Wicked Places (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 4) (8 page)

“
H
ow are things
?” Donnie asked, his eyes falling on Jack and Ivy as they exited their tent the next morning.

“They’re fine,” Jack said, keeping his hand at Ivy’s waist as they moved toward the picnic table. “Sorry we slept so late, but we were tired.”

“I’ll bet,” Maria said. “How weird was it to find that body yesterday, Ivy? Was it gross?”

Jack scowled as Alex flicked Maria’s ear to quiet her. “Don’t ask her about that,” Jack ordered. “I’m serious.”

“It’s fine,” Ivy said, offering Jack a watery smile before moving toward their cooler. “We need to pick up another bag of ice today, by the way. They sell them up at the ranger cabin.”

“I’ll get one,” Jack said, watching as she pulled a baggie full of already whipped eggs and chopped vegetables out of the cooler. “Why don’t you let me cook today?”

“Because I’m capable of cooking breakfast myself,” Ivy replied. “There’s some sausage in there for you to go with your omelet, by the way.”

“You bought me sausage, too?” Jack was impressed. “You really are my favorite person ever.”

Ivy snorted, offering Jack a glimpse of the first real smile she’d mustered since the previous evening. He was relieved, although he didn’t voice his happiness out loud. “You can cook your own sausage, if that will make you happy.”

“I love sausage, so I will gladly cook it,” Jack said, narrowing his eyes as he regarded the fire. “How do you suggest I cook it if you’re using the skillet?”

“You know those long forks I bought and you thought I was going to poke you with them?”

“Ah,” Jack said, realization dawning. “You are a very bright woman.” He dropped a quick kiss on her forehead. “How much sausage can I have?”

“I bought it all for you,” Ivy replied. “I would hope you don’t have enough to give yourself a heart attack from all that grease, but other than that, the decision is completely yours.”

“Will we run out?”

“There’s bacon in there for you, too.”

“Yup, you’re my favorite person ever,” Jack said, leaving Ivy with her omelet ingredients and moving closer to the fire with his sausage and metal prong. He sat between Donnie and Alex so he could keep an eye on Ivy, offering each of his friends a small nod before turning to his task. “Have you guys heard anything?” Jack purposely kept his voice low.

“We talked to a few other campers before you guys got up,” Donnie said. “No one was up late last night because … well … we just weren’t. You guys slept longer than we expected, though.”

“She was worked up and needed to calm down before she could fall asleep,” Jack said.

“Is she okay?”

“The body was chewed up,” Jack replied. “She saw it. Apparently the girl’s face was gone. She’s … shaken.”

“That’s horrible,” Scott said. “What do you think happened?”

“I have no idea,” Jack answered. “For all we know she could’ve tripped, hit her head, and accidentally died. She could also have been murdered.”

“For what it’s worth, the rangers are saying that they can’t find any wounds on her body that would suggest murder,” Alex said. “It very well could be an accident.”

“That would be nice,” Jack said, shoving the prong through two sausage links. “The problem is, Ivy said the body was so messed up she would’ve mistaken it for an animal carcass at first glance. The girl’s face and stomach were gone, and Ivy can’t be sure if more of her was missing because she stopped looking when she realized all of that blond hair was attached to what should’ve been a head.”

“How can you say things like that while cooking sausage?” Donnie asked, making a face.

“I guess I’m used to it,” Jack said. “I didn’t even think about it.”

“Do the cops suspect Ivy?” Scott asked. “We couldn’t hear everything you guys were talking about last night, but you didn’t seem happy with whatever was being said.”

“The trooper questioning her wanted to know where we were the previous night,” Jack said. “That’s standard for any investigation. I still didn’t like his attitude. If she was a murderer, why would she call for help after discovering the body? Why would she go back at all? She has absolutely no motive. He was just talking to hear himself talk.”

“Plus, she’s too cute to be a murderer,” Alex said, grinning.

