by Rose Pressey
I retrieved the phone from my bag and plugged it in with my charger in the kitchen. It would probably take a couple minutes for it to charge enough for it to actually power on. Now I just had to occupy myself for a couple minutes. I moved over to the front windows and peeked out the blinds. There should be no movement outside at this time of night, but with my uneasy feeling it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see something.
No traffic moved up and down the street. The streetlight just down the way gave off a soft glow, just enough to see a bit around the area. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except for the feeling that I was being watched.
I spun around to see if a ghost had joined me. As far as I knew I was still alone in the room. I hurried back over to the phone in the kitchen. Pressing the button on the side of the phone, I waited for the screen to light up. After a few more seconds, it glowed. Ah-ha!
I hurriedly touched the screen and looked through for any indication of who the phone belonged to. After just a few seconds though I realized what I had. Haley. The phone belonged to Haley. She must have lost it that night and no one had found it until now. I looked back through her text messages and found a conversation with a guy named Harrison. He told her about going to the abandoned school. That if she went with him, they could ask the spirits to bring back her mother who had recently passed away. So he had lured her there claiming that she would speak with her mother? This was just the information I’d needed to see. Should I call his number? What would I say? I supposed it was too late to do anything tonight. I’d have to check this out more tomorrow.
A rustling noise caught my attention. I spun around and looked up into the dining room. I caught movement and I thought for sure it was Haley.
“Is that you, Haley?” I called out.
She didn’t answer so I made my way through the living room and to the foyer. Peering up, I saw her turn the corner of the landing.
Slowly I made my way up the stairs. “There’s no need to hide. Why don’t you just come out and tell me what happened to you? Try to remember. I need to find out who did this so that they can go to jail.”
She didn’t answer. I made it to the top of the stairs now with no sign of her. Of course, it could have been a different ghost, but it had looked like her leg. I stepped into my bedroom and looked around. She wasn’t there either. Unless she was in the closet. Now I needed to check. I made my way over to the door and slowly opened it. Whew. No Haley popping out at me.
When I heard a noise, I spun around. Haley walked out the door. Why was she playing these games with me now? I hurried out of the bedroom as she was making her way down the stairs. Of course, she was a lot faster than me so I couldn’t catch up. I raced to the bottom of the stairs again.
“Will you stop doing that? I really don’t want to have a cardio session tonight. Plus, it’s my bedtime.”
No response.
“Do you know someone named Harrison?”
Seconds passed with still nothing. Haley was nowhere in sight. Maybe she was gone for the night and I could go to bed. I moved over to the front door and peeked outside. I reached to turn on the porch light, but then I saw Haley walking down the sidewalk. I groaned.
I slipped on my shoes and grabbed my jacket and keys. After locking the door, I hurried down the sidewalk after her.
“Exactly what do you think you’re doing?” I asked. “First you were upstairs and now you’re outside. Plus, you’re not talking to me. You have that weird trance-like stare.”
She looked over at me. “I’m talking to you.”
“Oh, sure, now you are, but you wouldn’t earlier.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“I thought I’d go back over to the scene of the crime. Maybe it will help spark my memory.”
“I suppose that is a good idea… in the morning,” I said.
It could spark her memory. However, I didn’t really want to walk back to town tonight. Admittedly I was curious. Would she remember anything though? I had to take this chance to speak with her.
“I have to go now,” she said.
“Fine, I’ll go with you,” I said reluctantly.
“You will?” she asked.
Was that so surprising?
“Do you know of a guy named Harrison?” I asked.
She furrowed her brow. “It sounds vaguely familiar. Right now nothing crosses my mind.”
I sighed. “If you remember let me know. It could be important.”
Haley and I hurried along down the sidewalk toward town. Hardly any cars were out and definitely no people were walking along the sidewalk. Once again, I was crazy for doing this after all that had happened. I was always putting myself at risk. A light mist of rain fell, which didn’t help matters. To strangers it looked as if I was walking alone, though I had the ghost right beside me.
“You’re getting wet,” Haley said.
“All in the name of helping you, my friend,” I said.
“I do appreciate that. I hope you can help Roxanne.”
“I’ll help her by finding out who did this to you.”
“I just can’t remember anything. Not going to the abandoned school like she said, or the guy I was with. I pretty much remember everything that happened in my life up to that point.”
“It’ll probably come back to you soon,” I said. “It’s just the time right before this happened is probably a little blank for you.”
“Yes, that’s why I’m going back to the scene of the crime,” she said. “Anything that might help.”
Now wet and a bit cold, I was definitely having a cup of hot chocolate when I got home. The light jacket wasn’t helping much with keeping me dry.
Haley and I finally reached the spot. We stood there just looking around. I had no idea what I was looking for. I was basically just waiting for her memory to come back. I stood underneath the awning of the nearby store and watched her. Again, if anyone saw me, they would think it was just me standing out here in the rain, perhaps waiting for a ride.
