Haunted Tales (16 page)

Stanley pulled his car into a parking spot about a
half-block away from Mary’s office. Grabbing the box and the cookies, he
stepped out of his car and started toward the sidewalk.

“Stanley!”

He turned to see Bradley hurrying down the street to meet
him. “
Dagnabbit
, did that woman call the police
because of a couple of oatmeal cookies?” he grumbled.

Laughing, Bradley shook his head. “No, she called me because
you forgot your phone at the house, and she needed to remind you not to mention
to Mary that she and Kate were together,” he said.

“I don’t need reminding,” Stanley growled. “I got a mind
like a steel trap.”
 
He pointed a finger
to his head. “
Ain’t
nothing gonna slip past this
mind.”

“Well good,” Bradley said. “Then we don’t have to worry.”

They walked together down the street to Mary’s office.

“Well, to what do I owe the honor of having two such
handsome men come into my office?” Mary asked.

“I got shooed out of my house,” Stanley said. “So I’m
delivering cookies and a costume.”

He walked over to her desk, put the box on a clear corner
and handed her the bag of cookies.

“Well, I’m sorry you got shooed out,” she said, opening the
plastic bag. “But I’m excited about the delivery.
 
Thank you, Stanley.”

“Well,
iffen
you think that’s too
many cookies,” he said, “I would be happy to help you eat them.”

She grinned and held out the bag for him and Bradley. “But
let’s keep this our little secret,” Mary said. “I wouldn’t want Rosie to think
that I didn’t appreciate her baking.”

“Oh, well, she’s in baking heaven right now,” Stanley said
as he happily munched on the cookie. “She’s getting to play mother hen,
teaching Kate Brennan how to bake…”

He froze, half a cookie hanging from his mouth, and
swallowed loudly.

“Steel trap, eh?” Bradley whispered to him.

“Kate’s over at Rosie’s?” Mary asked. “And they’re baking
together?”

Suddenly, Bradley’s phone rang.
Saved by the bell
, he thought. He pulled it out and looked at the
caller ID. “It’s the Polo Police Department,” he said as he clicked on the
phone to answer it.

“Alden,” he said into the receiver.
 
He remained silent, although his eyebrows
rose in surprise. “You don’t say.”

“What?” Mary whispered. “What don’t you say?”

He covered the mouthpiece with his hand. “Mitch just turned
himself in.”

Mary sat back in her chair, and her jaw dropped. “He
confessed?” she said. “Well, I would have never in a million years…”

“Yes, thank you,” Bradley said. “I really appreciate the
call.”

Disconnecting the phone, he shook his head. “Why does this
bother me so much?” he asked.

“Because we didn’t get to solve the crime,” Mary said with a
shrug. “It’s a bit of a letdown.”

Nodding slowly, Bradley thought about that for a minute.
“Well, he was my favorite suspect,” he said.

“Mine, too,” Mary agreed. “He had opportunity and motive.
And Danny told me that Mitch had stopped hanging around with him once he got
back from Vietnam.”

“Why are you two fussing?” Stanley asked, grateful the focus
had shifted from his gaffe. “You got the crime solved, and now you can enjoy
Halloween without worrying.”

Mary nodded. “Well, that’s true,” she said. “There’s just
something…”

“Yeah,” Bradley said with a shrug.
“Something.
But, maybe it’s just that Mitch snatched the victory lap away from us.”

“Okay, I can admit that I love the victory lap,” Mary said
with a smile. “So, no mystery, and we can enjoy Halloween.
 
I like that!”

Mary turned to Stanley and held open the bag of cookies.
“Well, let’s celebrate,” she said.
“Cookies all around.”

“Actually, girlie,” Stanley said, backing away from her
desk. “I’d best be on my way. Rosie’s probably looking
fer
me.
 
Can’t keep her
waiting.”

“Are you sure?” Mary asked.

Stanley nodded. “Sure as sure can be,” he said with a quick
nod as he let himself out the door.

“A rat abandoning the ship,” Bradley
muttered,
turning and watching through the window as Stanley made his way down the
street.

“What did you say?” Mary asked.

Bradley turned back to Mary and smiled. “Oh, nothing
important,” he replied, and then he picked up the box. “So, let’s take a look
at this costume.”

“Don’t change the subject,” she said sadly.

“What subject?” Bradley asked, inwardly praying that it was
not the subject he thought it was going to be.

“Rosie and Kate are baking together,” she said softly.

Damn, it was that
subject
.

“Yes, they are,” he replied, taking another bite of cookie.
“And it sounds like Rosie was giving Kate tips, just like Rosie used to do for
you before we were married.”

