Wicked Beginning: An Ivy Morgan Mystery Books 1-3 (19 page)

“And no one saw you?”

“Nope.”

“Why did you carve the symbols into her body?”

“At first I planned on framing Chad,” Heath said. “I thought the symbols would lead the cops right to him, which they did. The problem I had was that I never took into consideration that the cops would probably search the woods surrounding the compound. I didn’t realize that until Mona was already dead.

“There was no way I could take over the entire operation if there was no operation to take over,” he said. “That’s when I knew I had to come up with a different solution.”

“Why did you dump her in my yard?”

“Oh, you can thank Chad for that,” Heath said. “He was always talking about you. Ivy Morgan, the one who got away. I thought he was just babbling like an idiot until he mentioned you were a witch.”

Realization dawned on Ivy. “You thought the police would assume that since I’m a witch, I murdered her as some sort of ritual.”

“Isn’t that what witches do?”

“No.”

“That was another miscalculation on my part,” Heath said. “I guess I’m off my game. I have been ever since Mona ruined my life. You’re the last piece of the puzzle, though. Once I kill you, then everything will be fixed. Covenant will be mine.”

“How do you figure that?”

“The cops will know that Chad killed both of you,” Heath said. “This will be the final nail in his coffin. If it’s any consolation, I am sorry it came to this. I just … I need Chad to go away. I need all of this to go away.”

“I see,” Ivy said, racking her brain. She knew she was out of time. “You do realize the cops have Chad down at the station right now, right?”

Heath balked. “What? No, they don’t.”

“They do,” Ivy said. “I was down there earlier. If you’d been listening closer when Max and I were outside talking you would’ve realized that.”

“I think you’re lying,” Heath said. “This is the only way you can figure to get yourself out of this situation.”

“Not the only way,” Ivy said, making her decision quickly. She turned on her heel and bolted – not toward the house, but toward the woods she knew better than anyone else. She knew she had to draw Heath away from Max, and this was the best way she could figure to do it. The only way they were both going to survive was for Ivy to lead Heath into a world he didn’t recognize.

He was on her turf now.

“Ivy!”

“What is that smell?” Brian asked, wrinkling his nose as he looked into Ivy’s kitchen.

The door to the cottage was open when they arrived, and Jack took the steps two at a time as he raced into the house. He found the cat sitting in the middle of the room, a disturbed look on his face, and the cottage was filled with a thin film of smoke.

A skillet sat on the stove, the flame on, but whatever was inside was burnt beyond recognition. Jack turned the stove off and dumped the skillet into the sink before turning swiftly. “Where is she?”

“I don’t think the cat can answer you,” Brian said.

“Something happened to her,” Jack said. “Heath was here.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do know that,” Jack seethed, moving back toward the door. “Where would he have taken her?”

“We don’t know she’s been taken anywhere,” Brian said, following Jack out onto the porch. “I … now where are you going?”

Jack moved around the front of the house, staring into the trees and cocking his head to the side to see if he could hear anything. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something lying on the ground next to the house. He started toward the figure, his heart dropping.
Was Ivy already gone?

“Call for an ambulance!”

“What is it,” Brian asked, appearing behind him. “I … crap. Max.”

Jack knelt down next to the fallen figure, pressing his fingers to the side of Max’s neck and hoping beyond hope the amiable man was alive. The second Jack touched him Max stirred, his fingers shooting out and grabbing him tightly around the wrist.

“Max? It’s Jack. You’re okay. What happened?”

“I’m not sure,” Max said, rubbing the back of his head. “I … Ivy. Where is Ivy?”

“We don’t know,” Jack said, his eyes serious. “What do you remember?”

“We were outside talking,” Max said. “The raccoon was in the garbage again. I … she went in to make dinner. I saw the raccoon and I decided to follow it and … that’s it. The lights went out.”

“Did you see who it was?”

“No,” Max said, struggling to a sitting position and cringing as he reached around to the back of his head. “Where’s Ivy?”

“We’ll find her,” Jack said. “I … what time did you get here?”

“A little after seven. What time is it?”

“About twenty after,” Jack said. “That means she hasn’t been gone long.”

“No more than ten minutes,” Max said. “We talked for a few minutes. I told her to make me dinner and made fun of her because of … well … you.”

“We’ll have that discussion later,” Jack said. “Did you hear a car?”

