Walk this Way, Haunt this Way (Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Book 4) Read online

  WALK THIS WAY, HAUNT THIS WAY

  By Rose Pressey

  “Rose Pressey’s book are fun!”

  Janet Evanovich

  Praise for Me and My Ghoulfriends by Rose Pressey

  “Rose Pressey spins a delightful tale with misfits and romance that makes me cheer loudly.”

  Coffee Time Romance

  “Her characters are alive and full of quick witted charm and will make you laugh. The plot twists keep you turning the pages non-stop.”

  ParaNormalRomance

  “I absolutely loved this book! It had me chuckling from the beginning.”

  Fallen Angel Review

  Ripley Van Raden guides tour-goers through the spooky streets and creepy buildings on her popular ghost tour. She deals with ghosts on a daily basis in her haunted hometown of Devil's Moon.

  Spirits aren't only there at night. During the day, as head librarian, Ripley chats with the ghost of the town’s former librarian via text and social media.

  When a team of film makers want to include Ripley's tour in their documentary she agrees. It sounds like a great way to promote her tour. No sooner does the camera stop rolling when one of the crew members is murdered.

  Sinister spirits have potentially attached to Ripley’s boyfriend Officer Brannon Landon and now she has to find out if there's a connection to the murder before the final chapter of her book ends for good.

  Rose Pressey’s Complete Bookshelf (click title to preview/buy)

  Paranormal P.I. Series

  What the Hex?

  Chase Charley Series:

  Book 1: For Old Crimes Sake

  Book 2: Seems Like Old Crimes

  Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Series:

  These Haunts are Made for Walking

  A Walk on the Haunted Side

  Haunt the Haunt, Walk the Walk

  Haunted Vintage Series:

  Book 1 – If You’ve Got It, Haunt It

  Book 2 – All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt

  Book 3 – Haunt Couture and Ghosts Galore

  Book 4 – Haunted is Always in Fashion

  Book 5 – Untitled 2016

  Maggie, P.I. Mystery Series:

  Book 1 – Crime Wave

  Book 2 – Murder is a Beach

  The Halloween LaVeau Series:

  Book 1 – Forever Charmed

  Book 2 – Charmed Again

  Book 3 – Third Time’s a Charm

  Book 4 – Charmed, I’m Sure

  Book 5 – A Charmed Life

  The Hadley Wilds Series:

  Book 1: Dead Girl’s Guide to Style

  The Rylie Cruz Series:

  Book 1 – How to Date a Werewolf

  Book 2 – How to Date a Vampire

  Book 3 – How to Date a Demon

  The Larue Donovan Series:

  Book 1 – Me and My Ghoulfriends

  Book 2 – Ghouls Night Out

  Book 3 – The Ghoul Next Door

  Book 4—Ghoul of My Dreams

  The Mystic Café Series:

  Book 1 – No Shoes, No Shirt, No Spells

  Book 2 – Pies and Potions

  Book 3 — Spells a la Carte

  The Veronica Mason Series:

  Book 1 – Rock ‘n’ Roll is Undead

  A Trash to Treasure Crafting Mystery:

  Book 1 – Murder at Honeysuckle Hotel

  Book 2 – Honeysuckle Homicide

  The Haunted Renovation Mystery Series:

  Book 1 – Flip that Haunted House

  Book 2 – The Haunted Fixer Upper

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form, (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, incidents, places, and brands are the product of the author’s imagination and not to be construed as real. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Dedication

  This is to you and you know who you are.

  Acknowledgements

  To my son, who brings me joy every single day and is the love of my life. To my mother, who introduced me to the love of books. To my husband, who encourages me and always has faith in me. A huge thank you to my editor, Eleanor Boyall. And to the readers who make writing fun.

  Index

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 1

  “The shadow lurked around every corner. I knew it was following me. I’d made the mistake of going into the abandoned house all alone. The evil spirit enjoyed having me there without another living soul around to help me.”

  The children sat around me, their mouths hanging open and eyes looking like they might pop out. It was storytime at the library. Normally the new assistant read the books, but today she’d been late. The book of unexplained mysteries and ghost stories was scary, but since none of the kids had run screaming from the building yet, I continued the story.

  “People had reported seeing dark shadows and experiencing a feeling of dread when entering the old house. Now footfalls sounded from right behind me.” I tapped my foot on the floor for a nice sound effect. “My heart sped up and that feeling of doom encircled me. A chill ran down my spine.” I mimicked shivers.

  The children were still captivated.

  “Terror had a strong grip on me and I couldn’t force myself to turn around. Would a demon be behind me?”

  Some of the kids scooted closer to each other.

  “In order to get out of the old house I would have to turn around. That could be the end of me if a demon really was behind me. There were no other options. Jumping out of the window wasn’t an option, right?”

  The children nodded.

