Haunt the Haunt, Walk the Walk (Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Book 3)

by Pressey, Rose

  “Sounds like someone’s playing games with you,” Tammy said.

  Annie sent a text. I guessed she couldn’t wait.

  Did you check the graves in front of the library?

  “I did check the stones out front,” I said.

  Tammy shook head. “I’ll never get used to you getting text messages from a ghost.”

  “Yeah well, now I think a ghost is using social media.” I released a deep breath.

  I reached for my bag to place it under the counter and it fell onto the floor. The book that I’d found in front of my house landed open. When I picked up the book I realized that the open page was the Edgewood house story. What were the odds?

  The picture up in the right-hand corner of the page caught my eye right away. I placed the book on the counter and tapped the page. “That’s the stone right there. I can’t believe it’s in the book.”

  Tammy leaned closer. “The one that you got the picture of?”

  “That’s the one.” My voice rose with each word.

  Sadly, as I studied the picture, nothing popped out at me right away. But now that I knew where the headstone was located I could take a closer look in person.

  “Are you going back to look at the haunted house again?” Tammy asked.

  “Oh, yes, most definitely,” I said, staring at the page.

  “What about Brannon? Are you telling him?”

  I blew the hair out of my eyes. “I don’t want him to think that I am crazy for getting the text.”

  “But he knows and I know he understands.” Tammy leaned against the counter.

  I closed the book. “Sure, but a picture on Instagram? I’m not sure if he’ll go for the social media thing. I’m not even sure I believe it.”

  Annie sent another text.

  Just be careful.

  I’d known she’d be worried.

  It was like a piece to the puzzle. I couldn’t believe that the grave was at the house. What was the big story about that place? I had to find out right away. As soon as Crystal got to the library I had more questions for her—questions about Melissa’s actions, where she had been going and with whom. I also had to find out what the boyfriend Bryce Hawkins knew about this haunted location. He had mentioned it, but if he’d known Melissa was doing séances then he had to know about this place. Did Crystal know that Melissa had been doing séances? Where had this stuff taken place? Was it in the apartment? I had too many questions.

  “What are you thinking?” Tammy touched my arm, breaking my thoughts.

  I tapped my fingers against the counter. “I’m wondering who Melissa was trying to talk to at the séance. Was there a specific person who died that she wanted to contact? Or was she just trying to get random people to come forward? Either way it’s scary.”

  Tammy sighed. “You have a lot of questions. I just hope you get answers.”

  I stared at the photo on my phone. “I just don’t want the murderer to get away.”

  “It’s odd to think that the murder was tied to something paranormal. It’s like something from a book or movie,” Tammy said.

  “It sure happens,” I said. “Hey, do we have today’s newspaper yet?”

  “I just put it over on the table,” she said, motioning across the library.

  Rushing around the counter, I hurried over to the table.

  “What are you looking for?” Tammy asked as she followed me across the room.

  This must be important. Annie floated along beside me.

  “I have to see if they put a picture of Melissa in the paper today. I haven’t seen her photo.”

  “Why do you need to see her photo?” Tammy asked.

  I reached the table and grabbed the newspaper. “Because I think her ghost has been following me around.”

  “Oh, boy,” Tammy said.

  Of course the story of her murder was front-page news and there was her picture. The headshot showed her big brown eyes and beautiful smile. Her long dark hair reached down to her shoulders. It was the mystery woman from my tour.

  Well, that explained why I was getting text messages from her phone number. Melissa’s ghost was trying to tell me something. Now it was up to me to find out what that something was. I could only assume that the unidentified sender of the gravestone photos was also Melissa. She’d obviously been trying to tell me something, just like she had with the books. But why had she left one in front of the antique shop?

  “Is that her?” Tammy asked.

  I stared at the photo. “Yep, that’s her.”

  “What are you going to do?” Tammy asked.

  “I assume she wants me to find her killer.”

  “That could be scary,” she said.

  “Yes, it could be, but I still have to try. She needs my help.”

  Just then I got another text on my phone. When I looked at the number, I realized that it was Melissa’s.

  “It’s her,” I said to Tammy.

  She moved closer. “What did she say?”

  This is not Melissa.

  I looked over my shoulder to see if someone was behind me. How did they know that I suspected this was Melissa? Now I really had the creeps. This was just getting too spooky.

  “What does that mean?” Tammy said.

  I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

  That was when I got another text.

  The haunted will come for you

  Chapter 15

  Once again I stood in front of the graveyard’s entrance. People would arrive soon for the tour. All I could think of was the latest text. What kind of warning had it been? I thought about the spirits who had appeared here and how they’d looked as if they were coming for me. Now I was on edge waiting for them to appear again. That vibe already hung in the air—the one that came around with the spirits.

  Clouds cloaked the night sky and the wind howled through the branches. The only light was the small glow coming from my flashlight. The graveyard’s gate banged against the fence and I jumped. I spun around and focused my flashlight on it. No one was there, so I assumed it was the wind. My anxiety was on edge.

