The Ghost and Mrs. Mewer (A Paws and Claws Mystery Book 2) (12 page)

Trixie pulled on her leash in her eagerness to sniff the speaker.

“Hi, puppy!”

In the darkness, I could barely make out Mark Belinski crouching to pet Trixie. “Your white fur makes you look like a little ghost in the night.”

“I’m so sorry about Mallory.”

Mark stood up and peered at me. “You took over playing Becca Wraith’s ghost for Mallory.”

“That’s right.”

“You did it quite well. It’s a pity they can’t schedule the real Becca to appear like she just did for us.”

How was I supposed to respond to that? “It was probably one of the ghost hunters.”

“With long white hair? I don’t think so. Not even Brian would go that far. We just saw Becca’s ghost.”

Oof. I should probably pretend to believe him. Or just not disagree with him, at any rate. What was he doing out here anyway? “Are you waiting for the Apparition Apprehenders?”

“No.”

He didn’t offer more information. But then, he had just lost Mallory. He probably couldn’t sleep. Maybe he didn’t want to be home alone. Or maybe he just wanted to walk. It
was
sort of soothing to be out in the night air.

“I should be in there with them, but Mr. Luciano very kindly gave me some time off.”

Of course. How stupid of me. No one would expect him to work yet.

“I need to speak to one of them. Would they be upset if I went inside to find her?”

Mark’s head swiveled toward me. His tone was even and calm when he spoke. “Eva? You can go inside. C’mon. I’ll go with you. I’d rather be working than thinking about . . .”

He led the way up the steps.

The door screeched like one in a horror movie when he opened it. Trixie readily entered, and I followed.

Did we dare turn on a light? Or would that scare away the ghosts?
What was I thinking? There were no ghosts.
But they would blame the absence of ghosts on me if I did the wrong thing. “Can we turn on a light?”

“Better not.”

I listened for the sound of footsteps. Where were they?

The beam of a flashlight landed on my face. “Holly!” It was a loud whisper. Casper’s fur almost shimmered in the dark. I could see why Weimaraners were called ghost dogs. Felix ambled toward us. “Mark! I’m glad you came after all. What are you doing here, Holly? I thought you weren’t interested.”

“I found Mrs. Mewer. I thought Eva should know so she wouldn’t worry.”

“Hey, that’s great! She’ll be really happy. Come on upstairs with me.”

We followed him up the steps. He led us along a corridor to Eva and Brian, who were clearly surprised to see us.

“Eva, I bring good news. Mrs. Mewer has been found and is safely in your room, waiting for you to come home.”

Eva launched herself at me and hugged me as though I were a long-lost friend. When she released me, she held her hand over her nose and sniffled. “Thank you, thank you! I’m so grateful. Would you guys mind if I took a little break to check on her?”

“Sure, go ahead,” said Felix. “We’ll take care of things.”

Eva started for the stairs and Mark followed.

“Holly! Come quick,” Brian hissed at me.

I looked back at Eva just in time to see Mark slide his hand into hers. Uh-oh. That didn’t seem like a bereaved boyfriend to me.

Trixie and I returned to the ghost hunters. They clustered in a dark room.

“Obadiah,” called Brian in a loud voice, “if you are here, turn on the light.”

We waited in silence. Even though I didn’t think Obadiah or other spirits were in the hotel, I had to admit that it was creepy standing in the dark room of the old building. After all, there must have been a nugget of truth to the tale about Obadiah. And even if there wasn’t, many people had slept there, and given that it belonged to Dr. Wraith at one point, patients had probably died there, too.

And then, a flashlight on the floor flicked on.

I jerked in surprise. No one was touching it. I didn’t see any strings or other gizmos attached. The light went out.

“Hiram,” Brian intoned, “if you murdered Obadiah, turn the flashlight on again.”

We waited in silence. Nothing happened. Just when I had given up, the light flicked on briefly. But there was no mistake that it had flashed on for a few seconds.

Brian picked up the flashlight and spoke to the camera in hushed tones. “I can feel the evil in this room. There’s no question that Hiram haunts this hotel. Looks like we finally have proof that Hiram killed Obadiah. After all these years, Hiram has confessed. To clear his conscience? To make his peace? Only Hiram knows that.”

Okay, that was a bit of a leap. I didn’t think anyone would consider the flashlight undeniable proof. Still, the flashlight
had
turned on and off all by itself.

Brian looked over at me. “Do you know why the room with the snakes is locked?”

I grinned.
Probably because he locked it.
“Haven’t a clue.”

“Shh,” said Felix.

There was no mistaking the sound of footsteps downstairs.

“It’s probably Mark.”

But before I finished speaking, the ghost hunters tore out of the room and hurried downstairs, leaving Trixie and me in total darkness without a flashlight. Swell.

I felt my way along the corridor. By the time we reached the top of the steps, Felix had thoughtfully returned with a flashlight. “Sorry about that. C’mon Ghost, we’re heading this way.”

“Was it Mark?”

“No, I don’t know where he went. But it will be interesting to hear if we got anything on the EVP recorder.”

“The what?”

