by Rose Pressey
This was something that might lead somewhere. I had discovered a plane ticket. It was a one-way ticket to Seattle. Was that where this man was from? Maybe he was headed back? That still didn’t tell me why he was in Devil’s Moon to begin with. This wasn’t exactly a spot that attracted a lot of people, not like New York City or Los Angeles. It looked as if he was due to board the plane tomorrow and the ticket had been purchased just a couple days ago.
I would do a search for this man’s name and Seattle to see if that was where he was from. Maybe he just had family or friends there and that was his reason for visiting. I placed the papers back down and pulled out the top drawer. There was some clothing, but I noticed a book on top. I reached in and pulled it out.
The book was on an interesting subject. It was on how to get rid of bad spirits and negativity. This was an extremely fascinating clue. Why was he researching this? That meant he had to have seen that black shadow before it came for him. That was a scary thought. I looked through the book, but didn’t see anything that would lead me to understand the black shadow. I supposed he hadn’t discovered anything that would get rid of it either. Now that it was coming around me I didn’t like that one bit. I continued looking through the book, hoping that I would find some clue, but there was nothing. I would have to find some more books on the subject to see if I could locate the answer that he had obviously been looking for. If anyone could find it in a book I could.
I closed the book to put it back in the drawer when a piece of paper fell out. I reached down and picked it up. It had fallen on top of the clothing. It was similar to the one I had found in the coffee shop, but this time the words were complete.
Meet me at the building.
I wondered what that meant. What building? Was he supposed to meet someone and if so then who was he supposed to meet? Maybe it was the killer? This note was definitely something that Brannon needed to see and check for fingerprints. Of course now mine were all over it.
So there I was standing in the murdered man’s room the one. The eerie silence brought chills across my skin. A noise came from somewhere nearby and I completely froze. I didn’t know what to do. Should I run and hide or just stay put? What if someone was coming? Should I stand there and let the person confront me for why I was in the room? Okay, stay calm, I reminded myself. It had probably just been a noise from another person going to their room. That didn’t mean someone was coming after me.
Finally I got up enough nerve to look to my left at the door. No one was there, so I released a deep breath. The sound had to have come from somewhere else in the house. Nothing to worry about. Everything was perfectly fine now. I needed to get out of there before something actually happened. I gave one last scan around the room to make sure I wasn’t missing anything, and then I headed for the door. I didn’t make it all the way before another noise stop me in my tracks.
It was an odd sound, like someone trying to get my attention. Though I was looking right at the door and saw no one there. I was frozen on the spot again and not sure what to do next. Maybe this place was haunted too. After all, it was an old house and kind of creepy. Yes, that must be it. There was a ghost in the room with me. And for that reason there was no need to hang around and introduce myself. I headed for the door again. A floorboard creaked. I didn’t know if the sound had come from me or someone else. I paused again. This was ridiculous.
I was just letting myself get worked up. When I took another step, the floor squeaked. Whew. So it had been just me. That was a relief. Now it was time for me to get out of there before anything else happened. I rushed over the rest of the way to the door.
Just as I made it to the door someone popped out from the other side. I screamed and fell backwards. When I looked up Tammy was in front of me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
She reached down and helped me to my feet. “I came looking for you.”
“Why were you hiding?”
“I didn’t want to scare you.”
“Well, that didn’t work,” I said. “Why are you looking for me? Is something wrong?”
“I just was worried about you so I thought I’d come and check on you.”
“You left work just to check on me?”
"I had to do it,” she said with a shrug.
It was nice to know she cared about me, but it took a couple seconds for me to breathe normally again after being scared.
“You shouldn’t worry,” I said.
“So did you find anything?” Tammy asked as she looked around the room.
My eyes widened.
“So you did find something,” she said.
“I think you could say that, yes.” I grabbed Tammy by the arm and pulled her into the room.
Before showing Tammy anything, I peeked out into the hallway to make sure no one was coming or had seen us. It was all clear. I took her hand again and guided her across the room over to the dresser.
“What did you find? It must be really good,” she said.
“Well, I don’t know if it’s that great, but maybe it is.” I pulled open the drawer. First I showed her the plane ticket.
“So it looks like he was going back to Seattle?”
“Yeah, I guess,” I said.
“Maybe he knew he was going to be murdered and wanted to get out of here.”
“That’s what I thought too,” I said. “Then I found this book on the occult.”
“Oh, so that’s why that shadow’s been around. He saw it too and was scared. I wonder if he came to the library and that’s why the thing was at the library? Oh, no, does that mean we’re going to be murdered? Since we saw it too.” Her eyes widened.
“No, no, not at all,” I said.
“How can you be sure?” she asked.
“I can’t be for sure, but I’m almost certain.”
“I guess I’ll have to go with almost certain,” she said.
Next I showed her the letters. “I don’t know what these things mean, but it has to be something. The fact that I found them now.”
“Yeah, it means something. It’s just another piece to the puzzle that we have to figure out,” Tammy said.