“There was no car,” Max said.

“Where is your truck?”

“I parked at the nursery and walked over. I needed a potted plant. I have a date tomorrow, and women like plants.”

Jack forced a grim smile for Max’s benefit. “If he didn’t have a car, that means they’re in the woods. Maybe Ivy ran. Maybe she got away. Where would she go?”

“She’d only go one place,” Max said. “It’s where she feels safest.”

“The fairy ring,” Jack said, straightening. “Stay here. Brian is calling for help.”

“Where are you going?”

“After her.”

IVY WAS
in shape. She knew how to pace herself. She also knew every indentation and rock outcropping in the area. There was no way Heath could take her by surprise. Not here.

That didn’t make her safe, though. The woods were deep, but they didn’t last forever. Ivy had no idea how long Heath would keep up his pursuit. And, if he gave up, would he return to her house and finish Max off? She couldn’t let that happen.

Ivy slowed her pace. “Heath?”

“I’m coming for you, Ivy.” His voice was behind her and to the right. He was close, but not close enough to touch her. Not yet. “You can’t outrun me.”

“I run all the time,” Ivy said. “I run through these woods. I have the upper hand out here.”

“You’re still just a woman.”

“And you have a problem with women, don’t you?” An idea popped into Ivy’s head. “You think women are beneath you. The problem is they keep outsmarting you. That’s what really has you upset.”

“No one has outsmarted me,” Heath snapped.

He was closer, so Ivy changed her trajectory. She was taking him in the direction of the fairy ring, but she wanted to make sure she approached in the right spot.

“Mona outsmarted you,” Ivy said, moving between two trees and ducking down so she could grab a fallen branch. “Mona had enough information to bring down you and Chad in one fell swoop.”

“And where is Mona now?”

“Mona is gone, but she still brought you down,” Ivy said. “Chad is in custody. I wasn’t lying about that. Everyone is going to know you’re guilty now. You’re never going to inherit Chad’s kingdom.”

“Stop lying!”

Ivy slipped behind a large tree, pressing her back against the rough bark as she waited. One more push should propel him to the spot she wanted.

“I’m not lying,” she said. “Do you want to know what my favorite thing about this whole situation is? You’re going to be very popular in prison. You’ve got a pretty mouth, and lifers love a pretty mouth.”

“I’m going to kill you!”

Ivy’s heart was racing, and she squeezed her eyes shut when she heard Heath approaching. She was only going to get one shot at this.

“I’m going to give you something to do with your mouth in a second, Ivy,” Heath said, panting. He was close now. Ivy could see him, but he didn’t see her. “I’m going to rip you apart. You’re going to be crying for your precious cop when I’m done with you. Then, right when you’re begging me to kill you, I’m going to hurt you some more … just because I can.”

“I doubt it,” Ivy said, stepping up and taking aim. She swung the heavy tree branch with as much force as she could muster, making contact with the side of Heath’s head. The sound was sickening, but Ivy didn’t relent. As Heath listed to the side, confused, she slammed the branch into his head a second time.

“Oomph.” Heath dropped to one knee, fighting to stay upright even though his body was telling him it might not be an option. “You, bitch,” he hissed.

Ivy lashed out with her foot, catching him under his chin and knocking him to his side. He landed hard, his face bouncing off the green underbrush.

Ivy had seen enough horror movies to know that even though Heath looked like he was down, that didn’t mean he was done. She took a step back, keeping her eyes on him as she brandished the branch again. Part of her wanted him to die here. The other part of her knew that would do nothing but taint her favorite place.

The sound of footsteps in the thick trees drew Ivy’s attention, and when Jack burst into the clearing with his gun drawn, she almost wept in relief. “Jack.”

“Thank God,” Jack said. “I … are you okay?”

Ivy nodded, biting her lower lip in an effort to stave off the tears.

“Are you going to cry?”

“No.” Her voice came out in a squeak.

“Come here, honey,” Jack said, gesturing toward her.

Ivy did as instructed, giving Heath a wide berth as she shuffled her way to Jack. The second she was within touching distance he swept her against his broad chest with one arm while he kept his gun trained on Heath with the other. “You can cry now, honey. I won’t tell anyone.”

The feeling of Jack’s strong heart beating against her check was all Ivy could take. She burst into tears, letting Jack stroke the back of her head as he whispered quiet words to soothe her. It was over. She was safe. The only thing left at risk was her heart, and right now she couldn’t muster the energy to care.

