I tapped on the screen and scrolled through the text messages. A message might give me a good clue as to who this was.
My stomach dropped when I saw the text messages to me. This had to be Melissa’s phone. It had been the killer who was sending me messages. I had suspected as much when he’d told me he was coming for me.
My hands shook as I held the phone. Where were the police? I should have called Brannon and let him know what happened. He would probably be upset if he found out after everyone else. I hadn’t had time to call him though. I couldn’t take the chance that he wouldn’t answer.
The thought had barely left my mind when his police cruiser sped up in front of the library. Brannon parked right out front, jumped out, and ran toward me.
“Rip, what happened? Are you okay?” He touched my arms. His strong hands felt reassuring at a moment when I needed it.
The moment I nodded was when I almost broke down. The weight of what had happened was so heavy that I almost tumbled to the ground, as if the problem was sitting directly on my shoulders, pressing me to the pavement.
“The killer was here. He was after me. I don’t know where he went.” Panic filled my voice.
At that moment more police pulled up with their sirens blaring. Swirling blue lights cast an eerie blue haze over the area. The scent of fallen leaves and damp earth filled the air.
“We’re going to look in the library.” Brannon touched my arm.
Other officers ran up to Brannon. He instructed them to go into the library and look around.
“I’ll look around the perimeter. Rip, you stay here, okay?” Brannon looked at the young blond officer standing next to me. “Stay with her.”
After Brannon ran off, I explained to the officer what had happened, but I knew that I was going to have to tell the story many times before the evening was over. Even though recounting the event was the last thing I wanted to do right now. I just wanted to put that evil image out of my mind.
After a few minutes, Brannon came back. I hadn’t told the other officer about the phone yet. I wanted to give that info to Brannon. When the other officer walked away, I handed the phone to him.
“I found this right here at the graveyard.” I pointed to our left. “It’s Melissa’s phone. It has the text messages that have been sent to me. I think the killer dropped it. He was the one sending me these messages.”
Brannon took the phone from my hand and scrolled through the messages. His expression remained focused.
“We’ll check this phone thoroughly.” He motioned the other officer back over and handed it to him. “Don’t worry. We’ll find who did this.”
It would be impossible not to worry.
“Can you tell me what happened in there?” Brannon asked.
I explained how the killer had chased me around the library. Just the thought of what had happened sent a chill down my spine.
“You’re lucky you got away from him.” Brannon focused his blue eyes on me.
He didn’t have to tell me. “I still don’t know how I got away,” I said.
“I don’t think you should do the tour tonight.” He used his professional voice again.
“I have to do the tour. People will be waiting for me.”
“I think they’ll understand,” he said.
That was when I remembered that Brannon’s ex was supposed to show up at the tour. I really didn’t want to see her and I contemplated calling off the tour tonight. After all, I had a good reason to cancel. But I really needed the extra money. I counted on that money from the tour to help me pay bills.
“There will be a lot of people with me on the tour. I’m sure nothing will happen.” I waved my hand.
Brannon stared at me and I knew that he wasn’t convinced. “Well, I’m going to escort you there and then after you’re finished I’ll take you home. There’s no way I’m letting you walk around town by yourself with a killer on the loose.”
Tammy and Crystal crossed my mind. I had to make sure that they were okay.
I agreed to let Brannon drive me there. I was already running late, so I guessed having him drive me over would be a good thing. I just hoped that he didn’t see his ex and that she didn’t see him. What would Darlene think if she saw me getting a ride from Brannon?
After Brannon talked with a few other officers, he came back over and guided me toward his car. Bilson Library had seen a lot of action since my arrival. That was something the board members wouldn’t overlook.
Brannon opened the car door for me. “Maybe I should just do the tour with you tonight. That would make me feel better.”
Unfortunately, it wouldn’t make me feel better. I wasn’t sure how I would convince him of that.
I climbed into the passenger seat of his car. The inside smelled like Brannon, spicy and clean. “I’ll be just fine. You don’t have to worry. Like I said, there will be a bunch of people with me.”
Brannon didn’t push the issue, so maybe I had convinced him. He probably had a lot of work back at the library to take care of. Somehow I was a little surprised he didn’t put up more of a fight though.
His car had a lot of gadgets. The radio kept going off with talk about the library as police still looked for the suspect. Now that I thought about it, I was crazy for even contemplating doing the tour. Maybe I’d cancel as soon as people arrived.
We drove the very short distance to the spot where I started the tour. I opened the door and started to climb out. “Thank you for giving me a ride.”
He turned off of the engine and took the keys out of the ignition. Before I even closed the door, Brannon had already gotten out and moved over to where I stood on the curb. After shutting the door, I moved closer to Brannon and got on my tiptoes. I placed a kiss on his lips. He looked a little surprised by my action.
I smiled and then started to walk away. “Well, I’ll see you later. I guess you can pick me up here after the tour.”
Yes, I should cancel, but I didn’t want to.
He didn’t respond, so I looked back over my shoulder. He was walking with me.
“You don’t have to walk me all the way down to the cemetery,” I said, trying to sound confident and brave.
