Wicked Places (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 4) (7 page)

“
I
vy
, let’s talk,” Jack said a few hours later, shooting a dark look in Scott’s direction before following her into their tent. Lunch was a somber affair, and Melissa couldn’t help but notice that everyone seemed silent and angry. No one would explain what happened, though, and everyone was eager to return to camp so they could get away from one another.

“There’s nothing to talk about, Jack,” Ivy said, plopping down on the sleeping bags and yanking her shoes off. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine,” Jack argued, joining her. “I asked Scott what he said to you, and I’m not at all happy with what he told me. I warned him not to say anything like that to you again.”

“Great. Thank you.”

Jack didn’t appreciate Ivy’s clipped tone. “Would you feel better if I went out there and beat him up? Because I’ll do it.”

Despite herself, Ivy couldn’t stop herself from chuckling. “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

“Honey, I’m sorry for what he said.” Jack brushed Ivy’s hair away from her face so he could study her angular features. “You know I’m not leaving Shadow Lake, though. We’ve already discussed it. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Is that all he told you he said?”

Jack faltered. “Why? What else did he say?”

“I’m not going to lie, Jack,” Ivy said. “He’s odd.”

“Okay, tell me what he said right now,” Jack instructed. “I’m definitely going to beat his ass if I don’t like it.”

“He said that he was glad we found each other because they were all worried you were going to kill yourself after the shooting,” Ivy answered, her heart sinking as Jack’s face hardened.

“What?”

Ivy grabbed Jack’s hand to reassure him. “I told him that you would never do anything like that, and he said that I didn’t know you as well as he did and that essentially I had no idea what I was talking about.”

“You know that’s not true, right?” Jack asked, pressing the heel of his hand against his forehead. “I wouldn’t do that, no matter how unhappy I was.”

“I know.”

“I don’t understand why he would say that to you,” Jack muttered. “What was he trying to accomplish?”

“I’m not sure,” Ivy hedged. “He also said that I was a beautiful woman and that any man – and he stressed the word ‘any’ – would love to spend time with me. To be honest, it made me a little uncomfortable.”

“Do you think he was hitting on you?”

Ivy shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Well, I’m definitely going to have to beat him,” Jack said, moving to get off the cushion. “I have no idea what got into him, but I’m not putting up with that.”

“No,” Ivy said, grabbing Jack around the waist and wrestling him back onto the sleeping bags. “Don’t do that.”

Jack rolled to his side and locked gazes with Ivy. “Why?”

“I don’t want this week to be ruined because your friend is a jerk,” Ivy explained. “I want to have fun. If you go out there and fight with him, everyone is going to pick sides – and they’re going to look at me as the enemy.

“Now, granted, I don’t particularly see myself being friends with these people over the long haul,” she continued. “If we can get through this week, though, you can still have your long-distance friendship with them. That’s important to you.”

“You’re more important,” Jack said, rubbing his thumb against Ivy’s cheek as he pulled her closer and rested his head on the pillows. “Ivy, I’m not going to let Scott make you feel uneasy. That’s not who I am.”

“Have you considered that maybe he was testing me?”

“How does that work?”

“I don’t know,” Ivy replied. “Maybe he was purposely saying stuff to see if he could get me to talk badly about you.”

“That sounds like something chicks do,” Jack argued. “Grown men don’t do things like that.”

“I don’t want you to fight with him because of me.”

Her face was so earnest Jack couldn’t muster the energy to argue with her. “If he says something to you again, you need to tell me.”

“I promise.”

“Then I guess I’ll let it go,” Jack said, cuddling Ivy close and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. “I don’t want to fight. I was looking forward to this trip as much as you were.”

“I’m sorry things haven’t been going as well as you hoped,” Ivy offered. “When was the last time you saw them?”

“Everyone came to the hospital after I was shot,” Jack answered, stroking the back of Ivy’s head. “I wasn’t in a good place, although I was not contemplating suicide. I have no idea where Scott got that idea.”

“Jack, you don’t have to worry about me believing that,” Ivy said. “I knew from the moment I met you that you weren’t the type of person who could do anything of the sort.”

“Do you know that I’m never going back to the city?”

Ivy bit her lip and nodded. “I was worried when I found out you still had a house in Detroit,” she admitted. “Once you told me that you put it on the market, though, I knew you were okay staying in Shadow Lake.”

