by Rose Pressey
Just a few seconds passed and I had the same sensation. When I looked up, the guy was watching me again. Okay, this wasn’t a coincidence this time. He was doing this on purpose. Why was he staring at me? Did he want to ask a question? Maybe he was too shy? I went back to my work, trying to act as if it was no big deal, but I just couldn’t shake the creepy feeling. Maybe I should go over and ask if he needed help. That would make him stop staring.
Then again, he could be some weirdo. I really didn’t want any contact with him. Nevertheless, every time I looked up, he was watching me, and then he would glance away.
That was when Tammy approached and I said, “Okay, don’t look, but that guy over to the left by the mystery stack keeps staring at me.”
Of course that was when Tammy looked.
“Don’t look,” I whispered.
“Too late,” Tammy said.
“Is he still watching?” I asked.
“Yes, he was staring this way when I looked at him, but then he turned away.”
“He keeps doing that every time I look at him,” I said.
“Well, here he comes now,” Tammy said.
“Oh, great, I guess now I’m about to find out why he keeps staring at me.”
Maybe I should have 911 already pressed into my phone and ready to hit send. The guy stood in front of the desk without saying a word.
Finally, I asked, “May I help you?”
He shoved the books toward me. “I’d like to check these out.”
“Do you have a library card?” I asked.
“No, I’m new in town,” he said.
“You have to have a card first. Do you have identification?”
He looked at me strangely, as if he’d been caught robbing a bank. I wasn’t sure why he’d looked at me that way when I’d asked.
“No problem.” He pulled out his driver’s license and handed it to me.
I took down the information. Lee Dolan. At least I knew his name now, but the weird thing was that he lived on the same street as me. Apparently we were neighbors. I’d never seen him before.
Wait. I had seen him before. He’d been sitting out front of my house last night watching me then too. Now I really was kind of freaked out.
I handed him his driver’s license back and his new library card.
“Are these the books you’d like to check out?” I was trying to remain professional, but inside I was freaking out.
“Yes, those are the ones,” he said.
When I gathered the books I realized that they were paranormal books dealing with ghosts and other phenomena. That was odd. Did he know about me and what I did? Or was this just some kind of coincidence? Maybe I should just ask him right here. Then again, he would just probably lie if he had some sort of ulterior motive.
Then he said, “You do the haunted tour, right?”
So apparently I wasn’t going to have to bring this up. He didn’t even know me.
“Yes, that’s right. How did you know that?” I asked, sounding more than a little suspicious and paranoid.
“I saw the poster around town.” He shifted from one foot to the other. “I asked someone at the coffee shop and they said you worked at the library and did the tours.”
“So you’re interested in the paranormal?” I asked.
“Very much so,” he said. “It must be cool doing that. I’d love to do something like that.”
That was weird. He was the second person in as many days who’d said they wanted to do a tour just like me. I wondered if he was somehow related to Ruby.
“Yeah, it’s a lot of fun,” I said.
Normally I would have invited him to come and take the tour, but under the circumstances I felt maybe it was better if I didn’t encourage him.
He grabbed the books when I finished checking them out. “All right, well, I’ll see you soon.”
He turned and walked away. That was when Tammy and I looked at each other.
“That was creepy. I’d get some sort of pepper spray if I were you.”
“Do you really think he’s dangerous?” I asked.
“You can never be for sure,” Tammy said.
Lee was definitely acting weird and I didn’t like that I had seen him in front of my apartment. I would have to keep my eye out for him. Plus, I would tell Brannon about what happened.
Yes, he was creepy. Annie sent a text. Stay away from him.
So everyone had the same consensus. But maybe Lee really was just interested in the paranormal. I had a tendency to be too suspicious sometimes. Something told me he might be at the tour tonight.
***
After work, I hurried over to the graveyard with a heaviness in my chest. I was worried about what would happen. I needed to stay calm though. I mean, nothing had even happened yet and I was already worried. Maybe Lee wouldn’t even show up or, if he came, he could be completely normal. Plus, I would have other people around, so how bad could it be?
I made it to the graveyard and stood in my usual spot, waiting for the group to arrive. It was a lovely evening, so I was hoping for a good turnout.
A slight breeze carried across my skin. Twinkling stars filled the pitch-black sky and the moon cast a white glow over everything. I peeked over my shoulder, wondering if any of the ghosts would appear tonight. No matter how lovely the evening it still felt lonely standing there all alone. I’d almost welcome a visit from Mrs. Clatterbuck… almost.
The longer I stood there the more my imagination went wild. When the owl hooted, I jumped. I peered up at him. As he sat on the branch at the top of the old oak tree, he seemed to be staring right at me.
When footsteps echoed down the alleyway, I looked to see who was coming. That was when the dread set in. It was Lee, the guy from the library. I had hoped maybe he wouldn’t show up, but now I realized that my wish wouldn’t come true. I would try to act casual and not panic completely. I would wait until after I saw how he acted before freaking out. I reminded myself I would have other people on the tour, so it wasn’t like I would have to be alone with this guy. Lee was staring right at me as he approached.
