Wicked Warning (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 5) (6 page)

“We can live with that,” Courtney said, grabbing Jessica’s hand. “We want her as healthy as possible when she leaves here.”

“We do have one other thing to discuss,” Brian said, locking gazes with Jessica. “We need you to tell us about the baby.”

Ivy was surprised by Brian’s fortitude and when she scanned Jessica’s face she found absolutely no sign of embarrassment or worry.

“What baby?” Jessica asked.

Brian glanced at Ivy, unsure how to proceed.

“When you were brought here the doctor examined you,” Ivy said. “He said you gave birth at some point. We need to know what happened to the baby. If it is still out there … .”

“I never had a baby,” Jessica said, knitting her eyebrows together. “I didn’t.”

“But … Dr. Nesbitt says you did,” Brian pressed.

“Well, he’s wrong.”

“But … .”

“He’s wrong,” Jessica snapped, her voice taking on an edge that Ivy had yet to hear from her. “I didn’t have a baby. There was no baby. Stop talking about a baby that never existed.”

“Jessica … .”

“That’s enough,” Mitchell said, cutting Brian off. “She says she didn’t have a baby and I believe her. Stop going after her. She already answered your questions.”

“We know there was a baby,” Brian argued. “We need to know what happened to it.”

“I can’t help you,” Jessica said. “Someone must’ve made a mistake. I never had a baby.”

“
S
o
, what are we looking for?” Jack asked an hour later, sitting at his desk and regarding Brian with a dubious look. “I’m not sure what to think about this prepper angle.”

After the baby question fell flat Jessica completely shut down and Mitchell asked everyone to leave so he could take care of his family. Jack and Brian wanted to press her on the issue, but Ivy wisely read the signs in the room and forced them out.

Jack was still irritated by the situation.

“A lot of people are preppers in this area,” Ivy explained. She’d taken over one of the other officer’s desks so she could look through land deeds. “It’s a big thing these days. A lot of survivalists move to sparsely populated areas like this because they think they’ll have a better chance of survival if the big one hits a populated area.”

“Why are you here?” Jack turned to Brian. “Seriously, why is she here? She’s not a police officer.”

“Don’t get your panties in a wad,” Brian said, smirking when he saw a dark look descend on Ivy’s pleasing features. “She knows the entire story. She knows the people in this community. She’s fully capable of searching land deeds.”

“He’s just mad because I helped Mitchell kick you guys out of Jessica’s room,” Ivy said. “He’ll get over it.”

“I could still have you thrown off this case,” Jack threatened. He had no idea why he was so agitated with Ivy. He knew taking out his anger with Jessica’s refusal to admit to having a baby on his girlfriend was a mistake, but he couldn’t seem to tamp down his anger and she was an appealing target because she was going out of her way to be irritating.

“Go ahead,” Ivy shot back. “If that’s what you want … then fine. I’ll stop helping with the land deeds and go door-to-door by myself.”

Jack’s heart flopped at the suggestion. “No, you won’t.”

“Yes, I will.”

Brian leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, interested in the display despite the mountain of work in front of the small group.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous that would be?” Jack exploded. “I’m sure the majority of people in this town know that you’ve been spending time with Jessica. The gossip is already spreading. Someone would gladly take you to find out what Jessica has told us.”

“I’ll take my chances,” Ivy replied, her tone icy. “If you don’t want my help, I’ll solve this on my own.”

“I will lock you up if I have to,” Jack warned, extending a finger. “Don’t even joke about that.”

“Are you two finished?” Brian asked.

Ivy was in the mood to be petulant. “No.”

“Not even close,” Jack added.

“Ivy is staying,” Brian said, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing when she shot a triumphant look at Jack. “She’s not staying because of what she just said, though. You should take Jack’s feelings into consideration, Ivy. He doesn’t want you hurt. That’s a good thing.”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t,” Ivy sniffed.

“We need Ivy’s eyes on the land deeds,” Brian said. “She knows the area. She also knows who lives in what house. She can find the right kind of house and also be able to tell us if the person who lives there is worth looking at.”

“She’s not a detective,” Jack argued.

“No, she’s not,” Brian agreed. “However … .” He reached over and grabbed the notebook from Ivy’s desk. “She has a possibility here with Stuart Denton. He lives alone and has a root cellar and a lot of land. She also marked down that he got a big order from Max about two years ago.”

Max owned a lumberyard on the outskirts of town and Ivy often knew about his business orders because he liked to complain about all the work he had to finish on a regular basis.

“How does that help us?” Jack asked.

“Because Stuart never filed plans with the township board,” Brian replied. “He built something on his property and never filed the appropriate building permits. Perhaps he built a bunker.”

