The Walk That Haunts Me

by Rose Pressey

  Tammy walked with me down the sidewalk. “So you’re really going to tell her that she won?”

  “Yes, I feel it’s the right thing to do,” I said.

  Tammy and I reached the tavern.

  “Well, good luck.” She tossed her hand up in a wave. “Call me and let me know how it goes.”

  “I’m sure I’ll be fine. She’s a bit scary, but otherwise harmless, right?”

  “Other than possibly murder, nothing,” Tammy said.

  “Don’t say that right before I’m getting ready to go to her house.”

  “Maybe you should have Brannon go with you,” she said.

  “Like I said, I’ll be fine.”

  “Be sure to text me as soon as you get away from the house. I’m going to be so worried.”

  “I promise I will,” I said.

  I headed off down the sidewalk, turning right at the end of the street. Luckily, Mrs. Mae lived close to the tavern. After the short walk, I arrived at her cute little white cottage-style house. Flower boxes under the windows were filled with red geraniums and a trellis of ivy filled the right exterior wall. The small patch of front lawn’s green grass was neatly trimmed with pink rose bushes flanking the narrow stone path leading to the front porch. Mrs. Mae’s home was as picture perfect as her pie.

  I inhaled and released a deep breath, preparing myself to walk up to the door. I wasn’t sure why I was so nervous. I was giving her good news. I wouldn’t have even come if it was bad news. I shuddered to think if I had told her that someone else had won the contest. Maybe subconsciously I was letting her win just to avoid that? No, honestly her pie was great, and she deserved to win. I would just leave it at that.

  As soon as I stepped up onto the porch and headed for the door, a yelling voice captured my attention. I stopped in my tracks. looking all around for anyone arguing near the house. No one was around. The shouting was definitely coming from inside the house. What was going on in there? It sounded like Mrs. Mae was really giving someone the business. What should I do now? I really wanted to hear what was going on in there.

  The reason I heard the raised voice so well was because the front window of the house was open just a bit. I eased over there and pressed my body against the wall.

  “Yes, I switched her pie,” Mrs. Mae said. “But she deserved it. She’d been messing with me for a long time. And I wasn’t about to let her win that pie contest.”

  My mouth dropped open. I couldn’t believe that she had just confessed to messing with Alexandria Emerson’s pie. She’d been telling the truth all along. So did that mean that because Mrs. Mae messed with the pie that she had also committed the murder? I supposed there was no connection between those two things. Nevertheless, switching the pie was a dirty thing to do.

  “I just made sure that the pie was really bad. Not bad enough that it was obvious,” Mrs. Mae said.

  Chills covered my body just thinking that I had tasted that pie.

  Unfortunately, the person Mrs. Mae was talking to remained a mystery to me. The person inside with Mrs. Mae wasn’t getting in any words. Mrs. Mae was doing all the talking. Now Mrs. Mae was ranting about me and the fact that I hadn’t picked a winner yet. And that karma would get me. Was that a threat? The thought sent shivers down my spine. The longer I stayed there the more I wondered if I should tell Brannon about this. I mean, she was sounding rather irate.

  “So honestly, I don’t see any harm in messing with the pie and then switching them. She shouldn’t have left the back door open anyway,” Mrs. Mae said.

  I couldn’t believe she’d confessed to sneaking in Alexandria Emerson’s house and actually switching the pies. I wished I could talk to Alexandria and tell her what I’d found. But since she wasn’t answering calls and she hadn’t called again, I had no idea how to get in touch with her.

  I really wanted a peek of the woman listening to Mrs. Mae’s rant. I needed to know in case I wanted to ask someone to be witness to this. I peeked over the side, looking into the window and hoping to catch a glimpse. Unfortunately, someone was already looking back. Mrs. Mae and I made eye contact. Immediately my stomach dropped. I darted to the left, hoping that I could make it down the steps and run down the sidewalk before she got out the door. Although I was almost certain that she saw me and recognized my face right away.

