Wicked Places (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 4) Read Online Free Page B

warned.”
    “I’m not going to make fun of you,” Jack said. “I just … I love stories like this. I know you were a kid when you were frightened. I’m not going to be a … .”
    “Jackhole?” Ivy challenged.
    Jack scowled. “We’re coming up with a new word for that this week whether you like it or not.”
    Ivy giggled. “Okay, so there have been reports about upright canines in this area for a really long time,” she said. “Supposedly the stories go back as far as when settlers first moved to Michigan.
    “I don’t know if those sightings were real, but somewhere around the 1930s the sightings increased and it became a state legend,” she continued.
    “I’ve never heard of this legend.”
    “That’s because you grew up in Detroit and you had real monsters on every corner to fight.”
    “Good point,” Jack said. “Go on. I find this fascinating.”
    “Depending on what you believe – and I know you don’t believe, so there’s no reason to be a pain – people have claimed sightings of the dogman for years,” Ivy said. “Most people in the state refer to him that way rather than Bigfoot, just FYI.”
    “I’ve got it.”
    “The first one I remember hearing about happened at Dead Man’s Hill over in the Jordan River Valley,” Ivy said. “It’s by a small town called Mancelona. We should really go there for a hike one day when the leaves start turning in the fall. I promise you’ve never seen anything more beautiful.”
    “I’ve seen you and you’re more beautiful,” Jack said. “The hike sounds nice, though. Go back to Bigfoot.”
    Ivy made an exasperated sound in the back of her throat. “Anyway, someone claimed they were hiking around the Dead Man’s Hill area and they saw a big … dogman … walking through the words. It was a woman, and she claimed she had a photo. It was pretty blurry, and my parents were convinced it was actually a bear.
    “Later that night everyone told stories about when they’d seen a dogman – these are rational people, mind you – and there were so many of them I got a little anxious,” she continued. “Two people – they were friends of my parents – claimed they saw the dogman when they were camping here, and we happened to be here at the time so I was a nervous wreck.”
    “You’ve never seen Bigfoot, right?”
    “Don’t push me, Jack,” Ivy warned, getting to her feet. “Can you please move to that side of the tent and help me?”
    Jack wordlessly did as instructed, his eyes never leaving Ivy’s face. “I’m waiting for you to finish the story.”
    “There’s not much to tell,” Ivy said, pointing so Jack would know what to do as they lifted the poles into place and secured them at the bottom of the domed tent. “A lot of people around here have a story about the dogman, just like a lot of people in New Mexico have a story about aliens. It is what it is.”
    “You’re leaving something out,” Jack prodded, watching as Ivy grabbed the metal hooks to anchor the tent to the ground before moving to help. “Why were you freaked out?”
    “Wait, we need to turn the tent so the door is that way,” Ivy said, helping Jack maneuver it to the right position. “If you must know, Max took advantage of how scared I was by the stories and dressed up with leaves and stuff all over him and jumped out of the bushes and scared the crap out of me when I was walking to the bathroom one night.
    “I screamed and ran to my father,” she continued. “I was so worked up I actually slept in their tent that night.”
    “Max needs a good beating,” Jack said.
    “He thought it was funny.”
    “Oh, it’s funny, but you’re my girl now and I’ll wrestle him down and make him apologize next time we see him,” Jack said. “I will also thank him, because I’m hopeful this dogman fear will mean you sleep on top of me in the tent.”
    Ivy snickered. “You’re a piece of work,” she said. “Let’s get the cushion I brought and put the sleeping