These Haunts Are Made For Walking (Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Book 1) (24 page)

“Like I said, I am sorry that I gave her the book.” She looked from me to Tammy again, as if we were about to call the police and have her arrested.

Wonderful. Now the patrons would think I was some lunatic librarian who made collection calls.

“I apologize for coming to see you. Thanks again for the information.”

I couldn’t even come up with a logical excuse as to why I wanted the book, so I just left it at that. Tammy and I turned around and marched back to the car, leaving Mrs. Blanton in a state of confusion.

Could Sue Lovelace be the killer? She’d had access to the food when I brought it to the room. Sue had helped set it out and could have easily slipped something in when I wasn’t looking. Plus, Tammy had overheard her conversation at the salon and the notepad on the receptionist’s desk matched the killer’s note. All of this could just be my imagination running wild. I wasn’t a detective—maybe I shouldn’t make too much of this information.

I slipped behind the wheel of the car and Tammy hurried into the passenger seat. We buckled up and I pulled away without so much as another glance at Mrs. Blanton.

I contemplated what she’d said as I navigated the streets out of her subdivision. “I bet she thinks we are the craziest librarians in the world,” I said.

Tammy laughed. “She’s right about that though, no?”

I laughed. “Yes, I guess going to a patron’s house looking for a book that we think may have clues to a murder that took place in the library would qualify us as crazy.”

“Maybe I’m slightly less crazy than you because you are the head librarian.”

“Okay, I’ll take that title. Craziest librarian. I think the board should have known what they were getting when they found out about my ghost tours.”

“What do you think about what she said?” Tammy asked.

I made a left turn. “I guess it could be a coincidence. After all, the book club selection was the first book in the series, so if Sue liked the book then it’s reasonable to think that she would want to read the other books in the series.”

“That’s true.” Tammy nodded.

I made another turn. “But then again, I couldn’t help think about the conversation you overheard and the fact that she had the same notepad in her shop.”

“She wouldn’t leave something like that lying around, would she?” Tammy asked.

“Maybe she wants to be caught. You know, subconsciously? Some killers are like that. Since they are proud of what they’ve done, they like to talk about it. If they can’t talk about it directly they’ll leave little clues.”

Tammy tapped her fingers against the seat. “I suppose that is possible. Scary to think about though.”

I pulled up to the library and parked the car. We walked past the graveyard and to the front door. I glanced over at Annie’s grave. I knew she would be waiting for answers. She’d start texting as soon as she saw me.

Tammy and I were discussing the visit when we walked through the door. Leslie was behind the desk and noticed us right away.

“Hi, Leslie. Is everything okay?” I asked.

Leslie glared at us. “You know, I really don’t want to hear about your meddling.” She grabbed her purse and marched around the front of the desk. “You should stay out of everyone’s business.”

Her face was red. I’d never seen her that angry before and I wasn’t quite sure what I’d done to make her that mad. After a few seconds, she stomped over to the door and stormed out.

“Wow, she was mad,” Tammy said.

I blew the hair out of my eyes. “Yeah, I thought she might punch me in the face there for a second.”

Tammy nodded. “It did look like she was about to let you have it.”

What could I have possibly done to make her so mad? I wasn’t trying to get into anyone’s business. I just wanted to see the killer brought to justice. It seemed like the only right thing to do.

On Leslie’s way out, a small, white piece of notepaper had dropped from her bag. She had been too angry to even notice.

I reached down and picked up the paper. I’d seen the paper before. The same piece as I’d found in the book. It was also like what I’d found at Sue’s.

“What is it?” Tammy asked, looking over my shoulder.

I unfolded the paper. It had Sue Lovelace’s name and an address written on it. There was something else very familiar about it, but I didn’t know what. My phone sent a text alert, but I didn’t have time to look at it.

“Sue’s address is on the paper,” I said.

“What do you think this means?” Tammy asked.

“I don’t know, but I think we have to find out quick,” I said.

My phone rang and I jumped. I pulled the phone from my pocket. Annie had probably learned how to call me since I was ignoring her text messages. No such luck. It was Brannon’s number. I had to tell him this time about what I’d found. I was in way too deep this time.

When I answered, he said, “I have information about Marion’s building purchase. I think you should close the library and get away from Leslie as soon as possible.” There was an urgency in his voice that I’d never heard before.

“Why? What did you find out?” I asked.

“What is it?” Tammy whispered.

Brannon continued, “Leslie’s mother and Marion had planned on going into business together, but for unknown reasons the deal ended abruptly.”

“So? What does that mean?” I pushed.

“Leslie believed that her mother had been wronged. She was out for revenge after that.”

Brannon’s call let me know that I should have told him about what I’d found sooner. Apparently I couldn’t always do things on my own. Sometimes, I needed other people’s help after all. Brannon was nice enough to offer this information when it could possibly get him in trouble. Maybe the least I could do was let him investigate the library again. After all, maybe this time he would actually find a spirit.

“I’ll get out now,” I said. “I’m headed your way.”

“What happened?” Tammy asked when I hung up the phone.

I explained the call and Tammy motioned for me to follow her to the door. I rushed over to make sure Jane Austen had food and water and then met Tammy at the door. We had to get out of there before Leslie decided to come back. But still, just because her mother had interacted with Marion didn’t mean Leslie was the killer.

As I studied the note that Leslie had dropped, the realization hit me. I remembered the strange way the killer had looped the letter s and crossed the letter t in the confession note. Leslie’s handwriting matched exactly.

