“Not everyone, but I will. Thanks.”
“Sorry again,” he said.
“That’s perfectly okay. I’m just glad that you sell the tickets for me and help me so much. I really appreciate it.
“Think nothing of it. I’m just glad to see someone succeeding here in Devil’s Moon. That reminds me, I have some money for you.” He opened the desk drawer and pulled out a small safe. Martin handed me the money from recent ticket sells. “Here you go.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll get out of your hair.”
As I walked toward the door, he asked “Is there someone in particular I should look out for?”
I shook my head. “No, not really. Thanks anyway.”
I knew that probably sounded vague, but I didn’t have information for him. I suppose that the woman had just slipped through and hadn’t bought a ticket. Maybe I needed to change the way that I collected them. I needed to make sure everyone showed me their ticket from now on. I headed out of the office and felt a little discouraged that I hadn’t learned anything, but I wouldn’t give up.
The waitress who had been cleaning the back table stopped me. “I overheard your conversation. I’m sorry for listening, but I just wanted to let you know something. It may be nothing at all.” She paused.
“That’s okay. I want to know.”
Had she seen the woman?
“I saw someone who was looking around while you were doing the tour. I don’t think you saw the person. I was taking trash out of the back of the tavern and happened to look over.”
“Was this a man or a woman?” I asked.
“I really couldn’t tell. All I know is the person was dressed all in black, like maybe a coat or something kind of like it. I know this doesn’t help you any, and it’s probably nothing, but it just was a little disturbing. I guess the way the person was watching you gave me the creeps.”
The way she had described it had actually given me the creeps too. “I appreciate you letting me know. Thank you.”
“If I see anything else I’ll let you know,” she said.
“That would be great.”
She had me wondering who was watching. Was someone really watching? I knew the answer was yes. I had to be on alert even more now. After grabbing the flashlights, I walked out of the tavern and peered around. I was still a little spooked from what I’d found out. At least it wasn’t completely dark out. I wondered why I hadn’t noticed someone watching us. I needed to pay closer attention to my surroundings. That was definitely something Brannon would tell me to do. Tonight when I was around the tavern I would make sure to look out for this person. I should’ve asked the others if they had noticed anyone with that description hanging around.
Even if there had been no ghosts, this setting would scare anyone, but there was no shortage of ghosts in Devil’s Moon. Standing all alone in front of the gates, I fidgeted while waiting for the tour-goers to arrive. Wind howled through the treetops. They’d probably think I’d added music, but there was nothing fake on my tour.
When the group finally appeared, walking down the alley toward me, I realized I’d been right—the nice weather had brought quite a few people for tonight’s tour. Four men and two women gathered in front of me. They eyed me up and down, probably thinking I looked more like a librarian with my gray cardigan and pearl necklace than a haunted tour guide.
“Welcome to the Haunted Devil’s Moon Tour. Tonight, I will guide you through shadowy alleys, take you into darkened corridors and share with you ghostly tales from around town. Step back in time with me and be on the lookout for spirits from beyond. This town is not without its tragedies…”
They hung onto my every word. Tonight the moon wasn’t full, and I didn’t have the added glow to help lead our way. I knew the graveyard like the back of my hand, but flashlights would stop us from missing a step and potentially falling. After handing out the flashlights, I went through the rest of my usual speech. I thought I’d change things up tonight and take the group through the cemetery first. I liked to alternate how I did the tour so that I wouldn’t get bored.
The sliver of a glow from the silvery moon barely penetrated through the inky sky. Whispers from the tour-goers carried across the night. It was hard to distinguish their voices from the wind, or possibly spirits.
I stopped in front of the tombstone where I usually gave the initial presentation about the graveyard. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a shadow zip across the graveyard. It happened often, but I never got used to it. No one else mentioned the shadow, so they must not have noticed. It was probably the ghost of Mrs. Clatterbuck keeping an eye on my movements.
Once I’d finished the graveyard part of the tour, I guided the group through town, past the tavern and on to the antique shop. I’d saved the tavern for the last stop tonight. Other than earlier at the graveyard, there had been no dark shadows popping out or any unexplained cold spots. Usually when I took the group into the antique shop something happened. Luckily, tonight no knickknacks flew off the shelves.
I hoped that the guests weren’t disappointed tonight. Paranormal things didn’t happen on the tour often. Seeing a shadow or feeling a cold chill was kind of rare. We still had one more stop before the tavern, so I was holding out hope that something might happen, especially since this was a new location.
I’d heard that this building was haunted for years, but recently a new owner had bought it and she had agreed to let me have the spot on the tour. I’d told her it might be good for business and luckily she’d agreed with me. Jill’s shop, A Little Bit of Kentucky, offered all kinds of knickknacks and specialty items from around the state. She had a ton of stuff that tourists might like.
I led the group inside of the old red-brick building. The old dinged-up hardwood floor creaked under our steps. Jill was at the back of the shop. She waved and motioned for us to enter, so I directed the group inside. Since it was getting late, I knew she wanted to close as soon as we left.
We approached the back of the store, and I began to recount some of the stories about things that had occurred. The air grew colder and I glanced over my shoulder. That was when I saw the woman… the one who had disappeared from the tour and had been following me.
