Ghostly Wedding (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 17) Page 19

  “Not everything,” Mel countered. “Let’s move this into the kitchen, shall we?”

  “I don’t understand,” Cami insisted. “What is this?”

  “Come with us.” Jared gently prodded the teenager into the kitchen, making sure to keep her on the opposite side of the table from her mother.

  Mel was careful as he instructed Denise to sit, making sure there were no potential weapons within her reach. “Here is the warrant,” he said as he placed the document on the table in front of her. “It says we can search your house and all rooms on the property, including the garage. We’re authorized to take your vehicle in. Do you understand?”

  Denise let loose a small sob. “You’re persecuting me.”

  “I don’t think you know what that word means,” Mel countered. “You’re hardly being persecuted. We are here to ascertain the truth, though, and it would be best if you stopped lying. We already know exactly what happened.”

  “What happened?” Cami barked, her cheeks red. Harper recognized that the teen was slowly coming to a realization of her own, and it wasn’t a happy one. “Are you saying my mother killed my father?”

  Mel kept his gaze steady as he regarded the teenager. “We are.”

  “But ... no.” Cami fervently shook her head. “She wouldn’t do that. She has no reason. They were ... friends.”

  “Cami, I think it’s best if you sit down,” Harper interjected as she directed the girl toward a chair placed against a wall. “You’re about to hear some things that are going to upset you and it’s best you have a solid place to sit.”

  “Who are you?” Cami barked. “Why are you here?”

  “They’re persecuting me,” Denise insisted, her eyes wild. She could no longer contain the crazy, Jared realized. She was unraveling right in front of their eyes. “They’re trying to blame me for something I didn’t do.”

  “Sit, Cami,” Jared instructed gently. “This really is going to get rough.”

  Cami must’ve read something in Jared’s eyes, a mixture of truth and sympathy, because she lowered herself into the chair, ashen features on full display.

  “So as not to draw this out, we think it’s best that you’re aware we know about both murders, Denise,” Mel started.

  “Both?” Cami sounded positively anguished. “I don’t understand.”

  “Perhaps you should tell her,” Mel suggested to Denise.

  “There’s nothing to tell her,” Denise insisted. “You’re persecuting me and anything you have to say is false. I had nothing to do with Peter’s death. I certainly didn’t have anything to do with Penny Montgomery’s death.”

  “And yet you seem to know who we’re talking about,” Mel noted. “Given the fact that Penny has never been declared legally dead — at this point she’s only considered missing — it’s interesting you would come up with that name.”

  “I ... don’t have to talk to you.” Denise folded her arms across her chest and jutted out her chin. “I won’t just sit here and be persecuted.”

  “Then I’ll lay things out for her,” Mel said, his kind eyes drifting to Cami. “Your father sent in his DNA to one of those websites where they trace family lineage.”

  “I know,” Cami replied. “We looked at the results together.”

  “He sent in your DNA, too.”

  “I know that, too.”

  “He didn’t get a chance to tell you what those results showed.”

  Cami’s cheeks were streaked with tears. “Are you about to tell me I’m some kidnap victim or something?”

  “Why would you ask that?”

  “Because ... this feels like a scene out of a movie. Everything is heightened and surreal.”

  “I think it’s a little more than that,” Mel hedged. “I think part of you has always known that something wasn’t quite right in this house.”

  “What is he talking about?” Surprisingly, Cami turned her attention to Harper. Of all the faces in the room, the ghost hunter was the one she seemed to trust most. “Just tell me.”

  Harper hunkered down so she was at eye level with the girl. Technically she wasn’t supposed to speak — this was Mel’s show — but she couldn’t help herself. “Your mother’s name was Penny Montgomery. Your biological mother, that is.”

  Cami’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “No. My mom tells stories about giving birth to me.”

