by Rose Pressey
Now it was just the two of us standing there huddled under an awning. I wanted to get out of the rain too, but I still wanted to tell her exactly what I thought of her failed attempt at taking over my haunted tour.
Abigail glared at me. “This is all your fault.”
“Excuse me?” I said.
“You ruined my tour.”
“First of all, I can’t believe you had the nerve to start a tour right in front of me, basically taking my customers. I don’t know how you did it, but I’m sure that you told them my tour was canceled so that they would take your tour. Plus, you copied my tour.”
“I did no such thing.” She moved a little closer to me.
I wasn’t going to let her intimidate me. I’d suspected that I didn’t like her from the very beginning, but now I was convinced.
“I will get you for this.” She pointed her finger in my face.
“Are you threatening me?” I asked.
She poked me in the shoulder with her index finger. “You’re darn right I am. And don’t forget it.”
I’d assumed she would be mad, but I didn’t think she would go as far as to use physical violence. If she touched me again I was going to let her have it right there on the sidewalk. I preferred if it didn’t come to that though.
Abigail turned and stomped away, stepping through the water puddles. Thank goodness that was over. I turned to my right and walked down the sidewalk to get back to the tavern. When Tammy found out about this she would surely blow her top. There was definitely a strange feeling in the air tonight. I supposed it was because I had almost had a confrontation with Abigail.
The thunder rumbled again and rain continued to fall. The storm wasn’t leaving anytime soon. Thank goodness I arrived back at the tavern. I stepped inside and tried to shake off some of the water. Tammy spotted me right away.
Her eyes widened. “What’s going on? You’re soaking wet.”
I knew my hair was plastered to my face and probably mascara was running down my face just like it had on Abigail’s. As soon as I got a chance I’d have to check my reflection. I’d probably scare people with my appearance. I sat down at the bar and released a deep breath.
“A Diet Coke?” Tammy asked.
“You know it,” I said.
“What happened out there?” she asked as she grabbed a glass.
“I almost got into a fight with Abigail.”
“I was afraid that would happen. I should’ve come with you.” Tammy poured the soda.
“Well, it’s over now. The tour was a disaster. I really don’t think she’ll try that again. The worst thing though is she threatened me.”
“What do you mean she threatened you?” Tammy placed her hands on her hips.
“She said she’d get me back for this. And that she was mad at me now.”
Tammy scoffed. “She’ll get over it. Plus, she’s lucky that you don’t sue her for taking your business.”
“Well, like I said, I think it’s all over now. I bet I look like hell.”
“You could use a little work on the face,” Tammy said, pointing at me.
“Brannon was supposed to meet me here, but I think I’ll have him just come to my house. I need to shower and get out of these wet clothes.”
“Are we still on for pizza tonight?”
“Absolutely. I’ll see you in an hour.” I finished the last of the drink.
“I’ll be there. Just be careful out there.” Tammy waved.
As I walked down the sidewalk, I sent Brannon a text and let him know that I would be at home. Thank goodness my car was parked not far away. I definitely didn’t want to walk tonight. I climbed behind the wheel and headed down the street toward my house. It felt weird driving instead of walking, but I had planned ahead in case of rain. Although I’d figured it would come after the tour. I’d assumed wrong. Things happened for a reason. Maybe it had worked out tonight that I didn’t have the tour. I probably would’ve canceled as soon as I saw the clouds forming in the sky. Abigail was a novice and had no idea.
As soon as I arrived home, I got out of the car and headed for the front door. It felt as if someone was watching me as I ran to the door, trying to dodge the lightning and rain. There was no time to check though. If the doppelgänger was around she’d just have to watch me run from the storm. I had to take a shower before everyone arrived. Tammy and Brannon would soon show up.
