These Haunts Are Made For Walking (Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Book 1) (18 page)

“Hello,” I said as I approached.

“You looking for Dorothy?” she asked.

I nodded. “Yes, I guess she’s not home.”

“Who are you?” she asked, looking me up and down.

“I’m Ripley Van Raden, the new librarian.”

She stared for a moment, and then said, “Dorothy went on vacation. I’m her neighbor and she told me to keep an eye on her place.”

“Do you know when she will be back?” I asked.

“No, I don’t.”

“Thank you,” I said, waving over my shoulder.

I didn’t want her to ask any more questions as to why I was there, so I hurried to my car. I decided to stop at the café for lunch, although I didn’t have much time now. I’d probably just get it to go and eat it back at my desk.

I ordered a turkey sandwich and a fruit cup. I slipped out of there with a minimal amount of staring. As I walked back to my car I felt eyes on me. When I looked to my right for a fleeting moment I saw the ghost.

If I’d had time I would have chased after him. Oh, what the heck. I couldn’t let this opportunity go by. It looked like he went into the building that housed the antique shop. I didn’t know the owner well, but I had to take a chance and ask if they had noticed any hauntings. I just hoped that they didn’t tell me to get lost. Some people liked to talk about ghosts and others thought it was just silly nonsense.

I stepped into the tight space. The dimly lit room was filled with antiques in every available space. A bald man wearing a white shirt with suspenders and brown pants peeked out from behind a stack of boxes.

“Welcome. May I help you?” he asked.

The poor guy thought I was there to buy something. If I wasn’t so broke I certainly would just so that I could ask questions. Now I had to hope he would give me info anyway. I looked around to see if I spotted the ghost, but nothing otherworldly popped out at me.

“My name is Ripley Van Raden and I run the ghost tour here in town. I’m also the new librarian.”

He furrowed his brow. “Oh, yes, I believe I heard something about that. What can I do for you?”

No sense in beating around the bush. “Do you happen to have any paranormal activity in your shop?”

He paused and then said, “We have a ghost that hangs around here.”

My eyes widened and I stepped closer. “Really. Do you know who the man is?”

“Yes, his name is George Wise.”

My mouth dropped. “I’ve seen his ghost. Who is this man?”

The man moved a box from the shelf. “He worked at the library for years. I guess it’s no surprise that he would pay you a visit.”

“Do you know if he would have any connection to the murder of Marion?”

He paused for a moment. “You know, I may be wrong, but I think he was the grandfather of Marion. Or maybe he was her great-grandfather. I can’t remember.”

Now I really was getting somewhere.

“Thank you so much,” I said as I raced out the door.

I had no idea what I would do with this information, but it was certainly a start. It was no coincidence that I had started seeing the ghost of this man right when Marion had been murdered. But now that I thought about it, I had seen him
before
Marion had been murdered. Had the ghost known what was about to happen to her? Maybe it had been some kind of warning. But what did he want now? Was there another message? Why didn’t he just text me like Annie? I supposed he hadn’t figured out how to use electronics yet.

I headed back to the library with my lunch, but I was almost too anxious to eat now. After learning that the male ghost was connected to Marion, I felt an even greater desire to find out exactly what happened. Maybe I could ask Annie if it was possible if George Wise had been coming around to warn Marion what was about to happen. She was a ghost; she should know these things. I parked the car out front and hurried through the massive front doors. Rushing by, I glanced at the clock on the wall. I was five minutes late.

Of course Leslie gave me the stink eye as soon as she spotted me. I figured she would have given me that look regardless if I’d been late or not.

“You’re late,” she said in a snippy voice.

“Sorry, I got caught up with something. Is there a problem?” I asked.

She scowled, but finally had to admit that everything was fine. “I just didn’t want to get swamped and have to deal with it all by myself.”

“Well, luckily you didn’t have that problem,” I said with a fake smile.

That made her frown deepen. I was sure there was nothing I could say that would make her happy. I walked past Leslie, but didn’t look back because I figured she was giving me a death glare. I wasn’t sure why we had started out on the wrong foot, but I hoped that I could change that and we would be at least somewhat friendly with each other.

I sat at my desk and nibbled on my lunch, trying to focus on work, but my mind kept wondering back to everything that had happened. A knock sounded on the door and I looked up to see Tammy. She marched in and plopped down in the chair in front of me.

“What’s cooking?” she asked.

I finished my bite and then told her about what I’d found out about the ghost.

“Well, you know I worked at the salon last night.” She had that look on her face that let me know she had something good to dish out. “Anyway, I overheard Sue Lovelace’s phone conversation about how Marion got what she deserved.”

My eyes widened. “She actually said that?”

Tammy nodded. “Can you believe it?”

“Sue is so nice, I never thought I’d hear her say something like that.” I knew Tammy was being truthful too because she never made up stories. I took a drink of my diet soda and then said, “I should visit the salon.”

Tammy nodded. “Sue did have the motive and the means to murder Marion.”

“Yes, she did, I suppose. But was she the killer?” I tapped my fingers against my desk. I doubted my visit to the salon would get Sue to confess, but it was worth a visit. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

“You had your phone off and I was too tired to walk over after standing on my feet all day.”

Yes, I had turned off the phone so that Annie couldn’t text me.

Tammy pushed to her feet. “Well, I have to get to work.”

“What? You’re not going with me to the salon?”

“I wish I could, honey. You’ll be okay. Just don’t let Sue touch your hair.”

I nodded. “Okay. I won’t question your expertise.”

