by Rose Pressey
“What’s this?” he asked.
“Another note,” I said. “It was in the book.”
He unfolded the paper and read the words. “This is completely out of the question. There’s no way that you’re going to meet this person.”
“Not by myself, but I know you’re going to go there. He won’t talk to you if he wants to meet me.”
Brannon ran his hand through his hair. “No, I suppose I can’t argue with you on that one, but I don’t know… I get a bad feeling about this.”
“What’s the worst that can happen?”
He stared at me like he couldn’t believe I just said that.
“Okay, that was a dumb statement. He could be there, but you’ll be there too, is what I meant to say. So I feel safe.” Maybe I shouldn’t put that kind of pressure on Brannon.
“Well we still have a little bit of time before this person wants to meet. In the meantime, I’ll try to track down who’s leaving these. There has to be something. Sometime he will slip up and reveal his identity.”
“So you never saw him when you went around the graveyard?”
“I drove around town and didn’t see any sign of him. Don’t worry though, if he’s anywhere around I’ll find him.”
I knew Brannon wouldn’t stop until he did.
I was on full alert for the rest of the day for any sign of anything unusual. However, there was nothing. It was the most peaceful morning I’d had in a long time. No mystery man and no mystery spirit. No one coming by to see if we could help them with a séance, and no sign of Joanna either. Plus, Mrs. Agnew hadn’t shown up either. Apparently she had been called to a meeting and couldn’t make it. That was a blessing because she was the last person I wanted to see today. I had too much on my mind. Okay, my job at the library had to come first, but I was stressed. Now I was heading out for what I hoped would be a relaxing lunch hour.
Chapter 22
For lunch I decided to take my peanut butter sandwich to the park and read a book. I needed the time to unwind. It was a cool day, but my jacket was enough to keep me warm. When my cell rang I hoped that it was Brannon and that he would tell me he was getting off work early tonight. However, when I saw the number I didn’t recognize it. I answered it anyway.
“This is Ripley Van Raden,” I said, hoping that it wasn’t a telemarketing call.
“Ripley, this is Mr. Byrd from the antique shop.”
“How are you, Mr. Byrd? Are you having problems tonight with the ghosts?” I asked.
“Oh no, it’s been very quiet this evening. Actually, all month it’s been quiet.”
“Yes, I noticed that,” I said. “So what can I do for you?”
I hoped he wasn’t calling to tell me I couldn’t bring the tour there anymore.
“Well, I was just calling to ask if you had some kind of special event in the cemetery today?” he asked.
“No special event. Why do you ask?”
Now I was worried.
“I just happened to walk by there and I saw a group in the cemetery. I thought maybe it was you, although I didn’t see you, so I thought I’d call,” he said.
“Perhaps it’s just people visiting a grave?” I asked.
“I really don’t think it was that. They were all standing in a circle and appeared to be maybe having a séance,” he said. “Though I don’t know much about those things, so I could be wrong.”
I almost dropped the phone with the news. I had to get over there right away and stop whoever was doing this. Though I had my suspicions of who I would find once I arrived.
“Mr. Byrd, are you there now?” I asked.
“I just left the alleyway. I can go back if you want.”
“No, that won’t be necessary,” I said. “I’m on my way there now. Thank you for calling to let me know.”
“You’re welcome, Ripley. Please let me know if you need any help.”
I was glad he called because if he hadn’t I wouldn’t have known they were there. I could only imagine how much damage they were doing. No doubt they were conjuring up spirits in the graveyard. I had to work there, for heaven sakes. The last thing I needed was bad vibes. I clicked off the call and tossed my sandwich and book into my bag. I grabbed my bag and put my phone back into my pocket. I would have called Brannon and let him know that I had trespassers in the graveyard, but since I figured it was the teenagers, I would be able to handle them on my own. Surely there would be no issues, so there was no reason to call him. Though having a ride there would be nice. I hurried out of the park and took off down the sidewalk.
Someone should totally be an Uber driver in Devil’s Moon. Nonetheless, it wasn’t going to happen today, so I set out for the journey to the graveyard. I hoped I caught them in the act and that they didn’t wrap it up before I got there. I pulled my jacket up tighter around my neck. The chill had settled in the air. I made sure to watch my surroundings for anything suspicious as I hurried down the sidewalk.
The ping of the crosswalk light was the only sound at the moment. The street was devoid of cars. I was the only one of the sidewalk. It was an eerie sensation when I was out this time of night. It was as if I was the only one left in town. Though I knew I was never truly alone in Devil’s Moon. There was always a ghost around.
There were three stoplights in the historic main section of town. The rest of the intersections had stop signs with a roundabout in the middle that circled the courthouse. Even though I was in a hurry, I reached down and picked up a piece of trash alone the sidewalk. A few steps later and I dumped the trash into one of the decorative bins that stood at the street corner. Thank goodness most everyone in town took pride in keeping the place clean. They enjoyed the picturesque setting as much as me.
I played an odd unwanted game of hopscotch as I maneuvered around the rain puddles. Water seeped into my shoes from hitting one of the puddles. The sputter of car engines filled the air as I walked through town. I thought for sure I heard the sound of shoes clapping against the pavement behind me.
