Keep on Haunting Page 15

  Dana was behind the counter this time. She tossed her hand up and waved. At least she seemed to be in a little bit better spirits. “How are you, Rip?” she asked.

  “I’m doing all right. How about you?” I wasn’t even going to tell her about what had happened at my house last night. She had enough to worry about without adding to her stress.

  She shook her head. “It’s going all right.” She made my coffee and handed me the cup and bag with my pastry. Then she stepped out from behind the counter. I knew she was probably wondering if I had any news for her, but what little news I had I wasn’t going to share because it would only worry her.

  Dana had only taken a few steps around the counter when she stopped and peered down. “Who made this mess?”

  White powder was on the floor. The odd thing was that it was in a straight line all around the counter as if someone had traced it out. She grabbed the broom and started to sweep, but I stopped her.

  “Wait a minute,” I said. “I need to talk to you.”

  “I have to clean this up, honey, I can’t leave a mess on the floor. What would the customers think?” she asked.

  I leaned down and touched the powder, even though I was sure what I’d found. I had to know what exactly it was.

  “Just as I thought. Dana, this isn’t powdered sugar.”

  “Well, what is it then, if it isn’t powdered sugar?” She looked down at that stuff on the floor.

  “It’s talcum powder.”

  “Oh, it can’t be.” She reached down and touched it too. “You’re right. It is. How did it get here?”

  I wasn’t sure if I was ready to go into the whole story with her. “I’ll send somebody over to take a look at this. In the meantime, don’t clean it up, okay?”

  I had to get going. I couldn’t be late this morning because I knew Mrs. Agnew would show up soon. I would be in big trouble if those doors weren’t open. I headed for the door in a hurry.

  “Don’t touch anything,” I called out.

  “Should I be worried?” Dana asked.

  “It’ll be all right,” I said.

  I certainly wasn’t sure about that, but I couldn’t tell her. She would panic, that was for sure. As I headed down the sidewalk I pulled out my phone and dialed Brannon’s number. Before he even answered I caught a glimpse of something else that was amazing. The mystery man was right up ahead. Where had he been? Something told me that he had been watching us at the coffee shop. I supposed it was just a feeling I had. I had to try to keep up with him.

  “At the coffee shop… there’s white powder,” I said in a panicked voice when Brannon answered.

  “Are you serious? This is crazy.”

  “I know. Can you send somebody over there to take a look at it?”

  “Yeah, I’ll have somebody there right away.”

  “That’s not the only thing,” I said. “I’m currently following the mystery man.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “I can’t just let them go now, can I?”

  “No, you can’t. Where are you?”

  “I’m right on Main Street, headed down by the tavern.”

  “Where do you think he’s headed?” Brannon asked.

  “I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t show up at the library.”

  “I’ll be right there,” Brannon said.

  I couldn’t believe that Brannon had to come and chase this mystery man down. The man turned the corner into the alleyway, as if he was headed for the graveyard.

  Chapter 21

  I wasn’t sure that it was such a good idea for me to go back down the alleyway again. I figured the man was leading me back there for a reason, and it couldn’t be a good reason. Nevertheless, I had to find out what he was up to. He wasn’t going to get one over on me. Not to mention that I was curious why he was there.

  For that reason there was no way I couldn’t follow him. He turned and walked down the alleyway toward the graveyard.

  “Rip, don’t go after him,” Brannon said, but of course, I did the exact opposite.

  “I have to go after him,” I said.

  There was no response from Brannon. That was odd. Had I finally driven him over the edge and he was no longer speaking to me? Had he given up on me? I looked at the phone’s screen. The call had failed. I always had a hard time with cell coverage in this alleyway. At least now I knew that he hadn’t ended the call on purpose. Though he would panic now that he couldn’t get in touch with me.

  I wouldn’t blame Brannon for being mad at me for doing stupid things. But how else would I solve this case? I had to be tough, and sometimes it required doing things that put me in dangerous situations. How would anything ever get done if I didn’t sometimes get into a little bit of danger? I wasn’t sure Brannon would see it that way, but I digressed.

  Now that I’d reached the end of the alleyway, I looked around for the man. He was nowhere in sight. Just like the mystery shadow had disappeared, this man had done the same thing. But I had a feeling he might be hiding somewhere waiting for me. Once I was there he would reach out, grab me, and attack. Where was Mrs. Clatterbuck when I needed her?

  I caught movement out of the corner of my eyes. When I looked to the cemetery I spotted Mrs. Clatterbuck. Had she read my mind? In a way I’d known she would make an appearance eventually. She had weird timing, but I wouldn’t complain. Our eyes met and I wondered if she had seen the mystery man. I supposed I could ask her, but I doubted she would give me an answer.

  “Good evening, Mrs. Clatterbuck,” I said with a wave.

  She didn’t answer. She certainly didn’t greet me with a ‘good evening’ or ‘I missed you.’ I moved closer to the gate anyway. I figured I would give asking her a shot. If she didn’t answer then I was no worse off anyway. She continued to watch me as I moved closer to the gate. Once there I paused. We both stared at each other. The owl up in the tree hooted, as if he was warning each of us to be nice to the other. I was always nice to Mrs. Clatterbuck. She couldn’t say the same in return.

