beyond the grave 03 - a ghostly demise

by Kappes, Tonya

  She milled about, grabbing her purse, then the moped keys off the hook by the door.

  “I don’t think so, Granny.” I put the apron on the kitchen table and tried to stop her.

  “You are such a good granddaughter.” She squeezed my cheeks together. “I have always been a little more partial toward you.”

  “Granny, you can’t do this. You can’t make those sorts of statements and make me feel better.” I stomped my foot on the floor and watched the kitchen door swing back and forth when Granny darted out and didn’t look back.

  Chapter 13

  T he rush crowd was almost over when Granny up and left me in charge to go find out the gossip around town at Pose and Relax while taking the morning yoga class. Most of the Auxiliary women were in the early class so they could get on with their day and spread the gossip love.

  After the last guest table was cleared and cleaned, I stuck a sign on the door that said breakfast hours in the dining room were over and they could go into the snack room off the hallway for the free muffins and coffee.

  Even though Granny owned and operated the Inn, she didn’t have to be there twenty-four/seven. She just needed to be there for the mealtimes since she was the chef. I had tried to get her to hire someone. She claimed no one made a better Southern, home-cooked meal than her. I wasn’t going to argue with that.

  This time I walked around the square and headed into Higher Grounds. It was still early and the only coffee I’d had was from Vernon Baxter. Poor Vernon. He was not far from my mind. I was having a hard time forgiving myself for accusing him of killing Cephus Hardy, though it was strange that I had found Cephus’s ring in the garden where he claimed he was killed.

  “She sure is purty.” Cephus appeared next to me in line.

  Ahem. I cleared my throat and looked ahead of me, where Mary Anna was talking with her hands, explaining some big beauty tip to Cheryl Lynne.

  “Good morning, ladies.” I smiled and butted my way into the conversation. “I hope to see both of you at Granny’s meet-the-candidate cookout tonight.”

  “Of course I’m going to be there,” Mary Anna confirmed. “Zula Fae is even letting me fix her hair. I swear that cap she wears when she’s riding her fancy little bicycle is ruining the roots of her gorgeous hair. I told her she needed to put extra conditioning on, but you know Zula.” Mary Anna shook her hair. It was styled in the classic Marilyn bob. I had no idea how she could breathe in the tight white dress. Her boobs toppled over the scalloped edges.

  Looking at her feet in the sky-high heels made me cringe.

  “And I’m doing the desserts. Well,” Cheryl Lynne leaned in. Her long blond hair spilled over her shoulders. She would look good in a paper sack. Her perfect size six wore a little sundress and her apron was tied neatly around her waist, making it look even smaller.

  She said, “Zula herself bought the carrots from Dottie Kramer for me to make the carrot cake.”

  “What?” I was taken aback. Granny never mentioned once about the carrots and her deal with Dottie Kramer. Had I been wrong about Granny and the goats? She never admitted it, but she never denied it either.

  “She sure did. Dottie Kramer told me herself.” Cheryl’s brows lifted and my mouth and Mary Anna’s mouth dropped.

  “Honey, I’ve got to get going. Can you get me a cup to go?” Mary Anna asked Cheryl Lynne.

  “Me too,” I spoke up.

  Eternal Slumber was right next door to Girl’s Best Friend Spa. The walk would do me good. And I could pick Mary Anna’s brain.

  “See y’all tonight,” Cheryl called after us on our way out.

  “I wouldn’t put anything past Zula Fae.” Mary Anna cackled. She glanced over at me. “You need a touch-up.”

  “I do.” I ran my hand along my ponytail. “Just make me an appointment and let me know.”

  That’s the way we did things around here. She’d call me with a time and I’d make sure I was there. Life was slow in Sleepy Hollow, except when I was worried about getting someone to cross over. Which reminded me of Cephus.

  “I saw your momma and Teddy,” I said to start the conversation. “I can’t believe the success Teddy has had.”

  “He’s doing good for himself, especially since Daddy left.” She kept her head forward. Her heels clicked like a horse’s.

  “You still haven’t heard from him?” I asked.

