momentarily choked up. “He was a good father. He taught me everything I know. He loved animals and instilled that love in me. It’s just ... what about my mother?”

“Oh.” Harper rubbed her forehead. “Maybe Margaret and your mother can agree to share on the other side.”

Jim chuckled at the notion. “Yeah, I think that’s unlikely. I never got the feeling that my parents liked each other all that much anyway. If Heaven is real and you can pick who you want to spend time with, then I’m going to guess that my mother is hanging out with the women from her card group. She’ll be more than happy to allow my father to be with Margaret. It’s just ... will I be able to see them both when it’s my time?”

The emotion on the man’s face had Harper liking him a whole lot more. “I think you’ll be able to visit whoever you want. The most important thing right now is helping your father cross over.”

“Then I’d like to help you do it.”

“Good, because we’re going to need to draw him out of the stable and I think you’re the best man for the job.”

“Why do we need to draw him out of the stable?”

“Because I don’t want to freak out the horses.”

“Oh, right. Good call.”

EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD NO REASON to visit Lila Montgomery, Mel and Jared found themselves at the overblown manor on the bluff after leaving Denise’s house. Mel came up with a million arguments for why they shouldn’t visit. Jared was resolute, though. If they wanted answers, they had very few places to check. The insurance office couldn’t fit them in for a few hours. That meant Lila was essentially the only lead they had.

“We’ll be quick,” Jared insisted as he knocked on the door. “You’ll see. It will be over quickly.”

Mel didn’t look convinced. “How are you going to explain what we’re doing here?”

“I’ve got it. Don’t worry about it.” Jared planted a friendly smile on his face as the door swung open.

The man on the other side looked to be in his sixties and wore an expensive suit. “May I help you?”

Jared introduced Mel and himself. “We had an incident in Whisper Cove yesterday,” he explained. “We would like to speak to Mrs. Montgomery if she can spare a moment.”

The butler’s forehead creased. “I don’t understand. Mrs. Montgomery didn’t leave the house yesterday.”

“I know. Our victim mentioned Montgomery Manor in a store right before he was killed. We simply want to ascertain if she knew him.”

“I guess I can see if she’s up for visitors.” The butler looked between them and then indicated a set of chairs near the door. “Wait here. I’ll be back shortly.”

“Absolutely.” Jared immediately planted himself in one of the chairs and shot Mel a haughty look. “And you thought I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“I’m not convinced yet.” Mel looked over the ornate foyer. “It’s a nice room. I haven’t been in this house before. My mother used to come to parties out here, but that was a long time ago, before it happened.”

Jared found he was intrigued. “What happened?”

“It’s one of the local stories that won’t quite die.” Mel leaned forward so he could make sure the butler couldn’t hear them. “In a nutshell, Lila lost her daughter Penny at some point.”

“How did she die?”

“That’s just it. We don’t know if she died. It makes sense that she did but ... she went missing. No body was ever found.”

“That’s sad.”

“What’s even sadder is that Penny was pregnant when she disappeared, due to give birth in a few weeks. She went out one day — I forget exactly why — and never came back. Nobody ever saw her again.”

“What about the father of the baby?”

“I don’t believe she ever named the father. It was quite the scandal, even though it was like twenty years ago. I can’t remember the exact time frame. Given Lila’s standing in the community, the fact that her daughter showed up pregnant and didn’t get married had tongues wagging in certain circles.”

“Maybe she took off,” Jared suggested. “I mean ... I don’t know this woman, but given the wealth we’re talking about, she might’ve felt like her best shot was to start a new life somewhere else.”

“That was one of the stories,” Mel acknowledged. “One of Penny’s friends admitted that she’d been making noise about wanting a life without everybody in town talking about her.”

“That’s better than being dead, right?”

“I don’t know. From Lila’s viewpoint, I can see why she might think otherwise. I mean ... losing her daughter and grandchild to murder would undoubtedly be terrible. Losing them because her daughter decided to take off and allow her to worry is another matter entirely.”

“Which way do you lean?”

“I think Penny is dead. I was a uniform at the time she went missing and we searched high and low. She would’ve had to do a lot of planning to disappear the way she did and not leave a trace.”

“Still, there’s always a chance.”

“There is,” Mel agreed, getting to his feet when a dignified woman appeared in the foyer. She wore a simple pantsuit and her long gray hair was pulled back in a severe bun. Her eyes, an odd shade of gray that almost matched her hair, moved between the two men. “Can I help you?”

“We certainly hope so,” Jared replied, taking control of the conversation. “We don’t want to take up too much of your time, Mrs. Montgomery, and this might be a wasted effort, but we feel we have to chase every lead.”

“And you’re chasing a lead to my house?” Lila hiked a thin eyebrow. “What lead are you chasing?”

“A man died in Whisper Cove yesterday. He was crossing the road and was struck by a car.”

“I saw that on the news. What do you think it has to do with me? I wasn’t in Whisper Cove yesterday.”

“According to witnesses, it appears he was intentionally struck. Whether that means he was targeted or simply hit because he happened to be in the road, we can’t say. Before he was killed, our victim was in several stores. He mentioned Montgomery Manor. We’re not sure if he planned to visit or if he had ties to you. That’s what we’re trying to ascertain.”

“I see.” Lila worked her jaw. “And what was this man’s name?”

“Peter Humphrey.”

She took a moment to consider and then shook her head. “I’m afraid I don’t recognize that name.”

Jared had to control his disappointment. “Could we show you a photo?”

“Certainly.”

Jared pulled out his phone and held it up so Lila could study Peter’s face. “Anything?”

“I’m afraid not. I’m not familiar with him.”

“He sold insurance.”

“My insurance is done by Paul Belcher out of Shelby Township. He’s handled my insurance for years.”

Jared nodded in understanding. “Okay. We had to check.” He handed the woman a business card. “If you happen to remember something after the fact, please don’t hesitate to call.”

“I will, but I’m pretty sure I would remember him if we’d ever met.”

“Probably. We’re just looking for answers.”

“I hope you get them.”

“Me, too.”

“ARE YOU READY?”

Harper hid behind a bush and fixed Jim with a pointed look.

For his part, the stable hand had been reticent at the start but embraced the plan after a few minutes of explanation. “I’m ready.” He wiped his sweaty hands on the front of his jeans. “You don’t think he’ll attack me or anything, do you?”

“Has he ever attacked you before?”

“No. He was a wonderful father. You said he was upset about Margaret, though.”

“Even though he’s upset, he’s done little more than make some noise. That agitates the horses. He’s not an evil spirit. He’s just a ghost with a broken heart. Hopefully we’ll be able to fix that for him.”

“And you’re sure this will work?” Jim looked dubious. “I mean ... I’ve seen those things at the flea market. I don’t think they’re magical.”

Harper glanced down at the dreamcatcher she held in her hand. “Not this particular dreamcatcher, you haven’t. I made this one myself.”

“Well, I’m willing to try anything if it means my father can rest in peace. This seems a little silly to me but there’s no harm in trying.”

“Good attitude.” Harper gave him a grin. “Just do what I told you and I’ll handle the rest.”

Jim blew out a sigh. “Okay.” He straightened and moved out from behind the bush, his eyes scanning the area between him and the stable. “Um, Dad? I’m not sure if you’re out here — and if you are I’m a little sad that we haven’t been able to hang out together and stuff — but if you are here right now I was hoping you could show yourself.”

Harper craned her neck as she looked for signs of the spirit. She didn’t immediately see anything, and was about to prod Jim to continue, when the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

“I just want to make sure you’re happy, Dad,” Jim continued. “If you’ve been here all this time, I’m guessing you’re not happy. You probably miss Margaret. I kind of miss her, too, because Chelsea is a real ball of wax jammed in an ear. You can see her again, though. You can go to her.”

Slowly, Harper tracked her gaze to the open stable door. Sure enough, the spirit of a craggy man appeared. He looked like Jim, only older and a bit shorter. There was love reflected on the ghost’s face, though, and it tugged at Harper’s heartstrings. She glanced at Jim and nodded in encouragement.

“I just want you to be able to rest, Dad,” Jim offered. “You’ve earned it.”

The ghost drifted toward his son, his eyes eventually tracking to Harper. He didn’t shy away from her gaze. “You can see me.”

Harper straightened as she nodded. “I can.”

“Are you talking to him?” Jim was breathless. “Why can’t I see him?”

“Because only certain people can,” Harper replied. “I’m sorry. He can hear you, though. If you want to say anything to him, now is the time.”

“I just want him to know that I love him, and I always wanted to grow up to be just like him.”

“He’s a better horseman than me,” the ghost offered. “Tell him that. Also, tell him he was a good son.”

Harper related the message, never moving her eyes from the ghost. “You can’t stay here. I think I know why you clung to this world, but Margaret is gone.”

“Where is she?” If ghosts could cry, Harper was convinced this one would already be in tears.

“She died. She crossed over. I’m here to help you join her.”

“Can you really do that?” He looked intrigued. “I mean ... can I really get away from this world?”

“You can.” Harper held up the dreamcatcher. This wasn’t how she initially saw things going, was braced for more of a fight, but she wasn’t about to look a gift capture in the mouth. “You can join Margaret, and then when it’s his time, your son can join you.”

“That won’t be for a long time, right? He has a lot of life left to live.”

“I have no idea when it will be. I just know it’s not right now.”

“Well, if you can get me out of here, I’m more than willing to go. I just ... can you give my son another message for me?”

Harper bobbed her head. “Absolutely.”

“Tell him ... tell him he’s the best thing I ever did in this world.”

Harper found she was suddenly choked up. “I think he already knows that, but I’m happy to share the message.” She clutched the dreamcatcher tighter and watched as Jim dissolved into a pile of tears as she related the message.

She waited, allowing Jim to gather himself, and while she did her gaze drifted to Montgomery Manor. It was only visible in the distance, but even so, it almost felt as if the house was watching her from afar. She didn’t see anyone in the windows, she was too far away, but the feeling wouldn’t dissipate.

There was something there, she realized. Maybe not someone, but definitely some sort of presence. Something was calling to her. Right now she couldn’t figure out what, though.

“Let’s do this,” she said, turning back. “Are you ready to see Margaret?” she asked the ghost, who was doing his best to soothe his broken-hearted son.

“I’m ready.” The ghost straightened his shoulders. “Send me to her. Tell my Jimmy boy I’ll be waiting for him but to take his time. I want him to be happy more than anything.”

“I’ll tell him,” Harper promised. “As for you, embrace whatever you find over there. You deserve it.” With that, she tossed out the dreamcatcher. She didn’t bother to shield her eyes as it landed, instead looking toward the flash so she could briefly see the other side. She wasn’t surprised to find an older woman watching, waiting, and it filled her heart with happiness.

Sometimes love transcended all, and this was one of those times.

7

Seven

Jared picked up dinner from a local Italian place, opting for pasta and cheesecake. He was relieved to find Harper alone when he walked through the front door. He’d texted to make sure he only needed to pick up enough food for two people, but you never knew with Zander. He was whimsical, which meant he showed up when he felt like it.

“Just us?” Jared did an exaggerated search of the living room before dropping the food on the coffee table.

Amused, Harper glanced up from the magazine she was flipping through. “Do you think Zander is hiding in the closet ready to jump out?”

“I wouldn’t put it past him.” Jared swooped in and kissed the top of Harper’s head. “How was your day? Is the office organized and ready for you to leave it in Zander’s capable hands for our honeymoon?”

Harper snorted. “I think it’s funny that you’re worried Zander might actually hide in a closet to ruin your evening and yet you’re also pushing to make sure I leave him in control of GHI.”

“You guys are partners,” Jared reminded her as he flopped onto the couch. “He’s capable of running the business. Since there won’t be any ghostly takedowns on the calendar until you get back, I figure there’s very little for him to do.”

“That’s true. Knowing him, though, we’ll have an entirely new gig by the time I get back. I figure he’s going to be so bored without me that he’s going to torture Eric and Molly.”

“Better them than us.” Jared cocked his head as he studied her profile. “You got a little sun today. Were you relaxing?” He was genuinely hopeful. She’d been tense of late and the thing he wanted most for her was a break, which was only one of the reasons he was looking forward to their honeymoon.

“We did a job.”

Jared stilled. “I thought you were holding off on jobs until after the honeymoon at this point. Wasn’t that the plan?”

She did her best to hide her agitation. “It was an easy job.”

“Yes, but ... .”

“It was an easy job,” she repeated, shaking her head. “There was a ghost out at Statham Farms. It was in the stables, riling up the horses, and we worked with the ghost’s son to send him on his way. It was kind of nice actually. The ghost used to run the stables — now the son does — and he was melting down because the woman who owned the house died several months ago and he missed her. Apparently they were in love.”

“Oh, so it was a romantic takedown, huh?” Jared smirked. “You weren’t hurt, right?”

“Nope.”

Jared didn’t want to press her, or act like her boss, but he remained conflicted. “I just don’t want you to risk getting injured — or worse — before the wedding.”

“And I don’t want to get hurt.” Harper flipped another page in the magazine. “There’s a conference in New Orleans in a few months. I know we talked about traveling here and there. Your vacation schedule is going to be a thing, though.

“Zander and I were talking and we want to go, but I know you kind of want to see New Orleans, too,” she continued. “Maybe we can make it a foursome thing.”

“I think that sounds fun. As for vacation, I’ve got six weeks accrued ... and that doesn’t count what I’m taking for the honeymoon. We can definitely take a trip to New Orleans, although I would like to avoid Mardi Gras season if we can.”

“I’m right there with you.” She leaned her head against his shoulder and flipped another page. “I also talked to Maddie on the phone today.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jared recognized what she was doing and had no intention of letting her get away with it. He would bide his time, though, and only call her on it when he was ready. “How is Maddie?”

The couple met Maddie and Nick Winters several weeks before when they’d stopped in Whisper Cove to get some baby shopping done. While there, a local plastic surgeon had been killed — someone Maddie knew from when she was a nurse — and the couples had bonded over shared interests. Maddie, much like Harper, could see and talk to ghosts. That helped the two women forge a strong bond.

“She’s good.” Harper smiled as she thought back on the conversation. “She says Nick is going crazy covering outlets in the house even though they won’t have a crawling baby for a year. Apparently he’s also childproofing all the cabinets and now her grandmother can’t open anything.”

Jared chuckled. “I want to meet this grandmother. She sounds hilarious.”

“She does,” Harper agreed. “Maddie sounds good, though. I’m going to want to see the baby once he or she is here.”

“I don’t see why we can’t make that happen. It’s about a four-hour drive up there. We can go on a Friday and come back on a Sunday.”

“Yeah.”

They lapsed into amiable silence a beat, Jared’s eyes never leaving Harper’s face. She clearly thought she’d managed to redirect the conversation, he internally mused. She didn’t expect him to circle back. She was about to be disappointed.

“Did you take the job at Statham Farms because it’s directly next door to Montgomery Manor?”

Harper froze. “I ... what?”

He lifted an eyebrow and waited.

“I told you why we took the job,” she said after a beat. “It was easy. I wasn’t hurt. The son was very grateful, although he wasn’t our client. To be fair, our client wasn’t all that grateful. She just wrote the check and sent us on our way. The son was great, though.”

“Uh-huh.” Jared folded his arms over his chest and waited.

“It was a very quick job,” Harper insisted, annoyance bubbling up when Jared didn’t allow her an easy escape.

Jared patiently waited her out.

“Fine!” Harper threw her hands in the air in dramatic enough fashion that Jared had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. “It was the proximity to Montgomery Manor that drew me out there. You caught me. Are you happy?”

“I have you. That means I’m a happy man.” He planted a soft kiss on her cheek. “I was simply curious if you were going to admit it or not.”

“I really did go for the horses.”

“I know.”

Harper’s frown was pronounced. “We didn’t go to Montgomery Manor, if that’s what you’re worried about. We kept our distance. I was a good girl.”

“You’re a very good girl,” he agreed in a flirty tone as he sank lower on the couch, his thumb brushing over her cheek. “You’re the best girl in the world.”

Harper’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not going to seduce me before dinner. I can smell that spaghetti from here.”

“No seductions before dinner,” Jared agreed. “I’m a little hungry myself.”

Harper pursed her lips and regarded him before sighing. “I’m having trouble ignoring what I learned in the dream,” she admitted. “It’s very difficult for me to keep my nose out of the investigation.”

“I’m well aware. You showed tremendous restraint by not sneaking onto the Montgomery Manor property to look around.”

“I did show tremendous restraint.”

“That’s what I said.”

“But I really did.”

“Harper.” Jared tilted his head. “I just said you were a good girl. Heck, you’re a perfect girl as far as I’m concerned. I’m not looking for a fight.”

Harper wasn’t convinced. “I might have to go up there and look around again tomorrow.”

“Um ... no.”

“I have plenty of time, and it would just be for a visit.”

“You don’t need to visit. I’ve already visited. There’s nothing in that house of any interest.”

Harper was taken aback. “You’ve already visited?”

“I was there today.”

“How come I’m in the dark on this trip?”

Jared’s earlier amusement returned with a vengeance. She was so stinking adorable sometimes. She didn’t even realize it. “I didn’t realize I had to inform you of my plans.”

“Oh, really? From the guy who just melted down because I went out on a job for my work, that’s pretty hypocritical.”

“I didn’t melt down,” Jared countered. “Forgive me for occasionally worrying about you. We are getting married in a few days and you’re not immune to turned ankles or broken bones. I want our wedding to be perfect.”

Harper leaned back and offered up a smug smile. “See, I just want the wedding to be fun. I want the marriage to be perfect.”

He extended a warning finger. “Let’s not turn this into a weird philosophical discussion, huh? We’re extremely close to having two full weeks together with no distractions. We’re talking no Zander ... or Jason ... or ghosts ... or parents. You have no idea how much I’m looking forward to that.”

Since Harper was looking forward to it for the same reasons, she decided to cut him a break. “I get it. I didn’t plan on taking the job. When I heard where it was — and Molly really wouldn’t stop whining about the horses — I decided to give it a go. It was probably the easiest job we’ve had in the past year.”

“And I’m glad to hear it. I still want you safe. If that makes me an ogre, I’m sorry.”

“You’re not an ogre.” Harper jutted out her chin so she could brush her lips against his jaw line. “You’re also not wrong to be suspicious. If I could’ve figured out a way to sneak on the Montgomery Manor property without anybody noticing, I totally would’ve done it.”

“Well, like I said, that would’ve been a wasted trip. We talked to Lila Montgomery this afternoon. She has no idea who Peter Humphrey is. She seemed confused by our visit.”

Something occurred to Harper. “How did you explain why you were there? You didn’t tell her about my dream, did you?”

Jared snickered. “Are you asking if I walked into her house and said ‘my future wife had a dream conversation with a ghost and you owe me answers’?”

“Kind of,” Harper hedged. On the surface, she recognized how ridiculous the statement sounded. “What did you tell her?”

“That Humphrey was seen in stores before his death — something we were rather vague about — and he mentioned Montgomery Manor.”

“Huh.” Harper found she was impressed despite herself. “That was pretty smart.”

“I’m a smart guy.”

“You’re ... something.” Harper leaned forward to start rummaging through the takeout bag. “Cheesecake, too?”

“I thought I would go all out. The cheesecake is to eat in bed later, though. The spaghetti is first. I got the Bolognese with extra tomatoes.”

“That’s my favorite.”

“I know.”

“You’re such a good provider.” This time the kiss Harper graced him with was sultry. “I look forward to eating cheesecake in bed with you later. Until then, tell me about your day. I think we’re done with mine, right? You’re finished whining if I read the conversation correctly.”

Jared glowered at her. “I wasn’t whining.”

“It sounded that way to me.”

“Yes, well, we’ll get you fit for a hearing aid once we’re back from the honeymoon.” Jared poked her side as he moved to the floor, enjoying the way she tucked in at his side and eagerly grabbed one of the takeout containers. She had a healthy appetite, which served as endless amusement at times.

“I want to hear about your day,” Harper insisted. “I only had one entertaining event. I’m guessing you had more.”

“Kind of.” Jared told her about his conversation with Denise Humphrey. Remembering the woman’s reaction to the death of her ex-husband left him feeling sad. They were one of the rare divorced couples doing things right and he appreciated that she would help her daughter mourn.

“That’s kind of sad,” Harper noted as she piled spaghetti on top of garlic bread. “It sounds like they were adults about it when they divorced. They were still close, but just as friends.”

“That’s the way it sounded to me,” Jared agreed. “She seemed legitimately upset, and not just for her daughter. The daughter was obviously her priority, though.

“As for Lila Montgomery, she was friendly enough, although there was something guarded about her.”

“It’s what happened to her daughter,” Harper volunteered. “That was big news at the time. I was about ten, I think, maybe a little younger. Everybody was talking about it.”

“I would think your parents would’ve tried to keep stuff like that from you.”

“My parents were careful to try to keep news stories from me because there was a time when I became obsessed with trying to solve murders with the help of ghosts. It was actually Zander’s idea — he thought we could turn it into a television show — but I went through a phase where I thought I would be able to solve crimes even though I was a kid.”

“That actually sounds kind of cute,” Jared noted. “The Harlow and Pritchett Detective Agency.”

“You laugh, but that’s how we were billing it in our heads. What was difficult is that I could actually talk to ghosts, and if I opened myself up to them approaching, I could’ve easily been distracted enough to take off on a whim and poke my nose into situations that could’ve resulted in me being seriously hurt.”

Jared sobered. He hadn’t considered that aspect of it. “No, I get what you’re saying. Did you want to solve the Montgomery disappearance?”

Harper hesitated and then held out her hands. “I don’t remember the specifics of what I was feeling at that time. I just heard people saying ‘and that poor baby’ over and over again. I never pictured the baby inside of Penny. In my head, somehow the baby was a separate thing.”

“I looked at the file from the disappearance when we got back to the office,” Jared volunteered. “It sounds like a lot of manpower went into the search. It wasn’t one of those things that they dropped the ball on. They looked for her for weeks.”

“They did,” Harper agreed. “It was big news down here.”

“She was white, young, and carrying a baby. That’s always going to be big news.”

“She was also from an affluent family,” Harper added. “That was even bigger news. A reward was offered, and I remember there being whispers about her possibly running away. I asked my mom about it, but she didn’t think Penny ran away.

“As a child, I didn’t understand the intricacies of the situation,” she continued. “I do now, though, and I don’t think it makes sense for her to run away. By all accounts, Lila was open and understanding to what happened. She wasn’t shaming Penny for getting pregnant or threatening to cut her off.

“Lila had enough money to send Penny away to Europe, say she was going to a special school or something, and hide her out there until the baby was born. She didn’t do that, though. It was common knowledge that Penny was going to have a baby. I do remember that much.”

“What do you think happened to Penny?” Jared queried. “I’ve read the file and there were some assumptions made there. I’m curious what you think, though.”

“I think she was killed,” Harper replied. “I think she ran into the wrong person and was murdered. As for her body, we’re surrounded by woods in some places out here. If someone wanted to hide a body, they could’ve done it.”

“I don’t disagree with you there,” Jared said. “One theory in the file I read was that she was so close to her due date that someone took her because he or she wanted the baby. Apparently they were even watching to see if anybody showed up with an unexplained infant. That fizzled out after a few weeks, though, because there were no new babies in town.”

“Isn’t it rare for someone to actually try to steal a baby and pass it off as their own?”

“Yes. It’s a specific mental illness. It’s one of the few crimes that’s almost always committed by women. There are men out there who fetishize pregnancy for sexual purposes, but they don’t get nearly as much attention as the women who steal babies to raise.”

“That’s because the babies sometimes survive in that scenario.”

Jared shot her a curious stare. “What do you mean?”

“Just that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel for those stories, and that’s why people focus on them. It’s a terrible scenario, but there is a way to find some happiness in it. People desperately need to cling to happiness when tragedy strikes. For some, it’s all they can do.”

“Huh.” Jared rubbed his chin. “That’s fairly profound, Heart. I hadn’t really thought about it before, but you’re right.”

“I’m always right,” Harper readily agreed, causing Jared to smile.

