Birthday Cake Waffle: Book 8 in the Diner of the Dead Series

by Carolyn Q. Hunter

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  BIRTHDAY CAKE WAFFLE

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  Birthday

  Cake

  Waffle

  Book Eight

  in the

  Diner of the Dead Series

  By

  Carolyn Q. Hunter

  Copyright 2017 Summer Prescott Books

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  **This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to persons, living or dead, places of business, or situations past or present, is completely unintentional.

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  BIRTHDAY CAKE

  WAFFLE

  Book Eight in the Diner of the Dead Series

  PROLOGUE

  * * *

  Frank Thompson drove his black American sports car down Main Street in Haunted Falls, glancing up and down at all the shops along the historic downtown road. He had been into a few of the shops so far, but none of them had what he was looking for. His girlfriend, Sonja, had a birthday that coming weekend and he was determined to find her the perfect gift.

  Unfortunately, he was at a complete loss of what to get and hadn’t seen anything that had sparked his interest yet. Did she want jewelry? Clothes? A gift card? Sonja was his first girlfriend in over five years and he felt completely out-of-practice. Heck, it had taken him almost five months to even get around just to kissing her.

  They had already made plans to go away to a cabin for the weekend together to celebrate the day, a surprise for her on his part, but he wanted to have something to give her as well, something she could unwrap.

  Unfortunately, shopping for a present was making him anxious. At Christmas, he had gone simple, gotten her a box of expensive chocolates and an adorable plush toy in the shape of a waffle. Her birthday present, however, needed to be something extra special.

  Police work came easily to him, but having a steady relationship—with the most self-confident and accomplished girl he’d ever met—caused him to sweat sometimes. Somehow, he knew it would all be worth it in the end.

  Passing the library, near the end of the Haunted Falls historic downtown, he began to feel disappointed in his lack of success so far.

  Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a building he didn’t remember ever being on the street before.

  “Hello?” He whispered to himself, raising one eyebrow and reading the sign.

  Wickerman Antiques

  He pulled to the side of the road across from the shop and parked. Stepping out of his car he pulled his bomber jacket tightly around his body and looked up at the building. He had never seen this store before and assumed it was new to the community. The building was built completely out of stone, with a single glass door leading into the front. No windows shed any light on what kind of merchandise they might have in stock.

  He’d just have to go inside and see.

  Looking both ways, he crossed the street and stepped inside. The light tinkle of a bell accompanied his entrance. Instantly, he was hit with the smell of musty old wood and upholstery.

  Waiting a moment for his eyes to adjust, he stepped further into the crowded store. Pieces of strange looking furniture warped into odd contortions of wood and iron, and all sorts of dolls, trinkets, knick-knacks and jewelry filled every nook and cranny of the small room.

  “Wow,” he whispered as he examined the items available. Everything seemed to be covered in a layer of dust and cobweb. This created some concern for Frank, as he couldn’t help but wonder why a new store—a store he had never once noticed before on his daily patrols—would have so many collective signs of age.

  Stepping up to the glass jewelry counter in the center of the room, he used his gloved hand to wipe the dust away and peer inside.

  His eyes widened as he stared at the case’s contents. Right there in case, just underneath the patch he had cleared in the dust, was the most beautiful necklace he had ever seen. A rose gold chain made up the length of the piece, with an almost hypnotizing whitish stone hanging from the end.

  “Can I help you?” a soft voice croaked.

  Glancing up, Frank jumped backward and into an old hutch, nearly knocking it over. He hadn’t expected the cloaked shopkeeper to suddenly be there right behind the counter. Quickly, he grabbed a hold of the large wooden hutch and kept it from falling.

  “Sheesh, I’m sorry,” he muttered, wiping his brow with the sleeve of his bomber jacket. “I didn’t realize you were there.”

  The person stood slightly hunched over, the hood of the furry winter cloak concealing their face. Frank couldn’t even tell if the shopkeeper was a man or a woman, what with the outfit and the monotone voice.

  “You are looking for a present?” the shopkeeper asked.

  “Y-yes,” he replied, a little surprised. “For my girlfriend’s birthday.”

  “Ah,” the cloaked figure continued. “And you want this?” A finger concealed in a red velvet glove pointed at the item behind the glass.

  “Yes, actually. I’ve been wandering town all day looking for the perfect gift, and I think that necklace might just hit the mark.”

  “Very well.” The shopkeeper opened the sliding door and delicately removed the item from the case, turning around to begin boxing it up. “Gift wrapped, of course.”

