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

by Rose Pressey

  “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.”

  When I glanced over at Brannon, he smiled approvingly. He looked down at his feet as if he was embarrassed to ask. “So do you mind if I come along tonight?”

  How could I say no? His smiling face was hard to resist. Plus I had a woman who seemed a little unstable following me around. I never knew when she would pop up again. Brannon would be able to help me with it when she did. I had a feeling there would be another time. It seemed if she couldn’t stalk Hank anymore, she would stalk someone she could talk about Hank with. There were worse things than having a hot guy go to work with you.

  “I planned on it,” I said.

  He smiled.

  As Brannon followed me through the tour, I was very aware of Brannon’s presence. He didn’t say anything, but my stomach did a dance every time I glanced over at his handsome face.

  We’d made it out of the second building when a woman called out to me. “Is this the haunted tour?”

  I spun around and stopped in my tracks. When I glanced over at Brannon, I saw the shocked look on his face. I recognized the gorgeous blonde. Darlene McGuire was Brannon’s ex-wife. What was she doing here? Darlene supposedly moved to New York City with her boss whom she was cheating with. Needless to say, I was surprised to see her on the tour. I was surprised to even see her in the state.

  “Darlene, what are you doing here?” Brannon asked.

  “I just always wanted to take this tour. Do you mind if I join in? I know I’m late, but I just couldn’t make it here in time.” She flashed her white smile. It didn’t seem sincere.

  Brannon probably wanted to know why she was in Devil’s Moon, not why she was on the tour. I wanted to know the answer to both of those questions.

  She’d already missed a couple of the stops, but if she didn’t mind then who was I to say no? I didn’t know what her motive was though. Was she still trying to get Brannon back?

  “Sure, no problem.” I forced a smile onto my face.

  Brannon handed Darlene his flashlight. “Here, you may need this.”

  He didn’t sound ha
ppy that she had joined us. During the rest of the tour I noticed she was watching him. Did she know that Brannon and I had become friends? She had to know. Why else would she come on the tour? I knew she wasn’t interested in the paranormal.

  A stop at the antiques shop and the restaurant on the corner and we were headed back to the graveyard. Darlene had been quiet and I wondered why she had joined late and what she was up to.

  Going through the graveyard wasn’t any easier this time than the last. I thanked everyone and took the flashlights back. Darlene waited by the gate. I assumed she wanted to talk with Brannon. He hadn’t left my side all night. What did she want to say to him? After the others walked away, she approached. Brannon was standing beside me.

  “Hi,” she said with a smile. “I hope you don’t mind if I ask a few questions.”

  Who was she talking to? Me or Brannon?

  “What is it, Darlene?” I’d never heard Brannon use that tone.

  “I guess you’re surprised to see me here tonight.” She looked from Brannon to me. When neither of us answered she looked back at Brannon and said, “So you’re doing this tour now?”

  “I’m helping Ripley, yes,” he answered.

  She looked at me with a smirk. “That’s nice.”

  “Was there anything else?” Brannon asked.

  “There was something else,” she said.

  Brannon and I stared at her. She shifted from one foot to the other. “I heard there was a murder here in the graveyard the other night.”

  I hadn’t expected that. Brannon’s eyes widened. I guessed rumor had gotten around so I shouldn’t have been surprised.

  “Yes, there was,” I said, unsure of what else to say.

  Brannon didn’t say anything, so I figured he wanted to hear what she had to say first.

  “Yes, there was an incident here. That doesn’t mean it happened at the graveyard though.”

  Had I said too much?

  “Do you know what happened to the man? Who killed him?” she asked.

  “We don’t know that for sure yet,” Brannon answered for me. “Why do you ask, Darlene?”

  She looked at him as if she was annoyed with his tone. “I was just curious. It seems like a strange thing to happen on a ghost tour.”

  “It wasn’t on the tour,” I said defensively.

  “Do they have any leads on who would do such a thing?” she asked.

  I glanced at Brannon. He didn’t answer her, so I decided I would. “No, I don’t think they do.”

  “They have to have some leads,” she said.

  “I think that’s enough questions,” Brannon said.

  She paused as if she hadn’t heard his comment. Finally, she said, “You always were too secretive, Brannon.”

  Now I just felt uncomfortable being in the middle of their discussion.

  “You seem very interested in the case.” Brannon watched her for a reaction.

  She glanced over her shoulder. “I guess I was just curious. Well, it was a great tour. Thanks.” She turned on her heel and hurried away.

  We watched as she walked away. I knew that Brannon was suspicious of her. So was I. She hadn’t come on the tour just for the fun of it.

  He ran his hand through his thick hair. “I’m sorry about that. I have no idea why she did that.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said. “But why would she randomly start asking questions about the murder?”

  “I doubt that is her real reason.”

  “We should see where she went to.” I surprised myself by what I’d said.

  He looked over at me. “We should?”

  I felt the heat rush to my cheeks. Sometimes I said things before thinking. “Sure, why not?” I said.

  He chuckled. “Let’s go after her before she gets too far away,” Brannon said, motioning for me to follow him. “By the way, if I don’t get a chance later, I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the tour tonight. You really have a way with storytelling.”

  I smiled. “Thank you.”

  His words made me feel good. I needed a boost after Darlene had shown up.

