The Ghost and Mrs. Mewer (A Paws and Claws Mystery Book 2) (2 page)

Trixie broke the hush by barking and chasing the orb, while Gingersnap and the Weimaraner pranced after her.

Someone whispered, “I’ve got it on my camera!”

Then it vanished.

“Too bad Miss Chevalier wasn’t here for that,” breathed Casey. “Amazing!”

“What happened?” I asked.

Zelda held up her plump hands and shook them nervously. “I never would have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself. That thing entered the room and floated around.”

“That
thing
was a spirit. Probably the ghost of someone who died here at the inn.” The speaker hadn’t been there earlier. Straight coppery hair swung across her back when she scanned the ceiling as if she expected to see more ghosts. Pale skin peppered with freckles pulled tight across her high cheekbones. A lavender dress skimmed her boyish figure, ending in an asymmetrical hemline, cut high in the front but mid-calf in the back.

Felix Fischbein appeared skeptical. “I don’t know about that one. It
could
have been a reflection of something. The sun might have beamed on a shiny surface of some sort that bounced the light.”

The woman swung around and glowered at him. A fashionable necklace of teardrop-shaped lavender stones set in silver draped around her neck. Matching earrings dangled near her jaw. Anger edged her tone. “I don’t believe we’ve met. Mallory Gooley. Perhaps you’ve heard of me? I wrote
Haunting Horrors of Wagtail
.”

Felix blinked at her. “I thought Mark Belinski wrote that.”

It seemed he caught Mallory by surprise. “We worked on it together. I’m his girlfriend.”

Felix reached out his hand to her. “I . . . I’m Felix.” When she showed no sign of recognition, he added, “Mark’s college roommate?”

“Oh,” she said, clearly unimpressed and disappointed. “He’s here somewhere looking for you. Too bad he missed the orb.”

The orb appeared suddenly and then vanished? And my grandmother was absent? Hmm, I smelled a rat. A silver-haired one with a German accent. I couldn’t help wondering if my grandmother and Mr. Luciano had cooked up the ghostly welcome.

Mallory kept her eyes trained on the walls.

In their rush to find their ghost hunting cameras and paraphernalia, the Apparition Apprehenders had strewn the contents of duffel bags, backpacks, and suitcases all over the floor. Trixie and the Weimaraner sniffed everything, their wagging tails showing how thrilled they were.

To my horror, Gingersnap had snagged something. She lay near the love seat and methodically nibbled the seam of a stuffed dinosaur. “No, Gingersnap!”

I rushed toward her intending to take it away, but that drew Trixie’s attention. When Gingersnap dropped the dinosaur, Trixie grabbed it and wildly shook her head left to right. Wads of white stuffing flew out like soft snowballs.

Gingersnap grabbed a part of the dinosaur that extruded from Trixie’s mouth and pulled, starting a game of tug-of-war.

I dared to grab the small exposed section of the dinosaur between their mouths. “Drop it!” I jerked it upward while they tugged sideways. They paid no attention. I tried again. “Drop it!”

Gingersnap reluctantly released her end, and I had a better grip on it than Trixie so I finally prevailed. I held up the dinosaur and said, “I’m so sorry! Whose is this?”

Felix flicked his hand as though it didn’t matter. “Mine. I, uh, brought it along for my dog.”

“We’ll replace it, of course. My apologies.” What a way to start their visit.

“That’s okay. I’m just glad
my
dog didn’t grab anybody’s shoes and chew on them. He’s forced me to be tidier at home. If my shoes aren’t in a closet, he thinks they’re fair game.”

Too late. The Weimaraner trotted by carrying a black sneaker in his mouth. I pointed at him. “Is that your dog?”

“Aww, Casper!” Felix snatched the shoe and held it up—one of the other guys claimed it.

Smiling brightly, I said, “Well, let’s get you all checked in, shall we? Felix? What is your dog’s name?”

He concentrated on Mallory while his buddies stuffed their belongings back into bags. “Hmm? Oh, Casper.”

I handed him a Sugar Maple Inn collar. “This is for Casper’s use during your stay. It has GPS in it so we can track Casper down if he should get loose.”

