Ghostly Worries (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 4) (18 page)

“I can’t even look at you,” Zander muttered, annoyed. “How have we remained friends for this long?”

“Because there are different kinds of soul mates.”

Despite the serious nature of the situation, Zander couldn’t help but smile. “I love you, too.”

Harper pressed a finger to her lips as she linked fingers with Zander and led him out of the room. The office was quiet – too quiet, in fact. Cecelia made it sound as if they were swamped and yet Harper was certain the building was almost empty.

Zander’s grip on her hand was so strong Harper worried she would lose circulation, but she pushed forward until she heard voices toward the front of the office.

“Do you know where Dr. Kennedy is?” Cecelia asked. Harper was pretty sure she was talking to the receptionist.

“He should be around,” the other woman replied. “Why?”

“I need him to fix a small cavity for that walk-in we had.”

“What is it with people walking in so close to lunch?” the receptionist complained. “Don’t they understand we want to eat, too?”

“I don’t think these two understand much,” Cecelia said. “They seem slow or something. I thought they had some weird sex vibe – maybe like they got off on the pain of dentistry or something – but the guy is clearly gay.”

Harper exchanged a look with Zander as she tried to swallow her laughter. Now that they were out of the room and Cecelia wasn’t going on and on about drilling things she sounded witty and normal. Harper was starting to rethink her earlier theory.

“Maybe the woman is one of those chicks who thinks she can turn a gay guy straight,” the receptionist suggested. “I tried that once, by the way. It never works. It also never works when the guy claims he’s bi-sexual. Bi-sexuality is just a refueling point on the flight to Gay Island.”

“Good to know,” Cecelia said, her tone blasé. “You can take off for lunch now. Make sure you lock the front door. I’ll let these guys out through the back as soon as Dr. Kennedy is done. It shouldn’t take him more than a few minutes.”

“Okay. I’ll see you after lunch.”

Harper realized Cecelia was heading back in their direction only moments before the hygienist turned the corner. She managed to tackle Zander behind two filing cabinets and pull him under a table in a small office before Cecelia got a glimpse of the area where they previously stood. The duo held their breaths as Cecelia passed, locking gazes as they tried to get a grip on what was happening.

“What do we do?” Zander was beside himself. “I don’t want to get drilled. I’d rather see the tick at this point.”

“I don’t know,” Harper muttered. “What if we’re wrong and she’s not the killer?”

“Does it really matter at this point? We’re hiding under a table on a filthy floor in a dentist’s office. She’s either going to kill us or call the people with straightjackets to lock us up.”

He had a point. Harper dug in her pocket until she found her phone and pulled up the text-messaging app. She swallowed hard before typing. “Jared is not going to like this.”

“And now is the point when I say … I told you so.”

“
D
o
you think you and Harper will get married?”

Now that he wasn’t as agitated about the possibility of Jason being a murderer Jared found that he didn’t mind conversing with the man – especially since he promised to stop going after his girlfriend. The question caught Jared off guard all the same and he sipped his iced tea as he mulled how to answer.

“It’s okay,” Jason said, chuckling as he held his hands up. “That’s really none of my business. You guys haven’t been dating for very long.”

“That’s true, but … yeah, I see us getting married.” Even as the words left his mouth Jared realized he meant them. He briefly wondered if he said them to reaffirm the idea that Jason shouldn’t go after Harper, but he realized that wasn’t the case. “It’s obviously still too soon and a lot of things could happen between now and then, but … she makes me happy.”

“I can see that,” Jason said. “You know, when we were in high school all of the other girls would whisper about Harper and Zander. They thought there was something odd going on between them.”

“There’s always something odd going on between them.”

Jason snorted. “Yeah, but a lot of the girls thought Zander was pretending to be gay and he and Harper were really … you know.”

“I would be lying if I said their close relationship didn’t throw me off a little bit at the beginning, but I understand they’re joined for life,” Jared said. “Harper would never be happy without Zander, no matter how annoying he gets sometimes. You should see them together … I mean when Zander isn’t spying on you or hissing ‘thunder stealer’ every time you talk. They’re kind of magical.”

“You know it’s weird for a guy to be okay with another guy spending that much time with his girlfriend, right?”

“Perhaps,” Jared conceded. “They’re a unit, though. I think they share part of the same heart. I don’t have a problem with their relationship. At a certain point the living arrangements are going to have to be addressed, but that’s down the line. It doesn’t have to happen right away.”

“Oh, I never thought about that,” Jason said, his eyes flashing. “See, I never could’ve dated her. Zander wouldn’t let me through the front door.”

Jared grinned. “I actually like that they live together right now,” he said. “She constantly finds trouble and he would die to protect her. He’s mouthy beyond all reason, but he’s also the most loyal guy around.”

“Does she find trouble because of the ghosts?”

Jared stilled, uncomfortable. “I … what?”

“She told me,” Jason said. “Well, to be fair, when she took off without answering my questions about why she was at the house that first day I asked Jenny and she told me. Harper confirmed it, though. She doesn’t seem ashamed about it.”