  “That’s all they are. Stories, I mean. Your father figured it out. The thing is, he was your biological father. The woman you know as your mother stole you from the woman who was carrying you, kept you hidden, and eventually used you to lure your father and trap him because she convinced herself she was in love with him.”

  Cami’s mouth dropped open. “That’s not right. That’s ... impossible.”

  “I’m very sorry.” It took everything Harper had not to start crying herself. “It’s true, though. Your father ran two DNA tests on you, right?”

  Cami hesitated and then nodded. “He thought there was something wrong with the first one. He said ... he said ... .” She trailed off.

  “He said he thought he’d been ripped off by the company because the first test showed that he was your biological father,” Harper finished.

  Cami’s voice was barely a whisper. “We were waiting for the results of the second test. They were from a different company.”

  “Your father got those results,” Harper explained. “They said the same thing as the first test. Then he got to thinking.” She paused to let Cami absorb the information and then barreled forward. “You father loved Penny very much. He was a few years older than her, and she was still a teenager when you were conceived, and they were both fearful about the truth coming out, so they decided to wait.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Denise hissed, moving to stand. Mel’s hand was firm when it landed on her shoulder to keep her in place. “Don’t listen to them, Cami.”

  The teenager didn’t bother looking at her mother. Instead, she kept her gaze on Harper. “What happened to Penny?”

  “She went to the library one day. She was very close to giving birth. Somebody approached her outside the library and lured her away. She was never seen or heard from again.”

  Cami licked her lips. “Then how do you know she’s dead?”

  “Because she left a mother behind who she loved dearly, as well as the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.”

  “You’re talking about my dad.”

  Harper nodded. “I am.”

  “But ... .” Cami looked absolutely bewildered.

  “Your father loved you very much. In fact, he fell in love with you first when Denise showed up with you. He’s been devoted to you your entire life. When he got the second DNA results, though, he started working things out.”

  “What was he trying to work out?”

  “Nobody knows what happened to Penny’s body. It’s out there somewhere.”

  “How did she even get me?” Cami queried. “I mean ... did she cut me out or something?”

  Harper hesitated, uncertain how smart it was to get into the nitty-gritty details of exactly how Cami was separated from Penny. “I don’t know. That will be a conversation for Denise and the boys to have later. For now, suffice it to say that she took you, and your father was determined to make sure you ended up where you belonged.”

  “Which is where?”

  “With him ... and Penny’s family. Her mother is still around. Her name is Lila and she lives in a big house on the lake. She has a pool ... and a garden ... and she misses her daughter every single day. She’s going to be thrilled to meet you.”

  Cami rubbed her stomach, as if warding off a sickness that might consume her. “I don’t understand how this happened. I just ... did she kill my father?” Cami refused to look at Denise.

  “I told you not to believe them,” Denise hissed. “They’re making things up. They have no proof.”

  “Something tells me we’re going to have proof the se
cond we walk into that garage,” Mel countered. “You mentioned that your car worked, but your mother wouldn’t drive it, Cami. Is the front driver’s side grill area damaged?”

  Cami nodded. “The headlight is broken, too.”

  Mel forced a tight-lipped smile. “Did your mother get a haircut the other day?”

  Cami nodded again. “It used to be long, but she chopped it off. I think she looks like a bad reality television star now.”

  Harper placed her hands over Cami’s and drew the girl’s attention to her. “Denise is sick.”

  “She’s my mom.”

  Tricky area, Harper thought. She could hardly diminish the emotional attachment Denise and the teenager shared. “She raised you,” Harper agreed after a beat. “I think she loved you. She wasn’t the only one, though. Penny loved you, too, and her chance to raise you was stolen from her.”

  Cami choked on her tears. “I don’t understand any of this.”

  “I know.” Harper rubbed the girl’s shoulder. “We’re going to make sure you have the support system you need to move forward, though. It’s important that you know you’re not alone in this.”

  “I feel alone,” Cami insisted. “What’s going to happen to me now? Where am I going to live?”

