These Haunts Are Made For Walking (Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Book 1) (8 page)

I brushed it off as nerves from the night’s events. After all, a woman had died right in front of me. Everything pointed to it being an accident, but then the texts from Annie popped into my mind.

I pulled my phone from my pocket for a quick glance. Had I imagined the whole thing? The screen cast a glow through the night. When I looked for the messages they were gone. I scrolled through, but couldn’t see them anywhere.

The silvery light from the moon pierced through the thick cover of darkness. It was a good thing I knew the graveyard like the back of my hand. Even with the flashlight it would still be easy to miss a step and fall. The glow from the flashlights helped a little, but it wasn’t nearly enough. The howl of wind whistled through the treetops as if I’d added special effects music to my tour. But it was all real and creepy, nothing pretend on my tour. Devil’s Moon Cemetery was the ideal location for a haunted tour. It just looked haunted, even if there were no ghosts. In Devil’s Moon, there were no shortage of ghosts.

I’d stopped in front of one of the tombstones, the spot where I usually gave the whole presentation about the graveyard. The people were chatting behind me, and I knew they were anxious to hear the rest of the tour. There was no time to see what had happened to the messages. When I turned around to face the group, Brannon was watching me. He had a curious smile on his face and I knew he wondered what I was up to.

I stuffed the phone back into my pocket. I would have to worry about the messages later.

I was about halfway through my speech when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I thought maybe it was one of the tour-goers who had wandered off. When I looked to my left, I saw the misty form of the man.

I pulled out my phone and snapped a shot. “Did anyone else see that?” I asked.

The group pulled out their cameras and phones and began snapping photos. Brannon had moved closer to me at this point. I looked at the screen on my phone. There was a text message. I hadn’t heard the alert. There was no name or number indicating who it was from. The message read:

Help me.

That was more than a little disturbing. With Brannon watching me, I tried to pretend that there was nothing wrong, but it wouldn’t be easy.

“I don’t see anything,” one of the women said.

“It was just a fleeting movement,” I said.

They probably thought I was just saying it for dramatic effect. I could assure them that these were no theatrics. Brannon had pulled his phone from his pocket and snapped a couple photos. Had he seen it too? The group stood in silence for a moment, hoping that the apparition would return.

Finally, I broke the silence, and said, “Well, you just never know when you’re going to encounter the paranormal. Thanks to everyone for coming tonight and I hope you had an enjoyable, spooky evening. Please tell your friends.”

I walked with the group toward the entrance. The tour goers moved on and toward the street, but Brannon stayed back.

“Did you see what I saw?” I asked.

“I just thought I spotted a mist,” he said.

I nodded.

“What did you see?” he asked.

“It was probably just fog.”

Brannon looked up at the clear sky. “Not sure about fog. Are you sure you believe in ghosts?” he asked.

“Of course.” Now more than ever I believed. Since I couldn’t tell him about the text messages, I figured I wouldn’t mention any more.

“Would you like me to walk you home?” He smiled.

I hadn’t expected for him to ask. It would be hard to say no to his handsome face. I supposed there was no harm in him walking me home. Though I figured he was just doing it because he wanted to get into the library. He wasn’t trying to charm me for any other reason.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed movement. When I glanced over I spotted Mrs. Clatterbuck headed our way.

“Oh, no,” I whispered.

“What’s wrong?” Brannon asked.

I gestured with a tilt of my head. “She doesn’t like that I bring tours here.”

“Good evening, Mrs. Clatterbuck.” Brannon offered his dazzling smile and I could have sworn that she blushed.

She wore the same brown dress. It must have been her favorite. Her stare was unwavering. “I heard the news. What is going on in this town?”

Brannon stepped closer to Mrs. Clatterbuck. Maybe he’d have an easier time talking to her than I would.

My phone dinged and I jumped. I looked around to see if the spirit was nearby. I saw nothing out of the ordinary. When I pulled the phone out of my pocket, I saw that it was Tammy.

Whew. At least it wasn’t another ghost.

I typed:
Just finished tour. Got to talk with Officer Landon.

Sure, I wrote the last part knowing that she would immediately text back and want more details. But I was getting her back for setting me up on a horrible blind date last week. I shoved the phone back into my pocket and ignored the next two alerts. Tammy would not be happy that she had to wait for details. But there was no time now. Brannon had somehow managed to get Mrs. Clatterbuck to go back to her house. He was walking toward me with that sexy smile on his face.

“How did you do that?” I asked.

“I’ve dealt with Mrs. Clatterbuck before. Over the years I’ve learned what to say to anxious people.”

“You’ll have to teach me that trick,” I said.

Brannon motioned toward the sidewalk. “Shall we?”

I looked up at the sky. “Thanks for walking with me. It’s a spooky night.”

“I figured you wouldn’t want to walk alone after talking about all the ghosts that roam the streets and buildings of Devil’s Moon.”

I laughed. “I’m used to that by now. But you’re right, I don’t want a ghost to follow me home.”

We reached the sidewalk and headed in the direction of my apartment. A few first drops of rain dotted the pavement.

“What I want to know is, who is going to walk
me
home?” Brannon flashed a devilish grin.

“You’re the police. You’re not supposed to be scared of ghosts.” I kicked leaves with my foot as I walked along.

“Oh, right. I forgot,” he said teasingly.

I’d rented an apartment in an old Victorian house. My place was on the third floor. Under the cover of clouds and the dark of night, the place looked like Norman Bates should live there. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that bad, but creepy nonetheless. In the daylight, pretty flowers highlighted the landscaping around the white porch, making the place look cheery. But at night it was as if the house slipped on a creepy Halloween mask.