  “Not a word.” She sighed deeply. “It’s been five years ago almost to the day. Teddy and I were thinking about hiring a private investigator to follow up on some leads.”

  “What kinds of leads?” I asked.

  “There have been a few sightings reported in Lexington at a few beer joints. And then there’s the whole . . .” She paused. Her eyes filled with water. “You know.” She hesitated. “Woman thing.”

  “Woman thing?” Of course I had heard, but I wasn’t going to tell her.

  “I never saw it, but I had heard that Daddy was a little bit of a womanizer.” Her words were broken. “And what if an angry husband or boyfriend hurt Daddy. And”—her voice cracked—“he didn’t make it out alive.”

  “Womanizer?” Cephus scratched his head. “I might be a lot of things, but I never cheated on Leotta. Mind you, I had plenty of opportunities. But I didn’t do no such thing.” He put his hand out like he had stuck it on a Bible in a court of law.

  “I’ve never heard such a thing.” I wanted to reiterate Cephus’s claim of fidelity. “Did you hear that from them old banty hens?” I asked, and peered in the window of Pose and Relax.

  They were in some sort of back-bend pose. How on earth that was relaxing was beyond me.

  “Oh my.” Mary Anna laughed and we stopped. “I’ve done walked clear past the shop.”

  “It’s good catching up on girl talk.” I put my hands on each side of her arms. “Your daddy loved your momma. Don’t let anyone ever tell you different.”

  Those were the only encouraging words I could give her. I wished I could say, oh, he’s fine, he’ll turn up. He had turned up. As a ghost.

  “Thank you, Emma Lee.” Cephus stood on the sidewalk, watching Mary Anna walk back down the block and across the street to Girl’s Best Friend Spa. “Thank you for making my baby feel better.”

  “You’re welcome,” I muttered under my breath, as my phone rang.

  I pressed the TALK button and covered the phone with my hand as I answered.

  “Jack Henry, I’m so sorry about the mislead. Cephus was sure of it,” I whispered.

  “Don’t worry about it. When I ran Vernon’s name, it came up he had a warrant so he thinks I’ve taken him in for that. When I took a look around his yard, I just happened upon the ring, thanks to you.” Jack Henry was good using his instincts. “When I asked him about the ring, his face dropped. He told me it was Cephus Hardy’s and he told me about the scuffle, only he said that when he came back out after taking a phone call, Cephus was gone.”

  “Did he say exactly what happened between them?” I asked, keeping my words vague.

  People were everywhere. They were already getting things going at the carnival and people from the neighboring towns were pouring in, along with the tourists.

  “That’s when he lawyered up on me. Some guy from Lexington,” Jack Henry said. “I do have some news about the gambling thing I told you I would look into.”

  “Oh, yeah?” I made my way around Granny’s blinking sign in Eternal Slumber’s yard and up the steps of the funeral home.

  I opened the door. It was eerily quiet, kind of like it was the calm before the storm. There was something in the air letting me know to hold on. Things were about to go down.

  “Evidently, there was a newspaper in town. Due to poor sales and the growth in the Internet, the town council did away with the paper,” he said.

  I tried to recall the paper, but nothing was coming to me. It wasn’t like I was clambering to read any sort of news in Sleepy Hollow a few years ago when I could just sit at Higher Grounds and overhear everything that was
going on.

  “Okay, what does that have to do with Cephus?”

  I ducked into my office and shut the door behind me. When I had passed Charlotte’s office, I heard her talking and her door was shut, which meant she was with a client. Maybe they wanted to do pre-need arrangements. We had a lot of those appointments.

  “I found a report from years ago where Dottie Kramer had made a complaint that someone was running a gambling ring. The editor of the newspaper got ahold of it right before the city shut the paper down.” He took a breath. I could hear paper shuffling in the background. “The story died along with the paper. It wasn’t so long ago the paper was in town. Do you remember a paper in Sleepy Hollow?”