  “How do you feel about living in a mansion?”

  “Harper.” Jared’s voice was low and full of warning. “Don’t you think you should check with Lila before making that offer?”

  Harper didn’t need to. She’d recognized the heart of the woman who served them tea in her rose garden and knew exactly how things would work out. “No. Cami will be going home. You don’t have to worry about that.”

  “This is my home,” Cami argued. “I ... grew up here. This is where my mother lives. I ... what about my father’s funeral? How am I supposed to pay for that?”

  “You don’t have to worry about any of it,” Harper insisted. “It’s all going to work out. You have my word.”

  Cami looked to Jared for confirmation. “Is all of this true?”

  Jared hesitated and then nodded. “I’m afraid so. Your mother is definitely a sick woman. We’re going to be taking her into custody for the death of your father. As for your kidnapping ... I’m certain we will be sorting that out in the upcoming weeks.”

  “I mean about it working out. It doesn’t feel like anything is ever going to be okay again.”

  “You should listen to Harper,” Jared said on a half-smile. “She knows what she’s talking about, and she won’t rest until she knows you’re okay.”

  “What if I’m never okay?”

  “You will be,” Harper insisted. “Your entire life has been tossed into upheaval, but things will sort themselves out. They have to. You’re destined for greatness.”

  “How can you possibly know that?”

  “Because your mother, Penny, wanted nothing more than to give you a good life. Your grandmother will make sure that happens, and she’ll have a little help from us.”

  Rather than respond, Cami buried her face in her hands and dissolved into tears. Harper moved closer, slinging an arm around the girl’s shoulders, and merely stood as guard as Mel and Jared turned their attention to Denise.

  “Lying at this point will only hurt Cami,” Mel noted. “It’s time to tell the truth.”

  “The truth is that you’re persecuting me,” Denise insisted. “The rest of it is utter nonsense.”

  “I guess we’ll have to see how that plays out, huh?”

  18

  Eighteen

  “Are you sure?” Lila was as white as a ghost when Jared and Harper finished catching her up on the day’s events.

  “We haven’t recovered Penny’s body yet,” Jared replied. “A team will be starting that duty tomorrow. Denise claims that your daughter died of natural causes, which we don’t believe, but that will be something that takes weeks to ascertain.”

  “Not that part.” Lila leaned forward. “The part about Cami being my granddaughter.”

  “We’re reasonably certain,” Jared hedged. “We have the DNA tests from Peter. They both confirm that he was her biological father. You’ll want to run your own DNA test to be sure but Denise admitted Penny was Cami’s biological mother after some very hard questioning. We have no reason to believe it’s not true.”

  “And how did you come across this information in the first place?” Lila’s eyes were on Harper. “It was you, wasn’t it? Did you find my Penny? Is she still here?”

  Harper wanted to tell the woman what she needed to hear but refused to lie. “I haven’t seen Penny. I don’t believe she’s here. Peter is the one who told me.”

  “So, he’s still around.” Lila rubbed her chin. “I don’t remember him. Penny never told me about him.”

  “He was twenty-one at the time and afraid. My understanding is that they planned to tell you once Penny turned eighteen.”

  “I wouldn’t have pressed charges against him.”

  “Cami was old enough to consent,” Jared explained. “There were no charges to be filed. He was simply frightened.”

  “He knows that it was a mistake,” Harper volunteered. “He feels badly about everything that happened and knows he screwed up. I think he’s paid a steep price for his mistakes.”

  “Obviously.”

  “If it’s any consolation, he was going to tell you,” Harper said. “That’s why Denise killed him. She was trying to stop the truth from coming out. He probably shouldn’t have told her what he had planned, but he wanted confirmation before he went to you.”

  Lila offered up a wave. “I don’t blame him. He didn’t know. I just ... the whole thing is surreal.”

  “It is,” Harper agreed. “Once I’m done here, I plan to make sure he’s able to cross over. He’s outside right now, waiting. I think he wants to make sure Cami is settled before he goes.

