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

“But … why?” Harper was confused. “We’re done for the day.”

“Because I said so,” Zander snapped, shooting Jason a dirty look. “I don’t want to be here any longer. I need to get out of this place.”

“Okay.” Harper was confused, but she wasn’t in the mood to fight. “It was nice seeing you again, Jason. I hope everything works out.”

“Me, too,” Jason said. “You’ll come to the opening, right? I didn’t get a chance to ask you before.”

“Oh, well … .” Harper shifted her eyes to Jared, unsure.

“We’d love to come.” The words were out of Jared’s mouth before he realized what he was saying – or more importantly, how he was saying it.

Jason’s eyes widened as he swiveled. It took him a moment to sort out the relationship threads, but when he did, realization flickered in the depths of his eyes. “Of course,” he said, swallowing hard. “You’re both invited.”

“Great,” Jared said.

“Just don’t eat the chowder,” Zander instructed. “It smells like sardines and tastes like feet.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“
D
o
you want to tell me what that was about?”

Mel sat behind the steering wheel of the police cruiser and navigated away from The Landing, pointing the car in the direction of the station as he kept one eye on a fuming Jared.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jared said, adjusting the air-conditioning vents and pointing them toward his face. “I was doing my job.”

“Uh-huh.” It was a serious situation, but Mel couldn’t stop himself from snickering. After Harper and Zander beat a hasty retreat, Jared was all business when questioning Jason. He was also icy when asking about his day. When Jason got to the part about seeing Zander and Harper at the house he was considering buying, Mel was convinced Jared was going to question him about his intentions regarding the comely blonde. Jared maintained his cool quotient, though, not breaking into a sweat until they hit the car. Then he seemed to deflate like a balloon. “You know Harper dated Jason when she was seventeen, right?”

Jared scowled. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“It’s just that you seem to have your nose out of joint about this,” Mel said.

“That’s ridiculous,” Jared sputtered.

“I agree.”

“No, it’s ridiculous because Harper is a grown woman and she dated this guy for two minutes when she was a kid,” Jared charged. “Why would that possibly bother me?”

“I have no idea why it would bother you,” Mel said. “I wasn’t asking to get you all riled up. I was just asking to see if you wanted to talk about it. There’s no need to … do whatever it is you’re doing.”

“Great.” Jared stared out the window as Mel drove down the familiar tree-lined main drag, happy to let the conversation drift into the ether. “Do you know what bothers me?”

“Here we go,” Mel muttered under his breath.

“It doesn’t bother me that she dated a guy in high school and hugged him when she saw him,” Jared said.

“That’s good. I would hate to think you’re letting an innocent hug derange you.”

Jared ignored the dig. “It bothers me that Zander and Harper shared a look before admitting why they were down at the restaurant in the first place.”

“Huh.” That wasn’t what Mel was expecting at all, but now that Jared brought it up he remembered the look in question. He thought the duo were hiding some immature game they were playing – or something of the like – but now that he looked back on it, he realized Jared might have a point. “I did notice that. I thought they were just snooping around the restaurant because they were busybodies.”

“I thought that, too,” Jared said. “Then I saw … that guy … and realized they were probably hiding something else.”

Mel blew out a frustrated sigh. “Son, you can’t let this bother you,” he said. “You’re coming off as … a little controlling and weird.”

Jared balked. “Controlling? I’m not controlling.”

“I didn’t say you were controlling,” Mel clarified. “I said you were coming off that way.”

Jared’s “harrumph” was pronounced as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I am not controlling.”

“Jared, think about it,” Mel prodded. “Harper dated Jason for two months when they were in high school. It was one of those brief summer flings you have as a teenager. I’m sure you had a few yourself.”

The corners of Jared’s mouth tipped up as memories flooded his brain. “I was the king of the summer fling when I was in high school. I avoided it when I got older, but back then I was quite the summer catch.”

“Uh-huh.” Mel fought the urge to roll his eyes. The male ego was a strange thing and the last thing he wanted to do was set Jared off again. “And what do you think when you look back at those girls?”