“I honestly hope we find out it was some sort of accident,” Jack said. “I want to keep her busy today, though. She’s still kind of … shaky. I was thinking we could go kayaking. I’ve never been in one before and I’m sure I’ll end up in the water. That should make her laugh because she’s a pro.”

“Does she kayak a lot?”

“She and Max go whenever they can,” Jack said. “I think she’s been holding back since we started dating. We spend our weekends holed up in her house and shut out the world these days, but I know she’s pretty good. Apparently she and Max hold competitions, and she regularly beats him.”

“Is Max a big guy?”

“He’s pretty big, and he works out five days a week,” Jack said. “He always throws that in my face when I threaten to beat him up.”

“It sounds like you’ve picked up a girlfriend and a brother,” Donnie said, his eyes twinkling. “You have a whole new family.”

“I guess I do,” Jack said.

“Are you happy about that?”

“I haven’t ever been this happy,” Jack replied. “I want to make sure Ivy has at least a little fun today. So, is everyone okay with kayaking?”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Donnie said. “Now that I know you’ve never done it before, I can’t wait to tip you over.”

“Don’t think I won’t beat you,” Jack warned. “That will probably make Ivy laugh, too.”

“I’ll take that under consideration.”

“
S
O
, WAIT
… what do you want me to do?”

Jack balanced the double-edged paddle across the kayak opening and watched Ivy demonstrate with her own paddle.

“You’re holding it backward,” Ivy said. “Turn it this way.” She shifted it and then pressed it back into his hands. “Do you see how that dips down there? That’s the end you want pointing into the water. You’ll get blisters on your hands if you hold it the other way.”

“This looks complicated,” Jack said.

Ivy stood next to his kayak, the water coming to just above her knees, and fixed him with an exasperated look. “I want you to enjoy this,” she said. “If you do, we can go out together sometimes. It’s a great workout.”

“I believe you,” Jack said. “I’m just not convinced I won’t tip over … and if I do, those jackholes are going to laugh at me.” He inclined his chin in Donnie and Alex’s direction, his friends laughing as they bent their heads together about twenty feet farther out.

“I’m glad you’re using the word jackholes to describe people,” Ivy said. “Now you can’t yell at me when I do it.”

“I still think we need to come up with a better word,” Jack grumbled.

“Jack, this isn’t a canoe,” Ivy explained. “You’re an athlete. You already have good balance. It’s much easier to tip over in a canoe when you have multiple people distributing their weight in uneven patterns. Even if you do tip over, though, it’s going to be okay. I promise not to laugh at you.”

“You can laugh at me,” Jack offered. “I would tip myself over to see that right now.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Ivy said. “Why don’t you try paddling out to Donnie and Alex? I’ll get my kayak together and meet you out there in a few minutes. We won’t move too far away from shore to start things off.”

“Okay,” Jack said. “Give me a kiss first.”

Ivy leaned forward and did as instructed. “You’re going to be fine.”

“You know they’re going to try and tip me over, right?”

“Don’t worry about that,” Ivy said. “I can guarantee I’m better in a kayak than either of them. I’ll take them out if it becomes necessary.”

“Yup, you’re still my favorite person in the world.”

Ivy watched Jack paddle toward his friends, lightly chuckling as he tried to get a handle on how to work the paddle. She couldn’t wait to take him down a river. That would be a whole new set of problems, and yet more fun at the same time. She enjoyed kayaking on a lake, but she absolutely adored doing it on a river.

Ivy turned her attention back to the shore so she could gather her kayak and stilled when she found Scott watching her. “Do you need something?”

“To apologize,” Scott said, not missing a beat. “I’ve been waiting for a chance to get you alone so I could do it, but after last night … um … it just didn’t happen in a timely fashion.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me,” Ivy countered. “Apologize to Jack. He’s the one who was upset.”

“I think you were upset, too,” Scott said. “For the record, I apologized to Jack last night. We made up while we were out taking that photograph around and looking for the girl.”

“I’m glad,” Ivy said. “I think your friendship with Jack is important to him.”

