Walk in My Haunted Shoes Read online

  “Is it just me or does it seem extra spooky out here tonight?” Tammy asked.

  “It’s probably just because I was telling you about the ghost,” I said.

  Tammy nodded. “I guess you’re right. I keep thinking that she will pop up at any moment.”

  I hated to agree with Tammy, but I wouldn’t be shocked if the ghost appeared.

  “We’re almost there now,” I said.

  That probably did little to ease her fears.

  Before crossing the street, Tammy and I looked to the left and to the right. With no cars coming, we stepped off the sidewalk at the corner to go across the street. Tires screeched. We looked to the left and spotted a car as it zoomed around the corner right into our path. I reached out and grabbed Tammy’s shirt, yanking her back with me. We tumbled to the pavement. The black car had come out of nowhere. It had barely missed us.

  “Are you okay?” I asked breathlessly.

  Tammy looked a bit stunned. After a couple seconds, she said, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “That was a close call,” I said as I checked the scrape on my hand.

  “Yeah, that car wasn’t there when we started to cross,” Tammy said.

  We both climbed up from the pavement. Since it was late, no one else was around to see what had happened. I had hoped someone else had seen it. I couldn’t help but think of Haley. She’d been killed by a car doing the exact same thing to her. Was someone trying to run over Devil’s Moon residents?

  “Let’s get home,” I said, taking Tammy by the arm.

  “Maybe we should call Brannon,” she said.

  As usual I felt the need to protect her. Just like I tried to protect everyone. Though calling Brannon probably wasn’t necessary. After all, we hadn’t been injured.

  “I’ll call him after I get home,” I said.

  Tammy and I picked up our pace after that incident. Soon my house came into view. We both glanced over our shoulders repeatedly. There was no sign of the black car, or the ghost for that matter. I didn’t mention that I thought the car could have come at us on purpose. Tammy obviously hadn’t thought of it because she hadn’t said a word.

  “I never thought I’d be this happy to see your haunted house. That car really spooked me,” she said. “Plus, I was already on edge.”

  “It’s okay now.” I pulled out my keys from my bag. “I’ll take you home after the séance, so you don’t have to stay at my creepy house.”

  There was no way I wanted her to walk home alone. Not until I figured out if that car had come after us on purpose. I opened the door and Tammy hurried in.

  “Do you want to get us some snacks while I set up?” I asked, closing the door behind us.

  “Set up? Snacks?” Tammy asked with a raised eyebrow. “This sounds like a party.”

  “Of course it’s not a party,” I said around a chuckle.

  “What are you setting up?” she asked.

  “I got an Ouija board a while back. We have to use that for a séance.”

  She placed her hands on her hips. “Why would you do that? You said you didn’t want one in the house.”

  “In case of an emergency. It seems like someone is always needing to use one.”

  She shook her head. “I still say this is a bad idea.”

  She might be right about that but was it too late now? My phone rang, breaking the conversation. When I checked the number, I didn’t recognize it.

  “Hello?” I answered cautiously.

  “Ripley? This is Roxanne from the library.”

  Was she calling to cancel?

  “Are you lost?” I asked.

  “I don’t think so. I just wanted to let you know I’ll be a couple minutes late.”

  “Oh, that’s fine. I’ll see you soon,” I said.

  No sooner had I ended the call when a knock came at the door. Tammy and I exchanged a look.

  “Is that her?” Tammy asked.

  “She said she would be a couple minutes late,” I said. “Maybe it’s Brannon.”

  “Does he always knock?”

  Tammy had a tendency to walk on in. Brannon still knocked. He warned me to keep the door locked at all times. I figured he was probably right about that. He had a key, but he wouldn’t use it if I was home. I headed over to the door and peeked outside. No one was on the porch.

  “Who is it?” Tammy whispered from over my shoulder.

  “I don’t see anyone.” My hushed tone matched hers.

  “Okay, this is starting to freak me out. I’m scared.” Tammy clutched the back of my shirt.

  “Don’t be scared. It’s no problem.”

  I told her that, but I was a little spooked too. No way would I tell Tammy though. I had to remain calm so that she would be calm too.

  “I’ll open the door and check it out.” I tried to steady my voice.

  “Do you have to?” Tammy asked, tugging on my shirt sleeve.

  “It’s fine,” I said with nervousness in my stomach.

  I opened the door just a bit. A wisp of cool air carried across my face as I peeked outside.

  “What if a killer is hiding out there?” Tammy asked.

  No one was in sight. Still, I had to check the whole front area. I eased the door open a bit more and leaned out even more.

  “Do you see anyone?” Tammy asked.

  “No one yet,” I whispered.

  “Just come back inside.” Tammy waved her hand. “It was probably something else and no one even knocked on the door.”

  Not taking her advice, I stepped out onto the porch. I peered around the front yard. Brannon’s car wasn’t out front. There was no sign of anyone. Maybe Tammy was right. It had probably been something else that had just sounded like a knock at the door.