“In this case, it was theorized the baby could’ve made Penny a target, but it was also theorized that the baby might not have survived the ordeal, which means Penny and the baby could be buried in the woods together.”

“And that means it’s possible they’ll never be found,” Harper mused.

“Exactly.” Jared bobbed his head. “She might not have been killed locally anyway. She could’ve been transferred to another part of the state, or trafficked through Canada. We’re close to the Blue Water Bridge. There are a lot of possibilities.”

“It’s also possible there was some sort of tragic accident,” Harper added. “She might’ve decided to take a walk down a nature trail and gotten lost. It’s unlikely, but never say never.”

“That’s my philosophy,” Jared agreed. “The thing is, I felt sorry for Lila. She’s obviously cut herself off from the rest of the world. She looks to hole up in that house and hang out with her butler while shutting out the rest of the world. To me, that’s no way to live.”

“Grief paralyzes people,” Harper noted. “No matter how you think you will act, reality might have something else in store for you.”

“That’s also profound.” Jared briefly rested his cheek on her head as she leaned close. The conversation wasn’t of the warm-and-cuddly variety and it was making both of them uncomfortable. “As for Humphrey, I have no idea why he would be interested in Montgomery Manor. I can’t find any ties between him and the family.”

“Maybe he wanted to buy an antique or something. It could be innocuous.”

“Well, if your ghost comes calling again tonight, you can ask him.”

“Yeah.” Briefly, Harper took on a far-off expression. Then she recovered and focused on her food. “Let’s talk about something else for a bit. Do you want me to tell you the whole story of our takedown?”

It was weird that a ghost story would end up being lighter than what they’d been talking about, but Jared recognized Harper didn’t want to dwell on Penny’s likely horrible fate. “Absolutely. I love a good takedown story.”

“Well, then prepare to be amazed. After that, we’ll take our cheesecake into the bedroom.”

“I think that sounds like a perfect evening.”

“Me, too.”

8

Eight

Since Jared provided dinner the night before, Harper took it upon herself to deliver him a world-class breakfast the next morning.

“You’re such a good provider,” Jared teased as he dug into his bowl of Cookie Crisp.

Harper made a face. “I thought about toaster strudel, but it seemed like too much work.”

“The Cookie Crisp is fine. I happen to be a big fan.”

“Good.” Harper dug into her own bowl, her gaze drifting to the small television on the counter as the morning news broadcaster touched on the accident in Whisper Cove. “What are your plans for the day?”

“Cameras on Main Street. We asked the business owners to pull their footage yesterday. We’re hoping to get a license plate.”

“Are the odds good for that?”

Jared shrugged. “It’s always a crapshoot. The feeds are never very good. Some business owners haven’t updated their technology in ten years. The angles aren’t great either. Sometimes it works. What about you?” He sipped his juice as he regarded her.

Harper went back to focusing on her cereal. “I’m sure it will be a normal day.”

That could mean almost anything and they both knew it. Jared kept his eyes on her, waiting, and then grinned when she sighed. He already knew her plans even if she’d yet to own up to them.

“I was thinking that Zander and I might head out to Montgomery Manor.”

“Oh, really?” Jared feigned surprise. “And what are you going to do out there?”

“Just ... walk around.”

“On private property?”

“I was thinking we might do it on the down low.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Nothing major,” she insisted.

“You know that walking around on private property on the down low is against the law, right?”

“I figured we would say we were hiking and got turned around if caught.”

“So, you’re actively planning to break the law and you have no qualms about admitting that to your police officer boyfriend. That’s ... interesting.”

Harper’s smile was benign. “I wouldn’t phrase it that way.”

“How would you phrase it?”

“You’re my fiancé, not my boyfriend.”

“Oh, well, I like that you’re quibbling with that detail.”

“And in a few days I’ll be able to refer to you as my husband. I’m really looking forward to that, by the way.”

“So you can name drop your husband the cop when breaking the law?”

“Yup. That’s the main reason I’m marrying you.”

He smirked. “Just be careful. If I have to go out there, I will arrest you. At least that way I know you’ll be safe for the run-up to the wedding.”

“Oh, baby, you say the most romantic things,” Harper teased.

“I’m being serious.”

“That’s why it’s romantic. You don’t have to worry about me, though. I’m taking Zander. We’ve done stuff like this before. We have everything under control.”

“You have no idea the chills that sends down my spine.”

“We’ll be fine. Just keep me updated if you find anything.”

“Right back at you.”

Harper paused, her spoon halfway to her mouth. “We’re turning into quite the investigative team,” she said finally. “I like it.”

Love for her bubbled up. “I like it, too. I’ll still arrest you.”

“That part is less likable.”

“You’ll survive.”

ZANDER WASN’T KEEN ON A DAY SPENT hiding behind trees, but he hated being left out more than being included in activities he found annoying.

“Don’t spend too much time under trees that drop sap,” he instructed as they trudged through the woods. He was dressed in trendy camouflage and wore expensive hiking books that didn’t have a single scuff on them. “Sap can burn skin.”

Harper wrinkled her nose. She’d opted for simple khaki shorts and a black T-shirt, neutral colors that wouldn’t stand out if anybody caught a glimpse of them from afar. “Where did you read that?”

“I saw it on a news show.”

She slowed her pace. “You saw on a news show that sap is a danger to skin?”

“Yes.”

“What news show?”

“I forget.”

“It sounds like nonsense.”

“Um, I’m the smartest person you know. You’re the one who talks in the language of nonsense.”

“I’m pretty sure if we lined up everybody we know, they would say the exact opposite.”

“Um, no.”

“Um, yes.”

They lapsed into companionable silence as they continued through the trees. Harper was the one to break it, which wasn’t the norm when it came to their relationship.

“Jared and I were talking about Penny last night, about her disappearance. Have you ever given it much thought?”

“I always assumed someone wanted the baby and that’s why she was killed.”

“And the baby?”

He held out his hands. “I don’t know. I would like to think that the baby survived and is living a wonderful life, completely oblivious to the fact that his or her mom is a nutter who killed a woman for a baby.”

“Jared and I talked about that, too,” Harper admitted. “That’s the ideal scenario, the one that makes us feel better. People want to believe that so they lean in that direction.”

“What do you believe?”

“You know it’s far more likely the baby dies in those scenarios than survives, right? We only remember the miraculous stories about babies surviving because that’s the outcome that we wanted to hear about.”

“I wouldn’t disagree. Still, we have no proof they’re dead. Maybe Penny took off. That happens. Heck, that’s happened to people we know. Remember Jennifer? She took off and survived. She managed to hide for years.”

“She did and I’m glad things worked out for her. This is different, though. The baby adds a layer ... and it’s an important layer.”

“I don’t disagree. I’m not sure what that has to do with Peter Humphrey, though.”

“I don’t either. That doesn’t mean I’m not intrigued.”

“I’m guessing he didn’t invade your dreams again last night.”

“No, and I was kind of hoping he would. All I dreamed about last night was having to walk down an aisle made of lily pads and dodge the sharks that kept poking their heads through the gaps as I tried to get to Jared. I mean ... what sort of dream is that?”

Zander let loose a snort. “Are you serious? The wedding is in a few days. That’s a normal anxiety dream. You’re just worried something is going to pop up at the last second and somehow derail your happily ever after.”

“It doesn’t sound normal to me.”

“That’s because you’re a worrier. It’s completely normal. If you weren’t having dreams about that, I would think you were a sociopath.”

“Well, thank you for your clinical opinion.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I was being sarcastic.”

“Then you should get better at it because your delivery was flat.”

“Oh, whatever.” Harper rolled her eyes and blew out a sigh. “So, back to Penny. Do you remember hearing people talk about it when we were kids? All I remember is Mom and Dad saying how sad it was. My mom kept saying ‘maybe she ran away.’ It’s weird that’s preferable, right?”

“Life, however difficult, is always going to be preferable to death.”

“I guess. I—” Harper broke off at the sound of approaching feet and lifted a finger to quiet Zander. It was already too late, though.

Lila, a wide-brimmed hat perched on her head, poked her head through a set of bushes and fixed the duo with a polite smile. “Hello. Wonderful day, isn’t it?”

Harper’s heart pounded so hard it threatened to burst out of her chest. “Um ... hello.”

“We were hiking and got lost,” Zander blurted out, sticking to the story. “We thought we might die out here. Thank you so much for finding us.”

Lila’s expression reflected amusement. “You thought you might die out here?”

“The world is big and wonderful,” Zander replied automatically. “It’s also frightening if you wander too far away from civilization. Thankfully, there are people like you out there to protect those of us who are plagued with a poor sense of direction.”

“I see.” Lila’s smile never wavered. “How about you step through here, huh?”

It was a thick wall of vegetation, but Harper did as requested. Once on the other side, she realized just how far off their intended path they’d wandered, because suddenly they were in the middle of Lila’s rather impressive rose garden.

“That’s weird.” Harper tilted her head as she surveyed the house in the background. “I would’ve thought we were still over there.” She pointed for emphasis. “We definitely went farther than I thought.”

“But at least you’re safe now,” Lila teased. She didn’t look unhappy at the appearance of strangers in her yard, something Harper took as a good sign. “That’s all that matters, right?”

“Right,” Harper replied automatically. “That’s the most important thing.”

“Actually, the most important thing is that neither of us was harmed by falling sap,” Zander corrected. “Harper has skewed priorities.” He tapped the side of his head. “I know what’s important, though.”

“I’m sure you do.” Lila retrieved a small shovel from the ground and went to work on her garden. “You’re the Harlow girl, right?”

Harper swallowed hard. “I am. We’re really sorry for getting turned around.”

“I think we can drop that pretense, huh?” Lila suggested.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Harper was distinctly uncomfortable. “We didn’t mean to trespass on your property.”

“Okay.” Lila worked on smoothing out a patch of dirt. “I was visited by two police officers yesterday. It was a surprise because very few people visit me. I’ve gotten used to my solitude and am fine with that, but I was intrigued enough that I did a little digging after they left.”

She paused in her ministrations and focused on Harper. “One of the detectives, the younger one, has only been in Whisper Cove for about two years. He’s been in the newspaper several times, though, including when a man returned from the dead and tried to injure a woman from his past. That woman happened to be the current girlfriend of the detective I met.”

Harper swallowed hard. “Um ... .”

“You’re quite famous in certain circles,” Lila continued, not missing a beat. “People say you can talk to ghosts.”

Zander immediately switched gears, pulling a business card from his back pocket and extending it toward Lila. “Do you have ghost needs? We have a great reputation in the community and can provide you with references.”

Lila took the card and placed it next to her tools. “I’m good for now, although I am curious how this ghost thing works. I called a few old friends to ask about you last night, Ms. Harlow, and all of them seem to think you’re the real deal.”

Harper had no idea what to make of that, or how to respond. “Why were you asking around about me?” she asked finally.

“Because a visit from two detectives asking about a man I’ve never heard of was enough to pique my curiosity.”

“I’m not sure what you want me to say,” Harper admitted. She hated being put on the spot. Lying didn’t feel like the way to go, though, so she opted to be straightforward. “We really are sorry for trespassing.”

“See, I think you’re sorry about being caught,” Lila countered. “As for trespassing, you guys likely wouldn’t have been caught if I hadn’t decided to work in my garden today. It was bad luck for you, but yesterday’s visit got me to thinking about old times, and when I feel sad, I come to my rose garden.”

She straightened and gestured toward a beautiful bush that was overflowing with pink flowers. “I planted that for Penny. When it became apparent that she wasn’t coming home, I wanted something to remember her by. I didn’t have a body, so there was no grave, but I needed a place to mourn.”

“It’s a beautiful bush,” Harper said. “Sometimes I wish I had a green thumb because I would like to be able to take pride in a bush like that. I don’t have that luxury, though. I kill everything.”

“Maybe you’re simply looking in the wrong place,” Lila suggested. “Maybe your talents lie elsewhere, like cooking ... or crafts.”

“I made breakfast this morning for the man who will be my husband in a few days. It was cereal.”

Lila smirked. “And crafts?”

“I have an aversion to glue and glitter ever since Zander decided to run for prom queen junior year. I was still finding glitter in weird places a year later. I don’t think I’m crafty either.”

“Yes, well ... .” Lila slid her eyes to Zander and smirked. “I know your mother. We play cards together once a month.”

“She might’ve mentioned that,” Zander supplied. “She likes you, says you don’t suffer fools. That’s a pretty important compliment coming from my mother.”

“I wouldn’t disagree.” Lila dusted off her hands and looked between them. “Tell me why you’re here, and no more lying. I want to know the truth.”

Harper was debating how to respond when Zander took control of the conversation.

“A man was hit by a car in Whisper Cove two days ago,” he said. “He was seemingly minding his own business when someone purposely ran him down. We don’t know this person. We did see the accident, though. Then, later that night, he came to Harper in a dream. He told her his name and then mentioned Montgomery Manor. We’re trying to figure out why.”

Harper’s mouth dropped open. “Good grief, Zander. I can’t believe you just said that.”

Instead of being incredulous, Lila looked pensive. “I see. That is ... quite the story.”

“It’s the truth.” Zander was adamant. “We’re trying to figure out what happened to this guy because Harper is getting married in a few days and she’ll obsess about it if we don’t have answers by then.”

“And you think a conversation with a ghost in a dream means something?” Lila directed the question at Harper.

“Sometimes a dream is just a dream,” Harper replied. “Sometimes it’s more, though ... at least for me. He was right about his name. We had no way of knowing that until he told me. I just want to know why this happened. I can’t just let it go. That’s not who I am.”

“Have you dreamed of ghosts before?”

“Yes. Usually I’m awake when I see them, but lately ... I’ve been able to do more. I don’t know how to explain it. I believe he said ‘Montgomery Manor’ for a reason. When I think about it, all I come up with is your daughter.”

“My daughter has been gone for a long time.”

“I know but ... that’s the story that goes along with the property. I mean, there’s nothing else going on around here, right?”

“Not much of anything,” Lila agreed as she started using pruning shears on her bush. “Penny is my claim to fame. I stopped living once she was gone. Her father, although still alive, was out of our lives when she was a small child. She was all I had and I loved her completely.”

That was the opening Harper was looking for. “What do you think happened to her?”

“I think something terrible happened to her. What, though, I can’t say. I’ve come up with a million scenarios over the years and each one is worse than the previous. I don’t like to think about any of them.”

“But you’re certain she didn’t run away, right?” Harper pressed.

“She had no reason to run away. While I wasn’t thrilled when she turned up pregnant — she was too young in my book — it was hardly the end of the world. I had money. That meant I could hire help. We had a plan for Penny to continue her schooling. She wouldn’t simply have abandoned that plan.”

Harper was thoughtful. “And the baby’s father?”

“She wouldn’t say. I believe it’s likely he’s the one who killed her. No matter how I pushed, she wouldn’t tell me who the father was. She said it wasn’t important. I felt as if she was hiding something but didn’t really feel the need to get to the bottom of things before the baby was born. I believed I had time.”

Harper had overlooked that possibility. “Could it have been someone older?”

Lila’s shoulders hopped. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t have believed it, but Penny was sweet — much sweeter than me — and she tended to believe the good in people while overlooking the bad. It’s possible someone older, someone in a position of authority, convinced her that he had her best interests at heart.”

“And then when she turned up pregnant things shifted,” Harper mused out loud. “Maybe it was a teacher, or a married man who didn’t want to risk his family.”

“Both of those are possibilities I’ve considered,” Lila confirmed. “I wish I knew. I’m not exactly young. I want to know what happened to my daughter before I die. I’ve stopped thinking that’s a possibility, though. I don’t want to make myself sick over it.”

“Did your daughter have a relationship with anyone that might’ve made people suspicious?” Zander queried. “Like ... did she have a tutor, or was there some weird guy who gave her rides home from school?”

“If I’d been aware of anything like that at the time, I would’ve said something. There was nothing. I thought I would be able to get the truth out of her later. That wasn’t the case.”

“Well, that blows.” Zander made a face. “We were only kids when Penny disappeared, but everybody was talking about it. They seemed to rule out her being a runaway pretty quickly.”

“Because she had no reason to run,” Lila replied. “We had a plan. Things would’ve been fine. It would’ve been a harder road for her than I would’ve chosen, but it was not the end of the world. I was in a unique position to make sure she still had a chance to make all her dreams come true.”

“Then the question becomes, who had the most to gain from her disappearing?” Zander said. “I’m sure you’re as curious as we are.”

“I am,” Lila acknowledged. “I looked up this Peter Humphrey on the internet last night. I can’t see how he would have any knowledge. He sold insurance, for crying out loud. I handled all that stuff for Penny.”

“Maybe it wasn’t him,” Harper suggested, her mind busy. “Maybe someone confided in him and he felt the need to tell you.”

Lila’s eyebrows climbed toward her hairline. “Now that is a very interesting possibility.”

“And it’s one I hadn’t even really considered until now,” Harper admitted. “Maybe he knew for a long time and the guilt ate at him. Maybe he found out only recently and the woman who killed him wanted to shut him up forever because she was either involved or married to someone who was involved.”

“And how do you think we find out the truth?” Lila asked.

“We ask the ghost,” Harper replied simply. “He’s the only one who can provide the answers.” Unfortunately for her, Harper had only communicated with Peter in dreams, not the real world. She had to fix that, although she wasn’t entirely certain how she should go about doing it.

9

Nine

Lila called the main house and had a pitcher of iced tea delivered to the pretty bistro table located in the center of the garden. If she was bothered by Zander and Harper invading her home, she didn’t let on. Instead, she grilled Harper on her ability, and seemed legitimately interested rather than dubious.

“I heard stories about you when you were a teenager,” Lila offered as she leaned back in her chair. “You found a missing child ... and his dead mother.”

“That was kind of lucky,” Harper admitted. “The mother found me — how she knew to look I can’t say — but she begged me to save the child.”

“And you did.”

“I did, but it came at a cost. People kind of freaked out about what I could do. My parents had to field a bunch of calls at the time. People from all over the country — even in other countries, actually — wanted to hire me to find their loves ones.”

“I didn’t consider that.” Lila was thoughtful. “It makes sense, though. I would imagine the majority of those people were not trying to exploit you. Not knowing is worse than ... well ... anything. They simply wanted closure. It was smart of your parents to keep you insulated, though.”

“Did you consider trying to enlist me?” Harper was honestly curious.

Lila hesitated and then nodded. “I did. It was after you found that girl who had gone missing, the one who died. Her car had veered off the road and ended up in a bunch of trees. Search teams couldn’t see it, and there was no way anybody could know she was there.

“Your parents at the time did their best to protect you,” she continued. “People in town talk a lot, though, and somehow a rumor got out. Somebody said the ghost led you to the car. Other people were laughing and said it was far more likely you were doing something else in the woods and stumbled across the body, but I didn’t believe those rumors.”

Harper made a face. “What did they think I was doing in the woods?”

Lila pointed at Zander. “Many people — not me, for the record, because I knew he was gay — but many people believed you two were a couple. The rumor was you went into the woods to party and have sex.”

Harper was horrified. “I didn’t know that.” She turned to Zander. “Did you know that?”

“I knew people talked about us,” he hedged. “I wasn’t against it at the time because ... well ... you know.”

Harper did know. Growing up in a town the size of Whisper Cove wasn’t easy on either of them. The gossip mill was strong in the tiny community and they were both frequent targets. “You just let them think we had sex in the woods?”

Zander rolled his eyes. “Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous. You know I hate the woods.”

“Of course that’s the part that bothers you,” Harper muttered under her breath. “Didn’t you think I would want to know? I mean, I was the one everyone thought was loose.”

“That’s such an old lady way to put it,” Zander countered. “As for telling you, I didn’t see the point. Nobody said much to me. I heard a few whispers. It really didn’t matter. It’s not like it was true.”

“I knew it wasn’t true because Zander’s mother told me when he was eleven that he was gay. I thought your friendship was adorable, even though I only heard about it in passing from people. Then, when you started showing up in the newspapers more and more, Harper, I followed your activities a little more closely.”

“And yet you didn’t ask me to look for Penny,” Harper pointed out. “As a local, someone who knows Zander’s mother, I would’ve thought that you would take a shot.”

“I made ... inquiries,” Lila explained. “I asked if you were for hire. I was more than willing to contribute to your college fund. Your parents, though, were desperate to keep what you could do hidden. I thought about it, how I would feel if the roles were reversed, and decided against bothering you.”

“The truth is, I rarely find ghosts when I’m looking for them,” Harper volunteered. “I don’t know that your daughter is still around. I think the odds are unlikely, although if she’s hanging in the spot where she was killed and it’s remote, it’s not altogether out of the question.

“The thing is, without a location to start the search, I would be going in blind,” she continued. “I don’t see her hanging around here right now, for example. Have you ever felt her presence in the house?”

Lila shook her head. “I would like to say I have — it would be something to keep me going — but I haven’t felt her. Why do you think that is?”

“Not everybody stays behind as a ghost. Honestly, I don’t have specifics, but I would say ninety-nine percent of people pass over. Even those who die a violent death don’t necessarily stay. The ones that do are almost always confused by what happened to them, or angry, or staying for a specific reason.

“Like, I met a woman a few weeks ago who can do what I do and she said her mother stayed behind on purpose,” she continued. “She could also see and talk to ghosts and knew a little something about it. She plans to stay until her mother is ready to cross over and then they’ll go together. That’s a rarity, though. Almost every other ghost I’ve talked to has been ripped from his or her life.”

“That’s how it would be with Penny, right?”

Harper held out her hands. “I honestly don’t know. We have no way of knowing what Penny was facing. She might’ve been knocked out. She might not have seen it coming. She might’ve been asleep and had no idea she was dying. There are too many variables.”

Lila let out a sigh. “Ah, well, I guess I was hopeful. You wouldn’t think I would be after all this time, but I still have this dream that I’ll be able to lay her to rest.”

Harper hesitated and then barreled forward. “Just out of curiosity, after all this time, can’t you have her declared legally dead? Then you could at least have a tombstone and plot in the cemetery.”

“I could but I don’t. I guess part of me is hopeful she’ll somehow appear someday, like she’s been held captive for almost twenty years and will somehow find her way home. It’s not a realistic dream, but I always imagine her saying ‘you gave up hope’ in that scenario, how hurt she might be at the thought. I don’t want to give up.”

“I can see that.” Absently, Harper patted the other woman’s hand. “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what you’re going through. I also can’t make any promises. I will try to talk to Peter Humphrey, though. If he knows something that can help us—” She didn’t finish the statement. It was unnecessary.

“I’ll be very glad to help in any way that I can if you find a direction to look,” Lila promised. “I know in my heart that she’s gone, but like I said, not having answers is crippling. Whenever I read a story about a girl coming home years after she was taken, it gives me unreasonable hope.”

“Not unreasonable.” Harper shook her head. “You don’t know what happened. Until we do, it’s okay to hope. You can’t let the opinions of others dictate your life. You do what you need to do.”

“And what will you do?”

“Find the ghost. I mentioned before, I think that’s our only shot. I’m not sure how easy it will be, but I’m still going to try. I won’t be able to rest unless I do.”

“And what if you don’t find him? Will you be able to live without the answers you seek?”

“I can’t always tie everything up in a neat bow. I always try. Sometimes I fail, though. I learned to live with the failures a long time ago. If I don’t, I’ll be eaten alive and then I won’t be able to help anyone.”

“Well, I thank you for your candor.” Lila’s smile was hopeful. “I just want to know. If you can help, then I’ll be grateful for the rest of my life.”

“I’ll do what I can.”

“Thank you.”

JARED SPENT THE MORNING GOING over footage from Main Street. Multiple cameras caught the car. None managed to deliver a license plate, and none had a clear view of the driver. The only thing that could be determined was that the driver boasted long blond hair. That was it, and it was nowhere near enough to go on.

“I set up a search,” Mel announced when Jared returned to their office with fresh coffee from the bakery. “We’re running the car. It’s a red Honda Civic, though. It’s going to take forever to track down the driver that way, likely weeks.”

