October Ghosts (A Southern Romance Monthly)

by Hockenberry, CJ

  "Yeah since this afternoon. And he came clean about what they'd planned on doing with me, or anyone that decided to take the spot on their show tomorrow night."

  "You know they'll still try and do that. You and I both saw what Margo's capable of."

  "Yeah." Her happy turned to a frown. "Exactly what is her deal?"

  "I dunno. She's been with him since the show started. He trusts her. She helped him make haunted houses at one time, which is just cool in my book."

  "That's weird. You know last night while we were waiting on the police, he told me a little bit about his ex. About how they met and his mother didn't like the haunted house job either." She slipped her hands into her jeans pockets. "He did mention a girl that was his best friend. But her name wasn't Margo."

  "Did he call her Carmin?"

  Chloe sat forward and snapped her finger. "That was her name. Said she was a lesbian but the ex got all up in his grill about it anyway."

  "Mmhmm. The news said that after Sarah was asked to leave the company, Carmin left too. The only one that stayed with him was Margo Murray."

  Talking about Margo brought Chloe's mood down and she leaned back in her chair. "I wish I knew Margo's deal. It's obvious she doesn't want me around Matt, but she's also the one that wanted me on the show."

  "Well, first off, from what she told me, she didn't do her homework thoroughly. She thought you were some fifty year old psychic doing palm readings in town. So when she told her people to call us, her perception and the reality didn't gel. Not to mention she started complaining about how Matt always found girls in every town they visited and when he found ones he wanted to have a relationship with, she had to shake it lose because he'd forget to show up, he'd start spending time with her and they'd go over budget on time. So the producers made her his keeper in a way. It's her job to keep Matt away from the pretty asses that he can't resist."

  Hearing this confused Chloe. "Well, that doesn't match what Matt said. Or what the articles online said. Matt even admitted he hadn't had a real relationship since Sarah. He said he was afraid to—he was having trust issues. And since his last real relationship tried to hill him, I can imagine why. He even admitted to there being stories about him being gay. But Margo's saying something different."

  "Yeah that is weird. Why tell me about his exploits? What does that do?"

  Chloe pursed her lips. "It makes me feel bad about Matt is what it does. Oh I think Margo's a lot smarter and lot more devious than we give her credit. She's got to know you'll tell me what she said, and she's banking on me getting angry about it and not wanting to see him." She pulled a chair from the table and sat down. "I'd almost guarantee she's got a crush or a fascination with Matt. She watches over him like a mama hawk and she doesn't want anything getting between him and the show."

  "Well that I can agree with. She is a bit obsessed with him. But I don't know if it's sexual. I doubt it." Kevin shrugged. "She talked a lot about them taking the show to California in January."

  "He didn't mention going to California."

  "That's because Margo hasn't told him yet. Apparently one of the major networks wants to buy the show, but the deal is Matt and Margo have to sign exclusive contracts and move the show to the west coast. She doesn't think he'll go for it."

  Chloe wondered what Matt's reaction would be the moment he saw the contract. Would he agree to it? Would he cut his losses here and run, this being his ultimate goal? To actually be on national TV and not just YouTube or subscription? She leaned back, thinking about the things he'd said to her in her bed, of the things he'd said in the kitchen.

  It made her realize there was a lot to him she didn't know.

  "She talked to you a lot, didn't she?" Chloe looked at Kevin.

  He shrugged. "She was just venting. I got the feeling Matt's never really gone off on her like that before. And she didn't like it." Kevin slid off the desk. "Okay well, I need to get home, and you have to take me home because I don't want to ride the train."

  "Oh I uh…" she wanted to say that she was waiting on Matt's call, to see if he wanted her to pick him up at his apartment, which she wanted to see.

  And as if on cue, her phone rang. She pulled it out of her purse and glanced at the front. It was Matt. "Hello there."

  "Hey Chloe."

  Immediately she knew something was wrong. His tone was low and he was hesitant. "Are you okay? Did you still want to get together again?"

  She heard another voice and then Doc Coleman was on the phone. "Chloe—this is Henry."