Once I reached the end of the alleyway, I scanned the area looking for anyone. I spotted them. The clatter of the cemetery gate hitting against the latch caught my attention. I wanted to blame the wind, but I didn’t notice the slightest bit of wind. A ghost could have made the gate move. I was surprised the group hadn’t noticed the noise. They were so intent on whatever they were doing that they didn’t even look up.
As I moved toward the graveyard entrance the clank of glass and the slamming of a trash can lid made me jump. I spun around to see one of the tavern employees taking out trash. I released a deep breath. That really got my blood flowing. Still the group didn’t notice the noisy surroundings.
If they thought they could sneak in there while I was away and do this kind of thing, I would sure show them differently. Voices carried across the wind and I knew that I would catch them in the act. Mrs. Clatterbuck wouldn’t be happy about this either. She would probably start haunting me at my home. I was surprised she hadn’t thought of that sooner.
They were in the middle of the graveyard and had no idea that I was there. I should sneak up on them and scare them. My first priority though was to stop them. I marched toward the graveyard. Luckily, Mrs. Clatterbuck was still nowhere in sight. Could I really be that lucky? Once I reached the gate, I stopped and eased it open. I didn’t want them to hear any sound of my approach. I walked across the graveyard, trying to avoid any leaves that might crunch under my feet. Sure enough, they were doing a séance right there in the middle off the area. Needless to say I was angry. They were going to stir up the spirits. They had to know the risks. Maybe they just didn’t care. Maybe they were doing this on purpose.
Once I got close enough I placed my hands on my hips and said, “Just exactly what do you all think you’re doing?”
The girls let out a scream and the guys jumped. Their eyes were wide with shock as they looked at me.
“Yes, I caught you,” I said. “Now stop what you’re doing immediately.”
/>
Emma was holding the planchette.
“Are you going to tell me why you’re doing this?” I asked.
“We just thought that we might get more energy out here,” she said.
“No, you just want to cause more problems for me. Grab your things and get out of here right away before I call the police.” I demanded.
A banging noise rang out and we all jumped. I spun around to see that the gate had hit the latch. The group heard the noise this time. They moved closer to me.
“What was that?” Emma asked.
“It’s just the gate. It serves you all right to be scared out here,” I said
“I know you’re mad, Ripley, but we found out something that you might want to know,” Emma said.
I couldn’t imagine anything they had to tell me that I’d care to know. Unless they have the name of the killer.
When I reached the gate, I spun around to look at her. “What do you want to tell me?”
I suppose it was wishful thinking to assume that they had the name of the killer.
“We think we have the name of the demon and it came through.”
“Really?” I asked. “And what’s that?”
“Well, I suppose we didn’t get the whole name, but we got the letters CRA,” she said.
That was interesting considering that the letters that I had found where exactly that… CRA.
“It’s still bad that you did this in the cemetery,” I said, trying to stay calm.
What if that demon was around right now?
Emma shrugged. “Yeah, sorry about that. I guess we didn’t think.”
Now I had to worry about exactly which spirits they might have conjured up and how I would deal with it.
I opened the gate and motioned for everyone to get out. “All right. You all need to go home now and leave the cemetery. Don’t come back here.”
Chapter 23
I was back at the library now. So much for Mrs. Agnew not showing up. That meeting hadn’t lasted long because she had just stepped into the library. She was headed my way. To my surprise, she wasn’t wearing her usual brown skirt suit. Of course, she was wearing a skirt suit, but this one was burgundy. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun as usual. She must have realized that I was studying her clothing because she narrowed her eyes and scowled. Okay, she always scowled, but this time even more so than usual.
There was something else different about her that I couldn’t quite pinpoint. I didn’t want to stare because that would only rile her up more. It would be like swatting at a hornet, making her sour demeanor worse. As she stepped closer, I realized what was different. She was wearing makeup. Not a lot, but rouge on the cheeks and pink covered her lips. What had gotten into her? Her stare was focused on me and I knew that I would have to acknowledge her now.
“Hello, Mrs. Agnew. How are you?” I was waiting for a snippy comment, but it didn’t come.
“I’m well, Mrs. Van Raden.” Her icy tone nearly chilled me to the bone.
Oh, no. Was this the day when she finally fired me? I loved this job and I didn’t want to leave it. When she didn’t continue talking I had to say something.
“Did the meeting go well, Mrs. Agnew?” I asked with a huge smile.
Did I think she wouldn’t fire me if I was nice to her? That was probably far from the truth. Though she had warned me several times and yet I was still here. She looked me up and down. Annie popped up right beside Mrs. Agnew. Of course she had no idea that a ghost was beside her.
“Ms. Van Raden, in light of recent events, I think it’s best if we skip the Halloween event this year.” With her head held high her voice didn’t waver and her stare remained stuck on me.
Skip the event? That was terrible news. I had to talk her out of it. Though she’d never listened to anything I’d suggested in the past. Once and for all I needed to tell her either I was running the library or she was. All she wanted to do was step in occasionally and boss me around.