Anyway, no one would see me because the town was empty. I stood there and glanced around. Then I noticed the outdoor camera at Dana’s bakery was pointed right in this direction. Dana had to have video of the incident. I wondered if the police had even asked her for that. Of course, they weren’t investigating this as a homicide. I’d ask her for it in the morning. Fingers crossed it would show me something worthwhile.
A few seconds later the sound of a car caught my attention. When I looked over to my left, I spotted a car. Uh-oh. Brannon pulled his cruiser up to the curb. Now I had to explain what the heck I was doing out here. I hurried over to the car and climbed in. Haley had no idea I had even moved. She was looking in the opposite direction.
“Okay, I’m listening,” Brannon said.
I pushed my wet hair out my eyes. “I came over here with the ghost. She wants to see if the scene of the crime helps spark her memory.”
He nodded. “If anyone else said that I’d think they’d been drinking. You haven’t been drinking, have you?”
“Oh, you,” I said with a wave of my hand.
“Where is the ghost now?” he asked.
“She’s right over there.” I pointed. “Wait, she’s gone now. She keeps taking off like that.”
“How many times have you seen her tonight?” he asked.
“A couple times. There was the time earlier when we were standing in the same spot and she remembered something. I went home and she showed up for the séance.”
“The what?” he asked.
I grimaced. “Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you about that part.”
“You know those things are bad. I wish you’d called me.”
“You were working. There was no time.”
“You always use that excuse,” he said.
“It’s not an excuse. It’s the truth. Anyway, when we were here earlier a car came out of nowhere and almost hit us. I think m
aybe it was on purpose.”
“And you didn’t call to tell me this?” Brannon’s voice rose just a bit.
“Again, I was busy. I was going to tell you though.”
“What kind of car was this?” he asked.
I gave him the description. I’d barely finished my statement when I spotted a car matching that description drive down the street past us.
“That’s it!” I pointed.
“That’s what?” Brannon asked.
“The car I just told you about,” I said.
A second later Brannon had pulled away from the curb and fell in behind the vehicle.
“Can you find out who’s driving the car? Maybe you can pull them over,” I said.
“I have to have a reason to pull them over,” Brannon said.
“Almost hitting us isn’t good enough?” I asked.
Brannon glanced at me. “Did they really almost hit you?”
“Well, I suppose it was more like the driver was just driving too fast. Maybe they will run a stop sign or speed. Then you can pull the driver over.”
This was making me nervous. What if the driver sped away and we ended up in a high-speed chase? I didn’t like driving fast. I always followed the speed limit. Well, maybe five or ten over.
Chapter 23
Brannon sped up so that we could catch up with the car. He was only going a little over the speed limit, but I was already anxious. I checked my seat belt to make sure it was secure.
“Don’t worry, I know how to drive this car under extreme circumstances,” Brannon said.
Was that supposed to make me feel better? I nodded but didn’t speak. I was too anxious to answer. The car had made a left turn up ahead.
“Do you think you can catch up with him? I think he’s speeding now to get away from us,” I said.
“You may be right. I think he’s trying to get away from us too.” Brannon turned on his lights and siren.
This had escalated quickly. He pressed on the gas pedal even more. Soon we were at the left turn too. I hung on to the car door handle as Brannon sped onto the street. The car was nowhere in sight. How had he gotten away so quickly?
“Where did he go?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Brannon said.
Understandably Brannon’s voice sounded as if he was under stress. There were several streets the driver could have turned onto. Picking the correct one would be almost impossible.
“Does that mean he got away?” I asked.
“Yeah, I guess he got away.” Brannon didn’t sound happy that he had to admit this.
“We lost him? I can’t believe it,” I said.
Brannon made a right turn to head back toward my place. “I’ll put out an APB for the car.”
My eyes widened. “That sounds serious. Did this mean that the guy really tried to hit us? Is that why he drove away?”
“Maybe he just saw me following him and got spooked,” Brannon said.
I sighed. “Yeah, I guess that could be the case.”
A short time later Brannon pulled up in front of my house.
“Well, that was quite an interesting trip,” I said as I unbuckled my seatbelt. “I left the house with a ghost and came back with my handsome boyfriend after a police chase.”
“I like the sound of that. The handsome boyfriend part, not the police chase or you leaving with a ghost.” Brannon moved in closer for a kiss.
While I was lost in the moment of the wonder kiss with Brannon, headlights splashed across the front of his cruiser. We turned our attention to the car in front of us.
I shielded my eyes. “Who is that?”
Brannon had already turned off the car.
“I’m about to find out,” Brannon said as he opened the car door.
“Be careful,” I called out as Brannon got out of the car.
My stomach flipped as I watched him walk around the front of the car toward the curb. Without warning, the car backed up.
“Hey,” Brannon called out.
The car didn’t stop with his command. Instead it backed up onto the street up ahead and then turned and headed in the other direction.
I jumped out of the car. “What was that all about?”
