Ghostly Vows

by K E O'Connor

  I wriggled my toes. This was more like it. We were being pampered by some incredible ladies, and the food Tilly had ordered was perfect, as was the pile of chocolate treats from Sweetly Yours.

  “Have you tried the mini chocolate eclairs?” asked Helen.

  “Not yet. The strawberry tarts are great.”

  “I’ve already had three.”

  I took a sip of champagne, being careful not to smudge my face mask. “Are you having a good hen night?”

  “Thanks to Tilly.” Helen glared at me out of the corner of her eye.

  “I promise I did my best. Everything was ordered. I can’t help it that the catering company had a case of salmonella and the beautician was sick.”

  Helen nodded. “That’s okay. I know what you had on order.”

  “How did you know that?”

  “I might have accidentally overheard you placing the orders on your phone.”

  “You mean you were eavesdropping?”

  “No, double checking you were getting my party right. I needed to know you were on top of it.”

  “As if I wouldn’t be.”

  “The food you had planned sounded amazing. It’s a shame we couldn’t get it. But this will do.” Helen popped a mini eclair into her mouth.

  “Tilly has done us proud.”

  “I’m all done, ladies,” said Jane, the beautician who’d been working on my pedicure. “I’ll leave you to relax with your face masks for twenty minutes and then come back.”

  “That will be lovely.” Helen turned to me once the door had shut behind the beautician. “How’s the ghost mystery going?”

  “Which one?”

  “Johnny’s plunge from the turret.”

  “I don’t think it’s a mystery. I talked to both ghosts earlier today. They’ve gone.”

  “They don’t need your help?”

  “I don’t think so. I haven’t seen them since we spoke. They realized they made a mistake and have moved on.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “I can’t. But we’ve been through the suspects for Johnny’s murder. I’m not convinced by any of them.”

  “What about the affair theory?”

  “I suggested that to Johnny, but he denied being involved with anyone else. Anyway, the ghosts have gone. The mystery is solved.”

  “I don’t think it is. You solved nothing; you simply scared them off.”

  I took a sip of champagne as I considered her words. “I didn’t scare them. I made them see sense.”

  “You can’t abandon Johnny.”

  “I didn’t abandon him. He was confused. His death was sudden, and he got things muddled in his head. That can happen with ghosts.”

  “What about our lovely ghost knight?”

  “He wants me to steal a sword and bury it in his grave. I’m not doing that. It’s weird and creepy. I could get arrested for stealing or, worse, body snatching. That would look terrible on my resume.”

  “He sounds so lovely,” said Helen. “You can’t help one noble knight have a peaceful end?”

  “Like I said, they’ve both gone. There’s nobody to help.”

  The surrounding air chilled. I closed my eyes. There were no ghosts here. I was right. They didn’t need help.

  Flipper lifted his head and whined. He jumped up and ran toward me.

  “No more treats for you,” I said to him as I continued to ignore how cold the room felt.

  He whined again and nudged my leg with his nose.

  An icy-cold finger tapped the side of my arm.

  “Is it me, or is it getting chilly in here?” asked Helen.

  “It’s you.”

  “Are you sure? Flipper is behaving oddly. Anyone would think there was a ghost in the room.”

  I kept my eyes closed. “There isn’t.”

  The cold finger prodded me again.

  Flipper kept nudging me, and eventually, I eased an eye open.

  Standing next to me was Johnny and Jacob. I groaned and shut my eye again.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Helen.

  “I think you might be right. Johnny and Jacob are back.”

  “When am I ever wrong?” said Helen. “You need to help them. I told you that.”

  “Fine! But if these ghosts mess up your wedding, you’ve only got yourself to blame.”

  “They won’t mess things up,” said Helen. “So long as you sort out their issues, they won’t be here.”

  And that was the challenge. I couldn’t help Jacob in his quest to get back his missing sword. And as for Johnny’s killer, I wasn’t certain where to keep looking.