Mary looked up at him, surprised. “But, they didn’t…” she
began.

Bradley leaned over and placed his hands on the edge of her
desk. “Mary, I really don’t want to upset you,” he said. “But when are you
going to stop thinking the worst of your friends and start trusting them
again.”

She sat back quickly as if she’d been slapped. “I don’t
think the worst…” she started.

His raised eyebrow silenced her. She was quiet for a long
moment, and finally she sighed. “I haven’t given them the benefit of the doubt,
have I?” she asked quietly.

He shook his head.

“I’ve been a bit of a brat, haven’t I?”

He leaned over farther and kissed her lips lightly. “No, you
have been on a roller coaster of emotions,” he said. “And we all know it. And
we all love you.”

“What should I do?” she asked.

“Worry less and have more fun,” he replied.

She laughed softly. “That’s what Mike told me to do,” she
said.

“Mike’s a genius,” Bradley replied with a smile.

Pushing back her chair, she stood up and walked around her
desk. “I have no more work for the day,” she said with a teasing smile.
 
Then she picked up the box and held it to her
chest. “Want to come home and help me try on my costume?”

He leaned over the box and kissed her again. “And you’re a
genius, too.”

“I can’t believe
it’s
Halloween!”
Clarissa shouted as she ran down the stairs the next morning. “This is going to
be the greatest day ever!”

Mary smiled at Bradley. “And she hasn’t even had sugar yet,”
she whispered.

“Can we have waffles for breakfast this morning?” Clarissa
asked.

“No,” Mary said, grabbing her excited daughter and pulling
her close for a hug. “You are going to have a day filled with sugar. So,
breakfast is bacon and eggs.”

“Bacon and eggs sound good, too,” Clarissa agreed with a
smile.

“Or we could have hotdogs,” Mike said as he appeared in the
kitchen. “But we would have to have holes cut through them.”

“Why?” Clarissa asked.

“Because then they would be hollow-weenies,” he joked.

“Oh, that was really bad,” Mary chuckled, rolling her eyes.

“That joke was so bad that it almost made my stomach hurt,”
Clarissa added.

“Of course, we all know what you’re having for lunch,”
Bradley said, getting into the spirit of the game.

“What?” Mary asked, more than a little worried about his
answer.

“Boo-
logna
sandwiches,” he
said.
 
Mike floated over and high-fived
him.

“With ice scream for dessert,” Mike said to Bradley.

Bradley laughed and nodded. “Or
frankenfurters
with ketchup,” Bradley said.

“Or, if you want Mexican, you could always have a boo-
rito
,” Mike said, laughing with Bradley.

Mary and Clarissa looked at each other and shook their
heads. “They’re scarier than Halloween,” Clarissa whispered.

“I agree,” Mary said.
“Perhaps if we just
ignore them.”

“Bradley,” Mike said, “where do mummies go for a swim?”

“The dead sea,” Bradley replied. “Mike, where does a vampire
keep his money?”

“A blood bank,” Mike answered in his best Dracula imitation.
“What do birds sing on Halloween?”

Bradley paused. “I don’t know? What?”

“
Twick
or
tweets.”

Clarissa looked from Bradley and Mike to Mary. “Are these
supposed to be funny jokes?” she asked.

“Ouch,” Bradley said. “You just thrust a sword of scorn
right through my heart.”

“Or a sword of good taste,” Mary said, sending an apologetic
smile in the direction of her husband.
“Just saying.”

“Wow.
Et
tu
,
Mary?”
Bradley asked.

Laughing, she shook her head. “While I would
love
to hear more Halloween puns, we’ve
got to get moving.
 
After breakfast,
Clarissa has to get into her costume and makeup before the bus comes.”

“Okay,” Mike replied with a sigh. “But we were just getting
good.”

Mary looked at him and shook her head. “Oh, no, you were
both a long way from good.”

Bradley chuckled and shook his head at Mike. “Tough
audience,” he said, picking up a plate, filling it for Clarissa and placing it
on the table before her.
“Happy Halloween, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Dad,” she said. Picking up a piece of bacon, she
took a bite out of it and then pointed it in Mary’s direction. “When are you
coming to the school?”

“I’m supposed to be there by 10:30,” Mary replied. “And then
I get to listen to the special reports you did. And after that, we have a
party.”

“This is the most exciting day ever,” Clarissa said. “I
can’t wait ‘til you see my report. I worked really, really hard.”

“I’m sure you did,” Mary said. “And I know I’m going to be
impressed.”

Clarissa giggled. “Yes, you are going to be more impressed
than anyone else in the classroom,” she said.