  “Thanks. It’ll save me the trouble,” Frank responded. He stepped forward and leaned on the glass case. “But, you haven’t told me how much it costs.”

  Spinning back around the shopkeeper placed a perfectly packaged box, trimmed in black velvet with a red ribbon, on the counter. “Thirty-f
ive dollars.”

  That was far less than he had expected. “Sounds perfect,” Frank agreed, reaching into his jacket and pulling out his wallet. He carefully counted out the bills and handed them to the shopkeeper. “Thanks a ton.”

  “We’re closed,” the cloaked figure snapped. “Please leave.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Out.”

  Raising one curious eyebrow, Frank obeyed, heading for the front door and stepping out into the cold evening air.

  Watching him go, the figure beneath the cloak smiled wickedly. “Enjoy your birthday present, Sonja.”

  CHAPTER 1

  * * *

  “But you just went out of town in November, Sonja,” Diane argued. She sat on the bed of the guesthouse where her daughter lived, attempting to persuade her daughter to stay. “I don’t see why you two need to take another trip this soon.”

  Sonja neatly folded her clothes and placed them into her suitcase, feeling a distinct sense of déjà vu to the last time she had traveled. In November, she had had almost this exact conversation with her mother when she was packing for a trip to her boyfriend’s family farm in Wyoming. “Mom, it’s only for a few days, and we’ll be back Monday morning. It’s my birthday, after all, so I’m going to do what I want.”

  “Exactly.” her mother exclaimed, completely ignoring her daughter’s point. “It’s your birthday. Wouldn’t you rather spend it with all of your family and friends?”

  The young redhead refrained from rolling her eyes. For the past five years or more, her mother had harped on her to find a boyfriend, get married, and settle down. However, now that Sonja had a boyfriend and was spending more and more time with him—and as their relationship became more serious—her mother protested at every turn.

  The irony was almost too much to bear.

  “Mom, Frank has rented a cabin for us for the weekend. It was a very sweet surprise, and I’m not going to turn him down.” She didn’t mention how this little weekend trip was going to be, hopefully, the much-needed break she needed from Haunted Falls and from her mother. During the previous year, she had been bombarded with one stress after another. She had quit her job in New York City and moved back to Haunted Falls, Colorado, where she had opened her very own restaurant (called The Waffle Diner and Eatery). While she loved her diner, it was often stressful to manage everything. In addition to day to day stresses, she had also helped out in solving a number of strange murder cases.

  Worst of all, however, were her supernatural powers.

  Back in April, she had begun to see glimpses of ghosts here and there, but things didn’t just stop there. As the year had progressed, she realized that there was something strange going on inside of herself. These ghostly sightings weren’t just happenstance. She learned that she had the power to communicate with the undead, and not only that, she had the power to command cursed objects.

  While to some people this may have seemed like an exciting development, like developing a superpower, for her it had only seemed to cause more horror and death than she cared to see in her entire lifetime.

  With the new year, and with another birthday quickly on its way, she was hoping to turn her luck around for good. She hoped to avoid any future ghostly encounters, to steer clear of cursed objects, and to divert herself away from any more supernatural discoveries about herself or otherwise.

  A quiet meow drew her attention from her thoughts and she looked down to see her cat, her ghost cat, staring up at her. Sonja was the only one who could see the little transparent animal, except for maybe her father. The little ghost had been a Christmas gift from him.

  Smiling, she supposed that not everything supernatural was horrible, but she could still do without the violence, death, and other scary stuff. Unfortunately, even though the cat was cute, it was often a harsh reminder of the other dark things that had happened.

  She wanted nothing more than to live a quiet, normal life, and her best hope of that seemed to lie in her boyfriend, Frank Thompson. He had completely changed everything for the better, bringing joy and happiness at each turn.

  This weekend trip meant she could escape all the drama of family, friends, ghosts—even if only for a few days. Most of all, it meant some quality one-on-one time with Frank, which she had been longing for.

  “Do you really need to go?” Diane continued, interrupting her daughter’s thought. “All by yourselves, I mean. The last trip was just the two of you. I just don’t think you need another one.” She made a pouty face like she always did when her daughter did something she disliked.

  Ever since Sonja’s father had left them without any warning or notice, her mother had become extra needy. Sometimes, Sonja felt more like the parent and less like the child.

  “That last trip wasn’t all by ourselves, Mom. We spent the entire week at Frank’s family farm with his parents.”

  “All the more reason not to go,” Diane argued, clearly desperate for any way to convince her daughter to stay. “You won’t have anyone to chaperone you two.”

