Ghostly Issues (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 2) (15 page)

“When people get older, they realize that being different is the best thing in the world,” he continued. “I wouldn’t want you to be normal, if that’s even the way to phrase that. I wouldn’t want you any other way than you already are. You’re … perfect.”

Harper pursed her lips as she lifted her flirty eyes. “You’re about to get really lucky.”

“I have a feeling I already have,” Jared said, pushing Harper’s hair away from her face. “Don’t ever change who you are. Not for anything. Don’t let Zander change either. Together you two are … magical. If other people can’t see that, it’s their loss.”

“Thank you,” Harper said, shifting on Jared’s lap. “Now I need you to take your shirt off. I’m not done drooling over your chest yet. It got cut short this morning.”

Jared pressed a firm kiss to her mouth. “Yes, ma’am. Just for the record … I like it when you’re bossy.”

“In that case, you should probably take your pants off, too,” Harper ordered. “I want to see that again, too.”

“Yup. I definitely like it when you’re bossy.”

“Good morning, Harp.”

Jared tightened his arms around Harper’s bare back when he felt her stirring the next morning, hoping to keep her close for a few minutes longer because he loved the way her body felt next to his.

Harper lifted her head, her blue eyes surprisingly bright for so early in the morning. “Good morning. You can’t call me that.”

Jared still, surprised. “What? Harp? That’s what Zander calls you sometimes.”

“I know. That’s why you can’t call me that,” Harper said, kissing Jared’s strong chin. “He’ll have a fit. That’s his nickname for me and if anyone tries to use it – including my mother – he’ll yell.”

Jared frowned as he smoothed Harper’s honey-colored hair away from her face. “I want something to call you.”

“Why?”

“I have no idea,” Jared admitted. “I just do. If I can’t call you Harp, what can I call you?”

“Um … I have no idea,” Harper said. “I’ve never been faced with this dilemma before. You could call me … honey.”

“No. That’s too generic.”

“Sweetie?”

“Also too generic.”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Harper said. “I’m going to call you Jared. I don’t think you’re the nickname sort.”

“Do you have a nickname for Zander?”

“Is this a competition?” Harper challenged. “If so, I’m going to need coffee before we start playing this game.”

“Do you have a nickname for Zander?” Jared pressed. “I’m going to feel left out if he has a nickname and I don’t.”

“Not really,” Harper said, sighing as she gave in. “Sometimes I guess I call him Zand, but that’s very rare. Although, when we were in middle school he tried to get me to start calling him ‘Zan the man.’ I have no idea why, but it didn’t catch on.”

Jared snickered as he traced a lazy pattern across Harper’s naked shoulder. “I’m going to come up with something that only I can call you.”

“I have no idea why this is so important to you, but go nuts,” Harper said, burrowing her face in the hollow between Jared’s neck and chest. “You’re so warm. I don’t ever want to get out of this bed.”

“That’s going to make paying the bills rough, but I’m willing to give it a try.”

“I slept the whole night again,” Harper mused. “That’s two nights in a row. I think you might be magic.”

“Well, I already know you’re magic,” Jared said. “What are you doing today, my magical wonder?”

“I’m not sure,” Harper replied. “I left the office early yesterday because Eric and Zander were fighting and I have no idea if we got anything new.”

“Why were Zander and Eric fighting?”

“Take one guess.”

Jared arched an eyebrow. “Me?”

“Zander went to great pains to make sure everyone knew what happened between us,” Harper explained. “He was trying to send a message to Eric because I can’t seem to make myself be mean to him.”

“I’ll do it for you.”

Harper pinched Jared’s side. “I don’t want to be mean to him. He’s a nice guy. He’s just … oblivious.”

“I don’t think he’s as oblivious as you want to believe,” Jared said. “Still, he’s your employee. He’s yours to deal with as you see fit. If he makes a move on you, though, I’m going to have to beat him up.”

Harper snorted. “Nice. What are you doing today?”

“I’m hauling all of those kids in so I can question them,” Jared replied, the real world intruding on their interlude as he sobered. “I’m hitting Lexie first. For some reason I can’t help but feel she’s important to all of this.”