“What do you mean by that?” Mary asked.

“You’ll see,” Clarissa said.

Mary turned to Bradley. “Are you sure you can’t come?” she
asked.

He shook his head regretfully, thinking about all of the
things he had to get ready for the party while Mary was at the school. “I’m
really sorry. I’ve got meetings all day.”

“Well, we’ll miss you,” she replied. “And somehow you got
away with not wearing a costume all day.”

Bradley grinned. “Well, imagine that.”

“Okay, I feel a little ridiculous,” Mary said, standing in
front of the mirror in her bedroom and looking at her reflection.
 
The wide gypsy skirt and lace shawl
camouflaged her growing baby bump, and the white peasant blouse set off what
little tan she had left from the summer.

“I think you look sexy,” Bradley said, coming up behind her
and wrapping his arms around her waist before pressing a kiss to her neck.

“I’m going to be a room mother for a fourth grade Halloween
party,” she said. “I’m not supposed to be sexy.”

“Says who?” Bradley asked. “I speak for fourth grade boys
everywhere when I say that sexy moms are the best ones to have for room
mothers.”

She rolled her eyes. “Bradley, you’re not helping,” she
said. “This is my first big event for Clarissa, and I don’t want to embarrass
her.”

“First, you won’t embarrass her. She is thrilled beyond
belief that you are coming,” he said. “Second, you look like a gypsy princess,
not like a tramp. Your skirt is nearly to your ankles, and your blouse and
shawl pretty much cover up everything else. Your costume is very appropriate.
It’s the woman inside the costume that’s so sexy.” He kissed her neck again.
“Besides, I know what lurks beneath this demure outfit.”

She smiled at him through the mirror. “Are you sure?” she
asked.

“Positive,” he said.

“Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath. “Well then, wish me
luck. I’ve never dealt with an entire classroom of over-sugared fourth
graders.”

“Just think of it like riot duty,” he said. “And you’ll be
fine.”

Chuckling, she turned and kissed him. “Thank you,” she
replied.
“Excellent advice.”

The classroom was already buzzing with excitement when Mary
entered the room, her arms filled with shopping bags full of treats.

“Oh, good, Mrs. Alden, you’re here,” Mrs. Spangler said.
“Perfect timing.
We are just about to start our
reports.
 
Why don’t you join Mrs. Brennan
in the back of the
room.
”

“Thank you,” Mary said.

She hurried to the back of the room where Kate sat at the
wooden table. She was dressed as a witch, and Mary felt a twinge of guilt.
“Hi,” Kate whispered, standing up and giving Mary a hug. “You look amazing.”

“Thanks,” Mary whispered. “Rosie picked it out for me.”

“She’s amazing,” Kate said softly.

“I want to thank you for bringing the girls to the library
so they could work on their project,” Mary said in a hushed tone as they sat
down next to each other.

“My pleasure,” Kate replied. “I can’t wait to see what they
came up with.”

“Now students,” Mrs. Spangler began. “And moms,” she added,
acknowledging Mary and Kate with a nod of her head. “I am very excited to hear
your reports. I know that you’ve been working so hard on them.
 
So, first we’ll let you introduce the main
character of your report, tell a little bit about him or her, and then we’ll
let the class ask you questions.”

She looked down at her clipboard. “Rusty, you’re first.”

“Isn’t he the boy who throws up?” Mary asked.

Kate nodded. “But this isn’t math, so we should be safe.”

A tall, young boy with brown, curly hair and a shy smile
stepped forward. “My report is on Resurrection Mary, a famous ghost in
Chicago.”

Mary and Kate listened with fascination as Rusty explained
the legend and then read some eye-witness accounts of people who had actually
picked up the hitchhiking ghost on Archer Avenue.
 
After a few questions from his classmates,
encouraged by the teacher, he sat down.

“Now, it’s time for Maggie and Clarissa to give us their
report,” Mrs. Spangler said.

Maggie and Clarissa carried two poster boards to the front
of the room and placed them in the easels Mrs. Spangler had provided. Then they
moved into the center of the room, in front of the teacher’s desk, and held
hands.

“Oh, isn’t that adorable?” Kate whispered to Mary. “They are
holding hands.”

Mary was about to answer when she noticed a movement in the
doorway of the classroom. A tall, familiar-looking, well-dressed ghost in a
black stovepipe hat walked through door and stood next to Maggie and
Clarissa.
 
Clarissa looked up at him and
then looked directly at Mary with a wide smile on her face.

“Our report,” Maggie began, and then Clarissa joined her,
“is about President Abraham Lincoln.”