by Rose Pressey
It was dark in there and I couldn’t see where I was going. I had my phone out with the flashlight. Luckily the moon was out and casting a white glow over everything. “Jeanette, are you here?” I called out. I stood by the front entrance. After a couple seconds I sent another text message. Unfortunately she wasn’t answering this time. Coverage was spotty, so she might not be receiving my texts. I peeked out the window and saw that her car was still here. I really didn’t want to have to find her like a game of hide-and-seek.
A mumbled voice sounded from somewhere. It echoed down the hallway.
“Jeanette?” I called out.
She didn’t answer. I took a few steps and heard the sound again. What if she was in danger? Maybe she had fallen? I had to go find her. I walked slowly down the hallway. Basically I was following the sound. When I reached the end of the hallway, I realized the voice was coming from upstairs. I couldn’t believe I’d allowed myself to get in this situation. This was beyond creepy. It felt as if someone was walking behind me. But every time I looked over my shoulder I saw nothing.
I ascended up the stairs. It was a wide staircase with a large landing between each floor. The building had six stories. What if she wasn’t on the second floor? Would I have to check each floor? I stood at the edge of the staircase and looked to my left and to my right. I didn’t see Jeanette in the hallway. Could she be in one of the rooms? I really didn’t want to check them. They were beyond creepy. I decided to turn to my left and walk down the hallway a bit.
I’d made it halfway down the hall when I heard the noise again. This was getting crazy. I paused and sent her a text again. If she was injured she sure wouldn’t be able to answer me. I had to keep looking for her.
To my surprise the voice sounded if it was coming from the other end of the hallway. I pointed my flashlight in that direction, but didn’t see Jeanette. I was also glad not to see any evil spirits. I pointed my flashlight down the hall and started walking in that direction. I had to force each step.
I’d almost made it to the end of the hallway when I heard the voice. I paused and looked to my left. My heart raced. The voice was coming from the inside of the room to my left.
“Jeanette, are you okay?” I asked.
“Ripley, I’m in here.”
Why couldn’t I see her? I flashed the light inside the room, but didn’t see her.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“I’m over here.”
I still couldn’t see her. I guess this meant I had to go in the room.
“Is this the room you wanted to show me?” I asked.
“Yes, come here,” Jeanette said.
I eased into the room, still unsure if I really should be doing this. I pushed my fear to the back and moved into the middle of the room. “Jeanette, I still don’t see you. Are you hiding from me? What do you want to show me?” This was getting too creepy for me. “If you don’t come out, then I’m leaving.”
I really felt she was just playing games. Fear and dread consumed me at that moment. I was too trusting. Jeanette had surely lured me here to kill me.
Just then the door slammed. I spun around to see that the door was in fact shut.
“Jeanette, what are you doing?” I ran over to the door and twisted on the knob.
It wouldn’t budge. I couldn’t believe that I was all alone in this asylum and couldn’t get out. I banged on the door and yelled.
“If you think you’re getting away with this, then you’re crazy.”
Now I was furious. At least I had my cell phone. I could call for help. Though I was sure Brannon would be unhappy that I’d come here alone. I shoved on the door again, but nothing happened.
Someone was walking down the hall. The footsteps sounded loud as they neared the door. I didn’t know whether to yell out or to be quiet. Was it Jeanette? Or someone else? I had a feeling she wasn’t in on this plan alone. I held my breath as I waited for someone to open the door. The footsteps were louder than ever. I knew the person was right outside the door.
Then a couple seconds later the footsteps started again. The person was walking away from the door. The sound grew farther and farther away until finally they were gone.
This did little to make me feel better though. I figured the person could return at any time. Panic had settled in now. I didn’t know what to do. My thoughts raced as I ran through all my options. I had to think of something to get out of here. I’d tried to call for help, but my phone wasn’t working. Jeanette had probably known that when she asked me to meet her here. The building was spotty for cell coverage. That would have been something she would have discovered after one visit to this place. I wasn’t going to give up this easily though. I didn’t want to stay in this room and be a sitting duck. There had to be a way out.
I shone my light around the room. There was nothing around. I had hoped to find some kind of old tool that would have helped me get the door open. I looked over at the window. It was only the second floor. Maybe I could climb out and jump down. I was kind of desperate for a way out now. It looked as if it was my only choice. Luckily, I didn’t hear anyone coming for the moment. Maybe it would give me a chance to get out the window and escape. It was now or never.
I hurried over to the window. Please don’t let it be locked. If it was locked I would have to find a way to break the thing.
I shoved the window up. Whew. Now I had to escape. I peeked over the edge. Maybe it was farther down than I’d thought. Oh, well. It was my only option. I shoved one leg over and then the other. Now I was sitting on the ledge. I had to figure the best way to jump so that I wouldn’t break anything. If I was lying on the ground unable to move that would defeat the purpose of my escape.
Now I was just thinking too much about this. I just needed to do it. I took in a deep breath and then exhaled. I counted to three and then I jumped.