  Brannon and I walked at a brisk pace down the alleyway toward the street. I hoped that she hadn’t gotten away yet. Maybe she’d hopped in a car and taken off. Although I hadn’t seen her get out of a car when she’d joined the tour.

  We reached the sidewalk and stopped. Brannon and I looked to the left and then to the right. Darlene was nowhere in sight. Just as I had worried, it looked as if she’d gotten away.

  “I guess she’s gone,” I said.

  Brannon released a deep breath. “Maybe that’s for the best.”

  He was probably right about that.

  “Do you think she got in a car with someone?” I asked.

  “Probably, yes,” he answered. “How about a drink?”

  I nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.”

  Brannon and I turned to the right and toward the tavern. We reached the tavern’s entrance and Brannon opened the door and motioned for me to go first. “Please, ladies first.”

  I was just getting ready to step inside the tavern when I glanced to my left. I spotted who I thought was Darlene down the way a little walking on the sidewalk.

  Brannon paused. “What is it?”

  “Is that her?” I pointed in Darlene’s direction.

  Brannon whipped his head around. “That’s her. Come on, let’s follow her.”

  Now I was doing the following. That was better for a change. Not that I liked following anyone, but it was better than being followed. It was definitely awkward following Brannon’s ex-wife. Thank goodness he was with me or I’d have a hard time explaining this one.

  We took off down the sidewalk after her. I hoped that she didn’t hop in a car and take off. Now I was more curious than ever to find out exactly what she was really up to. It was nice to know that Brannon was suspicious of her motives too. So far she hadn’t looked back and noticed us and I hoped it stayed that way too.

  “Are you going to say anything else to her?” I asked as we hurried down the sidewalk.

  For all she knew we were just walking home from the tour. She couldn’t get suspicious of us just because we were headed in that direction.

  “I think I’ll just see what she’s doing first. If need be I can ask her more questions,” Brannon said.

  As we drew closer to her, she stopped by a car. Brannon and I paused to watch her. She placed her arms against the door and leaned in the open window to talk with someone.

  “Can you see who she’s talking to?” Brannon asked.

  I shook my head. “No, it’s too far and it’s dark.” Even though there was a streetlight near, we were too far away to see who was driving the car.

  “Let’s move closer.” Brannon motioned for me to follow him.

  We inched closer to the car. Soon I was able to get a look at the person behind the wheel.

  “I know who that is,” I whispered as if they could hear us.

  Brannon could see as well from his angle. “Melissa Key.”

  Darlene was talking with Hank’s ex-wife. Brannon and I exchanged a look. That was suspicious. Why was she talking with her? Did she know the woman or was it just a random meeting? Just then a woman crossed the street and approached Darlene and Melissa. Something didn’t seem right about all this. When she stepped under the streetlight I realized who it was. Cady was talking with Melissa and Darlene. They didn’t notice that we were back there watching them. Darlene stepped out of the way and Cady got in the car. Melissa wasted little time driving off.

  “Wow, so they all know each other?”

  “It looks that way,” Brannon said.

  Chapter 14

  We’d been planning the small Halloween party at the library since I’d taken the job a month ago. I’d decided to go with a vintage Halloween theme. That way everyone could dress up in any costume that they wanted. I had just set out cupcakes and cookies. Tammy was setting up the drink station. We’d decorated the libr
ary with pumpkins, paper ghosts, skeletons, and witches. Annie thought she made a great addition to the decor. I thought so too, but it was too bad that no one could see her but me. Maybe that was a good thing though. I wanted people to stay for the party, not run away scared.

  I hung the last skeleton at the end of the reference desk. Tammy walked up. “I’m all finished over there. It looks like we are ready.”

  I placed my hands on my hips and scanned the area. “I think we did a great job. I hope everyone loves it.”

  The head of the library hadn’t been keen on the idea of a Halloween party. She’d thought it was too macabre after the recent murder that had happened in the library. I agreed that the murder was tragic, but we were trying to get people to come back.

  I’d dressed up as Annie. Though I didn’t think anyone would know who I was supposed to be. Annie seemed to get a kick out of it though. I had on a long white dress and I’d used white makeup to make my skin appear ghostly. I’d used white hair color spray to make my hair all white. My lipstick was white too.

  “You look scary. Maybe you should do your tour like this tonight,” Tammy said.

  I giggled. “That would probably scare all the tourgoers away forever.”

  Tammy had dressed as Jane Austen. Not the author, but the cat. She had on black leggings, a black turtleneck, and black shoes. On her head she wore a black headband with little black ears attached to the top. She’d painted her face with whiskers and a cute little pink nose. She looked adorable.

  Brannon was supposed to come to the party too. I’d asked what he was going to wear, but he said it was a surprise. That probably meant that he wouldn’t dress up in a costume at all.

  I couldn’t wait to see everyone’s costumes. I just hoped that Tammy and I weren’t the only ones wearing them. I rearranged the cupcakes on the tray again. I was anxious for the guests to arrive and needed something to distract me.

  “Maybe we should have skipped the cupcakes?” Tammy said with a frown.

  I peered down at the cupcakes and had a flashback of the recent tragedy at the library. “Hmm. You’re probably right. Maybe we should get rid of them.”