A Walk on the Haunted Side (Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Book 2) (10 page)

Thank goodness I’d made it to the graveyard without any trouble. I’d picked up my flashlights and headed over to wait for the tourgoers. Darkness had already settled over Devil’s Moon. I stood near the gates, avoiding looking for where Hank had been found.

I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Glancing back once again, I noticed a yellow glow at the far edge of the cemetery. Within seconds that glow had turned into a ghost. I had seen this ghost many times and even talked with her. Mrs. Clatterbuck wore a brown dress and even carried a matching brown pocketbook. It was the first time I’d ever seen a ghost carrying a purse.

She even had ghostly items in her purse. I had no idea how that worked, but I suppose there were things in life I would never be able to explain. I knew this because she’d dropped the contents once. There were normal things like scrap pieces of paper and pennies.

Mrs. Clatterbuck had a glow around her at first, but then it disappeared and now she looked like any living person. That was how she had fooled me into thinking she was a living person for so long. It was only when Brannon had told me that she was a ghost that I’d discovered the truth. Brannon had talked to her as well. He’d thought I’d known about her paranormal status, but she’d had me fooled.

Mrs. Clatterbuck had lived behind the graveyard in a little yellow clapboard house. She had complained a lot about my tour. She hadn’t wanted me to disturb the dead. I hadn’t known for quite some time that she was really a ghost. I’d seen her watching me from the window of that house on many occasions. Needless to say, it had shocked me when I discovered that house was vacant.

Apparently, she had been appearing around the area for many years. As far as I knew, Brannon and I were the only ones she talked to and knew she was not of the living. Brannon thought it was because we spent more time in the graveyard than anyone else… well, any living people. I thought there was probably more to it than that.

Mrs. Clatterbuck’s appearance tonight wasn’t a surprise. I had expected her to pay me another visit soon. She kept guard over the place, I supposed to make sure I did the job right, and so that I wouldn’t disturb the dead. Little had I known when I’d first encountered her that she was buried in the older section. As a matter of fact, it was close to where Hank had been found. 

Mrs. Clatterbuck was headed my way. More than likely she had another urgent message for me. Probably to tell me to get out of the graveyard yet again. She didn’t like that I brought a bunch of people around. She felt like I was disturbing the dead. That was the last thing I wanted to do. She didn’t believe me though.

She marched over to me. Her presence was so commanding that I almost turned to run away. Her scowl made me feel as if I’d committed a crime. In her eyes, I had.

She stopped in front of me. “I see that you’re back.”

“Yes, Mrs. Clatterbuck. I’m not disturbing the dead though,” I said in my politest tone.

Ghost or not, there was no need to be rude. Even if she was a little snippy with me.

She raised a bushy eyebrow. “See to it that you don’t. I will be watching you.”

Yes, I knew that she would. The owl hooted from the treetop as if in agreement with her. He would help keep an eye on me as well. She stared at me. I shifted from one foot to the other. Her stare was unsettling.

“Is there anything else, Mrs. Clatterbuck?” I asked.

“As a matter of fact there is,” she said in her crackly voice.

That was what I was afraid of. What could she possibly have to say to me? She’d already made it known that she didn’t want me there, so what else was there? I braced myself for her next comment. She shifted her pocketbook from her left arm to her right, all the while keeping her stare focused on my face. I inched back a step, but she moved with me.    

“It’s more of a warning, I suppose.” She eyed me up and down.

Oh, great. That was even worse. How many more ways could she want me to stay out of the graveyard? And I’d thought I was making progress with her. I’d thought she was getting used to me bringing the groups here for a tour. I always helped keep the graveyard clean and I’d never let anything happen to any of the graves. That should count for something in her eyes.

I stood a little straighter, ready to face whatever she had to say. “What is it, Mrs. Clatterbuck?”

She shook her head. “The other ghosts probably won’t be as patient as me.”

I cringed. That wasn’t good. She was already impatient. I couldn’t imagine the other ghosts being worse than her.

Wait. “What other ghosts?” I asked.

She waved her hand for emphasis. “The ghosts that occupy this graveyard,” she said as if I should have already known.

The ghosts that had surrounded me one time while I’d been in the graveyard? That night had been particularly terrifying and I didn’t want to relive it again. I’d seen them before, but I hadn’t thought they’d return. How was I supposed to know there were ghosts that stayed around all the time and that they were unhappy with me?

“They will let their presence be known soon if you keep this up.”

I didn’t know what to say. Maybe the ghosts wouldn’t be as impatient as her. “I’ll make sure to watch out for them,” I said.

She shook her head as if that was impossible. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Mrs. Clatterbuck turned and walked away, leaving me to think about her warning and what it truly meant. As she crossed the graveyard, the glow returned. The light surrounded her as if consuming her figure. Soon she was transparent and then she was nothing more than the yellow glow again.

I stood there for a moment wondering if she would return. She probably wouldn’t come back now though. I knew she would return soon though.

Now I had to seriously consider what she’d warned me about. Were there really other ghosts in the cemetery that were unhappy with me? I had seen them that one time, but none of them had ever talked to me like Mrs. Clatterbuck had. She didn’t need electrical devices to talk to me. I wondered why that was. Would Annie someday be able to talk with me like Mrs. Clatterbuck did?

I shone my flashlight out across the graveyard. Yes, I was looking for more ghosts. I didn’t want them to sneak up on me in case they didn’t have the same glow as Mrs. Clatterbuck. So far I didn’t see anything. I hoped that I wouldn’t spot any new ghosts tonight. One was enough for the evening. But then again, I also had the ghost following me and the one at home. Those didn’t count, right? I figured it was time for me to get out of there. 