“MAX!”

Ivy broke into a run when she saw her brother sitting on the bottom step of her porch. He was on his feet, enveloping her in his own hug, within seconds. “You scared me, pop tart.”

“Don’t call me that,” Ivy growled.

Max tilted her face back so he could study it, the unmistakable sign of dried tears on her cheeks throwing him. “Did he … ?”

“He never got his hands on me,” Ivy said, her voice cracking. “I … I left you here. I made him chase me into the woods. I didn’t know what else to do.”

“Do you think I’m going to be mad at you for keeping us both alive?” Now Max was the one struggling to hold back tears. “You saved us both, pop tart.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Okay.” Max pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Where is Jack?”

“He’s coming,” Ivy said. “I hit Heath with a tree branch a couple of times. Then I kicked him. He … um … landed in a specific spot.”

“What does that mean?” Brian asked, alarmed. “Is he seriously hurt?”

“Not in the strictest sense of the word.”

“I need you to be more specific, Ivy,” Brian said. “What exactly is going on?”

Jack picked that moment to shove Heath out of the woods in front of him. The second Brian saw Heath, his mouth tipped up at the corners. “Is that … ?”

“I remembered where the Poison Ivy was and purposely knocked him down there,” Ivy said. “I thought he deserved it.”

“Why does Jack look so upset?”

“I forgot to tell him what Heath was on before he cuffed him,” Ivy replied, her expression rueful. “It’s all over his hands again.”

Max barked out a hoarse laugh, slinging an arm around Ivy’s shoulders as he watched Jack lead Heath to the waiting police car. “Do you have any lotion left?”

“I made some more after he took the last bottle. I feel kind of bad. He ran after me and now … .”

“He’ll survive, Ivy,” Max said. “He was a lot more worried about you than the Poison Ivy.”

“It’s still my fault. It’s happened twice.”

“Go get the lotion,” Max said. “He looks miserable.”

By the time Ivy came back, Heath was leaning against the car and he was screaming about the “fire of a thousand suns” burning his skin. Ivy kept her lips pressed firmly together as Jack extended his hands and watched her squirt the lotion onto them. He rubbed his hands together, sighing as the lotion did its work and relieved the itchiness. All the while he never took his eyes off of Ivy’s face.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Ivy said. “I … are you okay? I’m so sorry this happened. Again.”

“You don’t look sorry,” Jack said. “You look like you’re trying to keep yourself from laughing.”

“That’s a horrible thing to say. I … .” When Ivy lifted her eyes to meet Jack’s she saw he was the one grinning. “You’re messing with me.”

“Oh, honey, I wouldn’t ever mess with you.”

The term of endearment tugged on her heart. It also brought her back to reality. “I guess I’ll be seeing less of you now that this is over.”

“I guess,” Jack said, his voice low.

“That’s probably best,” Ivy said. “There will be fewer … impulses.”

“Yeah,” Jack agreed, his expression wistful. “I meant everything I said. I don’t have anything to give you. I really wish I did, though. I just … you deserve more.”

“I don’t expect anything from you,” Ivy said. “You went above and beyond tonight. You … saved me.”

“You saved yourself,” Jack countered. “You beat him. I just transported him.”

“I’ll leave the lotion here,” Ivy said, taking a step back. The glassy sheen of her eyes was almost enough to bring Jack to his knees. “Put it on as often as you can.”

“I will. Thank you.”

“What about me?” Heath whined.

“You can suffer,” Ivy said, moving away from Jack without another glance. She squared her shoulders and headed toward the house. “I’ll find something to feed you, Max.”

Max watched her walk into the house, and when she disappeared, he turned his attention to Jack.

“That was disappointing,” Brian said, following Max’s gaze. “I thought for sure there would be some kissing or something.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Max said. “They’re nowhere near being done.”

“How can you know that?”

“Because they’ve spent time together now,” Max said. “They’ll be miserable without one another.” He clapped Brian on the shoulder. “There are just some things you can’t fight.”

“And you think this is one of those things?”

“I know it is,” Max said. “Take care of him. He looks morose. I’ll go handle my sister. Fifty bucks says they can’t go a week without seeing each other.”

“You want to bet on your sister’s love life? That’s low.”

“A hundred bucks?”

“You’re on.”