***
We had settled into the living room to watch TV and have pizza. Brannon had been upset when I’d told him what happened on the tour. He thought I shouldn’t have gone at all. But I told him I’d needed to confront her. I felt it was the right thing to do. Nevertheless, it was over now. Tammy had left at twelve o’clock after we binged on Netflix. Brannon had left at eleven because he had to work at four a.m. My brain wouldn’t work properly to even wake up at that time of the morning.
With the covers pulled up tight, I cuddled into bed, glad that I was out of the rain that still fell outside my window. I’d just drifted off to sleep when something woke me. What was that noise?
When I opened my eyes, I was startled to see the doppelgänger standing at the foot of my bed. I pulled the cover up close to my chin and scooted in the bed until my back was against the headboard.
“What do you want?” I yelled.
Of course, she didn’t answer, so I yelled at her again. The look in her eyes was terrifying. This was definitely not a look that I’d seen before. This wasn’t a look in my eyes. I’d been mad before, but never like that. Even when I confronted Abigail I hadn’t looked like that. At least I didn’t think so.
Soon things started flying around the room. The lamp from my desk, the clock from my nightstand, the book on top of the dresser— as if unseen hands tossed them in a game of catch. It kind of reminded me of the books in the library. I covered my head with my arms to keep from being hit by anything. When the chaos finally stopped, I peeked out from under the cover. She was gone. My heart still raced though. Was she gone for good? I wasn’t sure that I could trust that just because I didn’t see her that she was really gone.
Nevertheless, I slipped out of bed and checked the entire house for her. There was no sign of my doppelgänger. Even if she was nowhere in sight, I wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. I sat on the sofa and watched TV, waiting for time to go to work. I must have drifted off at some point because I woke up when the sun streamed through the front window.
I jumped up and stood by the sofa. Was she here? Scanning the room, she was nowhere in sight. Once again, I checked the house. I released a deep breath, thankful that I was alone in the house. Though I wouldn’t have minded at all if Brannon was here right now.
I hurried to get ready for work since I wanted to go by the coffee shop and thank Dana for everything she had done stopping Abigail and her tour. Halfway up the stairs, someone rang the doorbell and I stopped in my tracks. I hoped the doppelgänger wasn’t ringing doorbells now. When I opened the door, my neighbor was standing in front of me. Mrs. Simms narrowed her brown eyes at me and frowned.
“Who do you think you are?” she yelled.
“Excuse me?” I said, stepping back just a bit.
“You can’t just come in to someone’s house without asking. Besides, I have no idea how you even got in. The doors were locked.”
Oh, no. I knew what had happened. How would I explain that to her? There was no way she would believe a ghost who looked just like me had come into her house. I had no way to explain it. I was speechless.
“I should call the police,” she said. “What would your boyfriend think if he knew about this?”
Perhaps I should call him. Maybe he would be able to explain it to Mrs. Simms. Because I certainly had no idea what to say.
“I apologize, Mrs. Simms,” I said. “I must’ve gotten the wrong house.”
That was the best explanation I could come up with. Her raised eyebrow told me that she didn’t believe me.
“Don’t let it happen again,” she sna
pped.
Clearly, she wasn’t going to accept my apology. Having my neighbors mad at me wasn’t good. Maybe someday I would be able to explain it to her better. Oh, who was I kidding? That would never happen. I needed to send her a fruit basket or flowers. Maybe a basket of muffins or all of the above. Mrs. Simms turned on her heel and stomped back down the stairs. Halfway down the path she looked back and glared at me again.
“Sorry,” I called out.
Wait until Brannon heard about this. This doppelgänger had to be stopped immediately. I finished getting ready for work and sent Brannon a text message. As I slipped into my comfy walking shoes, Brannon called. Somewhat excitedly I explained everything that had happened. Starting with the doppelgänger in my room to the neighbor at my door.
“Would you like for me to talk to her?”
“I’m not sure it will do any good,” I said as I pulled my hair back into a ponytail. “I told her that I accidentally got the wrong house. She probably thinks I was drunk.”
“Well, as long as it doesn’t happen again. Maybe she’ll eventually get over it.”
