Ghostly Wedding (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 17) by Lily Harper Hart

Author:Lily Harper Hart [Hart, Lily Harper]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperHart Publicatiotns
Published: 2021-01-04T16:00:00+00:00

10

Ten

“What do you think?”

Zander waited until they were returning to their car to ask the obvious question. He’d watched Harper interact with the woman, and for once he couldn’t find a joke. Both of them seemed sad and determined, although what that meant in the days moving forward was beyond him.

“I think I want to help her,” Harper replied simply.

“I already knew that.” He sent her a wry smile. “I mean about Penny. What do you think happened to her?”

“I have no idea. Why would I suddenly know the answer to that question?”

“Because I’ve seen you work actual miracles and I guess I’m spoiled.”

“Well ... I don’t know. There are multiple possibilities.”

“Which do you lean toward?”

“I want to know who the father was.” Harper was matter-of-fact. “I mean ... why was Penny hiding the identity of the father of her baby? Her mother seemed okay with her situation. I mean, I’m sure Lila wasn’t happy when her teenaged daughter showed up pregnant. She had a good attitude about it, though.”

“She did,” Zander agreed. “I can’t imagine your mother being that chill if you were the one who turned up pregnant.”

“My mother would’ve publicly shamed me.”

“I don’t know if I would go that far.”

“Oh, she totally would have.” Harper thought hard about the situation. “She also would’ve forced me to reveal the father so she could publicly shame him, too.”

“Now that I could see.”

“The question is, would I have told her the information if I thought it could hurt someone I potentially cared about?”

“You’re assuming the father was age appropriate. I mean, at seventeen, Penny was old enough to consent. What if her boyfriend was nineteen, though? He still could’ve gotten in trouble. Maybe she was only keeping it a secret for a year or something.”

“Maybe.” To Harper, that didn’t add up. “Lila strikes me as the sort of person who would’ve worked with her daughter. She’s completely reasonable.”

“Something we’re not used to when it comes to dealing with parents,” Zander mused. “Maybe Penny was fearful all the same. I mean, she was young. Her entire life was changing.”

“Yeah.” Harper rubbed her cheek. “Or maybe the other theory is correct. Maybe it was an adult who would’ve looked like a predator if the news got out. Maybe he killed her to hide what he’d done. DNA tests were available when Penny disappeared. They were more expensive, but Lila had money to pay for one.”

“Now that there is an interesting theory,” Zander mused as they arrived at Harper’s car and stared at each other over the roof. “Maybe we should go back and try to talk to the friends Lila mentioned. They might’ve been afraid to tell the truth when they were teenagers. They’re adults now, though. They likely have families of their own ... and we’re talking kids who were the same age as Penny when she disappeared. They might have a different worldview.”

“That’s not a horrible idea,” Harper agreed. “I need to think. Oh, hold on.” She grabbed her phone when it dinged to signify an incoming text message.

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