“Honey, I’m more than okay staying in Shadow Lake,” Jack said. “I like the town. I like how wide open it feels. I don’t want to bruise your ego, but it’s not just you keeping me in Shadow Lake.”

“Oh, well, now you tell.”

“You make me very happy, Ivy,” Jack said. “Even before I was shot, there was no happiness in that city. Not as far as I was concerned, at least. The job was all I had there, and after I was shot I realized that wasn’t enough. I have found a lot of happiness in Shadow Lake, and you’re only part of it.”

Ivy slipped her arm around Jack’s waist and edged closer. “I’m glad you found happiness in Shadow Lake,” she said. “I think you should tell me all the things I do to make you happy, though. Forget all that other stuff.”

Jack chuckled as he rubbed her back. “I’m only doing this for one reason. You know that, right?”

Ivy nodded. “You’re doing it because you’re hoping to lull me into another nap when you’re done.”

“You are the smartest woman in the world.”

“I have my moments.”

B
Y THE
time
dinner rolled around, Jack and Ivy decided to rejoin the group – although Jack stuck close to her and offered his help so they could cook together. Ivy pulled a marinated steak out of a baggie and put it in the cast iron skillet so she could roast it, leaving Jack to spear vegetables on skewers for kebabs. He didn’t move his eyes from her as she worked on the far side of the campfire.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” Alex asked, popping the tab on a beer and settling next to Jack. “The four of you have been very quiet since you got back from your museum trip.”

“It’s not important,” Jack replied.

“It seems important,” Alex countered. “You and Ivy spent the entire afternoon in your tent while Scott paced and muttered to himself out here. Tell me.”

“He said some things to Ivy and I’m ticked off,” Jack said. “Even if he believed what he said – and I’m having a hard time fathoming how he could – he should have kept his big, fat mouth shut.”

“What did he say?”

“He told her that I was using her for sex and planned on taking off to the city once I was done with her,” Jack answered, rolling his neck until it cracked. “He also told her he was glad she found me when she did because he was convinced I was going to kill myself.”

Alex stilled, surprised. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“I can’t believe he said that to her,” Alex said. “You know he was really worried about that, though, right?”

“I don’t see why,” Jack replied. “I would never kill myself.”

“We weren’t so sure about that,” Alex said. “You were in a really … bad … place after the shooting. You wouldn’t talk to anyone. Your mother had to force you to eat. You went weeks without talking to people and never left your house. I know you don’t want to hear it, but we were all worried.”

“That’s all well and good, but I would never kill myself and for him to say something like that to Ivy … .”

“It’s obvious how you feel about Ivy, and I couldn’t be happier for you,” Alex said. “He definitely shouldn’t have said anything to her, but she’s a big girl. Something tells me she can take him if it comes to a fight.”

Jack snorted. “She’s the strongest person I know.”

“Then I guess that makes you the strongest couple I know,” Alex said. “Don’t let Scott get to you. He’s having issues with Melissa. I’m sure you’ve seen how they interact. That marriage is not going to survive.”

“They seemed fine at the museum, happy even.”

“Well, I don’t think that’s a normal occurrence in their marriage,” Alex supplied. “Just, don’t let it get to you. Scott is miserable and you’re happy. He’s probably jealous.”

“If he says anything else to her, I’m going to beat him,” Jack warned. “You share the message.”

“I’ll get right on that.”

“
T
HAT
was
the best steak I’ve ever had,” Jack said forty minutes later, cleaning his plate and expectantly turning toward Ivy. “How come you never grilled steak for me before?”

“You know how I feel about dead cow.”

“I do,” Jack said. “That’s why I’m baffled that you know how to cook it.”

“I looked it up online before we left,” Ivy said, grabbing his plate so she could secure their garbage and keep it away from scavengers.

“You looked up how to make a steak for me online and then sat there and ate two skewers of vegetables,” Jack said. “Somehow that doesn’t seem fair.”

“I happen to like vegetables.”

“I happen to like you,” Jack said, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her close so he could kiss her. “How about we go to bed early tonight? We can look through the hole in the roof and stargaze.”

“What about your friends?” Ivy kept her voice low. “I think they’ve figured out that something is going on.”

“I don’t really care about them right now,” Jack said, shifting a quick look in their direction and finding six faces staring back at him. “I kind of feel like an animal at the zoo.”

“I have a better idea,” Ivy said. “Let’s take a walk around the campground so our dinner can digest – and you can make sure you’re nice and calm – and then we’ll come back to the fire for an hour and
then
we’ll go to bed and look at the stars.”