  I’d barely made it to the first step when the door opened and Mrs. Mae yelled at me. “What are you doing?”

  I froze on the step. Slowly I turned around to face her. “Good evening, Mrs. Mae.”

  “Why are you here?” She frowned.

  Of all the luck. She’d caught me her peeking in her window. I smiled and tried to act as casual as possible. “I was just making sure you were home, Mrs. Mae.”

  “Then how come you were leaving?” she asked with her hands on her hips.

  She had what looked like blueberry filling on her floral-print apron.

  “I thought I saw someone I knew walking down the sidewalk. I wanted to talk to them first before I came back to talk to you.”

  She raised an eyebrow. I thought that was a pretty good explanation. But when she looked down the sidewalk and didn’t see anyone I figured she wanted more of an explanation. The way to stop her from wanting that was to tell her the good news.

  “I came by to see you to give you the news that you won the pie contest,” I said with a smile.

  Her eyes widened and she squealed. She was so loud I figured Tammy heard her at all the way at the tavern. To say that she was excited was a bit of an understatement.

  She tossed her hands in the air. “Oh, I just can’t believe this. You made the right decision.”

  I was beginning to think it might have been my only decision. “Well, your pie really was delicious.”

  “Did you eat that other one I brought by? I figured that might steer you in the right direction.”

  I had no comment for that.

  “I can give you the pie recipe if you’d like,” Mrs. Mae said.

  “Perhaps some other time,” I said.

  She was acting completely different.

  “Would you like to come in?” she asked. “I just baked up a couple more pies.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” I said, looking toward the door.

  I’d love to see who was inside, but I didn’t want to risk actually going inside.

  “You can have a slice of the fresh-baked pie. I even have ice cream,” she said with a wink. “I can send you home with another pie.”

  This was way too many pies. With all the craziness going on I’d barely had time to eat anyway. I hated to tell her no, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized there was no way I was going in the house right now. Or any other time for that matter.

  “I really need to go,” I said, gesturing over my shoulder. “I have to get to work.”

  A huge frown spread across her face. “You really don’t like my pie.”

  “Mrs. Mae, I just told you that you won the contest. So you have to realize that I liked the pie.”

  “That’s just because I came to see you. I didn’t win it fair and square.”

  I waved my hands. “No, no, really I think you had the best pie. I honestly do have to be somewhere else. I’d be happy to come in and eat pie any other time.”

  It wasn’t true, but I had to say something to smooth this over. She looked like she was ready to attack. There was nothing I could do to make her happy. If she didn’t win she was unhappy, if she won she was unhappy.

  “Well, if you say so. But I still have my doubts.”

  “When I have more time, I promise I will enjoy a slice of pie.”

  I hated to lie to her, but I just needed to get out of there. Pronto. I needed an escape button.

  “Well, I’ll have the library board call you,” I said as I hurried down the steps.

  I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. I hurried my steps, but I felt her stare on my back. When I glanced over my shoulder, sure enough, she was still watching. She wave
d and tried to act friendly, but I still had my suspicions. Thank goodness I’d made it out of there. Unless Mrs. Mae changed her mind and ran after me. I really wanted to know who had been in the house though. Too bad I hadn’t gotten a look. Now I might never know.

  A few steps away I spotted Jessie. She walked out of the alleyway that ran behind Mrs. Mae’s house. Jessie hadn’t seen me, and I hoped to keep it that way. She was acting quite suspicious though, as if she didn’t want anyone to see her. She looked down at the sidewalk as she walked. She had been talking to Mrs. Mae earlier in front of the library. I wondered if she had been the one in the house with Mrs. Mae.

  After leaving Mrs. Mae’s house, I headed over to the town’s historian. He worked at the history museum. I knew he would be closing soon so I tried to hurry to get there on time. There was no sign of the ghosts, which was good for me. Wouldn’t it be something if I got to the museum and the ghosts actually showed up there? Mr. Abernathy could see for himself who I was talking about. Maybe he would recognize them and tell me if he knew anything about them.