Brannon ran his hand through his hair. “It was strange.”
“Do you think they did that on purpose?” I asked.
“I doubt it. It was probably just a coincidence.”
I wasn’t much on coincidences. But I had no proof, so I had to go along with that explanation. After all, it was too dark to ascertain if this was the same car as we’d seen earlier.
“Come on, let’s go inside,” he said, taking me by the hand.
I glanced over my shoulder, still spooked by the headlights shining on us. It was as if the person wanted us to know that they had been watching. When I turned back around, I spotted Roxanne sitting on the porch steps.
“Oh,” I said, stopping on the spot. “You startled me.”
Brannon noticed her at that moment too.
Roxanne stood from the steps. “Sorry about that. I thought you saw me. I need you to do another séance.”
Brannon coughed. I already knew his opinion on that.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do it,” I said.
Her expression turned. I didn’t know if she wasn’t going to get angry or cry.
“I don’t understand why you would do it once and not now.” Her voice was louder now.
“It’s just that the more you do it the more dangerous it is,” I said. “We don’t want to push our luck.”
“Honestly, that doesn’t make sense,” she said in frustration.
“I’m sure you know that we’ll do everything we can to find the person responsible for killing your friend,” Brannon said.
She turned her attention to Brannon. “Who are you?”
“Detective Brannon Landon, Devil’s Moon Police Department,” he said.
“A lot of good that will do.” She turned and headed down the path away from the house.
We watched as she marched down the front path and then turned and headed down the sidewalk.
“I feel really bad about not doing it,” I said.
“You made the right decision. You can’t do everything anyone asks,” Brannon said.
“I suppose,” I said around a sigh.
“Tell me that you won’t change your mind and reach out to her when I’m not around,” Brannon said.
I avoided looking him in the eyes. “Of course I won’t.”
Roxanne had walked out of sight now.
“To be honest, I’m surprised she left. I thought she might try to force you to do it,” he said.
“Maybe she’ll realize it was a bad idea. Come on, I think I have a can of tomato soup. Oh, what about peanut butter?” I asked as I unlocked the front door.
“Time for a grocery store visit, huh?” he asked.
“There’s never time,” I said as we walked into the foyer.
No sign of Haley in the house. Or any other ghosts for that matter.
“Peanut butter is good,” he said. “I love the way you spread the jelly on the bread.”
I raised an eyebrow.
At this point anything sounded good. Well, almost anything. Once Brannon and I were in the kitchen, I pulled out the bread and grabbed the peanut butter from the pantry. Brannon grabbed drinks from the fridge while I made sandwiches.
“Perhaps we should have just ordered pizza,” I said as I examined the stale slices of bread.
“I’m sure you’ve worked your magic with the grape jelly,” he said as he took a plate from my hand.
We sat at the dining room table. Maybe I should have lit the candle to add a bit of ambiance.
“By the way, I found Haley’s phone,” I said.
Brannon almost choked on his bite of sandwich.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He took a drink of water and then said, “I’m fine. You found her phone and you’re just now telling me about this?”
/>
“Not much to tell actually. Although I am looking for a guy named Harrison. He could be the killer.”
“Rip, do I have to tell you again that things like this could be dangerous?”
I’d finished half of my sandwich when I received a text alert on my phone. At least that broke Brannon off from his line of questioning.
I looked at Brannon and frowned. “I wonder who that is.”
“Probably Tammy,” he said, placing his sandwich down.
I jumped up and grabbed my phone from the counter.
Rip, there’s something strange going on here at the library. Can you come now?
Panic immediately set in. Annie never asked me to come to the library at this time of night.
“It’s a text from Annie. Something’s wrong,” I said.
Brannon jumped up from the sofa. He knew she never asked me to do this too. I’d barely grabbed my shoes when my phone rang.
“Is that Annie again?” Brannon asked.
“It’s the alarm,” I said with panic in my voice.
“Let’s check it out,” Brannon said, racing for the door.
I shuffled into my shoes as I hopped toward the door. At least I had a police escort to the library. Panic had set in. Every bad thought raced through my mind. Was the building on fire? I could barely breathe at the thought. I raced out the door and quickly locked it behind me.
“Why isn’t she texting now? What’s happened to her?” I yelled as I ran toward Brannon’s car.
“Try not to panic,” Brannon said as he opened the door for me.
I jumped in and slammed the door shut as he raced around the front of the car toward the driver’s side. He jumped behind the wheel and cranked the engine. Thank goodness the car with the bright headlights wasn’t around. I was in no mood to put up with games right now. Brannon sped away from the curb. He turned on his siren and the lights. It seemed like this trip was taking forever. Nothing unusual was going on in town. I hoped that was a good sign of things to come at the library. The crackle of his radio filled the car. The dispatcher announced a few codes to Brannon that I didn’t understand.
“Other cars are en route,” Brannon said.
“Do you think the building is on fire?” I asked.
“We’ll just have to wait and see,” he said.
