A Walk on the Haunted Side (Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Book 2) (13 page)

I didn’t want to be alone at the moment so I went to the front of the library. Unfortunately, Tammy had just stepped away from the front desk. I would just have to keep my mind off what had just happened.

As I leafed through some papers, the computer screen lit up. This made me jump and toss the papers in the air. I’d been waiting for another message to pop up. When I looked at the screen, I spotted the word ‘STABBED.’ It appeared over and over again.

My eyes widened. Had Hank been stabbed? Brannon hadn’t told me how Hank had died. Now I would have to find out. If Hank had been stabbed then I knew that his ghost was sending these messages. Maybe he would give me another message that could help find his killer.

“Hello? Hank, is that you?” I whispered. 

Tammy popped around the corner. “Who are you talking to?”

“I was just talking to myself,” I said with a smile.

She quirked an eyebrow. I knew she was suspicious. I didn’t want to scare her though, so I’d have to keep this secret. I tapped off the computer before she had a chance to see the screen. I hoped the message didn’t come back when she was standing there. I needed to call Brannon right away.  

I was just headed out the door when my phone sent an alert. I peeked over my shoulder. I had expected to see Annie standing there, but that was when I realized it was probably another message from the other ghost. I pulled out my phone and hurriedly looked at the screen. The name ‘Willis’ was written in the text box.

“Willis,” I said under my breath.

I froze on the spot. That meant this had to be from Corabeth. I stared at the phone waiting for another message to appear, but there was nothing. How was I supposed to figure out what this meant? I looked around again, but no one appeared. I stuffed the phone back in my purse and figured there was no sense in hanging around. The ghost probably couldn’t send another message. I had a feeling that it took a lot of energy just to send the one. Annie was good at it, but it had probably taken her years to build up that much energy.

I would have to figure out more about Corabeth. I wished the ghost could send more than one word. But it was probably tough just to get that much out.

After finishing up my work and cleaning off my desk, I grabbed my purse and headed toward the front. Tammy was feeding the cat. Annie still wasn’t around. I wanted to say goodbye before I left for the evening, but if she wasn’t around then I would have to just leave.

“Are you ready?” Tammy asked.

I didn’t want to stay around so that Cady or Sandra could come into the library again. I looked around again, but didn’t see Annie. “Yes, I’m ready.”

Tammy and I stepped out into the evening air. I locked the door and we headed for my car. I wasn’t going to walk anywhere until this thing was solved. I had had enough of being followed. But when I pulled away and looked in the rear-view mirror, I spotted the shadow watching me.

I’d promised my parents that I would come to dinner. With all that was happening, I wasn’t in the mood to eat much, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to back out of it.

My parents lived in the same house that I’d grown up in. It was on a quiet street over by the new shopping center in town. The house was a white two-story with a bright yellow front door. It hadn’t always been that color, but my mother was into trying new things. She’d also dyed her hair blue recently. People often asked if I was adopted. We might be a lot different, but I loved both of them.

I walked in the door and noticed that my mother had rearranged the furniture again. My father was sitting at the dining room table working on his lawnmower’s engine. Parts were scattered all over the top of the white lace tablecloth.

“Does Mom know you’re doing this?” I asked.

He peered at me over the top of his glasses. “Probably not. I’ll have it picked up before dinner.”

My mom came out the door that led into the kitchen from the dining room. She stopped in her tracks. “What have I told you about doing that in here?”

After removing the parts from the table, I helped my mother bring in the dishes from the kitchen. I placed a napkin over the top of one of the grease spots so that she wouldn’t see. Of course she’d eventually notice, but I’d be gone by then.

My mother had made lasagna for dinner with some kind of salad. She wasn’t the greatest cook, but it was the effort that counted. My parents sat at each end of the table so that they could easily stare at me while asking questions. I pushed the lettuce around on my plate.

My father stuffed food into his mouth. “How’s the new job going?”

“Which one?” I asked.

He paused with his fork midair. “The library, I guess.”

I shrugged. “It’s okay.”

They exchanged a look. I knew they wanted to ask about the murder. I had a lot to say and then again I had nothing to say about it. I certainly didn’t want to tell them that a woman who could possibly be one of the suspects had been following me.

“Any news on what happened to the man?” my mother asked, trying to put it delicately.

“Not really,” I said, hoping we could change the subject. 

