Ghostly Issues (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 2) Read online

“Mel and Jared are the two top cops in town,” Harper replied. “Do you think either one of them is going to arrest me?”

  “I think Jared would threaten to arrest you if you refuse to go out with him,” Eric suggested, causing Harper to scowl.

  “You need to let the Jared thing go,” Harper instructed. “You’re starting to make me uncomfortable because you’re so obsessed with him. Maybe you should go out with him since he’s all you can think about.”

  “He’s not all I think about,” Eric muttered.

  Harper pretended she didn’t hear him. “If you don’t want to question the kids with me, you’re more than welcome to go back to the office. I can walk back by myself. It’s less than a mile.”

  Eric balked. “We came together. We should leave together.”

  “I guess it’s settled then,” Harper said, rounding the corner that led to the front of the building and pulling up short when she saw a handful of teenagers sitting at a picnic table next to the building. “Huh.”

  “Huh what?” Eric asked.

  “I expected to find kids at the basketball court in the parking lot,” Harper explained. “School is out. Why are they here?”

  “Maybe they’re in summer school.”

  Harper brightened. “That means they’re probably dumb and will answer any questions I have. Come on. Teenage boys love me.”

  Harper approached the kids with a wide smile and her best “you can trust me” expression. “Hi, guys.”

  The three boys and one girl looked up, instantly mistrustful. So much for my teenage appeal, Harper internally lamented.

  “You’re not supposed to be here,” the girl said. Harper recognized her as Lexie Studebaker. “If you’re trolling for men, all the ones here are illegal.”

  One of the boys, Dylan Walsh, raised his hand. “I’m eighteen and you can troll for me. I’ll take one for the team.”

  Harper frowned. “Listen … .”

  “I’m eighteen, too,” Brandon Sanders said. “You’re hot. If you’re looking for someone to teach a few lessons to, I’m your guy. I love to learn.”

  “That must be why you’re here for summer school,” David Martin said, the sun glinting off his watch. “You just love to learn.” He winked at Harper for good measure. “I’m not eighteen yet – although I’m only two weeks away from being legal. I promise not to tell anyone if you want to teach me a few things.”

  “Don’t be rude,” Eric ordered, causing the boys to snicker.

  “You guys are funny,” Harper said. “I forgot how funny high school boys were.”

  “That’s because you’re old,” Lexie said. “I mean … where do you shop? It looks like Old Navy.”

  Harper glanced down at her simple jeans and T-shirt. That was a pretty good guess. She was more interested in comfort than fashion. For someone like Lexie, who was wearing Jimmy Choo sandals, Old Navy was probably a step down – or possibly ten steps down – the fashion ladder. “I’m here to ask you guys a few questions about Derek Thompson,” she said, opting not to beat around the bush. The less time she had to spend with these kids, the better. “Were any of you close with him?”

  Lexie took the opportunity to wrinkle her nose and burst into tears, earning a hug from Brandon as she leaned into him.

  “Should I take that as a yes?”

  “Lexie and Derek were dating,” Dylan explained. “She’s crushed.”

  “We were in love,” Lexie wailed.

  Harper’s heart went out to the girl … and then immediately retracted. There was something fake about Lexie’s anguish, although Harper couldn’t quite put her finger on why she felt that way. “I’m truly sorry.”

  “No, you’re not,” Lexie shot back. “You don’t look sorry.”

  “I’ll draw a sad face on later,” Harper said, turning her attention to Dylan. He seemed the most receptive to her presence. “Do any of you guys know what he was doing out at the park the night before last?”

  Dylan shrugged. “I have no idea,” he answered. “We spent some time out there when it was warm … you know, just chilling and not doing anything illegal … but I have no idea why he was out there that night. We weren’t supposed to meet or anything.”

  Harper internally rolled her eyes at the “not doing anything illegal” part. These guys had “underage drinking” written all over them. She didn’t really care how they partied, but she didn’t want to encourage them either. “Do you guys know anyone who was hanging around the park that night?”

  Dylan shook his head.

  “Did Derek have any enemies?”