I landed on the ground with a loud thud. I’d fallen like a sack of potatoes. At least I was out of the building though. I looked up to see if anyone was watching me. So far it looked as if I’d gotten out of there without anyone noticing. I pushed to my feet. Nothing appeared to be broken. I had grass and dirt on me, but that was the least of my worries.
I looked around to see if anyone was waiting for me and then took off running. I just had to get to my car. It was a long way around that building. I didn’t even know if there was access to the front without having to climb a fence. If that was the case then I might be caught because I was terrible at climbing fences. I wasn’t exactly the athletic type.
I ran as fast as I could until I reached the edge of the building. My side hurt I’d run so fast. I’d had a tough time not falling.
Thank goodness I made it to my car. Jeanette’s car wasn’t there. I didn’t know if she’d called me here specifically to lock me in that room. How had she gotten away? I almost felt as if she had lured me there for someone else. Call it a sixth sense, I supposed. Who would want to harm me? Was it Heath? Jeanette had been supposed to meet Alex. There were so many possibilities. I knew that my life was in danger though. It was because I’d found Alex.
I started the car and took off down the drive. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. I looked in the rear-view mirror. My worst nightmare would be to see Jeanette following me. Okay, maybe it would be worse to see Heath. Both of them? I just wanted to get out of there. Memories of being stuck in that room would haunt me forever. As soon as I had a chance I would try to call Jeanette again. I wanted an explanation as to why I had been locked in the room. Why hadn’t she answered my text messages after luring me up to that room?
Chapter 23
“Rip, you have another letter.” Tammy waved the envelope through the air.
“Another one,” I said.
Part of me wanted to toss it in the trash and forgot all about it. The other part couldn’t wait to read it. Tammy handed it to me. Her eyebrow was quirked.
“What’s wrong?”
“This one is from a lawyer’s office.”
“I wonder what this is about?”
At least it wasn’t another letter form the killer, but I was still nervous.
“What did you do?” Tammy asked.
“Nothing that I know of,” I said as I tore into the envelope. “What makes you assume I did something wrong?”
Tammy shrugged. “You’re right. Maybe the lawyer forgot to pay an overdue book fee.”
I hoped that was all it was. I pulled out the letter and read.
“What does it say?” Tammy asked as she looked over my shoulder.
I placed the paper onto the counter. “It says a group of people in town are ready to take legal action if I don’t stop my tour.”
“On what grounds?” Tammy placed her hands on her hips.
“That it’s a hazard to the city.”
Tammy scoffed. Fury flashed in her eyes. “You got the proper license to do the tour. They can’t make you stop now.”
Rip, you can’t let them do this. You love the tour as much as you love the library. Annie sent a text.
I blew the hair out of my eyes. “What will I do now?”
“You’ll have to talk with the lawyer,” Tammy said. “I can go with you.”
With Tammy’s temper I wasn’t sure that was a great idea. She might use enough colorful words to scar the lawyer for life.
“Thanks, Tammy. I appreciate the support.” I hugged Tammy.
She held her hands up. “I promise I won’t let my temper get the best of me.”
She must have read my mind. “I want to find out about this group of people that they claim are so worried about Devil’s Moon. I’m a business and I bring revenue to the town.”
Tammy pointed. “Yeah, you do a lot for Devil’s Moon.”
I won’t stand for this. Annie said.
“Okay, before I let this get me too upset I’ll talk with the lawyer. First, I want to call Brannon and tell him about this letter.” I picked it up again.
“Good idea,” Tammy said. “He will tell them that this isn’t legal.”
I wasn’t sure if he could do that, but nonetheless, he could maybe give me advice. At least I hoped he could give me advice. The phone rang once and Brannon picked up.
“Brannon, I have a serious problem,” I said.
“Don’t tell me you found another dead body.”
I could see where he might think that was what had happened.
“No, someone wants me to stop the haunted tour.”
“Why would they want that?”
Movement at the library’s front entrance caught my attention. Brannon headed toward me with the phone up to his ear. I hung up and hurried over to him.
“I was on my way here when you called,” he said as he took the phone away from his ear.
I waved the letter in front of Brannon. He read it and then handed it back to me.
“Do you know where this law office is located?” he asked.
I looked at the return address again. “That’s right across the street, isn’t it?”
I walked over to the window and peered outside at the old house. The place had been used as office space for as long as I could remember.
“Do you remember the history of that house?” Brannon asked.
“It was used as a morgue when they had that major train wreck back in 1910.”
He nodded. “That’s right.”
“Does that have anything to do with the lawyer sending the letter?” Tammy asked.
Brannon looked at her. “Just that of all people in Devil’s Moon they should know about a haunting. That place is extremely haunted.”
“So maybe that’s why they wouldn’t want the tour. Maybe they just don’t want anything to do with the paranormal,” I said.
“Well, your tour isn’t bothering them. They can just ignore it if they don’t like it,” Tammy said with a wave of her hand.
Brannon wrapped his hands around mine. “Don’t worry, Rip, everything will be okay.”