“At least it’s something.” Jared delivered Mel his drink and then sat at his desk. “I’ve called every garage within a twenty-mile radius and asked that they contact us if anyone brings in a red Civic with front end damage.”

“Whoever it is could take the car to another part of the state to get it repaired.”

“They could,” Jared agreed. “They could also abandon it in the woods or hide it in the garage for the foreseeable future.”

“Which would be the smart thing to do.” Mel rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know where else to look. We don’t have enough to go on.”

“We have Montgomery Manor.” Jared slid his partner a sidelong look. “Maybe we should start breaking that down.”

Mel hesitated and then shook his head. “We have no reason to focus on Montgomery Manor.”

“Harper says—”

“Harper had a dream,” Mel insisted.

“Oh, don’t go there.” Jared made a face. “Harper got actionable information from that dream. If it wasn’t real, how did she manage to deliver Peter Humphrey’s name?”

“Maybe she heard it on the street.”

“I think she would remember that.”

“Unless she was walking down the sidewalk with Zander, heard someone call out the name in the background, and discarded it. Her subconscious might’ve provided the name in her sleep.”

Jared folded his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. “You don’t really believe that.”

“I think it’s just as possible as a ghost having a conversation with her in a dream.”

“Except it’s happened before,” Jared pointed out. “With Rain, she managed to figure out what was going on there.”

“I know.” Mel made a grumbling guy sound and stared at his computer. “I don’t know what to tell you. We have no reason to focus on Montgomery Manor, though. I think stopping there at all made us look like idiots. She’s probably still laughing ... and maybe placing a call to the governor to complain.”

“She didn’t strike me as a vindictive woman,” Jared argued. “She was more curious than anything. Besides, Harper and Zander are out there traipsing around the property right now. She’s likely got her hands full with them and has completely forgotten about us.”

“Oh, geez.” Mel slapped his hand to his forehead. “Why did you tell me that?”

“Because if I have to know, then you have to know, too.”

“That’s nonsense,” Mel insisted. “They can’t just wander around someone’s private property.”

“I explained that to Harper.”

“And?”

“And she disagrees.”

“Oh, you’re so whipped.” Mel’s annoyance was on full display. “You’re marrying that woman.”

“Oh, gee, really? I had no idea.”

Mel ignored the sarcasm. “You’re marrying her and that means you need to put your foot down. All this crap she and Zander are always doing is not appropriate for the wife of a detective.”

“I can’t control Zander.”

“Son, nobody can. You need to control Harper, though.”

Jared pictured himself going home to tell Harper she couldn’t investigate the Humphrey case, and then cringed when he imagined her reaction. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen and you know it. Nobody can control her, and I don’t actually want to.”

“Don’t pretend things wouldn’t be easier for you if she minded her own business.”

“I didn’t take her on to change her.” Jared meant it. He loved everything about her, and it wasn’t something he would ever feel differently about. “I love who she is. I just wish she would occasionally spend an entire week without finding trouble.”

“If you put your foot down, she would.”

“If I attempted to put my foot down, that would make me the sort of man she doesn’t want to be with. It’s not going to happen.”

“Oh, well, fine.” Gloomy, muttering about stupid men being led around by their emotions, Mel flipped open the file on his desk. “I don’t see how Montgomery Manor plays into this. At all. The house has been there for almost a hundred years. It’s gone through a multitude of renovations. Peter Humphrey has no ties to it, though.”

“No,” Jared agreed. “Montgomery Manor does, however, have one mystery attached to it.”

“You’re talking about Penny.”

“I am. I’ve been through her file. I’m ... confused.”

“What are you confused about? The girl went missing. It happens.”

“Yes, but from everything I can tell, she had no reason to run.”

“I don’t think she ran,” Mel said. “I mean, I might’ve jumped to that conclusion the first week or two, but we’re talking seventeen years here. I have to think if that were the case, as she got older, she would’ve wanted to ease her mother’s torment.”

“The file suggests she had a good relationship with her mother.”

“I believe she did. Nobody ever came forward to say otherwise.”

“What about friends?” Jared couldn’t let it go. Technically they had two mysteries. Harper’s dream visit had him believing those two mysteries could be connected. How, though? He wasn’t certain, but the niggling suspicions crowding him refused to dissipate. He had to know more.

“She was friends with Julie Newsom, Laura Stevens, and Amanda Dixon. I was present when all of them were questioned. They all stated that Penny was nervous about being pregnant, expressed fear when having to tell her mother, but was pleasantly surprised when Lila didn’t melt down.

“I don’t remember all the specifics, but the girls said that Penny would still be able to finish high school and go to college — although it would have to be locally — and that Lila was planning on getting a nanny to help,” he continued. “Penny’s situation was different from that of other girls her age. Lila’s wealth smoothed the way for her.”

“There’s not much in this file about the specifics of Penny’s disappearance,” Jared insisted. “It just says she came to town and never made it home. How did she get to town? Did she have a vehicle? Was the vehicle found?”

Mel rubbed his chin, considering. “She drove to town. She ran errands. Um, she got a fruit smoothie at the shop that used to be on the corner. It’s gone now, but they had amazing smoothies. She went to the library. She stopped at the pharmacy. All those things were confirmed with the people who worked there.”

“Was her vehicle ever found?”

“It was at the library, in the lot.”

“So ... why would she leave her car behind if she fled?”

“First off, most people don’t believe she fled. Secondly, if you want people to believe something bad happened and you didn’t run, then you leave the car behind, especially if you have access to money.”

“What about her purse? Her identification?”

“That was all gone. Whoever took her didn’t leave that stuff behind.”

“And I’m assuming there were no cameras at the library.”

“Not back then. We have them now, but the library is tucked away. Someone could easily approach a woman in that parking lot without anybody seeing. If I remember correctly, that was the working theory.

“Someone parked in the lot, waited for Penny to exit, approached her and ... took her,” he continued. “There were theories about chloroform and a weapon. There were theories she was struck on the head. That’s all they are, though, is theories. We have no proof. She just disappeared.”

“What about the baby’s father?” Jared pressed. “Isn’t it possible that he’s the one responsible for or what happened to her? If it was another kid, he might’ve panicked.”

“I don’t disagree,” Mel replied. “The thing is, I don’t know that a panicking teenager could’ve hid the body all that well.”

“We don’t know that it was hidden well. It could’ve been dumb luck. Maybe he took her to the woods, dumped her, and nobody ever walked in that specific spot.”

“It’s possible,” Mel said. “I just don’t know how likely it is. Besides, Penny never told Lila who got her pregnant. At the time, Lila said she pressed Penny on the issue, but the girl refused to budge. If it was another teenager, why did she work so hard to protect him?”

“Maybe she was afraid whoever it was didn’t have such a forgiving parent.”

“That’s a possibility.” Mel cocked his head, considering. “I hadn’t really thought about that, but I guess it makes sense in a weird way. I always leaned toward the likelihood that it was someone older, though.”

“Like a married man?”

Mel nodded. “I remember we looked at the principal hard. He was married and some of the girls claimed he was a pervert. Nobody ever witnessed him approaching Penny, and she wouldn’t make the best victim in my book if you’re dealing with an older predator.

“I mean, Lila is loaded and could make somebody’s life miserable,” he continued. “Older predators usually go after girls with bad home situations, look for people with uninvolved parents. That was not Penny.”

“Right.” Jared exhaled heavily. “There’s no way to narrow it down.”

Mel was silent a beat.

“Right?” Jared prodded.

“There might be one way,” Mel countered. “Lila hired a private investigator when she felt the investigation was stalling on our end. My understanding is that he kept at the case for years after it went cold.”

“Really? Do you know which private investigator we’re talking about?”

“No, but I could probably find out. I’m not sure we should spend our time chasing this one, though. I mean ... shouldn’t we be focusing on Humphrey?”

“Do you have a suggestion where to look to help with that investigation?”

“No.”

“Then let’s focus on Penny for a few hours. Maybe that investigation will provide answers on Humphrey. I mean ... there’s nothing to lose by talking to this investigator.”

“I guess.” Resigned, Mel made a groaning sound as he retrieved his phone. “I have to call my sister for his name. I know Lila confided in her regarding the investigation.”

Jared watched him for a moment and then made a series of impatient hand gestures. “Well, are you going to do it or not?”

“I’m doing it. I just know I’m going to have to listen to more wedding plans for Zander and Shawn when I call. That’s all my sister wants to talk about these days. You have no idea how sick I am of hearing about this wedding.”

Jared rolled his eyes. “I guarantee I’ve had to listen to it more than you. Suck it up and make the call.”

“You’re pretty intent on this, huh?”

“I can’t shake the feeling that it’s important.”

“Then I’ll make the call. Like you said, we have nothing to lose.”

10

Ten

“What do you think?”

Zander waited until they were returning to their car to ask the obvious question. He’d watched Harper interact with the woman, and for once he couldn’t find a joke. Both of them seemed sad and determined, although what that meant in the days moving forward was beyond him.

“I think I want to help her,” Harper replied simply.

“I already knew that.” He sent her a wry smile. “I mean about Penny. What do you think happened to her?”

“I have no idea. Why would I suddenly know the answer to that question?”

“Because I’ve seen you work actual miracles and I guess I’m spoiled.”

“Well ... I don’t know. There are multiple possibilities.”

“Which do you lean toward?”

“I want to know who the father was.” Harper was matter-of-fact. “I mean ... why was Penny hiding the identity of the father of her baby? Her mother seemed okay with her situation. I mean, I’m sure Lila wasn’t happy when her teenaged daughter showed up pregnant. She had a good attitude about it, though.”

“She did,” Zander agreed. “I can’t imagine your mother being that chill if you were the one who turned up pregnant.”

“My mother would’ve publicly shamed me.”

“I don’t know if I would go that far.”

“Oh, she totally would have.” Harper thought hard about the situation. “She also would’ve forced me to reveal the father so she could publicly shame him, too.”

“Now that I could see.”

“The question is, would I have told her the information if I thought it could hurt someone I potentially cared about?”

“You’re assuming the father was age appropriate. I mean, at seventeen, Penny was old enough to consent. What if her boyfriend was nineteen, though? He still could’ve gotten in trouble. Maybe she was only keeping it a secret for a year or something.”

“Maybe.” To Harper, that didn’t add up. “Lila strikes me as the sort of person who would’ve worked with her daughter. She’s completely reasonable.”

“Something we’re not used to when it comes to dealing with parents,” Zander mused. “Maybe Penny was fearful all the same. I mean, she was young. Her entire life was changing.”

“Yeah.” Harper rubbed her cheek. “Or maybe the other theory is correct. Maybe it was an adult who would’ve looked like a predator if the news got out. Maybe he killed her to hide what he’d done. DNA tests were available when Penny disappeared. They were more expensive, but Lila had money to pay for one.”

“Now that there is an interesting theory,” Zander mused as they arrived at Harper’s car and stared at each other over the roof. “Maybe we should go back and try to talk to the friends Lila mentioned. They might’ve been afraid to tell the truth when they were teenagers. They’re adults now, though. They likely have families of their own ... and we’re talking kids who were the same age as Penny when she disappeared. They might have a different worldview.”

“That’s not a horrible idea,” Harper agreed. “I need to think. Oh, hold on.” She grabbed her phone when it dinged to signify an incoming text message. “It’s Jared.”

“Is he getting his nipples shaved for you as a wedding gift?” Enjoying the way Harper glared at him, Zander decided to push the issue, as was his way. “What? That’s the gift that keeps on giving.”

“Stop with the nipples. His nipples are perfectly fine. Good grief.” She tilted her head as she considered the brief message Jared had sent. “Lila hired a private investigator once the case went cold. Jared and Mel have set up a lunch with him at Jason’s restaurant. We’re invited.”

“Well, there’s your new door to walk through. That guy probably gathered a bunch of information that isn’t in the police file.”

“Yeah.” Harper started typing. “I’m telling him we’re on our way.”

“That’s good.” Zander’s smile turned mischievous. “I haven’t razzed Jason about the setup for your reception in a few days. We’re due.”

Harper rolled her eyes. “What does it say about you that you get perverse pleasure from messing with Jason?”

“That I’m a man who ought not to be trifled with.”

“What has Jason ever done to you?”

“He stole my thunder.”

“That was forever ago, and you really should get over it. We’re adults and Jason has been good to us. Besides, if he ever gets really annoyed with you, he might bar you from eating there and then what are you going to do when you’re craving that avocado salad you love so much?”

“Um ... force you to plead my case and get me back in.”

“What if I say no?”

Zander rolled his eyes and laughed. “You can’t say no to me and we both know it. Don’t be ridiculous.”

Because she knew at her core he was right, she merely tilted her head toward the car. “Let’s head over and see what they’ve got, huh? I’m sure they’ll want to hear about our conversation with Lila, too.”

“Let’s do it. Now you’ve got that salad in my head.” Once in his seatbelt and waiting for Harper to pull out, Zander decided to needle her one more time. “I’m still messing with Jason. You’ve been warned. I have to get my jollies somewhere.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Harper rolled her neck. “Have I ever mentioned you’re a pain?”

“That’s why you love me.”

She couldn’t argue with the statement so she focused on the road. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“I’ve felt lucky since the day I met you.”

The sentiment was sweet enough she couldn’t maintain her angry facade. “I feel the same way.”

“Oh, I know.”

JARED AND MEL WERE ALREADY SEATED when Harper and Zander made their way into the restaurant. Jared jumped to his feet when he saw them, pulling out a chair for Harper and leaning in for a kiss.

“We didn’t get a call, so I guess you got away with your mission,” he said on a grin as they sat.

“Oh, no.” Harper shook her head. “We totally got caught. We didn’t realize we were as close to the grounds as we were and Lila heard us talking. She was out in her rose garden and poked her head through the bushes. It was pretty embarrassing.”

That wasn’t what Jared wanted to hear, but he managed to hold it together. “I take it she didn’t threaten you with prosecution for stumbling onto her property. Did you use the ‘we’re lost’ ruse?”

“We tried, but she heard us talking about Penny.” Harper’s smile was rueful. “She was actually really nice. She had iced tea brought out and we talked for a good hour. She knew who we were, mentioned she even considered trying to pay me to help find Penny when news got out about me as a teenager, and was extremely pleasant.”

“Well, I guess things could’ve gone worse.” Jared rubbed the back of his neck and flicked his eyes to Zander, who was sitting next to his uncle and eyeing Mel’s patterned shirt with overt dislike. “I take it you let Harper do the talking and that’s why Lila invited you for iced tea.”

“Please.” Zander made a face. “Don’t be an idiot. Lila took one look at me and decided she wanted me to be her boy toy. I have a certain effect on women.”

Now it was Mel’s turn to grimace. “I don’t see how that would be true. Lila knows your mother. They’re in a card club together. They all know you’re gay.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m not handsome.”

“But—”

Harper shook her head to cut Mel off. “Don’t bother. He’s in a mood. He’s determined to torture Jason, so I would just let him be or he’ll expand his efforts and torture us all.”

“Is this because of the nipple thing?” Zander challenged. “Twenty minutes ago we were telling each other how lucky we were to have found each other and now you’re acting like Regina George. What’s up with that?”

Jared leaned closer to Harper. “Who is Regina George?”

“From Mean Girls,” Harper replied. “Zander likes to throw out dated movie references when he feels as if a conversation might be getting away from him. You know that.”

“I do know that. I don’t think I’ve seen Mean Girls, though.”

“What?” Zander’s eyebrows practically flew off his forehead.

“Oh, geez.” Harper slapped her hand over her eyes. “Here we go.”

Jared sensed trouble due to Harper’s reaction, but he didn’t back down. “Why would I watch Mean Girls?”

“Because it’s the best movie in the world,” Zander replied. “I mean ... come on.”

“It’s a chick movie.”

“It’s a study of the human condition,” Zander fired back, annoyance on full display. “Harper, you cannot marry this guy if he doesn’t know what Mean Girls is. I forbid it.”

“Oh, well, you forbid it,” Jared muttered. “I guess that means we all have to drop everything and do whatever you want.”

“That’s right.” Zander bobbed his head. “We’ll start with a premiere showing of Mean Girls this evening. I’ll bring the popcorn and pink shirts. You bring the tiaras, Harp.”

“I just ... .” Jared shook his head, debating how to put an end to the conversation. Thankfully, the front door opened at that moment to allow entrance for a burly man in his fifties. Jared recognized him from the photo on the private investigator’s website he’d been perusing an hour before. “There he is. We’ll have to save the Mean Girls conversation for later.”

“Oh, you can bet we will.”

Mel and Jared both stood to greet the man, who carried a stack of folders with him. Even though Sal Hoffman was one of those guys who didn’t have a neck, his smile was friendly and open enough that everybody relaxed almost instantaneously.

“Hey, Sal.” Mel had met the private investigator a few times and knew him to be upfront and personable. “Thanks for taking time out of your day.”

“Actually, I’m happy to do it.” Sal glanced between faces. “I know you,” he said when his gaze landed on Harper. “You’re the ghost girl.”

Harper’s expression lit with amusement. “I guess I am.”

“Harper is my partner’s fiancée,” Mel explained. “She’s kind of involved in this one, in a roundabout way.”

“And Harper is my sidekick,” Zander volunteered. “We totally wanted to be private investigators when we were kids. It’s too bad we didn’t meet you back then.”

“How would the ghosts have fit in with that scenario?” Sal asked as he took the seat at the end of the table between Harper and Zander.

“You might be surprised,” Harper replied. “I’m guessing there’s a lot of overlap.”

“Maybe.”

Jason Thurman picked that moment to arrive at the table. “Hey, guys. I don’t have the specials menu up yet, but the seafood pasta you love so much is on it, Harper.”

“Oh, yay.” Harper clapped her hands. “I want that.”

The others placed their orders in a circular pattern until only Zander was left.

“And what about you?” Jason asked, leery. He was used to Zander’s attitude and knew there was no way the man would simply order and let it go like a normal patron.

“I want the avocado salad with extra tomatoes and half the bleu cheese.”

“Okay.” Jason jotted down the order and waited.

“Also, when you have a minute, I want to talk about the table decorations for the wedding. I saw the centerpieces you picked and they’re horrible. Only a straight man who doesn’t have hope for sex in his future would pick those things.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

“I’m being serious.”

“And I’m not changing the centerpieces.” He pinned Harper with a serious stare. “Can’t you rein him in?”

She held out her hands. “Not in the past twenty-four years. Here’s hoping the next twenty-four years get easier.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

Once Jason departed, Sal turned to business. “May I ask why you’re interested in Penny’s case after all this time?”

“Questions came up in regard to another investigation,” Mel replied. “We’re not even sure the two cases are connected, but my partner had questions about Penny and I was pretty new on the force when that case popped up back in the day. Our files are ... lacking.”

“I could’ve told you that.” Sal leaned back in his chair and regarded the older detective with a mixture of curiosity and doubt. “What can you tell me about the new case?”

“Very little. It’s the guy who died at the Main Street intersection the other day.”

“What could he possibly have to do with Penny?”

“He mentioned Montgomery Manor, and when we questioned Lila, she had no idea who he was. Since she’s quiet and keeps to herself, the story about Penny naturally came up because it was big news when it happened. Then, out of curiosity, Jared went digging in the files. There’s not a lot there.”

“That’s because there wasn’t a lot to chase,” Sal said. “I’ve remained on Lila’s payroll for about thirteen years now and I always feel bad when the retainer comes up every year because there’s nowhere to look. She pays, though.”

“That’s because she needs answers before she dies,” Harper supplied. “We just came from her house.” She moved her finger between Zander and herself. “We talked to her. She knows Penny is dead. She feels it in her heart. She can’t escape that tiny part of her that wonders if she was taken prisoner, though. She doesn’t want to give up, because what if Penny comes back? Then she’ll be the mother who gave up on her child.”

“That’s a pretty good read on the situation,” Sal acknowledged. “I’ve come to the same conclusion. Lila is a good person, but she’s completely on her own, other than that butler she has out there. I’m not sure how healthy it is for her to be hanging out with that guy.”

“We met him briefly yesterday,” Jared noted. “He didn’t seem all that bad.”

“Did you talk to him?”

“No, but ... he let us into the house and collected Lila for us. He seemed like a normal guy.”

“Yeah, I would suggest talking to him next time,” Sal said. “He’s a freaking nut as far as I can tell. He’s been with Lila a long time — twenty-five years, I believe — and he considers himself to be in charge of that house.”

“You don’t think he was the one who got Penny pregnant, do you?” Harper queried, a new idea forming in her head. “I mean ... he would’ve been there when Penny was a child. Maybe he groomed her, preyed on her, and then killed her to keep his indiscretion quiet.”

“That seems like quite the leap,” Mel argued. “Did you even meet him when you were out there?”

“No, but Zander and I have been talking about what happened with Penny. There are multiple possibilities for why she didn’t tell her mother who the father of the baby was. One of them involved an older man taking advantage of her.”

“It’s still a leap,” Mel argued.

“I wouldn’t completely rule out the possibility,” Sal countered. “I looked at him ... hard. I got a bad vibe from the guy. The problem is, he doesn’t seem to associate with anybody outside of Lila as far as I can tell. He’s possessive over her, to the point where I’m not even sure he gives her my messages when I call.”

“You should probably bring that up to Lila,” Harper suggested. “I think she would want to know. She was really friendly to us even though she caught us trespassing.”

“She’s a wonderful woman,” Sal agreed. “The thing is, she won’t listen to me when I try to ask her about Wendell. He’s been with her so long she considers him family, and since she doesn’t have any other family, she believes he’s all she has. She clings to him like a life raft.”

“Well ... maybe I’ll talk to her.”

Jared patted Harper’s hand to soothe her. She’d obviously bonded with Lila over the course of her morning with the woman. Trying to talk Harper out of doing something once she’d set her mind to it was virtually impossible. That was a conversation for later, though.

“Tell us what you have,” Mel suggested. “You must’ve talked to Penny’s friends, for example. Did they give you any idea who the father was?”

“They said they didn’t know, and I believe them,” Sal replied. “They were open, said that Penny was initially fearful to tell her mother, but altogether relieved when Lila didn’t melt down. Lila immediately came up with a plan so Penny could still go to school and the girls told me they thought Penny was comfortable with the plan.

“As for who she was dating, that’s another issue entirely,” he continued. “All three of those girls told me Penny had grown secretive over the six months before she disappeared. They thought she had a crush on someone, not that she was actually seeing someone, and didn’t press her. When Penny showed up pregnant, they were all thrown for a loop.”

“What about kids at school?” Jared asked. “Did they ever see her with any of the boys?”

“She had male friends — and I interviewed them as well — but as far as I can tell, Penny wasn’t having a sexual relationship with any of them. I can be intimidating when I want to be and none of the boys changed their story or acted nervous. They were all upset about what happened to Penny because they genuinely liked her, but none of them cracked.”

“Have you ever gone back and interviewed them again?” Mel asked. “I would think, as adults, they might see things differently than they did as kids.”

“As a matter of fact, I have,” Sal confirmed. “Two years ago, I went back and interviewed everyone again. I even interviewed Wendell because Lila requested he cooperate with me. He wouldn’t have done it willingly. His story didn’t change, though.”

“So, you’ve ruled him out?”

Sal hesitated. “I can’t rule him out because I don’t like him. His alibi was flimsy, too. He said he was in a park, by himself, reading a book when Penny disappeared.”

“And she disappeared from the library parking lot,” Mel mused. “That is a flimsy alibi.”

“Lila will never believe it’s him unless you come up with concrete evidence,” Sal said. “I don’t know that you can come up with that sort of evidence given how much time has passed. I mean ... maybe if you found her body. That seems like a lost cause this far out, though.”

“Nothing is a lost cause,” Harper insisted, her gaze falling on the files. “Is this everything you’ve amassed?”

“It is.”

“Do you mind if Zander and I go through it?”

Sal’s lips quirked. “I didn’t realize you were on the police department’s payroll.”

“We’re not, but we’re invested. I promise we won’t let anything happen to your files.”