“I have to find out how to get rid of this doppelgänger,” I said.
“I’ll work on it as soon as possible,” he said around a yawn.
“You need rest. Let me worry about figuring out the doppelgänger. I haven’t had a chance to decide exactly what to do. Maybe I should call Davis.” I grabbed my bag and headed for the door.
“It couldn’t hurt,” Brannon said.
“I’ll talk to you soon,” I said as I stepped out onto the front porch and locked the door.
“Just be careful out there,” he said. “You never know when she’ll show up again.”
“I’ll be careful,” I said, looking around my front lawn.
A lovely scent from the large pink blooms on the rose bushes by the front steps lingered in the air. One thing was on my mind, I needed to check out Abigail’s place. She lived close by. Why not take a stroll over there?
Chapter 12
Before going to the library, I’d walk to Abigail’s house. It was close by, so why not, right? I just hoped she didn’t see me sneaking around. She would freak out if she saw me out in front of her house. I would have to be stealth about it.
With a beautiful blue sky and puffy white clouds, I tried to enjoy my walk toward the house. A few cars moved up and down the street, a man mowed his front lawn and a dog barked from behind a fence as I hurried. When I made it to Abigail’s street, I realized how much it looked like mine with older houses in the same Victorian style.
Soon I reached her address. A black mailbox out by the road with her number alerted me that this was the right place. A stone pathway led up to the grand yellow and white trimmed Victorian. It was surprisingly a lot like my house. It looked as if it had been restored recently. Now that I thought about it, I remembered a woman buying it and re-doing it not long ago. I’d never met her though. Through gossip at the tavern I’d heard she just wanted to flip the house for a profit. I wondered if Abigail was renting or had actually bought the place. I was hoping she was just renting and wanted to move away from Devil’s Moon soon.
A couple seconds later, a small black car pulled up in front of the house. The dark-haired woman behind the wheel hadn’t seen me yet and I wanted to keep it that way. She looked over at Abigail’s house. Was she here to see Abigail? I had to find a place to hide right away. Looking around, I spotted a group of oak trees over to the left. That looked like the perfect spot. I just hoped that the neighbor wouldn’t see me. I hid behind a tree watching the woman’s movements as she got out of the car. This was probably extremely creepy. I just prayed she didn’t see me.
A plot twist that I hadn’t seen coming, although I should have guessed. Abigail walked out of the front door and headed toward the woman as she stood on the sidewalk. I watched as they walked toward the car. The women climbed into the car. I glanced back at the door and realized that Abigail had left it slightly open. I was pretty sure she hadn’t meant to do that, but I certainly wasn’t going to call out and tell her what she’d done.
The woman pulled away from the curb. Abigail could be back at any time, so I had to hurry. I darted out from behind the tree and rushed up the path toward the house. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure that the car hadn’t returned. My heart beat faster as I raced up the steps toward the front door. Was I really going to sneak into her house? This was crazy. Brannon would absolutely freak out if he realized what I’d done. But it was all in the name of getting to the bottom of things.
I grabbed the doorknob and pushed it quickly. One last peek over my shoulder and I slipped inside. I left the door just as Abigail had in case she came back before I got out of the house. If she came back while I was inside, I wasn’t sure what I would do. Releasing a deep breath, I looked around the room. Okay, now I was in the house. What next? Maybe I should just run out of there and not look back. No, I’d come this far, I had to see this through. No matter how scared I was or how risky. Had I really broken into Abigail’s house?
Okay, technically, I hadn’t broken in. She’d left the door open, but still... the police might not see it that way. Could I blame it on my doppelgänger again? There wasn’t much in the room to check out. A couple of chairs in front of the fireplace and a table in the middle of the sitting area. Against the far wall was a beautiful mahogany armoire. It looked to be an antique. A few other pieces around the room appeared antique as well. Mr. Byrd had said the murdered woman was an antiques collector.