We sat in silence—well, other than the noise of us eating—but when the sound of a door closing somewhere in the hallway echoed through the room, we all froze.

“What was that?” my mother asked. Her eyes were twice the size they normally were.

“It sounded like a door,” my father said.

It was bad when the first thing I thought of was a ghost. Not that it was the wind, but that a ghost had followed me to my parents’ house. They would not be happy with that uninvited guest.

“Maybe I should go check it out,” I said.

My mother pointed with her fork. “It’s probably nothing.”

She had a way of trying to ignore things, as if that would make it go away. The sound echoed again and now I was sure that it wasn’t the wind. By the look on my parents’ faces, I knew that they didn’t think it was the wind either.

I pushed to my feet but didn’t say anything. They were silent too. I wanted to listen for the strange sound again. Was it footsteps? Maybe it wasn’t a ghost at all? Maybe someone had broken into their house? The thought sent a shiver down my spine. My parents got up behind me and followed me to the hallway. Apparently my father didn’t think it was a burglar because he would have gone after the person. He stepped around me and said, “I’ll take a look around.”

A cold fell over the room.

My father paused in the middle of the hallway. “Do you feel that?”

Not only did I feel it now, but I’d felt it many times in the past. It was the same feeling I’d had in my place recently. I was beginning to think that maybe the ghost had followed me here. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if that happened.

The thought had barely left my mind when a dark-as-night shadow zipped from left to right at the end of the hall. My father froze on the spot. When I glanced over at my mother, her eyes were bugged out and her mouth opened. Nobody spoke. Now I knew for sure that something had followed me. I had to stop this now. Not only was it freaking me out, it was freaking my mother out.

My father backed up until he was standing next to me again. “What was that?”

“You brought a ghost with you?” my mother asked.

I couldn’t deny it. “I didn’t bring it on purpose,” I said.

“Well, that certainly makes me feel better,” she said. “How am I supposed to eat dinner with that thing wandering around the house?”

“Rip, you’ve upset your mother. What are you going to do about this?”

That was a good question.

“Don’t worry, the thing will follow me when I leave,” I said.

“You make it sound so casual. I knew messing around with the paranormal wouldn’t be good. It doesn’t make me feel any better to know that you have this thing following you.”

“Who is the ghost anyway?” my father asked.

I shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. When I find out I can probably get rid of it.” 

“That’s reassuring,” my mother said. I knew where I got my sarcasm from.

Movement caught my attention to the left. I could have sworn I saw something out the window in the living room.

My father noticed me watching something. “What? Is it in that room now?” He backed away from the living room entrance a little.

“No, I don’t think it’s a ghost this time. I think I saw someone peeking in the window.”

My mother said, “Oh, dear. This is getting out of hand.”

Just then the face peeked in the window again. “There she is.” I knew it. Sandra had followed me to my parents’ house. I had a stalker
and
a stalker ghost. “I know who it is,” I said.

“What? Is it a friend? Why don’t you invite her in?” My mother headed toward the door.

I grabbed her arm. “No, she’s not a friend.” I wouldn’t mention that Sandra was a potential murder suspect.

My father raced outside so that we could catch Sandra. I wasn’t about to let my father confront her alone. I rushed out the door after him. Apparently my mother didn’t want either one of us to go out there alone so she came out the door right after me. I followed my father around the house to the window where we’d seen Sandra. When we reached the area where she’d been, Sandra wasn’t there.

“Where is she?” my father asked.

Darkness surrounded us. She could be hiding anywhere now. My father stepped over to the hedges and peered behind them.

“She’s not there,” he said. 

It was like we were playing hide-and-seek.

“She probably left,” I said.

“Who was it?”

“Someone I met at the library,” I said. That wasn’t a lie.

“Let’s go back in.” My mother motioned for us to start walking.

That was fine with me. I just hoped Sandra was gone.

When we got back inside, my father stared at me. “So let me get this straight, you have a ghost and a strange woman following you?”

I nodded. “Yes, that about sums it up.”

My mother paced across the floor. “Are you getting that ghost out of here?”

I peeked down the hallway. “I’m pretty sure it is gone now. See, there’s no cold air now. That means it’s gone.”

My mother quirked an eyebrow. “Are you sure that’s what it means?”

“Absolutely.”

“I don’t like the idea of this woman following you. What does she want?” my father asked.

“To talk about books?” I said. “I suppose I should tell the police about her.”

My father nodded. “Yes, you should.”