  I crossed the street and headed over to Elm Street. I made took a couple steps and spotted something on the ground. I picked up the gold necklace. Attached to the chain was a locket in the shape of a heart. When I opened it up I spotted a photo. I almost fainted when I saw the man’s face staring back at me. It was definitely the ghost from the library whom I’d just seen in the computer screen.

  I looked around. Was someone playing a trick on me? I couldn’t see how it would be possible. How did they know that the ghost had been at the library? I didn’t know what to think. I clutched the necklace in my hand and continued toward the museum. Soon I arrived at the old building and reached for the front door. Clouds had moved in and it looked like rain. Maybe there wouldn’t be a tour tonight after all. I had checked the forecast, but I couldn’t tell if the storm was headed directly our way or would miss us.

  “Mr. Abernathy?” I called out when I stepped inside. “Are you here?”

  He peeked his head around the office door. “Oh, hello, Ms. Van Raden. You caught me just in time. We were just about to close.”

  “I know, I’m sorry to come so late, but I just had a quick question.”

  He stepped out from the office. “Oh, sure. What can I do for you?”

  “I’m looking for information about a carriage accident that killed three people back in 1851.”

  “Actually, it’s funny that you mention that. I just came across information on that the other day. I’d known about it years ago and it slipped my mind. But yes, I can tell you about that. I even have a picture of the victims.”

  I couldn’t believe this. I was lucky to have found this.

  “If you step inside the office, I’ll find it for you.” He motioned for me to come in the office.

  “Are you sure you have time?”

  “I don’t have anywhere that I have to be for another thirty minutes so I think I’ll be okay for a few minutes.”

  “Thank you. I really appreciate it,” I said.

  I stepped inside the office and he gathered the information.

  “Here you go. Are these the people you were looking for?” he asked.

  I looked down at the photo. “Yes, it’s definitely them. They died in the carriage?”

  “Yes, it was just a freak accident and the carriage tumbled over and over. All three died at the scene.”

  “How are they related?”

  “These two were married. And this was her brother.”

  “Do you think they were nice people?” I asked.

  He looked surprised by that question. “Yes, I suppose. I’ve heard nothing otherwise.”

  I pulled the necklace out of my pocket. “I found this picture of Neil.”

  “Wow, where did you find this?” he asked. “Was it in your home?”

  “No. I just found it on the sidewalk.”

  “Today?” he asked

  “Yes, today. I think maybe it was meant for me to find it.”

  “Apparently so,” he said. “I thought maybe you found the necklace in your house, since it was a funeral home. But they wouldn’t have been there for a funeral because the place wasn’t there at the time.”

  “I really appreciate all the information. Thank you so much.”

  “You’re welcome. Anytime I can help,” he said.

  “If you think of anything else about them can you let me know?”

  “Absolutely,” he said. “And if you ever want to donate that necklace to the museum we’d love to have it.”

  “I can do that,” I said. “I’ll let you know.”

  As soon as I figured out this thing with the ghosts I would absolutely let him have the necklace. Right now, I felt I needed the necklace. Perhaps it would allow me to make a better connection with them. Maybe they weren’t mean at all. Maybe they were trying to tell me something.

  I headed out of the museum and back toward the graveyard. Thunder rumbled in the distance and clouds had moved in quickly. I wasn’t sure how bad the storm would be.

  Maybe the ghosts really were trying to tell me something. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt the need to put on the necklace. I clasped the chain around my neck and then touched the locket as it fell against my skin. I headed down the sidewalk toward the graveyard.

  Something made me look to the left into the bookstore window. Jessie was standing right there. We made eye contact. I tossed my hand up and waved. She just stared at me without waving in return. No smile or anything. It was as if she was in a zone. A couple seconds later she snapped out of it, smiled and waved. She had certainly acted a bit strange today, but maybe she was going through a situation that I wasn’t aware of. I hoped that things were better for her soon. I should ask her if there was anything I could help her with.