Leslie Knight had killed Marion. Of course, I had forgotten that she’d helped Katherine carry in the refreshments. That was the perfect time she could have done something. Brannon had been right to request that we get out of there. And to think that I had been working with the killer all this time. She’d probably been planning on poisoning my coffee or cupcake too.

My phone text alert went off. I looked back and saw Annie standing by the bookshelf. I pulled the phone from my pocket.

“Ripley, come on, let’s get out of here.” Tammy motioned.

I read the message from Annie.

Leslie may be following the plot from the book.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Tammy frowned. “Who are you talking to? The ghost?”

Annie responded:
There could be another murder soon.

“I know, that’s why I’m trying to get out of here,” I said.

No, not you. Sue Lovelace.

That was right. Leslie had Sue’s address written down. That must mean that Leslie was on her way to see Sue. Was she on her way to kill her? Probably yes. I had to help Sue. I studied the phone back into my pocket and raced for the door.

“Thanks, Annie,” I said over my shoulder.

I had to admit that I had been suspicious of Annie’s claim at first until I realized that the initials of the victim in the second book matched the initials of Sue Lovelace. That was when it all made sense. Leslie was going to kill Sue just like she had Marion. It had to be a coincidence though. Why would she want to kill Sue? What had Sue done to make her that angry? I rushed out the door and locked it behind us. I looked around to see if Leslie was near, but so far I hadn’t spotted her.

“We have to reach Sue before it’s too late,” I said as I ran toward the car.

Tammy was running behind me. We weren’t the fastest, and the trendy shoes didn’t help matters either. When I reached the car, I yanked open the door and jumped behind the wheel. Tammy jumped in the other side.

“Step on it!” she yelled.

I hoped that Brannon was on his way to Sue’s. I had to call and tell him where we were headed. If Leslie was already there then it could be very dangerous.

When we arrived at Sue’s house, Leslie’s car was parked close out by the curb.

“She’s here,” I said.

“What do we do now?” Tammy asked.

I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel. I hadn’t thought that far in advance. “I guess we need to confront her.”

“I’ve never confronted a killer before,” Tammy said. “At least not that I know of. The worst I’ve had to deal with is the drunk people at the bar.”

“I hope there won’t be a confrontation. But if Sue needs us then we have to go help her.”

Tammy nodded. “I’m ready.”

I released a deep breath and opened the car door. “Okay. We can do this.”

I climbed out from behind the wheel and Tammy followed. We rushed toward the house. When I reached the house, I paused by the window and peered through the front window.

“What do you see?” Tammy whispered.

“It’s dark in there.”

“Maybe they’re in a different room,” Tammy said.

“I guess we’ll have to ring the doorbell and hope that Sue answers. If she doesn’t we’ll have to call the police.”

Just then I saw movement. I looked at the corner of the room and I spotted them.

“I see them,” I whispered.

Tammy moved over to the window. “What are they doing?”

“Leslie is standing over Sue, offering her a cup of coffee.” My stomach turned.

So that was how she’d poisoned Marion—the coffee. Hadn’t anyone else drunk the coffee? I was glad that I hadn’t tried a cup. Hadn’t the police tested the coffee for the poison? Whatever the case, I had to help Sue now.

“I don’t know if we should confront Leslie for fear that she will go into super-crazy mode,” I said.

Tammy snorted. “I think that ship has already sailed.”

“True. Leslie is on the
USS Crazy
and lost at sea. I don’t know what to do,” I said.

Tammy shook her head. “I don’t have a clue either.”

“Sue is refusing the coffee, so she must know what’s in it,” I said.

“We’ll just have to confront Leslie,” Tammy said. “There are two of us. Surely we can save Sue before Leslie poisons her too.”

“Okay, we’ll try the door. We won’t even knock, we’ll just walk in. You grab Leslie and I’ll help Sue.”

“Why do I have to grab Leslie?” Tammy asked.

“Okay, I’ll grab Sue and you grab Leslie.”

Tammy frowned. “You just said the same thing.”

I waved my hands. “Okay, okay. I’ll get Leslie. Let’s go.” I motioned toward the front door and we rushed over.

We’d reached the porch when Tammy stumbled forward and tripped over the white rocking chair on the porch. Tammy tumbled to the floor with a thud. There was no way that Leslie hadn’t heard that noise. We were in for trouble now because she would be alerted to our presence. It would give her a chance to form a plan, which was a lot more than we had at the moment.

“Sorry,” Tammy said.

It wasn’t her fault. There was no way she could avoid tripping over the chair. I didn’t have time to ask if she was okay.

I reached down to help her up when the front door burst open. Leslie’s eyes were full of rage. It was the most terrifying thing I’d ever seen. Leslie stormed out the door like a tornado. Within two steps she reached for Tammy, grabbing her by the shirt and slamming her to the floor. Tammy screamed and I wasn’t sure what to do. I had no idea what Leslie was capable of. She had poisoned Marion, but could she kill without the poison? She would have to fight both of us.

Without thinking I tackled Leslie on her back, landing on Tammy too. . Leslie groaned and so did Tammy. Maybe I should have thought of a better plan, but it was too late for that now. Leslie managed to shrug me off and then she tackled me.

Tammy was holding her side. I’d probably caused her permanent damage when I’d jumped on top.

Now that Leslie was on top of me, we rolled across the front porch. Where the heck was Sue? Shouldn’t she help us out? Next thing I knew Leslie and I had tumbled down the steps and rolled on the ground.

Leslie was pulling my hair and I was pushing to get her off. I smacked her with my fist, but that was doing no good. I had to really throw a good punch if I wanted to get her off me. I glanced over and noticed Tammy on her phone. What was she doing? Calling for takeout? Sue was standing in the doorway.