I pulled out my phone and dialed the police. After I told them what had happened, the dispatcher said they’d be over right away. What would Brannon say if he found out I hadn’t called him?

My mother and father kept walking back and forth and looking out the window waiting for the police.

“What is taking them so long?” my mother asked.

I hadn’t called Brannon because I wasn’t sure I was ready for him to meet my parents. He would think I was bringing him home for dinner. I would wait and see how things went with him before I brought him home.

Headlights appeared in the driveway.

“They’re here,” my father said.

After a couple seconds, I spotted who was walking up the path toward the front door. Brannon was going to meet my parents now whether I liked it or not.

“Oh, no,” I mumbled under my breath.

“Is something wrong?” my mother asked.

“No, no, not at all.”

My father opened the door. I tried to hide behind the door, but Brannon stepped inside the foyer.

When Brannon spotted me his eyes widened. “Rip, what are you doing here?”

“I placed the call. These are my parents.” I gestured toward my parents.

My mom and dad eyed Brannon up and down.

Brannon nodded. “Nice to meet you. What happened?”

I explained what had happened and Brannon stepped out to have a look around. My parents and I peered out into the dark night from the windows. After a couple minutes, Brannon stepped back inside. I hurried away from the window to act as if I hadn’t been watching.

“She’s not out there now, but I’ll go by the bed-and-breakfast and have a talk with her,” Brannon said.

I hated to have him do that, but it was for the best.

I wasn’t sure if I should tell Brannon about the other visitor we’d had at my parents’ house. After all, he would probably be in a hurry to talk with Sandra. Before I had a chance to think about it any longer, the cold fell over the room again. His eyes widened and I noticed he was watching the space behind me. I knew without turning around what he’d seen.

“Did you see something?” I asked, waiting for him to confirm what I already knew.

He nodded. “I saw a shadow.”

“I thought you said it had gone away,” my mother screeched.

“You have a ghost here?” Brannon asked. He looked at my parents and then to me.

“Apparently it’s the same one that’s been following me. It followed me here tonight.” Of course I didn’t know which ghost it was.

Brannon frowned.

I waved my hand. “I told them that it will go away as soon as I leave.”

“And I told my daughter that that didn’t make me feel any better to know that this ghost is following her around,” my mother said with worry in her voice.

“Would you like to come with me to visit with Sandra?” Brannon asked.

I thought he was just asking because he knew my parents were upset by the ghost.  

“If it makes you feel better, ma’am, I can take a look around your house. I’m not only a police officer, I deal with the paranormal too.”

“Like a Ghostbuster?” my father asked in all seriousness.

I placed my head in my hands.

Brannon smiled. “Yes, I guess somewhat like that.”

My mother waved her hand. “Please have a look around.”

Brannon walked around the house. I hoped he didn’t look in the last bedroom down the hallway. That had been my bedroom and my parents still had the place set up like a shrine for me.

After a few seconds, he reappeared down the hallway. “I don’t see anything. Like your daughter said, I think that the ghost will be gone when she leaves. And don’t worry, I’m in the process of getting rid of the ghost so that it won’t be hanging around her.”

My mother smiled. “I like this guy, Rip.”

Even more embarrassment. “I have to help my mother clean up the kitchen.” I didn’t want to leave her with a mess.

She waved off my comment. “You go on and get rid of the ghost. It’s more important. I will be fine.” I smiled. “Please come back and see us sometime, officer. You can come for dinner.”

Brannon smiled. “I’d love that as long as Rip wouldn’t mind.”

“Of course I’d love it,” I said.

It would be interesting to say the least.

I left my car in my parents’ driveway and hopped in the cruiser with Brannon. I was nervous about going to see Sandra. It would probably make her mad to know that I had ratted her out. But what other choice did I have?

“Are you doing okay? You’re quiet,” Brannon said as he drove down the street.

I snapped to attention. “Oh, yes. I was just thinking about Sandra. She’ll probably be mad when she finds out that I called the police.”

He turned right at the light. “Maybe she will, but it has to be done. We can’t let her get away with this.”

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. “I know you’re right, but still…”

Soon we pulled up to the bed-and-breakfast. Brannon cut the lights and the ignition. “Are you ready for this?” he asked. “You can stay in the car if you’d like.”

I looked up at the house. “I’m ready.”

I opened the car door and climbed out.

“You know Cady is staying here too?”