Free Ghostly Deceits (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 3) by Lily Harper Hart

am sorry.”
    “You’re going to owe me,” Harper said. “Apparently I owe my mother a thank you for letting me be an only child.”
    “I’ll thank her for that, too,” Jared said, slinging an arm over Harper’s shoulders. “This way Josh can’t get anyone even remotely close to you and I win.”
    “Yes, that’s exactly what I was thinking,” Harper said dryly.
    “Come on,” Josh said. “Breakfast is ready and then the game is set to begin. My father is in his element.”
    “Is this the first time you’ve done something like this?” Harper asked, following Josh into the ornate dining room. Since there were so many people the tables remained separated and the trio settled at an empty one so they could continue their discussion without interruption.
    “It is,” Josh confirmed. “My dad was against it when I suggested it, but we need ways to beef up business. I’m sure you heard about some of our … troubles.”
    Jared and Harper exchanged a look.
    “Harper knew a little bit about it because she’s local, but I wasn’t aware that anything had changed until we came up here,” Jared said. “I’m sorry things aren’t going well.”
    “When it first happened, it was a real blow,” Josh said. “I didn’t realize how bad things were. All my father said was that they lost money in investments. I thought we were more diversified than we were. This place is expensive to keep in operation and the upkeep is … big.”
    “Is that why you moved home?”
    “That’s one of the reasons,” Josh confirmed. “I’ve always loved this place. I like living on an island, and with this one you’re really not very far away from civilization. I can take a boat and hit the mainland in twenty minutes if I feel like it.
    “I had a choice to make and it wasn’t easy,” he continued. “My father was at his wit’s end and had no idea what to do. He’s never had to do anything but sit back and collect on the investments. I had a business degree and an idea. He wasn’t happy, but he literally didn’t have another choice.”
    “Are you considering hosting regular murder mystery weekends?” Harper asked.
    “This is a test run,” Josh confirmed. “In fact … um … I was hoping you guys would spend more time watching the guests to see if they’re having a good time than actually participating in the murder mystery. I’d also like to know how the staff is handling things. Some of them have been reticent regarding the changes. I know it’s a lot to ask … .”
    “Don’t worry about it,” Jared said, waving off Josh’s concerns. “Harper is a little competitive, but I’m sure she’ll be happy watching everyone else play.”
    “ I’m a little competitive?” Harper challenged.
    “Fine. I’m competitive, too,” Jared said. “Still, we’ll have a good time just hanging out and watching. Is there anything else you want us to do?”
    “I don’t know,” Josh replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “Can you think of other events that would help put this place on the map?”
    “I don’t know anything about running a hotel, man,” Jared said. “I’m sorry.”
    Harper’s hand shot up and Josh and Jared chuckled as they locked eyes.
    “I think Harper has an idea,” Josh said.
    “She’s the top student in my class,” Jared said. “Harper, what is your idea?”
    “You can run haunted events,” Harper offered, squirming in her seat. “You have a cemetery on the property and you’re close to the woods. The house is isolated and you can do creepy murders in the fall when people are taking color tours.
    “There’s not a lot you can do in the winter because of the weather and how hard it is to get to the island, but I bet you could try booking the hotel out for entire weekends for one event,” she continued. “You could do Viking themed dinners, or hunting is big in this area so you could do those strange meat dinners I’ve read about.”
    “How do you know about all of this?” Jared