Spooky Sweetheart Waffle: Book 9 in The Diner of the Dead Series

by Carolyn Q. Hunter

  Sonja found herself spending a lot of time in the library lately, mostly doing research on either murder cases or supernatural objects. Usually, Belinda would be inside to greet her at the front desk. Today, however, Belinda was up at the manor getting things ready for the party.

  Not stopping to search the computer catalog system, Sonja headed straight up the side stairs in the lobby to the second floor, then up the wrought iron staircase into the bell tower which had been converted into an archive for all the Haunted Falls newspapers from years past.

  She knew exactly where she was going to start her research. Back when she had helped to solve the cold case about Daniella Fitzgerald’s disappearance, she had found some important information in one newspaper about the beauty pageant.

  Walking across the bell tower, and scanning the shelves of old binders until she found the one she was looking for. Two thousand eleven. Pulling the hefty binder down from the shelf, she walked over to the large oak table in the middle of the room and plopped the book down.

  Daniella herself had led Sonja to this newspaper originally, and she hoped it held more answers for her now. Flipping it open, she sifted through countless laminated pages of newspapers until she reached the section about the beauty pageant.

  Sonja quickly turned until she reached the one with the specific headline she remembered: Pageant Queen Gone Missing. This was it, the story about Daniella Fitzgerald.

  Scanning the page, she read the article. Daniella had won the pageant but had seemingly disappeared from her hotel room without a trace.

  The last time Sonja had read this article, she had skipped bits and pieces, only scanning to find any pertinent information. This time, Sonja went slow, carefully reading each sentence for clues—anything that might show how Carson may be connected to the beauty queen.

  Perhaps he had been assigned to clean up after the pageant took place, maybe he was a distant relative. She was willing to accept anything at this point.

  That’s when her eyes stopped on something familiar. Gasping, she saw the name Johnny Wales starred up at her from the page. There was a quote from him about Daniella’s disappearance in the paper.

  “What was he doing there?” Sonja wondered.

  The pageant’s decorator and one of the judges, Johnny Wales, was one of the last people to see Miss Fitzgerald before her disappearance. “I saw her with some fellow backstage just as I was helping take down decorations,” Wales had to say.

  Sonja laughed quietly to herself. The thought of Johnny helping at all with the manual labor of taking down decorations seemed farfetched, but maybe he was a little more hands on back then.

  “I didn’t know who the man was. I’d never seen him before in my life.” Wales described the man as being about six feet tall, dark hair, with green eyes. If anyone has any information on this man or his whereabouts, please contact the Haunted Falls Police Department.

  Sonja thought over the description, trying to figure out who this mystery man could be. It certainly didn’t sound the like the suspect who had been arrested for the murder of Daniella Fitzgerald.

  No, this was someone else.

  One thing was for sure, this had been where she had read Johnny Wales name before. Only, back then, she hadn’t realized it was important—and she didn’t know if it was important now either.

  As interesting as all of this was, none of it helped her with the current murder case. What in the world did Carson Pool have to do with all of this?

  A sudden chill ran down Sonja’s spine as a cold breeze cut through the room, brushing the bare skin of her neck with its embrace. Turning in her chair, the supernaturally sensitive amateur detective glanced at all the tall windows. None of them were open.

  Facing the book again, she had a distinct feeling that the breeze had been paranormal in nature. There was someone in the bell tower with her—which she knew meant she might be getting close to some answers.

  Looking back down at the book, she continued to read, engrossing herself in the article, searching for any indication that she was on the right track—that this all had to do with Carson’s murder.

  She read about the town putting on a search for Daniella, about the police’s involvement, and even about her parents and sister helping in the investigation. Nothing seemed to ring any bells.

  Suddenly, Sonja felt a warm, moist gust of someone’s breath against her cheeks and forehead.