“I think … it was a fun time, but I can barely remember their names,” Jared admitted. “We went to the beach … and had ice cream … and there was some kissing and messing around, but in the grand scheme of things they ended as soon as they began.”

“Okay, so knowing all that, why are you jealous of Jason and Harper?” Mel asked. “It was the same thing for them.”

“Because Harper doesn’t have flings,” Jared replied honestly. “She spent her childhood with Zander and then she lost the one guy she dated as an adult to a horrible accident. She isolated herself other than that. I … just wasn’t expecting it.”

“No, you thought you were special,” Mel corrected. “You are special … to her. She’s never been this happy as long as I’ve known her, and I’ve known her since she was shorter than my knee.”

Jared pressed his lips together, embarrassment at having overreacted washing over him. “I didn’t mean to … do that.”

“I know you didn’t,” Mel said. “You just need to chill out. Harper doesn’t care about Jason that way. It’s still fun to catch up with people.”

“Do you think she’ll be mad when I get to her place tonight?”

Jared’s expression was so earnest it caused Mel to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. “I think the fact that you answered her dinner invitation for the both of you will be brought up, but otherwise I’m guessing the worst thing that’s going to happen is some mild teasing.”

Jared frowned. “Zander doesn’t understand the meaning of the word ‘mild.’”

“Oh, I meant the mild teasing would come from Harper,” Mel said. “Zander is going to be a menace. If it’s any consolation, though, he hates Jason, too.”

Jared brightened at the gossipy tidbit. “Really? Why?”

“I don’t know. Something about stealing his underwear or something.”

Jared wrinkled his nose. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“Welcome to my world,” Mel said. “Come on. Let’s see if we can find out who our victim is, shall we?”

“
I
CAN’T
believe it
.”

Oliver Kennedy, a local dentist, let loose with a desolate sigh as he sank into the chair across from the couch where Jared and Mel sat later that afternoon. The medical examiner ran the fingerprints as soon as she got back to the office, and because the deceased woman had to register with the state to get her hygienist license, she got an immediate hit.

“I can’t believe Rosie is dead,” Oliver repeated. “I … do you know … I mean … how?” His mind was jumbled as he tried to wrap his head around the disturbing news.

“We’re still trying to figure things out,” Mel replied. “The medical examiner is doing the autopsy right now. We’re trying to figure out how Rosie ended up where she did. Do you have any idea why she would be in that area after dark?”

Oliver shrugged, running his fingertips over his dark eyebrow as he considered the question. “I honestly don’t know,” he said finally. “We didn’t run in the same social circles.” He laughed hollowly. “She was young and liked to go out with friends, but that was generally a weekend thing. She never went out during the week.”

“We only have very cursory information on her so far,” Jared said, keeping his voice calm and even as he regarded the obviously stunned man. “We know her name is Rosie Sawyer and she was twenty-seven years old. We know she grew up in Byron Center before attending college at Hillsdale and then she relocated to Marine City after graduation.”

“That sounds right,” Oliver said. “I know she went out with her friends in the St. Clair area rather than here most of the time. They have more bars over there.”

“The restaurant where Rosie was found isn’t open,” Mel said. “Do you know why she would be there? Did she know the owner?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Jason Thurman?”

“That name doesn’t ring a bell,” Oliver said. “I honestly don’t know, though. This is going to sound horrible because she’s dead, but … I didn’t listen to her all that often. She gossiped with the other girls, although two of the four are older and have children so they’re not really into going out, if you know what I mean?”

Mel nodded. “Rosie was still young and she obviously wasn’t married,” he said. “Did she date a lot?”

“I think so,” Oliver said. “You would be better off talking to the other girls, though. They talked about men all of the time. The younger two constantly went on about how they wanted to find husbands and the older two explained how that wasn’t necessarily a good thing.”

Mel forced a hollow chuckle for the man’s benefit. “We’re going to talk to the other workers before we go, but since you’re the boss, we thought you might have unique insight into Rosie. You hired her fresh out of college, after all.”

