Wicked Beginning: An Ivy Morgan Mystery Books 1-3
Read Wicked Beginning: An Ivy Morgan Mystery Books 1-3 Online
Authors: Lily Harper Hart
Wicked Beginning
An Ivy Morgan Mystery
Books 1-3
Lily Harper Hart
“Welcome to Shadow Lake.”
Jack Harker glanced around, unsure what his new partner, Brian Nixon, was getting at. “I’ve seen the town before. I came up here for an interview. It’s not exactly … surprising.”
For his part, Brian was both amused and blasé. Since he’d hit the age of fifty a few months before, he found entertainment in witnessing others react to certain things. Watching a younger man who spent all of his thirty years in a busy city adjust to small town life was going to be entertaining. He just knew it. “It’s probably a shock for you,” Brian said. “Coming from Detroit to … this … is going to take a little getting used to.”
Jack raised his dark eyes to Brian’s mirth-filled green ones, trying to get a feel for the boisterous man. “There was a reason I wanted out of Detroit.”
“I heard,” Brian said, his face softening slightly. “This is still going to be … different … from what you’re used to.”
“I’m used to drive-by shootings, gang violence, constant robberies and one of the highest murder rates in the country,” Jack said matter-of-factly. “I applied for the detective’s position here because I was tired of all of that.”
Brian smirked. “Well, the good news is we rarely get a murder,” he said. “That’s not to say we never get a murder, mind you. Just last year Layla Crowe shot her husband because she found out he was stepping out on her with Maisie Washington.”
“Did she try to hide it?”
“Oh, no,” Brian said. “We didn’t even know the husband was dead until Layla hightailed it to the library looking for Maisie. There was a standoff, but Layla eventually surrendered.”
“Was Maisie at the library?”
“She’s the librarian.”
“Oh,” Jack said, furrowing his brow. “I thought librarians were supposed to be meek and staid.”
“Not Maisie,” Brian said. “She’s a little … different.”
“I can’t wait to meet her.”
“I’m sure she’ll be stopping by your place with a casserole any day now,” Brian said. “She likes to … welcome … the new men in town before they get a chance to hear about her reputation. You’re going to be right up her alley.”
“I’m not sure what that means.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, there aren’t a lot of single men in Shadow Lake,” Brian said. “This is a place where people move to raise a family, not go searching for someone to build one with.”
“That’s why I’m here,” Jack said, letting his gaze bounce around the quaint downtown. “That’s exactly why I’m here.”
Brian knew the real reason Jack left the Detroit Police Department a few months before, a horrific betrayal and bullet wound forcing him into early retirement. Since he barely knew the man, though, he wasn’t ready to press him on the issue. He could tell Jack was keeping his cards close to his vest right now, and he really didn’t blame him. “Well, how about we do a small walking tour and I’ll give you the lowdown on Shadow Lake?”
“That sounds good,” Jack said, falling into step next to Brian. “How long have you been here?”
“I grew up here,” Brian said. “We had a farm on the south side of town when I was a kid, and that’s where I live now.”
“Are your parents still alive?”
“They are,” Brian said. “They moved to a smaller house, though. It’s a few miles away from the farm, and they come out whenever they want. This is northern Lower Michigan, though, so the winters are brutal. Once November hits, they’re pretty much Florida bound until May.”
“Do you like that?”
“I like knowing that my father isn’t out trying to shovel snow in his seventies,” Brian said. “That does not stop him from coming out and doing work in the fields during the summer, though. You can take the farmer out of Michigan for the winters, but you can’t taking the farming out of a Michigan man in the summers – especially if he really loves the farm.”
“So … you’re a detective with the Shadow Lake Police Department and you’re a farmer?” Jack looked impressed.
“I don’t do a lot of the farming these days,” Brian said. “I have sons, and we don’t have near the crops we used to. My wife likes to do vegetables, and we have a little bit of livestock. It’s not the same work my dad used to do on a daily basis.”