“Listen, what I said to you yesterday was uncalled for,” Scott said. “I don’t have a good excuse. Melissa and I have been fighting nonstop, and I was looking forward to seeing Jack because I thought he was single and it would give me a chance to get away from my wife.”

“I’m not sure you should be telling me this,” Ivy said, shifting from one foot to the other as she grabbed the front end of her kayak and leveraged it into the water. “It’s really none of my business.”

“I’m not trying to be one of those crazy oversharers, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Scott said. “Jack was alone for a long time. I was hoping he would be able to convince me I could be alone.

“When I saw how happy he was with you, it kind of threw me for a loop,” he continued. “I just … Jack has never been as close to a woman as he is with you. It freaked me out a little bit.”

“I understand that change is hard for you guys because you’ve known each other for so long,” Ivy said. “I just want Jack to be happy.”

“You make him happy,” Scott said. “Heck, you would make anyone happy. The way you take care of him … frankly, I’m jealous.”

The words sounded nice, and yet Ivy couldn’t get over Scott’s tone. She knew she was sensitive because of their previous encounter – and finding a dead body the night before – but there was something off about the way Scott looked at her. She didn’t like it.

“You shouldn’t be jealous,” Ivy said. “You have a great wife. Maybe you should focus on her and worry less about Jack. We’re happy and content.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, you’re out here doing something active and fun and my wife is sitting by the campfire complaining with the other women,” Scott pointed out. “You’re a fun woman. I want a fun woman.”

Ivy swallowed hard, reminding herself it was just an offhand comment and she shouldn’t take personally. “Maybe you should try talking to Melissa about this.”

“Melissa only cares about Melissa,” Scott shot back. “I want someone who cares about me.”

“Well, I hope things work out for you,” Ivy said, climbing into her kayak and forcing a smile for Scott’s benefit. “The man I care about needs help with learning how to kayak. I … .”

The sound of splashing assailed Ivy’s ears, and when she swiveled she wasn’t surprised to find Jack in the water as Donnie and Alex loudly guffawed a few feet away.

“I told you not to tip me over,” Jack sputtered, wiping the water from his face. “Why didn’t you listen to me?”

“What fun would that be?” Donnie challenged.

“Ivy!” Jack bellowed. “I need you to come out here and show my … former friends … what it means to be on your bad side.”

“I’m coming,” Ivy said, casting one more look in Scott’s direction. “You need to stop living your life worrying about what other’s have – what Jack has, for that matter – and focus on your own life.

“Jack is happy.
We’re
happy,” she continued. “Tearing others down isn’t going to make you feel better. It’s just going to make everyone else miserable, too.”

Ivy shifted her attention to where Jack struggled to get back in his kayak. “I’m coming for you, Donnie,” she warned. “If I were you, I’d start paddling now.”

“I’m not afraid of no girl,” Donnie scoffed, although his eyes shifted from happy to wary when he saw how fast Ivy was moving. “Holy crap! I guess Jack wasn’t exaggerating when he said you could kayak.”

“Go and get him,” Jack ordered. “I’ll give you whatever you want tonight if you dunk him.”

“Oh, honey, the pleasure of dunking Donnie is the only reward I need,” Ivy said.

“And you’re still my favorite person ever,” Jack said. “Kick him where it hurts … and when he cries, show him no mercy.”

“
T
hey are just so
… .” Maria broke off, her gaze fixed on Ivy and Jack as they sat under a tree about fifty feet away.

“Happy?” Scott supplied.

“I was going to say sickening,” Maria replied. “What do you think their deal is?”

The six friends sat by the fire as the afternoon waned and dinner approached. Despite her ordeal the night before, Ivy seemed to be in good spirits as she sat on the ground facing Jack, her legs resting over his as he relaxed against a tree. Whatever they were saying to each other had them both laughing, and their fellow campers couldn’t drag their eyes away from them.