What was she doing here? She hadn’t even bought a ticket for the tour. Maybe she thought she’d catch up on what she’d missed the other night. That was fine with me, but I had a few questions for her. I wasn’t about to let her get away this time. I had to finish this part of the tour before I could talk to her, but we made eye contact, so she knew that I saw her. Maybe she wasn’t going to take off this time.
I finally finished with my stories and ushered everyone out of the shop. Now I just had to take them back past the tavern and on to the cemetery. Once the tour ended, I could talk to the mystery woman. The thought of stopping the tour right there so that I could talk to her crossed my mind, but I had one other story to tell on the way back to the cemetery. Plus, I didn’t want to short-change the group just because I wanted to talk to someone.
As I walked toward the tavern, I glanced back to make sure she was still there. Everyone was talking and enjoying the nice weather. I was happy that the night had so far been a success. A few seconds passed and when I looked over my shoulder, she was gone again. She’d gotten away. Why did she keep doing that?
After finishing up at the tavern and making it back to the cemetery, I gathered the flashlights, and said, “Thanks to everyone for coming tonight and I hope you had an enjoyable, spooky evening. Please tell your friends.”
Once the group had walked away, I peeked back at the graveyard. Mrs. Clatterbuck stood over by the big old oak tree. I wondered what message she had for me tonight. Probably to tell me to stay out of the cemetery again. At least I was finished with the tour and I could get out of there before she confronted me. I didn’t want to wait around for a message from her tonight. Maybe I’d see the woman again on my way to the tavern.
I stepped down the dark alley heading towa
rd the tavern. The more I walked, the more it felt like someone was watching me. I kept glancing over my shoulder, but no one was there. Could it be Mrs. Clatterbuck watching me from the cemetery? Nope. She wasn’t there either.
Chapter 6
The tavern was jam-packed and country music blasted around the room, bouncing off the old walls. Unfortunately it smelled like sweat and stale beer in there. People were packed onto the dance floor and the bar didn’t have one available stool. All the tables were occupied as well. I managed to spot Tammy through the crowd and waved at her. She motioned for me to come over. That would be easier said than done.
A tall and lanky guy standing by the door yelled out, “Hey, baby. How about I buy you a beer?”
I gave him a half-hearted grin, shook my head, and then moved through the crowd toward the bar. As I shimmied through, I was pretty sure I ended up breaking up a couple of people dancing, but I finally managed to make it to Tammy.
“What’s going on in here?” I yelled over the crowd.
Tammy motioned toward the stage with her head. “There’s a new band tonight. They’re pretty good and everyone seems to love them.”
“Obviously,” I said as I handed her my flashlights.
She shoved them under the counter. “How was the tour tonight?” Tammy handed me a bottle of ice-cold water.
I took a drink. “That strange woman showed up again, but disappeared. One minute she’s there and the next she’s gone. Poof.”
Tammy wiped down the top of the bar. “She’s weird. There are too many weird people roaming around. You need to find out what that’s all about. You should tell Brannon.”
I screwed the top back on my water bottle. “Yeah, I probably should. So anything else interesting happen around here night?” I looked around the crowd.
“No, pretty typical. That guy there is totally smashed. I’m going to cut him off.”
I followed the direction of her pointing finger. The guy was practically lying on the table. He had short brown hair and wore jeans and a wrinkled T-shirt. Beer bottles surrounded him.
“He won’t even let me take any of the empty bottles,” Tammy said.
When I glanced to the guy’s left, a woman stood behind him. It was the mystery woman from the tour. She was just staring at him, giving him that same weird look she’d given me.
“That’s her,” I yelled.
“That’s who?” Tammy asked.
“The woman who keeps showing up at my tour and then disappearing.”
“You need to go confront her right now. I’ll go with you.” She tossed the towel down.
Just then someone yelled at Tammy for a drink.
“Don’t go anywhere,” Tammy warned me. “I’ll be right back.”
Tammy would let me have it later, but I wasn’t going to wait for her. I didn’t want to lose this woman again. She was too good at her disappearing act.
I made my way through the crowd and over to the table where she’d been standing. The guy from the front door appeared in front of me. He swayed back and forth, but it certainly wasn’t in time with the music. Without a word, I shoved him out of the way. Unfortunately, when I reached the table, she was gone again. She should really look into taking her act to Vegas. She was like a magician.
The drunk guy didn’t even look up at me as I was standing right beside him. I reached down and shook his arm. “Excuse me.”
With his head lying on the table, he still didn’t acknowledge me. He needed to go home and sleep this one off.
I poked him in his arm again. “Excuse me, sir.”
Finally, he looked up at me with bloodshot eyes and a scowl on his face. “What do you want?” His words were slurred.
So he was an angry drunk. This wasn’t going to be pleasant. He had no clue what was going on around him.
“There was a woman standing here with you. Do you know who she is?” I asked.
Even as drunk as he was, he gave me a look like I was the idiot. “I don’t know who the hell you’re talking about.” He picked up the beer bottle and gave it another swig. Unfortunately for him, there was nothing left in the bottle.