“Trust me, you do not want her signature style.”

“Is that the hairstyle I’ve been seeing around town?”

Tammy shivered. “That’s the one. She wants to create a trend or something.”

“She’s creating something, but I don’t think it’s a trend.” I laughed.

“I’ll talk to you soon,” Tammy said as she walked out the door.

The day seemed to drag on forever. Annie had been mostly quiet. As long as she thought I was attempting to do something to solve the murder she was happy. I finished up a few things that I needed to get off my desk and then headed out to the front area. Leslie was just shutting off her computer.

“Where are you headed?” she asked with a frown.

That was a first. She never seemed interested in what I was doing. I wondered why she was asking now.

“I’m headed over to Sue’s Salon.”

She stared at me. “Why would you do that?”

I pointed at my head. “I figured I could use a little trim.”

Leslie studied my hair and then shrugged. “Whatever. I would be careful if I were you.” She marched toward the door, but didn’t say anything else.

Was she warning me about Sue’s hairstyling too? Something seemed off about the warning, but then again there was something off about just about everything Leslie did or said. I finished closing the library and said goodbye to Jane Austen. I also rushed out a goodbye to Annie before she could stop me. After a short drive, I arrived at the salon.

Luckily I had called ahead and Sue had a cancellation. I would talk with her, but not let her touch my hair. I wasn’t sure how I would accomplish that just yet. I walked into the salon, which was bathed in all shades of pink. There was a small sitting area at the front of the salon. No one was there but me. I’d just taken a seat when Sue popped up from around the corner.

“Good evening, Ripley. Are you ready?”

I swallowed hard. I guessed I was as ready as I’d ever be. Sue patted the seat and gestured for me to sit down. I reluctantly moved across the floor and sat in front of the mirror.

Sue touched my hair. “So what can I do for you today?”

This was the hard part. “Actually, I just wanted to talk with you.”

She frowned and I knew I was in deep trouble. I’d offended her in the worst way possible.

“Okay, I guess you can do my hair too,” I said.

She patted my shoulder. “Well, that’s more like it.”

I thought about closing my eyes the whole time I was in her chair. She pulled out her tools and went to work on my new style. I sent Tammy a message asking for help, but she said she’d warned me. It was too late now.

“I guess the book club is still upset over what happened to Marion?” I asked. Okay, that was a stupid question. Of course they were still upset.

“Yes.” Sue pulled out her comb.

That was a vague comment as she continued to work her magic on me.

“Do you think one of the other Book Wormers would do something like that to her?” I asked.

Sue froze and just stared at me. Maybe I shouldn’t have come here asking all these questions when she had such easy access to scissors. But surely Sue wouldn’t kill me right there in the middle of the salon. One thing was for certain, she was being tightlipped about the murder.

Too bad Sue hadn’t refused to style my hair.

“Okay, I’m all done here. What do you think?” She took the cape from around my neck.

I wished I could put the cape over my head. My hair had been teased, combed, and hair sprayed so much that I now looked as if I had stepped out of a time machine from 1989. All that was missing was blue eye shadow and shoulder pads.

I forced a smile and said through gritted teeth, “It looks great.”

“You look just like a model,” she said with a smile.

A model for what not to do in a salon? I would pay for this crime against my hair and then get out of there. I just hoped that no one saw me before I could fix my style. It was torture to even look in the mirror.

I hurried over to the register before she decided to do my makeup too. As I waited, I looked down and noticed a notepad on the receptionist’s desk. That wouldn’t have been unusual except for the fact that I recognized the paper. It was the same paper the killer’s note had been written on. That could be a coincidence, but then again, it could mean that the killer was right there in front of me.

The blonde woman at the desk got off the phone and looked at my hair. She actually cringed and then asked how I would like to pay.

I handed her my card and then asked, “Where did you get this notepad? It is so cute. I would love to have one.”

She handed me my receipt and card back. “Oh, that came from Marion’s home décor shop. You know, right around the corner.”

Wow, now that was something. I had no idea what items were for sale in the shop, but I had to find out now. This didn’t mean Sue had killed Marion, but it wasn’t looking good right now.

“Thanks,” I said with a smile.

Now I needed a piece of that paper. I wanted to confirm that they were in fact the same one.

When the woman answered another call, I reached down and tore a piece from the pad. She looked over and frowned, but didn’t say anything.

Sue appeared from the back of the shop. “You still here?”

It seemed as if she was in a hurry to get rid of me. Well, I was in a hurry to get out of there too, so the feeling was mutual.

“I was just leaving.” I waved and made a dash for the door. I hoped the woman at the desk didn’t tell Sue that I’d asked about the notepad.

I hurried out the door and headed toward my car. That had been a strange visit. Just when I’d thought I wasn’t getting anywhere I’d found the notepad. It was pure luck, but I’d take whatever lead I could get. Now I needed to compare the paper with the notes to confirm. At some point I supposed I should tell the police about what I’d found. After all, they could check for fingerprints. Well, except for the fact that now my prints were all over the thing. Yeah, maybe that wasn’t sure a good idea after all.

If only I could figure out who had access to poison. Maybe that would reveal the murderer. I stopped in front of Marion’s shop, but it was closed, for obvious reasons I supposed. I would have to come back another day.

It was starting to get dark and I felt that presence begin to form around me. It always came around at night in Devil’s Moon. That was when the ghosts were most active—I wasn’t sure why. The sun had set behind the building and the air grew chillier. I pulled my jacket up a little closer.