  “Why are you asking these questions?” Lexie asked, her shoulders shaking as she lifted her damp eyes to Harper and scorched her with a harsh look. “Why are you even here?”

  “That’s a pretty good question.”

  Harper froze when she heard the new voice, briefly pressing her eyes shut and swiveling to find Jared, Mel, and Jim Stone staring at her.

  “Hello, Harper,” Mel said, his voice full of faux brightness. “What are you doing here?”

  “Hi, Harper,” Jim offered, shuffling worriedly.

  “I’ll still set you on fire,” Harper hissed, narrowing her eyes.

  Jared smirked and leaned closer to Jim. “I’ll pay you a hundred bucks if you let me punch you. She’s bound to forgive me once I do that.”

  Jim rolled his eyes while Harper glared at Jared.

  “What are you guys doing here?” Harper asked, turning the question around on them while she thought of a passable answer to appease Mel.

  “We’re doing our job,” Mel replied, unruffled. “We’re here to talk to the kids about Derek. Back to you.”

  “Um … .”

  “I didn’t want to come,” Eric announced, holding his hands up as if to prove he wasn’t in possession of a weapon. “I told her it was a bad idea.”

  Jared ran his tongue over his teeth as he tried not to laugh. Eric looked as if he wanted a hole to open up and swallow him alive and Harper was getting more defiant by the second.

  “I think she’s here to pick up boys,” Lexie said. “I told her she was too old, but these guys keep flirting with her and she thinks she has a shot. Personally, I think it’s just cruel to play with people’s emotions like that.”

  “Oh, shut up,” Harper said. “You know very well I’m not here to pick up teenage boys.”

  “I volunteered to take one for the team,” Dylan said. “I can vouch for her. She didn’t take me up on my offer.”

  “She didn’t turn us down either,” Brandon pointed out.

  Mel chuckled hoarsely. “Are you expanding your dating pool now that you’ve washed your hands of my partner, Harper? Is that what you’re doing here?”

  “Don’t push me,” Jared muttered, edging around Mel and moving closer to Harper. He knew exactly what she was doing at the school. “Did you get anywhere with your questions?”

  Harper tilted her head to the side, her blond hair dipping low as she considered how to respond. He wasn’t acting angry. That was a bonus. Of course, he could be pretending so she would forgive him. It was probably a trap. “I only asked a few before that one started crying and making a scene,” she replied, gesturing toward Lexie.

  “I’m in mourning,” Lexie said. “She’s the one trying to pick up teenage boys and molest them.”

  “Stop saying that,” Harper seethed. “What is your deal?”

  “She’s a teenage girl,” Jim supplied helpfully. “She likes pressing people’s buttons. You remember what it was like to be that age, right? You say and do things you don’t mean. Most of the time you grow out of those things and move past them … well, if people ever let you move past them.”

  Jared watched Harper for her reaction. He wasn’t disappointed.

  “Some things shouldn’t be let go,” Harper said.

  “I think you’ve tortured him long enough,” Mel interjected. “Zander is my nephew. He let this grudge go a long time ago. It’s been ten years, Harper. Don’t you thi
nk it’s time to let bygones be bygones?”

  “Yeah,” Lexie said, her voice unnaturally high. “Forgive him. He’s your age and you won’t get arrested if you date him.”

  “She’s not dating him,” Jared interjected.

  “You don’t know that,” Harper argued. “I could date him if I wanted to.”

  Jim looked intrigued and puffed his chest out. “I would love to take you to dinner.”

  “Now I’m going to punch you and not give you a hundred bucks,” Jared warned.

  “Yeah, I’m not going out to dinner with you,” Harper added. “I just don’t want Jared thinking it’s because of him.” She risked a glance at Eric and found him smiling, something akin to victory washing over his handsome features. She had a feeling she just made things worse. “On the other hand, well, maybe I will go out with Jared. I’m hungry and he owes me a good dinner.”

  “You can’t go out with him,” Lexie said, making a face. “He’s too hot for you.”

  “Hey!”

