3 The Ghoul Next Door

by Rose Pressey

  Mindy jumped behind the counter with one swift movement. I had never seen that girl move that fast. She wouldn’t have jumped that fast unless she was truly terrified. I had no idea she was that strong either. Those pole fitness classes really were paying off.

  Callahan rushed to my side. I jumped up and down and continued to squeal. This wasn’t a terrified scream, no, this was a fangirl, can-I-have-your-autograph, I-want-to-marry-you-if-only-you-weren’t-dead squeal.

  Standing before me was the one and only King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. I didn’t know what to say. Words literally wouldn’t form. I loved Elvis. When I was little I had told my mother that I’d marry Elvis. Of course she said, “He’s dead, you can’t marry him.” Why she’d had to burst my bubble, I had no idea. Now who had the last laugh? Okay, I still couldn’t marry him, but nonetheless, he was standing in front of me… and in his young days. The hot, sexy, pelvis-shaking Elvis.

  Callahan touched my arm. Oh yeah, I’d forgotten he was there. Whew. I needed to get a hold of myself and say something. Anything. Mindy still cowered behind the counter, revealing the top of her head and eyes. What was Elvis Presley doing in a coffee shop in Magnolia of all places? Wasn’t he busy haunting Graceland or maybe Vegas? He wore that gold suit. You know the one. Yeah, that one. And he looked so yummy.

  “Larue, are you all right? What do you see?” Callahan frowned with concern.

  “I think she’s in some kind of trance,” Mindy said, popping up from behind the counter. “What if she’s possessed?” she whispered.

  I exchanged a glance with them. “There’s a ghost standing in the corner of the room.” I rushed my words.

  “Hello, darlin’,” Elvis said with that sexy Southern drawl.

  Oh my gosh, Elvis Presley had talked to me. Okay, I needed to get a hold of myself. If I didn’t speak to him like I was a sane human being, he might go away and this was one ghost I wouldn’t push out of my aura for eating crackers.

  “What are you doing here?” I stammered.

  “Who is it? Who is it?” Mindy said, backing to the furthest edge of the counter.

  How was I going to break the news to them? They’d never been around when I’d first encountered a celebrity ghost. And lately I’d been attracting enough celebrity ghosts to make any E! Entertainment Television reporter green with envy.

  “The ghost in the corner of the room is Elvis Presley,” I said matter-of-factly.

  Neither of them said a word. The room was completely silent. Even Elvis just looked at me. Mr. Fine had moved over toward Elvis, but was keeping his distance. I was waiting for Mindy or Callahan to burst out laughing.

  Callahan searched my eyes. “Elvis Presley?” His eyebrows rose. “As in Elvis? Love Me Tender, I’m All Shook Up?”

  “I’m glad to hear that he’s brushed up on my songs,” Elvis said.

  Okay, this was crazy. What was I supposed to say to Elvis?

  Mindy hurried from around the counter. “Elvis Presley is here. Damn it. Now I want to see ghosts too.”

  I smiled. Yeah, I didn’t blame her this time.

  “What are you doing here, Mr. Presley?” I asked, trying to keep the giddiness out of my voice. That was no easy feat.

  He flashed his dazzling smile. “I’m a little surprised that you can see me. I mean, I always believed in psychics, I just didn’t think I’d run into one here today.”

  “Are you lost?” I asked. What other reason would he have for being in Magnolia?

  Callahan and Mindy stood beside me engrossed in my one-way conversation just as much as they would have been if they could have heard Elvis.

  “What’s he saying?” Mindy poked my side.

  “I’m trying to find out why he’s here.”

  “Are you sure it’s Elvis?” Callahan asked. Before I answered, he said, “You know, I never mentioned this, but I’m related to Elvis.”

  I glanced over at him. And he left out this little tidbit? That was important information in my book. But I should have known, apparently good looks ran in the family.

  “And there’s your explanation for why I’m here,” Elvis said.

  This was an interesting turn of events.

  “How are you related to him?” I asked.

  “Third cousins… twice removed.”

  “What did he say? What did he say?” Mindy bounced with each word.

