These Haunts Are Made For Walking (Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Book 1) (22 page)

This day wasn’t all candy corn, apple cider, and caramel apples. I managed to back away and turn down the other path to get to the cupcake booth. I couldn’t get it out of my mind though. Why was she back in town?

I finally made it to the booth, but I stopped short. A heated exchange was taking place between Katherine and Sue at the booth. Why were they fighting? I wanted to get closer so that I could hear, but I didn’t want them to see me. So far this morning I was hiding from a lot of people.

I inched closer, but there was really nowhere for me to hide and still be close enough to hear the women. There was a nearby tree so I decided to go over to it and try to just act casual. Maybe I could hear them from there. If they saw me I could just act like I was enjoying the morning weather. Yeah, they would probably know otherwise.

When I reached the tree I spotted Sue. She was peeking around the tree. Had she been hiding and trying to listen too? She was definitely acting suspicious. She moved over to the cupcakes and looked around to see if anyone was watching.

Someone grabbed my shoulder and I spun around ready to punch.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I yelled.

Travis held his hands up. “Don’t hit. You always were a feisty one.”

I wasn’t in the mood for him to try to work his charms on me. That had stopped working when he cheated on me. Apparently, he hadn’t gotten that memo yet. He was so clueless that he thought he could just walk back into my life? That was never going to happen. I couldn’t believe that he was here standing in front of me.

My ex-fiancé was back in town and I wanted an explanation. Or maybe I didn’t want to know. Maybe I just wanted him to get away from me.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. “You’re supposed to be in California.”

“Don’t I get a hug?” He held his arms out as if I would into fall right into them.

He’d come all the way from California to see me? I wouldn’t lie and say I didn’t miss him, but I missed the person I’d thought he was. That person would never return. That person wasn’t the man in front of me right now. He looked at me expectantly.

“No, I won’t give you a hug. I think you need to leave me alone,” I snapped.

“See, that is a problem for me,” he said with that fake smile.

“What does that mean?” I asked, clearly losing my patience with him.

“Rip, I’ll just come right out and say it. I want you to come home.”

I snorted. “You have got to be out of your mind.” On top of everything going on, this was the last thing I needed. He looked at me in astonishment.

“What are you talking about?”

“Did you forget what happened between us?”

He reached for my arms. “I know that I hurt you, but that is over now.”

I waved my hands. “You’re right. That is over. We are over. That part of our life is over.” I had no idea how he knew that I was here today, but I wasn’t going to stick around to find out. “I don’t know why you are here, but you need to go home. There is nothing here for you.”

His eyes narrowed. He clearly didn’t like being told no. That wasn’t my problem. I hadn’t seen it at the time, but they had really done me a favor by cheating. Everything happened for a reason. Now I knew more than ever that I was where I was supposed to be.

I turned around and walked away. I didn’t look back, but I knew that he was staring at me.

He had a way of penetrating into your soul with his dark eyes. One look and anyone could be easily persuaded by his good looks.

I was proud of myself for telling Travis to get lost. I could have easily left with him and put all these problems behind me. But that would have done nothing but cause a new set of problems.

When I rounded the corner, I could wait no more so I peeked over my shoulder. Travis had turned and was walking away. I was glad he hadn’t seen me look back. Now he knew that I was over him.

***

Tammy and I had been working the booth for several hours. At least we had been successful and raised a good amount of money for the library. We could use all the funds we could get. I had reached around to grab another stack of books when someone cleared their throat. I spun back around to find Katherine standing in front of the booth. She wore a chunky beige sweater, jeans, and brown leather boots.

“Good afternoon,” she said with a bright smile. “I saw how hard you all are working today and thought you could use a treat.” She reached her arm out and displayed the most delicious looking candy apples I’d ever seen.

“Thanks.” I reluctantly took the apple.

I hoped she didn’t notice that I acted as if the apple was radioactive. Could she blame me after Marion had been murdered? 

Katherine frowned. “Aren’t you going to take a bite?”

“I’m not that hungry right now,” I said.

Tammy looked at me wide-eyed when I handed her an apple. 

“How have you been?” Katherine fixed her stare on me.

I shifted in my seat. “Everything is okay. What about you?”

Katherine glanced over her shoulder as if looking for someone. “I’ve been better.”

Is something wrong?” I asked.

Katherine looked out over the crowd again. “I’d better go. I hope you enjoy the candy apples.”

She took off through the crowd, disappearing around a group of teenagers.

“What do you think that was all about?” I asked.

Tammy took a bite of the apple and shrugged. Tiny pieces of nuts fell from the apple and onto her shirt. I looked at her as if she’d lost her mind.

“I can’t help it. I’m hungry.”

A couple more hours passed and I hadn’t seen Katherine again. Good news was the apples didn’t appear to be poisoned because Tammy and I were still around. What could I say, the candy apples looked too good not to eat.

The crowd had begun to thin out for the evening. We only had about an hour left until it was time to leave. I’d already decided I was curling up in bed with a good book. When I looked up, I spotted the chief standing right in front of the booth. I practically fell back in my chair when I spotted him. He was staring at me with a look of suspicion on his face. What had happened now? If someone else had been murdered then he couldn’t point a finger at me because I had an alibi. I had been at the booth all day.

“Hello, are you looking for a book?” I asked, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

He tapped his fingers against the table. I stared down at the shiny rings again.

“No I’m not interested in a book. Have you been at the booth all day?”

I swallowed hard. “Yes.” My voiced wavered.

“Is something wrong Chief Johnston?” Tammy asked.