Sal worked his jaw, considering. “Okay, I’ll let you borrow the files, but only because I’m curious if you’ll come up with something. I’ve read the stories about you in the newspaper. You’ve solved some weird cases. If you can solve this one and give Lila some peace, I would be grateful.”

“I’m going to give it my best shot.”

“I’m sure you will.”

11

Eleven

“He was interesting,” Harper noted as Jared stood with her next to her car after lunch.

“He was,” Jared agreed, plucking a random twig from the back of her hair. “Are you okay going through the files?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t have volunteered if I wasn’t okay with it.”

“I know but ... you seem pretty invested in this.”

Harper knew what he wasn’t saying and it rankled. “I’m not going to ruin our wedding.”

“Did I say you were?”

“No, but you’ve got that look.”

“I don’t have any look when it comes to you other than my ‘I love you more than life itself’ look and you know it.”

A smile ghosted around her lips, unbidden. “I love you, too. As for this ... if we don’t find answers before the wedding, there’s no reason I can’t continue looking when we get back. Penny has waited this long for justice, she can wait a few weeks longer.”

“I don’t disagree. The thing is, I’m not sure you can let it go long enough to have a good time on our honeymoon.”

“I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to find answers before the wedding. I’m not going to allow this to ruin things for us, though. You have my word.”

Jared studied her face for a long beat and then nodded. “Okay. If you can go through the files and find answers, I think it would be best for all of us. Just ... do what you can.”

“That’s the plan. What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. Humphrey has to be our focus. Mel is already annoyed that I keep turning the conversation back to Penny.”

“Maybe it’s something we can do as a newly married couple when we get back,” Harper suggested. “I mean ... it can’t take all of our time. We can still give it some time, though.”

“We can.” He cupped the back of her head and gave her a soft kiss. “I’m glad you weren’t arrested.”

“I’m telling you, Lila is a good person.”

“And that only makes you want to help her more.”

“It does,” Harper agreed. “She needs answers. She says that not knowing is worse, although I’m not certain if she’ll feel that way if we really can put Penny to rest. I mean ... she’s been living with a certain amount of numbness for the past seventeen years. The emotional blow she takes when there’s confirmation might be more than she can absorb.”

“Do you really think that?”

Harper hesitated and then held her hands palms out. “I don’t know. I mean ... think about Quinn.”

Jared scowled. The last thing he wanted to talk about was Harper’s former boyfriend, a man who faked his own death and only came back because he thought he might be able to get rich with a return visit. He threatened Harper’s life while toying with her emotions, and Jared absolutely hated the man. “Do I have to?”

Harper chuckled. “I’m talking about my emotions regarding Quinn,” she clarified. “I always felt somewhat bereft when it came to what happened to him. Even though it was difficult, haunted me on some levels, it was better when he was missing because the truth of what he was and what happened was worse.”

“I get what you’re saying. This is different, though. Penny is Lila’s daughter. The baby was lost, too, and that was a double blow. Lila has nothing left. I think she needs answers, no matter what they are.”

“She does.” Harper leaned in so she could rest her head against Jared’s shoulder. “I have every intention of enjoying our wedding and honeymoon. I won’t let this derail anything. Until then, though, I figure there’s no reason I can’t spend at least a little bit of my precious time searching.”

“I just want you to be happy.” He kissed her forehead. “I know you won’t be happy until you solve this. I’m not going to stand in your way.”

“That’s probably good.”

“Probably.” He wrapped her in his arms and hugged her. “Try to keep out of trouble. If you could refrain from getting arrested, that would be great, too. Oh, and if your life is threatened so close to the wedding, I’m totally going to melt down.”

“Wow. That was a rather detailed warning.”

“I just want you to know the stakes.”

She laughed as she pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I can’t wait to be your wife.”

“And I can’t wait to be your husband.”

Before they could grace each other with a hotter kiss, Zander emerged from the restaurant, his chest puffed out. “I handled the problem with the centerpieces,” he announced. “Jason is re-doing them. Also, he’s banned me from the restaurant. We’re probably going to have to enact ‘Operation Harper Smooths Things Over’ in the next day or so.”

Harper’s lips twitched. “I saw that coming.”

“We all saw that coming,” Jared agreed. “Am I the only one who kind of wants Jason to ban him from the wedding? What? Don’t look at me that way. I was just joking.”

Harper wasn’t so sure. For now, though, she let it go. “I’ll text if I find anything in the files.”

“And I’ll text if we get anywhere, although I’m not expecting miracles.”

Harper cocked her head. “I don’t know. Everything feels pretty miraculous since we found each other.”

“I feel the exact same way.”

A TIP FROM ROCKY’S COLLISION HAD Jared and Mel descending on the Whisper Cove garage an hour later, hopeful they were finally going to get somewhere. The car in question wasn’t the one they were looking for, though.

“That’s definitely not the same vehicle,” Jared noted as he looked over the red vehicle in question.

“Sorry.” Rocky, who had only recently taken over the business from his retiring father, held out his hands. He had long black hair, which was pulled back in what Jared would describe as a loose man bun, and grease on his cheek. “I thought it was worth a shot.”

“No, we definitely want to know if any red vehicles are brought in,” Jared said hurriedly. “That’s not the vehicle from the video, though. The damage to the vehicle we’re looking for would be to the front end.”

“Do you know how much damage we’re talking about?”

Jared shook his head. “The video footage was bad. It came from equipment that was out of date six or seven years ago.”

“That’s the thing with technology,” Rocky noted. “It doesn’t last all that long. I’m sorry to have wasted your time.”

“You haven’t wasted it,” Mel, his hands on his hips, stated. “In fact, you might be able to help us in another way.”

“I can certainly try.”

“We have video. Can you look at it and tell us what you think?”

“Sure.” Rocky moved over to a table in the center of the room and wiped his hands on a rag before accepting Mel’s phone. He furrowed his brow as he watched the images scurry across the screen. “This is the best you have?”

Mel grimaced. “Unfortunately.”

“Well, it’s ... pretty brutal. The front end of this car will definitely be damaged, but I think the bulk of it will consist of a dented grill and maybe some depression on the hood. Can I ask if there was glass at the scene?”

Mel nodded.

“That’s likely the headlight on the left side. I wondered.” Rocky nodded, as if confirming something to himself. “Here’s the thing, I think the vehicle is likely drivable despite the damage. This looks deliberate to me. That means only an idiot would take their vehicle into a legitimate garage given the media coverage this has gotten.”

“So, you think someone likely dumped the vehicle in the woods or something,” Jared mused.

“Actually, that would be really stupid,” Rocky countered. “You can’t control who finds a vehicle if you dump it that way. This is a suburb of Detroit, though. There are other ways to dump a vehicle.”

Mel’s forehead creased. “You’re talking about a chop shop.”

“If I was going to commit murder with a vehicle — and that honestly wouldn’t be my first choice — I most certainly wouldn’t risk getting the vehicle fixed. I would take it to a place in the city and pay them to make it go away.”

“I don’t think just anybody knows how to find those places,” Jared pointed out. “All we know about the driver is that she’s female and blond. Now, I don’t want to cast aspersions on women — and I’ll deny being sexist to my dying breath if anybody tells my fiancée — but I wouldn’t think most women would know to even look for a chop shop.”

“I’m totally telling Harper,” Mel deadpanned.

Jared ignored him. “A random person shouldn’t be able to find one of those places, right?” he pressed.

Rocky shrugged, noncommittal. “I would have no problem finding one of those places. I think people in the city would have an easy time. I guess you’re right about a woman from the suburbs, although if she planned this murder ahead of time, she likely covered her bases. I mean ... who wouldn’t?”

“I think you’re giving her too much credit.” Jared couldn’t wrap his head around what Rocky was suggesting. “I’m a police officer and I would have no idea where to look for a chop shop.”

“There’s only one in these parts that I know of,” Rocky explained. “It’s not as if it’s out in the open. You’re right about that.”

“There’s a chop shop in Whisper Cove?” Jared couldn’t hide his surprise. “Where?”

Rocky balked. “There’s no way I’m telling you that.”

“I think I know,” Mel said on a sigh, shaking his head. “Would it be over in the Primrose area?”

Rocky didn’t immediately respond, instead meeting Mel’s resigned gaze with a steady one of his own. “I’m not a tattletale. Since you’re the one who mentioned the street, though, I guess I feel okay saying that you wouldn’t be wasting your time in that area.”

“That’s all I need.” Mel nodded in thanks. “We won’t keep you any longer. If you hear anything under the radar, give us a call.”

“I’ll do what I can.”

HARPER AND ZANDER TOOK THE FILES provided by Sal and spread them out on the carpet in the living room of Harper’s house. Then they proceeded to divvy up the information and meticulously pick through it.

“It looks like he did multiple interviews with the three girls,” Zander volunteered, his back resting against the oversized chair Jared enjoyed watching SportsCenter from. “He was pretty diligent. He went over the information with them multiple times, came at them from different angles. He even asked the questions in a variety of different ways to trip them up. Nothing.”

“He seemed professional, and genuinely fond of Lila,” Harper noted. “In fact, he’s a few years younger than her, but it almost seemed to me that he might have romantic feelings for her.”

Zander arched an eyebrow. “I thought I was the only one who picked up on that.”

“Not quite.”

“Whatever it is he feels, he absolutely hates that butler.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that.” Harper rubbed the back of her neck. “It could be that he’s projecting. He dislikes the butler, perhaps sees him as a romantic foil, and has decided he’s involved because it solves a problem for him.”

“But?” Zander prodded.

“But I don’t think he realizes he cares so deeply for Lila. I mean ... he feels for her. He acknowledges that. He doesn’t see the rest, though.”

“So, you think any suspicions he has might be under the radar.”

“Maybe.” Harper lifted the file on Wendell Sheridan and stared at Sal’s handwritten notes. “He was extremely thorough. Wendell lives on the property at Montgomery Manor. Apparently there are rooms in the basement for the help, and he lived in one of them when he started working for Lila. Now he has the guest house to himself, and that’s like a three-hundred-grand small house.”

“With access to a pool and lake view,” Zander mused. “Not a bad gig if you can get it.”

“We didn’t see them together,” she noted. “We only saw Lila. Jared said he wasn’t suspicious of Wendell, so maybe we’re barking up the wrong tree.”

“But you don’t think so.”

“I don’t know either way,” she clarified. “I don’t want to focus my full attention on Wendell and then discover that I was wrong. That doesn’t seem fair.”

“Since when is life fair?”

“Good point.” Harper tugged on her bottom lip, considering. “Maybe we should try to get back out there tomorrow and talk to him. I mean ... it couldn’t hurt, right?”

“It might if we tick off Lila. She was pretty gracious today. That doesn’t mean she has to continue being gracious. If we push her the wrong way, she might push back. She doesn’t strike me as the sort of woman I would want to mess with.”

“I just don’t want her to get hurt further,” Harper admitted. “Maybe we should find more evidence before we do anything.”

“I don’t disagree.” Zander paused for a moment. “Of course, if we ended up spying on him a little bit and didn’t get caught this time, it wouldn’t be the worst thing.”

“We did learn a little bit about Lila’s movements around the property.”

“We did.”

They stared at each other and then started to laugh at the same moment.

“I need to think on it some,” Harper said finally. “Part of me worries that I’m desperate to give Lila closure so I’m willing to jump on any possibility, and that’s really not fair to Wendell. He’s done nothing so far to warrant our suspicions.”

“Except be in a position of power in Lila’s house, which gave him convenient access to her daughter.”

Harper wasn’t thrilled with the way he phrased it. “Yeah, well ... let’s keep digging.”

They lapsed into amiable silence, the only sound coming from the rustling of papers. Zander was the first to break it, and not because he was feeling dramatic or in need of attention for a change.

“I found something interesting.”

Harper lifted her head. “I don’t want to hear a joke about Jared’s nipples or Jason’s bad centerpieces right now. We’re supposed to be focusing.”

Zander made a face. “I do other things.”

“Not lately.”

“Yes, well, you’re tense because of the wedding. I’m tense because I’m your best friend and want everything to be perfect. I have to take out that tension somewhere and those two are the easiest targets.”

“If you say so.”

“I say so, and I legitimately found something.” He removed a sheet of paper from his file. “Sal found something extremely interesting after Penny disappeared. I don’t know if he ever followed up on it — he said we could call if we had a questions — but I definitely think it’s worth chasing.”

Despite herself, Harper found she was intrigued. “What did he find?”

“The day after Penny disappeared, a woman took a baby to Mount Clemens General Hospital in the early morning hours. That’s McLaren now, in case you’re wondering.”

Harper didn’t bother to hide her eye roll. “I’m not so old I don’t remember when the hospital was called Mount Clemens General.”

“I’m just trying to streamline the process. There’s no reason to get testy.”

Harper could think of a few reasons, but she let them go. “Just tell me about this baby.”

“A woman came in around five o’clock in the morning.” Zander was deadly serious now. “She had a newborn baby that she claimed was hers, said the infant was in distress, and wanted someone to look over the baby.”

Harper’s stomach did a long, slow roll. “Did the baby die?”

Zander shook his head. “Well, at least not that I’m aware of. The intake nurse asked the woman to submit for a checkup — said that she thought there was something fishy about the situation — but when they were securing the paperwork, the woman disappeared with the baby.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean anything,” Harper hedged, her mind busy. “I mean ... it was likely her baby.”

“The nurse said it didn’t look as if the woman had given birth within the last twelve hours, that there are telltale signs, and that she had a full face of makeup and hair that looked to have been styled that day, although was a bit disheveled.”

“That doesn’t sound likely, huh?” Harper mused. “Did the nurse say anything about the woman?”

“Just that she was blond.”

“Like the woman who hit Peter Humphrey.”

“Yes, but that could be a coincidence. There are a lot of blondes out there, including you.”

Harper couldn’t argue. “Still ... .”

“Still,” he agreed. “It’s interesting, and no infant body was found. It’s possible the baby survived.”

Harper did her best to wrap her mind around the situation. “This could be wishful thinking on our part,” she said. “We talked about it before. The baby surviving is a better outcome and doesn’t double the tragedy.”

“Penny was close to her due date. One of the first conclusions we jumped to when talking about this story again was that someone took her because of the baby.”

“It’s rare for babies to survive forced extractions, though.”

“Maybe it wasn’t a forced extraction. Maybe someone kidnapped Penny and held onto her until she gave birth naturally.”

Harper swallowed hard. “And then killed her after.”

“It’s possible, right? There are drugs to hurry along labor.”

“There are, but I would think you’d need ties to someone in the medical field to get them.”

“Maybe our mysterious blonde had those ties. Maybe she was desperate for a child of her own and launched a plan.”

“Maybe.” Harper absently scratched at her nose. “How can we possibly track down that information, though?”

“I have no idea. I think it’s worth a shot, though.”

Because it was their best lead so far, Harper nodded. “I’ll call Sal and see what he can give us. We’ll go from there.”

“That sounds like a plan to me.”

12

Twelve

Primrose Street was one of the quieter avenues in Whisper Cove so Jared was curious when Mel pulled into the picturesque neighborhood.

“There’s no way anybody is running a chop shop in here,” Jared insisted. “It’s just not possible.”

“Wait for it.” Mel drove two blocks and then pulled to a stop in front of a yellow ranch with a huge privacy fence.

“Are you serious?” Jared narrowed his eyes as he studied the pink flowers decorating the front beds. The yard was meticulous, the trim painted and fresh, and there wasn’t as much as a discarded bicycle in the front yard.

“Just ... wait for it,” Mel said on a sigh as he pocketed his keys and exited the cruiser. His knock was brisk when they reached the front door, and the woman who opened it was so small Jared initially mistook her for a child. A second glance told him she was well into her fifties, though, and the smile she graced the two police detectives with was nothing short of serene.

“Hello, Mel,” she said in a booming voice. “What a nice surprise. Would you like some lemonade?”

Mel didn’t return her smile. “Hello, Peggy. How are you today?”

“Well, it’s summer in Whisper Cove. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

“It doesn’t,” Mel agreed. “Is Stan here?”

“I believe he’s resting. He hasn’t been feeling well of late. He’s got a touch of the consumption.”

Jared’s eyebrows nearly touched his hairline. “Consumption?”

Mel held up a hand to quiet his partner. “I’m sorry about the consumption. We need to talk to him, though.”

Peggy moved her jaw as she glanced between the two men. “Is this an official visit? If so, I believe you need a warrant.”

The sharp shift of her demeanor had Jared doing a double take.

“I can get a warrant,” Mel replied. “I would rather not have to jump through those hoops when Stan can make things easier without breaking a sweat. If that’s the route you want to go, though ... .” He trailed off and waited.

Peggy didn’t initially respond, instead staring holes into Mel. The sound of a man clearing his throat behind her caused three sets of eyes to snap in that direction.

The behemoth of a man who moved behind Peggy was something of a shock. While Peggy didn’t reach five feet, the man — who Jared assumed to be Stan — had to be well over six feet. He had torpedoes for arms, obviously from time spent in the gym, and his hair was completely white.

“Mel.” The man folded his arms over his chest. “This is a surprise.”

“I’m happy to see you, too, Stan,” Mel replied dryly.

“I didn’t say it was a happy surprise.”

“Oh, don’t be like that.” Mel managed a smile but it was wan. “I have a few questions.”

“I don’t believe I have to answer your questions,” Stan said. “This is a free country and all, which means you need a warrant to question me.”

“Actually, if you cooperate, I don’t need anything.”

“And why would I want to do that?”

“Because it will be easier on you in the long run,” Mel explained. “I can have a warrant within the hour and we’ll remain parked in front of your house while waiting. I doubt you can take down the operation in the backyard in an hour. I mean ... you’re good, but nobody is that good.”

Peggy immediately started shaking her head. “He’s bluffing. Don’t listen to him. Shut the door and get the guns.”

Mel let loose a weary sigh. “There’s no need for guns.”

“Definitely not,” Stan agreed, pinning his wife with a dark look. “Why do you always have to go to the guns? This isn’t Waco. Geez.” He made a disgusted sound deep in his throat. “Just ... let me handle this.” He pushed past Peggy and indicated Mel and Jared should back up with a chin bob.

When everybody was gathered on the front lawn, he asked the obvious question. “What do you want?”

“I want to know if a red Civic has been brought in over the past three days,” Mel replied, not standing on ceremony.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t.” Mel extended a warning finger, and given the size of the other man, Jared found he was fairly impressed with the showing. “I’ve known about your business for a long time. I mean ... a long, long time. Acting innocent now is a disservice to both of us.”

“Oh, that’s such a load of bull,” Stan complained. “We went to school together, Mel. I thought we were beyond stuff like this.”

“So did I, which is why I’m here now. I don’t care what you’re doing in the backyard ... as long as you haven’t chopped a red Civic with front end damage in the last three days.”

To buy himself time, Stan rubbed his chin and did an exaggerated survey of the neighborhood. Finally, when he did speak, it was in a low voice. “Is this about what happened on Main Street the other day?”

“It is,” Mel confirmed. “I’m not interested in busting you right now. I don’t even really care, although I still maintain you could run a legitimate garage and make just as much money.”

“Oh, what’s the fun in that?”

“Stan ... .”

“No red Civics,” Stan promised as he raised his hands. “You know I don’t do it that way. I wouldn’t take a vehicle I believed was used to murder someone.”

“How do you do it?” Jared asked curiously.

“None of your business,” Stan fired back. “Who is this guy, Mel? Why would you bring him to my house like this?”

“He’s my partner,” Mel replied. “As for why I brought him, I would think that’s fairly obvious.”

“Wait ... is this the one marrying little Harper?” Suddenly, Stan was all smiles.

Mel nodded. “It is.”

“Oh, you lucky dog.” Stan clapped Jared on the shoulder, hard enough to rock the detective to the side. “I’ve been in love with that little girl since she was this high.” He held his hand close to his knee. “I always wondered who would finally steal her heart. To be honest, you’re not what I had in mind.

“I always wanted her for my kid,” he continued. “He’s doing a dime out in Jackson, though. He was never good enough for her, if you want to know the truth.”

Jared had no idea what to make of the tidbit. “I ... um ... .”

“Stan and Harper met when she was about eight if I remember correctly,” Mel volunteered. “Harper was out in the woods, on an adventure, and got lost. Stan was out there doing something else — although we never did figure out what that was exactly — and he stumbled across her and brought her back home. They bonded a bit because Stan bought her a milkshake as big as her head.”

Stan snorted at the memory. “She was the cutest thing in the world. Told me she was out there chasing a ghost. I thought she was making up the story at the time — and I was charmed all the same — but through the years I’ve come to the conclusion that she really was out there looking for a ghost.”

“And you brought her home even though it could’ve ended badly for you?” Jared asked, new respect for the man suddenly bubbling up. “That was ... really nice of you.”

“Not nice,” Stan corrected. “I wasn’t being nice. I was doing the right thing. Whatever you may think of me, I would never leave a little girl lost in the woods.”

“You wouldn’t,” Mel agreed. “I also don’t think you would cover for a woman who purposely killed a man, even if she sold you a sob story.”

“I haven’t been sold any sort of story,” Stan promised. “Nobody brought that car here. I can promise you that.”

Mel held his gaze for a long time and then nodded. “Well, that’s good.”

“I don’t want to tell you your business, but it makes no sense for whoever did this to chop the car right now,” Stan volunteered. “It would be damaged. People might see that damage when it was being driven between two destinations. The only smart way to do this right now would be to hide it somewhere until the heat dies.”

“That could be months.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that it’s the only smart move.”

“Right.” Mel cracked his neck. “If the car is hidden for months, we might never find it.”

“That’s why it’s the smart move.”

“I don’t disagree. Still, if you could keep your ear to the ground, I would appreciate it.”

“I’m not going to dime out anyone in the business,” Stan warned. “That’s not what I do.”

“And yet all Harper wants right now is to solve this case so she can enjoy her wedding and honeymoon,” Mel offered. “You might think of it as a wedding gift to her.”

“Oh, that was low,” Stan groused. “That was so low.”

“It’s the truth,” Jared interjected. “She’s obsessed right now. If you can help down the road, I would greatly appreciate it.”

“And what are you going to do for me in return?”

“I ... .” Jared wasn’t certain how to answer. “I’m going to love her forever, take care of her until my dying breath, and be the best provider I can be. That’s all I can do.”

Stan sighed. “Fine. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know. This is going against the code, though.”

“We’ll keep it to ourselves,” Mel promised. “It really is the right thing to do.”

“If you say so.”

HARPER ORDERED CHINESE TO BE DELIVERED and she was just taking it out of the box when Jared walked through the front door. One look at him told her all she needed to know. He was as wiped as her, and she didn’t like seeing him so rundown.

“Long day?”

Jared managed a smile when he saw her. “A little bit. It’s okay, though.” He moved directly toward her and pulled her in for a hug. “Believe it or not, things just got infinitely better.”

“I believe it.” She returned his embrace. “It’s the same way for me.”

“Aw, so sweet.” He gave her a kiss. “Have you noticed we’re getting sort of sappy in our old age?”

“I think the imminent wedding might have something to do with it.”

“No way. I’m going to be sappy forever.”

“I can probably live with that.”

After another brief hug, Jared started picking through the box of food. “There’s enough here to feed an army,” he noted. “How hungry are you?”

“I got enough to get us through until the wedding. We have two more nights ... and technically only one of those will be spent together. I’m over at the other house at eight o’clock tomorrow, but we can still have dinner together.”

He stilled, confused. “I ... don’t remember agreeing to that.”

She laughed at his response. “It was Zander’s idea,” she reminded him. “You’re not supposed to see me before the wedding.”

“I guess I vaguely remember that,” he hedged. “I thought we agreed that rule was old and antiquated and we were going to break from tradition.”

“You said that, and when you brought it up to Zander, he started making donkey noises until you agreed to his terms.”

“Ugh.” Jared definitely remembered the donkey noises. “Why is your best friend such a pain?”

“I think he likes it.”

“And I think I want to smack the crap out of him some days.”

“That’s how brothers feel about each other,” she agreed.

He went ramrod straight. “Wait ... is he my brother in this scenario?”