  I took a big gulp of champagne. “Okay. Let’s sort these ghosts out.”

  ***

  The next morning, I woke feeling refreshed. The pampering had done the job, and despite the ghosts returning, I felt positive.

  As I showered and dressed, I knew Johnny and Jacob needed my help. I’d avoided that for too long, thinking there was nothing I could do. More like fooling myself there was nothing I could do to help. I’d used Helen’s wedding as an excuse.

  I would help Johnny. If someone had pushed him off the turret, then he deserved justice. His killer needed to be put behind bars.

  And as for Jacob, I was still figuring that out.

  Helen knocked on my bedroom door before pushing it open. “Do I look radiant?” She turned in a circle. Her skin was shining and her nails glossy.

  “You look like the perfect bride-to-be.”

  “And you look like the perfect maid of honor/person who’s going to walk me up the aisle to be. What is your official title? The maid of giving? The friend of the bride? The honor of the bride? The maid of the bride?”

  “Shouldn’t you be racing around doing manic last-minute wedding planning?”

  “It’s done.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “No more measuring things, or changing seating plans, or baking new cakes?”

  Helen grinned. “It’s all in hand. Like you said, everything is booked and organized. The wedding will be perfect. I’ve got Marjorie on the case. She phoned me before I’d even woken up this morning to give me an update.”

  “At last, you’re letting her do her thing.”

  “You’re right. She’s got everything under control. I don’t know what I was worrying about all this time.”

  I bit my tongue, trying not to think about all the hours we’d spent looking at venues and ignoring Marjorie’s advice on just about everything.

  “What have you got planned today?” asked Helen. “I’ve got a few bits of sewing to do for the family, but other than that, I’m free if you want to do something fun.”

  “I’ve got more inventory to go through. Before I start work, I was going to sneak up to the turret and see if I can find Johnny.”

  “I’ll come with you. I’ve been meaning to take a look up there. I thought it might be a nice place to take wedding photos.”

  “So long as you don’t mind having a crime scene as the back drop for your photos.”

  “Oh! I hadn’t thought of that. Well, I can still take a look. No one else knows it’s a crime scene.”

  I smiled and shook my head. Even though Helen said everything was in hand, the wedding was still front and center of her thoughts. But why shouldn’t it be? It was her big day in two days. My stomach lurched at the thought. My best friend was about to get married.

  I jumped up and hugged Helen.

  “What was that for?”

  “Just because, you know, you’re getting married.”

  “I’m glad you noticed.” She grinned at me. “I don’t want you to forget.”

  “Not possible.”

  “Let’s go see if we can find our ghost.”

  We headed down stairs, through the great hall, and up the stone steps of the turret, Flipper trotting along beside us.

  It was already a warm morning, the sun climbing in the sky, promising another beautiful day.

  “Any sign of Johnny?” Helen walked aroun
d the turret, admiring the view.

  “Not yet,” I said. “Give him a minute.”

  “It’s so lovely up here. Maybe I can have my ceremony here, instead of the great hall.”

  “You won’t fit a hundred people on the turret.”

  “I could if everyone stood tightly packed together.”

  “Then you risk someone else plunging to their death if anyone moved or sneezed.”

  “I guess so. Everyone would be talking about the beautiful view, though. I’ll definitely have to get loads of pictures up here with Gunner. Crime scene or not, it will be worth it.”

  Flipper paced back and forth, his gaze focused on a spot by the edge of the turret.

  “I think Johnny’s on his way,” I said.

  A few seconds later, his hazy image appeared.

  He nodded at us both.

  “Keep an eye on the stairs,” I said to Helen. “I don’t want anyone catching me talking to myself.”

  “I’m on it.”

  “I need your help,” I said to Johnny. “Since you’re still here, you must believe you were pushed off the turret. Your death wasn’t an accident?”

  He nodded.

  “I’ve already suggested that Emma had something to do with it, but I know you’re not keen on the idea. Are you absolutely sure it wasn’t her?”