“I will only agree to that if you’re naked for the stargazing.”

“Deal,” Ivy said, rolling to the balls of her feet so she could kiss his cheek. “I’ll tell everyone where we’re going. You … wait here.”

“Yes ma’am,” Jack teased, kicking his heels together as he mock saluted. He watched Ivy approach the group and explain what they were doing, Scott’s eyes traveling toward him across the expanse. Jack had no idea what the man was thinking, his face was unreadable, but he was still angry about what he said to Ivy. Jack was so caught up watching the scene play out that he didn’t notice two park rangers approaching until they were almost on top of him.

“What’s going on?” Jack asked, lifting his eyebrows.

“We’re looking for a teenage girl,” one of the rangers said, holding out a photograph so Jack could study it. “Her name is Kylie Bradford. Have you seen her?”

Jack shook his head. “I haven’t, but we should see if the others have,” he said, carrying the photograph closer to the fire. “Only half of us were here today. We went to Gaylord for the afternoon.”

“The girl has been missing since last night. She disappeared from her tent in the overnight hours.”

“What’s going on?” Donnie asked, getting to his feet.

“There’s a missing teenager,” Jack said, showing the photograph to Ivy first and then handing it to his friends so they could pass it around. “Has anyone seen her?”

“I haven’t,” Maria replied. “To be fair, though, we haven’t been paying attention to the other campers. I’m sorry.”

“This is kind of a reunion for us,” Scott interjected. “We’re in our own little world.”

“You say she’s been gone since last night?” Ivy asked, earning a nod in return. “Was she here with friends?”

“She was here with her parents and siblings,” the ranger replied. “They’re freaking out. We’re hopeful she just met up with some other teenagers and got drunk or something. Maybe she’s hiding because she doesn’t want to get in trouble.”

“We can help you look around,” Jack offered. “I’m a detective with the Shadow Lake Police Department. This is a lot of ground to cover. I can make a copy of the photograph with my phone and ask people.”

“That would be a big help.”

“We’ll all help,” Scott said, moving closer to Jack. “The women can stay here so no one gets lost, but we’ll go out and see if we can find her.”

“I guess we’re all going,” Jack said, exchanging a quick look with Ivy. “We’ll start right now.”

I
vy didn’t put
up a fight when Jack left without her. She thought time alone with Scott would do him some good. While Melissa, Maria, and Lauren returned to their conversation as if nothing was out of the ordinary, Ivy couldn’t engage. Something was wrong. She could feel it.

After a few minutes of restless pacing, an idea nudged at the edges of Ivy’s mind and she had a sickening thought. She glanced at the sun, frowning when she realized how close it was to setting, and then moved to leave the campsite.

“Tell Jack I’ll be back as soon as I can,” she called over her shoulder.

“Where are you going?” Maria asked.

“I just … there was a clearing in the woods not far away and I want to check it out,” Ivy answered. “If Jack beats me back, tell him that’s where I went and I’ll be fine. Don’t let him go looking for me. He might get lost.”

“I think you should stay here,” Maria said. “They didn’t look like they wanted our help.”

“I think you should ask Jack before you go running off into the woods,” Lauren added.

“I don’t need Jack’s permission,” Ivy replied, moving into the forest without a backward glance. She knew exactly where she was heading, and she had a feeling she was going to find something awful when she got there.

“
W
HERE
is Ivy
?” Jack asked, glancing around the campsite an hour later, his face unreadable. After a few tense moments with his friends as they moved between campsites, Scott apologized for what he said and admitted he was out of line. Jack wasn’t thrilled with any of it, but he opted to make amends instead of dwelling on it. He was here to have a good time, and he wasn’t going to let Scott ruin things, no matter how misguided his notions were.

“She took off into the woods about five minutes after you left,” Maria answered. “She seemed determined to look in some clearing you guys found yesterday. We told her not to go.”

“I told her she should ask you before going, but she said she didn’t need your permission,” Lauren added.

“I am going to kill her,” Jack hissed, turning toward the trees. “I am just … she is unbelievable!”

“Chill out, man,” Donnie said, grabbing Jack’s arm before he could storm off. “It’s almost dark. You shouldn’t go out there. You’ll get lost.”

“She said to tell you not to go looking for her,” Melissa offered. “She said she would be fine on her own.”

“She’s not fine on her own,” Jack said, jerking his arm away from Donnie. “I am going to … .”