“He is.”

“Well, how did that happen?”

His reaction was so amusing to Harper she let loose an explosive laugh and threw her arms around his neck. “You have no idea how much I love you.”

Because the words were like a missile to the heart, Jared could do nothing but sigh and hold her tight. “At least I know you’ll only be across the road.”

“Yes, we’re doing a full evening of glow masks, pore strips, and deep conditioners.”

“That sounds ... kind of fun for you guys.”

“Shawn will be over here with you,” Harper reminded him. “Zander was afraid he would ruin our bonding ritual so he banished him for the evening.”

“I remember. Ours will be the quiet house tomorrow night. At least I have that to look forward to.”

“I’m actually excited to spend one last night in the old house with Zander. It’s sort of like saying goodbye to childhood.”

The sentiment might’ve been corny but he appreciated it. “Speaking of childhood, I met Stan Crowder today.”

“Really?” Harper’s curiosity was officially piqued. “How did that happen?”

Jared ran her through the rest of his afternoon. When he got to the part about Stan, he found she looked amused more than anything else. “Do you want to tell me about your other boyfriend?” he queried. “I had no idea you ran with that sort of crowd.”

“Stan is a bad guy in name only,” Harper insisted. “He has a good heart. He’s just a little lazy and likes to embrace a bad boy persona. He’s pretty decent.”

“Mel said exactly the same thing. I’m still a little weirded out that everybody seems to know there’s a chop shop operating in the middle of a residential area in Whisper Cove.”

“Most people choose to ignore it because Stan is such an amiable guy.”

“I guess.”

“He’s harmless,” Harper said. “Don’t give him grief. He saved me when I was a kid.”

“So I heard. That’s the only reason I’m giving him a pass.”

“Thank you.” She pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Do you want to hear about my day?”

“Always.”

Harper told him about the files, paying special attention to the drop-in from the blonde with the new baby at the hospital. “It could be nothing,” she said as she was finishing up.

“It could be something, though,” Jared mused. “Did you call Sal?”

“I did. He said he chased that avenue as far as he could and then had to let it go because there was nowhere to look. There were no cameras in the parking lot. He said he was always on the fence over it being the woman they were looking for or a new mother panicking for no reason.”

“He’s got a point.” Jared dug into the egg rolls and started divvying them up. “Which way are you leaning?”

“Honestly? I’m paralyzed I’m going to lean in the wrong direction and overlook something. I don’t want to give too much focus to any one thing. I also don’t want to overlook something else.”

“Tomorrow is the last day,” he reminded her. “If you don’t find your answers, you’re going to have to wait until after the wedding.”

“I’m fine with that.”

His eyes rolled skyward. “Please. The fact that you can say that with a straight face is impressive. I know better, though. You’re going to chase this one until the last second. Don’t bother denying it.”

“I won’t deny it if you won’t deny it. I know just as well as you do that you don’t want to leave on our honeymoon with this hanging over your head.”

“In an ideal world, we would put this one to bed tomorrow,” Jared agreed. “We don’t live in an ideal world, though. This is something that’s likely going to be waiting for us when we get back. I can live with that because the most important thing to me is marrying you. I want to make sure you can live with it, too.”

“I can live with it.” Harper’s gaze was steady. “You’re the thing I want most in this world. I didn’t even realize I needed you, let alone wanted you, until I was already in love with you. I can’t live my life without you.

“And, before you say something annoying about me not needing anybody, we both know that’s not true,” she continued. “I like to think of myself as a strong woman. I’m self-sufficient. I’m a survivor. My life is better with you, though.”

“Does that mean you love me more than Zander?”

She extended a warning finger. “You do not want to go there. I will never answer that question because Zander will haunt me to my dying day if I do.”

Jared snagged her finger and gave it a squeeze, grinning. “That means you do love me more.”

Harper’s eyes were clear when they latched with his. “I love you more than anything. That doesn’t mean I can live without Zander.”

“I know. I won’t ever want you to live without Zander. He’s a part of you.”

“You are, too.”

“We’re a part of each other, and that’s something that’s never going to change. As for Zander ... I love him, too.” Jared thought the words would be hard to express, but he was wrong. “You were right earlier when you said he was like a brother to me. He is, which is probably why I find him so annoying.

“Not only do I accept that he’s always going to be part of our lives, I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he continued. “He makes you happy. Sure, he’s a pain in the butt, but when you’re sad he knows exactly how to make you feel better.

“He’s loyal ... and annoying ... and part of you. That means I’m going to love him forever, too.”

Tears sprang to Harper’s eyes and she made a choking sound.

“Oh, don’t do that.” Jared looked pained. “I can’t stand it when you cry. It drives me insane.”

“They’re happy tears.”

“I still don’t like it.” He handed her another egg roll. “Let’s save the tears for the wedding, huh? We have one more day to figure things out. I’m thinking we should make a competition out of it.”

“You want to make a competition out of solving a murder?”

“I want to put this behind us. I think the best way to do that is to make a competition out of it.”

Harper found the notion ludicrous, and yet she was intrigued. “What did you have in mind?”

“If someone solves it tomorrow, he or she gets to decide on dinner the first night of our honeymoon.”

“That’s not much of a prize.”

“And loser has to serve the winner dinner in bed wearing nothing but a frilly apron.”

Harper’s eyes lit with joy. “You’re going to wear a frilly apron?”

“No, you are.”

“I’m not going to lose.”

“Well, I’m not going to lose.”

Harper extended her hand for a shake. “So, it’s on.”

He laughed when he grabbed her hand and drew her close. “The big kids seal it with a kiss.”

“I think I can be persuaded to play that game, too.”

“Which is only one of the myriad of reasons I love you.”

13

Thirteen

Since it was their last night together until the wedding, Harper and Jared played until well after their normal bedtime. When they finally allowed sleep to claim them, they were wrapped around one another in bliss.

Then, for Harper at least, the dreams came.

“Where have you been?” Peter’s face was lit with fury when he stomped toward Harper.

For her part, the intrepid ghost hunter had barely managed to acknowledge her surroundings — a hazy dreamscape — before he was in her face. “Slow your roll,” Harper chided, holding up her hand as she glanced around. The settings were the same as the previous dream and she could see Montgomery Manor in the background. Why did he keep bringing her here? She didn’t get it.

“You slow your roll,” he snapped. “I’ve been trying to talk to you for months.”

Harper kept her face placid even though annoyance was bubbling up. “You haven’t even been dead for a full seventy-two hours. It’s hardly been months.”

Peter was overcome with confusion. “What? No. That’s not right. It’s been months.”

“No.” Harper shook her head. “I’m sorry. Maybe it feels that way to you because you’re still trying to get a handle on your new reality. Where are you spending your days, by the way? If I could find you when it’s light out, that would be great.”

“I’m where I always am.”

It wasn’t really an answer. Of course, for Peter, it might be the best he could do, Harper realized. She decided to take control of the conversation. “I visited Lila today. Lila Montgomery. She lives at Montgomery Manor.”

“I know who she is,” Peter snapped. “Does she know? Did you tell her?”

“Did I tell her what?”

“About what happened.”

“I don’t know what happened. I need you to tell me so I can help you.”

“If you don’t know what happened, what are you doing here? You can’t help me if you don’t know.”

“That’s why I want you to tell me.”

“No!” Peter’s eyes filled with fire. “I don’t know you. I can’t trust you. I ... this is too important.”

The hair on the back of Harper’s neck stood on end. He seemed to be determined to hold his secret close, and yet he wanted Lila to be aware of something. He would only be so fervent if it was important, Harper figured. She couldn’t let this opportunity slide. She might not get another chance to dig. So, taking a deep breath, she forced a smile she didn’t really feel.

“Okay, let’s start from the beginning,” she prodded. “Is this about Penny?”

Peter turned his back to her and focused on the house. “I didn’t know, not until ... right before.”

“You didn’t know what?”

“If I’d known, things would’ve been so much different.”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Harper insisted. “Just ... tell me from the beginning.”

“No.” Peter increased the distance between the two of them. “You have to get Lila to understand. You have to make her realize ... I didn’t know.”

Harper wasn’t ready to slip away. “I can’t do as you ask if you don’t tell me. Is it about the baby? Is it about Penny? Just ... tell me.”

Fear — true fear — took over Peter’s features. “Get to Lila. She’ll do the right thing. I know she will.”

With those words, Peter disappeared into the ether and Harper was left to ponder her options. She had one day to bring everything together. She was determined to do it ... although she had no idea how.

JARED’S EYES WERE ALREADY OPEN AND on her when Harper woke the next morning. They were wrapped so tightly around one another that Harper couldn’t tell where she ended and he began.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” He swooped in and kissed her before she could utter another word, the exchange soft and sweet. “How did you sleep?”

That was the question, Harper mused. “I slept okay.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t stir at all.”

“Were you up watching me all night?”

“No, but I would’ve felt it. You were off in dreamland.” Something occurred to him. “Wait, did you run into our victim again?”

Harper nodded. “It was in the same field, Montgomery Manor in the distance. He told me I had to tell Lila what was going on, but when I asked him what that was, he refused to answer and turned belligerent.”

“I know you’ve answered this before but ... couldn’t it be a dream?”

“I would say last night’s interaction was more likely to be a dream than the first night. I don’t know, though. It’s ... weird.”

“I’ll say it’s weird. A ghost is yelling at you to do something you can’t possibly do.”

“He seems frustrated.”

“So do you.”

“And you think that my frustration could be bubbling over to him in the dream. I’ve got it.”

Jared easily read the annoyance on her features. “Harper, I’m not saying what you’re dreaming isn’t real. I just don’t want you making yourself sick over something you might not be able to solve in the next twenty-four hours.”

“I’m not going to make myself sick.” Harper was certain about that. “I’m not going to give up either. I have today. If I can’t solve it, then I have a wedding tomorrow and the mystery will be waiting when I get back.”

They both knew it wasn’t that simple, but Jared opted not to push her. “This is our last morning waking up together,” he noted, snuggling closer.

“Ever?” Harper made a hilarious face. “Nobody told me that’s how marriage worked. I think we should reconsider.”

“Never.” He kissed her neck and happily rubbed his morning stubble against her cheek.

“It’s just one morning apart,” Harper said as she rubbed her hands over his bare back. His skin was warm, as was his breath against her neck. Mornings were her favorite part of the day, especially when they started like this. “It might be kind of fun, the anticipation of seeing each other again.”

He pulled back far enough to pin her with a serious look. “Um, we’re having dinner together tonight before separating. I can’t be away from you for too long. I’ll fall apart.”

“So cute.” Harper tapped his chin and went in for a kiss, relishing the way they fit together. “It’s kind of weird to think about.” Her tone was soft. “In twenty-four hours, you’ll be waking up in this bed alone and I’ll be waking up with Zander.”

“In the same bed?”

She shrugged. “Probably. He’ll want to stay close.”

“And what will you want?”

“I’ll want him close. It’s kind of a passing of the torch, right?”

“I guess. Most men wouldn’t be secure enough to allow their fiancée to share a bed with another man the night before a wedding.”

Harper cocked a challenging eyebrow. “Allow?”

“You know what I mean.”

“I guess it’s good that you’re completely secure, right?”

“Definitely.” He stroked a hand down her hair, the need to touch her overwhelming. “At one o’clock tomorrow, we’ll be on the beach in front of Jason’s restaurant. I can’t believe we’re finally here.”

“Did you think we wouldn’t make it?”

He hesitated a moment too long and Harper’s frown was pronounced.

“You did think we wouldn’t make it,” she said. “Wow.”

“No, I didn’t think that,” he countered quickly. “Don’t get any weird ideas in your head. It’s just ... you find a bit of trouble here and there. I was afraid — more than once — that someone would take you from me and ruin our happily ever after.”

“That’s not going to happen.” Harper was matter-of-fact. “There’s nothing that will stop me from growing old with you.”

The naked emotion in her eyes warmed him. “You’re still going to be vigilant, right? You’re not going to run off half-cocked and reckless or anything, are you?”

“Would I do that?”

“Yes.”

“Well, it’s not going to happen,” Harper promised. “I’m going to try to track down the nurse from Sal’s files today and that will likely be it. If we can’t find a direction to look, then my focus will be on our future. Penny has waited this long. She can hold on another few weeks.”

“She can,” Jared agreed. “No matter what, we’ll figure it out. I just don’t know that we’ve got time.”

“We’ve got all the time in the world. It’s okay for our wedding to take precedence.”

“Yeah.” He inhaled deeply. “Is it wrong that I don’t want to get out of this bed? Right now, right here, I’ve never been happier.”

“Oh, yeah? Just wait until our wedding night. I’m betting I can do better.”

Jared grinned. “Now that’s something to look forward to, even if I have to be separated from you tonight. I’m not looking forward to that, although Shawn is pretty easygoing. I think we should have a relaxing night.”

“Your night will be much more relaxing than mine,” Harper agreed. “Still, in twenty-nine hours, we’ll be standing in front of each other pledging to spend the rest of our lives together. It’s a big deal.”

“I’ve already pledged myself to you for the rest of our lives.”

“Me, too, but it might still be fun to say the words.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing you in your dress.”

“I’m looking forward to every minute of our lives that we’re going to share.”

He went gooey and soft at his core. “How about we spend twenty more minutes doing this and then I’ll prepare the Cookie Crisp this morning.”

Harper’s laugh was light. “That sounds like the perfect way to start our last day as single people.”

“I thought it had a nice ring to it.”

ONCE JARED LEFT FOR HIS SHIFT, HARPER’S FULL attention was on the nurse. Sal had supplied them with a name, and thankfully for them, she still worked at the same facility. After a stop at the front desk to converse with the receptionist, who they happened to know from high school, they tracked down Sheila Bishop in the cafeteria drinking coffee.

“Do you need something?” she asked as she glanced between faces. She looked to be in her forties and in no mood for games.

“I certainly hope so,” Harper said as she indicated the empty chairs at Sheila’s table. “May we sit?”

“I don’t know. You guys look like you might be spoiling for trouble and I’ve only had three cups of coffee so far this morning. You don’t want to take me on.”

“We don’t,” Harper agreed. “We’re also not spoiling for trouble. We’re just here for a bit of information.”

“I can’t talk about my patients. There are laws.”

“This wouldn’t be a patient, at least not officially, and it stems from an incident that occurred about seventeen years ago.”

Sheila’s forehead wrinkled as she sipped her coffee. “Okay, you’ve officially piqued my interest. What incident are you referring to?”

“There was a baby, early in the morning, and a new mother who said the baby was in distress.”

Realization dawned on Sheila’s features. “Oh, you’re with the private investigator. I didn’t realize he’d branched out.”

“Technically we’re not with him,” Harper replied. “He did loan us his files because we were looking for information on another case. My understanding is that you were the one who had contact with this woman and baby.”

“I did,” Sheila agreed. “I was actually new on the job at the time. I’d done two years at Detroit Mercy Hospital but decided to move to the suburbs after that. There’s only so many bullet wounds you can see before you get numb to the point of no return.”

“I can see that,” Harper agreed. “How long were you out here before it happened?”

“About three months. I was still learning the ropes at this place. Now I practically run it. Back then I was unsure of protocols, though, and I think that’s what cost me in this particular case.”

“Can you tell us what happened?”

“Sure. I’m not breaking any laws. The mother and child were never admitted so their health concerns aren’t protected.”

“We would really like to know,” Harper prodded.

“I don’t know that there’s much to tell. I was working the night shift, which meant I was still on from the night before. When you’re new, you get all the crappy shifts. Luckily it doesn’t often last for more than a year so you just have to suck it up.

“I had about an hour left in my shift,” she continued. “I saw the woman in the parking lot before she walked through the emergency room door. She was white as a sheet ... and panicked. She brought the baby directly to me and said she was worried she couldn’t breathe.”

That was a new tidbit, Harper noted. “She? The baby was a female?”

“That’s what the woman said. With newborns, it’s not always easy to tell by faces. The baby was wrapped in a blanket so there was no way of knowing for certain. I held her, touched her face and checked her breathing. She seemed fine to me. Sure, she was a little red-faced — that seemed to be this woman’s main concern — but that’s not unheard of right after birth. The event is traumatizing for infants and mothers.”

“How did the mother look to you?” Zander queried. “I mean ... you’ve seen new mothers. Did this woman look as if she’d just given birth?”

“No, and that stood out to me. I don’t know a lot of new mothers who take the time to blow out their hair, apply false eyelashes, and line their brows and lips.”

“That wouldn’t seem like a priority,” Harper agreed. “What happened after you told her the baby looked okay?”

“I said we would admit her anyway just to be on the safe side, that I would get a doctor,” Sheila replied. “That’s where I made my mistake. I wasn’t certain if I should admit them to the ER or the maternity ward. I broke off to ask, and when I turned around, she was gone. This was after I gave her the paperwork to fill out. She seemed agitated by that and asked if she could just have the baby checked without all the paperwork. She said she was willing to pay cash.”

“That’s suspect, right?” Zander asked.

“It’s not normal,” Sheila agreed. “Most people want the paperwork because it’s necessary for insurance. Of course, there are people who don’t have insurance. I’ve never run into any of them having a problem filling out the paperwork even under those conditions, though.”

“When she left, what did you do?” Harper asked. “I mean ... did you chase her?”

“I went out to the parking lot looking for her. She’d been worried about the baby, which made me worried. I couldn’t find her, though. She was already gone.”

“Did you report the incident to the police?”

“We did, but nobody ever bothered to talk to me until years later. I thought Sal was a cop at first, but then he explained what he was doing, how a teenager from Whisper Cove had gone missing, that she was massively pregnant at the time of her disappearance, and the dates lined up with the report I filed.”

“What do you think?” Harper asked. “I mean ... you had to get a feel for the woman. Do you think she gave birth to the baby she brought in?”

“That wouldn’t be my first inclination, but stranger things have happened. I had to fill in on the maternity floor for a full month once and the things I saw when I was up there ... you would be stunned. I once saw a woman give birth in a rainbow wig even though her head was sweating and causing the thing to slide off every time she pushed. One woman applied makeup every hour so she would look good in photos after the event. Most people don’t bother with that stuff. Some genuinely care, though. It’s not my place to judge.”

“Right.” Harper worked the situation through her head. “What about her body, though?”

“That’s where I can’t reconcile the possibility of her giving birth. She wore jeans and a T-shirt. Both were fitted. There was no pooch.” Sheila moved her hands over her stomach. “I don’t care what shape you’re in, or how fast you bounce back, you’re going to have that pooch for a bit. This woman’s stomach was flat as a board.”

“Do you know how old she was?”

“That’s sometimes hard to gauge. I would put her at roughly twenty-five. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t question her panic. New mothers often freak out, especially if they’re young.”

“You didn’t get a blood sample or anything from the baby, right?”

“No, and I really wish I had,” Sheila said. “Honestly, it would’ve been better if I didn’t hand the baby back and instead rushed them immediately to the maternity floor. I was unsure of myself back then, though, and that’s a mistake. I didn’t realize how big of a mistake it potentially was until Sal tracked me down.”

“Would you be able to recognize the woman if you saw her again?”

“I ... think so. I mean, I can’t guarantee it. It’s been seventeen years. I’m fairly confident I could, though.”

“Well, hopefully we’ll be able to come up with some photos for you to look at down the road.” Harper tugged on her bottom lip, considering. “What about the baby’s coloring? Was she blond? Dark hair? Dark eyes?”

“The baby was bald, eyes blue. That’s not uncommon and you’re not going to find your missing baby that way.”

Harper’s smile was rueful. “I figured. It’s just ... difficult. This case is cold, but I can’t shake the possibility that there could be a baby out there somewhere waiting to be found. Er, well, a teenager now.”

“I assume you’ve written off the mother,” Sheila noted. “You haven’t mentioned her.”

“Written off? I don’t know that I would phrase it that way. The odds of her being alive if someone simply wanted the baby seem pretty slim, though.”

“I don’t disagree. What if the woman I saw and the baby’s mother were working together, though? Maybe the mother was too weak to take the baby to the hospital and she got a friend to do it? Maybe I saw the friend, which was why she was so out of sorts.”

“I hadn’t really considered that.”

“What about now?”

Harper hesitated and then shook her head. “It doesn’t feel right. I obviously can’t rule out the possibility, but I think we need to be looking for the father or a woman who managed to cross paths with Penny in Whisper Cove. Those are the scenarios I’m leaning toward.”

“Well, good luck. The world could use some good news. Finding out a baby long since thought dead is alive would fit into that category.”

“I’m right there with you.” Harper graced Sheila with her warmest smile. “Thank you for your time. We’ll likely be in touch again.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks. I think we’re going to need it.”

14

Fourteen

Harper and Zander went for ice cream upon returning to Whisper Cove and planted themselves in the shade in front of the police station as they debated what to do next.

“I think we should go to a spa,” Zander announced, causing Harper to frown.

“A spa? I guarantee we’re not going to find answers at a spa.”

“No, but we will find massages and facial scrubs. In case you’ve forgotten, we talked about doing that together before the wedding.”

Guilt rushed over Harper, but she tamped it down quickly. “I think this is more important.”

“You’re only saying that because you haven’t had a good massage in years.”

“Jared gives me massages all the time.”

“Sex massages don’t count.”

“They’re not sex massages.”

Zander rolled his eyes as he licked his cone. “How many massages has Jared given you that haven’t led to sex? Be honest.”

“I ... don’t have the specific numbers.”

Zander pinned her with a dubious look. “Don’t bother lying, Harp. You’re horrible at it.”

“That’s just how things go.” Harper had no idea why she felt the need to stand up for Jared when it came to massages, but she was determined. “Massages are meant to be sexy.”

“Uh-huh. How many times do you get sexy with the female masseuse at the spa?”

“That’s different.”

“How so?”

“She’s not attracted to me. Jared is. He can’t help it if his hands wander.”

“Oh, you’re so full of it. He’s a dirty pervert and you know it.”

“Oh, really? How often does Shawn give you a massage that doesn’t lead to dirty things?”

“Shawn and I aren’t animals.”

Harper made a face and waited.

“See, I don’t feel comfortable answering that question,” Zander said after a beat. “If I say that all our massages are chaste events, you’ll accuse me of having no game. If I say that all of our massages lead to cuddle games, you’ll say I’m a hypocrite. There’s no winning for me.”

“How many?” Harper pressed.

“I’m not answering that.”

“Don’t make me wrestle you down.” Harper was deadly serious. “I know all your tickle spots. I’ll make you cry in public. I know how much you hate that.”

“I don’t hate crying in public. I hate blowing my nose in public.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Harper let loose a haphazard hand wave. “You’re definitely a hypocrite.”

“Take that back.”

“No.”

“Take it back or I’ll wrestle you down.”

“You would have to catch me first and we both know I’m more athletically inclined than you.”

Zander’s mouth dropped open. “I’m an Olympic athlete.”

“When have you ever been to the Olympics?”

“You don’t need to go to be considered an Olympic athlete.”

“Um, I’m pretty sure that’s the way it works. To be an Olympian, you need to be invited to the games.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is.”

“It’s not.”

“It is.”

“It’s not.”

“It is!” Zander practically roared he was so annoyed.

At that exact moment, Jared and Mel happened to be walking out of the police station. Their gazes automatically went to Harper and Zander, who looked ready to throw down.

“What’s this?” Jared asked, his hand landing on Harper’s shoulder. He could practically feel the agitation vibrating under her skin.

“Nothing,” Harper replied, her eyes never leaving Zander’s face. “We were just discussing ... something.”

“What?”

“Nothing important.”

“Oh, don’t lie,” Zander snapped. “We were discussing me being an Olympic runner.”

“When were you in the Olympics?” Mel asked blankly.

“You don’t have to be in the Olympics to be an Olympic runner.”

“You do so.”

“You do not.”

“You do so.”

Harper slapped her hand to her forehead. “And now you know what we were arguing about.”

Jared didn’t know if he should be amused or irritated. “Oh, well ... okay.” He dropped a kiss on the top of Harper’s head and started massaging her shoulders. “How did your visit with the nurse go?”