  I turned and hurried back into the house. I’d barely gotten back into the living room when another knock sounded at the door. Okay, this was definitely someone at the door. Maybe someone was playing a game with us. Was it the girl from the library? Tammy rushed to my side and held onto my arm. I didn’t say a word as I walked back to the front door.

  “Do you see anyone this time? I think it might be Michael Myers,” Tammy whispered.

  My heart beat faster as I peeked out the door’s window. The woman from the library was standing right in front of the door. Now I was kind of annoyed. I opened the door wide. Roxanne’s eyes widened. She wore a black coat and jeans. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

  “Hello,” Roxanne’s voice quivered.

  “Did you just knock on the door a couple minutes ago?” I asked in an irritated tone.

  She shook her head. “No, I just got here. It’s okay that I’m late, right?”

  She seemed sincere. Maybe it was a coincidence. I hoped I hadn’t scared her too badly when I opened the door.

  “Sure, that’s fine. Come on in.” I motioned for her to step inside. “Sorry if I scared you when opening the door.”

  She smiled but still seemed nervous. “Not at all.”

  Tammy eyed the woman up and down.

  “This is Tammy White. She works at the library too,” I said.

  Roxanne stuck her hand out. “Nice to meet you.”

  Tammy reluctantly shook Roxanne’s hand. Why did Tammy look more worried than ever?

  Chapter 21

  “We can have a seat in the living room.” I pointed.

  “I knew you would know what to do,” Roxanne said as she walked toward the parlor.

  When she stepped into the room Roxanne stared at the Ouija board on the dining table. Tammy placed a couple candles down on each side of the board. For someone who didn’t like the Ouija board Tammy certainly acted like she knew what she was doing. Unfortunately, I’d roped her into doing this several times before.

  “Sit anywhere you’d like,” I said.

  Roxanne took a seat on the side of the dining room table next to the wall. I sat at the head of the table and Tammy sat on the opposite side.

  “I suppose we should get started,” I s
aid.

  “I have to admit I am a bit nervous doing this. Though I didn’t know what else to do. That’s why I came to you,” Roxanne said.

  She was kind of repeating herself now.

  “What else can you tell me about your friend? Was she into séances?” I asked.

  “Not that I know of,” Roxanne said.

  “Anything paranormal at all?” I pushed.

  She started to shake her head, but then stopped. “Wait, there was one thing.”

  Tammy leaned forward in her chair.

  “What’s that?” I asked with extreme interest.

  “Haley went to this abandoned school with some friends. After that she started acting weird.”

  My eyes widened. That couldn’t be a coincidence. I proceeded to tell her about Dana and my experience with the school.

  “So what does that mean?” she asked.

  “I don’t know, but I want to get to the bottom of it,” I said.

  “Maybe we can ask her through the board,” Roxanne said.

  “If we’re lucky. Let’s get started.” I stretched my arms out and placed my hands on the planchette. “Just follow my lead.”

  The little light flickered on top of the candle, as if maybe something was already present. We hadn’t called to Haley yet, but had she decided to show up? I scanned the room but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

  “Is anyone here with us?” I asked.

  Why had I said that? I should have asked specifically for Haley. I was just asking for trouble and I was supposed to be the so-called expert. Now who knew what kind of ghost could come through. An evil spirit was probably just looking for an invitation to come on through. I closed my eyes again. An uneasy feeling came over me.

  When I opened one eye and peeked to my right, I spotted Haley. She was sitting on the sofa the same as she had been last night, just staring at the wall. Did she know that I was watching her? Tammy had noticed that I was distracted by something.

  “We want to speak with Haley. Are you here, Haley?” I asked, glancing over at the sofa.

  At that moment Haley finally turned her attention to me. She winked. All right, now she was just playing games. She had been aware of me all along. Was she the one who had knocked on the door earlier? She had to be the one responsible for that little prank. Why was she doing things like that?

  “Was your friend mischievous?” I asked. “Always playing jokes?”

  “Oh, she was hell on wheels,” Roxanne said.

  “Oh, great,” I said.

  “Why do you ask that?” Roxanne asked.

  I shook my head. “Let’s keep going.”

  Haley laughed so hard that she toppled over on the sofa.

  “Can you tell us what happened to you, Haley?” I asked with an irritated tone.

  “Do you think she’s here?” Roxanne asked.

  Haley stood from the sofa and walked over to us.

  “If I knew what happened I would tell you. I told you what I know. You don’t need that board to talk to me. I’m right here.” She placed her hands on her hips.

  I couldn’t speak to her because then I would have to tell Roxanne that Haley was right there, and I wasn’t prepared to do that yet. I knew I had to tell her though sooner or later. I supposed now was better than nothing.

  Taking my fingers off the planchette, I said, “Okay, here’s the deal, your friend is already here.”

  Roxanne’s eyes widened. “Really? Where is she?” Roxanne looked around.

  “She’s standing right next to you.”

  Immediately Roxanne started to cry.

  “Oh, no, tell her not to do that,” Haley said, waving her hands.

  “She doesn’t want you to cry.”

  “That sounds exactly like something she’d say,” Roxanne said, wiping away her tears. “Can you ask her everything that happened and tell her that I got the teddy bear she always wanted me to have?”

