Battered and Buttered Waffle: Book 2 in The Diner of the Dead Series

by Carolyn Q. Hunter

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Sonja demanded. “And, I said, get that light out of my face,” she glared.

  Instantly, the light turned off.

  “Hey, what are you doing?” Spook shouted at his team. “Keep filming.”

  The light came back on and the host went on narrating as if nothing had happened. “It was here in this very barn that the young man hung himself.”

  Sonja stepped in and pushed the camera away, taking the cameraman by surprise. “Turn that off. You have no right to film in here.”

  “Stop interrupting the shoot,” Spook ordered, through his teeth. “How am I ever going to finish this episode if you keep interrupting?”

  “You don’t have permission to shoot here,” she yelled back, raising her voice over the gale outside. “You need to pack up your van and leave. Now.”

  “No way,” he shook his head. “We aren’t leaving until we get this section of the episode done.”

  “Come on,” Maddy called out. “She’s right. We shouldn’t have even come here.”

  “Do you want to get this footage or not?” the belligerent young man asked incredulously.

  Maddy hung her head.

  “Come on, let’s shoot this,” Spook ignored his girlfriend and spoke to the cameraman.

  Sonja couldn’t believe the gall of this jerk. She was at her wits end, and if Sheriff Thompson didn’t show up soon she might just lose it. Suddenly, the front door of the barn burst open. Mr. Hinkley stood in the rain, a shotgun in his hand.

  “Everybody out of my barn now.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Spook ran a hand through his hair, enraged. “Will you people just get out of my way and let me shoot my episode?”

  The furious farmer hobbled into the room. When he spotted Sonja his eyes grew wide.

  “Sonja?”

  “Mr. Hinkley, I was trying to get them out of here.”

  His expression went from hurt, back to angry.

  “I don’t care who was doing what. You’re all trespassing. If you don’t get your keisters out of here right now, I’m gonna start shooting.”

  “Come on, Tech,” Spook ordered. “Let’s get this filming done.

  “He has a shotgun, Spook,” he protested. None of them knew that it probably only had rock salt in it. It would hurt, but wouldn’t do any serious damage.

  “This geezer isn’t shooting anyone. Bring the Seer device over here.”

  “I’m not so sure about that, Spook,” Tech kept casting wary glances toward Mr. Hinkley.

  “Do it, NOW,” the brash star shouted.

  “You do it,” Tech yelled.

  He leaned over and grabbed a pouch from a stack of production equipment.

  “I’m not getting shot for you, man.”

  He pulled a strange flat-screen item—which Sonja assumed was the Seer—out of the pouch and held it up, prepared to toss it at Spook.

  A thudding sound in the rafters interrupted the argument. A large figure leaped down from the loft and knocked Tech to the ground, knocking the wind out of him.

  The camera’s light revealed the assailant’s identity. It was Daniel Marston. The elder ghost hunter moved to kick the Seer out of the pouch that was by Tech’s leg, misfired and kicked the unsuspecting crew member instead. There was an audible snap and Tech screamed out in pain.

  Sonja ran to the beast of a man and pummeled his arm with her fists.

  “Stop it,” she cried out.

  “I think he broke my leg,” Tech shouted clutching the throbbing limb.

  Daniel pushed Sonja aside without even realizing he had done it, focusing on retrieving the Seer. She fell heavily onto a bale of hay.

  A loud blast boomed through the barn, seeming to shake the sides. Everyone froze, immediately going silent. Mr. Hinkley held the shotgun pointed up in the air. Sonja was thankful that the sound had stopped Daniel’s vicious assault.

  They heard a siren and saw the flash of lights as Sheriff Thompson pulled up just outside the barn.

  “Put your shotgun down, Sam,” Sheriff Thompson ordered, appearing in the doorway.

  The old farmer obeyed, lowering the shotgun. “It’s only got rock salt in it,” he muttered.

  “I don’t care what it’s got in it,” was the stern reply. The sheriff saw Sonja sprawled on a hay bale and his jaw flexed. “You okay?”

  “I think so,” she nodded, slowly making her way to her feet.