  "Hey Henry. What's going on?"

  "Matt nearly had another attack after he and Margo got into it. So I'm prescribing a full night's sleep. Though the boy's not that happy about it. He'd rather spend it with you."

  Chloe laughed and she heard a little bit of arguing.

  Then, "It's me. This doc is a bit of a nightmare."

  "Yeah, but he's a great nightmare. So you almost had another attack?" She listened while he filled her in. When he was done, Chloe wanted to smack that woman. What the hell was her problem? If she was that great a friend, why was she purposefully trying induce more attacks?

  "Chloe?"

  "Oh I'm sorry. I was just thinking hateful thoughts about Margo."

  "Yeah…don't do that. She's just worried about the show." She heard him yawn. "And I am about to fall asleep. Say, you wanna meet up tomorrow between appointments and grab lunch? Or coffee?"

  "Oh beautiful, I would, but I have a full day of readings. I start at eight and they run solid through five. What time do I have to be at the Barrett House?"

  "Oooh…I don't know. Margo has the schedule. Why don't I call you tomorrow and we can make plans. Maybe I can pick you up, treat you to dinner, and then we can arrive together." He laughed softly. "Is it weird that I sort of liked you calling me beautiful?"

  "No. Not at all."

  He paused and his voice lowered. "I really enjoyed this afternoon. I could have stayed there with you."

  "Me too. Matthew?"

  "Hmm?"

  "Get some sleep."

  "I could get used to you, Chloe Stohl."

  She laughed and hung up after saying good night. Kevin was making a face. "What?"

  "I'll take the train, 'cause there is no way that sappy, sweet, sickening, gushy feeling is gonna rub off on me."

  She stood and grabbed her purse. "Oh please. I'll drop you off." But she did feel all those things. In fact, she felt…as if she were falling in love.

  And once again, as she followed Kevin out of the back of the shop, the feeling of danger returned.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Matt's ringing phone woke him. He groggily opened his eyes and started smacking at the nightstand to find his phone and shut it off. He finally managed to get the phone in front of him but the ringing stopped. He sat up and turned the light on and blinked furiously at the phone's screen so he could see what was going on.

  The call had come from Margo.

  In fact…he had seven missed calls from Margo.

  What the hell?

  He pinched the bridge of his nose and hit redial. After a single ring it went to voicemail. He didn't leave a message and disconnected just as his message alert chimed.

  It was from Margo.

  Meet me at the b house. I got something u need to c.

  He sighed. He really hated text speak. And why was Margo using it?

  Meet her at the b house. The Barrett House? At three thirty in the morning?

  Another message came through.

  Please matt.

  Ah…nuts. There wasn't any real mention of time in the message. She hadn't left a voice mail. He wanted to take a shower before he left but the texts seemed urgent. The entire time he dressed in jeans, tee, and sneakers he wondered why she was at the Barrett House in the middle of the freak'n night? He grabbed his jacket, his keys and started to walk out without his inhaler. Luckily he remembered it and grabbed it off the counter. A few shakes and he decided he had enough medicine in it
.

  It was bad enough he didn't know his way around Roswell in the daylight; navigating back to the house in the dark was twice as unnerving. Eventually he pulled into the drive and parked next to the Ghost Hunt vans where some of their equipment was stored. He thought it was kind of odd that Phil would leave the vans in the parking area of an abandoned house.

  Then again, he probably didn't think any thieves would go near the house on the night before Halloween.

  He didn't see any other cars there, not even the promised police presence. Was he before Margo? Was he supposed to wait?

  Irritated and missing sleep, Matt got out of the car, grabbed his flashlight from the center console, and walked toward the house. The front door was locked, so he went around the side and then the back. To his surprise, the kitchen door was open. He looked around and slipped inside. Once the door was closed he moved the beam of light around the floor and ceiling. "Margo?" His voice sounded small.

  Digging into his jeans pocket, he pulled out his phone and dialed her number.

