by Rose Pressey
Tammy looked at me as if to say, So what?
“Someone left a note asking me to meet them at the cemetery.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you serious? So that was why they called and gave you the title to the book.”
“Kind of like a little scavenger hunt, huh?”
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“I’m going to meet them.”
“You can’t be serious. That could be dangerous,” she said.
“Yes, it could. That’s why I’m not going alone.”
“Oh, Brannon’s going with you. Good idea.” Tammy pointed.
“He has to work.”
“Then who’s going with you?”
I stared at her.
“Oh, no.” She slumped down in the chair. “If I’m murdered then I’m going to come back and haunt you.”
“That sounds fair enough.”
***
Later that night, I met Tammy in front of the tavern. We’d walk over to the cemetery from there.
“Who do you think will be here?” she asked. “Maybe it’s someone with information about the killer. Or it could be the killer.”
“I hope it’s not that guy from the library, Lee Dolan. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if it was him.”
Tammy and I turned the corner and headed down the alleyway. As we neared the cemetery I didn’t see anyone waiting for us. We walked up to the gate.
“No one’s here,” Tammy said.
I looked at the time on my phone. “We’ll give them a few minutes.”
Tammy peered around as if something was going to pop out at any moment. The bad part was she was probably right to think that way.
“I don’t know how you do this all the time. It gives me the creeps.” Tammy wrapped her arms in front of her, as if that would shield her from any bad things that might lurk around the corner. She looked up at the old oak tree. “Does that owl always stare at you?”
“Pretty much,” I said. I looked at the time again. “Obviously this person isn’t coming. Let’s just go home.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Tammy said, stepping away from the graveyard in a hurry.
We headed down the alley toward the street.
Tammy kept glancing over her shoulder. “Just in case something decides to follow me.”
I didn’t comment because in reality it was totally possible. The owl hooted as we walked away, as if he was saying good night. We stepped out onto the sidewalk. I knew Tammy felt much safer now.
“I’ll give you a ride home. My car’s right down there.” Tammy gestured.
Tammy and I walked toward her car. I grabbed her arm and stopped on the sidewalk.
“Is something wrong?” she asked with wide eyes.
“There’s the guy who was at the library and then came to the tour. Lee Dolan.”
Lee was walking down the sidewalk in front of us.
She looked around. “So I was right.”
“Well, Lee didn’t show up at the cemetery. He’s over there by that red car.”
“What’s he doing?” Tammy whispered.
“I don’t know, but I don’t want him to see me.” I pulled Tammy’s arm and we stepped into the nearest shop that was open.
Luckily, I didn’t think he’d seen us.
“We’re getting ready to close,” the woman called out.
I glanced back behind the shelves of knick-knacks.
“Oh, hi, Ripley and Tammy.” She tossed her hand up.
“We’ll just be a second, Angie.” I didn’t want to have to explain what we were doing.
Angie looked at us strangely for a second and then said, “Take your time.”
With any luck we would only need a few more seconds. I hoped he didn’t stay out there much longer. We watched from the window so we would know when he left. Lee walked over to the passenger side of the car and leaned down to the window.
“There’s a woman in the car,” Tammy said.
“Can you tell who he’s talking to?” I asked.
“No, I think she has dark hair. Oh, wait, maybe she is blonde. It’s dark out there.”
“That doesn’t tell me much,” I said.
Tammy had a better angle than I did.
“Maybe we could sneak out.”
I didn’t want to take up any more of Angie’s time.
“We will have to try to sneak by him,” I said.
“If you think we can do it,” Tammy said.
“Bye, Angie,” I said with a wave as we walked out the door.
She probably wondered why we’d even come in her shop if we didn’t want to buy anything. Tammy and I tried to act casual as we walked down the sidewalk, but I knew we couldn’t keep our eyes off Lee. I wanted to know who he was talking to, but before we got up close to the car he walked over to the driver’s side and got in. Tammy and I picked up our pace, but he pulled away from the curb before we got close.
“You know, the woman in the car with him looked like Darlene.”
“Are you sure?” Tammy asked.
“No, I’m not sure,” I said.
Chapter 21
Tammy had dropped me off in front of my place. She’d gotten as close as she could, but there were other cars parked along the street. I’d gotten out of her car on the other side of the road and she’d promised she’d call later. I just had a short distance to walk to my place. I was walking down the street and crossing the road when out of nowhere a car whizzed by.
It moved along right behind me as I was just getting ready to step up on the curb. A little bit sooner and the thing would have hit me. I looked around to see if anyone else had noticed, but no one seemed to pay attention. Then again, it was getting late. It had definitely shaken me up, but I took a couple seconds to calm myself and then continued down the sidewalk. I supposed I’d have to be more careful next time. Though I was sure it was the driver’s fault.
I’d made it just a short distance when someone called out my name from somewhere behind me. When I looked back, I realized that it was Brannon’s ex, Darlene. I groaned. What did she want? I looked down the street and saw the car that had almost hit me parked near by. Was Darlene the one behind the wheel and had she done that on purpose? The thought made my blood boil. I’d had enough of her. She called out my name again and I turned around to face her. She walked up and stood right in front of me.