Even though in reality I was terrified because I had seen the killer in the cemetery. Would the killer come looking for me again? But I wanted to avoid that confrontation with Darlene. Though I supposed Brannon was used to dealing with her by now.
“I’m walking you all the way to the cemetery, but I’m also going to stay with you for the whole tour.” His voice held a mixture of tenderness and determination.
“I thought that you said you would just give me a ride.”
“You didn’t actually believe that, did you?” He gave me a pointed look. “I can’t let you do this alone. If something happened I would never forgive myself.”
I’d never seen him so serious and I found myself nodding in agreement. I knew that he was right and that I shouldn’t do this alone. It was just too risky after what had happened. But I didn’t want fear to guide my life. Maybe until the killer was found I should suspend the tour.
Brannon and I made it down the alleyway into the cemetery gates. Gray clouds had taken over the night sky. A drizzle of rain had shown up earlier, but it seemed to be holding off for now. The sound of our footsteps bounced off the walls of the old stone buildings.
As we stood there, I said, “I didn’t tell you, but I saw the same person here at the graveyard.”
He frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Well, at the time I thought it was a spirit because he moved so fast and it was dark. He darted behind the trees.” I rubbed my arms. “The thought gives me the chills.”
“We’re going to find this psycho.” He looked out across the graveyard. His clenched jaw and rigid stance let me know Brannon was not only angry, but determined too.
“I just hope he doesn’t do something to anyone else. I’m worried about Tammy and Crystal,” I said.
“Ha
ve you tried to call them?” he asked.
“I left them a message, but they didn’t answer.”
Brannon pulled out his phone. “I’ll make a call and have someone go by and check on them.”
I nodded. “Thank you. I would like that.”
After all, they had gone to the haunted house with me and maybe the killer would target them as well. I didn’t know what this crazy person was thinking, so it was hard to predict what he might do next.
Just as Brannon hung up the phone, the sound of voices coming down the alleyway caught our attention.
“That must be the group now.” My stomach flipped just thinking about the ex-wife showing up. I must have looked like hell after being chased around the library.
The two men and a woman were walking down the alleyway. The group spotted us and waved. They looked a little confused by the police officer standing next to me. This wasn’t going to be good for the tour. Maybe people would think it was so scary that I had to have a police escort. They didn’t know how right they were.
“So are we ready to get started?” Brannon asked.
I watched the alleyway for Darlene. “I was waiting for just one more person.”
Brannon’s mouth twisted at one end into a smile.
After another minute, I decided it was time to start. Why was I waiting around for her? I didn’t want her to show up, so I would just act as if she’d missed the tour. After all, she was late. Maybe she wasn’t coming at all. I wondered if I could get that lucky.
I handed out the flashlights and said, “Welcome to Devil’s Moon Haunted Tour. Tonight I’ll lead you around the haunted sites in town.”
We went around the graveyard first and I was thankful that the killer hadn’t shown up. More than anything I was glad that Brannon had stayed with me. Luckily, he hadn’t listened to me when I told him I’d be fine on my own. Though the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I should have canceled the tour tonight. It was too late for that now though.
Nothing happened in the graveyard, so we traveled down the alleyway toward the tavern to finish the rest of the tour. I’d just made it out to the sidewalk with everyone when Darlene came toward us. Brannon made a groaning sound and I looked over at him. He was staring right at Darlene.
He looked over at me and said, “I’m sorry.”
At least he knew how awkward this was going to be.
“Oh, you guys started without me.” She waved wildly.
Darlene wore jeans on her long legs and a baby-blue sweater that hugged her curves. She had a multi-colored scarf around her neck and a tumbler of coffee in her hands. Her big blue eyes sparkled when she looked at Brannon. Not that I noticed… much.
Anger narrowed Brannon’s eyes and his jaw stiffened. He looked at her and said, “What are you doing here?”
“Didn’t Ms. Van Raden tell you that I’m taking the tour tonight?” She flicked her hair off her shoulder.
Brannon looked at me and I tried to grin. “Sorry, but we were running late, so we had to go ahead and get started.” I handed her a flashlight. “If you’d like to go with us for the rest of the tour, that would be fine.”
She grabbed the flashlight from me and forced a smile on her face. “I’d love to.” She flashed a big smile at Brannon.
Why was she doing this? Maybe just to make Brannon angry? But she hadn’t known that he was going to be on the tour tonight. No, this was focused on me and I didn’t know why. Was it because I was seeing Brannon? She had to know he would start dating again. They were divorced and what he did now was none of her business.
We made it past the tavern and on to the other locations. So far, she’d been quiet, but that was probably a bad sign.
As soon as we arrived at the bookstore I spotted Jaden. He was staring at me as he walked toward us as if he was ready to confront me. Brannon would have something to say about that.
Sure enough, when Jaden saw Brannon next to me, he paused. His face had been scrunched up in a scowl with his eyes narrowed, but now he tried to look casual. Instinctively I glanced down at his shoes. They were dark just like the killer had been wearing, but it was hard to tell if they were the exact ones or not. Jaden walked past without saying anything to any of us. He eyed me up and down as he went by.