  He hadn't expected to hear it ringing inside and close by. With the beam of the flashlight in front of him, the phone to his ear, Matt followed the sound of the ring. He moved through the kitchen, the dinning room and into the parlor.

  Margo's phone was just past the fireplace on the floor, in front of one of those doors.

  He disconnected and knelt down beside Margo's phone. Why was it here…and where was Margo?

  The floor creaked behind him and to his left. He turned as his heart leapt into his throat. "Margo?"

  A woman laughed. Something moved close by. Matt held up his phone as he threw the beam of light around the room. "Who's there? Margo? This isn't funny."

  More laughter and something brushed past his face. He stood and took a step back. He could either take off back through the dinning room to the kitchen or he could mow through whatever or who ever this was and go through the front door.

  More laughter. But this time he recognized it and his chest tightened. Oh no. How could I have beens so stupid to fall for this?

  But before he could make up his mind, something very hard, and very solid slammed into his chest. Matt thought he saw an all too familiar face reflected in the beam of his flashlight before he was struck again across the face. He gasped when he lost his footing and was thrown back. He expected to hit the wall—

  Only he didn't. Instead he continued falling until he abruptly stopped.

  And the lights went out.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Chloe hit the ground running and didn't stop until lunch. In fact, through the readings, Chloe never bothered to look at a watch or a clock. She had her phone in her purse, sound and vibration off. She had to concentrate for each client because that's the way she rolled.

  Which was difficult to do because she kept thinking of Matt. And they weren't all romantic thoughts. They were dark thoughts, as in she saw black. And she periodically broke out into a sweat even though it was cool in the room.

  When she checked her phone for messages she was surprised there wasn't one from Matt. It was just past noon and luckily Kevin had scheduled her an hour off. She had four more hour-long sessions before she was done for the day and from the look of Kevin when he stepped into her reading room, the retail part of the place had kicked his butt.

  He had two big bags of Chinese and a 2-liter of Ginger ale.

  "You look tired already," she said as he pulled the small boxes from the bags.

  "I'm toast. At least you get to sit down." He stuck his tongue out. "Oh you got a last minute booking. She paid up front."

  "Och…" Chloe slumped her shoulders. "I'm supposed to leave at five."

  "It's okay. She said she'd be here early so if your four ends before time, she'll go right in. Oh don't give me that look."

  Chloe ran her fingers through her unruly hair. "Has Matt called the store phone?"

  "Not that I know of. No messages on your phone?"

  "None. Which is just damn weird. He said he'd be done around lunch for a while. I sort of hoped he'd stop by."

  "Maybe they got busy at the house?" Kevin grabbed sets of chopsticks and handed one to Chloe. "You getting any vibes on him?"

  "Well I'm not sure. I mean, when I think about him I get a blank screen. Like a TV that's not turned on. And then I start sweating and my heart races."

  "You know…it is okay if you call him?"

  She grabbed up her phone and hit the number he'd given her. It went straight to voicemail so she left a quick message. "I think he's got it turned off."

  "Voicemail?"

  "Yeah."

  "So just call again later. You've got a break at two."

  The Chinese was good but the time to eat it and enjoy just wasn't long enough. Her anxiety got worse as an overwhelming feeling of darkness continued clouding all of her thoughts of Matt. She was happy when two o'clock showed up. After the customer left she grabbed her phone. She had three calls from a number she didn't know, one from her sister, and one Sheriff Harhmon. She returned the Sheriff's first and got his voice mail. She left a message, letting him know she was free after five. But when she started to return the mystery caller, her client walked in.

  Chloe smiled, put her phone away, and started again.

  At four thirty-three, after her client left, she grabbed the phone again before the last minute appointment showed up. She returned the mystery number and noticed there was a new number and message. She ignored the new message as someone answered the phone.

  "Chloe?"

  "Phil?" She was sure that's whose voice this was.

  "Yes! God I'm glad you called back."

  "Hey it's okay. I'm doing readings all day so I have the phone turned off. What is it?"

  "Have you seen or talked to Matt today?"

  Her heart fell into her stomach. "No. He hasn't called. And I keep getting his voicemail."