  He nodded again.

  “If it wasn’t your jealous girlfriend, who by the way is a tad on the possessive side and I think could be involved in this, who was it?”

  “Your other woman?” asked Helen.

  Johnny’s eyes widened.

  “You told me you didn’t have another woman,” I said.

  Johnny shrugged.

  “There’s no point in hiding anything from me. If you were seeing someone behind Emma’s back, that gives several people strong motives for being angry. And by being angry, I mean coming up here and shoving you off this turret.”

  Johnny shrugged again and looked out at the view.

  “Was it Tilly?” I asked him. “Were you seeing her?”

  He shook his head.

  “She is lots of fun and pretty,” said Helen. “We understand if you were attracted to her. And she’s single.”

  “Which doesn’t make cheating on your girlfriend right,” I said.

  Johnny waved his hands in the air.

  “So, you weren’t seeing Tilly. You weren’t having an affair with anyone?”

  He looked down at the floor.

  “You need to let us know what was going on,” I said. “I can’t help you otherwise. You’ll be stuck here, not able to move on because of what happened.”

  Johnny turned so his back was to me.

  “He’s being stubborn,” I said to Helen. “There’s nothing we can do if he won’t communicate.”

  “Maybe Johnny likes being stuck in a castle,” said Helen. “There are worse places to haunt. The sewers. The London underground. A prison laundry. That horrible cafe we went to once that served stewed tea and burnt tea cakes and where you had to pay extra for jam.”

  “Don’t you want to move on?” I asked Johnny. “It can’t be much fun being stuck here with only that old ghost knight for company. Let us help you. If you were killed, then your killer needs to be brought to justice. That won’t happen if you’re not completely honest.”

  Johnny turned back, and his shoulders shrank down.

  “The affair theory isn’t getting us anywhere.”

  “How about Will?” asked Helen. “He could easily shove someone off the turret with all those muscles.”

  “You noticed Will’s muscles?” I grinned at her. “I thought you were about to be a happily married woman.”

  “What if I am?”

  “Happily married women don’t leer at other men.”

  “They so do! It’s what keeps them happy. Looking but never touching, that’s my motto.”

  I chuckled and then focused on Johnny. “If you weren’t involved with anyone other than Emma, what about Will? He said the two of you were good friends. Did you have a falling out before you died?”

  Johnny shook his head so vigorously I thought it might fly off his neck.

  “Okay. Definitely not Will, but someone with the strength to push you off here.” I edged closer to the edge of the turret.

  “Nobody had it in for you?” asked Helen.

  Johnny shrugged.

  “He doesn’t think so,” I said.

  “Everybody has at least one enemy. Nobody is that perfect.”

  Johnny’s smile was charming. He raised his hands in a what-are-you-going-to-do gesture.

  “How about Charlotte?” I asked. “Maybe you liked older women?”

  Johnny’s chin sank to his chest.

  “I think I’m onto something,” I said.

  “You were seeing Charlotte?” Helen’s eyes widened. “Did Ralph know?”

  Johnny shook his head.

  “Even if he did, he couldn’t do much about it. He can barely get out of bed. If he goes anywhere, he needs his wheelchair.” I nodded to the stone steps. “There’d be no way he could get up those. He’s not faking his illness. I went with him to the hospital for his physio.”

  “What about Charlotte?” asked Helen. “Were you two having trouble? Did she want the relationship to come to an end, and you didn’t like it?”

  Johnny frowned and then shook his head.

  “He suggests not,” I said.

  Johnny placed a hand over his heart and closed his eyes.

  “You cared for Charlotte?” I asked. “She’s a nice person.”

  “She can’t be that nice if she cheated on her husband,” said Helen.

  “What I mean is she’s refined. She’s got class. I sort of understand why Johnny had his head turned by her.”

  Johnny nodded.

