by Rose Pressey
After handing out the flashlights, I motioned toward the alleyway and everyone followed me. I pointed my flashlight in front of me. “If everyone will follow me, I will take you to the other haunted locations around town.”
The group followed me away from the graveyard, down the alleyway, and to the sidewalk. The street was mostly empty now. Only a few pedestrians other than our group moved about town. Lights from the few remaining business emanated an eerie glow through the dark streets. Shadows lurked around every corner, playing tricks on our minds. Was it a spirit or just a trick of the light? Sometimes maybe both.
Ruby was walking right beside me as if she was already my assistant. We’d just made it to the end of the alley when a man and a woman stepped out in front of us. He was a muscular man with a broad chest, wide shoulders and bulging biceps. His head was bald. It looked as if he’d shaved the hair off. The woman had long dark hair and striking blue eyes. She was lean and athletic too. They both wore jeans, black t-shirts, and black sneakers. I wasn’t sure if they’d coordinated their outfits.
“Is this the haunted tour? Is it too late to do the tour?” The man pulled out his tickets and handed them to me. “Here are our tickets.”
“No, it’s not too late. We were just getting started,” Ruby said.
I was seriously going to have to talk with her about this.
“You can join us. We were just getting started,” I said.
The couple fell in with the others and we headed the rest of the way to the tavern. Devil’s Moon was a small town, so there weren’t a lot of social scenes. The tavern was the most popular place. Years ago it had been a stagecoach stop. The building for the tavern was the oldest in town, built sometime in the 1700s. Back then it had been a stop for travelers. The spot where the horses had been hitched was now a parking lot.
The tavern wasn’t busy tonight. Tammy tossed her hand up when she saw me. She had a few people waiting for drinks. I waved back and motioned for the group to follow me to the back of the room. I explained about the activity in the bar and answered a few questions. A cool breeze fell over the area, and goosebumps covered my exposed skin.
“Do you feel that?” Ruby asked. “I think a ghost might be present.”
“It’s possible,” I said.
“Maybe if we asked the ghost to show itself?” Ruby peeked around the corner, as if the ghost was hiding.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea. We don’t want to provoke the spirits and make them bad.”
“Why not?” one of the women asked. “It’s not like they can do anything to the living.”
I shook my head. If she only knew. “They have been known to do things. That’s why you have to be very careful.” I motioned. “Now if you’ll follow me, we’ll go to the next stop.”
The group followed me back onto the sidewalk and we headed toward the bookstore. Obviously that was one of my favorite places in town. It just so happened to be in a haunted building too. During my childhood, I’d spent a lot of time in either the bookstore or the library. Most of the time I’d read books about ghosts and other unexplained things. The bookstore was in an old red brick building. A black awing hung over the entrance. The white and black storefront sign dangled above the door. As soon as we stepped in the door the intoxicating aroma of books surrounded us. Secretly I took in a deep breath to savor the scent.
“I really hope we see something this time,” Ruby said.
“I’m not so sure after what she told us,” a woman said.
Moving to the back of the store, I discussed the activity in this location too. “The store has a plethora of paranormal activity. People hear their name whispered in their ear, dark shadows appear out of nowhere, and books fly off the shelves.”
A loud bang sounded out from somewhere overhead and the group jumped. Ruby hugged the woman next to her. The woman shoved her off. Ruby would have to get used to the sounds and strange encounters if she wanted to do tours. Sure, I still got scared at times, but I had to hide it from the tour-goers. I couldn’t let them know that I was afraid too. I ushered everyone out of the buildings. The tension seemed to be building.
Next, we traveled over to the antique shop. This was the location with probably the most paranormal stuff happening. Sometimes it could be extremely scary in there. The owner never seemed as if it affected him much though. I’d experienced many things during the tours—cold spots, whispers, shadow people, and loud bangs just to name a few.
“The second floor might just be even more haunted than the first. Though it’s far too dangerous to go up there.”
Okay, we couldn’t go up there because the owner was still there and I didn’t want to disturb him. Nevertheless, it made for a spooky story. The tour-goers seemed to like it too, since their eyes widened after I said that. I halfway expected someone to ask if we could go up there. I supposed I had sufficiently scared them though, and they didn’t ask.
We were just headed out of the shop when the bald man called out to me. “We have to stop. I can’t find my girlfriend.”
I turned around to face him. “What do you mean? Is she still in the store?”
“I don’t know what happened to her. She was right behind me when we were walking out.”
He seemed a little too panicked. She wasn’t a two-year-old.
“I’m sure she went back in,” I said. “I can just step back in and tell her we’re leaving.”
“I’ll go with you,” he said.
The rest of the group waited on the sidewalk while we walked back in the store. I scanned the room, but I didn’t see her right away. Mr. Byrd, the owner, had come down from the second floor.
“Did you forget something?” Mr. Byrd asked.
I knew he was looking forward to the tour being finished so he could close for the evening. Mr. Byrd had taken off his jacket and loosened the tie around his neck. He’d rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt. What little hair he had left was frazzled. Mostly he was just bald.
“This man’s girlfriend must have come back into the store.” I pointed.