I caught myself peeking at everyone’s shoes. Maybe that was the key to finding the killer. It seemed as if everyone I was looking at had larger feet than the killer. Maybe I was wrong, but I thought the killer had had unusually small feet. But maybe I had only imagined it. Everything had happened quickly.
I was just being paranoid. I needed to wrap this tour up and get everyone back to the graveyard and stop with my nagging thoughts.
Brannon touched my hand and warmth radiated through me. This was one time when I didn’t want to be alone on the tour.
When I glanced back, something was wrong. Actually I was happy about it, but it was still odd. Brannon’s ex was missing. Where had she disappeared to? Maybe I wasn’t doing the tour fast enough for her. Maybe she didn’t like that Brannon was there. Whatever the reason, I was relieved. Why had she been there to begin with?
Peering back one more time, I noticed that she hadn’t disappeared after all. Jaden was talking to her. What were they talking about?
Brannon noticed their tête-à-tête too and he looked suspicious. They must have sensed us watching them because they ducked into the café. I couldn’t wait to find out what Brannon had to say about this.
Finally, we made it back to the graveyard. I collected everyone’s flashlights. “Thank you everyone for coming tonight. I hope you had a great time and you’ll join me again.”
With any luck, Brannon’s presence hadn’t scared them away for good.
When the group walked away, I turned to Brannon and said, “What do you think about Jaden and your ex talking to each other? Did she know him?”
Okay, I couldn’t wait to ask him. It had been so odd though. He had to be suspicious too.
At that moment I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Melissa’s ghost had appeared over by one of the oak trees. Before Brannon answered, I pointed at the ghost. She was staring right at us. She lifted her arm and gestured across the way toward the buildings. I followed her pointing finger and that was when I saw him.
Adrenaline rushed through my body. “Brannon, look! It’s him… the killer.”
There was no way the killer had seen Brannon—or else he just didn’t care that Brannon was with me. I couldn’t tell if the killer was looking at us because he still had that mask on, but it appeared that he was staring right in our direction. Just the way he stood was menacing.
Brannon took off in a sprint. “Rip, go to the tavern. Wait for me there. Don’t leave.”
I sure wasn’t going to stay around by myself in the cemetery with a killer on the loose. Melissa’s ghost had disappeared. Brannon chased the killer and I took off down the alleyway toward the tavern’s entrance. The tavern had a back door, but I wasn’t sure if it would be locked. Plus, that was the direction the killer had gone.
I wondered if Melissa’s ghost had been warning me about the killer being there. She’d been pointing right at him. The whole time I’d been scared of her, but she’d been there to help me find the killer all along. She’d been standing beside Brannon’s ex and Jaden. Though she’d been beside Crystal too, so maybe that meant nothing.
I panted for air as I made it to the tavern’s door. The place was packed again and the band played loudly from the stage. I shoved my way through the door and around the crowd, trying to make it to the bar. Relief washed over me when I spotted Tammy behind the bar. I wasn’t alone. Dread took over when I realized I had to tell her that the killer was around and possibly looking for us. Well, I knew he was looking for me, but I wasn’t so sure about Tammy. I hoped more than anything he was just after me.
A smile crossed Tammy’s face when she saw me. When I fell against the bar, she said, “What’s wrong? You look like someone’s chasing you.
”
I tried to catch my breath. “That’s because someone was chasing us. The killer was there in the graveyard and Brannon took off after him.”
Tammy’s eyes widened. “Dear God. Do you know where he went?”
I scanned the bar, but thankfully didn’t see the maniac. “I don’t know.”
Movement caught my attention and I spotted Brannon coming through the back section of the tavern. He rushed over to us.
“What happened?” I asked.
“He got away.” Frustration covered Brannon’s face.
“What will we do now?” I asked.
“More officers are on the way. I need you to stay here with Tammy just for a bit, okay?” Brannon’s strong hand touched my arm.
“I’m not going anywhere.” Tammy crossed her arms in front of her.
“Sure, yeah, that’s fine. We’ll stay right here,” I said.
After Brannon walked away, Tammy looked at me. “What’s going to happen?”
I sat down on the stool. “I don’t know, but I’m worried.”
Tammy handed me a bottle of water and I took a big gulp.
Just then Crystal walked up beside me. “Hey, Tammy. Rip, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I didn’t see you come in,” I said.
She sat down on the stool beside me. “What’s wrong? You don’t look like you feel well.”
I wasn’t sure how to tell her this. “The killer was just outside. I guess you all didn’t get my messages.”
Tammy and Crystal both shook their heads. Oh, no. Crystal and Tammy didn’t even know what had happened at the library.
“I’ve been working and haven’t checked my voicemail,” Tammy said.
Crystal looked at her phone.
“I think the killer wants me dead,” I said.
Chapter 24
We were discussing what had happened at the library and what would take place from here when several cops entered the tavern. They instructed us to stay put for a bit while they looked for the killer. They also said that they would need to speak with us.
Haunt the Haunt, Walk the Walk (Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Book 3) Page 16