“It’s funny,” Harper mused. “She wants to be important so badly she can’t help herself, and now that she really is all she wants to do is play a game and gather as much sympathy as possible.”

“I think I’m going to take a soft touch with her,” Jared said. “She likes it when people – men especially – pay attention to her. Maybe if I start out asking about her she’ll be more apt to open up.”

“That’s a good idea,” Harper said, rolling so she was on top of Jared. “Before you go, though, I was hoping you could take a soft touch with me.”

“That’s the best offer I’ve had all morning.”

“HOW
was your night?” Mel asked two hours later, leaning against the hallway wall in the police station and watching through the window as Lexie Studebaker shifted uncomfortably in her chair in the nearby office. They were trying to make her sweat before entering.

“It was good,” Jared replied, smiling.

“Don’t be filthy.”

“I’m not being filthy,” Jared countered. “We all had dinner together and hung out, and then Harper and I … went to sleep.”

“Better,” Mel said. “How is Zander taking you moving in on his Harper turf?”

“He seems fine,” Jared answered. “I’m not entirely convinced there’s not going to be a territorial dispute at some point, but for now he seems genuinely happy for Harper and ready to stand back and let her enjoy herself.”

“Zander loves Harper and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her happy,” Mel said. “He’s also the type to get his panties in a wad when he feels like it, so watch out for that. Even if he does pick a fight with you, though, he would never purposely upset Harper … well, except when he’s trying to pick a fight with her because those two enjoy sniping at each other from time to time.”

“I think they’re cute,” Jared said. “Although, last night things did get a little deep there for a few minutes. Zander told me what happened between Jim Stone and him.”

Mel scowled. “That whole thing was a big pile of crap,” he said. “I wanted to take it all the way down the line, but Zander refused. He didn’t want everyone fighting for him and risking themselves in the process. That kid is a pain in the ass when he wants to be, but he has a good heart.”

“He has a great heart,” Jared agreed. “How come you’re friendly with Jim after what he did?”

“Jim is sorry for what happened back then,” Mel said. “He admits things got out of hand and he felt pressured to back Dominic up. For the record, he’s the only reason Harper didn’t get in a mess of trouble for kicking him in the balls. Once he could breathe again he went straight to the principal and said he provoked her. Harper is lucky she got off as lightly as she did.”

“She’s not sorry.”

“She’s definitely not sorry,” Mel said. “I don’t blame her. She was Zander’s rock during that time. He’s stood by her through a mess of stuff, but no one dared take Harper on back then because she was terrifying.”

“It’s hard to believe something so cute could be considered terrifying.”

“Oh, son, you’ve got it so bad I’m going to have to quarantine you if this keeps up,” Mel warned. “I’m hoping it’s just that heady beginning of a relationship phase you’re going through, because if this goes on for more than a week I’m going to have to kick you in the balls.”

“I’ll take that under advisement,” Jared said, unconsciously shifting his pelvis away from Mel. “Are you ready to question the queen bee?”

“Let’s do it.”

Mel and Jared let themselves into the office and settled across from Lexie. She looked nervous, although she put on a bright smile for their benefit.

“Am I in some sort of trouble?”

“You’re not in any trouble,” Jared said, his tone warm and his face open. “We just need some information about Derek.”

“We’ve run into a wall regarding his death and we’re trying to get any leads we can,” Mel added. Jared and Mel agreed to approach Lexie on her level first to see if they could get her to volunteer anything. If that failed, they were ready to hammer her.

“I miss him so much,” Lexie said. “His funeral is tomorrow. Did you know that?”

“His parents told me,” Mel replied.

“They said I could sit up front with them because we were in love and they know I’m crushed,” Lexie said, making a mournful face that didn’t make it all the way to her twinkling eyes.

“That’s nice for you,” Jared said, swallowing his distaste. “We’re really confused, Lexie. We need to know why Derek was in that park the night he died. Have you come up with anything that might help us?”

Lexie shook her head. “I honestly don’t know,” she said. “We hung out in the park occasionally, most of the time to just share pop and talk, but no one had plans to go that night.”

