by Rose Pressey
I had to see if there were any news articles with the name Corabeth Willis. I sat down in front of the computer. After it turned on, I typed into the search bar. I wasn’t prepared for what I found. Why hadn’t anyone ever told me about this? How had I not known? I found an article about a woman dying right outside the library. The name was Corabeth Willis.
Tammy let out a little gasp. “I can’t believe that.”
I stared at the screen. I couldn’t believe it either. “Annie, do you know anything about this?”
Yes, she was murdered. I don’t know what happened after that. I’m sorry. she texted.
I would have to find out more. Was Annie telling me the full story?
“There has to be a connection, right?” Tammy asked.
“Yes, there has to be a connection.” I would not stop until I found out.
I continued to look through the pages on the screen. I hoped that I could find something else—anything else—that would lead me to more information about this woman. That was when I stumbled on another article. It was a wanted poster. Heydon Emmett.
“Look.” I pointed at the screen.
Tammy leaned closer. “What did you find?”
“This is supposedly the man who killed her. I guess they never found him.”
“What does it say?”
“He apparently went missing after getting on a train and was never found.”
“Wow. I wonder what happened to him.”
“Well, it seems like the police wanted to find him for the murder.”
“How did he murder her?” Tammy asked.
I looked at her. “I don’t know.”
“Are they sure he did it? Did they prove it?”
“That I don’t know. I wonder if her ghost is still roaming around trying to find her killer? Is that why she was following me? Does she want me to find her killer?”
“Even if she doesn’t, I know you will want to anyway.”
“Well, I would only find the ghost of her killer. He’s been dead for a long time.”
“What else can you find?” Tammy asked.
I turned around to face the screen again and placed my fingers on the keys.
“Did you find something else?” Tammy asked.
For a moment, I couldn’t speak. “I don’t think I have to solve the case. It says here that that man was the one who killed her because witnesses caught him over her body.”
“So what does she want you to do then?” Tammy asked as she sat down on the chair beside me.
“I don’t know.” I leaned back in the chair and released a deep breath. “I guess that puts me right back where I started.”
She frowned and patted me on the back. “You’ll figure it out.”
“I hope it’s soon because I want this ghost to stop following me.”
My phone dinged. I looked at the screen.
Why don’t you just ask her to leave?
I frowned. “I don’t think that works, now does it, Annie?”
No, I suppose it doesn’t.
At least she was willing to admit that.
Tammy stood from the chair. “I guess I’ll get back to work. Are you coming?”
“I suppose I should get some work done today. This will have to wait.” I stood from the chair and followed Tammy across the floor.
Jane Austen followed us, meowing as she walked.
Corabeth’s killer had never been arrested, but maybe I wasn’t dealing with the ghost of Corabeth at all. I had just assumed it was her because she was the one who had owned the house. But I had seen a male figure too. Plus, the presence had felt less than friendly. It could definitely be him. That sent a shiver down my spine.
I didn’t like the sound of that. As I typed on the computer behind the reference desk, Annie sent me a message.
Maybe it is the ghost of the killer. I feel the negativity around you. You should definitely be careful.
Annie had obviously been thinking the same thing.
“I promise I will be careful.”
She nodded, but she didn’t look convinced. I would now have to find out more about Corabeth Willis and her killer. Maybe then I could get the ghosts to move on. Wherever that was that they were supposed to move on to. I just didn’t want them around me.
“You okay?” Tammy asked.
I knew that I had been in a zone for far too long.
I snapped out of it. “Sure, I’m okay.”
She grinned. “You had me worried there for a minute.”
I knew that some people believed there was a hex involved with the Helmwood House. I wasn’t sure I would be able to convince certain people that there was no hex. After finishing my work around the front, I headed to my office. Annie disappeared again and I wondered what she was up to. Had she seen the shadow again?
I sat behind my desk and thought about everything I’d figured out since I started looking into the case. As I thought about all the clues that I had right now I went through the motions of my work. What else could I do to find out where Hank’s killer had gone? Plus how could I confirm who the ghosts following me around were?
This was getting out of hand. Soon I wouldn’t even be able to keep count of the ghosts if they kept showing up. I was rethinking my idea of doing the ghost tour. Maybe I was attracting too many ghosts. It wasn’t too late to stop the tour. If it was going to lead to this then maybe I should. But it was something that I loved and that I had wanted to do for a long time. I was torn and didn’t know what to do.
There was another thing that was on my mind. Was Corabeth’s murder way back then connected to Hank’s murder now? How could it be? They were years apart and Hank had had nothing to do with that woman, right? Just because he had been to the house right before he was murdered didn’t mean that there was any kind of connection. But I was curious. It was obviously just a coincidence thought. It did give some credence to that whole hex thing though.
As I sat in front of my computer, the screen lit up. I paused, waiting for the message from Annie. The word ‘HELP’ appeared. My heart sped up. The message didn’t stop and the word was written over and over again, filling up the whole screen.