Footsteps were coming down the hallway. Tammy and I looked at each other with wide eyes. A couple seconds later and the landlady appeared in the doorway.
“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” she yelled.
“Oh, are we not supposed to be here?” I frowned.
“You know you’re not supposed to be here. Now get out of here or I will call the police.”
By the scowl on her face I figured she was being completely serious, so I grabbed Tammy‘s arm and we marched over to the door. The landlady watched us the entire time.
The woman eyed us as we walked by her and into the hallway.
“Did you steal anything?” she asked.
Tammy tensed up and I knew that she wanted to tell this lady off. Tammy wasn’t afraid to let someone know when she wasn’t happy, but I figured it was best to get out of there. The woman had already threatened to call the police.
“No, we didn’t take anything and we’ll be leaving now. Thank you.” I probably sounded a little bit condescending, which wouldn’t help matters either.
We hurried down the steps and out the door. I glanced back and saw the woman standing at the top of the stairs. She was still glaring at us.
“Can you believe she accused us of stealing something?”
“We were in his room without permission,” I said.
“That’s true,” Tammy said. “But I’ve never stolen anything.”
“We should just get back to the tavern,” I said.
Night encircled us and I felt increasingly uncomfortable. I sensed that something really bad was happening in town. The feeling overwhelmed me. Every noise seemed intensified. The scuffling of leaves across the pavement, and branches swinging with the breeze. If someone fell into step behind us I would constantly look over my shoulder, wondering if it was a ghost or
the killer. I had to get myself under control.
“Is it just me or does this trip seem scary?” Tammy asked.
“It’s not just you. It almost seems as if someone is following us,” I said, looking over my shoulder again.
I’d done that so many times now I’d lost count. I was glad that Tammy and I were together though. I knew I’d be walking the streets in the dark alone soon enough. I always told her that I wasn’t afraid. As a matter fact, I’d just told her that earlier, but maybe I was changing my mind now. I pushed my shoulders back and continued trying to be brave.
The brave act did little good though because that eerie feeling stayed with me. Tammy and I increased our pace. We exchanged a look and moved a little faster, eyeing each other again. Then we picked up the pace even more. Now we were in a full on run. Of course that didn’t go smoothly because I stumbled and fell forward onto the pavement. I groaned.
“Are you all right?” Tammy asked.
I checked my hands. They were a little scuffed up, but I suppose I was fine. She helped me to my feet yet again. I didn’t want to stop to check and see if anything else was bleeding
“I’m okay. Let’s go.”
We continued toward the tavern. At least once there we’d be safe inside the building. We’d be safe there. Or would we? After I’d seen the killer there I wasn’t so sure. Finally, we reached the door.
Tammy and I burst through the door. Several people at the front of the tavern noticed our odd behavior. We tried to catch our breath. I could imagine what they thought of my appearance with scuffed up hands and dirty pants after falling on the sidewalk.
“I think I’ll go wash at my hands,” I said.
Tammy nodded. “I’d better get back to the bar.”
I wasn’t sure what I would do now because I didn’t want to have to make the long walk home. Maybe I would just stay in the bar and help Tammy work. That sounded like a better plan than walking home in the dark. I had to get over my anxiety though. I had haunted tours to give. I wouldn’t be able to avoid that. I was just being silly. There was nothing to worry about. I made my way through the crowd and back toward the restrooms to wash my hands.
Chapter 10
The next day Brannon and I were sitting on the front porch. I had made lemonade for us. It was getting later in the afternoon and he had to work the night shift. Of course, I had the tour tonight. I had white rocking chairs on the porch and we were sitting side by side, talking about whatever came to mind.
Mostly we were just enjoying the weather and being near each other. Brannon had banned me from speaking about the murder or the mystery man for the entire evening. He said I was too stressed out over the recent events and I needed a break, even if it was for just a few hours. He was the one who had all the pressure of solving the case, and yet he was worried about me. Sometimes with his tough exterior it was easy to forget that this job was stressful for him too.
“We haven’t had much of a chance to talk about anything other than the investigation lately. That’s why I don’t want to discuss it now,” Brannon said.
I would respect his wishes, but I really wanted to talk about the murder.
“How’s the tour going?” Brannon asked.
I probably couldn’t mention the tour without talking about the investigation, but I’d try. “It’s good… business has been steady, but you know it’s going to be my busy time.”
“Yeah, but you like staying busy,” he said. “Hey, I thought maybe we could go check out that new movie coming out this weekend.”
“Sounds like fun,” I said.
Silence settled between us. We didn’t always have to talk. Sometimes just being next to each other and enjoying the silence was just as good as the conversation. We rocked back and forth. I’d kept my word and not mentioned the murder, though that didn’t stop me from thinking about it. Brannon drank the last of lemonade.
I stood from my rocker and took his glass. “I can get you some more if you’d like.”
“I’d love more, but I really need to get going.” He checked his watch.
I was afraid he’d say that. The afternoon had passed entirely too fast. He stood from the chair and kissed me on the lips. The sweet taste of lemonade lingered and the coolness from his mouth tingled on my lips.
