Purrfect Haunt

by Louise Lynn

  “Then what was supposed to happen instead?" Hazel asked.

  Patricia Corning frowned heavily, and Emma ignored her. “He was going to contact the headless ghost, I swear! That was it. Not get killed by it. That night, Josh had to use the bathroom, and I went to change camera batteries. But I know Tess wasn’t on the third floor with you. I saw her in the second floor hallway. So why don't you ask her where she was when Cam died?"

  That's exactly what Hazel wanted to do, if they could find Tess. A sharp dagger of fear lodged in her gut. Hopefully, Tess was safe and hadn’t met the same fate as Cameron Killian.

  While both Josh and Emma admitted to faking evidence, but that wasn’t a motive for murder. Although… “Did Cam tell you who Xtreme_Skeptic was before he died?"

  Emma scowled. “No, but if he said he knew, he probably did. Though I’m not sure what that has to do with him dying. Cam didn't have a psychic bone in his body. He wanted everything to be loud and showy for the channel to succeed. Josh and I both went along with him, but I warned him not to play around in that house. I told him it was dangerous, that the darkness hung over it. He just laughed. He never listen to anyone's advice."

  Hazel could see that on her own. "So why do you think Tess had something to do with Cameron's death?"

  Patricia squeezed Emma’s shoulder, her lips pursed. She wasn't looking at Maureen, though Hazel could tell there was some serious annoyance between the two old friends right now.

  "Because she's like me. And I know she could've riled up that spirit. She was walking around the house, but you didn't hear what I heard. She was saying incantations, trying to raise the dead to harm the living. And then, it worked." She broke down into sobs again, and Hazel sighed.

  Patricia shook her head. "I think that's enough for right now. We've all been through so much. I can’t even give tours due to the crime scene, and just when I needed to get on my feet again."

  “No offense, but shouldn’t this help in the long run? A new murder this century will drum up extra business for the upcoming haunted B&B, I’d say," Maureen said, and sounded like she took a touch of pleasure in reminding her friend of those words.

  Patricia paled. “The Pearl House was infamous enough."

  Emma hugged herself. “I think she’s right. People will want to come see where Cam died. He might have liked that, actually."

  Maureen let out a breath, and moved around the counter. "I'm terribly sorry about everything that's happened to both of you. Would you ladies like some cider? I can pop the kettle on," she said and pointed at the wood burning stove that sat in the corner of the store. There were a few old armchairs around it, their upholstery patched, and draped in several afghans that Hazel's mother spent each winter making. They weren’t the most beautiful things in the world, but they were comfortable and warm.

  Patricia shook her head. "No. We need to get back to the house. I know that place is dreadful, but I have to do something to keep that spirit from hurting anyone else. Emma here agreed to help me."

  Emma jutted her chin out and nodded, she looked like a young woman about to face a tornado, and Hazel raised an eyebrow. The danger was obviously not supernatural, and if these two women believed that it was, she wasn't sure how to dissuade them. But if they were going back to the house, she might as well join them.

  "I'll come too. I’d like to have another look around in the daylight, if that's all right?"

  Patricia smiled slowly. “Of course, Hazel, you're always welcome. Is this kitty of yours coming again as well?" She glanced at Anthony Ray.

  Hazel nodded. "You have no idea how many clues he’s found. He's a priceless part of my process."

  To her amusement, Emma and Patricia both looked skeptical at that. As if the idea of a ghost killing a man made sense, but a cat couldn’t be useful for solving crime.

  After they checked out, they stepped back out into the cold.

  Before Hazel could follow them, her mother snagged her by the sweater. "Be careful. I know you don't believe in the supernatural, and, in all honesty, I'm not exactly sure what's going on here. But I don't trust that property."

  Hazel nodded. "Tess? Do you think she's in trouble or dangerous?"

  Maureen's lips drew into a line, the same way Esther’s did when she was disapproving of something. "Tess is a lot of things, but none of them are dangerous. That girl wouldn't hurt a fly, quite literally. And yes, I am worried about her. Will you tell Colton? Something happened to her," Maureen said, “She’s being drawn into this case, and I don’t think it’s safe for her at all."

