Mist on the Meadow (14 page)

“Look. I know you’re a
Kundigerin
.” He
didn’t flinch when he said it. Last night he’d nearly fallen out of
his chair because of the pain. Marissa must have betrayed her
surprise because Pete Harper leaned over the table, his voice
almost a whisper. “It’s just you and me right now, and you’ve
obviously turned twenty-five.”

They hadn’t been alone last night. He
couldn’t out her in public, but they could speak privately, like
she and Uncle Balt. “What do you want?” she asked.

“You can’t tell him what you know,” Mr.
Harper repeated.

Maybe she’d imagined Gerda Harper’s voice at
the Christmas festival, but the sentiment bore repeating. “Maybe
your mother wants to stop shoving skeletons in the closet. Maybe
you should tell him.” Even though Marissa didn’t know what the
scandal was, she would bet that Pete Harper did. Her hand itched to
take his, to see into his thoughts. And then he startled her when
he took her hand.

“It won’t do him any good to know about his
parents,” he whispered. Pete Harper leaned as far over the table as
he was able to.

Gerda Harper’s voice echoed in her head.
“
There is no sense in pursuing the matter. Dead is dead, and
blaming someone else for an unfortunate accident isn’t going to
bring them back.”
Marissa shook her head, uncertain why she’d
received that random piece of information. But there was still a
void in the story. Something Pete Harper wouldn’t acknowledge. Had
he blacked out? Possibly he’d been driving drunk.

“I don’t know what my mother wanted you to
do, but please, some things are better left alone.”

Marissa blinked. His words confirmed Uncle
Balt’s story that Mrs. Harper had made provision for a
Kundigerin
in her will. Was she supposed to tell Wolf about
the accident, or to settle the business issue? She tightened her
grip on his hands. She wanted to know who was defrauding the family
business and, therefore, be released from her responsibility to
Wolf, the responsibility Uncle Balt and Gerda Harper’s will had
imposed on her. If she was right in her assumption, the board
meeting was this morning. Marissa glanced at the clock in the café.
It was nearly eight o’clock. “Don’t you have a board meeting to go
to?”

Pete Harper pulled away. Whatever he knew, he
guarded it closely.

“I should know better than to talk to one of
you. You should all have been burned at the stake.”

Marissa’s eyes opened wide. The information
continued to pour from him. There were no red-headed daughters, a
fact Pete Harper’s father—Wolf’s grandfather—had been extremely
proud of. He was determined to end the Harper’s legacy.

What was she supposed to do? Marissa decided
to focus on the Harper’s business problems. “So you’d let the
company fall into bankruptcy?” she asked. “What will you do,
then?”

He pushed to his feet. Denial oozed from his
pores. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Harper
Electronics is fine.”

She’d never experienced such intense hatred.
Marissa pushed away from the table, as far away from Pete Harper as
she could get. “You’re going to be late for your board
meeting.”

* * *

Wolf poured a cup of coffee and checked his
watch again. He wasn’t surprised Uncle Pete was late after the
amount of alcohol he’d consumed the day before. So much for the
pre-board meeting meeting.

The accounting ‘errors’ couldn’t be ignored,
but Wolf would give his uncle the opportunity to redeem himself.
Marissa seemed convinced Uncle Pete knew who was behind the
irregularities, even if he wasn’t personally responsible. Either
way, the fraud audit would expose the guilty party and the theft
would stop. The company could recover.

Uncle Pete’s response to the news would speak
volumes.

Wolf looked across Lake Michigan from the
conference room window.

Marshall appeared beside him. “So what about
the separation agreement?” he asked quietly.

“Someone told me there’s someone else
involved. I think we’re going to play this by ear. See what he’s
willing to share.”

The first of the board members leaned back in
his seat.“Can we get started?” Howard Daily asked. “I hadn’t
planned to come in at all this week, so I’d like to wrap this up.
What’s so important, Wolf?”

“Pete’s not here yet,” Jeff Stewart, the HR
member of the board, pointed out. “If this meeting was worth
interrupting vacation days, we probably need to wait for him.”

The partner from the auditing firm checked
his watch. “We could start without him.”