  “I know she got it. I watched her,” Haley said.

  “She says she knows,” I said.

  Roxanne nodded. “Did she say what happened?”

  “She doesn’t remember,” I said.

  Tammy watched in stunned silence.

  “What else do you want to ask her?” I asked.

  With that question, Haley was gone. Why did she keep doing that?

  “Never mind, she’s gone,” I said.

  Roxanne looked around. “What do you mean? Where did she go?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know where she went, just that she’s gone. I don’t think there’s any use in doing the board again right now because she doesn’t need it to come around.”

  “What do you mean?” Roxanne asked.

  I took a deep breath. “Okay, here goes, I suppose I have to tell you.”

  Chapter 22

  “Tell me what?” Roxanne asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Well, Haley has been around before. She came around tonight on the tour. She went on the tour with me. I think she wanted to help.”

  Roxanne giggled. “She didn’t tell you what happened to her?”

  “She said she was in a car with a guy and they had a fight. She got out and that’s all she remembers.”

  “Really?”

  “I think the guy hit her with his car. Do you know who she would have been with?” I asked.

  “Maybe that guy she went to the abandoned school with,” Roxanne said.

  “What’s his name?”

  “His name was Harrison.”

  “First or last name?” I asked.

  “I don’t know the last name. You have to get her to remember,” Roxanne said.

  “Well, I think she might be a little fuzzy with her memory going back and forth between the two worlds, but I’ll keep pressing to see if I can find out. That’s if she comes around again.”

  “Or we can just use the board and get her to come back,” Roxanne said.

  “Like I said, I don’t think she abides by the rules of that board. She’ll come around whenever she wants.”

  “That sounds about like her,” Roxanne said. “So what do we do now?”

  “I guess we just wait until she decides to show back up.”

  “I appreciate you trying. And I knew she would come find you if she could. If there was anyone capable of talking to her then she was guaranteed to find them,” Roxanne said.

  I wasn’t sure what to say about that.

  “I should get going now, but you’ll call me if anything else happens?”

  “I’ll definitely call you right away if anything else happens,” I said.

  “I appreciate everything you’ve done.” Roxanne stood from the table and looked around as if she might see Haley.

  “I promise she’s not here,” I said.

  “I wish I’d gotten a chance to talk to her more.”

  “Well, maybe you can talk to her more later.” I touched Roxanne’s arm for reassurance.

  Roxanne nodded and then walked across the parlor over to the front door. “If I can find that guy, I’ll let you know.”

  “That would be great,” I said.

  She walked out of the house and I closed the door behind her.

  “Did you really see the ghost?” Tammy asked.

  “You know I wouldn’t just make that up.”

  “No, I guess you wouldn’t. It’s just that I’m shocked.”

  “You shouldn’t be shocked by now,” I said. “After all that we’ve been through.”

  “That’s true, but just the same, I’d rather the ghosts stay away.”

  “Well, I can’t say the same, I suppose, since my tour relies on it.”

  Now that Roxanne had gone, Tammy walked over to the table and blew out the candles. “That was certainly interesting though. Are you sure the ghost was her friend?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “I doubt there is more than one Haley Aleman in Devil’s Moon. guess I have no proof, do I? I’m pretty sure it was her.”

  “It seems like you’re seeing more and more of
them. Do you think that’s safe?”

  “Unfortunately, I’m not sure there’s anything I can do about it. But this ghost seems okay.”

  “How do you know?” Tammy asked.

  “She’s done nothing too bad. She hasn’t hurt me or anything.”

  “That’s not reassuring,” Tammy said.

  “I’ll be all right,” I said. “I should take you home. I’m sure you’re exhausted.”

  “No need,” she said with a wave of her hand.

  I raised an eyebrow.

  “I got a ride. Aaron is picking me up.” Tammy tried to hide her smile.

  She’d recently met a guy. I’d only seen him once, but so far, he seemed nice. He worked at the insurance agency in town. He was a few years older than us. From what I’d heard he’d moved here a few years back, though I’d never figured out what had brought him to our small town.

  “A date at this time of night?” I asked.

  “A girl has to eat, right?” Tammy picked up her bag.

  Headlights splashed across the area and I knew her ride had pulled up outside.

  “Just be careful out there,” I said.

  “You know I will. I’ll see you in the morning.” Tammy waved as she headed for the door.

  I followed Tammy to the door.

  She hugged me. “I worry about you.”

  “Well, I worry about you too,” I said.

  “I’m just fine.” She shook her head and walked out the door.

  I watched her walk all the way to his car and get in. Why didn’t he get out of the car? Maybe he should have come to the door and talked to me first. Okay, I was treating Tammy like my teenage daughter, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted to make sure she was in there safely and that no ghost popped up. As they drove away, I locked the front door. Not that that kept out the ghosts, but it would certainly keep out any other bad person.

  What would I do now? I supposed going to sleep would be a good idea. I needed the rest for the next day. Just as I moved toward the staircase, I remembered the phone I’d found. Now that I’d remembered there was no way I’d fall asleep until I plugged it in and found out the owner’s name.