“Cool!” He snapped it onto Casper and removed the leash.

“This way, please.”

Felix looked at me for a moment, his eyebrows creating a deep furrow over his nose. “Holly . . . why does your name sound familiar? Oh!” He pulled a wrinkled letter from a pocket in his jacket. “Holly Miller?”

“Yes?” I felt apprehensive. There wasn’t a single good reason for him to have anything in his pocket with my name on it.

“A woman in Wagtail said you could show us the way to her house. A Birdie Dupuy?”

Zelda snickered.

My Aunt Birdie was a pill. My mother’s sister, she disapproved of everything. It was a good thing my grandmother had trained me from childhood to be nice to the guests. I might have had some choice words about Aunt Birdie. How could she have known I would be here when Felix arrived? I smiled sweetly. “Of course. I’ll give her a call and set something up.”

“Great. Just tell me when.”

I started up the stairs to his room. “Why are you going to see Birdie?”

“She wrote to me when she heard we were coming. She thinks she has ghosts in her house.”

“Most of the people in Wagtail think they’ve seen ghosts.”

“We find that a lot in old communities.”

I showed Felix and Casper to their room on the second floor of the main building. Each room had been furnished differently, and
Hike
was one of the most masculine, in browns and blues. It wasn’t as large as the newer rooms in the cat wing, but it ranked right up there for coziness. I swung open the door. “The stone fireplace dates back to the 1800s, when the inn was built as a country home.”

Felix nodded. “You must encounter a lot of ghosts here in the inn.”

“Actually, I haven’t.” I wasn’t going to insult him by saying I didn’t believe in ghosts. I quickly added, “But others have.” Or thought they had. Frankly, I agreed with Eva. But I had learned long ago not to spoil everyone else’s fun. Besides, it was Howloween, the time of year when it was fun to suspend disbelief and imagine ghosts and goblins prowled the world.

“Nice room. I like the plaids. They make me feel like I’m way out in the mountains on vacation, not working.” His expression soured. “The lights made from deer antlers are a little creepy, though.”

I got his meaning right away. “No deer were harmed. They shed them every year.”

“Oh! Good to know.” He tilted his head and considered them. “Now I kind of like them. Sort of a rustic elegance, and when you think about it, they’re recycled and good for the environment. It’s not as though I’m a vegetarian or anything, so I guess that makes me an awful hypocrite, but I’d hate to think they were killed for their antlers.” Felix brushed back his thick, wavy hair with his hand.

An eager man poked his head inside the open door. “Is that you, Felix?”

He startled me, not by showing up, but by his appearance. Intensely serious blue eyes dominated his face. Over each eye, the eyebrow ran straight across, barely hooking downward at the outer edges. Neatly cropped, dark blond hair framed his forehead, giving him a serious appearance. He hugged Felix in a fond, masculine manner, pounding softly on his back. Nearly a foot taller than Felix, he towered over him.

Felix grinned at his friend. “Mark, you old dog, I thought I’d have to find your house. Or are you staying at the inn with the rest of us?”

Mark laughed. “I was tempted. At my house there’s no maid service, and I have to do the cooking.”

A second man swung into the room. Average height with brown eyes, he wore a dark brown mustache. He might not have been tall or built like a Greek god but his square chin with a dimple in it was guaranteed to make women swoon. Vaguely reminiscent of a young James Garner, he lit up the room with an easy charm. “Let’s get this party started!”

Mark nodded. “Grayson, this is Felix, the guy I was telling you about. Grayson is our star. You probably know him from the reality TV show he was on.” He eyed me as though he had just noticed me. “I’m sorry. I don’t think we’ve met. Mark Belinski.”

“Holly Miller.”

“This must be Casper,” he said, bending to pet Casper and Trixie.

Grayson reached a hand toward me. “Your grandmother told me you were coming here to work with her. I think that’s so cool.”

“Thanks. You’ve been here a few days?” I asked.

“I came up early to help Mark get ready and take a little time to relax. I did some hiking. It’s a beautiful area.”

Felix gushed, “I can’t believe we’re here together.”

