Ghostly Interests (14 page)

“WELL,
we can officially call it a homicide,” Jared said, leafing through the medical examiner’s findings. “Annie Dresden had sexual contact before her death and she was strangled.”

“We can’t be sure the sexual contact was involuntary,” Mel warned.

Jared shot him a dubious look.

“She had sex with that nasty professor,” Mel reminded him. “Just because they weren’t seeing each other any longer that doesn’t mean she wasn’t seeing someone else.”

“Don’t you think the parents would’ve told us about that?” Jared pressed.

“The parents didn’t know about the professor.”

“You have a point,” Jared said, rubbing the back of his neck to work out the kinks. While Mel was up late being lambasted by family members, Jared’s lack of sleep came from his own fitfulness. He couldn’t get the memory of Harper’s red-rimmed eyes out of his mind the entire night. By the time his alarm dinged in the morning he’d only managed four total hours of sleep. He was exhausted. “The report says they’re going to send the semen sample in for testing, but it could take some time to get the results back,” Jared said. “They asked for a rush, but we both know how that goes.”

“It’s probably going to take at least a few days,” Mel said. “We need to figure out where Annie disappeared from and work from there to find out where she was killed. I think it’s fair to say she never made it back to her house.”

“Those friends we interviewed yesterday said she was on her way to the library at six and the medical examiner puts her time of death around ten. That’s only a four-hour window,” Jared said.

“I’m going to assume she was in the library for at least an hour,” Mel said. “I think we should head over there and see if we can find someone who remembers seeing her.”

“That sounds like our best option for now,” Jared agreed. “Let’s get a move on.”

“I KNOW
Annie.” One of the library workers, Lexie Marsden, fixed her wide eyes on Jared as she twirled a finger through her brown waves. She was attempting to flirt with the attractive police officer, but he was doing his level best to ignore her obvious “open for business” signals.

“Do you remember seeing her here three days ago?” Mel asked.

“She was here a lot, but I’m not sure I remember her … oh, wait, that’s not true,” Lexie said. “She was sitting at that table over in that corner.” Lexie pointed. “I remember because she was one of the only ones here and I couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t out having a good time with everyone else.”

“Her friends said she headed in this direction at around six,” Jared said. “Does that sound right to you?”

Lexie racked her brain. “Yeah. I know she was still here around seven because that’s when I take my break and I went out through the east door to smoke a cigarette. When I came back in I saw that she was packing up her stuff.”

“That means she was getting ready to leave at seven-thirty. Is that right?” Jared pressed.

“I think it was closer to seven-forty-five,” Lexie said, smiling sheepishly. “I took longer than I was supposed to on my break, but since the library was so empty I didn’t think it would be a big deal.”

“When Annie left, did she go out through the front door?”

“I have no idea,” Lexie replied. “I wasn’t paying attention.

“Did Annie talk to anyone while she was in here?” Mel asked.

“She was by herself and I didn’t see anyone talking to her,” Lexie said. “Was that helpful?”

“Very,” Jared said, gracing her with a small smile.

“I … if you need anything else, you can call me whenever you want,” Lexie said. “I mean … anything.”

“Um, thank you,” Jared said, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

Mel rolled his eyes. “Thank you so much for your time.”

“Oh, one other thing,” Jared said, turning back before he could move too far away from Lexie’s eager countenance.

“Yeah?”

“Which way is the east door?” Jared asked.

“Right over there,” Lexie said, working hard to hide her disappointment.

Instead of exiting the library through the door they entered Jared headed toward the side entrance Lexie indicated.

“What are you doing?” Mel asked, following close on his new partner’s heels.

“I just … I want to see something,” Jared said, something Harper told him before leaving the station the previous evening echoing in his mind.

“What are we looking for?” Mel asked, pulling up short when he found Jared in the middle of the sidewalk outside of the library. “What are you looking at?”

“Doesn’t Annie Dresden drive an older model Ford Explorer?” Jared asked.

Mel nodded.

Jared gestured toward one of only three vehicles in the well-hidden side lot.

