Free Wicked Warning (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 5) by Lily Harper Hart Page A

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