“I see. So he put a real scare into him, did he?”
“Sure did, but a spirit brandishing a knife is a pretty scary sight. He even slashed at Andrew.”
“Oh, I see. I’m sure not looking forward meeting him.”
I smiled at Caroline as we parted ways at the elevator, hoping that she’d actually meet Douglas and not leave me all alone with the angry spirit.
Chapter Nine
When I entered the dining room, I treaded lightly in my brand new cowgirl attire and I had to admit, I loved the feeling of the apparel. Luckily, I had a button-up white shirt to wear underneath the vest. I couldn’t wait to see what Andrew thought about my new ensemble. Too bad Andrew didn’t have any western apparel, too. I imagined that he’d look like quite fetching wearing black with a gun belt around his narrow waist.
After a few minutes of looking, I couldn’t see Andrew at our regular table, but instead, there was a much larger table in its place.
Halfway there, I even spotted three older women that I didn’t recognize until I stood at the table. The one in the middle smiled and said, “Well, Agnes, it sure looks like you fit in here with that western apparel.”
I squinted. “Mrs. Barry, is that you?”
“Of course, and you remember Mrs. Peacock and Mrs. Canary, right?”
I nodded at the ladies. “Oh, but of course. Fancy meeting you ladies so far from Redwater, Michigan.” Redwater is a small town in Michigan’s thumb area that Eleanor and I had vacationed at before. “Is Birdy here, too?” I asked, indicating Mrs. Peacock’s foul-mouthed Macaw bird.
“Oh, no. One of my neighbors is looking after Birdy. He’d never last through an airplane ride here,” Mrs. Peacock said.
I smiled at Eleanor, who sauntered to the table. “I have western apparel, too,” she said, showing off her denim skirt and matching shirt, lifting it just enough so I could see her cowboy boots.
“Well, obviously we must have made an impression on Francine yesterday when we met her. I’m so shocked she sent us some real authentic western apparel,” I went on to say.
“I know, right? Where’s Andrew and Mr. Wilson?” Eleanor asked the group of women.
“They haven’t shown up yet, but I hope they are wearing western apparel, too. You’ll look like perfectly matched couples then,” Mrs. Barry said.
Since we didn’t see the men coming, we took a seat just as the server brought over the coffee, winking at me. “I have a special coffee just for you, Agnes, compliments from the Tumbleweed Saloon. Bertha Anne brought it special just for you.”
I had to still my racing pulse and wanted to do a happy dance. “Oh, and what did she bring Redd?”
“Hopefully not an STD. That woman has been chasing Redd for quite a time, but I have the sneaking suspicion that he’s just not all that interested in her.”
Just then, I caught sight of Redd sneaking out of the kitchen, a finger pressed against his lips in a shushing motion. The door whipped open and Bertha Anne asked, “Where are you going in such a hurry?”
“I-I’m late for a meeting,” he said as he raced across the dining room and flew through the door leading to the back of the hotel.
Bertha Anne threw up her hands. “I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong,” she muttered as she walked by.
“You could act a little less eager,” Mrs. Barry said. “Some men just don’t like an aggressive gal.”
“No? Well, I guess I could try that, but I swear that man is playing too hard to get. Do you know he’s never even been married before?”
“Perhaps he’s not intending to ever be, married I mean, if that’s your plan,” I said. “I just don’t take Redd for a marrying man.”
“That’s such a disappointment. This town just doesn’t have enough eligible bachelors.”
“I can’t imagine so. Why did you move here, then?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I suspect Leister’s gold, but the people around here won’t even talk about it all that much. How am I ever going to figure out where it is if folks won’t even talk about it?”
“Perhaps because they don’t know.”
“I guess, but at least more men will come to town with the Gold Rush Festival coming tomorrow,” Bertha Anne said as she walked away.
“That’s why we’re here,” Mrs. Barry said. “Best ribs in Nevada, they say.”
“Oh, have you been here before, then?”
“Certainly have. Why else would we be here? Never heard about Leister’s gold though. That’s worth checking into.”