  The sound of voices carried across the night air. When I leaned over and peered down the alleyway, I spotted a couple headed my way. At least now I wouldn’t be alone out here. I rubbed my arms to fight off the chill. I didn’t think it was caused by the cool temperature either. Before the couple reached me, another man and woman walked down the alleyway.

  After greeting the tour-goers, I told them we’d get started as soon as I thought there were no others coming. They talked amongst themselves while I watched for others. A couple minutes passed and I figured that was all the people coming for the night.

  “Welcome to Devil’s Moon Haunted Tour.” I started my presentation.

  All eyes were on me, but it felt as if I was being watched from somewhere else. When I glanced to my right, I spotted Krista Meyer—Bryce Hawkins’ ex-girlfriend. I immediately wondered if she knew that I’d found the paper with the spell on it. There was no way that she could know, right? Regardless, I was still spooked by her sudden appearance. Where had she been? How had she slipped into the cemetery without me seeing her? That had happened a lot lately.

  “We’ll start tonight’s tour with a stroll through Devil’s Moon Cemetery.” I waved my arm through the air.

  The group followed me, including Krista. Her presence made me nervous, but I had to stick it out. I stopped in front of a gravestone to share the story about the ghost lady in blue. I felt Krista’s stare on me the whole time. Finally, I guided the group further into the cemetery. Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention.

  A black shadow darted around one of the gravestones. For a brief moment, I thought it was a real person. The shadow had moved behind a tree, so now I couldn’t see it. I tried to focus my attention on the tour. No one else mentioned seeing it.

  As I moved on to the next headstone, I spotted the dark shadow again. It had moved toward another tree. This thing was just on the outer edge
of the graveyard. It moved differently from the spirits I’d seen in the past. It seemed as if this thing was following us through the graveyard.

  I looked around at the faces, but I knew by their reactions that they still hadn’t noticed it. I kept waiting for them to mention it. Speaking of waiting, I also expected the spirit of Melissa to show up again. Even though the text messages weren’t from her, I knew she was the ghost I’d seen around the tour.

  Casting a glance over at Krista, I realized she wasn’t watching me now. She seemed distracted by something. Had she seen the spirit too? She was looking in the opposite direction from where I’d been looking. Maybe the thing had moved.

  I caught movement again out of the corner of my eye. When I looked, it was in the same area as before. Maybe she was seeing something different. Maybe there was more than one. Maybe what the text said was true. Were they coming after me? My anxiety soared and I knew it was time to get out of the graveyard. Leading the group out of the gate, I continued on the rest of the tour through town. For the rest of the time, I didn’t see the shadow again.

  I couldn’t stop thinking about how this spirit had seemed different from the other spirits I’d seen in the past. It moved like a living person. Could it have been someone wearing all black who just looked like a ghost? I wasn’t sure which was scarier, a living person or a spirit. I’d always heard we shouldn’t be afraid of ghosts—it was the living we should be afraid of.

  I brought the group back to where we’d started and collected the flashlights. After I thanked everyone for coming, they left. Krista was still standing next to me. As far as I was concerned, that was something to be afraid of. I just wanted to get out of here.

  “Is there something else? Did you have a question?” I asked, trying to sound polite.

  She focused on my face. “I have a question for you. Since you’re into the whole ghost paranormal thing, I wondered if you do séances.”

  I hadn’t expected that question. Just because I did the ghost tour didn’t mean I knew anything about doing a séance. Or that I wanted to even try.

  But I had to know what she was up to. It had to be connected somehow to the group Melissa had been involved in. Otherwise, why would I have found that paper with the spell written on it? So I decided to lie and tell her yes.

  “Oh, great. Well, maybe you can help me.” She flashed a grin.

  “What do you need help with?”

  She looked at me like I’d asked the dumbest question ever. She folded her arms in front of her chest. “I need help with the séance, of course.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “I don’t think I can do it by myself, so I wondered if you would help me,” she said in a sweet voice.

  “Exactly who are you trying to contact?” I glanced over my shoulder to see if the spirit was back there, but luckily I didn’t notice anything.

  “I just have some questions about different spirits, that’s all.” She waved her hand.

  Her answer was vague, but I hadn’t expected anything different from her. “When did you want to do this?” I asked.

  She checked her phone. “How about tomorrow night? Meet me here right after your tour?”

  I still didn’t know what she was up to and I was suspicious, but I agreed.

  “Okay. I’ll meet you here tomorrow night,” I said.

  “Great. I’ll see you then.” She turned and walked away.

  I watched her for a moment and then decided it was time for me to get out of here too. I wondered if I should tell Brannon about this. He would probably tell me not to do it. Yes, this was yet another thing that I would have to keep to myself. I didn’t like keeping secrets, but sometimes it was necessary.

  As I hurried down the sidewalk, I felt the presence of something behind me. The sound of a car roaring up along the curb caught my attention. I didn’t want to look, but I had to just in case it was something dangerous and I needed to run.

