Janet McNulty - Mellow Summers 04 - Three Little Ghosts

by Janet McNulty

  Carefully, we hiked up the stairs making sure not to make a sound. The last thing I wanted was for the guy to know that we were following him. The footsteps stopped. I halted Jackie, listening for what he would do next. Instantly, I pushed Jackie out of sight as the man leaned over the railing glancing in our direction. He grunted and continued to the fourth floor. I hurried to the top of the steps so that I could see what door he went through. We made it just in time to see the last door in the hallway closing.

  I headed for it.

  “Wait,” said Jackie, pulling on my arm. “Shouldn’t we reconsider this?”

  “Consider what?”

  “The last time you went charging in we almost go in a lot of trouble. In fact, each time you go running off you get into trouble.”

  “Jackie, how much trouble could we possibly get into here?” I asked her.

  Folding her arms, Jackie glared.at me with a “you’re kidding” look on her face.

  I danced on my feet. The more time we waited here, the better the chance was that I would lose this guy, again.

  “I promise we won’t get into trouble,” I said.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Come on, Jackie. Don’t you want to know who he is?”

  She released her arms. “All right, I’ll go. Just be careful.”

  “Look, it’s not like we’re entering a den of thieves or some secret spy’s lair.”

  Jackie huffed as she trailed after me to where the ginger haired man had disappeared. I pulled the door open. Jackie and I dashed through it preparing to dart behind something when we both stopped cold.

  Classical music greeted our ears as a band played at the front of the banquet room. Chandeliers dangled from the ceiling sending rainbows of light. Streamers stretched from one end of the room to the next with balloons attached to them.

  “Would you like a refreshment?” asked a waiter carrying a gold tray with glasses of champagne.

  “No thanks,” I said.

  Jackie and I gawked at the elegant room. I felt like we had walked into someone’s penthouse. Maybe we had. From the outside, this building looked like a warehouse. On the inside sat a different story.

  Men in tuxedos and women in fancy dresses, that I will probably never wear, moseyed around gabbing and chatting with one another. Laughter trickled from one end. In the center rested a dance floor with a crowd of people on it doing the tango. Expensive statues and artwork lined the outer walls adding the sense of that someone very wealthy lived here.

  “You were saying,” said Jackie.

  We wandered around the room. I was determined to find my ginger haired suspect. I didn’t care what this place or who he was. We strolled past the bar.

  “Shaken, not stirred,” said a man ordering his drink.

  Seriously? A wannabe James Bond? This entire night was getting weirder and weirder.

  “And you miss?”

  Startled, I turned toward the man speaking to me. It was the bartender. I must have been standing there long enough for him to think I needed something. “Uh, I’ll have a beer,” I said trying to blend in. Though how I intended to blend in when I wore jeans and everyone else wore fancy clothes I’ll never know.

  “A what?” asked the bartender.

  “Don’t you have anything on tap?” I replied.

  The bartender scrunched his eyebrows and grabbed a glass filling it with dark liquid. No matter what he thought of me, he maintained his politeness. “Try this, miss. It is imported from the coasts of Spain.”

  Graciously, I took it. One little sip and I was hooked on whatever this drink was. The liquid sizzled on my taste buds telling my mouth to crave more. “Most excellent,” I said as gracefully as I could.

  Jackie snatched the glass from my hand and took a long draught. “That is good. What is it?”

  Astonished at her lack of manners, and my acceptance of it, the bartender gaped at us. “A special blend of beer conceived by Mr. Riley himself.” The bartender moved away to assist others waiting for their drinks.

  “Appetizer?” asked another waiter holding a tray out to us.

  “Definitely. I’m famished,” said Jackie grabbing the tray and plowing into the tiny bite-sized whatevers on the plate. “Thanks.”

  The waiter stalked off. Apparently, we were not the distinguished guests that he was used to.

  Finally, I spotted the guy we had followed in here. I tapped Jackie’s elbow and pointed him out. We handed our refreshments to the nearest waiter who gladly accepted them.