  I walked past the tavern. I wished there was time to stop in and talk to Tammy about the necklace, but it would have to wait until after the tour. As I hurried down the alleyway a few drops of rain hit my skin. I looked up at the sky. The stars were completely hidden by the clouds. Darkness surrounded me now. I reached the gate and looked up at Mr. Owl. It took a few seconds before he even hooted. Was something bothering him?

  Chapter 19

  The night’s tour was about to begin. Everything was the same as I walked toward the graveyard’s gate. Darkness had taken over the town and clouds covered the stars. Of course, I dealt with the dark all the time, but something felt off this time. It was as if I was missing something. Or something had changed about the area.

  I moved my flashlight around the graveyard, trying to pick up if anything was different. No new graves had been dug. Actually, there had only been one in the whole time that I’d been back in Devil’s Moon. The area had remained the same as the first day, other than the grounds were better maintained now.

  The only thing that ever changed were the leaves on the trees. Green in the summer, colorful in the fall, and gone in the winter. Nevertheless, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. I opened the black iron gate that led into the graveyard. A loud creaking noise echoed across the night air.

  Slowly I panned the light across the graveyard. When the light moved over one of the tombstones, something shiny caught my attention. My breath caught in my throat. Mustering up my courage, I moved closer, weaving around the tombstones until I reached the one with the object. I stood in front of the grave and could hardly believe my eyes. Perched precariously on top of the stone was a knife.

  My heart beat faster. I flashed my light around the graveyard again, wondering if the person responsible for this was still around. There was no way this was a coincidence. Now I was standing out in the middle of a graveyard with a knife and a psycho killer obviously trying to send me messages. What was this message? Was I getting close to finding the killer and they wanted to stop me? What other reason could there be?

  Other than the owl in the tree, I was all alone. Or so I thought. When a noise sounded from somewhere nearby, I spun around,
shining the flashlight and trying to catch the culprit. So far, I saw nothing. Was this a ghost playing a trick on me? I was pretty sure the ghosts hadn’t left a knife. Although I supposed it could happen. Ghosts were able to move things if they had enough energy.

  Brannon had had one paranormal investigation where the clients kept losing their knives in the house. One day the knives showed up in a big pile in the middle of the hallway. I supposed they were just thankful that the knives were returned without the ghosts actually using them. I was hoping for that same outcome. Perhaps I’d just heard a tree branch or something.

  When I moved the flashlight around the graveyard again I caught sight of something at the far end. A person dressed all in dark clothing was on the other side of the fence. It looked like the person was walking away in a hurry. It was so dark out even my flashlight wasn’t helping to see all the features.

  “Looking for someone?” the female voice asked from over my shoulder.

  I screamed out and turned around, flashing the light on Mrs. Clatterbuck. “Don’t do that.”

  I tried to catch my breath.

  “Get out of my graveyard,” she said. “As long as you show up here I will continue to do things like that.”

  I knew she meant that.

  “Did you see someone leave this knife?” I asked, shining the light on the shiny object.

  “I’ve seen no one here tonight other than you,” she said. “And I was hoping I wouldn’t see you.”

  “It’s too late for that. I can’t talk right now, Mrs. Clatterbuck. I have to find out who left this knife.”

  I hurried past her. Even though I stood up to her all the time, I was still scared of her. She was just intimidating, I supposed. I never knew when she might reach out and grab me.

  The people would arrive soon for the tour and I wasn’t sure what to do. Nevertheless, I knew I needed to tell Brannon.

  “I think in light of the circumstances you need to cancel the tour tonight,” Brannon said after I’d told him about the knife.

  “Oh, Brannon, you know I don’t like to do that,” I said.

  “I know you don’t like to cancel, but sometimes it’s necessary. We have an active murder investigation and someone is obviously leaving you threatening messages. It’s just not safe. Not until we find out what’s going on.”