Wolf pulled up a chair and sat at the table.
“Let’s do this.”

And then his uncle walked into the room.

“Sorry. I had a stop to make on the way in,”
Uncle Pete said. He threw a bloodshot glare at Wolf and poured
himself a cup of coffee. “What’s this all about, Wolfie?”

“I think we’d better let the auditor
explain.”

Uncle Pete pulled his chair out deliberately
and sat slowly.

The auditor cleared his throat. “I’ve been
asked to conduct a fraud audit.” He reached for a computer on the
conference table and started a slide show that projected onto a
screen at one end of the room. “And these are the results.”

Uncle Pete blanched. He bit a fingernail and
bounced in his seat. His eyes grew large and his nostrils flared
with each piece of damning information.

Marissa nursed a cup of coffee in the corner
booth of the café while she waited to lock the doors at
three-thirty.

This
knowing
thing proved more
frustrating than helpful. The Harpers had secrets, but so did most
families. If Gerda Harper was willing to accept the car accident,
why couldn’t she?

She needed to find a quiet moment, but where
did one go to search one out? They normally crept up on Marissa
when she wasn’t expecting them, and they’d never hold the same
excitement now that Uncle Balt was gone.

Noah slid into the seat across from her.
“Sorry about your uncle.”

Marissa nodded and sipped her coffee, which
was rapidly cooling. She squinted at Noah over the cup. “Tell me
about the car accident.”

“What car accident?”

“The one that killed the Harpers.”

Noah wriggled in his seat. “I was in sixth
grade. I don’t remember much.”

“But you remember you were in sixth
grade.”

“Yeah. Heidi Harper didn’t make it to middle
school. Back then, middle school started with the seventh
grade.”

Marissa gave up on her coffee and set the mug
on the table. “What else do you remember?”

“Why the questions?”

She shrugged. “Curiosity. Someone told me it
might not have been an accident.”

Noah’s eyebrows rose. “Wolf?”

She shook her head.

“People said that the Harpers had been run
off the road. The police investigated, but Old Lady Harper wouldn’t
have any of it. I remember my parents wondering why she was so dead
set against knowing any more. They finally figured it was the grief
talking and she just wanted to leave it behind.” Noah narrowed his
eyes. “Wait. You’re not trying to ‘save’ Wolf, are you?” he asked
with air quotes.

“What do you mean?”

“The accident messed him up. Angela told me
you had dinner with his family.” Noah sat back in the seat and
crossed his arms. “I think you’d be wasting your time, boss. The
man needs professional help.”

He needs a Kundigerin
. “Just curious.
That’s all. It seems odd that if people thought there was a second
car involved that the family wouldn’t want to know what
happened.”

Noah glanced around the empty café before he
leaned forward again. “The rumors were that Old Lady Harper knew
something.”

Sheltering them from scandal only brought
about another.
Gerda Harper had covered for someone. Marissa
was supposed to know things, otherwise what was the point of this
stupid legacy? She was clueless.

Hex will help you
.

Marissa rose from the booth. “Hey Noah, it’s
past three-thirty. Will you lock up?”

“Yep. Everything’s already cleaned up in the
kitchen. Not much left to do.” Noah walked to the front door and
turned the lock.

Marissa carried her mug to the backroom sink.
Angela shrugged into her coat.

“See you tomorrow,” Angela said with a coy
smile.

Marissa smirked. “Have fun with your
Christmas sailor.”

“Are you gonna count down the drawer
tonight?” Noah asked.

She didn’t have to be psychic to see he was
anxious to leave, too. “I can do it in the morning. We already have
the deposit ready from the pull we did earlier.” She walked past
him and opened the cash register, pulled out the drawer and tucked
it into the safe in the tiny office. “Ready?” she asked.

Noah walked her to her car and then saluted
as he climbed into his own.

Marissa started the engine and gave her car a
few minutes to warm up. While she waited, a cramp squeezed her
stomach, and her vision blurred. She squeezed her eyes shut and the
blue Buick appeared again, crumpled and steaming, the light pole
bent across the roof, right in front of the Harness Road Mall.