I could always count on Tammy to try and save me when I got tongue-tied.

He looked at both of us. “No nothing is wrong. Is it just the two of you working here today?”

I nodded. “Yes just us.”

He tapped his palms on the table. “Thanks.”

Without another word he turned and walked away.

“This day just keeps getting weirder by the minute,” I said.

The chief hadn’t shown up again and for that I was thankful.  I’d stepped away from the both for a few minutes to buy apple cider for Tammy and me. They were serving Mrs. Harris’ homemade recipe. I’d gotten two cups and headed down the path toward our booth when I froze on the spot. I rushed over to the big oak tree and tried to hide behind it. What was Leslie doing here? I thought she went out of town for the weekend. Plus, she’d said she hated this festival and that fall was her least favorite time of year. She wanted nothing to do with anything that reminded her of it.

So far, she hadn’t noticed me, and I hoped to keep it that way. I peeked out from the tree. Leaves tumbled to the ground around me. I hoped I didn’t draw attention to myself as I stepped over the crunchy leaves. Leslie paused and looked around. I ducked behind the tree.

When I peeked out again I noticed she was talking with Katherine. After a couple minutes, they finished their conversation and went their separate ways. When I thought Leslie was far enough away, I stepped out from behind the tree and headed back to the booth.

I handed Tammy the cider. “I just saw Leslie.”

“Oh no. Let’s close the booth and leave,” Tammy said, looking around for Leslie.

“What do you think she’s doing here? She hates all things fall.”

“Maybe she came to eat the little children. Like the witch in Hansel and Gretel.”

I took my seat behind the booth again and remained on the lookout for Leslie. “I plan to find out why she’s here,” I said, then took a drink of my cider.

As I sat at the booth sipping on the cider I spotted Brannon in the distance. I peered around the nearby people, but didn’t see his ex. That was a good sign, but I still wasn’t sure what was going on between them. And it wasn’t my place to find out. If he wanted to share that information with me he would. When I noticed he was headed in my direction, I hopped up.

“I’ll be right back,” I said.

Before Tammy had a chance to ask where I was going, I had disappeared. If Brannon came to the booth, she would soon know why I’d taken off. I waited for several minutes back at the tree where I’d seen Leslie earlier. This was ridiculous of me. I couldn’t hide from him forever. I inhaled the cool air and forced myself to head back to the booth. If he was still there then I’d talk with him.

Tammy spotted me as I rounded the corner. She quirked and eyebrow and I knew I was in trouble. “What was that about? Are you hiding from Brannon?”

“Of course not.” I busied myself with moving books around on the table. I knew Tammy was staring at me, but I remained strong and didn’t give in to her glare.

“Fine, don’t tell me, bit sooner or later you will want to talk about it.”

I sat down in the chair beside her again. “Probably later.”

Tammy laughed. 

I enjoyed watching the people stroll by as they took in the festival’s sights and sounds. With just the right temperature; the day had turned out perfectly. Well, except for running into my ex, seeing Brannon with his ex, having a visit from the chief, a strange encounter with Katherine, and spotting Leslie. Other than all that, the day had been perfect. Music spilled out from the nearby park where the bluegrass band was playing. It was nearing dinner and I wanted to try the burgoo from one of the vendors.

“Is all the smell from the food making you hungry?” Tammy asked.

I snorted. “I’m practically ready to eat my arm.” I looked at my watch. “Let’s get out of here.”

The deeper I got into the investigation of Marion’s death, the deeper I got myself into trouble. I hoped that I didn’t get in so deep that I couldn’t get out. But it was like there was a supernatural force that wouldn’t allow me to stop. Something or someone else was in control and I had to follow that lead.

I’d had a good day at the festival in spite of seeing Travis. Brannon hadn’t stopped by the booth, which was just as well. I’d asked Tammy about his ex being back in town, but she had no information. Maybe she was just trying to protect me.

The next morning, I dressed in a black pencil skirt, white blouse and black flats with a blue scarf for a splash of color and then headed for the library. Clouds hung over Devil’s Moon and it looked as if the rain would start at any moment. The ghost of George Wise followed me as I made my way to the coffee shop. When I looked back, he would float away, but out of the corner of my eye I knew he was there. When I reached the library, he disappeared completely. He’d sent a text and this time it said:
Follow the leads.
I was certainly trying just that, but so far I’d had little luck.

It was just as well that he hadn’t stayed with me. One ghost was enough. Annie was standing by the front door when I entered the library. Something told me that Annie wouldn’t want the competition for my attention.

Good morning,
my message said. I smiled, but couldn’t answer. Annie knew what my smile meant though. Get work done and then work on clues. I wished I could text her back, but that wasn’t a possibility. I would have to move to a room where we could talk.

Leslie was frowning at me as she stood behind the front desk. If she didn’t like getting to work before me then she needed to stop arriving so early. Usually, I helped Leslie before going to my office, but this morning I would have to change that routine. “Leslie, I have a few things to take care of in my office. I’ll be back in a minute.”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. She still obviously hadn’t forgiven me for the whole computer message thing. A couple hours had passed and I was surprised that Leslie hadn’t come back to get me with some problem. When I walked from my office to the front of the library, I saw Sue standing at the front desk talking with Leslie. Was she here to talk about the Bookwormers club? Would they still have their monthly meeting here? I hadn’t heard anything about it, but if I was in the club I would find it too creepy to come back. I’d probably stop the group altogether.  Sue stopped talking and then walked out the door.

When I reached the desk, I asked, “Did Sue need something?”