  Phil paused. "Are you getting any kind of vibe about him?"

  She knew it took a lot for Phil to ask her that question. He already confessed to her he was a skeptic. And she appreciated it. She just hoped he listened to what she had to say as she told him about the feeling she got when she thought of him. "What about Margo?"

  "She said she hasn't seen him. He was supposed to meet her outside for the radio interviews but never showed up. His room was locked up but he wasn't in it. She did the radio interviews without him but she didn't call me until she got back and he still wasn't there. She'd assumed he'd gone to stay with you."

  Okay. Now she was panicked. "If she assumed that, why didn't she call me? She has my number because Kevin said he gave it to her. What about Matt's phone? Can't someone trace it?"

  "As far as we can tell it's off, which means no GPS. I have no idea why she didn't call you. She's been calling Sheriff Harhmon, freaking out because Matt's ex is in Roswell. Not that I think that's what's wrong—"

  "You do know she tried to kill him, right?" Her own voice quivered.

  "Yeah I got the story. Do I believe it, no. I'll tell you about it once we find him. Call me the moment you hear from him and I'll call you if I hear anything."

  She disconnected, a little pissed off at her next client as she stepped in the room since Chloe rather be out looking for Matt.

  The client was tall and blond, with a very pretty face. She wore a perfect fitting leather jacket over a soft brown sweater and jeans. When she sat down she looked directly at Chloe. "I need your help."

  "Well, that's why I'm here. The way I usually start is—"

  "You don't understand. My ex-boyfriend is missing. And you have to help me find him."

  That was a new one, not the standard question she was asked. "Well I'll do what I can—"

  "Chloe." She reached out and grabbed Chloe's hand. "I'm Sarah Fitzpatrick. I used to date Matthew Hunt."

  Sarah.

  The Sarah?

  Oh hell—

  Chloe tried to pull her hand back, but Sarah had one hell of a Kung-Fu grip. "Let me go."r />
  "I can see Margo's been at work about me to you. Or maybe it was Matt with his delusions. They're not his fault, you know. He's just gullible to believe anything that woman says."

  Chloe frowned. "What are you taking about?"

  "You're a psychic, Chloe. Read me if you can. I never touched Matt. I never tried to kill him. Margo successfully framed me to make it look like I tried. She's good, she's really good. And she's devious enough to get what she wants."

  "Framed—" Chloe relaxed and stopped tugging at her hand. "What do you mean framed you? How do you know that?"

  "Because Carmin finally told me what Margo did, and she told me at great personal risk."

  Carmin. That had been the name of the friend Matt said Sarah was jealous of. "But I thought you didn't like Carmin."

  "Jesus…" she released Chloe's hand. "That's exactly what Margo wanted everyone to believe. Carmin and Margo were friends—well they were more than friends but Carmin broke it off when Margo started getting really possessive of Matt. She was scared of Margo. So when Carmin's friendship with Matt got closer, Margo chased her off with threats. It took me two years to find her and she finally confessed to me all the things that woman did to Matt to make him think I was trying to kill him."

  Chloe wasn't sure she believed what she was hearing, but her psychic alarm wasn't going off when she touched the woman. It only went off when she thought of Matt.

  "Look I can tell you what you need to know later, but right now we have to find Matt."

  "No one knows where he is."

  "No…not true. I'll bet Margo knows, and no you can't convince me she's not responsible because I know she is. The other person is you."

  "Me?"

  "You have a connection to him, right? That's what Phil told me. So that means you can sense him."

  "Phil told you?" Her voice rose a bit. "He didn't tell me he was talking to you."

  "Given your present attitude toward me, do you really think it would be a good idea if he started the conversation with, I've been talking to Sarah?"

  Going against everything Chloe had been told in the past two days, her immediate instinct was to trust this woman. She was pretty sure she was falling in love with Matt, and she wanted to believe him, but what if what he knew about Sarah wasn't true? "This is all just too convenient, you know? I mean, I don't like Margo—she's sort of a controlling bitch. But to have you come in here and say it was never you it was all her is just too—"