  Inching our way over, Jackie and I stayed on the sidelines hoping to sneak up on him. I waited for the guy to finish his conversation with a woman before pouncing. Finally, he headed in our direction. Instantly, Jackie and I jumped in front of him stopping him.

  “We need to talk,” I said.

  “What—Who are you?” stammered the man.

  “Who are you?” I said. “I know you were at the library that day that that woman was murdered.”

  He grabbed my elbow and steered me away from the crowd. “Look, keep it down.”

  “Why. I saw you there and you snuck out just before the police arrived. Did you kill her?”

  “What? No!”

  His outburst drew a few unwanted looks.

  “Look, it isn’t what you think,” he said, “I didn’t go anywhere near her.”

  “Then why did you run away?” asked Jackie.

  “I panicked,” said the man.

  “What is this place? And who are you?” demanded Jackie.

  “My name is Adam Kilter. This is a club. A hang out spot for people like me.”

  “Like you?”

  “Ah, Adam,” said a rotund man waltzing up to us. “Mr. Riley would like to debrief you, if you can tear yourself away from your friends.”

  “Yes,” said Adam, “I’ll be there shortly.”

  “Briefed?” I asked. “What are you people a bunch of spies?”

  “Oh, no, my dear,” answered the rotund man. “This is a club. A fairly exclusive one. All of us are regular people with regular jobs, but we come here and pretend to be part of a secret spy organization.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” muttered Jackie.

  “So what do you all do, exactly?” I asked.

  “We receive missions and are expected to fulfill them. Surely, you know that since you are here. Are you one of the initiates?”

  “Initiates? No,” I replied.

  “Well then how did you ever get in here?” asked the rotund man.

  “We followed him,” I pointed at Adam who squirmed slightly.

  “Followed?” The rotund guy laughed out loud. “They followed you? Oh, Adam, you failed your initiation. How did you ever get onto him?”

  I thought the guy would be angry that a couple of uninvited guests snuck into the party and ate up the food; but instead he seemed interested. “I first noticed him at the library when he snuck out right after a woman was murdered. Later he showed up where I work and acted suspiciously when I confronted him.”

  “Murder? You mean you were there when that girl was killed?”

  Adam nodded.

  “And why did you follow him?” he asked me.

  “Because I thought he was the killer.” My reply sounded stupid even to me. In retrospect, what the hell was I thinking chasing after a murder suspect?

  “And you charged in here after him?” the rotund man laughed, “After following him here? You girls have courage. Tell me, would you be interested in joining our little club. It’s very exciting. Will spice up your life.”

  “We’ll think about it,” said Jackie.

  “Well do that,” said the rotund man, “Well, I must go. I have others to greet. Until again, Adam.”

  “Explain to us what is going on,” I said after the rotund fella left.

  “This is a club,” said Adam, “We pretend to be spies. It’s actually a lot of fun. I am in the middle of my initiation here. My job was to go to various places and run off with something witho
ut being noticed.”

  “So you were to steal stuff?” said Jackie.

  “We return it.”

  “So that’s what you were doing at the church.”

  “Yes, I managed to make off with the item. Don’t worry, it’s already been returned.”

  “You know that is still theft,” said Jackie.

  “I call it borrowing without permission. Look we never keep it. What’s the harm?”

  “And the Candle Shoppe?” I asked.

  Adam exhaled a long, slow sigh. “I was to eavesdrop on a couple and gather as much information as I could without being detected. But you wouldn’t leave me alone. You know, because of you I might not get into this club.”

  “That’s a real shame,” mocked Jackie.

  “You may not understand why some people do this, but this was something I really wanted,” said Adam.

  “So this party, it’s—”

  “A graduation ceremony of sorts,” interrupted Adam, “This is when all initiates find out if they made it and we celebrate. This club is a lot of fun. Sometime we even infiltrate a real party.”