  “You think someone wants to hurt Tess?" Hazel said and blinked.

  Maureen glowered at the door. “I think Emma Grand doesn’t live up to her name, for one. And Cameron Killian, may he rest in peace, was a nasty piece of work. Tess in all her kindheartedness, likely feels compelled to help him and the other restless spirits on that property. It might be too much for her."

  Hazel gave her mother a quick hug, and bit her tongue hard to keep from arguing. “I’ll keep a look out for her."

  Then she turned back out into the autumn chill to have another look around Massacre Mansion.

  Chapter 14

  The wind blew ominously as Hazel arrived at the Pearl House. She climbed out of her truck, Anthony Ray on the leash behind her, and glanced at Patricia Corning’s car. She'd arrived first, obviously, and Hazel assumed Emma must have caught a ride with the older woman.

  Strange, they hadn't seemed like they knew each other a few days ago, and now they were riding around town together. They’d both been through a lot, but Hazel didn’t like how they ganged up on Tess, especially when the woman wasn’t there to defend herself.

  The day had started out bright blue and contrasted beautifully with the yellow and red leaves clinging to the trees. However, now gray clouds rolled over Lake Celeste, threatening rain. Such a storm could hit the High Sierras in a matter of hours, causing six foot waves on the lake and toppling trees on land.

  Hazel hoped that didn't happen.

  Though it was still well before noon, the clouds made it look more like it was nearly twilight.

  No one was outside the house. The door was firmly shut and she didn't see any lights on inside either. She decided to take a look around the grounds. Hazel hadn't gotten far when she heard footsteps on the gravel.

  "Tess is here," Emma cried as she ran toward Hazel.

  "Good, she's alive, right?" Hazel asked, steeling herself for the worst.

  Emma nodded, somewhat impatiently. "She's trying to rile up the spirits again," she said and shivered.

  Hazel nodded, and hoped her face didn't look as skeptical as she felt. “Why is she riling the spirits again? I thought she did that to kill Cameron, and if he’s dead, well, her goal is accomplished."

  Emma looked as though she’d been punched in the gut, and her eyes darted from side to side. No tears welled in them this time. “I only know what I saw."

  Having a moment alone with Emma Grand might be a good thing, Hazel realized, and hoped Tess would be okay for the next few minutes. “I’d actually like to ask you something else. Josh Hopkins said someone called Xtreme_Skeptic had been harassing Cameron and Ghost Hunters Extreme for years, and Cameron claimed he was going to expose the identity of Xtreme_Skeptic the night he died. Do you know anything about that?"

  Emma balled her hands into fists. “I—I remember Cam mentioning it. He hated Xtreme_Skeptic. Wait. Do you think Tess is the Xtreme_Skeptic?"

  Hazel almost laughed at that. Tess? That was as ridiculous as accusing her own mother of being Xtreme_Skeptic. “Um, I don’t think so. I wondered if you had any insight into it. Or someone else who had a motive to hurt Cameron."

  She decided not to mention that the only people who in all probability could have killed him were Emma, Josh, or Tess.

  “I didn’t want to say anything, because I really do love Josh like a brother, but I think he felt trapped by Cameron sometimes. Cameron could be bossy, and after you guys found Ji
mbo the other night, Josh and Cam got into a big fight."

  Hazel raised her brows. “About what? And why didn’t you tell the police about that?"

  Emma hung her head and scuffed her boot in the dirt. “I didn’t think Josh could have hurt Cam, that’s why! I still think Tess did it with a ghost. But Josh was angry at Cam for blaming him about the Jimbo thing, when it was Cam’s idea to leave Jimbo there. He wanted to see if it looked real enough. It obviously did."

  “Was Jimbo going to be used at the Pearl House to fake more ghostly evidence?" Hazel tried and failed to keep the accusation out of her voice.

  “Yeah, but we didn’t go through with it! Josh talked Cam out of it, okay?" Emma said and glowered. “Actually, Jimbo was supposed to be in the room with Cam that night…"

  She didn’t need to finish that sentence for Hazel to catch her meaning. “Do you think Josh had something to do with Cam’s death?"