Abigail hadn’t mentioned that she was into antiques. Of course, I hardly knew anything about her. I stepped over to one of the old tables. Shock raced through me when I saw the item on top. A Ouija board. I couldn’t believe this. How many times would people continue to mess with these things? They were bad news. Why did Abigail have one? Exactly what had she been doing with it? Conjuring ghosts? I had to find out, which meant I needed to keep looking around the house.
As I moved across the floor, a noise came from the back of the house. I assumed that might be the kitchen area, but now I was completely freaked out and too scared to check it out. What if Abigail came back and was at the back of the house? There was no time to get back to the front door and out of the house. Now I had to hide. Where would I go?
I stepped over to the armoire and opened it up. Thank goodness nothing was inside. I climbed in and shut the door. I tried to be as still as possible so that I wouldn’t make a noise. Would she hear my breathing? I couldn’t believe I was hiding inside Abigail’s armoire. If she came over and found me she would probably have a heart attack. Or try to kill me. What was the noise that I’d heard? It had sounded kind of like a door opening, but I assumed it had to be the back door.
I had to take a look and see what was happening out there. Okay, on the count of three I’d open the door. One… one and a half, two… I forgot to breathe. Three. I eased the door open. Some of the lights around the room flickered. More sounds came from the back room. Someone was definitely in there. Now my whole body shook. I had to get out of here. I’d wait just a couple more minutes to see if anything happened, then I would take my chances and get out of there.
As I counted to ten I listened for more sounds, but no more bangs rang out. My hand shook as I opened the door the rest of the way and peeked out just a little bit. I had to go now before I was caught. Not to mention I was becoming claustrophobic in the small space. It became more and more difficult to breathe and my trembled even harder. I was definitely scared. At least there were no noises now, so I would use this chance to get out of there.
I was just ready to step out from the armoire when I saw her. My doppelgänger had made an appearance. Now I really could saw she was here. My breath caught in my throat. I wasn’t sure what to do. This was my chance to confront her, but yet, I remained silent. I didn’t know what to say. She didn’t even look up at me as she walked across the room. After a few more steps, she disappeared out into the hallway. I jumped out from the armoi
re and raced after her. As scared as I was, I still had to be brave.
“Who are you?” I yelled.
She didn’t respond. When I reached the hallway, she was gone. Had she gone upstairs? Was I brave enough to actually go up there? Maybe it was time for me to get out of there. This had probably been a bad idea from the start. Although I had learned a couple of things about Abigail that I hadn’t known.
Racing over to the front door, I burst out onto the porch. I scanned the area to make sure that Abigail hadn’t returned. So far there was no sign of her. Had I really pulled that off? Could I get that lucky? I eased the door shut just a bit, leaving it exactly as Abigail had left it. Then I hurried off the front steps and over to the sidewalk.
When I looked back at the house one more time, I saw my own reflection looking back at me. The doppelgänger stood at the front door watching me. Should I run away from her or go back and comfort her? My instincts told me that something bad would happen if I went back over there. I should just leave it for now and get out of there.
As I rushed down the sidewalk, I dialed Brannon’s number. He picked up right away.
“You’re not going to believe this,” I said breathlessly.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I saw my doppelgänger again.”
“Where are you?” he asked.
That was when I remembered that I couldn’t tell him exactly what happened. Telling him what happened meant admitting entering Abigail’s house. Could I really reveal that I’d hid in an armoire? I supposed there was no way around it. I might as well get it over with.
After releasing a deep breath, I said, “Well, I went by Abigail’s house.”
A pause filled the other end of the call. I knew what he was thinking.
“I didn’t say anything to her. I just wanted to see where she lived.” I rushed the words.
“Obviously I think that was a bad idea. Did she see you? Did you have a confrontation with her?” Brannon asked.
“No confrontation. I saw my doppelgänger. She was standing on the front porch when I left. What if my ghost goes in Abigail’s house and Abigail sees my ghost? Abigail will think that it’s me.”