  “I’ve told him he’ll likely be reunited with Penny on the other side, and that appeals to him a great deal,” she continued. “No matter his faults, he loved your daughter, and by all accounts he was a wonderful father to Cami. He raised her right.”

  “And where is Cami now?” Lila queried. “Can I have her? Wait, that came out wrong. She’s not a possession. She’s also a teenager. She probably doesn’t even want to know me.”

  “Cami is struggling right now,” Harper replied. “Her entire world has come crashing down. She’s confused and very upset. She believes her mother — or rather, the woman she grew up believing was her mother — killed her father. She also believes she was stolen from Penny. The rest is hard for her to grasp.”

  “Does she want to see me? I don’t want to damage her further. I would love to be able to talk to her, get to know her, but she might not be ready.”

  “Cami is talking to a psychologist who specializes in trauma,” Jared said. “This woman works for the Michigan State Police. My understanding is that Cami is responding well to her, although I don’t think it would be a terrible idea to get Cami in regularly with another professional.”

  “I can manage that,” Lila said. “I mean ... I can have someone ready to talk to her tomorrow. Where will she be tonight, though?”

  Harper and Jared exchanged a look.

  “That depends on you,” Harper replied finally. “Under normal circumstances, Cami would have to go into the system. She’s a teenager, though. She’s older, and given your circumstances, we’ve arranged it so she can stay with you. If you’re so inclined, that is.”

  “I would love to have her here,” Lila enthused. “I just ... don’t want to move too fast. If she hates me now, she might never get over it.”

  “She doesn’t hate you,” Jared promised. “She wants to meet you. She said as much. She’s going to be an emotional wreck for a bit, though, and we’re hopeful you won’t fight her if she wants to see Denise at some point.”

  “She still thinks of Denise as her mother,” Harper said. “Even though I think Denise was mentally unbalanced, we have no reason to believe she mistreated C
ami. She seems to have done right by her, and even though Denise is responsible for your daughter’s death, Cami’s needs are going to involve some sort of contact with her, no matter how difficult that is for you to swallow.”

  “I don’t want to make things harder for the girl,” Lila said. “I want to do right by her. I won’t cut her off from Denise.”

  “I thought that’s how you would respond.” Harper beamed at her. “The psychologist will be the one transporting Cami here. She has a bag, but she’s going to want the rest of her stuff at some point. Mel will make arrangements so you can send movers over to get it. She’ll also have stuff at her father’s place. As for what’s going to happen with his services ... I don’t know what to tell her.”

  “I’ll handle that,” Lila offered. “I’ll let her pick whatever she wants out and bury Peter the right way. I owe him after what he tried to do. A lesser man might’ve left things alone rather than rock the boat. He showed himself to be a decent human being, and I truly do hope he and my Penny are reunited wherever they end up.”

  “I hope so, too,” Harper agreed. “Jared and I won’t be around to help for the next two weeks. We’re getting married tomorrow and then going on our honeymoon. We’ll be back after if you need anything.”

  Lila choked on a snort. “Wait ... are you two really getting married tomorrow? Why are you here if that’s the case?”

  “Because we couldn’t leave without knowing that you and Cami were going to be okay.”

  “Well, I think it will take work, but you can rest assured that I’ll put in the work. I think I’ve closed myself off for long enough. I’m ready to rejoin the world, with my granddaughter at my side.”

  “I think you’re going to be happy.”

  Lila’s eyes twinkled. “I think so, too.”

  JARED TRANSPORTED THE LEFTOVER CHINESE food to Zander’s house so everybody could eat together. The meal was a chatty affair, everybody talking about what had happened instead of dwelling on the next day. When it was time for Jared to leave, he was reticent.

  “Why can’t we all stay together?” he complained when Zander started herding him toward the door. “I don’t get all this superstitious stuff.”