Harper tried to force herself out of her bad mood. “It went okay. She says that a blond woman in her mid-twenties came in with a newborn, but she doesn’t believe the woman gave birth. She said she was new at the hospital, wasn’t sure where she should send her, and the woman balked at filling out paperwork and disappeared when she was trying to get direction on what to do.”

“No name?”

“No.”

“Well, that’s something, but I don’t know how we’ll find this woman so many years after the fact.”

“I don’t either. Zander and I decided to have some ice cream to think about things, one thing led to another, and now we’re here.”

“What one thing led to your discussion about Zander being an Olympic runner?”

“It’s not important.”

“Uh-huh.” Jared didn’t believe that for a second. “Zander, what led to your fight?”

“I told her we should be at a spa instead of chasing old mysteries and that she deserved a real massage,” he replied. “She said you gave her massages, but I said sex massages don’t count. Then she was hurtful.”

“Oh, geez.” Mel rubbed his forehead. “I don’t understand how the two of you get anything done. No, I’m being serious. If this is how you communicate with one another, I’m thinking therapy might be in order.”

“We’re professionals,” Zander replied. “We don’t need therapy. Although, to be fair, I’ve always liked the notion of paying someone to listen to my grievances. We’re talking about someone who can’t start talking about their crap when I’m still in the middle of dissecting my crap.”

“I think therapy would be a good idea for you,” Jared agreed. “Just out of curiosity, how long is this fight going to last? We have somewhere to be and I’m not keen on leaving before you two are in love again.”

“We’re in love,” Harper reassured him. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about. Zander and I can handle our own affairs.”

“Well, I love you best,” Jared said as he dropped a kiss on her shoulder. “I happen to love the sex massages and agree that Zander is not an Olympian.”

“Don’t make me come over there,” Zander growled.

Jared ignored him. “If you’re still feeling sad in an hour or so I can listen to your grievances, Heart. It’s up to you, though.”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine. I’m just going to wrestle Zander down and beat the crap out of him once I’m done with my ice cream.”

“Oh, well, that sounds fun.” Jared flashed a smile and gave her shoulders another squeeze before releasing her. “I’ll be in touch. We have leftover Chinese food for dinner tonight, our last meal together. I might be persuaded to have lunch with you guys if you can afford to wait for an hour or so.”

“That might be fun.” Harper brightened considerably. “We could have Mexican.”

“You can’t have Mexican the day before your wedding,” Zander argued. “Do you want to be tooting as you walk down the aisle?”

“Maybe I do. Why do you care?”

“Oh, geez.” Jared felt as if he was caught between a rock and a Zander place. It wasn’t unusual for Zander and Harper to snap at each other like siblings. He wasn’t expecting it so close to the wedding, though. “We need to go. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“We’re fine,” Harper promised. “I’ve got everything under control. You have nothing to worry about.”

“Okay.” Jared met Mel’s gaze and shook his head. “Are you ready?”

Mel nodded.

“Just out of curiosity, where are you going?” Harper queried.

“The funeral home. Denise Humphrey is going to be there making arrangements for Peter’s service. We thought it was best to touch base with her again.”

“Do you think she’ll have more information?”

“It’s unlikely, but it’s our best shot.”

“Okay, text me when you’re done and we’ll get Mexican food.”

“We’re not getting Mexican food,” Zander insisted. “What if it gives you heartburn or a sour stomach? You need to get something bland ... like an avocado salad.”

“We’re not going to Jason’s restaurant,” Harper insisted. “He needs a break from you. I promised he wouldn’t have to see you again until the wedding.”

“He should want to see me. I’m a fun guy.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

Sensing the crisis had passed, Jared left Harper with another kiss and a promise to text when he was ready for lunch. Once at the cruiser with Mel, he fixed his partner with a serious stare across the top of the car.

“I keep telling myself that she loves him,” he said, referring to Zander. “I mean ... I get it. They have a unique relationship. Does he have to be so much work, though?”

Mel snorted. “It’s only going to get worse when you’re married. Then Zander is going to feel as if he no longer has to be on his best behavior because there will be no risk of you dumping Harper over him.”

Jared was aghast. “Wait ... this was him on his best behavior? How much worse does it get?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?”

“Probably not.”

“Come on. Let’s drop in on Denise and see how she’s holding up. After that, we’ll get lunch and see where the day takes us.”

“I can’t believe he gets worse,” Jared muttered.

“You’ll get used to him.”

That was exactly what Jared was afraid of.

DENISE SAT ON A SMALL SETTEE IN THE MIDDLE of the funeral home when Jared and Mel entered. She had a binder open on her lap, her hair was pulled back in a severe ponytail, and her face was devoid of makeup. She looked utterly wrecked.

Tom Duncan, the owner of the funeral home, met Jared and Mel before they could cross to her. “Are you here for Denise? If so, I have to warn you, she’s very upset. She’s barely holding it together.”

“We’re here to see if we can offer her any help, although I don’t know what that would entail, and ask if she’s had any ideas on who might’ve wanted to hurt her ex-husband since the last time we spoke,” Mel explained. “We don’t want to upset her.”

“She’s already upset.” Tom rubbed his chin as he regarded the woman. “She’s second-guessing herself left and right. It would be easier if she had someone to help her but the only one here is Cami and she seems to be more of a hindrance than a help.”

Jared flicked his gaze to the teenager studying the urns on a shelf. Her back was to them, but Jared could tell from the slope of her shoulders that she was gearing up for a battle. “What does Cami want?”

“She wants her mother to pick the most expensive stuff in the parlor. Denise is trying to take a more measured approach. They yelled at each other about ten minutes ago and haven’t acknowledged each other’s existence in the time since.”

“I think that’s fairly normal for teenage girls and mothers,” Mel noted. “I happen to remember a fight or two between Harlow and Gloria that made my ears burn.”

“Not my Harper,” Jared countered. “I’m guessing she was an angel at that age.”

“Oh, you’re just saying that because you’re getting married tomorrow,” Mel groused. “The girl was sweet as pie when she was little, but she was never an angel. She always had a mischievous streak.”

“Which I’m certain was only a thing because of Zander.”

“Yeah, you’re dreaming. He wasn’t responsible for all the trouble they found, only seventy-five percent of it.”

“I’m going to stick with my current beliefs on this particular subject.”

“Do what you want to do.” Mel dragged a hand through his hair and focused on Tom. “We need to talk to her. We promise to be as gentle as possible.”

“I’m not going to stop you from talking to her,” Tom said. “Honestly, I think a break from choosing items for the service might be good for her. I’m just warning you to tread lightly.”

“Then we arrived right on time to help.” Mel took the lead as they joined Denise, offering a tight smile when she looked up. “We’re sorry to disturb you.”

“No, don’t worry about it.” Denise closed the binder and straightened. “Did you find who did this?”

“Not yet.” Mel sat in one of the open chairs across from the woman, leaving the other seat for Jared. “We were hoping you might’ve had time to think about things, perhaps come up with a name of someone who held a grudge against your ex-husband.”

“I have been thinking about it.” Denise’s eyes were red-rimmed and puffy from what looked like long crying jags. “I just can’t think of anyone who would want to hurt him. Did you talk to the people at his office?”

“We did, and they couldn’t come up with a name either. They’re going through the complaint files to see if they can find something but say that Peter never mentioned having trouble with a client.”

“Peter never had trouble with anybody. He was a good man who always did the right thing. Nobody disliked him.”

Jared made a throat-clearing sound to draw Denise’s attention to him. “Everyone we’ve talked to regarding your husband has spoken about him in glowing terms. You can’t go through life without upsetting someone, though. Even Mother Theresa had people who didn’t like her.”

Denise let loose a hollow laugh. “I guess you’re right. Peter, though, never told me about any work problems he might’ve had. He wasn’t a complainer. The worst thing I remember him ever telling me was that they changed the forms to input the information into the computer and he claimed the person who did it was a moron.”

“I think everyone makes that sort of complaint when faced with something new.”

“That’s what I mean. He just didn’t have enough juice to make enemies. Are you sure that he was struck on purpose? I mean ... couldn’t it have been an accident?”

“There’s no way it was an accident. The footage we saw clearly shows the individual behind the wheel accelerating and steering directly into him.”

Denise’s eyes went wide. “I didn’t know you had video. Why haven’t you made an arrest if you know the person who did this?”

“Because we can’t see the driver, and the license plate is blurry. All we know is the make and model of the car and that a blond female was driving.”

“But ... .” Denise trailed off and shook her head. “I apologize. This has been a very difficult few days.” She inclined her head toward the teenager, who was steadfastly ignoring everybody else in the room. “My daughter isn’t taking it well.”

“I don’t think any daughter could take something like this well,” Jared said, forcing a smile when the girl finally turned and focused on the trio in the middle of the room.

Cami did a double take, as if surprised to find she was no longer alone with her mother, and then started in their direction. “Who are you?” she demanded as she looked between Jared and Mel.

“Cami, don’t be rude,” Denise chided. “This is Detective Kelsey and his partner Detective Monroe. They’re trying to figure out who hurt your father.”

“Oh, yeah?” Fury kindled in the depths of Cami’s green eyes. “It doesn’t look like you’re trying to figure out anything. In fact, it looks to me as if you’re sitting on your behinds and doing nothing.”

Denise was horrified. “Cami! You can’t say things like that to adults. What have I told you?”

Cami ignored her mother. “Why haven’t you arrested whoever did this?”

“Because we’re still looking,” Jared replied. “We’ve been unable to ascertain if your father had any enemies. You knew him better than anyone, right? Do you know if he was having trouble with someone? Maybe there was someone at the office who wanted to pick a fight.”

“At the insurance office?” Cami rolled her eyes. “Are you kidding me? Nobody at the insurance office wanted to hurt my dad. They all loved him.” She choked up. “I loved him, too. He didn’t have any enemies.”

Jared’s heart went out to the teenager. She was obviously wrecked over what had happened to her father. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Do people have to say that?” Cami swiped at the tears coursing down her cheeks. “Is that the go-to thing to say when someone dies? If so, it’s stupid. You probably have a book telling you what to say to people when someone is murdered. Well, I’m telling you it’s stupid and I don’t want to hear it.

“He was a good dad,” she continued, the tears falling faster now. “In fact, he was the best dad in the world. Everybody liked him. Random people on the street waved at him because he was so friendly. He didn’t deserve what happened.”

“No one is saying that,” Mel supplied. “There’s nobody who believes your father deserved what happened to him.”

“You do.”

“I don’t. We’re simply trying to figure this out. Your father was such a good man there’s nowhere for us to look when it comes to suspects.”

“Then do your job better,” Cami hissed. “You’re supposed to be the one who knows what to do. My father didn’t deserve to die. I want you to find the animal who did this to him.”

“That’s our top priority,” Jared promised.

“Whatever.” Cami shook her head and turned so the detectives couldn’t see her cry. “How much longer do we have to stay here, Mom? I want to go home.”

Denise moved to her daughter’s side and slung an arm around the girl’s shoulders. “Let me ask Tom if we can take the binder home, huh? I’ll make all the decisions there and then call him to figure out the pricing on the phone.”

“I don’t care what you do. I don’t want to stay here.”

“Just ... give me a second.” Denise shot Mel and Jared an apologetic smile before crossing to Tom, leaving her furious offspring to keep railing against the atrocities of the world.

“This whole thing sucks,” Cami raged. “I hate it all. We’re going to have to call a freaking Uber to go home on top of everything else. It’s outrageous when we have a car locked up in the garage, for crying out loud. I know it’s running no matter what she says. I heard her come in the other day and it sounded fine. Now we can’t drive it, though. I’m sure this is some ‘help the environment’ thing.”

It was an offhand comment, and yet it caused the blood in Jared’s veins to run cold. He slid a sidelong look toward Mel and found the older detective looked equally intrigued. Jared opened his mouth to ask about the car they couldn’t drive, but Mel stopped him with an almost imperceptible head shake, which caused Jared to snap his mouth shut.

“Tom said we can take the binder,” Denise said to Cami upon her return. “Let’s get out of here, huh? You can pick out something to eat before we go home.”

“I’m not hungry.” Cami was sulky as she followed her mother. “I just want to go home. I hate this place.”

“It’s a funeral home. Nobody likes a funeral home.”

Jared waited until the room was empty to speak. “What do you make of that?”

“Nothing good. I think we need to run a check.”

“I’m right there with you.”

15

Fifteen

“What do you have?” Jared watched Mel work on his cruiser computer from the passenger seat. He was itching to take over the search himself — Mel wasn’t great with technology — but knew that would be an ugly scene so he held back, although it took a lot of effort.

“Denise Humphrey owns a 2016 Honda Civic.” Mel’s voice was low. “We should’ve checked.”

Jared nodded. “We should have. Her hair is different, though. It’s shorter.”

“She obviously wore a wig.”

“Or had it cut after the fact. We didn’t inform her until the next day. She had plenty of time to run to a salon and get a drastic cut.”

“She did.” Mel rubbed his chin, debating. “We have to get to that house and look over the car. That has to be our next step.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.”

Mel put the cruiser into reverse and backed out of the funeral home parking lot. “I can’t believe we didn’t check,” he lamented. “I mean ... that should’ve been the first thing we did.”

Jared didn’t like it when his partner focused all the blame on himself, but he understood why Mel was berating himself in this particular instance. “She didn’t act suspiciously. She seemed broken up. Her story about the divorce being amiable didn’t trigger any red flags. I ... don’t want to say we’re blameless, but it never occurred to either one of us.”

“Well, it’s occurring to me now. Do you want to know what else is occurring to me?”

“Cami.”

Mel nodded, grim. “Is that girl about to lose both parents? She’s not an adult. That means she’ll go into the system. How is that fair?”

“I hate to repeat back something to you that you often say to me, but life isn’t fair. I mean ... I have to deal with Zander on a regular basis, and according to you, he’s going to get worse. That’s definitely not fair.”

“No,” Mel agreed. “It’s not. I just ... can’t believe we overlooked this.”

“Her hair was different,” Jared insisted. “If her hair had been long, we would’ve checked.”

“You say that as if it’s an acceptable excuse.”

“There is no acceptable excuse. We messed up. Now we have to try and fix it.”

“Lord have mercy on that poor teenager’s soul.”

Jared wasn’t looking forward to dealing with that situation either. However, it had to be done. “Let’s take a look at the car. There’s still a chance it’s not her.”

Mel shot him an incredulous look.

“A very small chance,” Jared conceded. “We have to chase this one to the end. You know it as well as I do.”

“I do know it. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

That made two of them.

PER USUAL, HARPER AND ZANDER MADE up relatively quickly. Their fights never lasted very long — seventy-two hours was the record — and by the time they finished their ice cream and started down the sidewalk they were in love all over again.

“If you could medal in any event in the Olympics, what would it be?” Zander asked, ducking his head under a low-hanging tree branch.

“I don’t know. Tennis maybe. I’ve always thought it looks like a fun sport. I’m not coordinated enough to play it, though.”

“Yeah, it’s harder to judge that ball with the racket than it should be,” Zander agreed. “Do you remember when I tried out for the tennis team in high school?”

“Yes. You were removed after one day because you kept doing phallic things with the racket.”

“I was shining it.”

“If that’s your story.”

“I was. I don’t know why nobody believed me.”

“Probably because they’d met you.”

“Let’s not fight again,” he warned. “I was asking an innocent question.”

Because Harper didn’t want to fight either, she merely nodded. “What sport would you want to medal in? By the way, if you say running, I’m totally tackling you into that bush.”

“You’d better not. That’s a bramble bush and you’ll get all scratched up. Jared will not be happy if his bride is bruised and scabbed on his wedding day.”

“Just tell me what sport.”

“Honestly? Bobsledding. I think I’d be really good at it.”

Harper snorted. “That’s a team sport. You don’t play well on a team.”

“I play well on your team.”

“Not always.”

“I still like it. It’s dangerous, and practically anybody can do it. I think it’s a much better sport than something like shooting. Like ... I don’t get that sport where people have to cross-country ski for miles and then stop to shoot at targets. I mean ... what freaking sport is that?”

“I’ve wondered about that myself,” Harper admitted. “Oddly enough, whenever that’s on, I can’t look away.”

“That’s because you’re trying to figure out what they’re doing.”

“True story.”

They lapsed into amiable silence as they approached the intersection where Peter was killed. Harper didn’t even realize she’d purposely pointed herself in that direction until they were already there.

“Did you pick this spot for a reason?” Zander asked when he noticed where they’d landed.

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“It’s going to bother you if we don’t solve this one, isn’t it?”

“It shouldn’t,” Harper countered. “It’s not as if we can’t pick things up when we get back from our honeymoon. By the way, do you know where Jared is taking me on our honeymoon? I made a mistake a few weeks ago and left the decision in his hands and now I’m curious.”

“He didn’t tell me, and there’s no way he would. He knows I have a big mouth. I would’ve had the best of intentions if he confided in me, even meant it when I promised not to tell. I still would’ve blabbed.”

Harper found she was amused by his honesty. It was rare he took a moment for genuine self-reflection. “I think that’s your fault. If you would blab a little less, at least in front of him, he might confide in you more often.”

“What fun is that? Half the time I get my jollies from seeing how red I can make his face. It’s kind of like a game.”

“Maybe that’s the sport you should medal in.”

“You kid, but if they offered Public Aggravation as a game, I would totally mop the floor with the rest of the competition.”

“I can see that. I ... .” Harper trailed off when a hint of movement caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. When she looked up, she found Peter’s ghost standing on the opposite corner, staring at her. “Well, I’ll be.”

“You’ll be what?” Zander asked blankly.

Harper inclined her chin across the way. “The dream ghost has decided to touch down in the land of the living.”

“Peter Humphrey?”

Harper nodded as she watched the ghost eye her with overt dislike. “He doesn’t look happy to see me.”

“He clearly doesn’t understand your charm.” Zander took her hand and urged her to cross the street. “Since you’re not going to let this go, I think now would be the appropriate time to approach him. If he’s going to talk, he should do it now.”

“Yeah. He doesn’t look like he wants to talk.” Despite that, Harper found she was eager to talk to the man. She watched traffic carefully as they crossed — the memory of Peter’s death loomed large — and when she lifted her eyes again once they were on the other side, she found he was gone.

“Okay, do your thing,” Zander instructed.

“He left.” Harper couldn’t contain her disappointment as she looked around. “Oh, wait, he didn’t. He just moved down the block.”

“In the direction we just came from?” Zander queried. “Does he not know how hot it is? I don’t want to cross again.”

“No, that way.” Harper pointed, narrowing her eyes as she studied the ghost. He wasn’t gesturing toward her, and yet she had the distinct impression that he wanted her to follow. “I think he wants to show us something.”

“It’s not going to be something gross, is it? You know how I feel about seeing nasty things before lunch.”

“As opposed to how happy you are to see nasty things before dinner,” Harper deadpanned.

“You’re right. I don’t want to see anything nasty.”

“He’s not letting me know either way what he wants to show me.”

“You want to follow him, though, don’t you?”

“Yup.” Harper pasted a rueful smile on her face. “And since I know you won’t turn around and leave me to enjoy this adventure on my own, you’re going to have to keep the complaining to a minimum until we get wherever we’re going.”

“I don’t remember agreeing to that.”

“Think of it as a wedding gift.”

“No way. Your wedding gift has to be fun for me, too. Not complaining about a ghost acting weird is zero fun for either of us.”

“Just ... give it your best shot.”

“Okay, I’ll try, but I can promise nothing.”

JARED AND MEL PARKED ON THE STREET IN front of Denise’s house in an effort to leave the driveway open. If they had to call for a tech team, the crew would need a spot to park. Just like before, the neighborhood was quiet. This time, though, Jared felt uneasy as they trudged toward the front door.

“How do you want to play this?” Jared asked. “Should we get right to the point or feel her out?”

“I haven’t decided yet.” Mel pressed the doorbell. “Let me do the talking.”

“I hate it when you say things like that,” Jared groused. “You sound like Zander.”

“If you say that again, you’re the one who is going to be getting married with bruises all over your face tomorrow.”

“Oh, bold talk.” Jared tucked away his smirk when he heard movement by the door. It wasn’t Denise who opened it, though. It was Cami.

“What do you want?” the girl asked on a scowl. She most definitely didn’t look happy to see them. “I already told you that I don’t know who would want to hurt my dad. Why can’t you accept that he was a good guy?”

“We have accepted that,” Mel replied. “Nobody we’ve interviewed has said a single bad thing about your father. It sounds like he was an amazing man.”

“He was,” Cami agreed.

“We’re not here about that. We need to talk to your mother.”

Cami’s brow furrowed. “About what?”

“We just need to talk to her.”

Cami didn’t look keen at the prospect. “Why can’t you tell me?”

“Because that’s not how this works,” Mel replied. “Whether you want to believe it or not, you’re still a minor. It’s your mother we need to talk to.”

“Oh, whatever.” Cami made a disgusted face and disappeared inside the house, leaving the door gaping open.

Mel and Jared exchanged dour looks but there was no turning back. Mel was the first through the door and he wasn’t surprised when Denise appeared in the hallway, a dishtowel in her hand. “You’re not Patty from next door,” she said blankly.

“No,” Mel agreed. “We need to talk to you.”

“You just talked to me thirty minutes ago at the funeral home.”

“I’m aware. This time we need to talk to you about something else.”

“This doesn’t sound good.” Denise tilted her head toward the kitchen. “I’m washing dishes. You can talk to me in here I guess.”

“Thank you.” Mel watched the woman’s movements as she slid behind the island, briefly wondering if she would try to arm herself. Not once did she even glance at the knife block on the counter, though. Instead, she appeared mystified as she went back to her task. “What could’ve possibly happened in the time since I last saw you?”

“Your daughter said something to us when you were talking to Tom about taking the binder,” Mel volunteered. “It was enough to pique our interest.”

“Cami said something to you?” Denise looked more confused than before. “I don’t understand. What could she have possibly said?”

“She complained about having to ride in an Uber.”

Denise stiffened but didn’t stop washing the dishes. “Okay. I didn’t realize that was a crime.”

“It’s not, but she also mentioned that your car was in working order but locked away in the garage,” Mel explained. “You see, we’ve theorized that whoever hit Peter would do just that, lock the vehicle in the garage and not take it in to get fixed for several weeks, wait until after all the media coverage of the accident has died down.”

“Am I to understand you think I hit Peter?” Denise pulled off incredulous really well. “How can you think that?”

“We ran your vehicle,” Jared volunteered in an even voice. “We know you drive a Honda Civic, which just happens to be the same vehicle that struck Peter in the intersection. We also know it’s red.”

“But ... no. I don’t have long hair.” Denise pointed toward her head. “It’s not me.”

Jared couldn’t remember if they’d let the long hair tidbit slip when they were questioning Denise the first time. Now it didn’t really matter, though. “You could’ve gotten it cut. There was plenty of time between the accident and when we informed you of Peter’s death.”

“Well, I didn’t get my hair cut.”

“What about a wig?” Mel queried. “Do you happen to own a wig?”

“What? I ... no. I don’t own a wig.” This time the statement didn’t roll as easily off her tongue.

“We’d like to believe you,” Jared supplied. “It’s too coincidental, though. We need you to show us your car.”

Denise immediately abandoned her dishes and shook her head. “No. I won’t allow you to come into my home and accuse me of something so heinous. I loved Peter. Sure, we couldn’t make our marriage work, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t friends.”

“We need to see the vehicle, Mrs. Humphrey,” Mel pressed. “We’re not leaving until we do.”

“Well, I say you are leaving.” Denise stalked toward the door. “I think you’re leaving right now because I don’t have to allow you to stay. You don’t have a warrant. I want you out of here right now.”

“We can get a warrant,” Mel warned.

“Do whatever you want.” Denise’s eyes were wild. “Just keep in mind that you’re further traumatizing my daughter with this nonsense. As her mother, it’s my job to protect her. If you think I’m going to let you railroad me, it’s not going to happen. That’s not protecting her.”