“I wouldn’t recommend doing that. There’s a missing family in search of it, and Eleanor and I are doing our best to find them before they perish.”
“Missing, you say. Are you two here on a case?” Mrs. Peacock asked.
“We didn’t come here to investigate one, but it kinda fell in our laps.”
“Sounds like business as usual,” Mrs. Canary added.
We had our breakfast with the normal small talk about Mrs. Peacock’s Macaw, Birdie, almost being taken by animal control after it escaped from its perch and nested in a tree near a playground, foul mouth and all.
I just about jumped straight out of my skin when Caroline snickered in my ear. “Meet me by the library door.” And here I thought I’d like it better if she were invisible. Not so much.
“Hurry up, Eleanor. We should … er ... look for our menfolk.”
We said our goodbyes, promising to catch up with Mrs. Barry and the bird sisters at another time, preferably before Mrs. Barry had slammed back too many beers as she had a wont to do.
Caroline was standing by the library, now in visible mode to us, as Eleanor and I joined her. “What’s up?” I asked Caroline. “Did you ask the spirits if they were the ones who helped Eleanor earlier?”
“What?” Eleanor asked with whitened face. “So you think it really was a ghost that cut off my sweater for real?”
“Well, of course. Who else, since we’re the only ones staying on the third floor?”
“Not for long,” Caroline said. “Niles said that the hotel gets pretty booked up during the Gold Rush Festival.”
I’m not sure I like the sound of that. It was hard enough to share the bathroom with four people as it was. “I see. So did you find out anything or not?”
“Actually, yes and no. I asked Niles, who vehemently denied it. He told me he tries his best to not interact with live ones, as he calls the living.”
“How about Crazy Mary?”
“She denied it, too. Right before she threw me out of the attic and told me to never come back. I think she thinks Niles and I are an item.”
“Oh, what makes you think that?”
“She told me is how. I tried to explain to her how she has it all wrong, but she’s not the listening type. Niles told me that sums up Crazy Mary in a nutshell.”
“Is it true that she murdered Niles and then took her own life here at the hotel?”
“Oh, I’m not sure. Niles never told me that, but I suppose it sounds about right. My own life was ended not too differently when my fiancé was upset that I was leaving him.”
“Don’t blame yourself. Nobody has the right to end anyone’s life, no matter what they do.”
“Niles assured me that he never betrayed Crazy Mary.”
“And yet, he hasn’t told you the whole truth as of yet. Be careful, Caroline.”
“I plan to be, but I’m already a ghost. There’s not much else Crazy Mary can do to me.”
“This is nice and all, but why are we here now, Caroline?” Eleanor asked.
“We’re going to ask Douglas if he was the one who helped you out earlier, Eleanor. He’s the only spirit in the Goldberg Hotel that is known to wield a knife.”
“I don’t much care,” Eleanor admitted. “And I sure as heck am not going back in that library. We barely escaped with our lives the last time.”
“I assure you that won’t happen this time. I won’t allow Douglas to hurt either of you,” Caroline said. “Plea
se, Eleanor, come inside with me. We’ll go in together as a brave front.”
“I just don’t see why?”
“Come on, Eleanor. I really need to know.”
“Why?”
“Because if The C— I mean Douglas, has come upstairs once, I would like to know if he plans to do it again, is all.”
“It will be okay, I promise I’ll stick with you girls this time,” Caroline said as the library door creaked open. She floated into the room with us following her.
“I don’t think he’s in here now,” I said.
“Maybe we should come at another time,” Eleanor said, as she made a mad dash to the door, but before she made it there, a black mist surrounded her and she screamed at the top of her lungs, with her palms out as if trying to push it away.
The mist backed off a few feet, and Douglas’s ghostly formed appeared from it. “Please, stop screaming. It really grates on my nerves.”
Eleanor clamped her mouth shut. “Oh, I-I’m sorry, but you scared me.”