“Still … that sounds nice.”
“I heard you bought the old Winstead house on the lake,” Brian said. “That’s a beautiful setting, but last time I was around those parts that house needed some work. Has it been fixed up at all?”
“I’m doing that myself,” Jack said. “I like to keep my hands busy.”
“And you know how to renovate a house?”
Jack snickered. “Do you think because I’m a city boy that I don’t know how to use a hammer?”
“Maybe,” Brian conceded.
“I know how to use a hammer,” Jack said. “My father owns a construction business down in St. Clair Shores.”
“And that’s close to the city?”
Jack rolled his eyes. “Do all country folk think the suburbs and Detroit are the same thing?”
Brian shrugged. “I am a cliché.”
“The suburbs are nice,” Jack said, not taking Brian’s comment personally. “My parents live on Lake St. Clair, and there’s a lot of new construction going on in the northern suburbs. I worked for him as a teenager – and when I had breaks from college – so I know a little bit about construction.”
“Still, that house needs a lot of work.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” Jack said. “I figure it will keep me busy.”
Brian studied his new partner for a moment, not missing the haunted look that momentarily flitted across the man’s face. “I’m sure it will,” he said. “If you need supplies, my brother is a manager at the Home Depot over in Traverse City. He can get you whatever you need for cost.”
Jack seemed surprised by the offer. “Really?”
“That’s what partners are for,” Brian said. “Also, you’re going to want to make yourself available for a dinner in the next week or so. My wife Millie is dying to meet you, and she’s insistent on feeding people when she meets them.”
Jack wanted to argue, his mouth already open with an excuse to get out of dinner, but he backed down immediately. He’d moved to Shadow Lake because he was trying to put his rampant suspicion regarding others behind him. This seemed like a good place to start. “That sounds nice.”
Brian grinned. “Good. You’ll like Millie. She’s a good woman, and she’s an amazing cook. Why do you think I need to have my pants let out once a year?” Brian gestured toward his rounded midriff.
“Just give me a few days to get settled,” Jack said. “Everything I own is still in boxes.”
“Sure,” Brian said. “Now … on with the tour. As you can see here, this is City Hall. It also doubles as the police department.”
“I’ve noticed,” Jack replied dryly.
“Over there you have Sam’s Diner. It’s … well … diner food. It’s all good, though, and it’s a happening coffee place in the morning. If you’re ever looking for someone to question, you can usually find them in the diner between seven and ten in the morning.”
“Good to know.” Jack was enjoying Brian’s take on the town.
“That over there is the library,” Brian said, pointing. “It’s actually a popular spot – mostly because we don’t have any place else for people to hang out. Don’t go in there if you don’t want Maisie Washington to jump you behind the stacks.”
“I’m starting to like the sound of this Maisie woman,” Jack said. “What does she look like?”
“Oh, she’s a pretty one,” Brian said. “There’s also a reason she’s still single. She’s kind of one of those women who just sucks the life out of a man and then tosses him over her shoulder like an empty beer can and moves on.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
“She’s broken more men than professional wrestling.”
This time Jack couldn’t swallow his laughter. “I see you don’t have a very high opinion of her.”
“She’s broken up a few marriages,” Brian said. “She also broke up my son’s engagement. She’s … not my favorite person.”
“Well, I wouldn’t worry about it,” Jack said. “I’m not really looking to date anyone.”
“Are you saying you’re a bachelor for life?” Brian arched an inquisitive eyebrow.
“Probably,” Jack conceded. “I just don’t think I’m relationship material. I’ve never met a woman who can hold my interest for more than a few weeks. I don’t particularly want to hurt anyone – or let anyone get attached to me – so I’m planning to keep myself out of the dating pool in Shadow Lake for the foreseeable future.”
“Maybe you
are
a good match for Maisie,” Brian mused.