  “Third cousins… twice removed,” I repeated.

  “I still don’t understand all that cousins, twice removed, three times removed, blah, blah, blah, business. It’s confusing,” Mindy said with a frown.

  I couldn’t help her at the moment. I had bigger issues to deal with.

  “So you’re here for Callahan? Is something wrong?”

  Callahan’s expression changed. I thought he was even getting a little freaked out now.

  “What does he look like?” Mindy whispered. “Young Elvis or older Elvis? Not that I care, because I for one, think he was gorgeous no matter what.” She grinned in the direction she assumed Elvis was in. I thought she might have batted her eyelashes a few times, too.

  Was it too soon to ask him to sing for me? Yeah, it was too soon. It’d wait until I got him to come back to Book Nook with me. I mean, he’d want to come back with me, right? No sense in hanging out at the coffee shop with Callahan when I could talk to him. It would be a lot more entertaining to have someone to talk to. I was trying to justify bringing a ghost back with me. He needed no justification. I was pretty sure I was swooning just a little. Would Callahan be jealous of a ghost?

  Mr. Fine shuffled closer to Elvis and broke my reverie. “Finally. This just got interesting. I thought I’d be stuck listening to you complain and whine twenty-four-seven.”

  “I do not complain and whine.” I scowled.

  “Elvis says you complain and whine?” Mindy asked.

  I waved my hands. “No, no. Mr. Fine said I complain and whine.”

  “Who’s Mr. Fine?” she asked.

  “The guy from your house.”

  Mindy groaned. “That guy’s still here? Tell him to get lost. There’s a new ghost in town. A much better ghost.” She smirked in the direction in which she thought she’d find Mr. Fine, but instead she was smirking at the opposite wall.

  He rolled his eyes. “She’s such a ditz.”

  I wasn’t about to tell her what he’d just said. I’d get him later for that most uncalled-for comment.

  Mr. Fine took a puff of his ghostly cigarette. “Listen, Elvis. I sing, you know. Maybe you’d like to hear a song or two? I’ve been told I sound just like Old Blue Eyes.”

  Oh great. Now he was harassing Elvis. “No one wants to hear you sing.” I snorted.

  “What?” Mindy smacked me on the arm. “Of course we want to hear him sing. Wait. This isn’t fair. I can’t hear him.”

  “Don’t worry. It’s not Elvis who said that. Mr. Fine fancies himself an artist apparently. But now that you mention it, I would love to be serenaded by Elvis.” I smiled.

  I really was in heaven.

  What would I do now? I had never had a ghost that I’d been this nervous around, at least not in a good way. I was doomed to act like a giddy schoolgirl around him. If ever there was a ghost I wanted to sing to me in my ear, this ghost was it. Not long ago I’d had a cranky ghost who sang to me in the mornings. She sounded like a distressed cat. No, wait, a room full of distressed cats. This was the real deal though. Elvis Presley was now hanging onto my every word.

  “I’m sorry if I frightened Callahan. I try to keep my movements to a minimum, but I really wanted him to know that I was here,” Elvis said with a smile.

  “Well, Callahan definitely knows you’re here now, Mr. Presley.”

  He was lucky Callahan had a girlfriend who could talk to spirits. Maybe Callahan would realize that and not want to dump me for being crazy. It was a daily inner battle wondering if he’d ultimately come to the conclusion that I was bonkers.

  Callahan nodded.

  “And don
’t worry about scaring him. Callahan’s a tough guy and not easily rattled.” I smiled as I looked at Callahan. He had been tough through all the black magic he’d been subjected to in the past few weeks.

  Callahan ran his hand through his hair and nodded. “Yeah, Mr. Presley, don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you came by for a visit.” Callahan talked into the air. He got pretty close to Elvis’ location though, so that was good. He didn’t seem convinced about having a one-sided conversation though.

  Mr. Fine began singing his version of Love and Marriage by Frank Sinatra. It made my ears hurt as if they would fall right off my head. That or I’d rip them off and throw them at Mr. Fine.

  Elvis smiled—his usual polite self. Well, what I imagined was his usual polite self since I didn’t really know him. But from what I heard he was always a perfect gentleman.