Marissa’s eyes snapped open. Harness Road
Mall wasn’t exactly on the way home, but it wasn’t out of the way
either. She gathered her hair in one hand and tucked it beneath her
stocking cap, ignoring the discomfort in her midsection.

The mall was crowded with the after-Christmas
shoppers. Marissa parked her car at the far edge of the parking
lot, near the location of the accident. But why did she see visions
of the Harper’s car accident? She stepped into the cold air and
leaned against the car door. Arms folded, she stared at the light
pole.

The snow vanished and the temperature
shifted. The blue Buick approached from the left. Inside, three
occupants were smiling and talking. Behind them, another car had
the stereo pumped up. The vibrations of a bass track rumbled
against her cramping stomach. She heard someone in the trailing
car, hidden from full view by the Buick, shout through the open
windows “Move!” The trailing car veered into the oncoming lane in
an effort to pass, but ducked back with the approach of oncoming
traffic. The passenger in the trailing car leaned out the window
and shouted, “C’mon!” The driver made another attempt to pass. The
car drew alongside the Buick and the passenger gave a one-finger
salute. “You should look before you cut someone off and then drive
five miles an hour, asshole,” he shouted. He ducked into the car
and the driver cut in front of the Buick. The Buick had to
overcorrect. Tires grabbed at the pavement. The scene happened in
slow motion. The trajectory. The impact. The cries, and then the
silence.

Marissa shook her head and the cars were
gone. But the pain in the gut wasn’t. She sank into her own
driver’s seat and grabbed at her midsection.

Through the pain, she heard Wolf’s voice.
“What are you doing here?”

* * *

Why was she staring at a light pole?
The
light pole? Wolf fought the urge to yank her out of the
car

“Give me a minute.” She looked like she was
in pain and struggled to catch her breath.

Wolf curled his hands into fists, his
patience with her insider knowledge into his life exhausted. “It’s
time for you to tell me how you know so much.”

Marissa grimaced and raised her face to look
at him. Her eyes were taut with her obvious physical discomfort,
but he’d seen his uncle have similar fits, and right now, Wolf
didn’t have any sympathy for her.

“What are you doing here?” he repeated.

She rose from her car and slammed the door,
her face still contorted with what he perceived was residual pain.
When she faced him again, her jaw was clenched and her eyes hooded.
She
was angry?

“I didn’t ask for any of this.” Her voice was
strained.

“Any of what?”

“My life was fine before I met you. Now
you’re everywhere I go. Do you think I want to know about your
stupid uncle or why your grandmother didn’t want to tell anyone
what really caused the accident?”

Wolf took a step back. “You need to tell me
how you know so much. Now.” He grabbed hold of her arms and shook
her. Marissa tilted her head, her lips parted as in surprise.

She straightened, wet her lips with her
tongue and opened her mouth to speak, but she hesitated.

“I am a
Kundigerin
,” she whispered,
and her eyes grew large. “But you don’t have red hair.”

He shook her loose. “What are you talking
about?”

She grimaced again when he released her, and
then she took hold of his arm. Her eyes grew even wider. This
wasn’t going the way he expected.

Marissa took a deep breath. “I think I can
help you, although I’m not sure how yet.”

Well, his grandmother was right. He’d run
into her. But what was she supposed to do for him? “Why don’t we
start with you telling me what the hell a
Kundigerin
is?”

She shivered and wrapped her arms around
herself. “Can we go somewhere to talk?”

Coffee shop
, he thought, but the words
that came out were, “Harper Manor.” What the hell?

Marissa stopped at her parents’ house to
change and pick up Hex. The cat had shown her the board meeting,
he’d eased her cramps at the dinner table on Christmas Eve. He
would likely help her through whatever came next.

All things considered, she was surprised Wolf
trusted her to meet him at the Manor. He’d looked pretty
shaken.

Hex curled inside her coat when she picked
him up, as if he knew they were going out.

Her mother stopped her. “Where are you
headed?”

“Harper Manor.”

Her mother furrowed her brow. “With Hex? Does
Wolf want the cat back?”

Marissa shook her head. “Taking him for a
visit.”