“I’ll give you a call later.” He caressed my cheek.
I shook my head. “Be careful tonight.”
Brannon walked down the porch steps and I waved as he headed toward his cruiser. One would think that being a detective in Devil’s Moon wouldn’t be that dangerous, but lately we’d had a lot of murders to solve. I stood on the porch and watched as he drove away. I figured I could sit on the porch and drink my lemonade and read a book until it was time for the tour.
A breeze carried across my skin and the clouds drifted across the blue sky. Even though I was now alone on the porch, I didn’t exactly feel that way. I couldn’t get over the feeling of being watched. It was a feeling that I’d grown accustomed to. Whenever the spirits were around they put off some kind of energy and I picked up on it. I supposed I was sensitive to it. I was just now learning how to tune in to that energy. It could be a bad thing or good thing. At least I could somewhat sense when the spirits came around. I looked around, but saw nothing. Not even the neighbor’s cat.
It was a perfect late summer evening, almost fall. My busy season for the tour would be here soon.
I’d just turned around to go back inside for more lemonade when a thought popped into my head. Yes, of course the thought was about the murder investigation, but now that Brannon was gone there was no reason why I couldn’t focus a lot of my thoughts on it.
Brannon had checked with the businesses around the coffee shop for video surveillance and nothing had shown up, but one place that I hadn’t thought to look was the hardware store. It possibly would have caught me following the mystery man yesterday. I’d love to get a better look at his face. Though the hardware store was probably closed at this hour on a Sunday. Maybe I could swing by there tomorrow on my lunch break.
Yeah, I knew all too well that I wouldn’t be able to wait until tomorrow at lunch, not unless I was forced to. Maybe if the store was closed I would be forced. I supposed a stroll through town before the tour wouldn’t hurt. And if I just happened to pass the hardware store and it was open, then I could go in. There was no harm in that. I took the glasses inside to the kitchen. I slipped on my white tennis shoes, the ones that I used for the walking tour. I grabbed my bag and headed out the door.
I had to admit that the short time that Brannon and I had spent on the porch had done a world of good to relax my nerves. He was right. I needed some time of not thinking about murder. Sometimes it was just too heavy of a subject to think about. My brain couldn’t focus and deal with it all. I headed down the sidewalk toward downtown. I still couldn’t get over the fact that I now owned that beautiful house.
I couldn’t help but wonder if I would see the ghost or the strange man as I walked through town. Was it crazy of me to wish that this was all behind me now? Not crazy to think it, but crazy to wish it. I knew that until the case was solved that would never happen.
I reached the hardware store. The little sign on the door read Open. Maybe they had just forgotten to turn the sign around. I reached for the handle and pushed. It opened and the little bell chimed, announcing my arrival. I stepped inside.
I was the only one in there. I didn’t even see an employee. The smell of wood and lawn fertilizer lingered in the air. I made my way down the center aisle to the counter. There was a little bell to ring for assistance so I touched it a couple of times. A man with a thick head of white hair peeked out from the back door.
“Hello, are you still open?” I asked.
He looked at his watch. “Yes, just for a few more minutes. How may I help you?” He smiled as he waited for me to tell him why I was there. I hated not buying anything after asking questions, but what did I need from the hardware store?
“Yes
, I just need to ask a question.” I reached for duct tape beside the counter. “And to buy this tape.”
“Okay,” he said with a quirked eyebrow.
Everyone needed duct tape, right? Oh, no. What if he thought I was going to kill someone and tie them up with that tape? This was what happened when I had too many murder investigations on my mind.
He rang up the tape on the register. “Is there anything else I can get you?”
“I have one question,” I said as I handed him some cash.
“What’s that?” he asked as he took the money.
“Well, you see, I’m doing a bit of investigating.”
“About the recent murder?” he asked.
Okay, so he probably knew who I was.
“Do you happen to have surveillance cameras here at your store?” I gestured. “Outside of the building?”
“No, sorry we just have the one right there.” He pointed to the back of the store.
When I looked up at the tiny camera I knew it wouldn’t catch anything outside. Especially since I hadn’t even walked in front of the store. That was disappointing.
“All right. Well, thank you anyway,” I said.
“Is there anything else you’re looking for? Someone you’re looking for?” He quirked an eyebrow.
Did he know something that he wasn’t telling me?
“Have you seen someone fitting this description?” I told him what the man looked like.
He furrowed his brow. “No, I can’t say that I have. I pretty much know everyone that comes in here. There was only one couple in here recently I didn’t recognize. Who are you looking for?”
“Who did you see? Maybe they’re the two I’m looking for,” I said.
It seemed as if we each wanted the other to name a person first.
“Well, the woman is young. She had shoulder-length hair in curls with sandy-colored streaks through it. And the man with her was dark-haired and a little older.”
I couldn’t believe he was describing Joanna and the murdered man.
“Are you sure they were talking to each other?” I asked.