We were face to face now. I wasn’t even going to pretend to be nice to her. Why should I? She’d never been nice to me. My mother would say that was no reason not to like someone in return. This was a special circumstance though.
“What do you want?” I asked, staring right at her.
“You killed my friend.” She glared at me.
She was going to acknowledge that she had been friends with Ruby? I knew Darlene had sent Ruby on purpose. The fact Darlene had accused me of killing her friend was despicable.
“I did nothing to your friend,” I said. “And I don’t appreciate you accusing me of such. If you will kindly go away and leave me alone, I would appreciate that.”
“You won’t get away with this. I’ll see to it that my friend will get justice.”
“Like I said, I had nothing to do with it, so you won’t get justice from me. I hope they find out who did this and I’m sorry, but I had nothing to do with it. Plus, I know you sent her here to sabotage my tour.”
“Now you want to turn this around on me?” Darlene said.
“I’m just stating the facts,” I said.
Fury flashed in her eyes and she glared at me. “I will get revenge for this.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“I don’t have to do that,” she said.
“What if I tell your ex? I don’t think Brannon would appreciate that.”
She waved her hand. “Oh, please. He doesn’t like you. He’ll do whatever I tell him to.” She smirked.
“He might have something to say about that,” I said.
She moved closer to
me and my anxiety increased. It looked like we were about to have a physical confrontation. That was the last thing I wanted, but I had to stand up for myself. I wouldn’t back down. She was so close now I could smell her minty breath. Of course I was nervous, but I couldn’t let her know that.
She reached out and pushed my shoulder. Though I’d expected her to do something like that, I was still taken aback. I moved back a couple steps. I wasn’t going to fall into her trap yet. I wasn’t going to run away either. She moved forward and then shoved me again.
“Don’t touch me again,” I said in a stern voice.
She smirked and then shoved me again. I wasn’t going to turn and walk away from this because she needed to know I wasn’t going to take her bullying anymore.
“For the final time, I’m warning you, don’t touch me.”
Of course she did it again.
“Don’t touch me,” I said as I shoved her shoulder back.
Just as things started to escalate, someone jumped in between us.
“Ladies, please don’t fight,” Lee said.
I didn’t know where he’d come from. I hadn’t even thought anyone was watching us. He took my hand and pulled me away from her. I supposed being forced was the only way I was going to leave.
“Why did you pull me away?” I said.
“Because I didn’t want you fighting,” he answered.
“I can’t let her get away with that.”
“I think she understands now,” he said.
“Why do you care anyway? Why are you helping me?”
“It just looked like you needed help,” he said.
He was right. I probably did need help.
“Well, thanks for helping.” I turned around and saw that Darlene had walked away now. “She almost ran over me with the car.”
“Are you going to tell the police about that?” he asked.
“I’m not sure, but listen, I have to go. Thanks again for helping me.”
He tossed up his hand. “No problem.”
I kind of didn’t like that he had appeared out of nowhere because I thought that he was following me around. Lately there were a whole lot of people following me. I figured it was probably safer to have the ghosts follow me than a real living person.
Anyway, I couldn’t believe Darlene had confronted me like that. And to blame me for Ruby’s murder? That was just crazy. I thought about telling Brannon, but then thought better of it. I didn’t want him to feel like he was being torn between two people. He had enough going on without having to worry about that. I was pretty sure she would leave me alone now that she knew I would stand up to her.
Chapter 22
I’d just arrived home from work when my cell rang. I somehow recognized the phone number when I looked at the screen. It was John. I had meant to call him, but I really wasn’t sure what to say. I had no new clues to offer him.
“Hi, Ripley, I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time.”
“No, that’s fine. I just got off work.” I tossed my book bag onto the table by the sofa.
“I was wondering if we could meet so that we can discuss everything.”
I really didn’t have anything new to discuss, but I would feel bad telling him no. I knew he was just trying to make sense of what had happened. It was short notice, but I agreed anyway.
“Where should we meet?” I asked.
“How about Devil’s Moon graveyard?” he asked.
In spite of me doing a tour there and being surrounded by spirits all the time, I decided that it was probably better to meet somewhere else less spooky.
“How about the diner around the corner? That way we can sit down and talk.”
“Okay, that works for me,” he said. “What time?”
I looked at the clock on the wall. “I can be there in thirty minutes, if that’s okay?”
“I’ll see you in thirty,”he said.
I changed into more casual and comfortable clothes—my jeans and my favorite gray sweatshirt. I slipped on my sneakers, grabbed my bag, and headed out the door. I wasn’t sure why I had an overwhelming desire to tell Brannon where I was going. It was as if I needed help and he would know where to find me. It was a strange feeling that I just shook off as stress. Nevertheless, I sent him a quick text. He said he would come by soon. I walked down to the end of the street, crossed the road to the other side, and back down again to the diner.