  “I already warned the rest of you once today that I didn’t want any more trouble. Looks like you couldn’t follow basic instructions even for a few hours. If you’re still around in the morning, I’m taking you all in and booking you for trespassing.”

  The Sheriff glanced at Tech, writhing on the ground. “What happened here?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

  Spook walked over and tried to pull Tech up, but the crew member curled up and cried out in pain.

  “Sheriff,” Maddy said. “That guy kicked Tech and broke his leg,” she pointed at Daniel.

  The officer looked at Daniel. “Is that true?”

  The defiant middle aged man merely glowered silently at Thompson, not saying a word.

  The sheriff turned to the rest of the group. “Is it true?”

  Everyone nodded.

  Then he looked at Sonja. “Sonja?”

  “It’s true,” she confirmed. “He jumped on top of him from the loft and then kicked his leg.”

  “They have something that belongs to me,” Daniel shouted defensively. “I was just trying to get back what is rightfully mine. You’re an officer of the law. You need to make him give me back my property.”

  “You’re about to be charged with assaulted and battery,” Sheriff Thompson replied calmly. “If I hear one more word out of you I will not hesitate to lock you in the squad car for the rest of the night, while I sort the rest of this mess out,” he declared, meaning it.

  Daniel’s head drooped low, and Thompson took him by the arm.

  “Alright,” he ordered, “everybody into the farmhouse.”

  “The farmhouse?” Mr. Hinkley protested. “They can’t come in my farmhouse.”

  “They’re going to have to,” the sheriff replied. “That leg is going to need treatment, and we’re going to get this young man out of the weather while we’re waiting for help to arrive.”

  “Then take him back across the river to the hospital,” the farmer blustered. “I won’t have these trespassers in my house. Absolutely not.”

  Sheriff Thompson loomed over the farmer and looked him in the eye. “I’m afraid we don’t have any other choice, Sam. The bridge washed out behind me when I came across. No one is getting out tonight.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Sheriff Thompson led Daniel into the front door of the farmhouse, while crew members mostly carried Tech in behind him.

  “Do you have a room that locks from the outside?” he asked Mr. Hinkley.

  “Sure, the cellar locks from the outside.”

  “I guess that’ll have to do,” the sheriff shrugged.

  Daniel’s eyes widened. “You can’t lock me in the cellar all night long.”

  “Sure I can, and it’s our only option at this point.” He turned to Mr. Hinkley. “I want you to grab some blankets and pillows for him. Do you have a cot?”

  “Yeah, in the attic.”

  “Go ahead and get it. Where’s the cellar key?”

  “In the kitchen drawer next to the cellar door.”

  “Alright.”

  Thompson led the assailant away while Maddy and Spook helped Tech into the living room and onto the couch.

  “No, take him to the upstairs guest bedroom,” the farmer ordered as he walked through the room and up the stairs. “I don’t want him on the couch.”

  “I need my bag,” Tech pleaded. “It’s got some painkillers in it.”

  “Okay, I’ll get it,” Maddy promised, running back out into the storm.

  Sonja sighed and looked at Spook. “Alright, I’ll help you
get him upstairs.” She positioned herself under Tech’s arm and they took him upstairs. A few moments later Maddy came into the guest bedroom holding the duffle bag.

  “Thanks, Maddy,” Tech groaned, his face white with pain. He shuffled through the bag, pulling out different bottles, clothes, a book, and finally the painkillers. “I-I think I need to use the bathroom really quick.”

  Sonja sighed, “Alright, get him up again.”

  “You couldn’t have thought of that before we plopped you down on the bed?” Spook complained.

  “Just help,” she ordered.

  They hauled him to the bathroom and a few minutes later back to the bedroom again.

  “Now, let’s look at your leg,” Sonja instructed. “Can you pull up your pant leg?”

  Slowly, painfully, Tech pulled the pants up. Underneath was a gigantic red and purple bruise. “It doesn’t look as bad as it could be,” she said. “Let’s get your boots off.”

  “Don’t touch it,” Tech cried.