“I think they’re in their own little world,” Donnie said. “They’re kind of cute. I’ve never seen Jack smile this much.”

“I think it has to be an act,” Lauren interjected. “They’re always touching each other and whispering … and no one needs to nap as often as they do.”

“Oh, give them a break,” Alex chided. “They’re in that heady beginning portion of a relationship. Don’t you guys remember what that was like? All you can do is think about the other person.”

“Thankfully that goes away,” Donnie teased, playfully poking Lauren’s ribs.

“I don’t think it’s an act,” Melissa offered. “We were with them at the museum yesterday, and whatever they’ve got going for them … they both seem to enjoy it.”

“I think it’s temporary,” Scott said. “Jack needed to be pulled out of his funk, and she came along at just the right time. There’s no way he’ll stay in Shadow Lake. It’s tiny. Is he going to make her his entire world?”

“I would be very careful if I were you,” Alex cautioned. “What you said to Ivy yesterday was out of line, and Jack is not going to put up with it if you say something stupid to her again.”

“What did you say to her?” Melissa asked, turning her attention to Scott. “I knew something was wrong once we got to the restaurant, but no one would tell me what happened.”

“Not everything I do is your concern,” Scott shot back.

“He told Ivy we were all worried about Jack killing himself after the shooting,” Alex supplied.

“Why would you do that?” Maria asked. “You were the only one who thought that. We were all worried about him being depressed, but I never thought he would kill himself.”

“I thanked her for making him smile again,” Scott clarified. “Don’t go accusing me of things because she took it the wrong way.”

“Jack took it that way, too,” Alex pointed out. “I tried to smooth things over with him. I told him we were all worried and thrilled he found Ivy. Don’t say anything like that to her again.”

“That is awful,” Melissa said, shaking her head. “Jack brought Ivy here because he wanted everyone to get to know her, not because he wanted you to scare her away.”

“I think it was the other part of the conversation that bothered Jack more,” Alex said, locking gazes with Scott. “Do you want to tell them what you said, or should I?”

“Oh, well, you’re doing such a bang-up job of it, I would hate to take it way from you,” Scott sneered.

“He also told Ivy that Jack was going to move away and she was essentially a fling,” Alex said, not missing a beat. “He told her it wasn’t a bad thing and she should feel good about herself.”

Maria’s mouth dropped open. “You cannot be serious?”

“What? We all know Jack is going to move back to the city once he gets his head in gear,” Scott argued. “I thought Ivy should be aware of it in case she falls in love with him and gets her heart broken.”

“I have news for you,” Alex said, leaning forward. “Jack is never going back to the city. He’s happy in Shadow Lake. He doesn’t want to go back to the life he had before.

“Now, I don’t know if this relationship is going to last, but my gut tells me it is,” he continued. “Look at those two … .”

Everyone shifted their attention to the spot where Jack and Ivy shared a cookie – and occasional kisses – as they chatted about something only they cared about.

“That right there isn’t just a new relationship,” Alex said. “They’ve both fallen hard for one another. I don’t see Jack ever walking away from her.”

“I don’t care if he walks away from her or not,” Maria said. “It drives me crazy that she’s so perfect. She makes the rest of us look bad. You never should’ve said something like that to her, though, Scott. That was just cruel.”

“I thought she deserved all of the facts.” Scott obstinately crossed his arms over his chest.

“Or you think she’s hot and you wanted to see if she was open for offers,” Melissa corrected. “You’re not fooling anyone. You think she’s pretty and you’ve been drooling over her since you met her. Your problem is that she only has eyes for Jack.”

“Shut up, Melissa,” Scott growled.

Instead of firing back a nasty retort, Melissa got to her feet and moved away from the group.

“Nice,” Maria hissed. “Can’t you do anything right?”

“Apparently not.”

I
VY
and Jack
were in the middle of an incredible dream – the duo lazily floating on a raft in the middle of the ocean, complete with fruity drinks, of course – when a terrified scream split the night air and jolted them awake.