  “I want to talk with you.” The pocketbook dangled from one arm as she pointed at me with the other.

  At least she had finally broken her silence.

  “Okay, but I’m a little busy right now,” I said, looking over my shoulder to the left and then to the right to make sure the man wasn’t behind me ready to attack.

  “You have unauthorized visitors in the graveyard and I’m not happy about that.” Displeasure dripped from her words.

  “Are we going to do this again, Mrs. Clatterbuck? You know I bring the tour here almost every night,” I said.

  “No, I’m talking about the man who was here just a moment ago.”

  “You saw him?” I asked with wide eyes. “Where did he go?”

  “I don’t know anything more. Furthermore, I don’t care where he went as long as he’s gone,” she said. “What I care about is that you let him in here.”

  Mrs. Clatterbuck really wasn’t going to give up on that. She had to have seen where the man went. Now I just needed her to give me the details. Too bad the owl couldn’t talk. I was sure he would tell me.

  “Well, what do you have to say for yourself?”

  I couldn’t get her away from this subject.

  “What I have to say is where did the man go?” I asked, trying a different tactic.

  It didn’t work.

  “I told you I don’t know where he went, but I guess you will find him eventually,” she said.

  I sighed. “Yes, I suppose I will. It’s been nice chatting with you Mrs. Clatterbuck, but I need to get going if I’m going to catch up to the man. I’m really going to let him have it for coming into your graveyard.”

  She eyed me up and down, as if she didn’t believe me. She was a smart woman and she was probably onto my trick. The owl hooted again, as if agreeing with me. I turned around to leave. She was still watching me when I glanced over my shoulder.

  When a loud thump sounded
from somewhere behind me, I jumped and spun around. Mrs. Clatterbuck was still staring at me. It wasn’t her who had made the noise, but I saw no other person or anything that could have made the sound.

  “Did you hear that? Did you make that sound?” I asked.

  She raised an eyebrow. I took that as a no. I wouldn’t put it past her to try to make a noise to scare me.

  “If that was just your way of getting me to stay and talk to you it’s not going to work. Now I have to go.” I turned around to head toward the alleyway.

  Again when another sound rang out I spun around to catch Mrs. Clatterbuck in the act. Still she was in the same spot. The owl hooted again, as if issuing a warning. I looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Was that man hiding somewhere and just trying to play games with me?

  “Did you do that?” I asked Mrs. Clatterbuck again.

  “I told you no.”

  “Well, then what made that noise?” I asked. “You had to sense something. You even said there was a man back here. Did he throw something?”

  She shrugged. “He’s not here, is he? I didn’t see anything.”

  Mrs. Clatterbuck was being sassier than usual. I still don’t know if she was being honest, but this time it was too much. I had to go.

  “I’m late and I have to go, but I’ll make sure to talk to that man,” I said, hoping that would appease her for the time being.

  Looking around the area one more time for the mystery man, I realized that it was just too dark to see anything back there. I pulled out my phone and tried to use the light to illuminate any dark spots. Still I didn’t see him, so I hurried toward the alleyway. This had been one strange week. I should be used to that by now.

  It was probably for the best that I hadn’t spotted the man. What had I been thinking? I sped up my steps. I wasn’t going to hang around and wait for him to show up again. If he wasn’t here that was that. At least I had tried. So now I would just head to the library. As I hurried down the alleyway, I tried to get reception on my phone again. Of all times for it not to work. Finally, I got service and punched in Brannon’s number.

  “Where are you now?” he asked in a panic.

  “I just left the graveyard and I’m headed for the library right now. He wasn’t there.”

  I rushed across the street and down the sidewalk. At this point I was practically running.

  “I was just on my way to find you.”

  “It’s okay.” I said between pants. “I can see the library now. I’m almost there and I’m sure things will be fine now.”

  “Where is the last place you saw this guy?” Brannon asked.

  “He was walking down the alleyway. By the time I got to the end he was nowhere in sight. So I don’t know where he went.”

  Thank goodness I had reached the library now. I sprinted toward the stairs leading up to the massive front doors.

  “I’ll take a look around there and then I’ll stop by the library,” Brannon said.

  “Just be careful.” I pulled out the key for the front door.

  “Me be careful? You be careful. Are you sure you’re at the library?”

  “I’m opening the door right now,” I said. “And now I’m stepping inside.”

  “And you’re sure it’s safe in there now?”

  “Of course. People are here. Not to mention Annie and the cat.”

  “All right, I’ll see you soon.”

  Annie sent a message as soon as I hung up with Brannon. You look as if something is wrong. What happened?

  “I’m fine, Annie. Everything’s good.”

  I don’t believe you.

  Of course I didn’t want to worry her. I wasn’t going to tell her about everything that had been happening. “Everything is good,” I said with a smile, trying to pretend that I really believed that.

  All right, but if I find out otherwise you’re in trouble.

  “I promise I’ll let you know if something happens.”