  “Okay, okay, that’s enough with your audition, Mr. Fine. Save it for later, okay?” I yelled over the noise.

  What was with all the singing ghosts lately? At least I’d finally found one with true talent.

  Mr. Fine snorted, but thankfully stopped his caterwauling.

  “I’m sorry about that Mr. Presley. I picked up another ghost, er, well, another… anyway, he’s been hanging around without telling us what he really wants.”

  I knew Elvis knew that he was a ghost, but I hated to remind the ghosts of their status. It didn’t seem polite. Did I really need to rub it in? It was like when my mother reminded me that I hadn’t given her any grandbabies yet. I mean, I was fully aware that I hadn’t reproduced yet, no need to remind me.

  “Please call me Elvis. I’m just Elvis to y’all.” He winked.

  That was fine by me. Did I just swoon? I needed to watch myself.

  “Um, you still haven’t told me why you’re here. I mean, I know you said you were here for Callahan. But why? Why not Memphis or Graceland? You just wanted to visit with Callahan?”

  “I spend some time in Memphis, but I go where I’m needed. Callahan needs me.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest.

  “What? Is there something wrong? Should we be worried?” How much worse could it get for Callahan? He’d already been through so much lately.

  “He’s been through a lot, I know. I couldn’t come before because there was another urgent matter with Lisa Marie, but I came as soon as I could. I want to make sure he’s all right.”

  All right, since I was a psychic and I was sensitive to a lot of emotions, I felt something wasn’t right with his statement. My skills didn’t consist of only seeing the dead. I felt others’ emotions too, and I knew he wasn’t being completely honest with me. Maybe he didn’t want to say anymore for fear that I’d tell Callahan, or so that I wouldn’t freak out and worry about him, but I’d continue to ask Elvis until he opened up completely to me.

  “Why is he here? What did he say?” Mindy prodded.

  “He just wanted to visit Callahan. You know, see his family.” I wasn’t great with my lying skills. I think they saw right through me, but they kept quiet.

  We stood in silence. I stared at Elvis, Mindy and Callahan stared at me, and Mr. Fine stared at Elvis. The only one who seemed perfectly at ease was Elvis, which didn’t surprise me. I mean, he was Elvis after all. Everything about him was cool. Where did we go from here? Did I wait for Elvis to say something?

  When I couldn’t handle the quiet any longer, I said, “Well, Elvis, um, I’m going back over to my bookstore, if you’d like to join me?”

  “Nothing would make me happier,” he said as he stood from the chair.

  I almost let out a giggle. Elvis was coming with me.

  Chapter Eight

  “What did he say? What did he say?” Mindy asked while pulling at my sleeve.

  “He said yes,” I said through a giant smile.

  “So you managed to solve my ghost problem in five minutes flat? I’m impressed.” Callahan pulled me into an embrace. “You’re good, but then again, I knew that from the moment I met you.”

  He knew exactly the right words to say. Before I could respond, Callahan pressed his soft lips to mine and I nearly stopped breathing for a few seconds. Whew. His lips made my body tingle in all the right places. I opened my eyes and glanced at the ghosts. Yes, they watched us. Mindy, however, was helping herself to one of the pastries behind the glass display case. Her fitness classes burned a ton of calories. She could eat whatever her heart desired without gaining an ounce.

  After I somewhat recovered from the kiss, I pulled Callahan to the side. “By the way, did you leave that package this morning?”

  He furrowed his brow. “What package?”

  “I found it on the front porch this morning. I thought you might have left it.”

  “No. What was it?” he asked.

  How did I explain this to him without sounding weird? Okay, weirder. “It’s a pretty glass ornament. You hang it up kind of like a sun-catcher. The story goes that it collects bad spirits. They become trapped in the glass.”

  He winked. “Well, maybe someone thought you needed something to help with keeping the spirits away.”

  I didn’t tell him that I thought it would be cruel punishment to trap a spirit in a glass ball. But that was neither here nor there. I didn’t believe the thing worked anyway.

