These Haunts Are Made For Walking (Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Book 1) (9 page)

“What was that look for?” she asked.

“What look?” I said.

“You know what look. Is there something you’re not telling me?”

I shrugged. “It’s just that the Book Wormers weren’t happy with Marion.”

“What do you mean?” Tammy froze with her fork in mid-air.

I shuffled a few papers on my desk as I thought about what exactly I should say. I didn’t want to imply that they had done something wrong. Should I tell her about the fight the ladies had had with Marion?

Tammy studied me and I knew she would start asking questions soon.

She tapped her fingers against the arm of the chair. “Do you think something else happened?”

I scoffed. “No. Of course not.”

She pointed the plastic fork. “Ah-ha. So you do think something is up.”

“Well, what if someone pushed her?” I said.

There. I’d gotten it out. The thought had crossed my mind even though I hadn’t wanted to think it. The women had seemed so nice. Surely they couldn’t harm Marion.

“Do you think one of the Book Wormers would do something like that?” Tammy’s big blue eyes grew wider.

“No, do you think?”

“Anything is possible.”

“They would have had to have been sneaky about it. Because I heard no noise when it happened. Just when she’d fallen.” Of course I’d been preoccupied by a ghost at the time. “I hate to even mention that maybe it wasn’t an accident,” I said.

“But you are suspicious?” Tammy asked.

I nodded. “Yes, just a little.”

I couldn’t explain why I had that suspicion though. What would Tammy think if I told her I was communicating with a ghost?
Was
I communicating with a ghost?

I waved my hand. “I shouldn’t even think such things. It was an accident. I wouldn’t want the women to know that I was suspicious of them, that’s for sure.”

“Well, you know they won’t hear it from me.”

Tammy and I sat in silence for a moment while we pondered the thought.

“So what was the fight about?” Tammy leaned forward in the leather chair so that she wouldn’t miss a detail.

“Marion bought the building that houses all the ladies’ shops, then she proceeded to raise the rent immediately.” I took a drink of coffee.

“I can see where that would make them upset.”

I nodded. “They were ready to end the friendship over it. I have to admit I thought there would be a fight, but I never guessed someone would end up dead. I thought maybe they’d throw cupcakes at each other.”

Tammy leaned back in her chair. “If only that was all that happened. I don’t even want to go upstairs now because I have to pass the spot.”

“Yeah, well, I guess it’s something we will just have to get used to.”

“We could try to get the library moved,” Tammy said.

I chuckled. “I doubt that will happen. Besides, I’m used to being around creepy places. You’ll get used to it eventually.”

Movement caught my attention and I looked up. My heart rate increased and my stomach dropped. Annie stood in the doorway. She looked right at me and then she actually waved. At that moment my phone dinged.

Tammy looked down at my phone. “I think you got a text.”

I looked from Tammy to the phone.

“Aren’t you going to answer it?” she asked.

I waved my hand. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Probably spam from the phone company.”

Tammy smiled. “Oh, are you getting texts from a handsome officer and you don’t want to tell me?”

My cheeks probably blushed. But my lips were sealed.

Tammy pushed to her feet. “Okay, don’t tell me. I’d better get to work. Let me know if you need anything.”

I stared at my phone, then finally looked up at her.

“And you’d better answer him.” She smiled.

I gave a nervous chuckle as she walked out of the room. Tammy moved right by Annie and didn’t even know it. Annie watched Tammy until she was down the hall and then she floated into my office. I looked down at my phone to see if the message was still there. Yep, it was there.

There is more to Marion’s death. Help her.

“How are you doing that?” I asked. “Somehow you’re manipulating energy to send devices messages, but I have no idea how you’re doing it.”

Just help her.

So Annie thought there was more to this event. Maybe there was, but what could I do? I kept thinking back to how angry the women had been with Marion. What kind of trouble had Marion really been into? How did she get the money to buy the building? 

What was I supposed to do? Annie just didn’t understand. I couldn’t get involved. I busied myself with work, but there was no way to ignore Annie’s presence. Sadly, I was supposed to be okay with the paranormal, but I was scared of the ghost in my office staring at me and sending me text messages. She might look like a sweet old lady, but she was still a ghost and that was pretty darn spooky. I still couldn’t believe I was communicating with a ghost.

Without looking at Annie, I left my office. I didn’t want to look back to see if she was following me, but I felt her presence. If Brannon ever found out that I was interacting with a ghost and hadn’t told him, well, he’d probably never talk to me again.

When I reached the front desk, I knew I had to act as if nothing was wrong. That would be tough because after all these years Tammy could read me like a well-worn old library book.

I helped a couple customers while behind the front desk, but I purposely didn’t look over my shoulder. Since I’d left my phone in my office, I didn’t know if Annie was texting me. It didn’t matter though because when I moved over in front of the computer, the screen lit up and a message appeared.

I know I am right about this. Marion was murdered. You have to get involved. Don’t ignore this. You will be sorry.

I didn’t know what kind of threat that was, but I didn’t like it one bit. I turned around and frowned at Annie so that she would know I was extremely unhappy.

“Are you okay?” Tammy asked.

I snapped out of my trance and looked at her. She was practically standing in front of me.

“You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.” She chuckled.

I attempted a half-hearted grin.

“Look, you are letting this new job stress you out. I can tell by the way you’re acting. Don’t let this get to you. It will get better.”

Leslie walked by at that moment and scoffed.

Tammy rolled her eyes. “Of course it won’t get better with Leslie, but what can we do?”