  “Like we cared about the news.” I reminded him that we were off at college having a good time, not worried about what was going on in Sleepy Hollow. “You said Dottie Kramer made the complaint?” I wondered what Dottie knew about a gambling ring. “Do you know the editor’s name?”

  “No. Like I said, it was years ago that the report was filed, which means it was before I got here.” He paused. “I’m only telling you this because nothing is going on around here. I believe Cephus is dead and his ring is a strange thing, but you don’t need to stick your head where there might be danger. Please leave it to me.”

  “Okay.” My mind reeled about this editor and the story that had been about to break.

  “I’m serious,” Jack Henry warned me.

  He knew as well as I that I wasn’t going to just let that die.

  “It’s easy for you to say.” I yawned. “You aren’t the one who is getting woken up in the middle of the night getting sniffed.”

  “W-what?” Jack Henry asked.

  “Nothing.” I didn’t have time to explain anything to him. I had to get to the courthouse so I could look at the past records of a newspaper and gather a name of a certain editor. “I’ll see you at Granny’s meet-the-candidate cookout?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  We hung up the phone. I left my office and walked down the hall to Charlotte’s office. She was still going over the packages with the client and I continued out the door.

  Chapter 14

  Vote O’Dell for Mayor.” Bea Allen’s voice projected through the megaphone, spilling out into the street right in front of the courthouse and the carnival. “O’Dell Burns for Mayor.”

  “Where’s the candidate?” I asked, walking up to her, Leotta and Teddy.

  “He’s busy. There is a funeral service taking place in a couple hours.” There was a smug look on her face. “What about Eternal Slumber? You busy?”

  “We are. In fact, Charlotte is talking with clients right now while I do some research.” I gestured to the courthouse.

  “Teddy, how long you in town?” I wanted to change the subject.

  “I’m cutting the ribbon for the ceremony tonight at the gazebo.” He smiled. “Who would’ve thought that I would be back here cutting any ribbon.”

  “I think it’s great.” I wasn’t sure whether now was the time or place to ask about his dad’s gambling. I tugged his shirt and pulled him to the side. “I hate to be nosy, but with you back and Mary Anna working for me, we talk about your dad all the time,” I lied, “and she’s still so upset about how he just upped and left.”

  “Yeah”—a long sigh escaped him—“Mary Anna has taken it real hard. Sometimes I wish she’d just move out of this town so she can move on, but she thinks she needs to be here just in case Dad comes back.”

  “Your dad was so good to you and your family. It just seems so weird that he would disappear without telling you.” I shook my head in shame.

  “I was about to go to the state wrestling match too.” Teddy’s jaw clenched. The sun bounced off his bald head. “I was so mad at him for not showing up. I figured he was on a binge.” His biceps tensed. I noticed he was fisting his hands.

  “Do you know anything about a gambling ring he might have been associated with?” I asked nonchalantly.

  “Gambling? Dad would never waste his money on gambling. He drank every dollar he earned. It’s a shame. I wish he could see me now.” Teddy looked out over the square as though he was thinking about his dad and what could’ve been.

  “I wish there was something I could do for Mary Anna.” I didn’t want to continue asking questions. I could see the pain in him. “She’s such a great employee. And she can’t leave town.” I ran my hand over my hair. “Who’d fancy me up for my dates with Jack Henry?”

  “Wait.” A sneaky grin crossed Teddy’s lips. “You and Jack Henry Ross are an item?”

  “Ye-es.” I dropped my mouth for a dramatic effect. “Why?”

  “The creepy funeral-home girl and the jock? And I thought I’d seen it all since I’ve traveled the world.” Jokingly, he nudged me.

  “Funny.” I rolled my eyes.

  Ahem. Bea Allen cleared her throat and raised her drawn-on brows sky-high and tapped that big, ugly toe. She pumped her election sign up and down, gesturing Teddy to do the same.

  “If you would please excuse me.” I pushed my way around Bea Allen and her small army carrying the VOTE FOR O’DELL signs. “I’ll see you tonight, Teddy.”