“Good evening. I told you I would see you soon.” A slow smile spread across his face.
I chuckled nervously. “Yes, you did. I didn’t know it would be this soon.”
“Well, you do have a haunted tour, and I’m ready to see it.”
“Okay, we’ll just wait for the rest of the group,” I said.
“The woman from the tavern where I bought the ticket said that I was the only one tonight.” He laughed. “So I guess it’s just us.”
No way. There was no way I wanted to do this with just this guy.
“You mean no one else is showing up?” I knew by the tone of my voice that I sounded less than pleased.
“Just the two of us.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
Well… if I had no choice but to do this, I would have to go on a tour with this guy alone. He was so creepy and I didn’t want to be around him. Plus, I had to sound as enthusiastic as I did with my other customers. That would be tough. Being completely scared and weirded out wasn’t going to make this easy.
“Welcome to Devil’s Moon Haunted Tour,” I said. “Tonight I will guide you around the streets and buildings of town. Many sightings of ghosts have been reported in the town of Devil’s Moon. Follow along with me tonight while I take you to some of the most haunted spots.”
It sounded as if I was in a hostage situation reading off a ransom note. I had to get a hold of myself. This guy had done nothing wrong other than stare at me, so I needed to play nice. I might just skip out the dark cemetery on the tour tonight though. I’d stick with businesses that were lit and full of people. It was only natural to be cautious like that. Especially after the murder. I’d once known a woman who was a real estate agent. She had shown a house to a guy. He’d seemed completely normal, and then he’d attacked her when they were alone in the house.
“Okay, let’s go on the tour,” I said and motioned for Lee to follow m
e.
We headed over to the tavern. When the old stone building came into view I felt some relief. At least I would see Tammy. Maybe she could help me out of this awkward situation.
“This is our first stop.” I pointed.
Lee held the wide wood door open for me. “Ladies first.”
“Thank you,” I said.
I stepped inside and a sudden rush of panic set in when I thought about the possibility that Tammy wouldn’t be there. I peered around a group of people. Thank goodness she was there. As soon as I saw her, I released a deep breath that I’d been holding in. I motioned for her to help. An SOS. She just waved it off as if I was being funny and went back to waiting on the customers.
“So are you married?” Lee asked as we reached the next location.
That question had nothing to do with haunted buildings.
“I’m actually dating a police officer with the Devil’s Moon Police Department.”
My answer wasn’t subtle at all, but he’d made me nervous, so it was the first thing that came to mind.
I rushed through the tour as quickly as possible, but Lee continued to ask personal questions, like what I liked to do for fun other than go on haunted tours, and what my favorite book was. He even told me that he lived down the street from me.
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“Oh, the lady at the tavern who helped me told me.” He pointed down the street.
Tammy. What was she thinking? Why would she do that? Did she want this guy to stalk me? I sent Brannon a text to let him know that I needed him to come right away.
Thank goodness it was the end of the tour. Well, not officially, but I wasn’t going to do the graveyard with Lee. No way. I didn’t even want to walk back there with him. I’d just end it right there on the sidewalk in front of the tavern. I’d have a little talk with Tammy when I went inside.
“You mean this is the end of the tour?” he asked with a pouty voice.
“Yep, this is it,” I said through a fake smile.
“What about the cemetery? We didn’t do that.”
“They’re closing it early for repairs so they really don’t want anyone walking around in there. Sorry about that, but if you’d like I can give you a refund on the ticket.”
“Oh, no, that won’t be necessary. I had such a great time. Thank you, and I’ll just come back some other time to do the cemetery tour.”
How would I get out of that? I guessed he had been perfectly fine other than the personal questions. He just needed to know what boundaries he couldn’t cross. Maybe I had been too suspicious, but a girl could never be too cautious.
“I’ll be seeing you,” he said as he turned around.
“I hope not,” I said under my breath.
A few seconds later, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I jumped around to find Brannon standing behind me. He still wore his uniform. Not that I minded at all—he looked sexy in it. Concern flashed through his big blue eyes.
“Oh, don’t do that. You scared me.” I clutched my chest.
“What’s wrong? Your text seemed as if something was important.”
“It was just this creepy guy, but he’s gone now.” I waved my hand in the direction where Lee had disappeared.
“What did he look like?” Brannon scanned the area.
“Creepy,” I said.
“Could you be a little more specific than that?” he asked with a smile.
“I suppose he’s normal-looking, but his actions are what gives me the creeps.”
Brannon wrapped his arms around me. “Well, you’re with me now.”
My heart sped up. Yes, how could I forget with his strong arms holding me close to his body?
I proceeded to tell Brannon about what had happened. Like he said, it was all over now, so I had to just forget about it. Just because Lee was a little odd didn’t mean he meant any harm. For all I knew he could be a nice guy if I’d given him a chance.