Ivy bolted to a sitting position, scanning the darkness for signs of life, when everything came tumbling back to her.

“What is that?” Jack asked, rolling to his side so he could escape the sleeping bag.

“Someone is screaming,” Ivy answered, feeling along the tent floor until she found her shorts. “Get dressed before you run outside, Jack. You’ll traumatize people if they see you naked.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” Jack mumbled, slipping into his own shorts and watching as Ivy tugged on her sports bra and tank top. It was inside out, but he didn’t bother pointing that out.

“You stay close to me, honey,” Jack warned. “If something has happened … .”

“I have no desire to wander away,” Ivy said, pushing Jack through the flaps. “Don’t worry about that.”

“Where you’re concerned, I’m always worried,” Jack muttered, grabbing Ivy’s hand so he could keep her close.

Once they exited the tent, they found everyone else moving toward the road on the other side of the campsite.

“Do you see anything?” Jack called out.

“We just heard a scream,” Donnie replied, Lauren clutching his arm. “I … what should we do?”

“Stick together,” Jack replied, leading Ivy toward his friends. “It could be something innocuous. Maybe kids are fooling around or something.”

As if on cue, another scream hit the air. This one was blood-curdling enough to send chills down Ivy’s spine. “That sounds like a child.”

Jack glanced down at her. “You stay right with me.”

Ivy didn’t offer an answer other than squeezing his hand. They broke into a run, moving to the right where they both thought the noise originated from. When a third scream pierced the campground’s quiet ambiance, they increased their pace until they found a group of people standing close to a dwindling campfire. They pulled up short, Jack approaching carefully so he didn’t scare anyone.

“Is everyone okay?”

The group parted to look at him, several white faces offering stark expressions against the night sky.

“Who are you?” one of the men asked.

“My name is Jack Harker. I’m a police detective over in Shadow Lake. We heard the screams. Is everyone okay?”

The man pointed lower to the ground, causing Jack and Ivy to peer around a robust woman as she tried to control a hysterical child. “I think he had a nightmare.”

“Is that all?” Jack asked, taking a step forward and fixing the small boy – he couldn’t have been older than five – with a friendly look. “Did you have a nightmare, bud?”

The boy jerked away from the woman – Ivy assumed it was his mother – and shook his head so ferociously she was afraid it was going to roll off of his shoulders if he wasn’t careful. “It wasn’t a bad dream. I saw it!”

“What did you see?” Jack asked.

“It was a werewolf.”

Jack shot a sidelong look at Ivy, his shoulders relaxing. “Did you put him up to this?”

“
H
E’S VERY
imaginative
,” Shannon Wexler said, running a hand through her hair as she watched her son stomp around the campsite ten minutes later. “I’m sorry he scared everyone, but he obviously didn’t see anything.”

“Yes, I did!” Hayden Wexler was a handful, and Ivy couldn’t help but smile at the small boy as he paced a path around his mother. “I know what I saw.”

“What did you see?” Jack asked, his eyes kind. “Did you see a shadow that looked like a werewolf?”

“No, I saw a real werewolf,” Hayden shot back. “I know the difference between real and pretend, and this was real.”

“Can you tell me what he looked like?” Ivy asked, sitting on the picnic table bench so she was closer to Hayden’s level.

“He looked like a werewolf,” Hayden replied.

“I know that, and I believe you,” Ivy said. “There are different kinds of werewolves, though. Just like people, they have different colored hair and … well … sometimes they even wear clothes.”

Jack pursed his lips as he watched her, his mind momentarily going to some future time where he could picture her talking that way to one of their children. It was a sobering – and nice – image. He quickly shook himself out of his reverie. They’d barely begun dating. Something like that was still a long way off. Still, he never pictured himself having children until Ivy came along. He filed the feelings away to study later and focused his attention on Hayden as the boy began to describe his monster.

“He had brownish yellow hair,” Hayden said.

“Did it look dirty?”