“That looks like the vehicle we’re looking for,” Mel said, striding toward it. “How did you know to look over here?”

Jared didn’t immediately answer. Instead, once he got to the driver’s side of the vehicle, he played a hunch and hunkered down. There, just like Harper said he would, Jared found Annie’s keys underneath the Explorer.

“We need a crime scene team out here,” Jared said grimly.

“Tell me how you knew to look out here first,” Mel prodded.

“Harper told me to before she left the station last night.” It was hard to admit, but Jared wasn’t big on lying.

“I told you she was special,” Mel said, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket.

“I already knew that,” Jared muttered. “Well … crap.”

Fifteen

“I heard you got arrested last night,” Molly said, breezing into the GHI office a half hour late and fixing Harper with an excited look. “Did you get printed? Did they give you a chemical shower? Did you have to undergo a cavity search?”

Harper made a face from behind her desk. “You watch way too much television.”

“Did any of that happen?” Molly asked, her enthusiasm shifting to disappointment.

“None of that happened.”

“It’s too bad, too,” Zander said, winking at Molly. “There’s nothing better than a good cavity search story.”

“You’re so funny,” Harper deadpanned.

“How come you got arrested?” Eric asked, tapping his watch and giving Molly a pointed look.

“I’m not that late,” Molly snapped.

“We don’t have a job this morning so it doesn’t matter,” Harper said.

“It matters if I’m late,” Eric said.

“We pay you,” Zander replied.

“Barely,” Eric muttered. He turned his attention back to Harper. “Why were you arrested?”

“I went to Annie Dresden’s house hoping I could find her ghost,” Harper explained. “I did and she asked me to look in the house to see if her bag was on the table. She couldn’t remember if she made it home or not. She told me where to find the key and as I was letting myself into the house the cops showed up.”

“That’s rotten luck,” Eric said. “Were you scared? I’ll bet you were scared.”

“It wasn’t my finest moment,” Harper conceded.

“Why didn’t Annie just walk through the walls and look at the table herself?” Molly asked.

“Because I wasn’t firing on all cylinders and didn’t think that far ahead,” Harper replied. “I was nervous … and distracted … and I was trying to keep Annie talking so I did as she asked.”

“Was it the new cop?” Molly asked. “He’s freaking hot, by the way.”

“He is,” Zander agreed.

“It was the new cop,” Harper said, nodding. “He’s not that hot.”

“How come a Whisper Cove police officer arrested you at a St. Clair house?” Eric asked, his ever-pragmatic mind working overtime. “Is that even legal?”

“Technically she wasn’t arrested,” Zander said. “She was taken into custody for questioning and released without being arrested.”

“He said he could arrest anyone if he caught them breaking the law and it didn’t matter if he had proper jurisdiction or not,” Harper said. “I’m looking that up, by the way. I’m not sure I trust him to tell the truth.”

“I don’t think he was lying,” Zander said. “What does it matter now anyway? He let you go. No one is pressing charges. You didn’t actually enter the house.”

“He stopped you before you entered the house?” Eric asked, his eyes wide. “I wonder why. He would’ve had reason to hold you if you walked inside. By stopping you beforehand, he weakened his position.”

Harper stilled, Eric’s words washing over her. “I never really considered that.”

“I told you he liked you,” Zander teased. “He purposely stopped you from breaking the law because he didn’t want to throw you in the big house. He was saving you.”

“He does not like me.”

“You think the new cop likes Harper?” Eric asked, his shoulders straightening.

“I hope he does,” Molly said, shooting a small look in Eric’s direction. His interest in Harper wasn’t lost on her. “I think he and Harper would make a gorgeous couple.”

“When did you see him?” Eric challenged.

“At the college the other day,” Molly said. “He was talking to Harper and his body language said that he was hot for her.”

“It did not,” Harper scoffed.

Eric scorched Molly with a look. “When did you become an expert on body language?”

“I know when a guy is interested,” Molly shot back. “This guy was interested in Harper. A girl can always tell these things.”

“That’s not true, is it?” Eric turned to Harper, a worried expression on his handsome face.

