by Rose Pressey
“Oh, yes, I’m positive they came in together.”
Why were they in the hardware store? “What did they buy?”
“They didn’t buy anything. They were asking about strychnine. That’s a poison.”
My eyes widened. “They were asking about poison?”
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“And they didn’t buy it?” I asked.
“No, I didn’t have any in stock. I told them I could order it for them.”
“And what did they say?” I asked.
“They said they didn’t have time to wait for that.”
I wondered if they had gotten it somewhere else. I couldn’t wait to tell Brannon about this. Plus, I had some questions for Joanna. I supposed I could come out and ask her why she was looking for poison. The fact that the man she was with had been poisoned was most concerning. She could be the killer. And to think she’d been right there in my house. Okay, I needed to calm down and not jump to conclusions. Although this was not looking good in her favor.
“Thank for the information,” I said.
“No problem. I hope you find what you’re looking for,” he said.
I picked up the duct tape and headed for the door. As soon as I got out onto the sidewalk I sent Brannon a text.
You’re not going to believe this, but Joanna tried to buy poison.
Immediately I got a text back.
What? I can’t talk now. I’ll call you soon. How did you find this out?
He was probably thinking that I wasn’t supposed to do anything with the case this evening. He should have known that as soon as he was gone I would start meddling around. That was what I did best.
I’ll tell you about it when you call. Walking toward the cemetery now.
Except I wasn’t exactly going there yet. If he realized what time it was he would wonder why I was going early. In fact I was headed to Joanna’s. Did I have the nerve to ask her about the poison? That would be a bold move. I supposed I would see when I got there if I had enough nerve.
I hurried down the sidewalk toward my old apartment. I wanted to get there quickly so I would have plenty of time to question Joanna, if that was what I decided to do. I still was unsure. Within a few minutes I reached the house. Being here again and walking through the iron gate and up the path toward the old house brought back a lot of memories.
I’d lived in the third-floor apartment. I opened the main door and headed up the steps to the third floor. I turned the corner around the landing and moved down the hallway to the door. I knocked on the door and it opened. That was strange.
“Joanna,” I called out. “It’s me, Ripley Van Raden.”
There was no answer. Would she leave the door unlocked? I looked over my shoulder to see if I had missed her somehow. There was nowhere to hide up here.
I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to look in her apartment when she wasn’t around. Yet this would be a perfect chance for me to check things out. She could have poison just lying around for all I knew. I could find the evidence that would solve this case right now. Though I supposed it wasn’t the right thing to do. If I had been invited in that would be different.
“Hello? Joanna?” I called out again. “Did you say for me to come in?”
When asked I could say I thought she said “come on in,” right? I wouldn’t touch anything. I would just look around and that was all. I eased the door open a little more and stepped into the apartment. It looked the same as when I’d lived there other than her furniture instead of mine. There were some magazines on the coffee table, a blanket was tossed over the sofa, but other than that the room was tidy. I shouldn’t be in here, but I couldn’t help myself.
Chapter 11
I walked the rest of the way through the apartment. Nothing seemed unusual. It was as if she might be back at any moment. Maybe she would be back for all I knew. I probably needed to get out of there. If she was the killer did I really want her to catch me in her apartment? No, definitely not.
As I walked by the bedroom door I glanced down in and saw the closet door open. It was completely empty. She had no clothes in there? Had she left for good? Maybe she thought we were on to her and had to get out of town. That didn’t explain why she’d come back for help though. Nor did it explain who the mystery man was. I stood at the bedroom door for a moment looking around to see if there was anything else that was unusual. The fact that her clothes were missing and she had left the door open just didn’t make sense.
I heard a noise. It sounded as if it came from the front of the apartment. Perhaps it was just the neighbor out in the hallway. After such a short time I had already forgotten the quirks and noises of this place.
“What are you doing here?”
I spun around to see Brannon behind me. He was putting his gun back in the holster. My stomach dropped to my feet when I thought that maybe he had that pointed at me. “The door was open,” I said.
He quirked an eyebrow. “Do you normally come into homes with doors open?”
“No, not normally, but, well, I had suspicions about her.”
“So you just came on in,” he said.
“Right. When the door was open I came on in. That is correct.” I nodded.
There was no way out of it, so I had to tell the truth.
“You have to get out of here.” He motioned.
I followed Brannon out of the apartment and down the staircase. We stepped outside onto the front porch. Once we got to the bottom of the steps we stopped.
“How did you know I was here?” I asked.
“We got a call about breaking and entering,” Brannon said.
“Who called that in?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. I think the neighbor.”
“The neighbors always were nosy around here,” I said.
“Rip, you can’t go into someone’s house,” Brannon said.
“I know that, but the temptation was just too much. I have to tell you about what I found out,” I said.
“Where did you find out?” he asked.
“Just on a hunch I went by the hardware store to see if they had video.”
“And they had video?” Brannon’s eyes widened.