Brannon and I stopped at the wrought-iron fence’s gate.

“Thanks for walking with me. I hope the ghosts don’t follow you,” I said with a smile.

“I think I’ll run home.” His laughter was like music in the night air. “I enjoyed the tour tonight. You’re a good storyteller.” He held the gate open for me. “Why don’t you come along with us on a paranormal investigation sometime? Have you ever been?”

I shook my head. “No, I’ve never been.”

“I thought you’d be one of the first people to do something like that. You seem to love the paranormal. Why else would you tell ghost stories to strangers?”

“I do love it. I’m just not sure I’d be good at working the gadgets.”

“I have a feeling you would be great at working gadgets.”

I paused with my hand on the gate. My phone sent an alert again. When I looked to my left, I could have sworn I saw a misty form behind the oak tree in the front yard. Finally, I looked at Brannon again. “I’ll think about it.”

He nodded. “Fair enough. Are you sure you’re okay after what happened today?”

I released a deep breath and said, “I’m okay.”

“Call me if you need anything. You still have my number, right? You didn’t throw it away?”

“I have it.” I pulled the card from my pocket.

Brannon smiled again and then turned and walked down the sidewalk. When I reached the front door I looked back. He glanced back at me. For a moment our eyes met and my stomach flipped. No wonder he had a way with Mrs. Clatterbuck. Who wouldn’t fall for his charms?

My apartment had one bedroom with a bathroom down the hall. The hardwood floors were original to the old house. My bedroom had a pale lavender color on the walls with white curtains on the windows and a matching white comforter on the bed. I hadn’t had much time to spend at home to relax since I’d arrived back in Devil’s Moon. My parents had offered to let me move back in with them, but I figured that wasn’t such a great idea since my dad had turned my old bedroom into a home gym the day I’d left for college. He pretended like he actually used the weights but I knew he was really in there reading the morning paper and eating a doughnut. He just wanted my mother to think he was working out. Anyway, back to my apartment. A small kitchen was off from the combined living and dining room. It was small, but plenty room for me. I was just happy to have a space of my own.

After making myself a cup of hot chocolate I called Tammy back. As I suspected, she wasn’t happy that I’d made her wait for the juicy details. Except as far as I was concerned there were no juicy details.

After hanging up the phone, I climbed into bed. It had been an exhausting day. Just to be safe, I turned off my phone.

The next morning, I woke up thirty minutes past seven. So of course I had to rush around so that I wouldn’t be late for my second day on the job. I grabbed my black jacket and raced out the door.

Luckily, it was a short walk to the library. I’d turned my phone back on and so far I hadn’t received any text messages. It all seemed like a dream now. Had I really gotten text messages from a ghost? The more I thought about it the crazier it seemed. As I made my way down the sidewalk, I couldn’t help but look at some of the storefront windows. When I reached the new trendy clothing boutique, I paused and peered in the window. I really needed to add some new clothing to my closet. And it wasn’t solely because of Brannon. No this was for me too. I wanted to look my best. The turquoise dress on the mannequin was gorgeous, but where would I ever wear something like that? It wouldn’t be practical to wear it during my ghost tour. It was the kind of dress for a date night… dinner and a movie.

When I looked up, I noticed in the reflection of the window that someone was across the street staring at me. I knew that she had been watching me. When I turned around, Dana took off in the opposite direction. Why hadn’t she at least waved hello?

I left the storefront and continued toward the library. A couple times I glanced back to see if Dana was here, but so far I hadn’t spotted her again. When I reached the library, I hurried up the stairs and through the door.

The lights were already on and Leslie was behind the counter typing away on the computer again. She barely looked up when I walked by.

“Good morning, Leslie,” I said, trying to sound cheery.

I thought she mumbled good morning, but she could have said get lost instead. I headed back to my office to get started on the items I’d left on my desk the evening before.

I’d just sat down when there was a knock on the door. I jumped and the pen flew out of my hand. Yes, I was still a little jumpy.

Tammy was standing at the door. She held up a cup of coffee. “I brought you something. I figured you could use it.” In her other hand was a brown paper bag.

“What’s in the bag?” I asked.

“A cupcake with buttercream frosting.”

“Ugh.” I rubbed my temples.

She frowned as she crossed the room. “I was expecting a better reaction than that. I figured the coffee and a cupcake would be comforting.”

I ran my hand through my hair and leaned back in my chair. “I’m sorry.” She sat the bag and cup on my desk. “It’s just that I’m not sure if I can look at a cupcake now after what happened to Marion. She died with a cupcake in her hand.”

“What a waste of chocolate. Well, if you have to go, it’s best to go with chocolate,” Tammy said.

I shook my head. “That’s a terrible joke.”

“But true, right? Did you see her fall?” Tammy asked as she took the cupcake from the bag.

“No, I heard it and then ran over to see her lying there on the floor.” I shivered again.

I so wanted to tell her that I’d been too distracted by the ghost texting me. If anyone would understand it would be Tammy, but I still wasn’t sure if I was ready to share what had happened. And speaking of ghosts, I hadn’t seen Annie yet, which made me question my sanity even more. The text messages weren’t on my phone anymore. Maybe I was losing my mind.

“So that was when the police came?” Tammy asked.

I grabbed one of the plastic forks she’d brought and forced myself to try the cupcake. After all, she had gone to a lot of trouble. The least I could do was taste it. “It just feels so creepy. Such a tragedy. I wish there was something I could have done to help her.”

“It was an accident. There’s nothing you could have done.” Tammy took a big bite.

Our eyes met and she stared at me for a moment.