“It looked like it smelled,” Hayden answered, wrinkling his nose and making an adorable face.

“Was he tall?” Ivy asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Everybody is taller than me.”

“Good point,” Ivy said. “Was he tall like your mom?”

Hayden shook his head. “He was big like him.” He pointed toward Jack. “He was scary like him, too.”

Jack frowned. “Why do you think I’m scary?”

“Because you’re a giant,” Hayden replied, his eyes widening.

“Ah.”

“What were you doing when you saw the werewolf?” Ivy asked.

“I was trying to hear what everyone was talking about.”

“What do you mean?” Ivy asked.

“He was supposed to be in his tent sleeping because it’s past his bedtime, but I think he was poking his head out of the tent and eavesdropping,” Shannon supplied.

“Where is his tent?” Jack asked.

Shannon pointed toward a small domed tent on the far side of the campsite. “We put the kids in that area because we knew we were going to be up later than them.”

“Even though that’s not fair,” Hayden said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You’ll live,” Shannon said.

“Not if the werewolf gets me!”

“There is no werewolf,” Shannon snapped. “Knock it off.”

“Nobody believes me,” Hayden said, dejectedly kicking the ground.

“I believe you,” Ivy said, patting his shoulder to get him to focus on her again. “Where did you see the werewolf?”

“He was standing over there,” Hayden answered, pointing at the tree line. “I didn’t see him at first, but then he moved and … I saw him.” The last three words were barely a whisper.

“Did he look at you?”

Hayden nodded.

“Did he say anything?”

“He just looked at me,” Hayden said. “I opened my mouth to yell for Mommy, but no sound would come out.”

“Some sound came out,” Jack pointed out.

“I had to try a couple of times.”

“That’s okay,” Jack said. “You were brave in the face of danger and you protected everyone. We’re very proud of you.”

“I heard Mommy talking to Daddy, and they said there’s some sort of animal out there that’s eating people,” Hayden said, his serious green eyes locked onto Ivy’s face. “Do you think that’s true?”

“I think that your mommy and daddy will keep you safe no matter what,” Ivy replied, affectionately tousling his hair. “You did the right thing by yelling. You probably scared the werewolf away.”

“What if he comes back?”

“He won’t come back,” Jack said. “Your mom and dad will make sure of that.”

Shannon offered Ivy and Jack a wan smile and then gathered Hayden close. “I think it’s time to put you to bed, little hero.”

Hayden didn’t look thrilled with the prospect. “Can I sleep with you tonight?”

“Just this once,” Shannon said, giving in.

“What do you think?” Jack asked, moving to Ivy’s side as the rest of Hayden’s campsite compatriots dispersed so they could get some rest.

“I think he saw something,” Ivy replied.

“The dogman?”

“I didn’t say that,” Ivy said. “Hayden is five. You heard him. To him you’re a giant.”

“He seemed to like you,” Jack interjected.

“Kids always like me,” Ivy said. “I think it’s my hair.”

“I think they sense you’re a good person,” Jack countered, slinging an arm over Ivy’s shoulders and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Kids can often see whether someone is good or bad before adults can.”

“I think you’re just whipped,” Ivy teased.

“That, too,” Jack agreed. “Do you think he saw a person and got scared?”

“Probably,” Ivy said. “It’s no different than me when I heard that dogman story as a kid and Max jumped out of the bushes to scare me. He probably saw someone walking and overreacted.”

“If you believe that, why do you look so troubled?”

“Because I can’t think of one reason anyone would be walking into the woods this late at night,” Ivy answered. “A teenage girl was found mauled in there twenty-four hours ago. Knowing that, why would anyone risk going in there at this hour?”

“You have a very sharp mind, honey,” Jack said, following her gaze. “You think like a cop sometimes.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Everything you do is good.”

“I see you’re bucking for a repeat nap under the stars,” Ivy teased, letting Jack lead her back to their campsite.

“Actually, I’m perfectly happy cuddling up next to you and listening to you snore,” Jack replied.