He shook his head. “I just locked the back door and she wasn’t there.”
“This isn’t good,” the bald man said.
“I’m sure she’s fine. She’s probably back outside now,” I said. “Thank you, Mr. Byrd.”
I waved at the owner and we turned to leave. The bald man followed me out the door. When we stepped outside, his girlfriend wasn’t there either. I’d thought she would be waiting for us. The other tour-goers were still standing around talking. I knew by their expressions that they were confused.
“She’s missing.” The bald man paced up and down the sidewalk.
I walked over to him and touched his arm. “Try to remain calm. It’s only been a couple minutes. I’m sure she’s not missing. Maybe she just decided to go home.”
“She wouldn’t do that.”
He thought she wouldn’t do that, but we were never really sure what anyone would do, no matter how well we thought we knew them.
“We should call the police,” he said.
“I really don’t think that will be necessary,” I said.
He was really starting to panic.
Chapter 4
There was no way I could watch this man be this upset and not call the police for him. I wasn’t sure what they would tell him, but maybe it would make him feel better until he located his girlfriend.
I pulled out my phone. “Would you like to call?”
By the way his hand was shaking, I figured I’d better do it. His reaction was over-the-top, I thought. Maybe he sensed that she hadn’t wanted to do the tour. Maybe she didn’t want to be with him so she’d just left. Sure, she should have told him, but that was neither here nor there now. When I looked at the rest of the group, I realized they were watching the scene like a reality show.
Luckily, Brannon answered right away when I dialed his number and said he would be right there. He was around the corner anyway. The bald man pace
d up and down the sidewalk while the rest of the tour-goers watched.
“What’s taking them so long?” he asked. It had only been a minute.
No sooner had he spoken the words than a couple police cruisers pulled up to the curb with the lights whirling. I was happy to see Brannon slide out from behind the wheel of one of them. A couple other officers followed him. Tonight Brannon was in his navy Devil’s Moon Police Department uniform. His short hair highlighted his handsome face and gorgeous blue eyes. His good looks often distracted me. Right now I had to concentrate on locating the missing woman. Brannon gave me a little lopsided grin and wink that made my heart go pitty-pat.
“Okay, so tell me what happened,” Brannon said.
“We were doing a tour and now my girlfriend is gone,” the man said.
“And what is your girlfriend’s name?” Brannon asked in a professional manner. I knew he was trying to keep this man calm.
“Her name is Ashley Juliet. My name is John Shaver.” The man’s hands trembled.
I also noticed that his shirt was untucked and there was a rip in the leg of his pants. I hadn’t remembered him looking that way at the beginning of the tour.
“Have you tried calling her cell phone?” Brannon asked.
John didn’t appreciate that question. “Of course I have. She doesn’t answer. I know what you’re thinking, she’s just avoiding answering my calls. That’s not the case. We are happy together. Something happened to her.” He looked around frantically.
“Well, I don’t know how she could just vanish with everyone right around.” I motioned.
“I don’t know either, but it happened. She’s not here.” He waved his arm.
“We checked the building, and she wasn’t in there,” I said.
The owner, Mr. Byrd, was still standing on the sidewalk. He hadn’t been able to leave with all this commotion going on.
“Do you mind if we search the building again?” Brannon asked.
Mr. Byrd said, “No, go right ahead.”
Brannon and the other officers went into the building and we waited outside. The group started talking amongst themselves. John paced and glanced around as if he was looking for his girlfriend. Had she done this kind of thing before?
“I feel like I should be doing more.” John ran his hand through his hair.
“There’s really nothing you can do,” I said. “Does your girlfriend ever just walk off? Maybe she got lost and went outside?”
“I don’t think she would leave me,” he said.
I studied John’s appearance as he paced. He paused and leaned down to tie the lace of his black shoes. His hands trembled. I noticed a small cut on his hand.
After a couple more minutes, Brannon and the other officers came back outside. Unfortunately, Ashley wasn’t with them. John released an audible sigh when he saw them. I’d thought for sure they would find her. Then again, I figured she would come walking down the street to join us again at any moment. The group gathered around so they could hear what he had to say.
“Sorry, but we just don’t see her in there. She probably just slipped away. Really, there’s nothing we can do.” Brannon replaced the flashlight into the loop on his belt. “If she doesn’t show up soon give us a call back and we’ll look for her again. Until then, there is nothing we can do.”
John glared at Brannon and then turned around and stomped off down the sidewalk. I knew he was angry, and I wondered what he was going to do next. In light of the circumstances, I felt it was better that I ended the tour for the evening. It was already getting late anyway.
“If everyone would like to come back for the tour for maybe tomorrow evening, I would be happy to finish it out for you.”
I just couldn’t help but think about Ashley. What had happened to her?
Chapter 5
I had to admit it was very strange that Ashley had just taken off like that. The couple had seemed to be so happy at the beginning of the tour.
“Sorry that that happened,” Brannon said as he touched my hand.
“It’s a little unsettling,” I said.
“How about we have some dinner? It’ll take your mind off of the evening’s events.”