  I hurried up the concrete steps and pushed the heavy glass doors open into the old marble hallway. Doors ran along the entire hallway and above each door hung a small sign. I was looking for the Record Room and on the way there I just happened to peek in the mayor’s office and pictured Granny sitting at the large desk in front of the large window that overlooked Sleepy Hollow.

  Granny would make a good mayor because she was relentless and would get things done.

  “How can I help you?” The deputy clerk stood up from behind the tall counter and blew a breath of air, causing her bangs to fly upward. “It’s hot in here.”

  “It sure is.” I fanned myself with my hand like it was really going to create a difference. “Hey, do you know anything about a newspaper that used to be in Sleepy Hollow?”

  “Hmm . . .” Her lips twisted around, she tapped her temple with her finger. She brought the finger toward me and shook it. “You know”—she paused and looked up in the air—“I recall someone saying something about a newspaper, but I don’t think it was long-lived. Most people get their news or put their news in the Lexington paper.”

  “Right.” I snapped my fingers. “I’m looking for the paper that was here.”

  “Let me ask Viola. She’s been here as long as the courthouse.” The deputy clerk winked. She put the back of her hand up to cover her mouth. “Not really, but you know what I mean.”

  I laughed to make her feel better. I didn’t care how old Viola was, I wanted the information I asked about.

  The deputy clerk was only gone for a minute when she came back with a piece of paper.

  “Viola said there was a paper here a while ago and short-lived. There was only one person that ran it. She couldn’t recall the name, but she did say the paper was located at the old mill.” She slid the paper across the counter toward me.

  There was some sort of address scribbled on it. It had to be the old-mill address. I already knew where it was, but I took the piece of paper anyway and thanked her for her time.

  Armed with the knowledge that Bea Allen and her little army of electioneers were in front of the courthouse, I slipped out the side door and made my way back to the hearse, which was still parked in the lot across from the Inn.

  I wanted to drive out to the mill and see if there was any evidence of the paper. If I could get the name of the editor, I might be able to track him down and see exactly what he knew.

  “Where we going?” Cephus sat in the passenger seat of the hearse.

  “We are going to the old mill to see if I can track down an editor from the old newspaper from here. He had a tip on a gambling ring around here.” I took the piece of paper that Terk Rhinehammer had out of my pocket and held it up for Cephus to see.

  He squinted. He fidgeted. And he huffed.

  “Do you want
to tell me about what you are feeling?” I asked. “And not do the old disappearing act like you have been doing.”

  He sighed so big, his shoulders heaved up and fell down.

  “If you really want to go to the other side, and you really want me to help figure out who murdered you, I have to know you inside and out. Your life. Your drinking. Your womanizing. And your gambling habits.”

  “Hey now, I told you I was faithful to Leotta. Can’t say she was, but I was.” He beat his chest like a gorilla. “The gambling might be another story. Something I’m not proud of.”

  “Did you bet on the ponies?” It was so easy for everyone to run up to Lexington and place bets at the Keeneland Racetrack.

  “Something like that.” His lips clamped down. “If Teddy knew, he’d be so disappointed. I can’t even imagine what Mary Anna would think.” He was silent for a few seconds. “Do you think someone killed me over a gambling deal?”

  “Maybe. Money does strange things to people.” I eased the hearse up to the old mill and put it in PARK. “Did you owe money to someone?”

  “No. I was a winner. Natural.” Pride spewed out of his eyes. “I made a lot of money that way.”

  “Can you tell me who was in the gambling ring?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. It was all done on the down-low. I would leave a piece of paper with what I wanted to bet on and it was done. I would go to the same spot and pick up my winnings. Granted, I went directly to the Watering Hole to celebrate.”

  “The bartender from there told me you were waiting on a big payday.”

  “Big payday?” he questioned. “One thing about this ghost thing, your memory isn’t always as clear as if I were living.”

  “Hence Vernon Baxter?” I was still feeling guilty.

  I thought of Vernon Baxter sitting in the tiny cell at the Sleepy Hollow jail. He was probably alone unless Jack Henry had pulled someone over coming through town after leaving the Watering Hole. Most of the time, the residents of the jail were the drunk drivers needing to sober up.