  I shrugged. “It was probably my mother. She’s always sending little things like that.”

  But why would my mother not hand-deliver it if she had been at my house? Who had really left it there? It had been too early for the mail-man. Regardless, I wouldn’t worry Callahan with the small details. He’d had enough stress over the last few days.

  “Anyway, I guess someone will eventually come forward and tell me that they sent it.”

  He wrapped his arms around me again. “Maybe you have a secret admirer.”

  I snorted. “That’s the last thing I need.”

  “You two do a whole lot of those public displays of affection. Don’t you think you’re grossing everyone out?” Mr. Fine tapped his cigarette ashes on my feet.

  If he’d been standing any closer, he’d be on top of us. Personal space. Personal space.

  “I don’t think we asked for your opinion,” I snapped.

  Callahan smiled. “I take it someone said something you don’t agree with?”

  I nodded. “I’m ignoring him from this point forward.”

  Of course I knew that was a lie and would never be possible. I was a little testy with Mr. Fine though. My nerves still hadn’t recovered from the past events.

  “Are you ready, Mindy?” I asked.

  She licked the icing from her fingers, then said, “If Elvis is going, then I’m going.”

  After leaving Callahan in his shop, Mindy and I marched back to Book Nook with the ghosts following closely behind. I opened the door and flipped the sign letting everyone know I was ready for business. I had thought the ghosts were still following behind me, but when I reached the register, Elvis and Mr. Fine were already standing next to it.

  Mindy looked around the room. “So what does this Mr. Fine guy want?” After all this time, she still thought she’d see the ghosts. So adorable.

  “He’s being tight-lipped. Well, I take that back, when it comes to his reason for being here he won’t talk, but he won’t stop butting in with his opinion when it’s not wanted.” I glared at him.

  He shrugged and gave me an ‘I don’t care’ look.

  “No offense, but I’m glad he’s following you around instead of me,” Mindy said.

  “None taken, sweetie. I know what a pain in the ass they can be. I’ll take care of him. Whether he likes it or not, he’ll eventually tell me why he’s here. They always do.” I smirked in his direction.

  Mr. Fine stood beside Mindy, invading her personal space. She hated having her personal space invaded as much as I did. “I had no idea how much she didn’t want me around. Maybe I’ll go harass her again.”

  “You’ll do no such thing,” I warned.

  “What? What did he s
ay?” Mindy’s big brown eyes grew wider.

  “Nothing. It’s not important.” I stacked books on the counter.

  She quirked a suspicious eyebrow.

  “Okay. I have to teach a class, but as soon as it’s over I’ll be right back here and I want all the Elvis details. Don’t you leave out a thing.” She grabbed a pad of paper and pen from the counter. “Here, write down everything he says.”

  I took the items from her outstretched hand. “I’ll make sure to do that.”

  Elvis laughed.

  ***

  What was left of the day went by in a blur. Not because it was busy, but because, well, I had Elvis to keep me entertained. This was without a doubt the craziest thing that had ever happened to me. And I thought when the local coven had asked me to be their leader that was the craziest. This topped that by a long stretch.

  I’d caught Elvis in the biography section. Yes, he’d noticed the unusual number of Elvis books. What could he expect, I was a fan. Elvis was looking at a book that featured his many performances.

  “Do you miss being on stage?” I asked.

  He nodded softly. “I do miss it. But I stay busy with helping others. It’s the same reason I loved performing. Making people happy.”

  I smiled. “That makes sense. Many people loved you then and they still love you now.”

  The bell on the door chimed and broke our conversation. True to her word, Mindy had returned at the end of the work day.

  “I have one last class, but I had to pop back in real quick before it starts. I have to know what’s been going on.” She rushed over to where I stood.

  “It’s been a very uneventful day,” I said nonchalantly and walked back to the counter.

  Mindy hurried along behind me. She quirked a brow. “Why do I not believe you?”

  “It’s true.” I shut off the computer.

  “Are they still here?” she whispered and looked around.

  “Yes.” I nodded. “Elvis is in the corner and Mr. Fine is standing behind you mocking you.” I gestured with a tilt of my head.