“Electronic Voice Phenomena recorder. It picks up sounds.”

I bit back a grin. “Really? Ghost sounds?”

“You’d be surprised what you can hear sometimes.”

“Felix, you’re a reasonable guy. How can a ghost make a sound?”

“Haven’t you ever heard footsteps when you know no one is there?”

I chose my words carefully. I didn’t want to be rude. “That usually means someone
is
there.”

His chin lifted, and he smiled at me. “Not always.”

*   *   *

Back at the inn, I snuggled under my down comforter, glad to finally get some rest, but at three in the morning, Trixie started jumping on and off my bed, whimpering. She trotted in restless circles. I groaned, but quickly felt guilty. If she had to go, she had to go. I should be grateful she didn’t leave me an unpleasant surprise in the apartment.

I slid on my plush Sugar Maple Inn bathrobe and opened the door for Trixie. She and Twinkletoes bounded down to the second floor faster than the speed of light. By the time I got there, Trixie was running along the corridor with her nose to the ground.

I paused, wondering if she really needed to relieve herself. Why had she stopped at the second floor?

Someone screamed.

Trixie turned around, raced past me, and scampered down to the main level with Twinkletoes hot on her heels.

I dashed along behind them as fast as I could and came to an abrupt halt. Eva stood at the bottom of the stairs. Her hands covered her nose and mouth in horror.

I followed her line of sight. In the ancient mirror over the sitting room mantel, a face shimmered. It was a weak image, but there was no doubt in my mind that it was Mallory.

Mallory smiled as she had only days ago in this very room. Lavender earrings dangled from her ears. Her face morphed to anger and grew much larger.

Eva grabbed my arm, and Mallory disappeared.

“Did you see it?” she asked breathlessly.

“I did. Eva! You’re shaking!”

The poor woman quivered. Surely she must have seen things like that before. It couldn’t be real. Besides, if Mallory’s ghost had really made an appearance, wouldn’t Twinkletoes and Trixie have noticed? The two of them sniffed the Halloween decorations as though nothing had occurred.

I led Eva to a sofa in the sitting room. She sat down, her chest heaving with each breath.

“I’m sure there’s a logical explanation.”

She nodded. “There must be. It just caught me by surprise.” She twisted and studied the mirror. “Is that the same mirror that was there before?”

“I think so.” Looked like it to me.

The edges of Eva’s mouth pulled back. She stood up, still somewhat shaky, drew a deep breath, and walked to the mirror. Reaching up, she touched it gingerly. “You don’t see anything in the mirror now, do you?”

“No.”

Eva tilted her head to examine it from the bottom and the side. She turned toward me, licking her lips, and demanded, “What did you see?”

Somehow I hated to tell her. I had a feeling she wouldn’t have been quite so upset if the image had been of Becca Wraith. “Mallory,” I murmured.

Her eyes narrowed, and she peered at something over my shoulder.

I whipped around. I didn’t see anything unusual, just Halloween decorations and the stairs. Trixie sniffed merrily at the bases of the pumpkins. “Did you see her again?”

“No. I’m looking for another mirror, something that might have thrown the reflection this way.”

She scanned the room. “It’s easy to manipulate a video to create a ghost image in a mirror. Any average kid can do it. But it had to project from this area.”

Eva strolled through the sitting room, eyeing everything. She finally sat down next to me. “I don’t know why I’m so terribly out of sorts about this. I’ve seen a lot of strange things, and they always have explanations. Sound, reasonable, concrete explanations. Well, mostly they do.”

“Maybe it’s hitting too close to home this time?”

Her head jerked up. “What do you mean by that?”

I spoke as soothingly as I could. “Mallory was someone you knew. It’s more unnerving to see her face.”

“Oh. Yes, I suppose you’re correct.”

“Have you ever seen a face in a mirror before?”

Eva tsked. “Oh heavens. It’s the most common schoolboy trick you can imagine.” She turned her eyes toward the mirror. “Except that mirror doesn’t look like it has been tampered with.” She rose and walked to the bottom of the stairs.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to recreate it. Maybe I can trigger it into appearing again.”

I joined her.

Eva moved around and waved her arms but nothing she did brought the ghostly image of Mallory back to the mirror. We tried recreating the event. I jogged up the stairs and rushed down. Still no Mallory.

“Eva, could I make you a cup of tea? Maybe that would calm your nerves.”

“It’s not my nerves that are the problem. Someone monkeyed with that mirror”—her eyes grew wide—“on purpose.” Suddenly she switched gears. “Goodness, look at the time. I have to get some sleep. I’m so sorry to have disturbed you, Holly.”

We said good night, and I watched her walk toward her room. “Trixie!” I called in a hushed voice. “Let’s go out while we’re down here.”

She sped ahead of me toward the reception area to play with Casper. Casey chatted with Grayson and Felix.

Suddenly painfully aware that I was wearing a bathrobe, I hustled Trixie outside. She complied quickly, and I had no choice but to walk by the ghost hunters again.

“How did it go tonight?” I asked.

Felix smiled at me. “Great!”

