Larue Donavon 3 - The Ghoul Next Door (27 page)

That was very encouraging. So in other
words, I was doomed.

“
Listen Larue, I have to go
for now, but I promise I’ll think of something. We’ll get rid of
this thing. Just don’t give up okay?”

“
I won’t give
up.”

The demon was in for a fight, but
which one of us would win?

The next morning I’d just reached Book
Nook’s door when Jane Howe sashayed by me on the sidewalk with a
smirk spread across her face. Her expression hit me the wrong way
and I couldn’t handle it anymore.

“
I know what you’re up to.”
I gestured at her. “Did Brianna send you? I know you’re using black
magic. Does Cooper know who you are?”

When I whirled around to confront her,
my foot twisted and I tumbled to the pavement.

“
Whoa. What are you talking
about? I was just trying to help you up.”

I scrambled up from the sidewalk,
trying to act tough even though I’d just landed on my butt. “The
heck you were. You probably had something to do with me falling
just now. And I think you had something to do with the damaged
books in my store. I intend to find evidence, and when I do, I’m
reporting you to the police.”

Her face reddened and her eyes
narrowed. “I don’t know what the hell you are talking about, but
how dare you blame me for something like that. Was it just because
I came in right after it happened?”

I froze. “How did you know that it had
just happened?”

She snorted. “Nice try. Did you
honestly think you were smart enough to trap me into some kind of
slip-up? I assumed it had just happened because you hadn’t picked
the books up yet, but by the looks of your store, I wouldn’t be
surprised if you just left trash on the ground.”

Now my face grew red. That was one
thing I wouldn’t put up with: insulting my bookstore. I should
punch her lights out right there on the sidewalk.

She folded her arms in front of her
chest. “I was just trying to be friendly and help you up, but as I
can see you aren’t interested in having friends. Have a nice life.”
She huffed as she turned on her heel and stormed off down the
sidewalk.

Maybe I shouldn’t have accused her of
anything, but I still had my suspicions about the woman. If she was
lying, I’d eventually catch her in it.

“
I’m not an advocate of
fighting, but that woman is just asking for trouble,” Elvis
said.

“
She seems nice if you ask
me,” Candy Cherry said.

“
Yeah, well, no one asked
you,” I said.

When I walked into the store, I
reached under the counter and pulled out the first aid
kit.

“
What happened? Beth asked.
Are you okay?”

“
I’m fine. Just a little
clumsy,” I said as I stuck a bandage across my scrape.

If I didn’t figure things out soon, it
would be more than my butt bruised, I’d have a bruised ego
too.

Having Beth around was nice. I
realized that I’d isolated myself from the living too much. Only
having the ghosts to talk to all day wasn’t healthy. Sure, I had
Mindy, but she had her own business to run.

I’d spent the morning catching up on
work, and when lunchtime came around, I was actually able to leave
the store instead of eating at the counter while I
worked.

Mindy grabbed my arm. “Come on, you
need to take your mind off this for a while.”

I knew exactly where she was taking
me. How could I say no? She was always there for me. I had to be
there for her too, no matter how embarrassing the act. Again I’d
let Mindy talk me into a class. Why did I try to fight it? I knew I
was going to do it every time she asked. She knew I was going to do
it every time she asked, so why put up a fight any longer? I was
officially running up my white flag. She won. Who knew, maybe
someday I might actually be better than pathetic at it.

“
I’ll do this class and then
we can go in search of answers to my problem.” I wiggled my index
finger at her.

We hopped in the car and made the
short drive to Mindy’s fitness studio. After Mindy exited the car,
I had to break it to Elvis gently that he wasn’t invited inside
this location.

“
Okay, Elvis. I’ll be inside
for a short time.” I climbed from the car and smiled when shutting
the door.

Before I made it to the front door,
Elvis was beside me. I stopped and looked around to see if anyone
was watching me before speaking. The coast was clear. “Elvis,
sweetie. I think this is something I need to do alone.”

“
Right.” He nodded and
looked up at the sign above the door. “I’ll just wait out here.” He
folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the front of my
car.

Whew, now that I’d taken care of that,
I could go in and not worry about being embarrassed in front of
Elvis. I didn’t even acknowledge the other ghosts as I walked
through the door. I knew they were with me, I sensed them. They
thought they were so slick. They’d probably pop up at the most
inopportune time, but I’d given up all hope of trying to control
them.

Mindy smiled when she saw me take my
place on the floor. It was worth the embarrassment to make my
friend happy. I’d get through the forty-five minutes and it would
be behind me until next time. Of course no matter how hard I tried,
I always got stuck in the front of the class. I just wanted to fall
behind into the background… hidden away from judging
stares.

When the first stream of music from
Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game poured from the speakers, I hopped on the
pole and spun around. The awkwardness of my movements had vanished
and I moved with ease. No banging, no falling, and no loud
squeaking noises as my skin jerked across the pole. My body moved
across the metal like water flowing through a stream.

My thoughts had changed and I didn’t
know what came over me. My body grew hot, but not just from the
workout. I felt as if I was on fire as I continued the acrobatics.
I glanced to my right and spotted Elvis in the corner. He hadn’t
stayed away after all. His mouth hung open and I flashed a devilish
smile as I spun again.

At the front of the class, Mindy stood
with her mouth agape too. She was transfixed on my movements. Why
was everyone staring? Hadn’t they ever seen a girl work the
stripper pole before? I owned that thing. I could show Mindy and
thing or six. Hell, maybe I’d start teaching the class from now
on—after all, the residents of Magnolia deserved an expert like
me.