I spun around. “Annie, are you okay? Where are you? Annie, can you hear me?”
Just as I was about to jump up and run around the library looking for Annie, she appeared at the doorway of my office. The expression on her face didn’t look as if she was in any kind of distress. My phone dinged. I grabbed it and peered down at the message.
What’s wrong?
I pointed at the computer. “Did you leave this message? Are you okay?”
Another text appeared on my phone. That’s not from me.
My eyes widened. “You didn’t leave that message?”
She shook her head. If Annie hadn’t left the message then who had? I scanned the area, but didn’t see anyone. Was this another of the ghosts I’d seen? Honestly, I had been surprised that they hadn’t been able to communicate before now. But how did I know if this was really one of them? Was there a different ghost?
As I sat at my desk working my phone dinged again letting me know I had a text message. I glanced up to see if Annie had returned. She wasn’t in the doorway. I glanced down at the screen. The message wasn’t from Annie. This message was similar to the one that had been on the computer screen, except this time the word was ‘MURDER.’ It was typed over and over again on my phone’s screen. It sent a shiver down my spine. I set the phone down. What should I do now? I got up and went to the door.
After releasing a deep breath, I peeked out from my office. I wasn’t sure what I had expected, but there was nothing there. No one in the hallway. I would say that the message wasn’t intended for me if I hadn’t already received a message on the computer earlier. Help and murder. Those words seemed to go together. Was the message from Hank? He had been at the library right before his murder. Maybe his ghost had found its way back here.
Another text message popped up on my phone. I raced over to see
what this one said. ‘TOMBSTONE.’ What did that mean? Hank had died next to tombstones.
I didn’t want to be alone at the moment so I went to the front of the library. Unfortunately, Tammy had just stepped away from the front desk. I would just have to keep my mind off what had just happened.
As I leafed through some papers, the computer screen lit up. This made me jump and toss the papers in the air. I’d been waiting for another message to pop up. When I looked at the screen, I spotted the word ‘STABBED.’ It appeared over and over again.
My eyes widened. Had Hank been stabbed? Brannon hadn’t told me how Hank had died. Now I would have to find out. If Hank had been stabbed then I knew that his ghost was sending these messages. Maybe he would give me another message that could help find his killer.
“Hello? Hank, is that you?” I whispered.
Tammy popped around the corner. “Who are you talking to?”
“I was just talking to myself,” I said with a smile.
She quirked an eyebrow. I knew she was suspicious. I didn’t want to scare her though, so I’d have to keep this secret. I tapped off the computer before she had a chance to see the screen. I hoped the message didn’t come back when she was standing there. I needed to call Brannon right away.
I was just headed out the door when my phone sent an alert. I peeked over my shoulder. I had expected to see Annie standing there, but that was when I realized it was probably another message from the other ghost. I pulled out my phone and hurriedly looked at the screen. The name ‘Willis’ was written in the text box.
“Willis,” I said under my breath.
I froze on the spot. That meant this had to be from Corabeth. I stared at the phone waiting for another message to appear, but there was nothing. How was I supposed to figure out what this meant? I looked around again, but no one appeared. I stuffed the phone back in my purse and figured there was no sense in hanging around. The ghost probably couldn’t send another message. I had a feeling that it took a lot of energy just to send the one. Annie was good at it, but it had probably taken her years to build up that much energy.
I would have to figure out more about Corabeth. I wished the ghost could send more than one word. But it was probably tough just to get that much out.
After finishing up my work and cleaning off my desk, I grabbed my purse and headed toward the front. Tammy was feeding the cat. Annie still wasn’t around. I wanted to say goodbye before I left for the evening, but if she wasn’t around then I would have to just leave.
“Are you ready?” Tammy asked.
I didn’t want to stay around so that Cady or Sandra could come into the library again. I looked around again, but didn’t see Annie. “Yes, I’m ready.”
Tammy and I stepped out into the evening air. I locked the door and we headed for my car. I wasn’t going to walk anywhere until this thing was solved. I had had enough of being followed. But when I pulled away and looked in the rear-view mirror, I spotted the shadow watching me.
Chapter 16
I’d promised my parents that I would come to dinner. With all that was happening, I wasn’t in the mood to eat much, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to back out of it.
My parents lived in the same house that I’d grown up in. It was on a quiet street over by the new shopping center in town. The house was a white two-story with a bright yellow front door. It hadn’t always been that color, but my mother was into trying new things. She’d also dyed her hair blue recently. People often asked if I was adopted. We might be a lot different, but I loved both of them.
I walked in the door and noticed that my mother had rearranged the furniture again. My father was sitting at the dining room table working on his lawnmower’s engine. Parts were scattered all over the top of the white lace tablecloth.
“Does Mom know you’re doing this?” I asked.
He peered at me over the top of his glasses. “Probably not. I’ll have it picked up before dinner.”
My mom came out the door that led into the kitchen from the dining room. She stopped in her tracks. “What have I told you about doing that in here?”