“Didn’t mean to, dear lady. I’d hate to scare you away.” He smiled, a jagged knife in his right hand.
“What if you put the knife down, then? You’d look a whole lot less scary that way,” Eleanor suggested.
Douglas waltzed to the far side of the room. “I just can’t. Believe me, I have tried, but it’s all for naught.”
“I see. Well, you poor dear. Were you the one who helped me out earlier upstairs?”
“Yes,” he said, bashfully now. “I-I heard quite a commotion and your cries for help and I had to take a peek.”
“A peek?” Eleanor exclaimed.
“I-I didn’t mean it the way it sounds. I’m certainly not a pervert, you know.”
Eleanor laughed nervously. “That certainly doesn’t make me feel any better, but thanks for helping me out. You never even nicked me with that knife of yours.”
“I’ve never tried to actually harm anyone I’ve slashed at before, but today I knew I had to help you out. Your cries for help were pitiful.”
Eleanor’s hands went to her hips. “Why do you do that anyway? Scaring folks like that just isn’t right.”
“I know. It’s just that I just started a really good book and hate to be disturbed.”
“Oh, what are you reading?” Eleanor asked, interested.
“Moby Dick. It’s a great book with so much action and adventure, don’t you think?”
“I’ve never read that book, but how about The Adventures of Tom Sawyer?”
“That’s okay, but not as quite riveting as Moby Dick.”
“What else do you have in this library to read?”
“Nothing current, unfortunately. There’s not been a new book brought in here since the renovation, and most of the books that were already here had been here since before the fire that didn’t enter the library.”
“Perhaps if you hadn’t scared folks away, they would have added to the library,” I suggested with a curt nod.
“Nobody comes to Silver to read books. They’re more concerned with touring the town and mine shafts.”
“I suppose, but perhaps we should speak to Lois about bringing in new books. I’m sure you’d enjoy the new books they have these days.”
“Or proper ligature, like Jack London. You’d love Call of the Wild,” Eleanor said. “Have you ever read a western?”
“Yes, dear lady. Someone left a Louis L’Amour book in the dining room once.”
“He’s one of the best western writers if you like cowboy and Indian books,” Eleanor said. “How about if you quit scaring folks out of here and we find you more currant books to read?”
“Only if you promise to come back, dear. It’s been an eternity since I’ve had any real female companionship.”
Eleanor blushed. “I’d love to, but I must be honest and tell you that I’m already taken. Engaged even,” she showed Douglas her engagement ring.
“I see. Well, if you can tear yourself away from your man, I’d love the company sometime. Please,” Douglas pleaded with her.
“Oh, I suppose, but right now we’re trying to solve a mystery.”
“Anytime, dear lady. As you know, I’m not going anywhere,” Douglas said as he faded away.
Eleanor threw her shoulders back and strode out into the hallway. When the door opened, Lois hit the floor as she obviously had her ear pressed to the door in an effort to eavesdrop.
“Lois,” I said. “What on earth are you doing on the floor?” I asked with a smile.
She clamored to her feet and adjusted her clothing. “You girls need to be more careful. You’re gonna kill someone coming out of a door like that.”
“I don’t expect that will happen since most folks don’t eavesdrop.”
“Yes,” Eleanor said. “Did you have a glass pressed to the door or what?”
“Of course not! I just heard someone scream and came to check out where it was coming from.”
“That was me,” Eleanor volunteered. “I think I saw a mouse in the library.”
“If you stay too long in there, you’ll find more than just a mouse. Haven’t you heard the library is haunted by a madman?”
“What on earth?” I asked with a hand pressed against my bosom. “That’s quite some accusation. Madman, indeed.”
“No, really, it’s true. Douglas Renny was a legendary gunslinger who murdered ten people in Virginia City alone. The U.S. Marshal finally hunted him down right here in the library, gunned him down, and ever since, his ghost lurks in the library. He carries a knife, you know.”
“A knife? What kind of gunslinger carries a knife and not a gun belt?” I asked.