“Oh.” Jack looked conflicted. “I guess that is a good lead.”

“She also ruled out Edith Neville on Sandusky Road because she’s eighty and lives alone,” Brian said. “She has no children or grandchildren, and she has no hired help. There’s no way she could be keeping a girl in a root cellar – and later a bunker – on her property.”

“Okay, fine,” Jack conceded, tugging a restless hand through his dark hair. “She’s an invaluable resource.”

“And don’t you forget it,” Ivy said, although her expression softened as she regarded him. “I know why you’re really upset and I don’t blame you.”

“What are we talking about?” Brian asked.

Jack ignored him. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you about the dream,” he said. “I … am really sorry.”

“You couldn’t have known, Jack,” Ivy said. “You could have easily been right.”

“But I wasn’t.”

“We’ll know better next time,” Ivy said. “I’m not angry with you. I know you’re upset I forced you out of Jessica’s room, but she was never going to answer questions about the baby. She’s pretending that what happened – however terrible – is something she can forget.

“She won’t be able to forget it, but she needs time to realize that on her own,” she continued. “I’m worried about the baby, too. I am. If Jessica completely shuts down, though, we’ll never get anywhere on this.”

“Does someone want to explain to me about the dream?” Brian asked, confused.

“It’s nothing,” Jack replied hurriedly. “Ivy had a nightmare about Jessica last night and I told her it was nothing. It turns out she might’ve been right about the way Jessica was forced to live. I was wrong and I owe Ivy an apology.”

“Oh, how sweet,” Brian deadpanned. “You two … there are no words for how strange you are.”

“I can live with that,” Jack said, winking at Ivy. “Let’s get to it. The faster we find this guy, the happier we’ll all be.”

“
H
ERE’S
something
,” Ivy said two hours later, rolling her neck to work out the kinks in her sore shoulders. She wasn’t used to spending so much time in front of a computer.

“What do you have?” Jack asked, moving in behind her and digging his fingers into her tender back.

“Oh, wow.” Ivy closed her eyes. “That feels great.”

“You people,” Brian muttered, shaking his head as he joined them. “One minute you’re hot and yelling and the next minute you’re hot and feeling each other up.”

“I’m not feeling her up,” Jack argued. “She works in a nursery. She’s not used to spending a lot of time in front of a computer.”

“Whatever,” Brian said, shaking his head. “Give us a lead, Ivy.”

“What about Dan Dorsey?” Ivy asked, shifting her blue eyes to Brian. “He has an old cabin out by the river. I looked at the land deeds and there’s a root cellar. He’s also had numerous prepper supplies delivered to his house.”

“How do you know that?” Jack asked, curious.

“Because he left reviews for the store out in Bellaire on their website,” Ivy replied, pulling up a second search window. “He was not happy with their dried beef.”

“Ugh,” Jack said, making a face as leaned closer to her computer. “Who would be happy with dried beef? If zombies are coming, you’re not going to be able to carry dried beef with you.”

Ivy chuckled. “Very few preppers believe the zombie apocalypse is a threat,” she explained. “They think the energy grid could go down … or there could be an invasion … or other stuff.”

“Like zombies,” Jack said, his fingers soft as they caressed her neck. “I would be great in a zombie apocalypse.”

Brian snorted. “Yes. You would be the dude with the crossbow on
The Walking Dead
.”

“I would die right away,” Ivy lamented.

“You would not,” Jack argued. “I would take you with me. I’m going to need some entertainment in the zombie apocalypse. That’s where you come in.”

“I’d die early and we both know it,” Ivy said. “I wouldn’t leave Nicodemus and you can’t survive the zombie apocalypse with a cat.”

“She’s got a point,” Brian said, chuckling. “What did Dan say in his review?”

“Basically he said the food was so bad no one would want to survive in a catastrophe,” Ivy answered. “He used a lot more swear words, though, and he threatened to crap in the container and send it back to them because the food was the same consistency. He says right in the review he’s spent thousands of dollars hoarding food.”

“So we have a prepper with an isolated home that has a root cellar,” Brian said. “What about the bunker?”

“Most of these guys aren’t going to file building plans with the town,” Ivy said. “He could’ve built a bunker and we just don’t know about it. I’m trying to picture his house and I’m fairly certain it’s set a good bit away from the road. He might’ve been able to hide bunker construction.”

“That’s a good point,” Brian said, nodding.

“How do you know where his house is?” Jack asked, suspicious. “Do you go out there and eat dried beef with him?”

Ivy made an exaggerated face. “If you must know, the property out there is great for morel hunting. I go out there every spring.”