Mark opened his arms wide as if he were proud of himself. “You didn’t think Luciano put this group together by accident, did you? He came to me and asked for the best of the best.” He gestured toward the man with the mustache. “Grayson is our headliner. Brian and Eva should be good for some fireworks, and you and I are the brains.”

“I wouldn’t tell Brian that you set him up,” said Felix. “He’s still licking his wounds from his last encounter with Eva.”

I interrupted briefly to disengage myself. “Excuse me. Mr. Luciano has arranged for a welcome reception in the Dogwood Room at five o’clock. It’s down the grand staircase and to the left. Let me know if you need anything, Felix.”

Mark held out his hand to stop me. “Won’t you join us for a drink at the reception?”

“Thank you for the kind invitation. I might be there, but I’ll be working.”

“Stop coming on to her, you old wolf.” Felix laughed. “I just met Mallory downstairs. New girlfriend?”

Mark rolled his eyes. “Hey, I’m looking out for
you
, buddy. Otherwise the welcome reception will be borrr-ing.”

Trixie and I left, passing Casey, who was showing the remaining ghost hunters and crew to their rooms. We trotted down the back stairs into the newly built addition that housed the reception area.

Zelda grabbed my arm as soon as she saw me. “Is he cute or what?”

“Do you mean Mark or his buddy, Grayson?”

“Neither one. Mark is taken, and I remember all the scuttlebutt about Grayson from the TV show he was on.”

“What scuttlebutt?”

“Oh, Holly. Don’t you read the gossip magazines? One of the girls on the show accused Grayson of getting rough with her. It was a big scandal. I’m surprised that Mark invited him to join the Apparition Apprehenders.”

“You do know that those reality shows are fake, right? They probably did it for ratings.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. But it’s Felix I’m after! He’s so adorable. I just want to cuddle up with him, like a puppy! Besides, Mark has a girlfriend. You saw Mallory. He’s a local celebrity of sorts because he wrote a book about Wagtail.”

“I thought you swore off men.”

“Felix isn’t like my good-for-nothing ex. Casey says he’s some kind of genius.” Zelda let out a squeal. “I’m so glad you’re back.” She hugged me and did a little dance, seemingly unable to stop grinning. “Welcome home, Holly.”

“Thanks.” I peered into my grandmother’s office behind the reception desk—our office now, I supposed. “Where
is
my grandmother?”

“Big session to replace the mayor,” said Zelda. “The village elders are meeting to appoint an interim mayor until they can hold an election. She should be back anytime now.”

“Did you get everyone else checked in okay?”

“No problems, but I
was
a little spooked by that ghost. I’m glad Casey’s working here tonight, and not me.”

“You’re a psychic and ghosts scare you?” I couldn’t help giggling.

She tossed back her long blonde hair and pumped her fist on a well-rounded hip. “I’m not a people psychic. It’s just that I can communicate with animals. That’s a lot different than being able to connect with ghosts. And animals are always nice.”

I had serious doubts about her abilities, but Zelda was a wonderful person, full of life and kindness. I would never want to hurt her feelings. She did get a few things right, like Mrs. Mewer’s fear of the vultures. Of course, any observant person might have noticed that. Still, I asked, “You’ve never encountered a growling dog or an angry cat?”

“Well, sure. But those are their defense mechanisms. Most of the time
they’re
the ones who are afraid. Either people have treated them badly in the past or something has upset them. Animals don’t usually
want
to harm anyone. It’s people who will hurt you.”

The sliding doors opened again, but this time my lovely grandmother marched through them. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold like red apples. She raised her arms for a hug. “Holly! I apologize for leaving you alone so soon.” She hugged me and patted Trixie. “It could not be helped.” Oma hated that she still spoke with a German accent after fifty years in America. She tossed her short sassy hair in an exaggerated manner. “You are looking at the interim mayor of Wagtail!”

More hugs ensued, from Zelda, and Trixie and Gingersnap, too. Casey returned just in time to hear the good news.

“Congratulations, Oma!” I said. “I had no idea you were interested in being mayor. I thought you intended to take a long cruise.”