The more I spun, the faster I got. I
had no idea my hands could move that way. It was as if someone had
cranked up my dial to super speed. A fog clouded my brain, but
somewhere in the back of my thoughts I knew what I was doing wasn’t
normal. This wasn’t me. I had to stop, but my arms and legs
wouldn’t listen to my brain. They moved of their own
will.

When the song finally stopped, I fell
to the floor with a loud thud. The next thing I remembered was
waking up on the floor with everyone leaning over me.

“
Larue, wake up. Speak to
me, are you okay?” Mindy asked with her voice full of
panic.

My head spun. With my foggy brain, it
felt as if I had a hangover. “What happened?” I asked.

I tried to sit up, but dizziness still
took over.

“
Do we need to call an
ambulance?” someone asked.

“
No, no,” I muttered. “I’m
fine.”

Mindy held out her hand and helped me
to a sitting position. “Someone get her some water,” she said.
“Larue, are you feeling better? Do you need to see a
doctor?”

The fog in my head began to dissipate.
“I’m feeling better now. I’m really thirsty.”

Mindy handed me a towel and I wiped
the sweat from my forehead. My body didn’t feel as if it was on
fire like it had a moment ago. I remembered everything that had
happened, but I had no explanation as to why I’d acted that way.
Someone or something had been controlling me and that was the most
terrifying feeling I’d ever had. A woman thrust a bottle of water
toward me. She pushed it at me in a hurry as if I might bite her
hand. I didn’t blame her for being terrified of me. I’d acted like
a crazy woman. I took a couple of drinks and wiped my face
again.

“
Do you think you can stand
now?” Mindy asked. “Back away, people, and give her some breathing
room,” she said while shooing the crowd away.

With her arm around my waist, Mindy
helped me to my feet. I wobbled at first, but finally found my
footing. She guided me toward a seat at the side of the room. Elvis
stood beside me with a concerned look on his face, while Mr. Fine
and Candy Cherry had appeared next to him. I glared at them and a
woman walking by quickened her step thinking that I’d glowered at
her.

“
What was that all about?”
Mindy asked.

“
I have no idea what came
over me.” I took another swig from the bottle. “I was aware of what
was happening, but I couldn’t stop.”

“
You should have seen your
moves. I was shocked. I never knew your body could move like
that.”

In spite of the seriousness of what
had happened I couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “I did have some
killer moves, huh? But that wasn’t me and I know someone else was
responsible.” I glared at Candy Cherry. “I have a feeling I know
who did it.”

Mindy looked over her shoulder. She
knew who I was talking about.

“
I’m calling off the class,”
she said.

“
No, no. I’m fine now. I’ll
go outside and get a little fresh air.”

She paused. “If you’re
sure?”

I nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

Of course I told Mindy that, but I
wasn’t so convinced myself.

After returning to Book Nook, I pulled
out my cell phone and waited for Karyn to pick up. Maybe it had
been the panic in my voice that speed her up, but she made it to
the store in record time.

“
Karyn, I think I have to
confront Callahan’s ex-girlfriend about the letters.”

She frowned. “I don’t know if that’s
such a good idea.” Karyn tossed her hair back from her shoulder and
met my gaze. “If she’s done anything other than send the letters,
then if you confront her, you may look like the crazy jealous
girlfriend.”

“
How can I look like the
crazy girlfriend when she’s the one sending the
letters?”

She shrugged. “I know it sounds crazy,
but that’s the way it works.”

“
I don’t think I’ve been
made privy to this relationship rule.”

“
The ex-girlfriends can
easily turn things around on you. Next thing you know, you’re
looking at a one-way ticket to the loonie bin.”

I frowned. “That’s not good. I can’t
let her get by with it.”

Karyn sighed. “Just give it some more
time. I’m sure she’ll just get tired and give up. Has Callahan
shown any interest in her?”

I paused, then finally said, “I don’t
know. I mean, I haven’t had a bunch of time with him since the show
started. But it’s only been a few days. If anything is going on
between them then it’s been going on for a while.”

“
So you say she’s not from
around here?”

“
No, I think she’s from
Louisville. That’s where Callahan is from originally.”

“
So she just showed up here
one day?”

I nodded. “Just for him as far as I
can tell.”

Beth stepped closer. “I’m sorry. I
wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help but
hear.”

I knew she had been trying to listen
in by the way she had twisted her head until I was afraid she’d
have permanent nerve damage. It was fine though. I didn’t care if
she overheard the conversation. There was no way to hide everything
from her. She was involved in my crazy life now.

Karyn and I looked at her.

“
I think you should say
something to her. No offense,” she said to Karyn.

Karyn shrugged.

“
I just think she needs to
know who she’s dealing with. Don’t let her bully you around. Show
her who’s boss.” Beth shook her fist.

Wow. I hadn’t expected that from this
petite woman. What did she want me to do, break Ginger’s legs?
Maybe Karyn was right after all.

“
Thanks, Beth. I’ll
certainly think about it.”

She shrugged. “If you want me to talk
with her I will.”

“
I’ll let you know,” I
said.

Beth was scaring me a
little.

“
Okay, I have to go,” Karyn
said. “Whatever you do, just be careful. And if you start
experiencing anything else strange or if you see any more shadows
let me know. I’m not sure if I can help, but just know that I’m
here if you need to talk.”

“
I appreciate
it.”

She waved over her shoulder and I
watched as she disappeared around the corner. Now I had even more
to think about. Say something to Callahan’s ex, or just leave it
alone? Mindy would have to be the deciding vote.