I coaxed Trixie away from Casper and up the back stairway from reception to the second floor. We walked through the silent hallway but heard hushed voices as we approached the large stairwell in the middle of the building.

I peeked over the railing in time to see Eva opening the front door for Mark.

“Did he follow you?” she asked.

“I think I ditched him.”

She seized his hand and pulled him toward the bottom of the staircase. I knew I shouldn’t eavesdrop, but I did anyway. I picked up Trixie so she wouldn’t give me away and stepped back, hopefully out of their line of sight.

In a soft voice, Eva told Mark about seeing Mallory’s image in the mirror.

“Hey, you’re the one who doesn’t believe in this stuff. You think she came back to haunt us?” It sounded as though he was gently teasing her.

Their voices faded, and not a minute too soon, because I heard footsteps on the back stairway at the other end of the hall. Probably Grayson and Felix.

I set Trixie on the floor and hurried down the grand staircase and over to the library. Peering through the archway I wondered what I would say if Mark and Eva caught me spying on them. I needn’t have worried. The door to Eva’s room had just closed, and the lock on the other side slid into place.

As Trixie and I started back up to bed, I caught a glimpse of Grayson scurrying to the other end of the second floor. We arrived too late to see where he had gone, but we heard a door close softly.

*   *   *

In the morning, I was up at dawn. I wasn’t much of an early riser, but I didn’t want to be a slacker. Besides, I hoped to have a word with Casey before he left after his long night shift.

Low clouds clung to Wagtail. I hoped they might burn off, but the view from my French doors was gloomy. In a way, it suited my spirits, because Mallory’s death weighed on me.

The only bright spot was finding piping hot tea, a chocolate croissant, and treats for Trixie and Twinkletoes in my kitchen. I shuddered to imagine what Mr. Huckle thought on finding my boxes had erupted. It was getting worse by the day as I ripped open boxes to look for things but didn’t bother to unpack them. Maybe I could steal a few hours to get some serious unpacking done today.

In the spirit of the season, I dressed in a bright yellow top, black trousers, and a scarf the colors of fall leaves. A little bit corny, but I thought it worked.

Twinkletoes followed me as I dressed, winding around my ankles and jumping up on everything I approached.

“I get it. You’re hungry.” I tickled her cheek, and she rubbed her head against my hand. “What will it be this morning? I walked into the kitchen with her dancing ahead. “Chicken delight or roast turkey?” She looked up at me, the tip of her tail undulating in anticipation. “I hope you’re in the mood for turkey.” I spooned turkey chunks in a creamy gravy into her bowl.

Twinkletoes dug in, lapping the gravy first.

Trixie inched closer, her little black nose quivering.

“Trixie,” I cautioned. “Come on, let’s go.” I carried Trixie’s leash in case I needed it.

The aromas of coffee and bacon wafted all the way up the stairwell to the third floor. Trixie scampered downstairs much faster than I could. In spite of the early hour, a sprinkling of visitors and their dogs had found their way to the dining area. Most had settled near the panoramic window overlooking the lake and the mountains. A mist rose off the water. A few brave souls had taken their coffee mugs out to the terrace.

The spectacular view of the lake and the mountains, not to mention the fabulous food, drew visitors who were staying elsewhere, as well as our in-house guests.

We turned left and headed for the registration desk.

When the door opened for an entering guest, Trixie took advantage of the situation and flew out the door.

I dashed after her. “Trixie!” But the sweet little girl had gone straight to the doggy restroom. She trotted right back to me, happy as could be. “Thanks for being a good girl.” We had only been in Wagtail a few days, but she was catching onto our routine. Not that we had much of one yet.

She followed me inside. Luckily, no guests were around, so I could speak privately with Casey. Nevertheless, I used a hushed tone.

“Casey, do you remember the ghost hunters coming back to the inn the night before last?”

“Sure. I love those guys. They’re really funny. Did you know they invited me to go with them? Rotten luck that I have to work the midnight shift.”

“That’s too bad. Let me know if they invite you again, and I’ll cover for you for a few hours.”

“Gosh. Thanks, Holly!”

“Think they were drunk when they came back that night?”

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to rat on guests.”

“You’re not. But this is private between the two of us.”

“Maybe a little bit. They were pretty loud.”

“Were Mark and Mallory with them?”

A cloud of sadness passed over Casey’s face. “Only Mark.”

“Did he say anything? Like where he was going?”

“No. He went upstairs with the ghost hunting guys. Why are you asking me these questions? You sound like Officer Dave.”

“Just one more. Did you see him leave?”

Casey cocked his head at me like an adorable puppy. “Come to think of it, I didn’t see Mark leave. He must have gone out the front door.”

“He must have,” I said, but I wished I knew what time that was. He could have departed right away and ambushed Mallory or he might have spent the next two or so hours right here in the inn. It seemed very odd to me that he wouldn’t have reported Mallory missing.

“Hey, Holly,” Casey said, shooting me a mischievous look, “you forgot to ask me something.”

“What?”

“Dave asked if they all came back to the inn together.”

“Did they?”

“Nope. Felix stumbled in about forty-five minutes after the rest of them.”