TWENTY-TWO.

"I 'm not sure this is a good idea," Harper said, increasing her pace as she followed a furious Linden and Josh down the corridor toward the family's personal living s.p.a.ce. "I think we should come up with a plan first."

"This is the plan, Heart," Jared said, gathering her hand and tugging her until she was close enough for him to wrap his arm around her waist. "We're going to ask Trask why he didn't mention his brother was the head of the murder mystery troupe."

"What good is that going to do?"

"I want to know," Linden said, stopping in front of the door and digging in his pocket for his key. "This whole thing is a mess and I don't understand what's going on."

"Even if Hal is Trask's brother and I suggest we find Hal to confirm that first that doesn't necessarily mean Trask has anything to do with his brother's death," Harper pointed out. "It could be something else entirely."

"Why are you fighting this?" Jared asked, confused. "You hated Trask from the moment you saw him."

"So did you," Harper pointed out. "He's a jacka.s.s. I'm not saying he's a great guy. Something about this feels wrong to me, though. I think we should call Mel and see what he can find on Trask before we do this."

"No way," Linden said. "This is my home and this is my hotel. I want answers."

"But ... ."

"No," Linden said, firmly shaking his head. "I need to know what's going on under my own roof. I lived in a cloud for years. I made terrible decisions and this family my son especially suffered. I can't fix everything, but I can move forward."

"That's admirable," Jared said. "We're behind you."

"I'm not," Harper grumbled, making a face when Jared glanced in her direction. "Something is going to go wrong. I know it."

"It's four against one, Heart," Jared said. "I think we'll be able to handle a sixty-five-year-old man."

Harper wasn't convinced Jared was correct, but she followed him into the Stokes' suite anyway, gasping when she saw the ornate room and over-the-top decorations that a.s.sailed her eyes upon entry. "Wow," she intoned, her blue eyes busy as they scanned the room. "Liberace just called and he wants his candelabra back."

Josh snickered. "My mother has unique taste," he said. "That ballroom was only the tip of the iceberg."

"I can't wait to meet her," Harper said.

"You won't be saying that five minutes from now," Josh said, his eyes thoughtful as they washed over Harper.

"What?" Harper asked, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.

"It's nothing," Josh said. "My father thinks you remind him of my mother. I guess I was trying to see ... something."

"You and your father are going to have a lot of time to talk about your mother," Harper said. "You're not going to get all of the information or answers, for that matter that you want in one sitting. It's going to take time.

"If you're lucky, though, you're going to be able to get to know a whole other set of family members," she continued. "Your mother probably still has family out there, and they're going to have photos and stories. You'll get to know her through them. It won't be the same, but it will still be something."

"And you're going to help her move on, right?" Josh pressed. "You said there was a better place out there for her."

"A lot of ghosts move on themselves when someone solves their murder ... or whatever secret they were hanging onto is revealed," Harper said. "If Alice can't move on herself, though, Zander and I can help her. We've done it before."

"Well, I almost hope she needs help," Josh said. "I'm dying to meet the famous Zander."

"You can do that regardless," Jared interjected. "You can visit Whisper Cove whenever you want. To get the full Zander and Harper effect it almost helps to sit through a meal with them in their home. They're not ever on their best behavior then."

Josh chuckled. "I don't want to miss that."

"You definitely don't," Jared agreed.

The trio followed Linden into the sitting room, pulling up short when they noticed the agitated woman sitting on the settee. Her dark hair was pulled back into a severe bun and her turtleneck looked tight enough to choke the life out of her. If her expression was to be believed, Harper was convinced it had already choked the fun out of her.

"That's Janet," Jared whispered to Harper.

"I kind of figured that out on my own," Harper said.

"What is going on?" Janet asked, getting to her feet. "Is there a reason I'm being bothered by these ... people ... in my own home?"

"Janet, this is Jared Monroe," Linden said, tugging on his limited patience as he fought to remain calm. "He was Josh's roommate in college. I'm sure you remember him."

"Do I get a prize if I do?" Janet challenged.

Linden frowned. "This is his girlfriend Harper Harlow," he added. "She's from Whisper Cove."