“Mrs. Agnew, you have to let me run this library. That’s what you hired me for, so if I think we need to have the Halloween event, then we need to have the Halloween event.” I stood a little straighter and held my head high.
Even as the words left my mouth I couldn’t believe that I was saying them. Oh, what the heck. It was about time that I stuck up for myself. Tammy had started to walk up to the desk when she saw Mrs. Agnew and heard what I’d say. She didn’t even stop, but instead she just turned around and headed back to where she’d been working. Tammy probably wanted to hide so we wouldn’t be fired too. Or so that she wouldn’t have to hear when I was told to get my things and get out. Mrs. Agnew’s brow pinched together and her face turned red. I braced myself for what was about to happen. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Annie reached out and touched Mrs. Agnew. A gasp escaped Mrs. Agnew’s lips.
Annie had touched Mrs. Agnew on the shoulder. This time I actually heard the laughter coming from Annie. Apparently Mrs. Agnew heard it as well. She whipped around to see who was behind her. Only she couldn’t see Annie. Only I saw her. Mrs. Agnew scanned the rest of the surroundings. I suppose she thought someone was hiding. When she wasn’t looking my way I waved my hand at Annie, warning her to leave Mrs. Agnew alone. I didn’t need to make her any angrier than she already was. Finally, Mrs. Agnew focused her attention on me.
She narrowed her eyes. “How did you do that?”
My mouth dropped. She actually thought I had tapped her on the shoulder.
“You were looking at me. I didn’t touch you on the shoulder,” I said.
“Then how did you know that I felt someone touch me on the shoulder?” Instead of looking at me she scanned the surroundings again.
Okay, she had me there.
“Because you said so.” The words came out smoothly. Surely she would believe me.
She hadn’t told me someone touched her, but I figured maybe I could convince her that she had.
She glared at me. “I don’t believe you. Where is the Ms. White?”
I couldn’t let Tammy take the heat for this. If I had to, I would say that I’d done it. I just needed Mrs. Agnew to leave. Maybe if I gave in and told her there would be no Halloween event she would take off. Before I had a chance to say a word, Annie reached out and knocked a book off the counter. Mrs. Agnew screamed. She jumped back away from the book that was now on the floor. I’d never seen her move that quickly. She peered down at the book and then back at me. For a moment she looked at me in stunned silence. At least now maybe she’d believe me when I said I didn’t do it.
“How did that happen?” She finally managed to ask.
I held my hands up. “You were watching me the whole time. I didn’t touch the book.”
She couldn’t dispute that.
“I don’t know how you did it, but you did something.”
She just wanted to deny that there was a ghost. I knew there was doubt in her eyes now though. I saw it on her face. Though if she did admit it she would probably just say that I had brought the ghost there on purpose. Mrs. Agnew glared at me for a moment longer and then turned on her heel and stormed out of the library. She hadn’t said another word.
“Annie, I think you scared her into silence,” I said. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
I probably shouldn’t have done it, but I couldn’t control myself any longer. I’ll be better from this moment forward.
Annie hadn’t exactly said she’d never do it again. A small part of me enjoyed watching Annie scare Mrs. Agnew.
Tammy peeked out from behind one of the stacks. “Is it safe to come out now?”
“Yes, she’s gone,” I said as I picked up the book Annie had knocked onto the floor.
“I heard what you said to her,” Tammy said as she walked over.
“I still can’t believe I said it.”
“Well, maybe now she will not be so mean,” Tammy said.
“That’s doubtful,” I said.
It was getting close to time to
close now and I knew that I would have to go to the designated meeting spot. So, of course, my anxiety was increased. Tammy told me not to worry, but I knew she was just saying that to be nice. She probably worried the most.
It was as if she didn’t even want to discuss the meeting and I supposed that was fine with me. It was just her way of dealing with it. She didn’t want me to know she was scared, but I knew on the inside that worrying was all she was doing. I tried to distract her from thinking about it during the day by talking about everything but what had been going on with the killer and ghost. I knew she had to work at the tavern tonight and she was leaving just a few minutes earlier than me.
I checked out the last patron and the woman walked out of the library. Now everyone was gone and it was time to shut down. There was one thing I wanted to do before I left. With everyone gone it would give me a chance to research some of the occult books. I’d checked on the old building and found no connection to that place. I walked over to the section and pulled a few books from the shelves. Sitting at the table close to me, I browsed through the books. So far I’d found nothing that stood out.
Until I came to a passage about conjuring demons in order to get more powers. Part of the process involved leaving notes and using powder to contain the energy of the spirit. Also, it said that you should write the demon’s name on pieces of paper. That would explain the letters I’d found. One more thing I’d thought of was the poison. I’d discovered that it could have been injected. Brannon had discovered that Joanna had worked as a nurse in Seattle before she’d quit and come to Devil’s Moon. This was definitely something to go on, but I needed more information. I placed the books back on the shelf and headed across the library to finish closing up. I turned off the computers. I still had my phone with me if Annie sent me messages before time to leave.