“Yeah, no, they did not,” I said.
He sighed. “So what did you find out then?”
“The owner of the hardware store just happened to remember seeing someone who he thought was suspicious. He described Joanna and the murdered man. He said they came in and were looking for poison.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know, right? Why would they go in there looking for poison unless they wanted to poison someone?”
“Maybe they were plotting to use it on someone else?”
“That’s always a possibility,” I said. “Or maybe they were planning on poisoning someone else and then Joanna ended up murdering the man.”
“That’s also possible,” Brannon said.
I looked at the time on my phone. “I have to go to the tour, but you’ll let me know what you find out?”
“I’m going to look into this,” he said. “I’ll let you know.”
“Also let me know if you find Joanna.”
Brannon leaned down and kissed me goodbye. I hurried down the path toward the cemetery. A drizzle of rain started to fall from the sky and an eerie feeling came over me as I walked down the alleyway headed for the cemetery. I wasn’t sure if it was because there was a ghost around, like the ones that sometimes showed up. I thought maybe it was the shadow figure lurking somewhere nearby. Nevertheless, I knew something was going to happen. Now I held my breath wondering when exactly would be the time.
When I neared the cemetery gates I looked up and spotted the owl. He didn’t say anything this time, which was kind of weird. Drizzle continued to fall. This wasn’t exactly the best weather for the tour, and I hoped that people actually showed up. I would try to keep people indoors as much as possible. I stood there waiting for the group to appear. It fel
t as if someone was watching me.
I looked over my shoulder. Mrs. Clatterbuck wasn’t back there. There were no other ghosts back there either, but I knew someone was watching me. Laughter caught my attention and I looked down the alleyway. There were about five teenagers headed my way. This should be fun. I knew they probably wouldn’t care if it was raining.
“Welcome to Devil’s Moon Haunted Tour,” I said. “Tonight I will guide you through the haunted streets and buildings of town.”
One of the guys made a spooky sound. I glared at him as I handed out the flashlights. The way I started the tours was always the same, but my presentation always varied during the rest of the tour. It wasn’t as structured and I just said whatever came to mind at the moment.
I decided that I would take them to the shops in town before we did the cemetery. I was hoping by the time we got back the rain would have stopped, even though it was still just a light drizzle. The weather was likely to only get worse. The wind picked up as it whistled through the tree branches.
“Make sure to stick with me and don’t wander off,” I said.
I sounded more like their mom than a tour guide. Now that everyone had a flashlight I led the group down the alleyway and onto the sidewalk. We could skip the tavern since I wasn’t sure that they were over twenty-one. Actually, I was almost positive that they weren’t.
I stopped in the restaurant and guided them toward the narrow staircase. We climbed the stairs to the little area upstairs where the most activity happened. I explained to them about the Civil War-era ghosts that liked to inhabit this space.
As I directed the group back down the steps so we could go to the next stop, one of the girls asked me, “Have you ever had anything attack you? Like an evil spirit?”
As a matter of fact, I had had something attack me in this very location. I wondered if she was sensing something. Was that why she asked?
“Yes, it is possible for the bad ones to come through and do things, but very rare,” I said. “I wouldn’t worry if I were you.”
“I would worry if I were you,” she said, looking right at me.
The expression on her face sent a chill down my spine. What was that supposed to mean?
“I think we should get going and meet the rest of the group downstairs,” I said.
She just stared at me, so I headed down the steps. I kept my eye on her as we walked to the bottom. After leaving the restaurant I moved on to the antique store. I couldn’t get over what she had said. I wanted to ask her what she meant and I fully intended to as soon as the tour was over.
We went through the rest of the buildings in town and then headed back to the cemetery. It hadn’t eased up on the rain, so I figured I would cut the trip short tonight. After what the girl said I was too unsettled to continue anyway. As we were heading back down one of the boys asked if I knew anything about séances. I supposed that wasn’t an uncommon question for a teenager on a haunted tour.
“Yes, I know some of that. I know enough not to do them,” I said.
This group of teenagers was making me more uncomfortable by the moment. It had made me forget all about the thing that had happened before they even arrived. We walked past the tavern and down the alleyway.
“So what makes you say that you avoid séances?” the girl asked. She was the same one who had said I should be worried.
“Because that’s when you allow the evil spirits to come through. The ones that you said I should be worried about.” I looked at the girl.
“You said that to her?” one of the guys asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t know why I said it. It just popped into my head.”
“Well, I should be worried about them, but I think we should all be worried,” I said. “Have y’all been messing around with a Ouija board?”
The guy shrugged. “Well, maybe a little.”
“Earlier tonight,” the girl said. “You work at the library, right? As the librarian?”
“Yes, that’s right,” I said.
I motioned for them to hand me the flashlights. The tour was over and the faster I got rid of this group the better off we would all be.
“We were worried that something may have come through and followed us here because we saw the dark shadow.”