Chapter 8
I was in my office reading more of the diary. The husband was still away and Sarah was realizing that the stranger Jacob might have more sinister motives for being at her home. She never said specifically what her reasoning was, just that Jacob scared her. I thought she should have told him to leave, but then maybe that would have escalated things.
Unfortunately, it was time to close the library, so I had to stop reading for now. I would pick back up as soon as possible.
Things seemed even scarier now in my office. Books, papers, and any other items on my desk were routinely knocked off on the floor. I thought I might have to glue things down. The room was freezing all the time. The lights flickered and the sense that someone was in there with me was overwhelming.
As a matter of fact, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that things had taken a turn for the worse as soon as the book had shown up. It had to be a coincidence though, because how could a book have any kind of effect on a spirit haunting someplace?
I stood up from my desk, grabbed my bag, and put the diary inside. Then I headed for the door.
Just as I made it to the door, the wind picked up and objects whirled around the room. Stuff flew off my desk and hit the floor. I turned around and gasped. I couldn’t believe what I’d seen. There was no way that I had done that—something had made the stuff fall. As scared as I was, I was actually angry too.
“Get out of here. Why are you here?” I yelled out.
Of course nothing answered. It was too much of a coward to do that. It was just playing games and tricks on me. I quickly picked the stuff up off the floor and placed it back on my desk and headed out of the office. I wasn’t even going to tell Tammy about what happened. It would scare her too much. I sure hoped that it didn’t happen to her. I wanted the spirit to leave her alone. I decided to take Jane Austen home with me tonight, whether she wanted to go or not. If Annie wanted to come, I’d bring her too, but she would probably stay there to protect the library. It was her turf.
I had looked up Sarah Tyler again. It had shown her marriage certificate. Apparently her husband had owned land, so I decided to head over there before my tour tonight. I wanted to see if I could find out anything. It was a long shot, but I thought I would give it a try anyway. Tammy was already headed for the door.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
She just shook her head and said, “No, I just got the creepy vibe again. I’m going to get out of here. Let’s go.”
“I’ll be right behind you,” I said. “Annie, where are you?”
She didn’t answer. I figured she was hiding out from the bad spirit. There was no time to wait for her to appear.
After a couple minutes of coaxing, I got Jane Austen in the carrier and headed to my car. My old car didn’t get driven much because mostly I walked everywhere in town, but this location was much further than I could walk. Plus, I didn’t have much time before I had to be back for the tour. Tammy was already in her car when I walked down the library’s steps. She waved and pulled away from the curb. That was unlike her and I knew that this thing in the library had scared her.
I swung by the house to drop off Jane Austen, then took off for the outskirts of town. The drive would take me about fifteen minutes. It was a beautiful evening and a perfect time to explore.
When a road came up on the right, I turned the steering wheel without giving it much thought. It was as if I knew exactly where I was headed. Dust kicked up under the wheels as I drove down the narrow old road. The area was covered by trees, making it secluded. Studying out the window, I found a spot where it looked like an old house used to be, but it had been long since torn down. Looking from a distance would do no good. I had to take a closer look.
Anxiety and fear came over me. Why was I feeling this way? It felt as if I wasn’t alone, but I knew there was no one out there with me. Unless someone was watching from a distance. That was highly unlikely.
I pulled over to the side of the road and cut the engine. Staring out the window, I realized
I needed to do something. It did me no good to sit there in the car. I’d come to look around, so that was what I had to do. So in spite of my uneasy feeling, I got out of the car. I paused and looked around, wondering where I should go. Something told me to move closer.
Struggling to maneuver over the uneven ground, I trekked up to what used to be the home’s foundation. It felt strange standing there looking at the spot where the house used to be. I couldn’t believe that Sarah Tyler had lived here. Birds chirped from the nearby trees, but it was otherwise silent. Stepping through the thick weeds and thistles, I moved around to the side, and then to the back. There wasn’t much to see, but now at least I’d have a better understanding of the location when I read the diary and descriptions of the land.
As I turned around to leave, it felt as if someone was there with me, walking beside me. Of course when I scanned the area no one was there. I was all alone, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling as if someone was with me. When I looked over to the right, only the cedar, oak, and maple trees filled the area.
Just up ahead I noticed a little iron fence. I immediately knew what that meant. There was a graveyard. Was Sarah buried there? I ran across the weed-filled land and over toward the fence. The feeling that someone was moving with me remained the entire time. I shouldn’t have come here alone after all. It was just too much.
When I finally reached the graveyard, I paused. The area was enclosed by a fence with a little gate. Though it was small, there were probably about twenty different headstones. Of course, I knew I had to take a look around. Lifting up the little lever, I opened the gate and walked through. Faded letters and dates covered the front of each headstone. I hoped that they weren’t all so distorted that I couldn’t read the names and dates. Moving to my right, I stopped in front of the nearest headstone. I didn’t recognize the name. Not that I had expected to, but maybe I had the wrong spot.