  “Oh, she’s going out with me,” Jared said. “I’m going to give her the best dinner money can buy, and then she’s going to realize she has absolutely no reason to be angry with me.”

  “Wait, what happened to you going out with me?” Jim asked. “I liked that idea better.”

  “I will arrest you,” Jared threatened, his voice low.

  “On what charge?”

  “Moving in on my turf,” Jared replied, not missing a beat.

  “As wonderfully immature as this all is, can we get back to the topic at hand?” Mel asked, refusing to let hormones dictate the conversation for one more second. “We have an important investigation. Your … dating life … is something that should be handled when you’re off the clock.”

  “I technically set my own clock, so that doesn’t apply to me,” Harper sniffed.

  “I’m off at five,” Jim interjected.

  “No one asked you,” Jared said.

  Mel scowled and turned back to the kids. “Can anyone give me a reason why Derek Thompson was out at the town park the night before last?”

  Everyone shook their heads in unison, causing Mel to focus on Lexie.

  “I understand you and Derek were dating,” he said, his voice filling with sympathy and warmth. “When was the last time you talked to him?”

  Now that she was the center of attention, Lexie’s bad attitude shifted faster than her earlier tears dried. “We talked that night around ten,” she answered. “We were making plans for the next day. He didn’t say anything about going out.”

  “Was it uncommon for him to go out that late?” Jared asked, returning to the matter at hand, but keeping an eye on Harper to make sure she didn’t bolt before he had a chance to firm up their dinner plans. “Did he usually go out after dark alone?”

  “I don’t think so,” Lexie answered. “If he did, he never told me.”

  “Did he confide in you a lot?”

  “He told me everything,” Lexie said, her cheeks glowing with the naïve flush of youth. “We were going to be together forever.”

  Harper zeroed in on Brandon, who rolled his eyes during Lexie’s declaration. Apparently he didn’t believe her statement any more than Harper did.

  “Can anyone think of a person who would want to hurt Derek?” Mel asked, his tone grave. “This is important. Even if you think it was a minor misunderstanding, we need to know if Derek had any enemies.”

  “Derek was loved by everyone,” Lexie said solemnly. “He was loved by me most of all, though. He didn’t have any enemies.”

  Mel glanced at the boys. “Do you agree with that?”

  “Derek was the most popular kid in school,” Dylan replied. “There’s absolutely no reason anyone would want to hurt him.”

  For some reason, everything about that statement felt false to Harper. She wisely kept that observation to herself, though.

  After a few more questions, Mel dismissed the kids and told them to return to the building. Jim made one more half-hearted attempt to apologize to Harper – and ask her out – but he was met with icy stares, so he finally gave up and led Mel inside to go over Derek’s file.

  Eric tugged on Harper’s arm to get her to leave, frantically trying to pull her away before Jared could approach. The cop stopped him before he had a chance to achieve his goal.

  “If you have somewhere to be, Eric, I’ll walk Harper back to the office,” Jared offered.

  “No … I … no.” Eric shook his head.

  “In that case, can you give Harper and me a moment to talk?” Jared asked, his eyes flashing with warning in case Eric tried to put up a fight.

  “Sure,” Eric replied, dejectedly kicking at the ground as he moved several feet away.

  “Well, that got us absolutely nowhere,” Harper grumbled when it was just the two of them.

  “I don’t know. I feel like I got somewhere.”

  Harper wanted to scowl, but Jared’s grin was so cute she couldn’t help but return it. “You’re starting to wear me down. We both know it.”

  “I do know it,” Jared agreed. “That’s why I want you to go to dinner with me tonight.”

  “I thought you were supposed to cook Zander dinner first?” Harper challenged.

  “I want our first official date to be just the two of us,” Jared replied. “I will cook Zander the dinner of his dreams once we’ve had a chance to spend time together and I know you’re okay being with me again.”

  Harper sighed. “I really want to be mad at you.”

  “That’s what your head says,” Jared countered. “What does your heart say?”

  “I’ll meet you at the steakhouse on Gratiot at seven.” Harper gave in. It was only a matter of time. She didn’t want to fight his pull for one moment longer than necessary. It was too much effort.