  Slowly, she lifted her eyes from the page. Letting out a single short-lived squeal of fright, Sonja stumbled backward in her chair. Crouched on top of the table, her face sickly pale and her black hair hanging ragged over her face, was Daniella. The sash of a winning beauty queen hung haphazardly around her waist and her crown sat lopsided in her air.

  “D-Daniella?” Sonja whispered.

  Reaching down, the ghost grabbed the page and turned backward, going to the days prior to her disappearance. Nodding her head toward the article, the bones in her neck cracking loudly, the spirit indicated the Sonja should read.

  Leaning in carefully, Sonja glanced at the front page. Queen Crowned at Beauty Pageant.

  Standing in the center of the page, waving to the crowd, was Daniella. Scanning the image carefully as indicated by the ghost, Sonja’s jaw dropped. Standing in the dark background of the somewhat blurry black and white image were three men, each wearing the pin with the word “judge” printed on it.

  The first was Johnny Wales, the second was Hayden Dockers, and the third was Carson Pool.

  “It’s Carson,” Sonja exclaimed, looking up at the ghost.

  Daniella was gone.

  CHAPTER 10

  * * *

  Sonja wanted to keep doing research, hoping to read every article about the pageant and the disappearance, but the clock said otherwise. It was already four forty-five, and she still had to pick up Alison and have enough time to drive back to the Smith Manor.

  Reluctantly, she closed up the book and placed it back on the shelf, swearing to herself that she would come back again later.

  She still was trying to figure a few things. While she now knew how Johnny, Carson, and Daniella were all connected, she couldn’t see any plausible reason for somebody to kill Pool—especially nearly seven years after the fact.

  Did another contestant have a long-standing grudge against the judges, and was she just now fulfilling her revenge? If so, did that mean Johnny was next on the hit list?

  If that was the case, Sonja was at a loss as to who the other contestant might be.

  On the other hand, what if Johnny had a bone to pick with Carson? Maybe this was Johnny’s first visit back to Haunted Falls since the pageant, and therefore his first chance to have it out with an old enemy.

  Unfortunately, Sonja had no idea of a motive for such a killing.

  Last of all, who was the man Johnny described in the newspaper as standing with Daniella before she disappeared?

  Groaning to herself, Sonja wished she only had more time to figure things out. Stepping outside the sky was almost completely dark, and the snow was starting to really come down. It was getting late and she still had a lot to get done. She simply wished she didn’t have the presence of her father looming over her head while she worked.

  To top it all off, Frank had never called—not even to get a statement.

  “Darn,” she whispered as she pulled up outside Alison’s house. Desperately, she tried to push all these stresses from her mind.

  * * *

  “I’m just saying,” Alison shrugged as they reached the manor’s gate. “Why not at least give him a chance?”

  “Are you kidding, Ally?” Sonja moaned, regretting having finally opening about her father being back in town. Talking to Alison about men and romance was one thing, talking to her about personal family drama was something else completely.

  “Look, I’m just trying to be honest with you. If I could have my dad back, even for a day, I would take it in a heartbeat.”

  Sonja sighed, reaching out and pushing t
he button to call the security guard to open the gate. Shaking her head, she looked over at her friend. “Your dad was a good man, Ally. One of the best. He passed away before his time. That’s completely different than abandoning your family.”

  The gate buzzed, slowly opening to let them through.

  “If I recall, your father was a good man, too, Sonj’,” Alison pointed out. “He was always helping out around the community. Heck, how often did he drop everything to help someone in an emergency?”

  Thinking back to when she was young, she thought of many times when she had tagged along with her father to take someone a meal, to help someone move, to visit someone at the hospital, or any other number of charitable things. Sighing, Sonja shook her head and gently pushed on the gas to drive through the open gate. “He could spend all day helping others, but didn’t have time to help his family.”

  “Sounds like someone else I know,” she pointed out.

  Sonja knew that her friend was partially right. There were many occasions she would bend over backward to help solve a murder case or to do extra shifts at the diner, but that meant spending less time with her mother, who often times needed her just as much.