Jack chuckled. “Even if I was open to dating – which I’m not, so don’t let your wife try to set me up with anyone – I don’t think Maisie sounds like my type.”
“What makes you think my wife would try to set you up with someone?”
“It’s just a feeling,” Jack said, holding up his hand. “Don’t worry. I’m not insinuating your wife is meddlesome … despite what I’ve heard about country women.”
“Oh, she’s meddlesome,” Brian said. “She’s got a whole list of women she wants to pair you up with. She just wants to meet you before she decides on one.”
“I think I’ll pass,” Jack said.
“I’ll let you tell Millie that,” Brian said. “She takes bad news better from strangers than she does from me.”
“I’m looking forward to that conversation,” Jack deadpanned.
“You’ll survive,” Brian said. “Okay, that’s the stable. There are about ten horses in there, and if you’re stuck on something to do when Millie forces you on a blind date, that’s always a good idea. It’s only open for about six months out of the year. The barn next to it is where they hold the town dances.”
Jack jerked his head up. “Where do they keep the feed for the horses?”
“In the stable.”
“Are you honestly saying that Shadow Lake has town dances?”
“Every week in the summer,” Brian said. “There’s not a lot of things here for the kids to do. The nearest theater is still an hour away, and the nearest mall is almost two hours away. This is the sticks, son.”
“So … the kids here go to weekly dances? That’s not what we did when we were teenagers.”
“Oh, they do that, too,” Brian said. “There’s a make-out spot on the east side of town. It’s on that bluff you pass when you’re driving into town. Friday and Saturday nights are busy up there when the weather is nice.”
Jack racked his brain but came up empty when he tried to picture the spot. “Do they get rowdy up there?”
“No,” Brian said, shaking his head. “It’s mostly just heavy breathing and groping. There have been a few problems with fathers when they catch their beloved daughters rolling around with the local boys, though. So that’s one thing to keep in mind. Oh, and most of the fathers here are armed so … .”
“Be careful?”
“They usually don’t shoot law enforcement,” Brian said. “They might shoot a few rounds into the air, though. Just be prepared.”
Jack nodded. “Okay. Anything else?”
“There’s also a party spot on the west side of the lake,” Brian said. “It’s in an area the kids think is secret, and it is hard to access unless you’re on foot.”
“If you know where it is, why not shut them down?”
“It’s just easier knowing where they are,” Brian said. “Teenagers are going to party. It’s what they do. Right now they’re camping out there and not driving, so we kind of let things go as long as they’re not being too rowdy. If things get out of hand, we’ll bust them, and then they’ll just find another party spot. It’s spring, so they’re just getting started this year.”
“Okay,” Jack said. “That doesn’t sound too hard.”
“It’s not,” Brian said. “Your biggest problem is probably going to be senior citizens driving when they shouldn’t be and the occasional livestock versus automobile accident. There are a few domestic incidents each month, and some of the elderly women on the library committee like to throw down, but that’s about it.”
“The library committee?”
“It’s really just an excuse to have tea with bourbon in it,” Brian said. “They never do anything to help the library.”
“So why keep the committee intact?”
Brian shrugged. “Why not?”
Jack couldn’t come up with a viable reason so he let it go. “So basically we just patrol the town and keep everyone from fighting with each other. That’s what you’re saying, right?”
“Pretty much,” Brian confirmed.
That sounded absolutely perfect to Jack. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“We’ll see if you feel the same way in a week,” Brian said. “It’s a beautiful town, but you have to come up with your own way to entertain yourself.”
“That’s just the way I like it,” Jack said. “Why do you think I bought a house that needs so much work?”
“I think you fancy yourself a loner,” Brian said. “I’m just not sure if you really are one yet.”
“I am.”
“Well … then good luck to you.”
“Thanks.”
After finishing their loop around town, which took a grand total of fifteen minutes – and that included stopping to talk to some downtown regulars – Jack and Brian found themselves back in front of the police department.