  “So you didn’t kill that woman?” I asked.

  “Killed her? I never knew her.”

  “Did you see who did it?”

  “No,” replied Adam, “All I remember is walking in and getting ready to find a specific book that was to have my assignment instructions.”

  Jackie gave him a questioning look.

  “We go all out in this club,” said Adam, “Anyway, I didn’t notice anything unusual. One minute that woman was sitting upright and the next she was dead. I never saw who did it.”

  “No one suspicious?” I asked.

  “No. Everyone looked as though they belonged.”

  Great. Just great. My only lead turned out to be a spy wannabe who hangs out in a club that pretends to be a spy ring. Could this case get any stranger? “You said she was sitting there.”

  “Yeah, almost like she waited for someone. I remember that she kept checking her watch and tapping her foot. She was nervous. Are we done because I really do have things to do.”

  “Yeah, we’re done,” I said.

  Jackie stood poised with her arms crossed again.

  “Don’t even say it,” I said.

  “I told you so,” said Jackie ignoring my request. “We follow a guy to a den of James Bond wannabes. He isn’t the murderer and now we have no leads.”

  “Don’t rub it in. Let’s go,” I said.

  “I’m not leaving empty handed,” said Jackie. She snatched another tray of food from a passing waiter. We headed for the door just as it opened with none other than Detective Shorts walking through.

  “Shoot,” I hissed grabbing Jackie and pulling behind some indoor plants with me. He strolled past us straight for Adam.

  “Let’s go,” whispered Jackie.

  “Not yet. If we go now, he’ll see us. Let’s wait until he leaves.”

  “Why are we hiding anyway? It’s not like we’re committing a crime.”

  I glanced at Jackie. “Uh, we snuck into a private party we weren’t invited to so we could question someone about a murder that I’m not supposed to be investigating.”

  “I see your point,” relented Jackie, smacking down on a cracker.

  “Will you stop eating?”

  “I’m hungry.”

  We remained behind the plants waiting for Detective Shorts to finish questioning Adam. It probably wasn’t the smartest plan considering we weren’t that well hidden. But people ignored us anyway so we stayed put.

  “You want to tell me why you didn’t come forward?” asked Detective Shorts.

  Poor Adam turned red. I bet he sweated under that collar of his. “Look, I didn’t see anything, nor did I do anything wrong.”

  “But you were at the library when the murder took place and left before the police arrived. It is suspicious. As a witness you should have remained or come forward.”

  “But I didn’t see anything.”

  “You do realize that by running away like that you can be arrested for impeding an investigation.”

  “I panicked,” pleaded Adam.

  Boy, Detective Shorts piled it on. He probably wanted to test how well Adam held up under questioning. If he acted too nervous, chances were he didn’t do it.

  “I’ll let you off the hook this time,” said the detective, “What did you see?”

  “Nothing,” replied Adam, “I walked past her when I entered. She sat alone. I did not notice anyone out of the ordinary. When I saw her again she was dead.”

  Detective Shorts frowned. No one had seen what happened. It was frustrating for me as well. Who was I supposed to look at next?

  “All right,” said Detective Shorts, “If you remember anything give me a call. And don’t leave town.”

  Jackie and I ducked as the detective walked past us. Our eyes followed him as he left the room.

  “Quick,” I said.

  We jumped up pushing our way past the various guests and waiters. Once we reached the door, I wrenched it open and motioned for Jackie to follow. We made it, or so I thought.

  “Hello, Miss Summers.”

  Detective Shorts waited for us in the corridor. How does he always know?

  “You need to learn how to blend in,” he said to my unspoken question. “I saw you duck behind the plants. So I guess we have breaking and entering and theft.”

  “What?’ I blurted out.

  “You are not on the guest list,” he pulled out a sheet of paper with names on it, “And I know you didn’t arrive with that tray.”