“How do you know what he wears and doesn’t?” Lois asked. “Have you seen his ghost firsthand?”
I shook my head. “No, I just know a gunslinger wouldn’t carry a knife if he was that much of a killer. Are you sure you even heard that story right?”
“I’ve lived in Silver for twenty years now, and you’re the only person that has dared question me. Who were you girls talking to in the library?” she pressed.
“Nobody,” we chimed. “Except for each other,” I added.
“There’s no need to lie now. I heard at least two other voices.”
“I don’t think so, but if you’re concerned, perhaps you should go into the library to check it out for yourself,” I said, knowing full well that she’d never go in there.
“Are you plain loco? I’m not going in there. Didn’t you hear me? The library is haunted.”
“It is, now?” Francine came waltzing up with Redd, who looked like he’d rather be elsewhere since he wouldn’t make eye contact with us.
“There weren’t any ghosts when we were in there,” I said. “And Lois accused us of lying.”
“Lois, is this true?” Francine said with a disapproving look on her face. “How many times have I told you to not anger the guests?”
“Fine, but if nobody but those two were in there, how come I heard other voices?”
“Perhaps because we were reading one of William Shakespeare’s plays.”
“Sure were,” Eleanor added. “I was Juliet and Agnes was Romeo,” she snickered.
I cocked a brow at that, but continued to play along. “She always makes me be the man. It’s tiring, really,” I said with a wink.
“I don’t care about any of this, really,” Francine said. “Lois, get back to work. You’ve kept guests waiting at the desk.”
Lois shot us an angry look, but we never let on that there was a bit of truth in what she had said. “Thanks for the western apparel, Francine. It was very kind of you.”
“You’re quite welcome, and I wanted to make up for how I treated you at my house yesterday. You were right about the missing family. I really should have reported it to the sheriff straight off. I guess I just didn’t want word to get around that the Goldberg had another family disappear in the middle of the night. The last ones, the Thompsons from what I can recall, disappeared under the exact same circumst
ances. Unfortunately, that family was found dead in a canyon nearby with mining equipment. I really wish folks would not come to Silver thinking that Leister’s gold is real. There’s simply no proof that it is. It’s a legend that has been told to tourists as a form of entertainment. I don’t even know if there ever was a Peyton Leister ever living in Silver during the gold rush days.”
“That’s sure a bold statement. There must be some truth to it, or why would folks still come to Silver looking for gold?”
“For the Gold Rush Festival, of course. It’s a big draw, but once most of them realize just how rough the terrain is around here, they give up on that notion. Anyway, that’s not what I came here for. I wanted to tell you that I told the sheriff what I knew about the missing family. Thanks for allowing me to do that before you jumped into anything prematurely.”
I wanted to say so many things, like it just might be too late for that family now, or how bad it made her look for not reporting it sooner, and only after I started asking questions about them.
“What’s the family’s name again?” I asked.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to tell you. The sheriff wouldn’t like me to tell anyone since he’s now actively investigating.”
“That’s fine, then. I’ll ask him myself,” I said as I turned to leave in search of the men.
“I assure you, there’s really no need for that.”
I whirled and said, “And I assure you that I’ll do everything in my power to bring that family safely home, and nothing you can say will stop Eleanor and me.”
“What qualifies you to poke around?”
“Eleanor and I have investigated many crimes back home, with success, I might add. Unless you have a reason to try and stop us, we’ll be on our way now to find our menfolk so we can enjoy our last day before the Gold Rush Festival begins.”
Francine’s mouth gaped open, but she clamped it shut and I was internally grateful, since I didn’t want to outright accuse her of wrongdoing right now—not until I had solid evidence that would point to her, that is.
Chapter Ten
Eleanor and I searched upstairs for Andrew and Mr. Wilson, but when they weren’t up there, we proceeded back down in the elevator, ran back to the dining room, and then checked the saloon until the saloon girl, Patty, told us they were outside waiting for the parade to start.
Madison Johns - Agnes Barton Paranormal 02 - Ghostly Hijinks Page 10