  Sonja gritted her teeth. She loved her mother dearly, but living right next door, in the guest house no less, was getting to be a little too much. “I’m turning twenty-eight and Frank is thirty-four, Mom. I don’t think either of us needs a chaperone.” Stuffing in the last sweater, she closed her suitcase. “Besides, the cabin has separate bedrooms and even two bathrooms. Frank is very respectful when it comes to things like this. He’s old fashioned, so you have nothing to worry about.”

  Diane sighed heavily. “If only your father were here, he’d know how to talk some sense into you.”

  The situation with her father was messy all by itself. He seemed to have had some knowledge of Sonja’s powers, even indicating that he himself had similar supernatural powers. Unfortunately, he was never around to answer any questions or to help her better understand the things that were happening to her.

  Sonja felt like she needed this little weekend trip more than ever.

  A heavy knock on the door interrupted the conversation, and Sonja let out a sigh of relief as she excitedly ran to the door of the one-room guesthouse to answer it.

  Opening the door, Frank stood outside with his bomber jacket zipped up all the way and a black scarf around his neck. In his hands, he held a small black box with a ribbon around it. He flashed her his best smile. “Hi, Sonj’. Happy Birthday,” he greeted her, holding out the present.

  Upon seeing the gift, Sonja instantly felt a little sick to her stomach.

  Frank’s smile dropped. “Sonja? Is something wrong?”

  The box in his hands exactly matched a gift she had received the previous month during Christmas—a box that had contained a cursed stone.

  CHAPTER 2

  * * *

  Eyeing the strange little present, Sonja felt her heart pounding in her chest. She wanted to get away from cursed objects and hauntings, not invite more of them into her life.

  The original box, an early Christmas present, had shown up anonymously on her doorstep one morning. Inside had been a cursed black stone that caused violent visions of the future, possession, and death. Similarly, the rock had mysteriously disappeared as soon as the holidays had ended.

  “Sonja?” Frank asked again. “Are you okay?”

  Shaking herself free of the horrible memories, she decided that the wrapping of the birthday present couldn’t be anything more than a coincidence.

  “I-It’s nothing,” she lied. “I’m just surprised. My birthday isn’t for another two days.”

  “Well,” Frank’s smile returned with a slightly sheepish slant. “I was going to wait until Sunday but decided I was just too excited. Here,” he held out the box. “Open it.”

  Smiling broadly, she admired her boyfriend’s sincerity. Taking the gift, she headed over to the bed and sat down.

  “Hi, Frank,” Diane greeted him, forcing a smile. “Spoiling her early, I see.”

  “I couldn’t help myself,” he shrugged.

  “Now, you’re
not going to try any funny business this weekend?” she blurted out.

  “Mom,” Sonja exclaimed a little angrily. “Can’t you at least let me open my present before you begin the interrogation? Besides, this is Frank. You’ve known him for years.”

  “Still,” Diane raised an eyebrow.

  Sonja could tell by the smile on Frank’s face that he was almost enjoying this. “You have my word as the sheriff of Haunted Falls, no harm will come to your daughter.”

  “Alright,” Diane conceded. “I suppose I can accept that.”

  “Can I open my gift now?” Sonja pleaded.

  “Yes, dear. I’m sorry, but a mother just worries sometimes. It’s in our nature.”

  “Well, thank you,” Sonja replied with a sarcastic smile. Undoing the ribbon on the box, she lifted the lid off and looked at the item inside. “Oh Frank,” she exclaimed, pulling the rose gold necklace from the box. “It’s beautiful.”

  “Oh, my,” Diane added. “That is exquisite. It must have cost a fortune.”

  Sonja examined the whitish, transparent stone at the end of the chain closely. “What kind of stone is this?”

  “I’m not sure.” Frank shrugged. “The sales person didn’t tell me.”

  “Try it on,” Diane urged.

  Standing up, Sonja handed the necklace to her boyfriend. “Help me out, Frank.” She turned her back toward him.

  “Sure thing,” he smiled, draping the jewelry around her neck. Slowly, he brought the two ends together.

  The last thing Sonja remembered was the sound of the magnetic clasp clicking shut.

  * * *

  Everything went black for a second and Sonja gasped for air, finding it suddenly difficult to breathe. Sucking in deeply, she finally caught the delicious air in her lungs.

  Shaking her head and blinking her eyes, the darkness began to fade and a blurry picture appeared before her. At first, all she could make out were three figures. Two were standing together crouched over the third who appeared to be laying down.