  Jackie glanced at the tray she still clutched; a worried expression crossed her face. Instantly, she opened the door, tossed the tray inside, and slammed the door shut. I still have no idea what she was thinking.

  “I hope you didn’t hit anyone with that stunt,” said Detective Shorts.

  Jackie stared at her shoes as she swallowed the last bits of her cheesy cracker.

  “Walk with me,” said Detective Shorts.

  We followed him down the stairs and outside. Luckily, it wasn’t cold, just cool.

  “I know you have information,” said Detective Shorts. “I need you to come clean, Miss Summers.”

  “But you probably know the same stuff I do,” I said.

  “And I might not,” replied Detective Shorts.

  “I really don’t know much,” I said, “Yes, I went to Salt Lake City to see Allison’s grandfather, but he didn’t have much to say. All he knows is she got involved with a guy he didn’t like and then disappeared five years ago. He hasn’t seen her since.”

  “I’m not even going to ask how you found out about him and his location,” said the detective. “And you followed Mr. Kilter because…”

  “I followed him because I noticed him sneak out of the library.”

  “Miss Summers, I know you mean well, but I am begging you to stay out of this.”

  “I can help,” I said.

  “She has solved three other crimes,” said Jackie.

  Detective Shorts eyed the both us. “I don’t want to get a call because your body turned up somewhere and then have to put you in a body bag.”

  He had me there. The last case I solved did get a bit hairy; a little to close on the “getting killed” department. “I understand the risks. But we really can help.”

  “Don’t make me order you away from this,” said Detective Shorts.

  “All right,” I relented. “We’ll back off.”

  “Good. Now go home, both of you.”

  Chapter 9

  At around midnight Jackie and I dragged ourselves into our apartment tired and exhausted. I flopped on the couch releasing a huge sigh of relief. I thought about what Detective Shorts had told me. It never occurred to me that he might have been worried about me ending up in a ditch. I should have known better, but such thoughts usually do not enter my head.

  “So, what’s the plan?” asked Jackie.

  “What?”


  “I know that you won’t let this go,” said Jackie, “So, what’s the plan?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, “I might actually let this drop.”

  “What?”

  “Detective Shorts seemed really worried that something might happen to us. Maybe this time we should just let him handle it.”

  “It’s a good thing Rachel isn’t here to hear you say that.”

  No kidding. Rachel would have booted me out the door to the next clue. That girl could be very persuasive.

  “I’m out of ideas on where to go next,” I said, “Besides, Detective Shorts has a point.”

  “Yeah, you say that now,” Jackie rose to her feet, “It won’t be long before you drag me off on another wild chase. I must say that the exercise is really paying off. See ya in the morning.” She went to her room and shut the door.

  Yawning, I decided to head for bed as well.

  The next morning Mr. Stilton called asking if I could come into work since the pipes had been fixed and everything was cleaned up. I told him I’d be there.

  “Mel! I haven’t seen you in quite a while. How’s it going?” said Tammy in her usual peppy voice as I entered the store.

  “You saw me a few days ago when I was last here,” I replied.

  “Yeah, but that was such a long time ago.”

  I wondered about Tammy sometimes. She was so melodramatic at times with an inexhaustible source of energy. “So, I heard you got rained on a couple days ago.”

  “What?”

  “When the pipes burst.”

  “Oh, yeah. It was horrible. One moment I was standing there trying to help somebody when water gushed all over me. My favorite top shrunk two sizes. I’ll never be able to wear it again.”

  What a shame. I kept that thought to myself. Her favorite top consisted of pink and neon green tie dye with sparkles all over it. Talk about an eyesore. I think the universe did the world a favor. Not that I would ever tell Tammy that. “Sorry to hear that,” I did my best to sound sympathetic.

  “That’s okay,” said Tammy, “I went shopping before I came in today. Look what I got. My new favorite shirt.”

  She reached for a plastic shopping bag and pulled out a yellow, orange, and bright red shirt. Tie dyed of course with white butterflies all over it. Fate was cruel.