  “I won’t. Don’t worry,” Sonja said.

  Maddy began unlacing the boots. Carefully, she pulled them off and set them on the floor.

  “Maddy, go get some ice from the freezer downstairs, and bring it back up here,” Sonja directed.

  The young woman nodded and headed out.

  “Okay, hand me those pillows,” she told Spook, pointing at the pile of pillows on the chair in the corner. “We need to elevate this.”

  She propped up the leg carefully on the pillows. “How are you feeling?” He didn’t respond. He was already asleep.

  * * *

  After elevating both of Tech’s feet, just in case he may have symptoms of shock, Sonja stepped out of the room and let out her breath in a whoosh. She needed to be alone.

  She made her way down the narrow hall and entered the last bedroom on the right. Standing in the darkness of the room, she just let herself breathe quietly. The entire day had turned out far more eventful than she had expected—and not in a good way. The Waffle’s grand opening had been an exciting event, now completely overshadowed by the Spook Crew and their Hollywood drama.

  Sonja wanted to cry. Half her day had been spent running around Haunted Falls instead of working at The Waffle with Alison and Vic, where she belonged. As the owner, she knew she was the official face of The Waffle, and yet she hadn’t even been there for much of the day. She’d also managed to offend an old friend of the family—Mr. Hinkley—by getting involved with the Spook Crew. She only hoped she could gain his trust and confidence back.

  Maddy had really let her down, too. The most logical explanation seemed to be that Maddy was just too weak of spirit to stand up to Spook when he demanded something. Unfortunately, his most recent demand involved illegally trespassing and filming on Mr. Hinkley’s land. Now, they’d all have to pay the consequences. Tech was already paying with a broken leg. That other character, Daniel, had thrown himself in the mix and would most likely be charged with assault.

  It had been a stressful day for all the wrong reasons, and now she couldn’t even go home and stand under the steamy warmth of a hot shower and lay in bed afterward watching old noir films until she fell asleep. Instead, the exhausted and worn-down diner owner was stuck here in this farmhouse with a group of very tense people.

  She sat on the edge of the bed in the room and stared out the window into the dark and rainy night. She felt herself drifting, caught in the final moments of exhaustion from a long and stressful day. For just a moment, she closed her eyes.

  * * *

  Sonja was lying down. It was still dark and raining. She knew she had fallen asleep but didn’t know when. She sat up, wondering what time it was, and looked around the room for a clock. There was none that she could see.

  She blinked sleepily, rubbed her eyes, and stood up to look out the window, when something caught her eye. She peered out, watching as someone moved around in the loft of the barn. Who on earth would be out there in this wretched weather? Maybe it was Spook desperately trying to defiantly steal a few shots.

  Sonja squinted trying to make out who it was standing there, and the figure turned to face her. She felt her heart leap in her chest and the blood run cold in her veins. Even through the rain-streaked glass, she could make out the figure’s sickeningly pale complexion. Its face gave off a bluish glow and was translucent. Its eyes pierced her to the core, sending chills up and down her spine.

  * * *

  Sonja hurried down the stairs to the main floor of the house and ran out the door into the pouring rain. She heard Sheriff Thompson call to her from within the farmhouse, but didn’t stop. Keeping her eye on the loft, she searched desperately for the apparition that she had seen from the window, but it was gone. She ran and pushed open the front door of the barn and stepped in. It was dark inside and difficult to see.

  As she moved through the damp, dark interior, she felt something brush against her face, and leaped back with a gasp. Her blood ran cold, and she whimpered in fear. Lightning flashed, illuminating the barn and revealing what she had just touched. Spook’s limp, lifeless body hung from the rafters of the barn, a piece of electrical cord tied around his neck.

  CHAPTER 8

  Sheriff Thompson ran in behind Sonja. “What are you doing out here?” he asked, as she burrowed into his side, fear overcoming her.

  The lightning flashed again and the sheriff stopped dead in his tracks.

  “Is that Spook?” he asked grimly.

  She nodded, without looking back at the body. “It is.”

  “Quick, help me get him down from there.”