  “I’ll pick you up at your house at seven,” Jared corrected. “We’re going on a proper date. That means I’m walking to your front door to collect you and opening the car door for you. That’s what you do on a proper date.”

  Warmth spread through Harper’s stomach. “Does that mean I have to wear a skirt?”

  Jared grinned. “Those are the rules.”

  “I’ll see you at seven.”

  Eleven

  “How do I look?” Harper’s hands shook as she stood in front of Zander thirty minutes before Jared was due to arrive. “Do I look desperate?”

  Zander glanced up from the magazine he was perusing on the couch. “You look like a school teacher.”

  “Is that good?”

  “Let me rephrase that,” Zander said. “You look like a school teacher from Little House on the Prairie. What was her name? We used to love that show.”

  “Are you saying I look like Miss Beadle?”

  “Miss Beadle!” Zander slapped his knee. “I loved her. I loved that episode where Mary thought she was never going to attract a man because all the other kids made fun of her glasses and then Miss Beadle showed up with a boyfriend we never saw again and Mary realized men like women who wear glasses.”

  “Wow. That’s thirty seconds of my life I’ll never get back,” Harper deadpanned. “Did you have a point with that little diatribe?”

  Zander’s expression softened. “You’re nervous and it shows. You’re so cute.”

  “You’re not helping me!” Harper exploded.

  Zander made an exaggerated face and tossed the magazine on the couch. “You need to take it down a notch,” he said, getting to his feet. “I’m here to help you. This is why I told you to get dressed early. I knew you would pick the wrong outfit and need my expertise.”

  “I’ve been dressing myself since I was eight.”

  “And I’ve been redressing you since we were twelve,” Zander countered. “Come on.” He stalked into Harper’s bedroom, glancing at the mountain of clothes on the middle of her bed before turning toward the closet. “We should’ve gone shopping when Jared was out of town and gotten you something sexier to wear. Your clothing options a
re tragic.”

  Harper watched as he pulled a few items out and made faces. “Zander … .”

  Something about the way she said his name caused Zander to look up. He knew Harper as well as he knew himself, and he was keenly aware of the anxiety rolling through her. “Harp, it’s going to be okay,” he said, his expression softening. “Jared likes you. You like Jared. This is a good thing.”

  “But … .”

  Zander shook his head. “No. You want this. I know you do. You need to get over yourself and let it happen.”

  “What if he changes his mind?”

  “You just spent two days torturing the man and he kept coming back for more abuse,” Zander pointed out. “He’s not going to change his mind. I … suck in a breath, Harp. Sit down.”

  Harper did as instructed, fanning herself as her face reddened. “I think I really like him.”

  “I know you really like him,” Zander said. “Harp, tell me what’s really going on? Are you nervous because of Jared, or are you afraid because you haven’t had sex in so long you’re worried everything has changed?”

  Harper’s mouth dropped open. “We are not having sex tonight!”

  “I wish you would,” Zander countered. “If we have to go through this every single time you two go out on a date, you’re going to give me an aneurysm. I want to get everything out and in the open as fast as possible. You shaved your legs just in case, right?”

  “Yes,” Harper admitted, mortified. “I even used that Body Shop margarita lotion you got me.”

  “Good girl,” Zander said, pulling her in for a quick hug. “I promise this is going to be okay.” His voice was barely a whisper as he rubbed her back. “This is going to be good for you.”

  Harper sucked in a steadying breath. “What should I wear?”

  “You don’t have a lot of options,” Zander replied. “You’re going to have to wear this black skirt and this purple top.” He pressed the clothing items into her hands. “Put those on and then I’ll fix your hair.”

  “What’s wrong with my hair?”

  “Nothing once I fix your makeup, too,” Zander said. “Now … come on. You’ve got a man coming and you’re running out of time. Chop, chop.”

  JARED wiped his sweaty palms on the front of his trousers before lifting his hand to knock on Harper’s door. He was taken aback when the door opened and he found Zander staring out at him. For some reason it made him feel better knowing Zander was about to give him grief. That would take the edge off.