  “That’s not the point,” Sonja shot back.

  “Maybe he had a good reason to go,” Ally speculated. “Maybe he just couldn’t tell you at the time, and maybe he’s trying to tell you now.”

  “What could possibly be a good reason to abandon your family?” she muttered.

  Sonja couldn’t understand why everyone around her seemed to be taking her father’s side, or why they all seemed to believe he deserved a second chance. Was she the only one who felt like a man who would up and leave his family without any reason or notice didn’t deserve a second chance? Was she the only one angry at him?

  “I don’t know,” Alison admitted. “I don’t know what his reason was for leaving, and I don’t know all the details of what happened. It’s not my family and I guess it isn’t really my business.” She shrugged. “But he’s still family and he’s still your father. I’d say at least give him a chance to explain.”

  Sonja didn’t feel like having this conversation any longer. She had so many conflicting feelings she didn't know what to say, or how to say it if she could. However, under all the anger, regret, and blame, there was still a part of her—the little girl inside of her—who loved him.

  That part of her said she should at least hear him out.

  “Okay,” Sonja mumbled, hating to admit it. “You’re right.”

  Ally’s smile grew even brighter. “What are friends for?”

  “What would I do without you?” Sonja shrugged, grateful now more than ever for her best friend.

  Driving around the side of the manor, they pulled up into the spot next to the service entrance. Borja’s car was still gone, but Hayden’s was parked in the same spot. Additionally, both women noticed a car idling nearby. Fresh snow drifted down around it, highlighting its red taillights. A fourth car, this one parked and turned off, sat next to that one. She recognized it as the same car from her mother’s house. Were her parents early?

  “Who’s all here?” Ally wondered out loud.

  Unbuckling her seatbelt, Sonja opened the door. “I have no idea.” Looking over the idling vehicle, it certainly looked out of place. It was an old German car with all kinds of rust spots showing through in the paint. The engine made a hollow rattling sound like a rodent trapped in the metal flue of a chimney.

  “Looks like someone’s inside that car,” Ally whispered as the two women approached the service door.

  Crouching down just as they got to the entrance, Sonja tried to get a better look at the driver. The shape of a man slumped down in the seat, the smoldering glow of a cigarette barely illuminating his face.

  It wasn’t anyone she recognized.

  “Come on,” Alison urged. “Let’s get inside. He gives me the creeps.”

  Stepping into the hallway, both women paused. It was surprisingly dark, all except for a single beam of moonlight coming through the window.

  “Hey,” Alison whispered nervously. “Why is it so dark in here? Weren’t these lights on just a few hours ago?”

  Sonja shrugged. “Someone must have turned them out.” Pausing, she noticed the something crunch under her shoes. “What’s this?” she wondered. It felt like broken glass.

  A thump at the end of the hall drew her attention. Looking up, she noticed something at the end of the hall, an odd lumpy shape along the floor.

  “Hold on,” Sonja whispered.

  “What is it?” Alison mumbled nervously.

  “Look,” Sonja pointed.

  Glancing down the hall, Alison’s eyes widened with fear. Both women watched the lumpy figure raise from where it lay.

  “Can you see that?” Sonja pressed, wondering if it were ghost or human.

  “W-what is it?” was Ally’s the shaky reply.

  Sonja didn’t answer. Her line of sight caught something else standing in the stairwell at the end of the hall, something behind the shambling figure. The familiar greasy haired ghost, all decked out in her tattered and bloodied pageant clothes, beckoned to Sonja to come up the stairs. Its eyes glowed a ghoulish blue as it penetrated through Sonja’s very soul.

  “What?” she whispered to the ghost. “What do you want now?”

  Smiling, it showed rows of uneven and yellowed teeth to her, more bluish mist pouring out of its mouth. It waved again with a crooked index finger, indicating she needed to follow it. Sonja watched as the ghost disappeared up the stairs, almost completely forgetting the strange, and very real, figure slumping toward them.