Mel offered up a stiff nod. “Have it your way. We’ll be out front waiting for our warrant to clear.”

Denise hesitated. “You can’t just sit in front of my house.”

“On the contrary. We can.”

“And that’s what we intend to do,” Jared added. “You’re making things harder than they have to be.”

“No, I’m protecting what’s left of my family,” Denise shot back. “Cami has already lost her father. Now you want to take her mother from her.”

“We want justice for your ex-husband,” Jared countered. “We will get it.”

HARPER AND ZANDER FOLLOWED PETER for a full mile until he turned down a side street. Zander complained for the entire walk, making a big show of fanning his face and complaining about a potential tan.

“It won’t be a good look if we’re both sunburned tomorrow,” he noted.

“It’s twenty minutes,” Harper shot back. “I hardly think we’re going to look like lobsters.”

“It’s also twenty minutes back.”

“Yes, but the sun will be to our backs so there’s nothing to worry about.”

She had him there, which was something Zander refused to acknowledge. “I think we should turn around.”

“No.” Harper was perplexed when she got a better view of the street. The first thing she noticed was that Mel’s cruiser was parked in front of a nondescript ranch house several doors down. She also noted that Jared and Mel were leaning on it, arms folded, and watching the house for signs of movement. “What are they doing here?”

“What?” Zander followed her gaze, frowning. “Huh. Well, at least we won’t have to walk back. Sure, they’ll put up the cage to mess with us, but I’m willing to put up with it because the ride involves air conditioning.”

“Sure. Whatever.” Harper looked both ways before crossing the street, her eyes on Jared.

As if sensing her, he turned and fixed her with a puzzled stare. “What are you doing here?”

“They’re following us,” Mel replied. “They want to stick their noses in our case.”

“That’s not why we’re here,” Harper countered, her eyes sweeping over the house in question so she could locate Peter. Sure enough, the ghost hovered on the front lawn, staring at the huge bay window at the front of the house, his attention completely focused on what was inside instead of the growing group of people outside. “Is that Peter Humphrey’s ex-wife’s house?”

“It is,” Jared confirmed. “What are you doing here?”

“Following his ghost. He was at the intersection downtown and seemed as if he wanted us to follow.”

“Well, that’s interesting,” Jared said. “Since we left you less than an hour ago, we found out that Denise Humphrey owns a 2016 Honda Civic and apparently it’s drivable but hidden in the garage. She won’t let us see it so we’re waiting for a warrant to clear.”

Harper was gobsmacked. “What? Are you saying ... ?” She didn’t finish the question. It wasn’t necessary.

“We should’ve checked her first,” Mel said. “I don’t know why we didn’t. That’s standard when dealing with a divorced couple and one half is murdered.”

“You think it was her.” Harper could only shake her head. “I don’t understand any of this.”

“Neither do we. Right now, Denise is inside and refuses to let us see the vehicle. Once we have a warrant, we’ll be breaching the garage and looking for ourselves.”

“Right.” Harper shifted so she was staring at Peter. “That solves half the mystery. What about the other half, though?”

“What other half?” Mel asked blankly.

“Penny Montgomery and her baby.”

“That’s not technically our mystery,” Mel pointed out.

“No, but it plays into this. I’m almost certain of it.” Harper started across the street.

“Where are you going?” Jared called to her back.

“I have questions.”

“We all have questions. We need to wait for a warrant.”

“You do. I don’t.”

16

Sixteen

Harper stopped when she was directly next to Peter, who seemed fixated on the house. A quick study told her that he looked absolutely lost, and it broke her heart a little bit.

“Your daughter is here,” she noted.

“Cami.”

“You must love her a great deal.”

“She’s my daughter.”

“Of course.”

“She is my daughter.” His eyes were clear when he turned to face her. “She was always my daughter. She’s not Denise’s daughter, though.”

The simple statement was like a fist to Harper’s heart. “Your ex-wife killed Penny.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Tell me what happened.” She slid her gaze to Jared as he edged closer but didn’t admonish him to stay away. It wasn’t necessary. Peter was finally ready to talk. “I can help if you tell me what’s going on.”

“You can help?” Peter looked forlorn. “How can you help? I’m dead. You can’t change that, right?”

“No. Dead is dead. I can help you cross over, though. I can help you move on to the next phase.” She hesitated and then barreled forward. “Penny might be on the other side.”

“Might?” Peter’s voice was rusty. “Don’t you know? You’re the ghost woman, right? That means you’re supposed to know.”

“I’ve never seen Penny,” Harper admitted. “I don’t know if she stayed behind or not. I’m guessing I would’ve seen her if she was still hanging around Whisper Cove, though.” She lapsed into silence a beat, debating how to proceed. Peter’s emotions were all over the place. He was like a live wire and it was dangerous to touch him. “I need to know what happened. You and Penny were involved, right?”

He nodded, morose. “I met her when I was twenty-one years old.”

“She was still technically a minor, though.”

“Not for long. Yes, though, looking back now I was probably too old for her. That doesn’t mean I didn’t love her. We were just going to wait for a few months until she was an adult and then tell her mother. She suggested we tell her mother right away, said it would be okay, but I was afraid. I loved her so much but ... .”

“Fear is something you can’t always control,” Harper surmised. “I get it.”

“I was afraid to be a father,” he said. “I mean ... really afraid. I didn’t think I would be any good at it.”

“Obviously you were wrong,” Harper noted. “The fact that you’re here now means you were an awesome father.”

“Except I wasn’t.” Peter’s gaze was desperate when it locked with Harper’s sympathetic stare. “I didn’t know Cami was mine. I made her mine. Yet, she was really mine. Do you understand?”

“I think I’m starting to,” Harper acknowledged. “You didn’t get involved with Denise until after Penny disappeared.”

“I didn’t want to get involved with anyone,” Peter explained. “Denise always had a crush on me. I was friendly with her, but I wasn’t in love with her. She knew I was in love with Penny. I might not have given her a name — this was back when we were keeping it a secret — but I told her I was in love with someone else.”

Harper ran the scenario through her head. “Was Denise pregnant? I mean really pregnant.”

“She said she was, and she had a stomach when we worked together at the pizzeria.”

“The pizzeria?” Harper felt as if she was muddling through quicksand as she tried to catch up to the story. “I guess you were only twenty-one. It doesn’t make sense for you to work in the insurance agency at such a young age.”

“I didn’t decide to go that route for another few years,” Peter acknowledged. “I was aimless back then. I wouldn’t say I was shiftless because I wasn’t afraid to work. I had no idea what I wanted to do, though.”

“What did Penny say?”

“She thought I should keep at it until I figured out my career path. She was pretty understanding. Of course, her mother was loaded and she swore we didn’t have to worry about providing for the baby. That seemed surreal to me, but it was a load off. The worry I was carrying back then ... well … it was profound.”

“Did you unload some of that worry on Denise?”

“I ... .” Peter worked his jaw as he looked back in time. “I guess I did. She knew I was going to be a father because I let it slip one day. She seemed agitated about it, kept saying that it wasn’t the right time for me to be a father. I explained that it might not be the right time, but I was determined to be a good father all the same.”

“And what did she say to that?”

“After a few days of arguing, she let it go. Then, about a month later, she turned up and said she was pregnant.”

“That was convenient timing,” Harper mused.

“I didn’t think about it. I didn’t realize. She ... manipulated me.”

He said it with so much anguish Harper’s stomach twisted. “I’m guessing she spent the next few months confiding in you,” she said. “She probably told you about her hopes and fears, and since you could only see Penny on the sly, before you realized it, you were spending more time with Denise than Penny.”

Peter bobbed his head. “That’s exactly what happened. How did you know?”

“Because it’s the only thing that plays out correctly in my head,” Harper admitted. “She was obsessed with you, although you didn’t realize it.”

“I didn’t,” he agreed. “I didn’t realize it at all.”

“She probably followed you,” Harper mused, working things out in her head. “That’s how she found out who you were dating. Were you and Penny still spending time together?”

“Yeah. We spent as much time as possible together. We loved each other.”

“And then she was gone.”

“She was gone, and I was broken-hearted.”

Harper lobbed a quick glance toward Jared, debating, and then pushed forward. “Did you think of going to Lila?”

“Yes. I wanted answers. At first, I thought it was possible Lila sent Penny away. I believed Penny might’ve exaggerated her mother’s response to the baby. In the back of my mind, I thought she would send Penny to a hospital or something and then claim the baby had died when she was gone, but really they would give it up for adoption.”

It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility so Harper nodded in understanding. “And you feel guilty because you were okay with the idea.”

“Not okay.” Peter vehemently shook his head. “It wasn’t what I wanted. I thought maybe it was what Penny wanted, though. I thought maybe she wanted that because it would be easier on both of us ... and it would’ve been easier. Even though I was twenty-one, I was still a child in most respects.”

“When did you realize that Lila hadn’t sent Penny away, that something more nefarious had happened?”

Jared could only follow one side of the conversation, but he recognized Harper was making real progress. Instead of inserting his own questions, he moved behind her and began to rub her shoulders, allowing her to get to the heart of matters in her own time. Whatever information she came up with would help his cause when the warrant came through and it was time to question Denise.

“It was months, although I was growing increasingly frustrated,” Peter admitted. “I knew Penny would find a way to contact me if she could. At first I wrote it off as Lila not allowing her access to a phone, but I watched Lila in that time. She seemed legitimately upset to me ... and then broken.”

“It was when you realized she was broken that things shifted for you,” Harper surmised.

“Pretty much,” he acknowledged. “When Lila broke, I did, too. I wanted to go to her, tell her I was the father of the baby, and beg her forgiveness. I thought we could come up with a plan together, and yet I knew deep down it was already too late.

“I didn’t go to her like I should have back then because I was afraid,” he continued. “Months after the fact, I knew it was too late to do anything. I thought maybe she would tell the police and somehow I would get blamed even though I had nothing to do with it. Instead of being a man that day, I was a coward.

“I quit my job at the pizzeria and spent the next few months living in a bottle. I’m not proud of the way I reacted. It was ridiculous, and nothing a man would do. Denise contacted me during that time. She’d returned, said she had a baby, and thought we could bond. I blew her off.

“I didn’t see her again until a year after that. Cami was already walking by then. Denise seemed surprised when she saw me in the park one day and she lit up. It wasn’t her that I gravitated to, though.”

The pressure in Harper’s chest grew as she realized what he was saying. “It was Cami.”

“Do you think I knew on some level that she was mine? Do you think that’s why I allowed this to happen?”

Harper was caught off guard by the question. “I don’t think you allowed this to happen,” she countered. “I don’t think this was your fault.”

“If I’d come forward at the start, when Penny first got pregnant, there’s a chance she never would’ve been alone that day. We could’ve found a way to be together forever.”

“Or Denise could’ve completely lost her mind because you cut off all contact and tried to kill all three of you at some point,” Harper pointed out. “It doesn’t sound like she’s very stable.”

“No, and that bothers me, too.” Peter shook his head and looked away from the house. “I told myself I was falling in love with Denise when we first started dating. Penny was clearly gone and I was looking for something to focus on, a way to become a better man.

“Say what you want about what Denise did — and it was awful — but dating her and spending time with Cami forced me to grow up,” he continued. “I stopped drinking and started thinking. I was completely ecstatic whenever Cami was around. I didn’t really feel anything for Denise. I know that in hindsight. I convinced myself I did, though. I told myself that some of that love I was feeling for Cami belonged to Denise.”

“So you married her,” Harper prodded.

“I did. I married her and became Cami’s father.”

“Did you adopt her?”

“No. Denise said it wasn’t necessary, that since we were married Cami would automatically go to me if something happened to her. I know now that’s not necessarily true, but I believed her at the time. All I cared about was Cami.”

Harper licked her lips and debated where she wanted to go next with the conversation. There was really only one place to go. “When did you realize you wanted out of the marriage?”

“Technically, I never did. That was Denise. When we first got married, she was pleasant and sweet and seemed to understand that I was still in love with Penny. After a few years, though, she started getting bitter about it.

“She would push me, fight with me every chance she got, and demand that I tell her I loved her. I did. I told her what she wanted to hear. It was never enough, though.”

“That’s because you didn’t feel it in your heart,” Harper offered. “Telling someone you love them and that person actually feeling loved are two different things. You didn’t love Denise, so you couldn’t give her the emotional support she wanted. At some point she must’ve realized that you were incapable of loving her the way she wanted.”

Peter nodded. “She was the one who asked for the divorce. I was surprised, and yet I wasn’t upset at the prospect. I still loved Penny. I knew I always would. I’d moved beyond the numbness I felt for those initial years, though, and I’d come to the conclusion that something was lacking in my life.

“Don’t get me wrong, I loved Cami beyond imagination, but I was indifferent to Denise,” he continued. “We didn’t even share a bedroom the last year of our marriage. I always conveniently fell asleep on the couch because it was easier than sharing a bed with her and feeling the hate radiating from her side.”

“Did she give you grief when you wanted to share custody of Cami?”

“No, and I thought there might be a fight there,” Peter admitted. “I always asked about Cami’s father. She never wanted to talk about him. She said that he didn’t want anything to do with her once getting her pregnant, and since I desperately needed someone to hold onto, I was fine allowing him to fall by the wayside.

“I have to wonder, if I’d pushed back then, would the truth have come out?” he said. “How much of this is my fault?”

“Very little,” Harper replied, firm. “You didn’t do everything right. I’m not going to pretend you did. A twenty-one-year-old with a seventeen-year-old is kind of iffy. I understand she was old enough to consent, but most parents would be upset with that age difference. You clearly loved her, though.”

“To this day.”

“You should’ve forced the issue with Lila,” Harper added. “I’ve had a chance to talk to her over the past few days. She’s a lovely woman who is hurting over the death of her daughter. She knows Penny is gone. Cami isn’t, though, and she’s Lila’s blood.”

Peter nodded in agreement. “That’s what I wanted. Lila needed to know about Cami. I made the mistake of telling Denise I was going to track down Lila and tell her the truth, though, and that’s why she came after me.”

“I figured.” Harper let loose a heavy sigh. “How did you find out the truth? That’s the piece of the puzzle that’s missing.”

“Cami got me one of those DNA kits that you register online for Christmas last year,” he replied. “We had a lot of fun going over the results, tracing them back. She wanted one for herself.

“She’s known since she was about ten that I wasn’t her biological father,” he continued. “I told her that didn’t mean anything, that I couldn’t love her any more even if she was biologically related to me. She understood and took the test.

“We did it at my house, kind of a project thing. She was going to do a paper on it for her biology homework. We ran it through my email, though, so I was the one who got the results. I looked even though I told her I would wait. I was honestly curious.”

“You thought you might be able to uncover ties to her biological father,” Harper mused. “You wanted to make sure there wasn’t something upsetting there waiting for her to discover.”

“I always thought her biological father was some sort of heinous deadbeat and I wanted to make sure he wasn’t serving time in prison or something,” he acknowledged. “I don’t know how Cami would’ve dealt with having a biological father who killed people. I also wasn’t sure I wanted her finding him in case he somehow became more important than me.”

“She would’ve loved you forever no matter what,” Harper reassured him. “You loved her completely.”

“I did, and always will.” His smile was rueful. “Imagine my surprise when I read the results and found out I was her biological father.”

“Did you think there might’ve been an error?”

“I did. I thought it was laziness. We have the same last name. I sent it in from my account. I thought they were trying to pull a fast one, so I had Cami do another test and we sent it in to a different company. Guess what I found.”

“You were Cami’s father.”

“Yes, and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was only one way that was possible,” he said. “I sat up all night wondering why she did it, how she did it. I tried to come up with a scenario where Penny was still alive and somehow she’d given Denise our baby, but I knew that wasn’t possible. It wasn’t in her.”

“You realized she was dead.”

“I always knew she was dead, at least after those first few months where I deluded myself into thinking Lila had set all of this up. She would’ve come back. She wouldn’t have tortured her mother this way, or me. I just assumed the baby was gone, too.”

“She wasn’t, though. You raised her. You loved her.”

“Denise loved her, too,” Peter insisted. “I know it sounds weird for me to say that, but she was a good mother. She gave it her all with Cami and they’re very close. They love each other.”

“You still told Denise you were going to tell Lila the truth,” Harper surmised. “You confronted her.”

“I did, and she denied it. She said the DNA results were a mistake and claimed that it was an error. I told her I ran them twice, two different companies, and I told her that I knew what she’d done.”

“Did she tell you what happened to Penny?”

“She lied and said Penny gave her Cami and ran away because she didn’t love me, wanted to live a life on the road. I told her that wasn’t true, that I didn’t believe it, and then said I was going to the police after talking to Lila.

“I didn’t do the right thing right after Penny disappeared. I was bound and determined to do the right thing this time.”

“You did,” Harper encouraged him. “You did the right thing.”

“And I paid the ultimate price.” His gaze was sorrowful as it landed on Harper. “What price is Cami going to pay now?”

Harper opted for honesty. “I don’t know. Denise is going to have to pay for what she’s done. Cami won’t be alone, though. Lila will be a wonderful grandmother. She’ll make sure Cami has someone to talk to, a professional to help them work through this. I bet she even lets Cami see Denise if she wants, although Cami is going to be angry going forward.”

“And I won’t be there to help her.”

“You won’t,” Harper agreed. “You raised her right, though. You did what needed to be done, even at the end. Cami won’t forget that.” She hesitated and then continued. “And once Denise is in custody and Cami knows the truth, I’ll make sure you’re reunited with Penny. Wherever you go together, you can be assured that Cami will be taken care of. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Thank you.” Peter hung his head. “All of this hurts so much.”

“It will get better.”

“How do you know?”

“Because there’s no other choice.”

17

Seventeen

“You’re going to have to come with us, Heart,” Jared said as he watched Mel retrieve the warrant from one of the courthouse clerks. “You have the bulk of the details and can call her on it when she starts lying.”

Harper nodded in understanding as she stared off into the distance. They had their answers. This was what she’d been waiting for. Yet she was undeniably sad.

“Are you listening to me?” Jared asked in a gentle voice.

“What?” Harper plastered a smile on her face as she turned back to him. “Of course. How can you believe I wouldn’t listen to you?”

“Because you seem lost in your own little world.”

“I was just ... thinking,” Harper replied. “Did you email a photo of Denise to the nurse like you said you were going to?”

“I did. Sheila Bishop confirmed it. She said the woman was clearly older now, but she recognized the face.”

“So, that’s another confirmation.”

Jared arched an eyebrow. “Did you think it wouldn’t be?”

“No. I knew the story was right. I just ... feel really sick about it.”

Jared’s sigh was long and drawn out as he pulled her to him for a hug. “You didn’t think we were going to find Penny alive, did you?” he asked in a low voice.

“Of course not.” Even as she said it, tears pricked the back of her eyes. “I knew she was dead from the start. I just ... can’t help feeling for Cami.”

Jared ran his hands up and down her back, unaware that a despondent ghost watched their interaction from a few feet away. “Cami has a tough road ahead of her. She’s going to hear a lot of things about her mother this afternoon that are going to break her heart. I happen to believe she’s strong enough to overcome those things, though.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I’ve met her. She’s mouthy ... and sad ... but strong, too. She stood up for her father and demanded we find answers.”

“She’s not going to like the answers we found.”

“No, but she’s not coming out of this situation without a support system. She’s going to have Lila.”

“Have you called her yet?”

“No.”

“Good. I think I should go with you when you tell her. I mean ... I talked to her for a long time. I want to make sure she’s okay when she finally hears the truth about what happened to her daughter.”

“I think that will be a nice way to wrap up the day. Then we’ll eat our leftover Chinese and you’ll tell Zander you don’t want to be separated from me for the evening. I’ve decided this whole ‘not seeing the bride before the wedding’ thing is nonsense.”

That was enough to draw a laugh out of Harper, however hollow. “You’ll never get that past Zander.”

“Just watch me. I’m better than you think I am.”

“If you say so.”

The couple turned their attention to the driveway as Mel trudged toward them. He looked resigned.

“Are we ready?” Jared asked as he pulled away from Harper.

“We are,” Mel confirmed, his eyes drifting to Zander. “If you’re coming in with us, you have to be quiet. I mean ... don’t say a word. There’s nothing funny about this situation.”

Zander nodded his head. “I get it. There’s definitely nothing funny about this situation.”

“Stick close to Harper,” Jared instructed.

“Do you think Denise is going to jump on her or something?” Zander queried, his eyebrows drawn together.

“No, but I think this is going to be hard for her. I can’t be there the way I would like. That means you need to be her rock today.”

Zander offered up a mock salute. “It will be an honor and a privilege to stand in your stead.”

Jared stared at him for a beat, blinking, and then chuckled. “I don’t even know what to say to you sometimes. You’re so ... .”

“Handsome?”

“I was going to say weird.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

MEL AND JARED TOOK THE LEAD, Mel holding up the warrant as Jared knocked on the door. On the other side of the threshold, it was easy to make out an ongoing argument between mother and daughter.

“I don’t understand,” Cami groused. “Why are you keeping them out there?”

“They’re being ridiculous,” Denise replied. “They should be focusing on solving your father’s murder. Instead they’re here giving us grief. I’m not going to dignify that sort of response with cooperation.”

“But—”

“No, Cami.” Denise was firm. “I’ve got this under control. You should go to your room and look over that binder. Whatever you want to do for you father, we’ll do ... within reason.”

“Your idea of reason and mine are pretty different. You want to do things on the cheap.”

“I want to make sure your father is mourned in the appropriate manner. Excuse me if I don’t want to go broke doing it.”

“Whatever.” Cami was morose. “You’re bugging me.”

“Right back at you.”

Jared knocked again. This time he called out before Cami could wander too far away. “We’re not simply going to go away, Denise. We have the warrant you instructed us to get. We’ll be coming through this door one way or another.”

Cami’s tone was pitched when she spoke again. “What are they talking about, Mom? What warrant?”

“They’re trying to persecute me,” Denise replied. “What did I tell you about standing here? Go to your room.”

Jared decided to try one more time. He didn’t want Cami hurt in the process of their entry, which meant it would be better for everybody involved if she was the one who opened the door. “Cami, we know who killed your father. We need to talk to your mother about things. It’s best if this is carried out in a civilized manner.”

The sound of scuffling feet on the other side of the door had Jared’s hand hovering over his service weapon. Before he could draw it, though, the locking mechanism clicked and the door swung open. Cami, her hair disheveled, was breathless on the other side.

“Who killed my father?” she demanded.

“First things first,” Mel said as he strode through the door, extending a warning finger at Denise before she could flee into the next room. “Don’t. This is over. Anything you do to draw things out will hurt Cami. Is that what you want?”

“Of course not,” Denise sputtered. “Everything I’ve ever done has been for her.”

“Not everything,” Mel countered. “Let’s move this into the kitchen, shall we?”

“I don’t understand,” Cami insisted. “What is this?”

“Come with us.” Jared gently prodded the teenager into the kitchen, making sure to keep her on the opposite side of the table from her mother.

Mel was careful as he instructed Denise to sit, making sure there were no potential weapons within her reach. “Here is the warrant,” he said as he placed the document on the table in front of her. “It says we can search your house and all rooms on the property, including the garage. We’re authorized to take your vehicle in. Do you understand?”

Denise let loose a small sob. “You’re persecuting me.”

“I don’t think you know what that word means,” Mel countered. “You’re hardly being persecuted. We are here to ascertain the truth, though, and it would be best if you stopped lying. We already know exactly what happened.”

“What happened?” Cami barked, her cheeks red. Harper recognized that the teen was slowly coming to a realization of her own, and it wasn’t a happy one. “Are you saying my mother killed my father?”

Mel kept his gaze steady as he regarded the teenager. “We are.”

“But ... no.” Cami fervently shook her head. “She wouldn’t do that. She has no reason. They were ... friends.”

“Cami, I think it’s best if you sit down,” Harper interjected as she directed the girl toward a chair placed against a wall. “You’re about to hear some things that are going to upset you and it’s best you have a solid place to sit.”

“Who are you?” Cami barked. “Why are you here?”