"That's even less exciting than the news that Josh's college roommate is here," Janet deadpanned. "What do you want? I ask for very little under my own roof especially since it's not really my roof now that you've opened it to vagabonds but I do ask that you not invade my personal s.p.a.ce for anything less than dire circ.u.mstances."

"These are dire circ.u.mstances," Linden said. "Have you seen Trask?"

Janet knit her eyebrows together. "I guess I saw him about two hours ago. Why do you ask?"

"We need to speak to him," Linden answered. "It seems his brother was part of the mystery troupe and he's gone missing. I'm sure that you remember we banished Hal from the property years ago when he tried to steal that ring of yours."

"Oh, of course," Janet said, leaning forward as intrigue finally dislodged the stick Harper was convinced was living in a very uncomfortable place amongst her posterior. "Wait, so you're saying that Hal was part of the mystery troupe I told you not to invite here? I'm shocked."

Harper made a face. She expected to dislike Janet, but the woman didn't have to make it so easy.

"We need to talk to Trask, Janet," Josh said, his voice chilly as he looked over the woman he called "mother" only an hour before.

Janet furrowed her brow as she shifted her attention to Josh. "Since when do you call me by my first name?"

"Since now," Josh answered.

"Is this because I wouldn't let you use the ballroom for your stupid event?" Janet challenged. "I don't care how petulant you get, I'm not allowing those people in that room. They'll ruin it. That room is a showplace and I want it to be exactly how it is when we reclaim this house."

"You're never going to reclaim this house, Janet," Josh snapped. "The house is gone. This is a hotel now. We're not going to somehow get all of the lost money back. We put a ton of money in renovations. This is a hotel now. It's never going to be just a house again."

"Stop calling me by my first name," Janet ordered. "That is not how things are done in polite society. I am your mother. You will treat me with respect."

"You're not my mother." The words were out of Josh's mouth before he had a chance to think better of them.

Harper's eyes widened as she risked a glance in Jared's direction, but he was impa.s.sive. Linden sighed at Josh's admission, but he didn't otherwise appear upset.

"I am your mother," Janet said. "You might not like it, but you're going to have to get over that."

"You're not my mother," Josh repeated. "Dad told me the truth tonight."

"And what truth is that?" Janet asked, feigning ignorance.

"He knows about Alice," Linden said. "That's why he called me down there. He had questions."

"We agreed that he was never to know about Alice," Janet said. "I am his mother. I raised him."

"Alice Thorpe gave birth to him, though," Harper said. "She's the one who loved him."

"I don't believe anyone was talking to you," Janet hissed. "Stay out of our private family affairs. In fact, get out of my home. I don't want you here."

"Leave her alone," Josh said. "They're with me. They can be here as long as I say they can be here."

"Maybe you're not invited to stay here any longer either," Janet suggested. "If I'm not your mother, that means you're not my son."

Harper was horrified by the way Janet talked to Josh. For his part, Josh seemed unmoved, almost relieved even. Finding out Janet wasn't his mother wasn't quite the blow Harper envisioned.

"Harper and Jared found out about Alice and they asked Josh because they were confused," Linden supplied, fudging the discovery details slightly. "When Josh asked, I decided to tell him the truth. He deserves it."

"What about what I deserve, Linden?" Janet asked. "Am I ever going to get what I deserve?"

"If you're lucky, a house will fly by the window before this storm lets up and land right on you," Harper suggested. "I'm pretty sure you deserve that."

Josh and Jared snickered despite the surreal nature of the situation and even Linden looked amused. Janet was another story.

"I can see you're pretty pleased with yourself," Janet said. "I have no idea why, though. You told Josh a secret he didn't need to know and now you're giving me a headache. You might consider that a win on the day, but to me it's merely tedious."

"We didn't come up here for this," Linden said. "We need to find Trask. Are you sure you don't know where he is?"

"I have no idea where Trask is," Janet said, rolling her eyes as she turned back to the settee. "I'm not his keeper and he's not mine. Now get out of my home."

Linden turned to leave, but Harper wasn't quite ready to let Janet off the hook yet.

