A Walk on the Haunted Side (Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Book 2) (7 page)

“I don’t want another librarian here,” I said. “I promise I will do everything I can so that doesn’t happen.”

Annie and Tammy stared at me as if I should have thought of a way out of this already. Now the pressure was really on me. I had to talk to everyone involved to see if I could find some kind of clues. I couldn’t just come out and ask people if they had murdered Hank.

This was the first tour I’d given since the murder. It felt weird to go back there now, but I had to continue. After all, it was a graveyard. A thin mist of fog lingered around the edge of the cemetery. Stars were hidden by the fleecy gray clouds. The musty smell of earth surrounded me.

I would never forget about finding Hank there. It would forever be at the front of my mind when I came here. Maybe no one would even show up for my tours anymore. They would think that taking my tour would actually make them a part of the tour. I would have to add a new tagline to my brochure.
Take the tour where you may end up a ghost too.
That didn’t sound like something people would be anxious to sign up for.

I stood at the entrance of the graveyard as I waited for the guests to arrive. It seemed spookier than usual. It was probably because of what had just happened. That would make anyone anxious.

I spotted movement to my right and glanced over. The people for the tour had shown up and were headed my way. Relief fell over me when I realized I wasn’t totally out of business yet. By the glances around and the fidgeting, the people looked as if they were eager to get started too.

“I was worried we didn’t have the right spot,” one of the women said in a loud voice.

“This is the place. Welcome to Devil’s Moon Haunted Tour,” I said with a smile. “Tonight I will guide you through shadowy alleys, take you into darkened corridors and share with you ghostly tales from around town. Step back in time with me and be on the lookout for spirits from beyond. This town is not without its tragedies.”

The group gathered around me and I was all set to start the tour. That was when I noticed someone else walking toward us. She stepped through the fog like a mysterious figure in the night. Sandra was staring as she headed my way. Her expression was emotionless with her dark eyes in a blank stare. She wore a dark coat and black scarf around her head which added to the spookiness factor. She’d already scared the group. That or they thought she was part of the show. I definitely hadn’t expected to see her. I couldn’t tell if she was going to attack me or what.

When Sandra reached us, she stopped. “I am here for the tour.”

Was she serious? Based on the scowl on her face I supposed she was.

“Okay, well, here’s your flashlight.” I handed it to her.

Sandra grabbed it from me and flicked it on. She shone the light right in my eyes. I threw my hand up to block the blinding glow. Finally she lowered the light, but she didn’t apologize. Probably because she wasn’t sorry. I wanted to ask her about the tour tickets, but I was also nervous to bring it up. I’d told Brannon about it, so I was sure he would look into it. As I led the group around to the tavern, I kept watching her out of the corner of my eye.

We made the regular stops on the tour. The group was pretty quiet and that was fine with me. Sandra was making me uncomfortable and I wasn’t sure I even felt like talking right now. I would just continue the tour and get it over with.

I went through the motions and hoped that they didn’t notice that I was a bit preoccupied. I didn’t think anyone could blame me for being distracted though. I had a crazed woman following me around. That was unsettling. I peeked into the tavern to see if I could spot Tammy, but she wasn’t in sight. It was hard to see through the crowd. For a second I thought I spotted Cady at the bar. Maybe my mind was just playing tricks on me. I wished that Tammy could join me so that I wasn’t alone with Sandra.

Sandra remained silent during the tour. With every move I sensed her stare on the back of my head. Every time I looked back she was staring at me. If she had something to say then why didn’t she just say it? I was curious what her motivation was for being here tonight. I was sure it wasn’t just for the tour. She had another reason that she just wasn’t telling me. I was almost afraid to find out. Did she want to ask me about the murder? I had a few questions to ask her, as a matter of fact.

Once we reached the graveyard again, I knew that we would have to go in. I would have to face the spot where Hank had been found.

Maybe the best thing to do was to just avoid the area where the crime had taken place. We would keep to the other side and maybe walk down the middle a little bit. I guided the group into the cemetery and so far everything was fine.

When I looked back to see what Sandra was doing, she wasn’t there. I had no idea where she had disappeared to, but I had a feeling. When I looked over to the older section, she was headed that way. I had to stop her. I hurried through the stories and instructed everyone that we would be going back to the entrance.

We turned back around to head to the front, but Sandra was behind me again, just like when she’d appeared out of the fog. I knew I’d seen her walking toward the older section. How had she gotten back over here so quickly? She had just reappeared like she was one of the ghosts.

A chill whirled around us and that owl hooted again from the top of that old oak tree. It was as if he wanted to be a part of the tour too.

Since Sandra had returned, I decided to take the group around just a little more of the graveyard. They had paid for the full tour, and it shouldn’t get cut short just because of Sandra.

Illumination from the moon cut through the thick cover of darkness. It helped that I knew the graveyard like the back of my hand. I guided the group around the tombstones, successfully avoiding the scene of the crime. Then I steered them back toward the entrance. Usually I enjoyed telling stories, but tonight I was just glad that it was finished. Now maybe Sandra would go away and stop staring at me.

“Are you going to tell them about what happened the other night?” Sandra asked in a loud voice.

I wished she hadn’t said that, although surely they had heard what had happened. Nevertheless, I wanted to remain silent on the subject. I would ignore it and see what happened. Maybe she wouldn’t bring it up again. I quickly started talking again so that she didn’t have a chance. If she wanted to mention it she would have to interrupt me to do so. The other people seemed to be putting a distance between her and them. I couldn’t say that I blamed them because I wanted to do the same thing. I just needed to get her out of here.

Alas, I’d thought I was going to get away from the tour tonight without Sandra even speaking to me, but no such luck. As soon as the other tourgoers left, she rushed to my side and started asking more questions. I didn’t want her there, but now would be my chance to ask about the ticket.