Now it was Jack’s turn to make a face. “Those are those mushrooms that taste like feet, right?”

“They’re good,” Ivy said.

“They
are
good,” Brian agreed.

“I’m just glad they’re only out for a few weeks in the spring,” Jack said. “Yes, I looked it up online. I don’t want to risk mushroom feet showing up in my morning omelet. I’m going to do all the cooking in May, just you wait.”

“Well, it’s cute that you’re already making plans for May when it’s still summer,” Brian said. “How do you feel about running out to Dan’s property and taking a look around?”

“I think it’s a plan,” Jack said.

“Me, too.” Ivy expectantly hopped to her feet. “Let’s do this.”

Jack opened his mouth to argue, but Brian cut him off. “You’re staying here to look through the land deeds, Ivy,” Brian said. “You’re not a police officer. You’re helping us with computer searches. We can’t take you on an active investigation.”

“But … .” Ivy’s face fell.

“I’ll miss you every second I’m gone,” Jack said, grabbing her chin. “You need to stay here, though. I don’t want to be distracted if something goes down.”

“I don’t want you distracted either,” Ivy huffed. “What if I stay in the car? That sounds safe.”

“Yes, but staying here sounds a lot safer,” Brian said. “That’s what you’re doing, so … suck it up.”

“I’ll take you to lunch when we’re done, too,” Jack said, kissing her forehead. “Keep searching and don’t wander around on your own in case someone decides to approach you. Odds are this isn’t our guy.”

“You’re buying lunch,” Ivy said, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m going to make you smell my feet when we’re alone tonight, too.”

Jack barked out a laugh. “I will happily do both,” he said. “Something bad could happen if I’m distracted, though, and I will be distracted if you’re there.”

“Go,” Ivy said, waving him off. “I’ll toil like a slave here.”

“I’ll add a massage to the feet sniffing tonight,” Jack said. “Just … be safe.”

Ivy locked gazes with him, her expression earnest. “You, too.”

“
W
HAT’S
going
on with you and Ivy?” Brian asked thirty minutes later, parking in front of a ramshackle cottage and taking the opportunity to scan the surrounding area from the safety of his vehicle. “You two seem … tense.”

“We’re always tense,” Jack muttered.

“No, that’s not true,” Brian said. “You guys like to fight and argue, but you’re generally in sync. You seem out of sync right now.”

“It’s not that,” Jack said. “She’s taken on Jessica as some sort of project. Ivy has a kind heart, but she’s going to get it broken on this case if she’s not careful.”

“Ivy can’t help the way she feels,” Brian said. “She likes to take care of people. She’s nurturing.”

“I know that,” Jack said. “What if Jessica is broken, though? She’s never going to be the same girl she was.”

“Some people might argue that you were broken when Ivy happened upon you,” Brian pointed out. “Should she have ignored her feelings and refrained from nurturing you?”

Jack scowled. “I knew you would take her side.”

“It’s not about taking sides,” Brian said. “You want to take care of Ivy. I like that about you. She deserves someone looking after her. You fell for her because of her strength, though. You can’t expect her to change now.”

“I don’t want her to change,” Jack said. “That’s the last thing I want. She’s amazing the way she is.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

“She can’t fix what happened to Jessica,” Jack replied. “She can’t wipe away those memories and put a pretty bow on it. She healed me because I desperately wanted her to do it. She can’t do the same thing for Jessica because they’re entirely different circumstances.

“I was shot and left for dead on the street,” he continued. “She touched my heart and healed it. Jessica has been held captive for six years. She needs her parents. Ivy can help and be a good friend, but she can’t heal her heart. It’s not the same thing.”

“Because love healed your heart,” Brian surmised. “Have you told her you love her yet?”

Jack balked. “We’ve only been dating a few weeks. It’s too soon for that.”

“You feel it, though, don’t you?”

“Yes. I’m not telling her yet, though. I don’t want to scare her off.”

“I don’t think you can ever scare that girl off,” Brian said. “She’s loyal to a fault, and she seems to have placed her faith in you. You might be surprised if you say it. I think she’ll say it back.”

“I think she’ll say it back, too,” Jack said. “I’m still waiting. I … want it to be special.”

Brian snorted. “You’re such a woman.”

“Let’s go,” Jack said, reaching for the door handle. “I’m dying to see crazy prepper stuff. I want to know how to survive the zombie apocalypse.”

“Keep your eyes open,” Brian cautioned. “Dan is known for having a lot of weapons out here. Things could get … hairy.”

“I’ll be careful,” Jack said. “I have plans with my honey tonight. Nothing in this world will keep me from her.”

“Yup. You’re definitely a woman.”