“She shouldn’t be ashamed about it,” Jared said. “She’s extremely smart and she does a service for people. If she wasn’t good at what she does, people wouldn’t hire her.”

“I wasn’t saying anything bad about her,” Jason said, holding his hands up. “I don’t think Zander is the only one with a loyal streak, by the way.”

“She’s the most amazing person I’ve ever met,” Jared said, his smile fond as he thought about his blonde. “She makes me laugh.”

“That’s what the girls in high school didn’t get,” Jason offered. “They tried to conform to what they thought they should be. Harper knew who she was and didn’t try to fit herself into a little box to make others happy. That’s why all of the guys secretly wanted Harper.”

“Well, she’s mine now,” Jared said, scowling as his phone dinged. “Well, I think work is about to call me back to the real world.”

“Please tell me how Amy reacts to Mel’s questions,” Jason said. “I’m dying to know if she told him I was unsatisfactory.”

“You need to let that go, man,” Jared said, knitting his eyebrows together as he studied the phone screen. “You’re better than her and will find someone new who isn’t my girlfriend. Just … have a little patience.”

“Is something wrong?” Jason didn’t know Jared well, but he could read the distress – and brief flash of anger – crossing the other man’s face. “Did Amy say something bad to Mel?”

“It’s not Mel,” Jared muttered, swearing under his breath as he got to his feet. “In typical fashion, Harper ignored everything I told her to do this morning and now she’s convinced a dental hygienist is a murderer and she and Zander are hiding under a table in an office.”

Jason pressed his lips together but couldn’t contain his laughter when it bubbled up. “Can I please go with you and see that?”

“You can come with me, but only because I’m slightly worried they may be on to something,” Jared said. “You can call Mel for me in the car.”

“Wait … do you really think the dental hygienist is a murderer? That’s ludicrous.”

“It might be,” Jared said. “I also think the odds of the murderer being at that office are as good as anything else. Come on. I’m seriously going to wring both of their necks when I see them.”

“Ah, an opening for me,” Jason teased.

“Don’t push your luck.”

“
W
HAT
do we do
?”

Zander was a ball of uncontrollable nerves as he crouched under the table with Harper.

“I don’t know,” Harper whispered, darting her eyes to the hallway. “Maybe we can sneak out through the front since she’s looking for us in the back.”

“She probably thinks we’re drug fiends and here to steal the laughing gas,” Zander lamented. “We might end up in the newspaper if we’re not careful.”

“Yes, right next to the birth announcements and weekly mom garage sales,” Harper muttered, rolling her eyes. “We can’t stay here. As long as someone is in the hallway they can’t see us because of that counter thing over there. If they walk in this room, though … .”

“Then we’re the idiots hiding under a table for no rational reason,” Zander finished. “I blame you for this.”

“Oh, I blame you for this,” Harper shot back. “You’re the reason we’re in this mess in the first place.”

“How do you figure that?”

“You didn’t stop me from coming in here,” Harper said. “You had the power and you opted not to wield it.”

Zander was incensed. “What power?”

The friends were so intent on each other they didn’t notice an extra pair of legs in the room until someone made a throat clearing sound and drew their attention to the open doorway. Harper was relieved to find male legs instead of female.

“Oh … um … hi.”

“Hello.” Dr. Oliver Kennedy knelt down so he was on an even level with Harper and Zander and glanced between them. “Is this the person I’m supposed to be drilling?”

“In your dreams,” Zander muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. “There’s nothing wrong with my teeth.”

“Cecelia says you have a cavity.”

“Well, Cecelia is a crackhead,” Zander announced. “She also might be a murderer.”

Harper slapped Zander’s knee hard as she fixed a pleasant smile on her face. “My friend was having a panic attack and he prefers to be in a safe location when that happens,” she said. “I was just trying to talk him out of his mental funk.”

“Liar,” Zander hissed, smacking Harper’s knee. “You’re on my list of bad friends today … and it’s not just because of the constant drilling comments.”

“I see.” Kennedy’s expression was unreadable and Harper couldn’t decide if he was going to call the police and report them for being quacks or laugh in their faces. “Do you want to come out of there?”

“Sure.” Harper moved to roll to her knees, but Zander grabbed the belt loop on her shorts and tugged her back. “What are you doing?”

“We’re good here,” Zander said. “I would prefer a little … distance … you know, for my panic attack.”

“You look pretty good for a guy having a panic attack,” Kennedy remarked. “Shouldn’t you be breathing into a bag or something?”

“I don’t like playing to anyone’s preconceptions.”

“I see.” While he initially appeared amused, Zander’s refusal to climb out from underneath the table was obviously starting to grate Kennedy. “How can we come to a mutually satisfying agreement? I don’t know about you, but it’s lunchtime and I really want to eat my sandwich.”

“We just need to go outside and get some air,” Harper said. “My friend is deathly afraid of dental work and we think it would be better for everyone involved if we took some time to think about things and then went to our regular dentist for the drilling.”