  “No! That’s not what I said. I need to find Ms. Corning right away!" Emma said stalked away. “And I'm calling the police on Tess," she said, as if Hazel hadn't already explained who she was working with.

  Well, that saved her from making the phone call.

  Anthony Ray meowed, and Hazel smiled at him. "I know. This case just keeps getting more and more muddled."

  She turned and headed for the gardens. Whatever the caretaker had been doing for the last fifteen to twenty years, it wasn't caring for them. Much like the rose bushes around the house, it was overgrown. The path was nearly covered in weeds and tangles.

  Hazel vaguely recognized a few of the plants from her parent’s house, but she didn't know the names. She never was much of a gardener. Her landscaping was the forest that surrounded her cabin. She decided there wasn't much she could improve on, and left it as it was.

  In the grand old days, the Pearl House must've had a gorgeous English style garden, but now the fountain at the center was dry and cracked, and most of the plants had long since outgrew their boundaries. It matched the reputation of the house perfectly.

  Her feet crunched across pine needles and fallen leaves as she stepped through.

  "Tess? It's Hazel. I really need to speak with you. My mom is worried sick about you," she called and stepped around a hedge.

  To her surprise, Tess stood there, gazing out at Lake Celeste about a hundred feet or so in the distance.

  "Tess. There you are. Did you hear anything I just said?" Hazel asked. If Tess would answer questions like a normal person, she could get this conversation over with quickly. However, she figured it was going to take three times as long and she’d have to puzzle out everything Tess said, as per usual.

  Tess started, and blinked at Hazel, her eyes wide behind her glasses. She wore a long brownish gray sweater that hung to her knees accompanied with an ankle-length corduroy skirt. Her hair, which was something between frizzy and curly, had been tied into a braid, though that didn't do much to control it.

  "I warned him," she whispered and shook her head sadly.

  A shiver went up Hazel’s spine. "Warned who?" At least she hadn’t started with a riddle.

  Tess sighed. "If he hadn't returned to her blue majesty, he may yet have lived. Befallen has this travesty, and I have nothing left to give," she said in the same tone of voice as someone reciting a favorite poem.

  Hazel rubbed her temples. She assumed Tess was talking about Cameron, and the warning she'd given him when she broke up with him in high school. "Okay, that's nice and all, but you have to talk to the police. And you have to talk to them without riddles. Do you understand that? You dated Cameron when you were in high school and then you broke up with him because of some prophecy?"

  Tess’s eyes darted away, and landed on Anthony Ray. The young woman bent to pet him, and Anthony Ray allowed it, rubbing his cheeks on her fingers. "Yes. I was different back then. And Cam was my boyfriend for a while."

  Hazel stared. There she was, talking normally again. Did that mean this was just an act Tess put on? Hazel decided not to ask. "I heard that. Have you been harassing him for the last few years?"

  Tess flinched and shook her head wildly. "I never contacted Cameron after I told him what I saw. I was trying to keep him safe. And then he came back here and this happened. I told him. I warned him," she said and looked back at Hazel.

  Hazel swallowed a lump in her throat. Okay. She trusted her mom's instincts, but what if her mother was wrong? What if Tess's prophecy was that Tess herself would harm Cameron Killian?

  Still, she couldn't say that now. "Okay. So you warned him not to come back here and then he died. Where were you when the lights went out the other night?"

  Tess stood and turned. She took slow meandering steps deeper into the garden. "Transfixed by a glowing rider was I. He warned that someone was about to die."

  "Glowing rider? A rider of what? A horse?" Hazel asked, heart pounding.

  Tess's eyes lit up and she nodded. "I came back to see the beast of green light, but it has not appeared again. However, I'm not sure if it was foe or friend."

  Hazel wondered how she managed to come up with so many rhymes at the spur of the moment. Perhaps she wrote them out at night ahead of time and used the ones that she could when they came up in conversation. Though, speaking with Tess was less like having a conversation and more like talking to a book of bad poetry.

  "I heard a horse that night as well. Do you know if it was a real horse or something else?" She wasn’t going to say a ghost horse. Because that was even more ridiculous than a ghost person.