“I wish I could say I was being altruistic, but I did that for monetary reasons,” Oliver explained. “I always have two experienced workers and two newer ones. That way the older ones can teach the newer ones the ropes. If I had four experienced ones, my bottom line would take quite the hit.”

“How does that work?” Jared asked. “Do the newer ones leave after training?”

“It seems to be a five-year rotation,” Oliver confirmed. “The new ones come in and learn from the experienced hygienists and then they become experienced hygienists in their own right but leave because my older ones aren’t going anywhere. That makes it so the younger ones get a lot of training but then cycle out so they can make more money at a bigger operation.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Jared said. “So you have turnover but it’s not extremely often. That’s what you’re saying, right?”

“Pretty much,” Oliver said. “In fact, Rosie was about due to cycle out. She started making noise about two months ago or so and I knew she was looking for a new job.”

“Did you take that personally?”

Oliver shook his head. “I don’t think that is the type of thing you can take personally,” he replied. “This is a job. I like my employees, don’t get me wrong, but that’s the nature of the beast.”

“Well, if you can think of something else, please gives us a call,” Mel said, extending a business card. “We’ll interview the other workers quickly and be out of your hair.”

“Sure,” Oliver said. “If there’s anything else you need, don’t hesitate to stop by or call. I hope you catch whoever did this.”

“What makes you think someone did this?” Jared asked. “We didn’t say how she died.”

“Because the police wouldn’t be here asking questions if it was an accident,” Oliver answered. “If you need anything else, you know where to find me.”

“
S
HE WAS
a nice girl
, but she didn’t really confide in me or anything.”

Cecilia Bowen twirled her hair around her finger as she answered Mel and Jared’s questions. The two police officers could tell the forty-something woman was anxious to leave and yet she patiently answered everything they threw at her.

“How long have you been here?”

“About seventeen years,” Cecilia replied. “Rosie came in about five years ago, at least I think that’s when she came in.”

“That coincides with what Mr. Kennedy told us,” Jared said. “Can you tell us anything about Rosie?”

Cecilia shrugged. “She seemed like a normal woman,” she said. “She was young. I mean she was twenty-seven and all but she acted young, if you know what I mean?”

“She was immature?” Mel prodded.

“She just liked going out a lot,” Cecelia replied. “That’s one of those things that you eventually get over. I think you have to find someone to settle down with before that can happen, though.”

“Do you think Rosie wanted to settle down?” Jared asked.

“She was definitely on the prowl, but I’m not sure how settled she wanted to get,” Cecelia said.

“I’m not sure what that means,” Mel said.

“She liked men and she was looking for a rich one to take care of her,” Cecelia said. “It seems rotten to say with her being dead and all, but she was more interested in a fat wallet than a big heart.”

“What makes you say that?” Jared asked.

“She didn’t understand why I was with my husband,” Cecelia replied. “She thought I was stupid for settling down with a man who earned less than a hundred grand a year and having kids to take care of. She kept saying she was going to find a man with money and hire someone to take care of her kids.”

Mel and Jared exchanged a quick look.

“Was she dating anyone?”

“No one that I know of,” Cecelia replied. “We weren’t exactly close. We didn’t dislike each other or anything, but we didn’t have anything in common. I like cooking and needlepoint and she liked margaritas and men.”

“Do you remember her saying anything about the men she dated?” Jared asked.

“Just that she wouldn’t settle for anyone who didn’t have a boat,” Cecelia replied. “Other than that … I’m sorry she’s dead.”

“Okay, thanks. We’ll be in touch if we have any other questions.”

Jared and Mel waited for Cecelia to depart the building before heading toward their car in the parking lot.

“What do you think?” Mel asked when he was certain no one was within earshot.

“I think that it sounds as if Rosie wanted a rich guy and perhaps she found one and got in over her head,” Jared replied.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking, too,” Mel said. “Where to now?”

Jared shrugged. “I think we need to look closer at her past before we can focus on her present. There might be clues there we’re missing.”

“That’s as good a place to start as any,” Mel said. “Let’s get to it.”