  “Of course not. That would result in broken bones or maybe even worse. Anxiety had a death grip on me, like a boa constrictor squeezing the life out of me. If I didn’t get out of there soon I felt it might be all over for me. When I turned around…”

  A book flew off the shelf to the right of the children. Ear-piercing screams filled the room.

  When I peeked over my shoulder, I spotted Annie. She doubled over in laughter. Annie was the resident ghost. She wore a long cream dress with ruffles at the bottom and big puffy sleeves. Her hair was up in a bun. She was just as vivid to me as any living person. Thank goodness the children couldn’t see her. Annie had been the first librarian back in 1851. Annie communicated with me through computers, phones, and voice recorders.

  After calming the kids down, I continued the story. I was just getting to the part about the bodies buried in the back yard of the haunted house when someone yelled out. “Ms. Van Raden!”

  I’d recognize
that voice anywhere. Mrs. Agnew was the head of the library board. She kept a close eye on me. She was just waiting to catch me in a big screwup. So far she’d only caught me in small screwups.

  Mrs. Agnew wore her chestnut-colored hair up in a bun. I’d never seen her wear anything other than a skirt and blazer. Today it was a drab beige color with matching shoes.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” She glared at me through her thick eyeglasses. “Why are you reading such violence to these babies?”

  I looked at the kids and shrugged. “Well, they are thirteen-year-olds. They lost their pacifiers quite some time ago.”

  The kids laughed.

  “Ms. Van Raden, may I speak to you in private?” She refused to call me by my first name. Everyone called me Rip, which was short for Ripley.

  “Okay, y’all, I guess we’ll have to finish this next time.”

  The group left the room, leaving me with her. She tapped her foot against the floor. My cell phone alerted me to a text message. I took a chance and glanced at the screen. Just as I suspected, Annie had sent a text.

  She’s so annoying.

  Annie had picked up a new way of talking since hanging around me.

  “Please explain why you thought it was okay to read the students a story like that.”

  “Well, it was written for their age group. Like I said, they’re thirteen. A lot of them write their own stories worse than that. Plus, they see all those horror movies.”

  “That doesn’t make it right,” she said.

  Clearly I wasn’t going to win this argument. “I’m sorry. I won’t read it to them again.” I figured I’d apologize and move this conversation along. “Was there something else you needed?” I asked.

  She sighed. “I just stopped by to make sure you bring the budget files to the board meeting.”

  I’d never forgotten them yet. “Yes, I’ll make sure to have them with me.” I forced a smile.

  She stared at me for a moment and then said, “Fine. Make sure you don’t read those stories again.”

  Annoyyinngg…

  I bit my lip to keep from laughing at Annie’s text. Mrs. Agnew spun around and stomped out of the room.

  Thank goodness she’s gone.

  “You’re telling me, Annie.” I placed the book back on the shelf.

  I waited a couple minutes in the room to make sure that Mrs. Agnew was gone. Though she was probably waiting at the reference desk with another problem she’d conjured up. Annie followed me out of the room. I peeked around the stack of reference books. It looked as if the coast was clear.

  My assistant Tammy White was behind the desk. We had been best friends since high school. We’d stayed in touch when I moved away, then picked our friendship back up once I’d moved back to town. Tammy and I had continued our weekly shopping and lunch trips as if we hadn’t missed a day.

  Tammy wore a black knee-length skirt with a black and white blouse. With her tall high-heeled black boots and stylish amber-colored hair, she looked as if she’d just stepped out of a magazine. Her wispy bangs swept against her heart-shaped face. A pretty shade of pink lipstick covered her full lips.

  Tammy spotted me and motioned for me to come out. “It’s safe.”

  “Why didn’t you stop her before she got back there?” I asked.

  “I tried, but she waited until I was helping someone. She’s sneaky like that.”

  Chapter 2

  As I moved around the reference desk, the new assistant walked through the door. She had short blonde hair cut in a pixie style. Today she wore a black shirt and khakis. What stood out most about her was her big blue eyes. Monica Turner had started working at the library about two weeks ago. It had taken the board members quite a while to find someone they thought would be a good fit for Bilson Library. Now that I had worked with Monica for two weeks, I wondered what they’d seen in her. Working wasn’t one of her favorite things. I kept trying to overlook her flaws though. The board members wouldn’t want me to fire her.

  “Excuse me,” a patron called out. Monica acknowledged the woman with a fake smile. “I don’t know how to use the computer. Can you help me?”

  “Tammy White is the computer expert.” Monica pointed at Tammy.

  I grabbed Tammy before she could attack Monica. The phone rang and others were coming up to check out.

  “Monica, help the customer with the computer,” I said through a forced smile. I wanted to remain as professional as possible in front of the patrons.

  Tammy grabbed the phone while I helped check out the customers.

  After I finished, Tammy said, “The call is for you.”

  “This is Ripley Van Raden,” I said when I picked up.