  When I glanced over, I saw the police cruiser. Behind the wheel was Brannon. I released a sigh of relief. He parked the car and climbed out from behind the wheel. I waited for him on the sidewalk, hoping that I wasn’t in trouble. Maybe he had found out I was snooping again.

  “How’s it going?” Brannon asked.

  He looked at me suspiciously and I wondered if he knew. Then again, I was probably just paranoid from lying.

  “I wanted to find out if you want to go back to the haunted house in Edgewood.”

  Oh, well, that wasn’t so bad. Maybe he didn’t know after all.

  “When did you have in mind?” I asked.

  He flashed that sexy smile. “How about tomorrow tonight?”

  Oh, how I hated to turn him down, but I had the séance. I had to put him off for at least another night.

  “How about the night after that?” I asked.

  He looked a little disappointed with a sad frown. As if he wondered what other plans I had. Contrary to what others thought, I wasn’t always in my pajamas by six at night. I could have other plans if I wanted. Tammy and I went out sometimes… okay, it had been forever since we’d gone out, and I hadn’t had a date with anyone other than Brannon in quite some time, but I hadn’t been looking for a relationship. After my scumbag ex who’d cheated on me, I’d needed time away from dating.

  “Okay then, tomorrow night it is. I have to get back to work, but do you want a ride home?” He gestured toward the cruiser.

  Normally I would just walk, but after everything that it happened I thought I’d take him up on that ride. Plus, he smelled good and I enjoyed being around him.

  “Sure, that would be great,” I said.

  I hopped in and we made the short drive to my place. Of course Brannon was a sweetheart again and walked me to the front door. Cold air whistled around us. We stood in front of the door and he leaned down and gently placed his lips on mine. At least the evening had turned out okay after all. Brannon waited until I opened the door and went inside. When I peeked out the window, I watched him walk to his car.

  Chapter 16

  A number that I didn’t recognize popped up on my cell phone.

  “Ridley Van Raden?” the woman asked.

  I hesitantly said, “Yes,” hoping this wasn’t a telemarketer.

  “My name is Cecilia Rouse. I just bought the old funeral home over on Lawrence Street.”

  “Wow, that place has been empty for some time now.”

  “I know people think I’m crazy for buying it, but it’s a gorgeous home, and I want to save it,” she said.

  “What do you plan to do with it?” I asked.

  “I’m not sure yet. I might open a shop.”

  “That’s great news. I’m glad someone will be able to use the building,” I said.

  I still wasn’t quite sure why she was calling to tell me this since I didn’t know her. Or how she’d gotten my number.

  “I’ll just get to the point, since I’m sure you’re wondering why I called you. I’m sure you can imagine the place has a lot of paranormal activity. I don’t know a lot about these things, but I know when I hear and see things. I thought you might want to add the place to your tour.”

  “I would love that,” I said.

  “It would be good publicity for my building, so that maybe I can help restore it, and it would be good for you to add to your tour.”

  “That sounds good to me. I would love to come over and take a look around so I can get familiar with the place.”

  I’d have to do some research and find out more about the building. Plus, I needed to find out what kind of experiences had happened so that I could share with the tour-goers.

  “Do you mind if I come over now?” I asked.

  “I’m not there right now, but I can be there in about fifteen minutes if that works for you.”

  “That’ll be great. I’ll see you then.”

  I hung up, grabbed my stuff, and headed for the door. This had been an unexpected surprise and I was happy about it. I could always use new
places for the tour. The place wasn’t very far from my place so I decided to walk. Sure, it was night and creepy, but I just had to get a look at this place. I’d always wanted to see the inside. As long as I didn’t see anything creepy on the way I’d be just fine.

  The old funeral parlor was in a Victorian three-story building, but it had started to show its age and neglect. It hadn’t always been a funeral home, only between the years of probably 1950 and 1980. Even when the sun was out and shining across the windows the place had a spooky vibe. Now in the dark it was something straight out of a horror movie, one that would lure you in now and then spook you later. The place had good bones though, so I was sure she would be able to turn it around with a little bit of hard work. No pun intended.

  I couldn’t wait to see the finished product. I was just about to knock on the door when someone called my name from behind. When I turned around a woman walked toward me.

  “Hi, Ripley. I’m Cecilia.” She waved as she walked up onto the porch with me. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Nice to meet you,” I said.

  She looked around the porch. “The place is a little creepy now, right?”

  “Yes, I won’t deny that, but it’s the perfect setting for a haunted tour.”

  She pulled out a key and motioned. “Come on in. Let’s take a look around.”

  The inside was surprisingly in good shape except for the dust and cobwebs. The place was dark, so she switched on one of the old chandeliers. Thank goodness it still worked. Even in the daytime I figured there probably wasn’t a lot of sun coming through the windows. Cecelia closed the door behind us and I walked toward the parlor on the right.

  “I remember being in here when I was very young,” Cecilia said. “My great-grandmother had her funeral here. But I don’t remember a lot except standing in this room.”

  I stepped over to the fireplace mantel and ran my finger along the intricate molding.