  Anthony Ray darted to walk next to Tess while Hazel stayed behind.

  "Ghost or not, we saw it. Does that not make it real enough?"

  Hazel didn't really have an answer for that, so she decided to move on to a different question.

  "Tess, did you hurt Cameron Killian? The police really need to speak with you, and you have to tell them the truth without speaking in riddles. You need to tell them about your past with Cameron, and anything that might've happened between you two recently."

  Tess's hands shook, and she shoved them into her pockets and stepped more quickly through the garden.

  Hazel hurried to follow, and almost tripped on a knotted vine. "Tess, I'm not trying to upset you, but this is serious. He was killed and we have to find the killer before–"

  "I know," Tess said and kept walking. "I'll tell them everything. Promise. But now, something isn't right." She stopped suddenly and looked around.

  Hazel drew in a sharp breath.

  The overgrown garden came to an abrupt end, and in its place was a large patch that had been freshly weeded and the soil tilled. She remembered Patricia had been working in here herself the afternoon before the crime. Well, if she was going to open it as a bed and breakfast that made sense. A nice garden would draw in more guests.

  Anthony Ray stepped into the freshly tilled soil and his paws sunk an inch or so.

  "He senses it," Tess whispered into the wind.

  Hazel raised an eyebrow, but decided not to say anything else. Anthony Ray did find an awful lot of useful clues, and she wasn't going to disturb him in the middle of that.

  Or, he could just be trying to use the bathroom.

  She was about to pull him away when he began to dig. It would just fertilize the garden, right? Especially when she could tell this area had already been filled in with bulbs. Anthony Ray accidentally dug one up in his fervor to make a hole.

  The only problem was, he didn't stop digging. He threw dirt into the air, and gave an excited meow as he kicked another bulb free of its hole.

  "Anthony Ray, you don't have to–"

  Tess gasped and pointed.

  Hazel tugged her cat free to look.

  Something brownish white jutted out of the soil at an odd angle. At first she thought it was just another bulb, but no—it was much too large for that. Large and the wrong shape.

  Carefully, she bent and dusted the dirt aside and pulled. It didn't come out far since the dirt was still packed around it.
>
  Hazel let go of it quickly. "Is that what I think it is?" she said and quickly wiped her hand on her leggings.

  Tess took several steps back. "Old bones, tied with old secrets at the bottom."

  Another shiver went up her spine. Did she mean the bottom of the house? Or the bottom of this unmarked grave?

  Whichever, they just found another layer to the mystery, one Hazel was not expecting.

  Chapter 15

  For once, Hazel didn't have to be the one to call the police, because they were already there when she and Tess emerged from the garden.

  "There she is! You need to talk to her. It's her fault Cameron’s dead," Emma cried and crossed her arms.

  Patricia stood by, staring at them. "What were you doing in the garden? There are so many tangles of weeds you could've fallen down and hurt yourself," she said and ran up to Hazel. She cast a wary glance at Tess.

  Hazel wasn't sure how to say it. "Yeah, I noticed it's a bit of a mess. Are you the one fixing it up back there?"

  Patricia blinked. "Yes. I was working on it the other night when you arrived. Planting bulbs for spring. Albert wasn't in any shape to do the gardening toward the end, so you see how atrocious it became."

  Hazel nodded absently at that, and watched Deputy Simmons as he approached. He gave Tess a gentle smile, but the young woman still folded in on herself. "We just need to have a few words, either here or at the office."

  Before Tess could answer, Hazel gripped his arm. "You need to get Sheriff Cross out here now and probably the M.E. too. There are some bones in the garden. Old bones," she said.

  Deputy Simmons’s eyes went wide, and Patricia gasped. “What do you mean old bones? Like a chicken?"

  Hazel shrugged. "Bigger than a chicken. A horse or maybe–"

  "Human," Tess said, and Hazel didn't ask how she knew, though she felt pretty certain of that as well.

  Neither Emma nor Patricia had a comment to that.

  Soon enough, more police cars trickled in and the medical examiner showed up along with Sheriff Cross.