“A woman can always tell,” Harper said, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at the triumphant look on Molly’s face. “As a woman I can unequivocally tell you that Jared Monroe is not interested in me.”

“You can’t say that,” Zander said. “You refuse to see what’s right in front of you. He clearly finds you attractive … just like you find him attractive.”

“You don’t find him attractive, do you?” Eric was starting to get desperate.

“Not in the least,” Harper said.

Eric looked relieved, if only marginally.

“That is such a load of crap,” Zander said. “You might not be in love with him, but you’re dying to see what he looks like without his shirt on.”

“Lies!”

“I’m not the one lying,” Zander said, his voice climbing to an almost shrill level. “You can’t stop yourself from checking out his rear end every time you’re around him. I know because I’ve been checking it out, too, and my eyes keep meeting your eyes there.”

“That is ridiculous,” Harper said.

Eric opened his mouth, and for a second Harper was worried he was going to blurt out a date invitation right then and there to head off another second of “hot cop” arguing. He never got the chance, though, and Harper would be forever thankful for the sound of someone clearing their throat at the front of the office.

Jared Monroe had his hands in his pockets as he shifted from one foot to the other by the front door. “I … um … your door was open.”

Harper felt as if she’d been hit by a bus. All the air whooshed out of her lungs and her panicked eyes sought out Zander’s for reassurance. He was too busy silently laughing to offer her any help, though.

Harper forced herself to her feet, her cheeks burning as she tried to decide how much of their childish argument Jared had overheard. “I … can I help you?”

Jared licked his lips. He looked as nervous as Harper felt. “Can I talk to you in private for a few minutes?”

“Sure,” Harper said, glancing around doubtfully. The office consisted of exactly one room and there was nowhere the two of them could go to avoid prying ears. “Maybe we should go outside?”

Jared looked relieved at the suggestion. “Sure.”

Harper started to follow and then shot a quick look at Zander over her shoulder. “You can hold the fort down, right?”

Zander nodded, and when he was sure Jared’s attention was focused elsewhere he mimed kissing an invisible person in front of him. Harper’s cheeks grew even redder, but she refused to comment on what Zander was doing. Instead she followed Jared outside of the office – and toward what she was sure was certain doom.

JARED
had no idea why he was so nervous but entering Harper’s place of business put him on the defensive. It gave her a position of power. He believed that right up until the second he walked into the office and no one noticed him. Then he heard what they were arguing about and he couldn’t stop himself from listening for a few minutes. He couldn’t believe this group was considered professionals in any field.

He wordlessly led Harper to the small patio next to the office building and gestured toward the wrought iron table. Harper took one of the chairs and Jared settled in the other. He had no idea how he was going to start the conversation, but Harper didn’t give him a chance to get his bearings.

“You found Annie’s car, didn’t you?”

Jared balked. “How did you know that?”

“I’m guessing,” Harper said. “Did you think I was messing with you? Did you think a ghost told me? Did you think I was even crazier than you originally thought?”

Jared pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself. He deserved that. He’d been condescending the night before. He’d treated her like a child. Now he was the one in the awkward position and she deserved her moment in the sun to gloat. “I … I’m sorry,” Jared said, the words sounding lame to his own ears.

“What are you sorry about?”

She wasn’t going to make this easy on him. Jared didn’t blame her. “I’m sorry you believe I think you’re crazy.”

“That’s not an apology,” Harper scoffed.

“I’m not sure what you want me to say.”

“I’m not sure what I want you to say either,” Harper said.

“Can we please start over?”

“I guess.”

“We found Annie’s car right where you said it would be,” Jared said. “The keys were under the car.”

“Did you find anything else?”

“Like?”

“Her bag,” Harper said. “She was carrying a bag. Was it in the Explorer?”

“There was a bag in the backseat,” Jared answered. “There was a textbook, a few notebooks, and gum inside.”

Harper frowned. “What about an iPad?”

Jared shook his head. “Was there supposed to be an iPad inside?”

“Annie said there was,” Harper said, racking her brain as she tried to remember the bulk of their conversation the previous evening. “I don’t know what type it is or anything.”