  “Even so, what you did wasn’t right. Somebody must have found out about your affair.”

  “It has to be Emma,” said Helen. “Maybe Johnny didn’t realize it, but she must have found out about him and Charlotte. She snuck up here and got her revenge.”

  “How did she get into the castle? You can only get to the turret by walking through the great hall. She’s not welcome here. If anybody caught her trying to break in, they’d send her packing.”

  Johnny shook his head again and then looked out at the surrounding countryside.

  “We’ve both found her lurking around the castle,” said Helen. “Maybe she saw an opportunity to sneak in and came up here to confront Johnny. She pushed him over without him seeing her. Johnny, did you ever bring Emma up here?”

  Johnny nodded.

  “He did,” I said.

  “She knew how to get in here. And she knew Johnny was working late.”

  “Did you tell Emma about the problem with the aerial?” I asked him.

  He nodded again.

  “So, Emma found a way into the castle without anybody noticing. She got angry and lost control, and you got shoved over the side.”

  “How do we prove that?” asked Helen. “Emma isn’t going to confess. There were no witnesses. The only individual who has any idea what’s going on is the ghost, and he’s not sure it was Emma.”

  I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. There had to be a way to get proof or help Johnny remember what happened that night.

  Johnny’s head whipped around. He flew to the staircase, going straight through Helen as he did so.

  She staggered to the side and grabbed hold of the wall. “What did Johnny just do to me?”

  “You’ll be fine. He got a bit excited and passed through you.” I grabbed her arm, noticing how cold her skin was. “Something’s got Johnny’s attention.”

  “Tell him not to do that again.” Helen’s teeth chattered. “I do not appreciate a close encounter with a ghost, no matter how gorgeous he’s supposed to be.”

  “I’m sure he’s very sorry.” My attention went to Johnny. He stared down the stairs, seeming to have forgotten we were there.

  He
len rubbed her hands down her arms. “What’s got him so excited?”

  I walked to the top of the stairs and stopped next to Johnny. I tilted my head as I heard a slight squeaking sound.

  Johnny gestured frantically down the stairs.

  “Does that noise mean something to you?” I whispered to him.

  He nodded, then pointed to his ear and then to the edge of the turret.

  I puzzled through his mime. “I think Johnny heard this squeaking sound on the night he died.” I looked at Johnny. “Is that right?”

  He nodded again.

  “Is that sound related to how you died?”

  He shrugged, touched his ear again, and then pointed down the stairs.

  “We’d better go investigate,” I said to Helen. “Whatever is making that noise, Johnny heard it just before he died. That sound could be linked to our killer.”

  Chapter 18

  I snuck down the stone staircase. Helen behind me, Flipper next to me, and Johnny floating ahead.

  As we reached the bottom, Johnny stopped. I peered around the edge of the staircase. Ralph was pushing himself along in his wheelchair, moving slowly past a cabinet as he inspected the silver I’d left on the top.

  “You heard Ralph’s wheelchair squeaking before you died?” I whispered to Johnny.

  He nodded, his brows pulled together, and his lips pursed.

  “Even if you did hear his chair, he can’t have anything to do with you being pushed off the turret. Ralph can’t get up the stairs.”

  Johnny scratched his hands through his hair. He pointed at the chair again.

  I stared at Ralph. Could he be involved? He’d need help if he was. And he had a right to hate Johnny for getting involved with Charlotte.

  “What’s going on?” whispered Helen.

  “I’m not sure.” I watched Ralph as he continued his slow journey in his chair. “Ralph can’t be involved. I’ve never seen him out of that wheelchair.”

  “Unless he’s pretending he’s ill,” said Helen.

  “I’m sure he’s sick. He wouldn’t put himself through hours of painful physio to fake an illness. And if he did, the doctors would figure out what he was doing.”

  Helen shrugged. “People do strange things. Maybe he’s using it as a way to keep Charlotte. If he’s sick, she’ll feel guilty and won’t leave him.”