He pushed to his feet, stumbling and hitting the table with his hip as he tried to stand up right. “I have to get another beer,” he mumbled.
I shook my head. “She’s not going to give you one.”
He gave me a look telling me to shut up. I really didn’t want Tammy to have to deal with this guy. But what could I do about it?
I pushed my shoulders back and stood firm. “Hey, I think you’ve had enough. You should probably go home.”
He reached out and pushed me. I tumbled to the floor.
Out of nowhere, Brannon grabbed the guy by his arm and marched him outside. Brannon’s movement was so swift that I hadn’t seen him coming. For a brief moment, I wondered if it had even happened. The crowd quieted down.
Tammy ran over to me. “Are you okay?”
People around stared at me. She reached down and helped me to my feet.
I grabbed her hand. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just fell back when he pushed me.”
“Why did he push you? What happened?” Tammy asked.
“He was coming to get another beer and I told him that he’d had enough. I didn’t want you to have to deal with him.”
“I’m used to dealing with drunks. You’re not.”
“Obviously you know how to deal with them and I don’t,” I said.
“Lots of practice.” She smiled.
I pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “Brannon seemed to come out of nowhere.”
I was glad that he’d shown up when he did. There was no telling what that drunk guy would have done.
“Yes, I’m glad he showed up.” Tammy wrapped her arm around my shoulders and squeezed.
Just then Brannon walked back through the door. “Are you okay, Rip?”
I shrugged. “I’m okay. What did you do to that guy?”
“I just politely told him he was going to jail. He’s in the back of my car now.”
I peered out the window, but it was too dark to see anything.
“Thanks for taking care of him,” Tammy said.
“I see you weren’t staying out of the investigation though.” Brannon fixed his eyes on me and grinned.
I frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Brannon stared at me. “Rip, are you playing games with me?”
I placed my hands on my hips. “Would I play games with you? You’re a police officer, for heaven’s sake. You can take me to jail.”
The corner of his mouth turned up in a grin. “That was the murder victim’s boyfriend. His name is Bryce Hawkins.”
Wow, I hadn’t seen that coming.
“Apparently, he likes to drink. This isn’t the first time that he’s gone to jail for it. At least there he can sober up a little bit,” Brannon said.
I held my hands up. “Honestly, I had no idea who that man was. It was purely a coincidence.” I had no idea if Brannon would believe me.
He shook his head. “Well, you must have a natural knack for this because you just happened to run into him.”
I shrugged. “I guess I do.”
Now that I knew about the boyfriend, I could look into this more. Brannon had no idea what he had done by telling me that. But I wouldn’t let on to him that I was snooping around. I would make him think that I was staying out of it.
Brannon motioned over his shoulder. “I’d better get this guy to the police station, but I wanted to see you anyway. I was in contact with the caretaker for the house in Edgewood and I think I might be able to get us in there soon. Are you ready for another investigation?”
I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “Isn’t this related to the murder case? I thought you wanted me to stay out of it.”
He gave another coy smile. “This is just another investigation of a haunted location.”
I smiled at him. “Sure, I’d like that. Let me know as soon as you find out, okay?�
�
He walked backwards a few steps, still smiling at me. “Sure, I’ll be in touch soon.”
Had Brannon been looking for me tonight? How had he known that I would be in the tavern? I mean sure, I had just finished the tour, but sometimes I just went home. Was it a lucky guess? He was probably just stopping in to have a look around. Maybe he’d been looking for Melissa’s boyfriend.
As soon as Brannon walked out the door I sensed Tammy was standing right behind me. I knew that she would have something to say about what he’d done.
She shook her head. “The way you two flirt with each other.”
I felt the heat in my cheeks immediately. I waved my hand. “I don’t think we’re flirting at all.”
Tammy shook her head. “No, you’re flirting.”
“Well, I do like him, so I guess that’s understandable,” I said.
“And it’s pretty obvious that he has the hots for you too.” Tammy winked.
I picked at the hem of my shirt. “I can’t talk about this anymore.”
“See that? You’ve got it so bad for him that you can’t even talk about the fact that he likes you without getting flustered.”
I waved my hand. “Anyway, did you hear what Brannon said about the guy he’s taking to jail?”
She shook her head. “No, it’s too loud in here. I couldn’t make out what was being said.”
“He’s Bryce Hawkins, the boyfriend of the girl who was just murdered, Melissa,” I said.
Her eyes widened. “Get out of here. Are you serious?”
I nodded. “But that still doesn’t explain who the woman was standing beside him. Bryce acted like he didn’t know her.”
“She sure acted like she knew him. I wish I had answers for you, honey.” Tammy touched my arm.
I blew out a deep breath. “I wish you did too. Okay, I have to go. It’s getting late. Call me when you’re done and in your home, okay?” I asked.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay walking home?” Tammy asked.
“I’ll be just fine. No big deal.” I waved and then headed for the door, trying to avoid the guy I’d shoved out of my way.
He was at the door again, but didn’t look my way. He looked as if he had moved on to another victim anyway.
Haunt the Haunt, Walk the Walk (Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Book 3) Page 5