I wanted to believe that, but at the moment I was feeling really down. If I had to stop the tour I didn’t know what I’d do.
Brannon headed back to work. My mind was on the letter for the rest of the day. The first chance I got I decided to pay a visit to the lawyer’s office. After leaving the library, I headed across the street. I hadn’t made an appointment and I hoped that they were still there. It was getting late and they had probably left for the evening. Maybe I should have called first, but I didn’t want them to tell me I would have to wait weeks for an appointment. I needed to get to the bottom of this right away. Luckily, the office door was still unlocked. I stepped inside, but no one was behind the main desk in the reception area. A weird vibe hovered over the room.
Maybe it was just because Brannon had put the thought in my head after talking about how haunted the place was.
“Hello,” I called out.
Just then footsteps sounded from down the hallway. When I peeked around the desk, still no one came into view. Someone was walking though. The footsteps were loud. A chill fell over the room and I was getting more spooked by the second. If someone didn’t show up soon then I was definitely getting out of there. A door slammed somewhere and the footsteps echoed again. I jumped when a woman ran into the room. She stopped abruptly when she saw me.
The dark-haired woman’s brown eyes were wide when she looked at me.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t see you.” Her voice wavered.
I was really concerned for her.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
She frowned and then shook her head. “Actually, no. it’s not okay. I need help.”
Was this some kind of help I would want to be involved in?
“What’s wrong?” I pressed.
She wrapped her arms in front of her chest. “The place is haunted. I just can’t handle it anymore.”
Just as Brannon had said this place really was haunted.
“Do you know who I am?” I asked.
Her eyebrows pinched together and then she looked over her shoulder. “Um, you’re the librarian.”
“What would you like me to do?”
She stepped closer to the door as if she would run out if she had to, leaving me to fend for myself. “I need someone to help me get rid of the ghosts in this house.”
I hadn’t expected that. “But you’re the one who sent me the letter saying I should stop the haunted tour. Why should I help you now?”
“If you help me then I will get the people who sent the letter to leave you alone.” She grabbed the doorknob.
I wasn’t sure how she would manage that, but it was worth a shot.
I sighed and then said, “Okay, if you can do that then I’ll help you.”
I didn’t know what I would do to help. Getting rid of ghosts wasn’t really my thing. As a matter of fact, I was more known for attracting ghosts. The woman walked with me outside. She wasted little time getting into her car.
“I’ll bring my boyfriend along. Officer Landon is a paranormal investigator,” I said.
“Great,” she said as she closed the car door.
She drove off with me still standing on the sidewalk looking at her. I headed back to the library to finish up for the day.
***
As I walked down the sidewalk away from the library, I spotted someone out of the corner of my eye. When I glanced over, I realized it was Brannon’ ex-wife Darlene. She had just walked out from the lawyer’s office. Was that a coincidence? I wouldn’t put it past her at all to be one of the people behind the letter. Then again, she could be the only person behind it. I wondered if I should mention it to Brannon. Maybe I would wait and see what I found out on my own. I didn’t want to say anything if I was wrong. That would just make me look mean-spirited.
I sensed she was walking behind me now. It looked as if I would have a chance to ask her about the letter a lot sooner than I thought. I
was headed on another collision course of confrontation with Brannon’s ex. Darlene was walking right behind me—as in way too close. When I glanced back our eyes met and she hurried her step. I wouldn’t let her intimidate me. I continued on my way, but I wouldn’t let her do this for much longer. I assumed that ignoring her wouldn’t make her go away, but I would try it anyway. I wasn’t afraid of a confrontation though if that was what she thought.
“Ripley,” she called out in a snippy tone.
I sighed and then stopped. I might as well get this over with.
I turned around. “Can I help you?”
See, I still managed to sound halfway pleasant in spite of my irritation. I was proud of myself.
Her blue eyes seemed darker today. Maybe it was her obvious anger at me that caused it.
She gestured with her slender finger, almost poking me. “I thought I told you to stop getting Brannon involved with the haunting stuff.”
I swatted at her hand. “And I thought I told you that I wouldn’t stop. What Brannon does is none of your business.”
She coiled her hands making fists, as if preparing to hit me. I didn’t want to fight her, but I wouldn’t let her punch me without striking back. I wouldn’t let anyone hit me and get by with it. That type of behavior was completely unacceptable.
I squared my shoulders. “And by the way, I know that you had the lawyer send that letter. It’s a waste of time because I won’t stop the tour.”
She narrowed her eyes. I’d never seen her that furious. Then again, I didn’t know her well. Only the stories Brannon had shared. He didn’t talk about her often.
“I didn’t send you a letter and I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I shrugged. “Fine, deny it all you want, but I know you did. Now if you’ll excuse me I have more important things to do than stand here and talk with you.”
I calmly walked away. However, I had expected for Darlene to grab me from behind. I may have acted unruffled on the outside, but on the inside I was furious. I walked a good distance before finally looking back. She was walking in the other direction. I was proud of myself for standing my ground. I wouldn’t let her bully me.
