Ghostly Issues (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 2) (9 page)

“So … why are we at the high school?” Eric asked, nervously hurrying to catch Harper as she cut across the field between the high school and downtown. “I thought we were supposed to check out that house and then go back to the office.”

“Yes, but it’s boring at the office and I want to see if anyone who might know Derek Thompson is up at the high school,” Harper replied, undaunted by Eric’s quiet meltdown. He was convinced they were trespassing, and no matter how many times Harper told him the high school was public property, he refused to believe her.

After their fruitless search at Tina Donnelly’s old place – the elderly woman passed away almost six months before and her heirs were trying to unload it for the inheritance – Harper bought Eric lunch and spent the next hour trying to direct him toward any topic of conversation that didn’t involve Jared. Since she couldn’t find a ghost at the cottage, that endeavor proved harder than she would’ve liked.

She knew what Eric wanted, and it wasn’t something she couldn’t give him. While she liked Eric as a friend – and found him wonderfully entertaining at times – she wasn’t interested in him in a romantic sense. Unfortunately, there was only one man she felt that way about … and she was determined to remain angry with him no matter how cute he was.

“Why are we involved in the Derek Thompson case?” Eric asked, furtively glancing around. “We could get arrested because we’re old and on a high school campus. You know that, right?”

“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 think 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.