"Did you kill Alice because you wanted her life?" Harper asked.

"Harper," Jared warned, widening his eyes as he glanced around the room. "You can't just ask questions like that."

"I'm actually curious to hear the answer, too," Josh interjected.

"Alice died of a heart attack in her sleep," Janet said. "I didn't cause that. I don't care how evil you think I am. I don't have magical powers."

Janet's blithe dismissal of the charge wasn't enough to dissuade Harper. "Alice Thorpe was drugged and then smothered in her sleep," she challenged. "Whoever did it had to have a motive. Josh was obviously too young and Linden was in love with her. That leaves you."

Linden balked. "You can't possibly think Janet killed her best friend."

"I honestly don't know," Harper admitted. "I'm not sure that there's another explanation, though. If it wasn't Janet, who was it?"

"But ... ." Linden broke off, working his jaw up and down as he racked his memory. When he finally let his eyes fall on Janet, he looked conflicted. "You didn't kill Alice, did you?"

"How can you possibly ask me that?" Janet snapped. "I was the one who took care of your son when Alice died because you were too drunk and depressed to get out of bed. I took care of both of you. How dare you accuse me of anything like that."

"That wasn't a denial," Jared said, taking a step closer so he was at an even level with Josh and Linden and leaving Harper in a protected position behind him. "Did you kill Alice? It would make sense in a way. You were jealous of her and you always had a crush on Linden. Perhaps you chose to take the life you always wanted."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Janet said. "I'm the hero in this story, people. I'm the one who kept this family together. I'm the one who made sure the Stokes name stayed great ... well, until you guys managed to ruin it by opening a hotel, that is. Still, I'm the one who did everything for this family. I can't believe you would even consider accusing me of something like this."

"That's still not a denial," Jared said pointedly.

"G.o.d, Janet, did you kill my Alice?" Linden asked, tears filling his eyes. "Did you kill Alice with your bare hands in one room and then walk into the next room and pick up her son so you could steal him?"

Janet remained defiant. "You have no idea what you're talking about," she gritted out. "You're not smart enough to grasp the things I had to do to keep this family together."

"Well, I'm going to take you into custody and turn you over to the local police," Jared said. "You can explain to them what you've done and I'm going to trust that they're smart enough to figure out your motivations on their own."

"I'm not going with you," Janet scoffed. "You have no jurisdiction here and I haven't done anything wrong. You can't take me."

"Do you want to bet?" Jared challenged. "I am fully within my rights to take you into custody, and that's exactly what I plan on doing."

"I don't think so," Janet screeched. "You can't take me! I won't allow it!"

Harper was enjoying the show until she realized someone was behind her. It was too late to turn around or alert Jared and the cool tip of a knife pressing against her tender throat caused her heart to constrict. Trask grabbed her neck and slammed her back until her body was flush with his, making sure she had no wiggle room or avenue of escape.

"No one is taking Janet anywhere," Trask said. "Unless, of course, you want this one to die. I'm kind of curious which way the decision is going to go."

TWENTY-THREE.

"L et her go!"

Jared took a step in Trask's direction and only eased up when Trask prodded Harper's neck with the knife, causing her to whimper.

"Don't tell me what to do, boy," Trask warned. "It's not going to end well for anyone if you get too big for your britches. Or, am I reading the situation wrong? Do you want me to kill her? If so, keep flapping your yap."

Jared's face contorted. "Give her to me." He extended his hand. "She hasn't done anything to you. I ... please give her to me."

"Trask, you unhand that woman right now," Linden barked. He was fl.u.s.tered but refused to let the situation get away from him. "That's an order."

Trask forced out an eerie laugh. It was more malevolent than amused. "An order? Do you honestly think you're in a position to give me orders?" Trask jerked his hand and jabbed the point of the knife into Harper's throat. It was hard enough to draw blood and elicit a muted sob but nothing else.

"Jared," Harper said, her voice low. "Maybe you should listen to what he has to say."

Jared met Harper's terrified gaze. "It's going to be okay," he said. "I'm right here. I'm ... so sorry. I should've paid better attention."