  As I stood at the reference desk, I felt someone staring at me. I was worried that the mystery man or the shadow would make an appearance soon. However, when I looked around the room, I noticed a patron was watching me. Our eyes met and she smiled briefly, but then looked away, as if she hadn’t wanted me to catch her. She was probably wondering about the recent murder and if I had anything to do it. I knew the way talk circled around Devil’s Moon.

  I went back to my work, but then felt the same stare again. When I looked up the woman was watching me again. She quickly looked away. If she wanted to ask me something she should just come up and ask. Her watching me like that was really creeping me out. I tried to ignore the distraction of being scrutinized.

  A few more seconds of being watched and I looked up to see that the patron was headed my way. I assumed she was just wanting to check out a book, but nevertheless, it would be awkward if she continued to watch me like that. Maybe she would just check out a book and leave. The closer she got the more she stared.

  “You’re the one who does the haunted tours?” She eyed me up and down.

  “Yes, that’s me,” I said with a smile.

  I thought maybe she wanted to take the tour.

  “I’ve heard about you bringing bad spirits into the library and I think it’s just terrible. They really should fire you.” She shoved the book she wanted to check out toward me.

  That wasn’t a nice thing to say. She stared at me as I took the book. She showed no signs of remorse for her statement. I wasn’t sure what to say as I handed the book back to her. The woman turned and walked toward the door.

  I hadn’t expected for that to transpire. What an awkward conversation. It was even worse than I had imagined. I’d thought she would just check out her book, stare at me, and then leave. Thank goodness she’d checked out the book and left. Nevertheless, she had made me feel bad.

  Tammy had approached just as the end of the conversation was taking place. Tammy was a sweetheart, but she had a short fuse. I wasn’t sure she would be able to control herself and not say something to the customer. I hoped Tammy would just let it go. I didn’t need Mrs. Agnew contacting me, demanding to know why we had talked to a customer that way.

  Tammy wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “Don’t worry about what that woman said. She’s just some gossip and it doesn’t matter what she thinks.”

  I tried to force a smile onto my face. “I know it doesn’t matter, but just the same I’d rather it didn’t happen.”

  “Well, of course we’d rather everyone liked us, but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes there’s nothing you can do to avoid it.”

  “You’re a good friend, Tammy,” I said, giving her a hug.

  She flashed a huge smile. “I know.”

  I laughed. It was nice to have Tammy comfort me.

  I immediately got a text message. You should ignore what that woman said.

  Now I had two friends comforting me.

  “Thank you, Annie,” I said with a smile. “I feel much better now.”

  Jane Austen meowed and then rubbed her body against my leg.

  “Oh, I shouldn’t forget about you,” I said, rubbing her head.

  I had an unlikely cast of friends, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. My life was a bit bizarre, but I was okay with that. In the back of my mind though the comments from the patron still bothered me. I would get over it soon enough, but in the meantime it stung a bit.

  I went through the motions of my work day. I headed over to collect the books from the return. As I was sorting through them I found a note in one of them. It was specifically for me. The person had left another note in a book—I couldn’t help but assume it was from the mystery man. I didn’t think it was a coincidence that I’d seen him this morning. He was there for me and wanted me to follow him. So why hadn’t he taken that opportunity? I had a feeling that he was nearby. I wouldn’t bother to tell Brannon about this yet. I would wait until he arrived. There was no need to worry him anymore until he got here.

 
Tammy had been across the library replacing books on the shelf. As she headed back over our eyes met. She knew something was wrong. I supposed it was the strange expression on my face.

  She closed the distance between us quickly. “What’s wrong?”

  I showed her the note. “Read this.”

  Her eyes widened. “This is terrifying. Another note.”

  What the note said wasn’t all that scary, I supposed. But the person wanted me to meet them.

  “You’re not going to actually do this, are you?” she asked.

  Tammy looks scared, Annie said. And you’re not even telling us everything.

  How did Annie know that? She knew me too well. I supposed I was an open book without even realizing it.

  “No, I’m not going to do it. Well, not without Brannon. We can see what this note is all about.”

  Tammy sighed and placed the note back on the counter. “Well, I suppose as long as he’s with you.”

  “Did you think I was going to ask you to go with me?”

  “You have been known to do things like that in the past.”

  “I don’t want to put you in that much danger,” I said.

  “Gee, thanks,” Tammy said with a laugh.

  “I don’t understand the guy. Why he didn’t talk to me today. It was obvious that he was luring me there. He knew I was following him, but he never turned around and looked at me.”

  “He didn’t look at you? Maybe he really didn’t know you were back there.”

  “Then why would he want to meet me there?”

  “I don’t know, but you’re not even sure it’s him.”

  “No, I’m not positive.” I massaged my temples. “This is also confusing.”

  “Not to mention terrifying,” Tammy said.

  “Yes, there is that too,” I said.

  “When are you going to tell Brannon about this?”

  “As soon as he gets here. I promise.”

  Just then Brannon walked through the door.

  “Well, here’s your chance,” Tammy said with a wave of her hand.

  As Brannon moved closer he made eye contact with us. He was searching my face for whatever reaction. He thought that something was wrong. I knew it by the look on his face. Tammy moved behind the counter and I stepped around so that I could talk to Brannon. I had the note in my hand and gave it to him.