After removing the parts from the table, I helped my mother bring in the dishes from the kitchen. I placed a napkin over the top of one of the grease spots so that she wouldn’t see. Of course she’d eventually notice, but I’d be gone by then.
My mother had made lasagna for dinner with some kind of salad. She wasn’t the greatest cook, but it was the effort that counted. My parents sat at each end of the table so that they could easily stare at me while asking questions. I pushed the lettuce around on my plate.
My father stuffed food into his mouth. “How’s the new job going?”
“Which one?” I asked.
He paused with his fork midair. “The library, I guess.”
I shrugged. “It’s okay.”
They exchanged a look. I knew they wanted to ask about the murder. I had a lot to say and then again I had nothing to say about it. I certainly didn’t want to tell them that a woman who could possibly be one of the suspects had been following me.
“Any news on what happened to the man?” my mother asked, trying to put it delicately.
“Not really,” I said, hoping we could change the subject.
We sat in silence—well, other than the noise of us eating—but when the sound of a door closing somewhere in the hallway echoed through the room, we all froze.
“What was that?” my mother asked. Her eyes were twice the size they normally were.
“It sounded like a door,” my father said.
It was bad when the first thing I thought of was a ghost. Not that it was the wind, but that a ghost had followed me to my parents’ house. They would not be happy with that uninvited guest.
“Maybe I should go check it out,” I said.
My mother pointed with her fork. “It’s probably nothing.”
She had a way of trying to ignore things, as if that would make it go away. The sound echoed again and now I was sure that it wasn’t the wind. By the look on my parents’ faces, I knew that they didn’t think it was the wind either.
I pushed to my feet but didn’t say anything. They were silent too. I wanted to listen for the strange sound again. Was it footsteps? Maybe it wasn’t a ghost at all? Maybe someone had broken into their house? The thought sent a shiver down my spine. My parents got up behind me and followed me to the hallway. Apparently my father didn’t think it was a burglar because he would have gone after the person. He stepped around me and said, “I’ll take a look around.”
A cold fell over the room.
My father paused in the middle of the hallway. “Do you feel that?”
Not only did I feel it now, but I’d felt it many times in the past. It was the same feeling I’d had in my place recently. I was beginning to think that maybe the ghost had followed me here. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if that happened.
The thought had barely left my mind when a dark-as-night shadow zipped from left to right at the end of the hall. My father froze on the spot. When I glanced over at my mother, her eyes were bugged out and her mouth opened. Nobody spoke. Now I knew for sure that something had followed me. I had to stop this now. Not only was it freaking me out, it was freaking my mother out.
My father backed up until he was standing next to me again. “What was that?”
“You brought a ghost with you?” my mother asked.
I couldn’t deny it. “I didn’t bring it on purpose,” I said.
“Well, that certainly makes me feel better,” she said. “How am I supposed to eat dinner with that thing wandering around the house?”
“Rip, you’ve upset your mother. What are you going to do about this?”
That was a good question.
“Don’t worry, the thing will follow me when I leave,” I said.
“You make it sound so casual. I knew messing around with the paranormal wouldn’t be good. It doesn’t make me feel any better to know that you have this thing f
ollowing you.”
“Who is the ghost anyway?” my father asked.
I shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. When I find out I can probably get rid of it.”
“That’s reassuring,” my mother said. I knew where I got my sarcasm from.
Movement caught my attention to the left. I could have sworn I saw something out the window in the living room.
My father noticed me watching something. “What? Is it in that room now?” He backed away from the living room entrance a little.
“No, I don’t think it’s a ghost this time. I think I saw someone peeking in the window.”
My mother said, “Oh, dear. This is getting out of hand.”
Just then the face peeked in the window again. “There she is.” I knew it. Sandra had followed me to my parents’ house. I had a stalker and a stalker ghost. “I know who it is,” I said.
“What? Is it a friend? Why don’t you invite her in?” My mother headed toward the door.
I grabbed her arm. “No, she’s not a friend.” I wouldn’t mention that Sandra was a potential murder suspect.
My father raced outside so that we could catch Sandra. I wasn’t about to let my father confront her alone. I rushed out the door after him. Apparently my mother didn’t want either one of us to go out there alone so she came out the door right after me. I followed my father around the house to the window where we’d seen Sandra. When we reached the area where she’d been, Sandra wasn’t there.
“Where is she?” my father asked.
Darkness surrounded us. She could be hiding anywhere now. My father stepped over to the hedges and peered behind them.
“She’s not there,” he said.
It was like we were playing hide-and-seek.
“She probably left,” I said.
“Who was it?”
“Someone I met at the library,” I said. That wasn’t a lie.
“Let’s go back in.” My mother motioned for us to start walking.
That was fine with me. I just hoped Sandra was gone.
When we got back inside, my father stared at me. “So let me get this straight, you have a ghost and a strange woman following you?”
I nodded. “Yes, that about sums it up.”