Just as I was about to leave, I felt a presence. I shone my flashlight around the graveyard again and spotted them. The ghosts had surrounded me. They were everywhere. This had happened before. But I had thought it was a one-time occurrence. I didn’t know that they were watching me all the time. I was frozen on the spot.

The ghosts moved closer and I wondered how close they would get before I would run. I wasn’t going to let them get much closer. Of course, I hoped that I would actually be able to move. Right now I wasn’t even sure my legs would work. What were they going to do to me?

Just as I was ready to run, they stopped. They were close, but not so close that I still didn’t think I couldn’t get away. They appeared to me just as Mrs. Clatterbuck did, as clear as any living person. An older man with gray hair and a gray suit stepped closer to me. I suppose he was the spokesman for the group.

“We are watching you,” he said.

I nodded, but was unable to speak.

The man stared at me. “The ghosts are around you. Watch for them.”

That was all he said. He hadn’t warned me about disturbing the dead. Was that the only message he had for me?

I looked out across the graveyard at the other ghosts. They watched me too. Soon they all turned and walked back across the graveyard. That wasn’t so bad. Maybe that was all the message they had for me. Mrs. Clatterbuck wouldn’t be happy about that.

But they had warned me to watch out for other ghosts. Did they mean the ones that had recently attached to me? That was probably what they meant. I had to find out more. I wouldn’t take their warning lightly. I couldn’t afford to.

All the ghosts had vanished now. I glanced over toward where Hank’s body had been found. There was nothing there now. Just the memory of what I’d seen. It was time for me to meet my guests. There had been enough action for one night and even though I should hope the guests saw a ghost, I hoped that they didn’t. I’d seen enough for one night.

I turned and hurried toward the graveyard’s entrance. When I reached the gate, I looked back. No ghosts were there and I was glad for that. I didn’t want any more to follow me. Mrs. Clatterbuck hadn’t returned either, so I figured I needed to get out of there before she returned for. She would be back soon enough. I was sure we would have another discussion about me staying out of the graveyard.

Why had the ghosts given me this warning? What did they know about the ghosts that were following me? I wondered if they knew anything about Hank’s murder. Had they been here when it happened? Had they watched it happen and not been able to do anything to help him? I’d like to think that if they’d seen anything they’d give me that message. Did they know that I was trying to help find the killer? I didn’t know how much they knew. Mrs. Clatterbuck was only concerned with me disturbing the dead.

My guests hadn’t shown up yet, so I decided to walk back out to the street to see if I could spot anyone headed my way. The footsteps sounded behind me again. Oh, no. This was getting out of hand. I’d known that ignoring Sandra wouldn’t make her go away.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I spun around and started punching. I couldn’t help it. My reflexes kicked in.

Brannon ducked and missed my punch. I couldn’t believe that I had just tried to punch a police officer. I held my hands up. “I’m so sorry. I thought someone was attacking me.”

He stared at me in shock. “That’s exactly why I was wondering why you were walking alone. What are you doing?”

He stared at me. “What’s happening?”

I knew that he wouldn’t be happy that I’d been in the graveyard alone. It was as if I was pushing my luck. He was right, the killer could be out there just waiting for a chance to attack someone else in the graveyard. I didn’t think it was a random killing and I knew that he didn’t as well. That didn’t make it any less scary though. “I was just checking out the graveyard.” I gestured over my shoulder.

“I see that. Do you want me to worry about you?”

“Of course not,” I said. “Mrs. Clatterbuck was back there.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m not surprised that she was around tonight.”

“My guests haven’t shown up yet. Maybe word got out about my tour not being safe.”

“I’m sure they will be here soon,” he said.

I pushed the hair out of my eyes. “Listen, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Okay. What do you want to ask?”

“Has anything strange happened to you since you went to Helmwood House?”

His eyes widened. “How did you know?”

That wasn’t the answer I had expected.

“Well, I’ve been seeing the shadow figures. I saw the ghost of a woman. You haven’t told me if this happened to you too. I didn’t know if it was just me,” I said.

He shook his head. “It’s not just you.”

“Do you mind if I ask what you’re experiencing?” I asked.

“I’ve seen the shadows at my place. Even at the police station.”

“Do you believe in that curse story?”

He grinned. “No. Do you?”

“No.”

He touched my arm. “Maybe your tourgoers are waiting at the tavern for you.”

I nodded. “I hope so.”

We headed toward the tavern. I wondered if he would mention wanting to do the tour with me. Maybe he had forgotten. I was hoping that he hadn’t.

“Like I said, I keep seeing a shadow and feeling a presence in my house,” he said. “It started right after I was at that house. What about you? Anything new?”

I looked at him as we walked. “No, same thing.”

As we stood in front of the tavern waiting for my guests to arrive, Brannon said, “We should go investigate the house again.”

And I had said there was no reason for me to go back again. I’d known that wasn’t true.

I leaned against the old stone building. “Sure, I guess it would be okay.”

After all, I was trying to lure the ghost back to the house. If I couldn’t get rid of it for good, at least I could get the ghost back to the house it had originally been haunting.

“We probably won’t find anything if the ghost is following us around. Heck, I could probably find evidence just by carrying around some of your equipment with me everywhere I go.”

He chuckled. “You might have a point about that.”

Just then movement caught my attention. The people ready for the tour gathered at on the sidewalk.

“Are you here for the haunted tour?” I asked.

They nodded. It was a small group tonight. Two couples consisting of a man and woman each joined us. It looked as if Brannon would be my date for the evening.

I handed out the flashlights. “Welcome to Devil’s Moon Haunted Tour.”