“We’ll go with you,” Scott said, holding his hands up in a placating manner. “I’m sure she’s fine.”

“She had better be,” Jack said, moving toward his tent. “We have flashlights. I need to grab them.”

“We’ll be waiting.”

I
VY
knew
what she was going to find before she walked into the clearing. She had no idea how she knew, but dread filled her chest and threatened to smother her as she moved closer to the large rock.

The light was dim, but Ivy could make out the silhouette of a body – at least she thought it was a body. She couldn’t be sure because what was left was … mangled. She opened her mouth to yell, realizing almost immediately it would be fruitless. There was no one close enough to hear her scream. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and sighed when she saw two bars. She dialed 911 and pressed the phone to her ear, sucking in a deep breath before the operator picked up.

“What’s your emergency?”

“I just found a dead body,” Ivy replied, hoping she sounded calm instead of hysterical. She was bordering on the latter. “I need the police out here right now.”

J
ACK
heard
the sound of voices before he saw the flashlight beams bouncing between the trees. He increased his pace, ignoring Donnie’s mumbled worries about tripping, and bolted through the tree line, pulling up short when he saw Ivy standing next to a state police officer.

She lifted her eyes, as if sensing him, and threw herself in his arms as he approached. “I found her.”

“I am going to kill you for taking off on me,” Jack said, smoothing down her hair. There wasn’t a lot of heft behind his words. “You scared me. You need to stop doing that.”

“I’m sorry,” Ivy said, wiping a stray tear from her cheek as she pulled away. “I just … I had to check. You were already gone. I figured I was imagining things and that I would beat you back to camp.”

“Well, you didn’t,” Jack said, turning his attention to the trooper. “I’m Jack Harker. I’m a detective in Shadow Lake. What’s the situation?”

“I’m Tad Harvey,” the trooper replied. “Ms. Morgan called 911 after discovering the body. She had to meet us out on the highway and lead us back to this location because she couldn’t direct us without landmarks. We believe we’ve discovered the remains of a teenage girl.”

“You believe? How come you don’t know?”

“The remains are … not complete,” Harvey replied.

“I don’t understand what that means,” Jack said, casting a glance over his shoulder to make sure Donnie, Scott, and Alex were safely ensconced in the clearing but out of the way of law enforcement at the same time.

“She was shredded,” Ivy answered. “Her … face … was missing. Something tore out her stomach, too.”

“How long did you spend looking at the body before you called us?” Harvey asked.

Ivy balked. “Not long. I … you could see what happened to her right away.”

“And you don’t know the deceased, correct?”

“What are you asking?” Jack interrupted, slipping his arm over Ivy’s shoulders to lend her a little bit of his warmth. She’d taken off into the woods without bothering to grab a hoodie or long pants.

“Ms. Morgan discovered a body in the middle of the woods,” Harvey said. “She claims she had a feeling the body might be here because the two of you discovered the clearing yesterday. I have trouble believing she’s … psychic.”

“I didn’t say I was psychic,” Ivy protested. “I said I thought the clearing might make a nice place for teenagers to congregate away from their parents. That’s what I was checking for when I came out here.”

“And I’m sure you understand that I have to check every possible angle,” Harvey countered. “Can you tell me where you were between the hours of midnight and six o’clock this morning?”

“In my tent.”

“Can anyone vouch for you?” Harvey pressed.

“I can,” Jack volunteered.

“You were with Ms. Morgan the entire night?”

“I was,” Jack answered. “We’re sleeping in the same tent. Heck, we’re sleeping in the same sleeping bag. She was with me all of that time.”

“And you’re sure she didn’t sneak out while you were sleeping?”

“I’m sure because we woke up twice during the night and … did something else,” Jack responded.

Ivy was glad it was dark out so Harvey couldn’t see the blush creeping up her cheeks.

“I see,” Harvey said. “And you didn’t know the deceased either, did you, Detective Harker?”

“I’ve never laid eyes on her before,” Jack said. “In fact, the rangers came to our campsite and showed a photo and we went around asking other campers if they saw her earlier this evening. That’s where I was when Ivy decided to go walking through woods alone.”

“Thank you for answering our questions,” Harvey said, his tone cool. “We’ll be in touch.”

Jack arched a challenging eyebrow. “That’s it?”

“That’s it,” Harvey said. “We need you to vacate the premises. This is an active crime scene now.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Jack muttered, grabbing Ivy’s hand and dragging her away from the trooper. “You’re in a lot of trouble, missy.”

