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

“After dinner everyone will go into the library for a small speech by my father – he really gets off on being the center of attention – and then a body will just happen to be discovered tomorrow morning.”
    “Oh, I thought the game started tonight,” Jared said, mildly disappointed.
    “No, my father wants to lull people into a false sense of security before dropping a body,” Josh answered. “He loves the drama involved with this whole thing. I can’t explain it.
    “Most of the workers here are straight workers, but we’ve intermixed actors in, too,” he continued. “Some of the staff wanted to act and some didn’t, so we left it up to them. Most of them are playing and they’re excited.”
    “So are the guests suspects?” Harper asked.
    “The guests are suspects in the fact that a handful of them aren’t really guests,” Josh replied. “They’re paid actors and part of a traveling mystery group. You’re not supposed to be able to tell who is an actor and who is a guest. If you figure it out, though, tell me. I’m curious if they can fool a real cop.”
    “That almost sounds more fun than the murder mystery,” Jared said, tightening his arm around Harper’s waist. “How soon until dinner?”
    “Any second now,” Josh said. “They’ll make an announcement. You should be happy. It’s prime rib and all the fixings.”
    “You had me at prime rib,” Jared said. “I … .” He broke off when a stately man moved to the head of the foyer and cleared his throat. “Oh, I think it’s starting.”
    “Dinner is served,” the man said.
    “That’s Trask Daniels,” Josh said, wrinkling his nose. “He’s been a butler for us since before we turned the house into a hotel. He has absolutely no sense of humor, so if you want to mess with him, I encourage you to do so.”
    Jared grinned. “Let the games begin.”

Six
    “ T hat was the best meal I’ve had in I don’t know how long,” Jared said, his fingers linked with Harper’s as they walked around the Stokes Hotel property after dinner. “I’m not joking. I think I ate an entire cow.”
    Harper giggled as she glanced at the night sky, tilting her head back and groaning when her own stomach lurched. “It’s a good thing I didn’t wear pants,” she said. “If I did, they would be unbuttoned right now.”
    “Very cute,” Jared said, spinning Harper so he could plant a kiss on her lips. “Not that I’m complaining about spending time with you, but we could be up in our room right now letting dinner digest instead of walking around. Upstairs we could be naked, too, so I think it has the edge.”
    Harper rolled her eyes. “I need to walk a little bit after that dinner we ate,” she explained. “If we go upstairs now, I don’t care what you say, we’re going to pass out instead of doing anything fun. This way we’ll get a second wind.”
    “I like the way your mind works,” Jared said, giving her another kiss before releasing her and bending over. “I seriously ate too much. I haven’t been this stuffed since Thanksgiving – and then we dealt with it by planting ourselves on the couch and watching football.”
    “You don’t have to stay with me,” Harper offered. “I’ll probably only be twenty minutes if you want to go back up to the room and rest.”
    “I’m not leaving you alone with a murderer on the loose,” Jared said, wrinkling his nose. “Get real.”
    “It’s a fake murderer.”
    “And you’re my real girlfriend who I don’t want to be separated from,” Jared shot back. “I’m not leaving you.”
    Harper pushed out a dramatic sigh. “Fine. We can go back to the room. Don’t come crying to me when we fall asleep before playing games on the balcony, though.”
    “We don’t have to go inside,” Jared said. “I was just complaining because … well … I thought you liked it given your relationship with Zander.”
    “Ha, ha,” Harper intoned. “I’m telling him you said that.”
    “Make sure