“I hope you don’t mind if I ask you some questions.” She eyed me up and down.

She didn’t even give me a chance to answer before she started talking again. Why did she ask when she was just going to do what she wanted anyway? It was as if she wanted to be as creepy as possible. Maybe that was her way of scaring people. Well, it was working.

“Which one of Hank’s books was your favorite?” she asked.

The more she talked the more uncomfortable I felt. “I’m not sure,” I answered without looking over at her. 

“How can you not know? I know which one is my favorite. Of course all of them are my favorites. He never wrote a bad book as far as I’m concerned.” She waved her hands through the air.

I would just let her rattle on and maybe she would get tired. Maybe I could sneak into a building and get away from her. If I went into the tavern and it was crowded I could probably get away from her. Maybe I could hide behind the bar. Tammy would let me sneak back there.

I walked away from the cemetery toward the street. Maybe she would take the hint and realize that the tour was over. I hurried my steps, hoping that she wouldn’t be able to keep up.

With her long legs, she had no problem keeping up with me. And now I was out of breath. She didn’t act as if she’d even made any extra effort. As soon as she stopped talking, I would tell her I had to go. She just moved from one topic to the next without taking a breath. I walked as quickly as possible, but Sandra easily kept up with my pace, still asking questions about Hank’s books.

I wasn’t even answering her at this point. I just wanted her to leave me alone. If she didn’t stop following me soon, I would have to ask her to leave. I hated to be rude, but since the tour was over, she couldn’t expect to come home with me. She hadn’t even mentioned Hank’s murder, which I thought was odd. I knew that it was on her mind. Or maybe she was trying to forget about it.

As I whipped around to see if I could get away from her, I smacked into someone’s hard and muscular chest. The soft feel of soft cotton rubbed against my cheek. A whiff of spicy cologne tingled my nose. It was just a hint, not too strong
.
 

Brannon grabbed my arms. “Are you okay?”

Once I caught my breath, I said, “Yes, I’m fine.”

He looked over at Sandra. “Is everything okay?”

“I was just asking questions.” She pulled the scarf closer to her face, as if that would hide her.

“So the tour is over now?” Brannon eyed Sandra.

I nodded. “Yes, and I think Sandra was just leaving, right?”

I took the opportunity to let Sandra know she should leave. Brannon knew what I was doing.

“You should let Ripley get home now,” he said, looking at Sandra.

She shrugged. “I suppose we can discuss this later.”

No! I didn’t want there to be a later. I’d had enough of her creepy talking.

I knew that Brannon sensed my uneasiness. It was coming off me in waves. Sandra stared for a second, but then turned and walked away.

I released a sigh of relief. I didn’t know what would have happened if Brannon hadn’t come along when he did. She would have probably followed me all the way home. I hoped that she didn’t show up tomorrow night. Or at the library tomorrow. Based on her last comment, I figured I hadn’t seen the last of her.

“Thank you for coming to my rescue. She just wouldn’t stop talking,” I said.

“What was she saying?” he asked.

“She was asking me which one of Hank’s books was my favorite.”

“What did you tell her?” Brannon asked.

“I didn’t tell her much of anything. I just tried to avoid her questions.”

“That was probably the best thing that you could have done,” he said.

“I don’t know how much longer I will be able to avoid her though. She seems very persistent.”

“That she is. I tried to talk with her about the ticket, but didn’t get much out of her. Maybe something else will pop up though. That’s why we’ve asked her not to leave town. Have you had dinner?”

“No, I haven’t.” I had planned on eating at home again in front of the TV.

Brannon grabbed my hand and steered me toward Mammy’s Café. The warmth of his hand wrapped around mine. It felt better than I’d ever imagined.

We stepped into the diner. The room fell silent when everyone spotted me. It had been that way recently when another murder had occurred at the library. It seemed like the townsfolk of Devil’s Moon thought that I’d brought bad luck with me when I returned. It certainly seemed that way. Maybe I had brought the bad luck. The stares and whispers were a little unnerving though.

Brannon and I made our way across the diner to a booth by the window. This was my favorite spot in the whole place. Brannon and I had been in this booth before. Had he remembered?

“Is this seat okay?” he asked as he pointed at the booth.

“Perfect.” I slid into the booth.

We’d barely settled into the booth when Brannon asked, “When were you going to tell me about what happened at Helmwood?”

I studied the menu. “Not much happened.”

He nudged my menu down a little with his hand and smiled. That was all it took to make me melt.

“I think a spirit followed me out of there,” I whispered.

He studied my face. “And then what happened?”

I glanced over my shoulder. “I’ve only seen a shadow around the library… my apartment… and the cemetery… oh, and the tour too.”

“Is that all?” He quirked an eyebrow.

I placed the menu down and looked at him in his dazzling blue eyes. “I think the spirit attacked Hank when we were there.”

“What makes you say that?”

I looked out the window, but since it was pitch black outside all I saw was my own reflection. “Well, we saw the shadow fly across the room and disappear into his body.” I sounded calm about this, but in reality it still freaked me out.

Brannon’s eyes widened. “Why didn’t you say something before?”

I shrugged. “He was murdered. That was a little distracting.”

Soon the waitress came over and took our order.

When she left, Brannon asked, “Is there anything else?”

“No, that about wraps it up.” I grabbed my napkin.

“You’ll promise to tell me anything else that happened?”

I smiled. “I promise.”

Brannon looked down at the table for a second and then met my stare. “There’s a festival next week over in Bloomfield. Would you like to go?”

I had expected him to ask if I wanted to go on another investigation. But this was more. A whole day together?

“I’d love to,” I said.