I wasn’t sure I was in the mood for eating, but I knew Brannon was probably hungry.
“Okay, let’s go.” I glanced back at the store one more time as we headed down the sidewalk toward his car.
Suddenly a strange feeling came over me. What had happened to Ashley? Maybe the boyfriend was serious and knew she wouldn’t just take off. Nonetheless, I probably would never find out.
We climbed into Brannon’s cruiser and drove the short distance over to the restaurant. If it hadn’t looked like it might rain, we probably would have just walked. This place was in one of the oldest buildings in town. Not exactly shocking that it would be haunted too. Perhaps I should add a second tour to my business.
The building was a brick Federal-style building. It was the nicest place in town. Since Brannon had recently taken me there for the first time, I had wanted to go back. He parked the car in a spot over by the old oak tree at the back of the parking lot. We walked across the lot, hand in hand. I inhaled deeply, taking in the gorgeous evening and trying to calm my nerves.
Brannon squeezed my hand for reassurance. “It’ll be okay.”
We stepped into the restaurant and I immediately picked up on the vibe, wondering if anyone else noticed it. Would a ghost make an appearance again tonight? The ghost that had appeared the last time I was pretty sure had been attached to Brannon, so maybe the place wasn’t so haunted after all. The inside was decorated with old bourbon barrels and pictures of the town from the 1800s dotted the walls. Beige and browns were the color theme throughout, but it lent a comfortableness to the charming old building. Grand chandeliers and flickering candles on the tables cast a romantic, yet haunting glow.
The hostess had just seated us at a table when Brannon’s cell rang. “Sorry, I have to take this call.”
“It’s fine. Go ahead,” I said.
Brannon answered the call, and then cast a glance my way. “I’ll be right there.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have told him to take the call. The look on his face said it all. This was serious.
He pushed to his feet. “We have to go. Someone’s been murdered.”
I was so in shock that I wasn’t sure that I’d heard him correctly. Murdered? We raced out of the restaurant, not even saying goodbye to the employees. We jumped into his car and took off.
“Who was murdered?” I asked, fastening my seatbelt.
“They found a woman,” he said, glancing over at me.
I knew immediately what he was thinking because I was thinking the same thing. Could it be Ashley Juliet? He flipped on the lights and siren and raced in the direction of the antique shop.
“You’re going to the antique shop? Is that where they found her?”
“I didn’t get a lot of information, Ripley. I guess we’ll find out when we get there.”
I was so confused I didn’t know what to think. We’d looked everywhere and hadn’t found her. Now I wondered where they’d found her and what had happened to her. Had they told the boyfriend yet? John had known something was wrong, which was kind of odd.
Other police cars were around when we pulled up. The officers raced out of their cars and behind the building. A shiver went down my spine. It had to be the missing girlfriend. A killer was out there. For all I knew he could be watching the whole scene right now. How had Brannon not seen her earlier? Had they not looked outside? I supposed there had been no reason to look anywhere other than the antique shop. If only I had known earlier. Maybe Ashley had needed help. To think we had been out front of the sidewalk the whole time. I couldn’t believe this was happening.
Brannon cut the engine. “You can wait for me here if you’d like. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I nodded as he jumped out from behind the wheel. I would stand on the sidewalk with the other curious watc
hers. Maybe I could hear some of what was going on. I walked up to the crowd, but everyone was too busy watching the police coming and going to even notice me.
“Do you know what’s going on?” I asked the lady standing beside me.
She glanced over at me and shrugged. “It’s a woman. That’s all I know. They say she was murdered.”
A woman? A missing woman?
“Thanks,” I said.
I looked around to see if I could spot the boyfriend. They probably hadn’t even located him yet. When I scanned the crowd, I saw Ruby. What was she doing here? Our eyes met and then she waved. Oh, no. I was hoping to go unnoticed. Now she was headed my way. I was in no mood to make small talk.
“Can you believe what happened?” Ruby asked. “It’s as if John knew before it even happened, like he was psychic or something.”
“Yeah, or something,” I said.
When I looked out over the crowd again, I spotted John. He had that same panicked look on his face as when I’d been talking to him earlier. He wasn’t hysterical though, which I thought was kind of odd considering how upset he’d been. John had been adamant that Ashley was missing. Maybe he was just in shock. I was kind of in shock about this myself. I was trying to wrap my head around all of this and how it could have possibly happened.
Were they sure this was murder? It seemed more likely to be an accident than murder.
Accident or murder, it had happened on my tour. I didn’t even want to think about that. I just wanted Ashley to be okay. Maybe it was all a mistake and she had just been hurt. Considering the police weren’t rushing her out to an ambulance, I assumed that wasn’t the case.
Everyone stood around in stunned silence. John was talking to the police. He seemed calmer than I’d thought he would be after the way he’d acted earlier. Mr. Byrd looked distressed. I could tell by the look in his eyes. He’d probably never get over the fact that the poor woman had been murdered right there behind his shop. I wanted to go over and give him a hug. I wasn’t sure the police would let me cross over to where he stood. Ruby was talking, but I wasn’t even paying attention. It was as if I had tuned her out.