Jared internally rolled his eyes at the “pop” reference. “Well, I just don’t know what to make of this. Do you know what to make of this, Mel?”

“I’m stumped,” Mel replied, rubbing his chin. “You see, Lexie, the problem we have is that someone told us that you guys were meeting at the park that night. In fact, we know David Martin called Derek and invited him to the park. We have the phone records to prove it.”

That was a lie. They were in the process of getting the phone records, but they didn’t have actual proof of Derek’s statement yet. It didn’t matter because they couldn’t attribute the statement to a ghost if it came down to it. They agreed to keep things vague in case the kids opted to turn on each other out of fear.

For the first time since he met her Jared saw true emotion move across Lexie’s face. It was brief, but for a moment she looked frightened.

“W-what?” Lexie asked.

“Yeah, David called Derek the night he died,” Mel verified. “Derek left a few minutes after that. Derek was heading toward the park. Why would he go there if no one was there?”

“I have no idea,” Lexie said, regrouping. “Maybe the boys decided to go there and hang out without me. They did that sometimes because they knew I didn’t want to be out too late and worry my parents.”

Jared ran his tongue over his teeth. Lexie was a decent liar, and yet he knew she was doing it so it was all for naught. “What did the boys do there when you weren’t around?”

“I obviously don’t know because I wasn’t there,” Lexie said. “I … should I have a lawyer?”

“Do you need a lawyer?”

“Um … .”

“Only the guilty need a lawyer, Lexie,” Mel said. “If you need one, though, you should tell us now so we can get you one. You’re legally an adult, so you have to make the choice on this one.”

“I’m not guilty of anything,” Lexie argued. “Why would you think I’m guilty of something?”

“We didn’t say you were guilty,” Jared said. “We’re trying to figure out what happened to Derek, and as his girlfriend – and the love of his life – we naturally assumed you knew what was going on with him.”

Lexie exhaled heavily, Jared’s words causing her to preen. “Derek and I would’ve been happy forever if this hadn’t happened.”

“I know,” Jared said, his voice grave. “You had your whole future ripped away from you.”

“I would think you’d want us to catch whoever killed Derek given that,” Mel added.

“I do want you to catch who hurt Derek,” Lexie said. “I just can’t believe someone would really hurt him. Are you sure he didn’t just fall down or something? That’s the rumor in town, by the way.”

“Well, the medical examiner doesn’t seem to believe that,” Mel said. “We can’t entirely rule it out, though, because it seems Derek was drunk at the time of his death.”

Lexie faltered and Jared got the distinct impression that she was surprised – or very good at feigning it – by that little tidbit. “I never saw Derek drink, so I have trouble believing that.”

“Science doesn’t lie,” Jared pointed out. “Are you saying the medical examiner doesn’t know what he’s doing?”

“Of course not,” Lexie scoffed. “It’s just … maybe someone slipped something in his Coke. I’ll bet that’s what happened. Someone slipped something in his Coke when he wasn’t looking and he got so drunk he fell down and hit his head.”

Jared leaned back in his chair. “Who would do that, Lexie?”

“I … have no idea. Everyone loved Derek.”

“If everyone loved Derek, and he never drinks, that means something doesn’t add up here,” Jared said. “Derek was drunk when he was killed. What do you think that means?”

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” Lexie said, crossing her arms over her chest. “I wasn’t there. I didn’t think anyone was there. I don’t know why you’re treating me like this.” His lower lip trembled. “I’m in mourning. Can’t you see that?”

Mel and Jared exchanged a look. Lexie Studebaker was quite the actress. She clearly knew more than she was letting on, though.

“Well, I think you should think long and hard about what all of this means,” Mel suggested. “This isn’t something that’s going to go away. My partner and I are going to be working on this until we know exactly what happened to Derek.”

“And then someone is going to pay for his murder,” Jared added. “I just hope it’s the right person, because someone might try to frame someone else in an effort to clear his or herself if we’re not careful, and then things are going to get ugly.”

“Really ugly,” Mel intoned.

“I think I’m done here,” Lexie said, her fear and trepidation vanishing in almost an instant. “No, you know what? I’m definitely done here.”