  “It’s getting closer,” Alison quietly exclaimed, rapidly patting Sonja’s arm to get her attention.

  Sonja quietly squeaked, surprised at how close it was.

  Letting out a low moan, it stepped into the single beam of gray moonlight shimmering through the hallway’s window revealing the figure’s face.

  Both women screamed.

  CHAPTER 11

  * * *

  “Mom?” Sonja exclaimed, stepping forward to help the stumbling woman. “Hurry,” she called to Alison, “Help me get her into the kitchen.”

  “Oh, my goodness,” Ally cried, adding her support to help Diane walk.

  Moving into the kitchen, they searched for a light switch, turning it on and illuminating the kitchen.

  “To that chair,” Sonja nodded toward the corner.

  Once they had Diane situated and sitting down, Sonja squatted down beside her mother to look at the wound. While not very big, there was a definite cut right on her forehead at the hairline. “Quick, get me a cloth or something.”

  Running over to the sink, Alison grabbed a washcloth.

  “Mom, what happened?” Sonja asked, trying to get a better look into her mother’s eyes, making sure she was all there.

  “Here.” Ally held out the cloth.

  Taking it, Sonja pressed it firmly against the wound.

  “I’m calling the paramedics,” Ally confirmed, pulling her phone out of her purse.

  “Mom?” Sonja repeated. “Can you talk to me?”

  Blinking a few times, she seemed to come out of her haze. “I think I’m fine,” she finally managed to mutter. “I’ll be fine.”

  “Mom, you have a head wound.”

  “Just a little scratch,” she sighed in a raspy voice. “I must have bumped my head in the dark.”

  Lifting the cloth away for a second, Sonja got a better look at the little cut.

  “It doesn’t look very serious, but we’re still calling the paramedics, just in case.”

  “I’ll be fine,” she argued, her voice and cognition clearly coming back. Clearing her throat, she raised up her hand and grasped the cloth. “I can at least hold this myself until they get here.”

  “What were you doing?” Sonja pressed. “Why were you here so early?”

  Her mother’s eyes grew misty as she looked at her daughter. “Oh, it’s not importa
nt, dear.”

  “It is,” Sonja insisted. “And where is Dad?”

  “I called Belinda, earlier. I asked her if your father and I could come up a little early before the dance started.”

  That explained how they could get through the closed security gate, Sonja thought. “Why? Why did you need to come early?”

  “Your father wanted to have a moment to talk to you alone, to try and explain himself. After all, dear, you just ran out on him earlier when all he wanted was to spend a little time with you.”

  Shaking her head, Sonja felt terrible. “I-I know.”

  “Well, your friend told us to come around back and use the service entrance. She said that’s where we’d find you.”

  That explained her father’s car parked out back.

  “When we got in, it was pitch dark,” Diane continued. “We couldn’t see a thing and we got separated trying to find our way to the kitchen. I called to your father, but it seemed he had wandered off somewhere else completely. That’s when I hit my head on something and fell down.”

  “Hit your head?” Sonja wondered out loud, thinking about the layout of the hallway. “What could you have possibly hit your head on?” She supposed, if her mother were really close to the wall, she might hit her head on one of the light fixtures. That might explain the broken glass.

  “The paramedics are on their way,” Ally interjected.

  “You really should go find your father,” Sonja’s mother insisted. “He’s probably all lost and turned around.”

  “I’m not going anywhere, Mom. I’m staying right here with you.”

  “I can stay with her for a minute while you try to find your dad,” Alison offered. “He should probably be here when the paramedics arrive.”

  “Your father really needs you right now,” Diane continued, “he misses you and he loves you.”

  Sonja felt foolish for the way she’d acted earlier. While she was still angry, she knew her best friend and her mother were right. Her father deserved a chance to explain himself. “You’re right.” She stood up and turned to Alison. “You’ll make sure she’s safe until I get back?”