Becky didn’t immediately react. Harper chalked it up to shock and decided to jolt the girl out of her reverie by standing.
“We need to find Jared,” Harper repeated. “In fact, maybe you should head back and find Jared for us. That means we won’t have to leave.”
“What?” Becky’s voice was squeaky. “Why would I want to do that?”
“You like Jared,” Zander reminded her.
“Yeah, but ... .”
“We can’t send her back by herself,” Shawn argued. “She’s just as much at risk as everybody else, including us.”
“You have a point.” Harper tilted her head. “You should walk her back and get Jared out here. Zander and I will wait.”
“Oh, why do I have to be the one to wait with you?” Zander whined. “I don’t want to sit with the dead body.”
“Then you can go with Becky.”
“I don’t want to do that either.” Zander planted himself on the ground and made a face. “My feet hurt. Camping is nowhere near as fun as I thought it would be.”
“Oh, you didn’t think camping was going to be fun,” Shawn shot back. “You were badmouthing the idea of camping before we even left Whisper Cove.”
Zander cast his fiancé a sidelong look. “And who turned out to be right on that?”
“Me,” Shawn replied, not missing a beat. “I’m always right.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Zander offered up a haphazard wave. “If anybody is walking back to the campground, I think it should be the individual who is always right. I guess that means you.”
“Well, I’m not leaving the two of you.” Shawn was firm. “That means we all have to go together.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that,” Harper muttered. “Fine.” She threw up her hands. “Let’s head back to the campground.” She started stalking up the hill, barely sparing a glance for Becky. Her gaze immediately landed on Holly when she reached the top, and to her utter surprise, the ghost was completely fixated on the murder-mystery assistant. She paid zero attention to anyone else.
Harper opened her mouth to ask Holly to keep watch over her body, but the ghost spoke before she could utter a syllable.
“She’s not even sorry.”
“What?” Harper fixated on the ghost. “What did you say?”
The color hadn’t returned to Becky’s features, but she was much more animated than she had been only seconds before. “Who are you talking to?” the young woman queried, glancing around. “Are you talking to me?”
“She’s not even a little bit sorry,” Holly repeated. “I came up here to save her. I figured out what was happening and did the right thing even though it wasn’t required. She was an adult, and I didn’t have to do anything ... and yet here we are.”
Harper’s heart sank as things began coalescing in her mind. “Holly Horton was your mother.”
Becky jerked up her chin, her eyes wide. “How do you know that name?”
“I just do.”
“No, how do you know it?” Becky grabbed Harper’s shirt and spun the ghost hunter around so she could look her directly in the face. “Are you here for me? Did you come here for me?”
Harper had no idea how she was supposed to respond. “I ... .”
Shawn, uncomfortable with the proximity of the two women, used his hip to knock Becky aside. Thrown off-balance, the campground assistant stumbled down the hill, landing directly next to the log.
“Let’s go.” He grabbed Harper’s hand and moved to drag her to the trail, but the blonde wasn’t ready to be removed from the equation.
“Wait.” Harper moved so she could better see Becky, who seemed transfixed by the fingers poking out from the log. “Why did you kill your mother?”
“I didn’t,” Becky replied automatically, her voice soft and distant. “Why would you think I killed my mother? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Because it’s the only thing that makes sense,” Harper replied, matter-of-fact. “Your mother came to this campground because ... what? Was she trying to get you to go back home with her?”
Becky didn’t respond, so Harper shifted her eyes to the ghost.
“Just tell me,” Harper ordered, her patience wearing thin.
“She let it slip,” Holly volunteered, disgust twisting her lips as she stared at her only child. “She called to tell me how well things were going up here. It was more a way to twist the knife than anything else. I told her this was a mistake — I mean, a murder camp in the middle of the woods? Come on — and she cried ... and stomped her feet ... and told me I didn’t understand.
“She left even though I didn’t want her to,” she continued. “I thought getting a good job and paying for a realistic degree made more sense. If she worked hard for a few years, she could’ve had everything I never got.”
“Something happened to change that,” Harper prodded. “What was it?”
Becky watched Harper in mystified silence. It was obvious she didn’t understand what was going down.
“I told you what happened,” Holly snapped. “She let it slip. She left with him even though she knew how I felt and then she let it slip.”
A sick feeling invaded Harper’s stomach. “Oh, my ... .” Her gaze drifted back to Becky, who looked completely lost.
“What’s happening?” Shawn asked, bewildered. “What’s going on?”
It took Harper a moment to find her voice. “Holly is Becky’s mother.”
“I figured that out myself.”
“Holly was either involved with Harris, or wanted to be involved with him,” Harper added.
“So ... Harris killed Holly?”
Harper shook her head. “Harris seduced Becky.”
Shawn let loose a groaning sound. “Oh, please tell me she was an adult when that happened.”
Harper honestly wasn’t certain. Now, from her vantage point above, all she felt was sympathy when she looked down at the lost girl sitting next to her mother’s body.
“Now you know why I’m so angry,” Holly interjected. “She took him from me.”
“Were you actually involved with him?” Harper pressed the ghost. “Did you have a relationship?”
“He