“I’m not letting him drill me either,” Zander argued. “I take perfect care of my teeth. I do not have a cavity. That woman was lying, which makes sense because she’s clearly crazy and possibly a murderer.”

“See, that’s the second time you’ve said that and I’m starting to get a bit nervous with the assertion,” Kennedy said. “Why do you think Cecelia is a murderer?”

“Because she was talking badly about your other employee.”

“Sarah?”

“No.”

“Judith?”

“No, numbnuts.” Zander was exasperated. “Your dead employee. She said Rosie died on purpose and basically admitted to being happy about it. Then she cackled and smiled like a crazed carny and said she was going to drill me. That’s not going to happen and I’m not coming out from under this table until I’m certain she’s gone … or in custody.”

Harper couldn’t be sure, but for a brief moment she thought she saw something other than weary amusement flit across the dentist’s face … and it wasn’t a pleasant expression. “We should really be going.”

“Why would you be talking about Rosie with Cecelia?”

“Because we’re helping the police in their murder investigation and we thought we should talk to you people and get the scoop,” Zander replied, not caring in the slightest that he was blowing their cover. “It’s obviously a good thing we did, too, because your hygienist is a loon.”

“A loon, huh?” Kennedy didn’t look nearly as affable now as he did moments before.

“She’s a loon,” Zander said, warming to his subject. “We heard her talking to the chick behind the glass out front and she told her that we were trying to play some freaky dentist sex game.”

“That sounds like Cecelia,” Kennedy. “So, let me get this straight, you didn’t really come here for a cavity, right? You came here because you’re looking for Rosie’s killer, if I’m understanding you correctly.”

“Exactly,” Zander said, rolling his eyes.

“Zander … .” Harper had no idea why, but her inner danger alarm was pinging so loudly she wanted to scream to shut it up. Zander was oblivious to her distress, and the shift in Kennedy’s demeanor.

“I don’t understand why you would come looking here,” Kennedy said. “I told the police everything I know.”

“I’m sure you did,” Harper said, putting her best pretty smile on display so he would hopefully buy her act. “We were just bored and wanted to play detective. I always fancied myself as Trixie Belden growing up.”

“I was Trixie,” Zander countered. “You were Honey.”

“I was not Honey.”

“I still don’t understand why you would come here,” Kennedy said, annoyance positively rolling off of him in waves. “I mean … why would you possibly think someone here had something to do with Rosie’s death?”

“Because Rosie was after a doctor and you’re kind of a doctor,” Zander replied. “She also had no problem going after married men and you’re married. She got a love nest in the woods so she could have sex with her love bunny and my uncle says they’re getting the place dusted for fingerprints to find out who she was canoodling with.”

“I didn’t hear that part,” Harper said.

“That’s because you were throwing up last night when Jared and I got caught up on the case,” Zander said. “We thought maybe you were sleeping with Rosie, Doc – which seems likely – and that you might’ve killed her to keep it quiet. Now we’re leaning toward the hygienist, though. She’s batshit crazy and really hated Rosie.”

“Uh-huh.” Kennedy glanced over his shoulder and stared at the empty hallway a moment before turning back to Harper and Zander. “And you guys are hiding here because you think Cecelia is going to kill you?”

“Or drill me,” Zander said. “I can’t decide which one is worse.”

“I’m leaning toward killing you myself,” Harper hissed.

“What did I say?” Zander was out of sorts. “I just want to go home and eat some ice cream, Harp. This entire day is going down the toilet and it’s all your fault.”

“This day is definitely going down the toilet,” Kennedy said, groaning as he struggled to a standing position and slipped a hand into his lab coat pocket. “You guys should probably come out from under there and be on your way.”

“Okay,” Zander said. “You have to promise the deranged hygienist isn’t going to drill me, though.”

“I promise she won’t take a step in your direction.”

“Come on, Harp. You can buy me lunch as payment for this dismal morning. That won’t be your only punishment, but it’s a nice start.”

This time Harper was the one grabbing Zander’s arm and dragging him back under the table.

“What, Harp? He said he would protect us.”

“You’re not done having your panic attack yet,” Harper instructed.

“I’m not?” Zander was confused. “Okay, but I’m not breathing into a bag. I’m committed, but I’ve never liked that look.”

“Okay, guys, enough is enough,” Kennedy said, his patience wearing thin. “Get out from under there.”

“We’re good,” Harper said, crowding closer to Zander.

“Get out!”

“
I
CONFIRMED
everything Jason told you with his wife … er, ex-wife … and she pretty much laughed in my face when I said we were looking at him as a murder suspect,” Mel informed Jared as they met in the dental practice’s parking lot. “She told me he wasn’t driven enough to be a murderer.”

“That sounds about right,” Jason muttered. “I feel so … loved.”

“Ignore her,” Jared said. “What do you think about Harper’s text?”

“I think that Harper and Zander often do absolutely idiotic things and this is probably a case of that,” Mel replied, not missing a beat. “That being said … something about this place didn’t sit right with me from the beginning.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”