  She blinked at him for a moment, then snapped out of it. “Do you have a light?”

  “Here.” He pulled a small flashlight from his belt and turned it on. She took it from him and found the ladder leading up to the loft. She quickly climbed to the top, moving over and locating the beam where the wire was tied. It was wrapped around the beam and knotted tightly. She struggled with it for a moment.

  “I can’t get this undone,” she grimaced, trying not to think of what dangled at the other end of the wire.

  “Here,” Thompson called out, expertly tossing a pocket knife up to her.

  She caught it and cut through the wire. Sheriff Thompson held Spook in his arms and gently let him down onto the dirt floor.

  Sonja rushed down the ladder to see what was happening.

  He took the light back from Sonja to look Spook over. He was clearly dead. The body was pale and the eyes were wide open and bulging from their sockets. The sheriff leaned in, listening for breath. He placed two fingers against Spook’s neck, checking for a pulse.

  But Sonja knew it was too late.

  “He’s dead,” Thompson confirmed quietly.

  She sighed, overwhelmed. This was the second dead body she had found since her return to Haunted Falls. And then there was the figure that she had seen in the loft. All of the strange, potentially supernatural, experiences from the previous week came flooding back to her. She had started to convince herself that none of it had ever actually happened, assured herself that she was simply being hysterical, but this time—this time—the frightened diner owner was almost positive she had seen a ghost.

  Had she seen Spook’s ghost, calling to her, trying to let her know that he was dead?

  She looked at the sad, still form lying in the dirt and noticed something in his hand. “What’s that?” she pointed.

  Using a handkerchief from his pocket Sheriff Thompson carefully reached down and pulled a piece of paper from the hand and unfolded it.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  He held it out so she could read the writing. Sonja’s eyes widened.

  “We better find Maddy.”

  * * *

  Sonja went back into the house and hurried upstairs to find Maddy. In the guest bedroom, Tech was still asleep. He looked pale, was drenched in sweat, and his leg looked far more swollen than before. It was obviously getting worse and needed more ice. Sonja also noticed that T
ech’s feet were bare now. Maddy sat by the bed stroking his soaked hair.

  “His socks were muddy and soaked through,” the young woman said, noticing Sonja staring. “So I hung them over that chair.” She pointed at the cane chair in the corner. A pair of brown, muddy socks hung there.

  “Sonja?” Maddy said, looking up with a concerned expression. “Are you alright? You look upset. Is something wrong?”

  “Sheriff Thompson needs you downstairs,” Sonja finally replied.

  “Why?”

  “He’ll explain once you get down there.”

  “Alright,” young woman agreed, worried.

  Sonja followed her downstairs into the living room. The note lay open on the coffee table in front of the couch. Sheriff Thompson sat in an easy chair near the fireplace on the other side of the coffee table.

  “Have a seat, Maddy.”

  Sonja stood off to the side, waiting to see what would happen next.

  “Is this your handwriting?” He asked, gesturing to the note.

  Maddy leaned over, peering at it. “Maybe?” She read the handwriting. “But . . . I-I don’t remember writing this.”

  “But it is your handwriting?”

  “Well, it looks similar,” Maddy confirmed, “but it can’t be mine. I didn’t write this.”

  “You didn’t ask Spook to meet you outside in the barn tonight?”

  “No.” Her answer sounded more like a question itself. “What is this all about?”

  “Where were you during the last hour?”

  She paused for a moment, bewildered, then answered.

  “I came in and helped Sonja get Tech’s leg set up, then I got some ice for him. After that I went to the bathroom and took a pretty long shower, I just kind of stood in there for a while, you know, trying to let the water wash away the day. Then, I went back and sat next to Tech.”

  “That’s where I found her,” Sonja verified.

  Sheriff Thompson gave Sonja a look before continuing on.

  “You were in the shower? Did anyone else know you were in the shower?”

  “No. I just felt like I needed one.”

  “Did Mr. Hinkley know?”

  “No. If he’s mad, I’m sorry. I knew that he was kind of upset, so I didn’t want to bother him by asking.”