I sighed. “You’re right. I will be fine.”

I glanced over Tammy’s shoulder. Annie had an innocent little smile on her face.

“I have to get to the salon. Don’t forget to take it easy, okay?” Tammy asked as she rounded the corner and headed toward the entrance.

I clicked off the computer screen and smiled. “I promise I will.”

Tammy waved over her shoulder. I had more work to do in the office, but I knew that once I got back there Annie would follow me. She was seriously getting in the way of a lot of work.

I moved around her misty form and headed down the darkened corridor toward my office. This was what scary dreams were made of. A ghost following me down a darkened hallway.

But I had asked for it. All the haunted tours and paranormal talk… this was what I got for that. Mrs. Clatterbuck had warned me to leave the dead alone. Was this what she’d meant? Maybe she knew more about the ghosts than I realized.

As I sat at my desk I kept my head down, ignoring my surroundings and the ghost. I had a job to do and the paranormal would have to wait. The mention of paranormal made Brannon flash in my mind. He was the last thing I needed to think about right now.

Luckily, the rest of the day kept me busy. My phone dinged a few times, but I wasn’t able to check the messages. Finally I couldn’t avoid it any longer and I picked the phone up from my desk. Releasing a deep breath, I clicked on the screen.

Ask about Marion.

What was that supposed to mean? Surprisingly Annie wasn’t in my office, so I couldn’t find out what she meant. I cleaned off my desk and gathered my belongings. I had to help Leslie with a few things out front and then it would be time for me to get out of there.

Maybe I would be able to get away without Annie sending another message. I still wondered about the text I’d received last night when I’d seen the male ghost.

I hurried toward the front of the library. The sun was setting and it cast an eerie glow across the space. Leslie had her head buried in a book when I reached the front desk.

“A successful day,” I said with a smile.

What I really meant to say was at least we hadn’t had any other accidents. I’d never forget my first day at Bilson Library.

I grabbed a couple stacks of books. “So Leslie, how are you doing after what happened last night? You haven’t mentioned it.”

I looked to see her reaction to me bringing up what had happened. I got the feeling she didn’t want to talk about it, but I had to know for sure.

She shut the book cover. “Maybe we should just mind our own business and not discuss it. We had nothing to do with it.”

I’d suspected that Leslie hadn’t wanted to talk about it, but I had no idea she would be this upset.

I placed a stack of books on the cart. “I’m sorry, but it’s kind of something we have to talk about, since it happened here in the library.”

She grabbed her purse. “Do you need me for anything else or can I go now?”

I let it go. This was obviously upsetting her. I looked around at the library. There was only a couple people at the tables. “Sure, I can handle it from here.”

She headed toward the door without saying another word. I wasn’t sure why she had to be so rude about it, but that seemed to be the way Leslie handled everything. It didn’t look as if I would be able to make friends with her. At least we could get along as co-workers though. I’d give her some time to get over the dramatic event, then I’d try again.

With her hand on the door, Leslie turned to me and said, “People will be upset if they think you are meddling in other people’s affairs.”

With that she walked out the door. My phone rang again. I felt Annie behind me, but again I didn’t turn around to look at her. Jane Austen was by my feet. She meowed and pawed at my leg. I knew she was trying to tell me to pay attention to Annie. When I didn’t turn around to look at Annie, she moved in front of me. I released a sigh and looked at my phone.

Don’t like Leslie’s behavior. Tell her to get rid of nasty attitude.

I scoffed. “Yeah, that’s easier said than done. I can tell her, but I doubt she will listen.”

At that moment, I felt eyes on me and realized it wasn’t Annie looking at me. A patron had walked up to the counter with books to check out. I was sure that my cheeks blushed.

I chuckled. “I was talking to the cat.”

The man nodded, but didn’t offer a response. I figured talking to a cat was a perfectly reasonable response. People talked to their cats all the time. I checked out his books and handed them back to him.

“Thanks.” That was all he said. Oh, well—I’d have to be more careful from now on. Thanks to Annie and her nagging, everyone would probably think I was crazy.

And speaking of everyone, why couldn’t anyone else see Annie? Why was she showing herself only to me? Was it because of my connection to the paranormal? That had to be it. But Brannon had a connection too. Why couldn’t he see Annie? Maybe he could and just hadn’t told me. Maybe that was why he had wanted to investigate the library. How would I ask him that?

It was a beautiful evening, even if a little chilly. I had the ghost tour again tonight. I’d decided that four times a week around this time of year would be best. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. During the winter, I doubted I would be able to have a tour, plus not as many people would want to do it in the cold months.

Before this evening’s tour, I needed dinner. Usually, I’d have a salad with grilled chicken or maybe grilled fish for dinner, trying to be healthy, but after the latest events, I needed comfort food. I was headed for Mammy’s Café to get a big juicy burger and fries.

I walked past the tavern, bakery, and hair salon to the cafe. I looked at my watch. I only had an hour to eat before the tour started. As I walked down the sidewalk, my cell phone rang. My heart rate increased. Was Annie now calling me? What would her voice sound like? I pulled the phone from my purse and looked at the screen. A number was displayed and it looked familiar, but I wasn’t sure who it was. There was only one way to find out—answer it.

I pushed the screen and said, “Hello.”

The male voice said, “Ripley?”

Even though I’d only talked to him a couple times, I recognized Brannon’s voice. I was surprised that he was calling me.

“Good evening, Officer Landon.” I tried to remain professional.

“Please call me Brannon. I’m afraid I have some bad news.” His voice had turned serious.