  “Ripley, this is Alex. We spoke on the phone a couple weeks ago about the documentary.”

  “Sure, I remember.” I had agreed to be a part of a documentary about haunted tours around the United States. “What can I do for you?”

  “I wanted to let you know that we will be in town later today. Are you available to meet this evening?”

  I’d known they planned on coming, but I hadn’t thought it would be this quickly and without notice. It wasn’t as if I had plans, but it would’ve been nice if I could have bought a new outfit and planned my makeup and hair. “Sure, I can meet you tonight, but I have the tour. Are you ready to film?”

  “We’re ready. We’ll meet you there about thirty minutes before, if that’s okay?”

  That certainly didn’t give me much time to get ready after work. It might look strange if the tour guide was wearing a cardigan and khakis. Wouldn’t the documentary viewers want to see me in something a little bit more mysterious? Recently I’d dabbled in wearing period costume for the tour. People seemed to respond to it well.

  Once I ended the call, Tammy asked, “Did I hear you say they’re coming tonight?”

  The black cat who resided at the library jumped onto the counter. Jane Austen loved living in the library. The name seemed fitting for the cat. She’d shown up before I’d started at the library.

  “Yes, and I have no idea what to wear. Should I do the costume?”

  “Hmm. I vote no. You should wear those cute new jeans and that sweater you bought last week.” Tammy stroked the cat’s back.

  I’d purchased them to wear on my date with Officer Brannon Landon. We’d taken our relationship beyond investigating the paranormal together. Now we’d gone to the movies, dinner, fall festivals, and a ton of other fun things. It hadn’t been without some obstacles though. His ex-wife had decided she wasn’t quite ready to be an ex.

  “You have special plans for tonight?” Monica asked from over my shoulder.

  I didn’t know how long she had been behind us listening. Maybe I could be vague.

  “Oh, just the tour as usual.” I picked up a stack of books and pretended to look through them. Unfortunately, I was almost sure she knew what I was doing.

  Monica claimed she didn’t believe in ghosts and that it was either all staged or a figment of our imaginations.

  “Was that the documentary guy? Is he filming tonight? Can I be in the tour?” Her eyes lit up. She was practically waving her arms and yelling, Oh, pick me, pick me.

  How did she know about the documentary? I’d thought I’d kept the project a secret from her. Though since the people filming had to get permission from businesses in town, I supposed word had spread.

  It looked as if I was trapped. Sure, I could say no, but that was mean. Monica hadn’t exactly been all that nice to me. Monica was abrupt most of the time. However, she had sweet moments. Just the other day she’d brought us cupcakes. She even remembered my favorite was chocolate with chocolate icing and extra sprinkles.

  “That would be great, Monica.” I hoped my voice didn’t sound too disappointed.

  Tammy had been waving her arms behind Monica’s back for me to say no. Monica looked over her shoulder. Tammy had stopped, but I wasn’t sure if Monica had seen her.

  A middle-aged bald man appro
ached. “Excuse me. I think I owe for overdue books. Do you want the money now?” The man directed his question toward Monica.

  She placed her hands on her hips and said, “No, we generally let customers cheat us out of money.”

  The man stared at her for a second, then his face turned red. Not out of embarrassment, but out of anger. I stepped forward to smooth over the situation.

  Monica said, “I was just kidding.” She ended every insult or snarky comment with that phrase, as if that made up for her rudeness. She honestly hadn’t been that way when I’d first met her. Although the board members hadn’t allowed me to pick out the assistant this time. My selections hadn’t ended so well in the past.

  After taking the man’s payment, I said, “Monica, you can’t talk to customers like that. Not everyone understands that you’re ‘just kidding.’”

  “Whatever. I have books to sort.” Monica stomped away.

  Tammy groaned and headed in the opposite direction. My cell chimed. Annie had sent a text.

  Working with others is difficult.

  “You’re telling me,” I said.

  ***

  The façade of Bilson Library was in the Victorian Gothic style. With a steeply-pitched roof, it loomed over everything in the area. Ornamental gables decorated the sides and a stone tower was set in the center of the structure. The beautiful library held many stories, but the main one, the one that added to its haunting beauty, I had yet to discover. If I had yet to discover the stories, then how did I know it added to the library’s haunting beauty? The building held secrets… it was just a feeling. With headstones right out front, how could the place not have hidden stories? The ghosts probably popped in and out of this place all the time, although Annie never shared that information with me. When I’d first seen the building it had looked sad, but now I’d added happy memories. Every time I set foot into the building it wrapped me in a giant hug.

  I’d replaced the recently retired Mrs. Audrey Stanley, the town’s beloved chief librarian. Moving back to my hometown after a number of years had been the fresh start I’d needed. With a cheating ex-fiancé, I’d wanted change. Those bad memories were behind me now. Being around friends and family again had made that possible. I’d had no idea how isolated I’d been until coming back to Devil’s Moon.