“They’re persecuting me,” Denise insisted, her eyes wild. She could no longer contain the crazy, Jared realized. She was unraveling right in front of their eyes. “They’re trying to blame me for something I didn’t do.”

“Sit, Cami,” Jared instructed gently. “This really is going to get rough.”

Cami must’ve read something in Jared’s eyes, a mixture of truth and sympathy, because she lowered herself into the chair, ashen features on full display.

“So as not to draw this out, we think it’s best that you’re aware we know about both murders, Denise,” Mel started.

“Both?” Cami sounded positively anguished. “I don’t understand.”

“Perhaps you should tell her,” Mel suggested to Denise.

“There’s nothing to tell her,” Denise insisted. “You’re persecuting me and anything you have to say is false. I had nothing to do with Peter’s death. I certainly didn’t have anything to do with Penny Montgomery’s death.”

“And yet you seem to know who we’re talking about,” Mel noted. “Given the fact that Penny has never been declared legally dead — at this point she’s only considered missing — it’s interesting you would come up with that name.”

“I ... don’t have to talk to you.” Denise folded her arms across her chest and jutted out her chin. “I won’t just sit here and be persecuted.”

“Then I’ll lay things out for her,” Mel said, his kind eyes drifting to Cami. “Your father sent in his DNA to one of those websites where they trace family lineage.”

“I know,” Cami replied. “We looked at the results together.”

“He sent in your DNA, too.”

“I know that, too.”

“He didn’t get a chance to tell you what those results showed.”

Cami’s cheeks were streaked with tears. “Are you about to tell me I’m some kidnap victim or something?”

“Why would you ask that?”

“Because ... this feels like a scene out of a movie. Everything is heightened and surreal.”

“I think it’s a little more than that,” Mel hedged. “I think part of you has always known that something wasn’t quite right in this house.”

“What is he talking about?” Surprisingly, Cami turned her attention to Harper. Of all the faces in the room, the ghost hunter was the one she seemed to trust most. “Just tell me.”

Harper hunkered down so she was at eye level with the girl. Technically she wasn’t supposed to speak — this was Mel’s show — but she couldn’t help herself. “Your mother’s name was Penny Montgomery. Your biological mother, that is.”

Cami’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “No. My mom tells stories about giving birth to me.”

“That’s all they are. Stories, I mean. Your father figured it out. The thing is, he was your biological father. The woman you know as your mother stole you from the woman who was carrying you, kept you hidden, and eventually used you to lure your father and trap him because she convinced herself she was in love with him.”

Cami’s mouth dropped open. “That’s not right. That’s ... impossible.”

“I’m very sorry.” It took everything Harper had not to start crying herself. “It’s true, though. Your father ran two DNA tests on you, right?”

Cami hesitated and then nodded. “He thought there was something wrong with the first one. He said ... he said ... .” She trailed off.

“He said he thought he’d been ripped off by the company because the first test showed that he was your biological father,” Harper finished.

Cami’s voice was barely a whisper. “We were waiting for the results of the second test. They were from a different company.”

“Your father got those results,” Harper explained. “They said the same thing as the first test. Then he got to thinking.” She paused to let Cami absorb the information and then barreled forward. “You father loved Penny very much. He was a few years older than her, and she was still a teenager when you were conceived, and they were both fearful about the truth coming out, so they decided to wait.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Denise hissed, moving to stand. Mel’s hand was firm when it landed on her shoulder to keep her in place. “Don’t listen to them, Cami.”

The teenager didn’t bother looking at her mother. Instead, she kept her gaze on Harper. “What happened to Penny?”

“She went to the library one day. She was very close to giving birth. Somebody approached her outside the library and lured her away. She was never seen or heard from again.”

Cami licked her lips. “Then how do you know she’s dead?”

“Because she left a mother behind who she loved dearly, as well as the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.”

“You’re talking about my dad.”

Harper nodded. “I am.”

“But ... .” Cami looked absolutely bewildered.

“Your father loved you very much. In fact, he fell in love with you first when Denise showed up with you. He’s been devoted to you your entire life. When he got the second DNA results, though, he started working things out.”

“What was he trying to work out?”

“Nobody knows what happened to Penny’s body. It’s out there somewhere.”

“How did she even get me?” Cami queried. “I mean ... did she cut me out or something?”

Harper hesitated, uncertain how smart it was to get into the nitty-gritty details of exactly how Cami was separated from Penny. “I don’t know. That will be a conversation for Denise and the boys to have later. For now, suffice it to say that she took you, and your father was determined to make sure you ended up where you belonged.”

“Which is where?”

“With him ... and Penny’s family. Her mother is still around. Her name is Lila and she lives in a big house on the lake. She has a pool ... and a garden ... and she misses her daughter every single day. She’s going to be thrilled to meet you.”

Cami rubbed her stomach, as if warding off a sickness that might consume her. “I don’t understand how this happened. I just ... did she kill my father?” Cami refused to look at Denise.

“I told you not to believe them,” Denise hissed. “They’re making things up. They have no proof.”

“Something tells me we’re going to have proof the second we walk into that garage,” Mel countered. “You mentioned that your car worked, but your mother wouldn’t drive it, Cami. Is the front driver’s side grill area damaged?”

Cami nodded. “The headlight is broken, too.”

Mel forced a tight-lipped smile. “Did your mother get a haircut the other day?”

Cami nodded again. “It used to be long, but she chopped it off. I think she looks like a bad reality television star now.”

Harper placed her hands over Cami’s and drew the girl’s attention to her. “Denise is sick.”

“She’s my mom.”

Tricky area, Harper thought. She could hardly diminish the emotional attachment Denise and the teenager shared. “She raised you,” Harper agreed after a beat. “I think she loved you. She wasn’t the only one, though. Penny loved you, too, and her chance to raise you was stolen from her.”

Cami choked on her tears. “I don’t understand any of this.”

“I know.” Harper rubbed the girl’s shoulder. “We’re going to make sure you have the support system you need to move forward, though. It’s important that you know you’re not alone in this.”

“I feel alone,” Cami insisted. “What’s going to happen to me now? Where am I going to live?”

“How do you feel about living in a mansion?”

“Harper.” Jared’s voice was low and full of warning. “Don’t you think you should check with Lila before making that offer?”

Harper didn’t need to. She’d recognized the heart of the woman who served them tea in her rose garden and knew exactly how things would work out. “No. Cami will be going home. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“This is my home,” Cami argued. “I ... grew up here. This is where my mother lives. I ... what about my father’s funeral? How am I supposed to pay for that?”

“You don’t have to worry about any of it,” Harper insisted. “It’s all going to work out. You have my word.”

Cami looked to Jared for confirmation. “Is all of this true?”

Jared hesitated and then nodded. “I’m afraid so. Your mother is definitely a sick woman. We’re going to be taking her into custody for the death of your father. As for your kidnapping ... I’m certain we will be sorting that out in the upcoming weeks.”

“I mean about it working out. It doesn’t feel like anything is ever going to be okay again.”

“You should listen to Harper,” Jared said on a half-smile. “She knows what she’s talking about, and she won’t rest until she knows you’re okay.”

“What if I’m never okay?”

“You will be,” Harper insisted. “Your entire life has been tossed into upheaval, but things will sort themselves out. They have to. You’re destined for greatness.”

“How can you possibly know that?”

“Because your mother, Penny, wanted nothing more than to give you a good life. Your grandmother will make sure that happens, and she’ll have a little help from us.”

Rather than respond, Cami buried her face in her hands and dissolved into tears. Harper moved closer, slinging an arm around the girl’s shoulders, and merely stood as guard as Mel and Jared turned their attention to Denise.

“Lying at this point will only hurt Cami,” Mel noted. “It’s time to tell the truth.”

“The truth is that you’re persecuting me,” Denise insisted. “The rest of it is utter nonsense.”

“I guess we’ll have to see how that plays out, huh?”

18

Eighteen

“Are you sure?” Lila was as white as a ghost when Jared and Harper finished catching her up on the day’s events.

“We haven’t recovered Penny’s body yet,” Jared replied. “A team will be starting that duty tomorrow. Denise claims that your daughter died of natural causes, which we don’t believe, but that will be something that takes weeks to ascertain.”

“Not that part.” Lila leaned forward. “The part about Cami being my granddaughter.”

“We’re reasonably certain,” Jared hedged. “We have the DNA tests from Peter. They both confirm that he was her biological father. You’ll want to run your own DNA test to be sure but Denise admitted Penny was Cami’s biological mother after some very hard questioning. We have no reason to believe it’s not true.”

“And how did you come across this information in the first place?” Lila’s eyes were on Harper. “It was you, wasn’t it? Did you find my Penny? Is she still here?”

Harper wanted to tell the woman what she needed to hear but refused to lie. “I haven’t seen Penny. I don’t believe she’s here. Peter is the one who told me.”

“So, he’s still around.” Lila rubbed her chin. “I don’t remember him. Penny never told me about him.”

“He was twenty-one at the time and afraid. My understanding is that they planned to tell you once Penny turned eighteen.”

“I wouldn’t have pressed charges against him.”

“Cami was old enough to consent,” Jared explained. “There were no charges to be filed. He was simply frightened.”

“He knows that it was a mistake,” Harper volunteered. “He feels badly about everything that happened and knows he screwed up. I think he’s paid a steep price for his mistakes.”

“Obviously.”

“If it’s any consolation, he was going to tell you,” Harper said. “That’s why Denise killed him. She was trying to stop the truth from coming out. He probably shouldn’t have told her what he had planned, but he wanted confirmation before he went to you.”

Lila offered up a wave. “I don’t blame him. He didn’t know. I just ... the whole thing is surreal.”

“It is,” Harper agreed. “Once I’m done here, I plan to make sure he’s able to cross over. He’s outside right now, waiting. I think he wants to make sure Cami is settled before he goes.

“I’ve told him he’ll likely be reunited with Penny on the other side, and that appeals to him a great deal,” she continued. “No matter his faults, he loved your daughter, and by all accounts he was a wonderful father to Cami. He raised her right.”

“And where is Cami now?” Lila queried. “Can I have her? Wait, that came out wrong. She’s not a possession. She’s also a teenager. She probably doesn’t even want to know me.”

“Cami is struggling right now,” Harper replied. “Her entire world has come crashing down. She’s confused and very upset. She believes her mother — or rather, the woman she grew up believing was her mother — killed her father. She also believes she was stolen from Penny. The rest is hard for her to grasp.”

“Does she want to see me? I don’t want to damage her further. I would love to be able to talk to her, get to know her, but she might not be ready.”

“Cami is talking to a psychologist who specializes in trauma,” Jared said. “This woman works for the Michigan State Police. My understanding is that Cami is responding well to her, although I don’t think it would be a terrible idea to get Cami in regularly with another professional.”

“I can manage that,” Lila said. “I mean ... I can have someone ready to talk to her tomorrow. Where will she be tonight, though?”

Harper and Jared exchanged a look.

“That depends on you,” Harper replied finally. “Under normal circumstances, Cami would have to go into the system. She’s a teenager, though. She’s older, and given your circumstances, we’ve arranged it so she can stay with you. If you’re so inclined, that is.”

“I would love to have her here,” Lila enthused. “I just ... don’t want to move too fast. If she hates me now, she might never get over it.”

“She doesn’t hate you,” Jared promised. “She wants to meet you. She said as much. She’s going to be an emotional wreck for a bit, though, and we’re hopeful you won’t fight her if she wants to see Denise at some point.”

“She still thinks of Denise as her mother,” Harper said. “Even though I think Denise was mentally unbalanced, we have no reason to believe she mistreated Cami. She seems to have done right by her, and even though Denise is responsible for your daughter’s death, Cami’s needs are going to involve some sort of contact with her, no matter how difficult that is for you to swallow.”

“I don’t want to make things harder for the girl,” Lila said. “I want to do right by her. I won’t cut her off from Denise.”

“I thought that’s how you would respond.” Harper beamed at her. “The psychologist will be the one transporting Cami here. She has a bag, but she’s going to want the rest of her stuff at some point. Mel will make arrangements so you can send movers over to get it. She’ll also have stuff at her father’s place. As for what’s going to happen with his services ... I don’t know what to tell her.”

“I’ll handle that,” Lila offered. “I’ll let her pick whatever she wants out and bury Peter the right way. I owe him after what he tried to do. A lesser man might’ve left things alone rather than rock the boat. He showed himself to be a decent human being, and I truly do hope he and my Penny are reunited wherever they end up.”

“I hope so, too,” Harper agreed. “Jared and I won’t be around to help for the next two weeks. We’re getting married tomorrow and then going on our honeymoon. We’ll be back after if you need anything.”

Lila choked on a snort. “Wait ... are you two really getting married tomorrow? Why are you here if that’s the case?”

“Because we couldn’t leave without knowing that you and Cami were going to be okay.”

“Well, I think it will take work, but you can rest assured that I’ll put in the work. I think I’ve closed myself off for long enough. I’m ready to rejoin the world, with my granddaughter at my side.”

“I think you’re going to be happy.”

Lila’s eyes twinkled. “I think so, too.”

JARED TRANSPORTED THE LEFTOVER CHINESE food to Zander’s house so everybody could eat together. The meal was a chatty affair, everybody talking about what had happened instead of dwelling on the next day. When it was time for Jared to leave, he was reticent.

“Why can’t we all stay together?” he complained when Zander started herding him toward the door. “I don’t get all this superstitious stuff.”

“Well, we do, and what we say goes,” Zander replied.

“Since when is that the rule?”

“Since I said so.” Zander gave Jared a terrific push through the door. “Now ... go across the street and do manly stuff.”

Jared flicked his eyes to Shawn, who was carrying a duffle bag. “So ... what? Is he saying we should watch SportsCenter and make farting noises with our armpits?”

Shawn brightened considerably. “Can we do that?”

“I don’t know. I guess it’s worth a shot.” Before Zander could shut the door in his face, Jared wedged himself in the opening and leaned in to give Harper a kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She grinned at him “I’ll be the one wearing the white dress.”

“And I’ll be the one gearing up to make all your dreams come true.”

“You’ve already done that.”

They kissed again, the exchange long and soft. Jared looked tortured when Zander shoved him outside again. “I’ll miss you.”

Harper laughed at his morose expression. “We’ll be together again before you know it. Next time you see me, we’ll be exchanging vows ... and then going on the honeymoon you won’t tell me about.”

Jared smiled. “Yeah, I’m definitely looking forward to that.” He grabbed her hand and lavishly kissed her knuckles. “Until we meet again, Mrs. Monroe.”

“Until we meet again, Mr. Harlow.”

Zander put some muscle into shutting the door, and when it was finally just the two of them, his eyes lit with glee. “So ... glow masks, chocolate martinis, and Dirty Dancing?”

“Ah, it’s just like high school again.”

HARPER DIDN’T THINK SHE WOULD BE nervous about the actual ceremony. She was wrong.

She slept hard, the two martinis she allowed herself serving as a pleasant sleeping pill. When she awoke, Zander curled up next to her, she spent twenty minutes staring at the ceiling thinking about what was to come ... and then she proceeded to whack Zander with a pillow.

“I’m getting married today. Get up!”

They spent hours getting ready, Zander taking over hair duties when the stylist Harper hired didn’t come up with a hairstyle he deemed appropriate. By the time he was finished, soft waves kissing the tops of Harper’s shoulders, even she had to admit that she looked pretty good.

“What do you think?” she asked Zander as she pirouetted in front of the mirror in Jason’s bathroom. The restaurant was shut down for the day so they could have the reception on the balcony after the ceremony.

“I think you look like a princess.” A tear slid down Zander’s cheek as he smoothed the front of her dress. “An absolute princess.”

“That only works if I’m Princess Leia.”

“But of course.” His emotions threatening to overwhelm him, Zander sucked in a shaky breath as he straightened his own tie. He’d opted for a purple suit to differentiate himself from Jared and Shawn and still complement Harper’s dress and coloring. “I love you, Harp.”

Even though she’d promised not to get emotional, Harper felt her throat constricting. “I love you, too, Zander.”

“You’re always going to be my best friend no matter what.”

“Of course I am.” Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “You’re always going to be my best friend, too.”

“I won’t let Jared totally steal you from me no matter how hard he tries.”

That earned a laugh. “He’s not stealing me. We’re simply expanding our family.”

“It’s been just you and me for a long time.”

“No, it hasn’t. It was just you and me for a long time. Then Jared and Shawn entered our lives. It hasn’t been just you and me for well over a year now ... and I’m not sorry. As much as I love you, I think we’re better people now than we were before they joined our circle.”

“I still think we’re the best part of our circle.”

“I think we all fit together perfectly.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “You’ve been my champion for as long as I can remember. That’s not going to change. We’re only going to get stronger from here.”

“Yeah.” Zander wiped his cheek with the back of his hand. “I still think you should get him to shave his nipples down. Maybe for a first anniversary surprise.”

“I think you should be the one to bring it up to him, but only when we get back from our honeymoon.”

“Deal.”

ON THE BEACH, THE SUN HIGH in the sky, Jared stood with Shawn and Josh Stoker, a friend from his childhood, and watched as Harper emerged from the restaurant.

She took his breath away.

Molly and Zander had already made their way down the aisle — Zander letting loose a glitter bomb halfway down to make sure he had everybody’s attention — but it didn’t matter now. There wasn’t an eye on the beach that wasn’t glued to Harper and Phil as they appeared between the aisles.

She didn’t cry, although her eyes were glassy. Phil was another story. His chest and shoulders heaved as he walked his only child down the aisle and prepared to give her away. Once they reached Jared, Phil gripped Harper tightly, as if he didn’t want to hand her over.

“It’s okay, Dad,” Harper reassured him, rubbing his shoulder. “You’ll see me again in a few minutes.”

“Knock that off, Phil,” Gloria said as she grabbed her husband’s arm and dragged him toward the chairs. “You’re making a spectacle of yourself.”

The comment only caused Phil to cry harder.

The minister, an old family friend, made a lame joke to loosen up the crowd. Then he got to the business at hand.

“Harper and Jared have written their own vows,” he said. “Jared, you’re up first.”

Even though he knew the moment was coming, Jared found his palms were suddenly sweaty and his voice raspy. He knew exactly what he wanted to say, though, and nothing would stop him from pouring out his heart. This was their moment, and it was one they would never forget.

“I haven’t been in Whisper Cove long,” he started. “It’s become my home, though, and I knew that would be the case the instant I saw you. We joke about how we were antagonistic to each other that first day, but I knew, even then, that we were destined to be together.

“It might sound hokey, but I think souls connect,” he continued. “I know my soul connected to yours right away. We bonded so fast and part of me kept waiting for something terrible to happen because I’d never been so happy before. I thought for certain I wouldn’t be allowed to be that happy for the rest of my life.

“I’m glad the something bad never happened. Sure, we’ve been tested, and life will never be easy for us. I mean ... we have Zander. Nothing is ever easy with him.”

An appreciative chuckle rippled through the crowd.

“We’re destined to be together forever, though,” he said. “You own my heart and I willingly give you my soul. Whatever happens in this life and the next, it’s you and me forever. You’re the strongest person I know, and I look forward to giving you the best life I possibly can. I, Jared Monroe, pledge myself to you forever. Nothing will ever change that.”

Harper swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to hold it together. It wasn’t easy given the naked emotion on his face. She managed , although just barely.

“I felt something the day we met, too,” she admitted, going for the early joke to settle herself. “I think it was annoyance.”

Another laugh flowed through the crowd.

“I thought you were arrogant and full of yourself ... and then you touched me and it was as if my entire body caught on fire,” she continued. “There was something there right from the start. You’re right about that. You made me come alive in ways I didn’t think were possible, even though you continued to drive me crazy at times.

“We’re not the sort of people who are destined for a quiet life. We have Zander, like you said, so that’s impossible.”

Zander beamed as he puffed out his chest.

“We’ve built a family together already, and we’re just at the start,” Harper supplied. “Sometimes I wake up in the morning and watch you sleep. Not in a creepy way or anything. I just like marveling at the planes of your face and knowing that I’ll be able to wake up with you every single day, and go to bed with you every single night, for the rest of our lives.

“You’ve filled my life with laughter, love, and absolute joy. You accept me for who I am and never try to exploit what I am. You love with an open heart and give with an open mind. You’ve become my everything, the one person in this world I can’t live without.”

Zander cleared his throat and gave her a stern look.

“One of the two people I can’t live without,” she corrected as Jared grinned. “We’re building something special here, and even though we’re still at the start, I can see the road ahead of us. It stretches far and long. It will be filled with more love and happiness than I ever thought possible. It might not be perfect, but it will be perfectly us.

“I promise to love you until my dying breath and well beyond. I, Harper Harlow, pledge myself to you forever.”

Jared gripped her hands tighter, tears springing up out of nowhere and cascading down his cheeks.

The minister spoke again, leading them through additional vows, but what was important to say had already been said. When they were finally declared man and wife, Jared didn’t wait for the go-ahead. He swooped in and cupped Harper’s face, kissing her until she was breathless as applause exploded around them.

“I love you,” he whispered, tuning out the rest of their friends and family. “I love you more than anything.”

Harper wrapped her hands around his wrists and grinned. “I love you, too.”

“And everybody loves me,” Zander announced as he moved to stand next to them, sliding an arm over both their shoulders.

“And everybody loves Zander,” Jared agreed. “I guess that means we’re one big happy family, officially.”

“Definitely,” Zander agreed. “I can’t wait to see how things play out now that I don’t have to worry about chasing you away.”

Even that declaration couldn’t stop Jared’s smile. Instead, he pulled Harper to him for a hug and held Zander’s gaze over her shoulder. “Maybe we should go inside and drink to our new family.”

Zander leaned in and kissed his cheek. “You read my mind.”

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About the Author

Amanda M. Lee and Lily Harper Hart

I want to thank everyone who takes the time to read my novels. I have a particular brand of humor that isn’t for everyone – and I know that.

If you liked the book, please take a few minutes and leave a review. An independent author does it all on their own, and the reviews are helpful. I understand that my characters aren’t for everyone, though. There’s a lot of snark and sarcasm in my world – and I know some people don’t like that.

Special thanks go out to my editors for correcting the (numerous) errors that creep into a work of fiction.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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author@amandamlee.net

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An Aisling Grimlock Mystery

Grim Tidings

Grim Offerings

Grim Discovery

Grim Reunion

Grim Expectations

Grim Holiday

Grim Rising

Grim Tempest

Grim Vows

Grimlock Family Shorts

Grim Like Me

Grim & The City

Now & Grim

Grim & Bear It

Grim & The Dead

Death Gate Grim Reapers

Only the Lonely

Only the Quiet

Only the Lost

Only the Devout

A Mystic Caravan Mystery

Freaky Days

Freaky Lies

Freaky Hearts

Freaky Games

Freaky Places

Freaky Rites

Freaky Witches

Freaky Reapers

Freaky Fangs

Freaky Seas

A Charlie Rhodes Cozy Mystery

The Bigfoot Blunder

The Chupacabra Catastrophe

The Werewolf Whoops

The Megalodon Mix-Up

The Undead Uproar

The Incubus Impasse

The Killer Clown Calamity

A Moonstone Bay Cozy Mystery

Witchin’ USA

Witch Out of Water

Freaky Deaky Tiki

To Spell With It

Hex Type Thing

Brewing Up a Storm

A Spell’s Angels Cozy Mystery

Bad to the Crone

No Crones About It

No Crone Unturned

Cut to the Crone

A Two Broomsticks Gas & Grill Cozy Mystery

Sinfully Delicious

Covenant College

Awakening

Whispering

Conjuring

Waxing & Waning

Graduating

Living Covenant Trilogy

Rising Covenant

Dark Covenant

Eternal Covenant

Dying Covenant Trilogy

Haunted Covenant

Desperate Covenant

Everlasting Covenant

2019 Shorts

Wolf on the Job

Luke on the Loose

Cupid in Crisis

Millie on a Mission

Jerry Takes Charge

Elemental Witches of Eternal Springs

Bat Out Of Spell

Spell on Earth

Hotter Than Spell

Spell or High Water