“
I
KNOW
you’re angry
, but can we please not fight?” Ivy asked a half hour later, stripping out of her shirt and shorts and settling on the sleeping bags. “I’m not sure I can take it.”

“I’m sorry you’re upset, and we’re going to talk about that in a minute, but we’re fighting first,” Jack said. “What were you thinking?”

“I knew, Jack,” Ivy said, her voice trembling. “All of sudden … I just knew.”

Jack’s expression softened. “Honey, I’m sorry this happened to you,” he said, settling next to her and wrapping his arm around her back. “I know you must be shaken up. That still doesn’t justify you taking off into the woods when it was almost dark. You had to know that would drive me crazy.”

“I had to see. The clearing was … calling to me … just like before.”

Jack restlessly tugged a hand through his hair. “Ivy, look at me.”

Ivy didn’t immediately react or respond, so Jack tilted her chin so she had no choice but to meet his somber gaze.

“Ivy, I can’t lose you,” Jack said. “I just got you. You should have called me on my phone … or waited for me to get back … or just about anything else other than what you did. Tell me you know what you did was wrong.”

“I know I shouldn’t have gone out there on my own,” Ivy confirmed. “I honestly couldn’t help myself. I … you should’ve seen her, Jack. If it wasn’t for the clothing, I’m not sure I wouldn’t have thought it was an animal carcass when I first saw it.”

“Okay,” Jack said, pulling the edge of the sleeping bag down and motioning for Ivy to crawl inside. He climbed in after her, killing the lantern light and then carefully pulled her on top of him. “Walk me through it, honey. Tell me what made you run into the woods, and then tell me what you saw. I know it’s hard, but the faster you get through it, the faster we can go to a happy place in our dreams. I need to know, though.”

“The other women were talking by the fire, and I remember being really annoyed because I didn’t understand how they could sit there talking about whichever Kardashian was breaking up this week when a teenage girl was missing,” Ivy said.

“You’re not a fan of useless conversation,” Jack said. “Then what happened?”

“I don’t know,” Ivy answered. “I felt like this … prick … on the back of my neck, and the clearing jumped into my head. I knew.”

“Tell me what happened when you got to the clearing,” Jack prodded.

“For some reason I knew she was by the rock,” Ivy said. “I walked in that direction and I realized what I was looking at even before I saw the clothing. I knew it was a body, but even then I couldn’t quite figure out what I was looking at because the flesh was … mangled.

“Then I saw the blond hair,” she continued. “I realized that what I was looking at was the spot where her face was supposed to be. It wasn’t there. Neither was her stomach.”

“Okay,” Jack said, rubbing Ivy’s back as he shifted her closer. She was shaking. “That’s it. We’re done talking about it. Try taking a few deep breaths and relax. You need sleep. I’m worried you’re in shock.”

“Something tore her apart, Jack,” Ivy said.

“Do you think it was an animal? You said bears could be in the area. Could a bear do that?”

“Bears don’t attack people unless they’re backed into a corner or protecting their young.”

“What if it was rabid?”

“We would’ve heard about rabies running through the area,” Ivy replied. “I remember one or two instances of that being a thing, and everyone was put on alert. We would know before this because a smaller animal would’ve attacked closer to a house.”

“We don’t know anything yet, honey,” Jack said, tightening the covers around them as he tried to keep Ivy warm. “She could’ve fallen and hit her head. Scavengers might have eaten her body if they happened upon it.”

“Or someone killed her.”

“That’s a possibility,” Jack conceded, refusing to lie to her even though she was mired in a fragile mental state. “I want you to try and push it out of your mind, though. We’re going to a happy place in our dreams tonight.”

“How do you know we’ll dream walk? We don’t do it every night.”

“Because I can’t be separated from you right now,” Jack replied, opting for honesty. “I think we both know we’re going to find each other tonight. So, I’m going to pick the destination. How does Disney World sound?”

“I don’t care where we go,” Ivy said. “I just … make it someplace bright.”

“Your wish is my command,” Jack said, pressing a kiss to Ivy’s forehead. “Try to relax. Try to sleep. I’ll be right here. I promise. We’ll be together.”

Jack held on long enough to be sure Ivy had drifted off, and then he joined her in a happy place. He couldn’t eradicate all of her fears, but he could put on a brave front and show her a good time.

For now, that was all he could do. He just hoped it was enough.