The neon OPEN sign in the window blinked. Every time I saw this place I thought about the times that I’d come here with Brannon. Sure, we might go to fancy restaurants, but this little hole-in-the-wall diner would always be my favorite. I felt more relaxed in this setting. Plus they had our favorite foods. I thought about Brannon and I sitting at the window booth, eating cheesy fries and drinking vanilla Diet Coke. I missed doing that and now it seemed as if we were too busy trying to solve whatever chaos was going on around us.
Walking into the place made a smile instantly slip onto my face. The diner was practically empty. It had booths and tables, the booths lining the walls next to the windows. The counter had stools and it was over to the right. I didn’t spot John. It looked as if he wasn’t there yet, so I slid into my favorite booth and picked up a menu. Not that I didn’t know everything on it already, but I needed something to read while I waited.
Several minutes passed and I wondered if John was going to show up.I thought about sending him a text asking if he was on his way. If he wasn’t coming then I would just go home. I told the waitress I was waiting for someone. Then as I was getting ready to send a text, John walked through the door. He tossed his hand up in a wave and headed toward me. He slid into the booth across from me. He looked much better than he had the other day. The dark circles were less noticeable under his eyes. He wore jeans and a green sweater that brought out the green in his hazel eyes.
“Did you think I wasn’t going to show up?” he asked with a smile.
“I was beginning to wonder,” I said, handing him a menu. “Would you like something to eat?”
“Something to drink,” he said.
That was fine by me. I really didn’t need to eat anything too fattening anyway. We placed orders for Diet Coke and when the waitress walked away, I asked “How are you? You look a little bit better than the other day. No offense.”
He gave a half-hearted smile. “None taken. I understand. I just hadn’t slept much back then. At least I got a little more sleep last night.”
“Are you sure?” I studied his face.
“I’m doing okay. It seems as if it’s more of a reality now. I guess I’m coming to terms with what happened,” he said.
“Unfortunately, that’s usually the way it happens. After the initial shock, then you have to deal with the reality of it.”
“So have you found any more clues?” he asked right away.
I was hoping we could avoid that question, but I knew that wasn’t an option.
“I’m sorry. I really don’t have anything new to offer you.”
The only thing new I had was about the diary, which had nothing to do with the murder of his girlfriend.
Had he been looking for clues? I figured I’d ask him. “What about you? Did you find out anything?” I asked.
The waitress brought over our drinks. He gulped the soda while I opened the straw wrapper and stuck the straw in the liquid.
“Well, no. I’ve been kind of trying to figure out what to do next, but I guess I’ve just been too depressed.”
I wanted to ask him about the other woman I’d seen with him, but that seemed kind of rude. It would seem as if I was questioning him or suspicious of his behavior.
He stared at me for a moment and then he said, “What about your tour?”
“What about the tour?” I asked.
“I was just wondering if you’re doing it tonight?”
“Unfortunately, under the circumstances, I decided to postpone it for a while.” I took a sip from my drink.
“Not indefinitely, I hope,” he
said.
I shrugged. “Maybe. I just haven’t decided.”
“Don’t let what happened stop you from doing what you love. What happened had nothing to do with the tour,” he said.
“I know, but it’s just there’s a lot going on and with the killer out there somewhere… I figured it was for the best.”
He nodded and took another drink from his soda. “Can I ask you for a favor?”
“Sure,” I said.
I hoped it wasn’t for more clues. I was already feeling the pressure.
“I thought maybe you could take me on the tour. You know, it would help me feel better.”
I wasn’t sure how that would make him feel better, but I supposed I couldn’t say no. It was an odd request, I thought.
“Sure, we could do that. When would you like to go?” I asked.
“How about right now?” he asked with a forced smile.
“Okay, I guess that’s all right.”
“Great.” He pushed to his feet and grabbed the check from the table.
As he paid for our drinks my phone alerted me to a text message. At least I wasn’t receiving texts from ghosts. Annie had been the only one doing that as of late. The message was from Brannon. He had to work a little later than planned.
I’m taking someone on a tour.
Anyone I know?
Kind of… I’ll tell you later.
John returned to the table. “Are you ready?”
I shoved my phone into my purse. “Ready.”
We headed for the door.
“I really appreciate you doing this. It means a lot to me,” he said as we stepped outside.
“It’s no problem, but I figured maybe we should avoid the antique shop, since… well, you know. We’ll just do a tour of the things that we left off from the other night.”
The more I thought about his request, the more I wasn’t sure I should have agreed. But I supposed he had his own way of dealing with the mourning process. Maybe the tour would make him feel closer to his girlfriend.
I started the tour at the funeral home. My plan was to take him through quickly. The home had been used as a funeral home in the past, but had been abandoned a while back. Recently someone had purchased it, but the haunting had so far kept her from doing anything with the building. I hoped she’d be able to do something with the building, since it was a beautiful two-story Victorian home. The porch wrapped around the front and intricate moldings decorated the façade.