I dropped one of the flashlights. I had a feeling that they had conjured up that shadow. Had it been there before they even tried the séance? I had no idea, but I thought it was possible. “You can never try that stuff again. Do you understand?”
They all nodded. “What do we do to get rid of this thing?”
I wasn’t sure what to tell them. I certainly wasn’t an expert in getting rid of demons. I told him how to use some sage and a few other things that they could do. Other than that I wasn’t sure that I could help them like they needed. I told them not to worry just yet because I wasn’t convinced that that shadow was there specifically for them.
“If you have any problems please come by the library. You can find me there,” I said.
They thanked me and then headed off down the alleyway. I was ready to go home for the night, but also I worried that the shadow might pop up. I decided to stop in the tavern and see Tammy. I texted Brannon to see if maybe I could catch a ride home if he was in the area. As I walked down the alleyway I kept glancing over my shoulder. I was sure that I had heard footsteps. I was completely paranoid at this point.
I rushed the rest of the way down the alleyway and over to the tavern. I burst through the door and over to the bar. I plopped down on the stool.
“Wow, you must have had one heck of a night,” Tammy said. “Your hair is something.”
I looked in the mirror behind the bar. My hair was bad. It had been raining and I was tired. “It was an interesting evening to say the least. That shadow spirit made another appearance.” I tried to rearrange my wet hair, but it did no good. “Just all in a night’s work. You know, dark shadows and the like.”
Tammy’s eyes widened.
“Well, I didn’t see it, but the group said they saw one. I think it was only there because of me. As if the spirit knew they were coming on the tour somehow. I felt it around. I know it was watching us.”
“That’s so creepy,” Tammy said, rubbing her arms to fight off the goosebumps.
“I’m just so ready to go home and slip into my warm pajamas and under the covers.”
“That sounds great. I wish I was ready to do that, but I still have two more hours here.”
“Maybe everyone can just call it a night and go home,” I said.
“Fat chance of that.”
Chapter 12
Things had been quiet since I ended the tour last night. Almost suspiciously quiet. I went through my routine, got ready for work, and headed down the sidewalk toward the library. Before reaching the library, I stopped in the coffee shop just as usual to get my caffeine fix and a cherry pastry this time. Dana was in the back area, so I didn’t bother her. Her expression was stressed. I knew she needed to focus and didn’t need the worry of me talking about the murder investigation, especially since we knew anything new. Unfortunately, Brannon had nothing to report to me. If he did he was keeping it secret. Just as I was about to turn and walk out, Dana came up to me.
“You weren’t leaving without saying hello, were you?” She smiled.
“I didn’t want to disturb you,” I said.
“I always have time to say hello,” she said.
The lingering look she gave me let me know if she was curious about the case.
“No news yet,” I said around a sigh.
She nodded. “I figured.”
“Dana, can I ask you a question?” I wrapped my hands around the warm cup of coffee.
The heat from the hot liquid gave me not only warmth, but made me feel a bit more comfort when I needed it the most.
“You know you can ask me anything, dear,” Dana said as she wiped her hands on her apron.
“You know that old building over on Chambers Street?”
<
br /> She furrowed her brow in concentration. “Oh, yes, I know the place. What about it?”
“What was the building used for? I should remember, but I guess I was too young. Do you know anything about it? Who owns it?”
“Well, it used to be a paper products manufacturer, but it closed up many years ago.”
“What about who owns it now?” I asked.
She picked up a towel to wipe off the counter. “That I don’t know. It’s been like it is now for about twenty years.”
I took a drink of my coffee.
“Why do you ask?” She looked at me as I thought of my answer.
I shrugged. “I just wondered about it.”
Her eyes widened. “Do you think it’s haunted?”
That would make sense of why I was asking about it. Why hadn’t I thought of that first.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “But I’d like to find out.”
“If any place looks haunted that place sure does,” she said. “Plus, I’m sure you can find out if it’s haunted. With that hunky boyfriend.”
When she wiggled her eyebrows I immediately blushed.
“Thanks for the info.” I held up my cup. “And thanks for the delicious coffee.”
“Anytime.” Her smile turned to a frown. “But be careful if you go around that old building.”
“Are you just saying that because there could be rats hanging around or is there something else I should know about the place?”
“Well, I’m sure there are plenty of rats. They need to tear the place down. It’s an eye sore. However, I know some people like to hang out in there. Teenagers looking for a place to party, I suppose.” She shook her head.
What she’d said about the building gave me no clues as to why they would want to be there. It didn’t appear that they had any real connection to the place. Though someone had been using the place for sinister purposes.
After leaving the shop I hurried down the sidewalk. Thank goodness the sense that someone might be following me wasn’t there. A welcome relief washed over me. There was no uneasiness lingering in the air, which was fantastic. I just hoped that stayed that way. Maybe all of this would end just as mysteriously as it had started. Now we had to figure out what had happened to Ross Chadwick and send the person responsible to prison.
