All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt Read online

  There would be no way she could call for help. I would have to get away from Jessica.

  “Why did you kill Nicole? Couldn’t you have just gotten a part in another movie? Was it really worth killing her?”

  “She was with Preston too. She had it all. My roles and my man.”

  Oh, I’d forgotten about her involvement with Preston.

  “Now that she is gone I don’t have to worry about her taking my parts or my man.”

  I felt bad for the next actress who won a part over Jessica. She would try to kill her too. She had to be stopped.

  “You had Nicole’s phone and lost it here when you came back to the scene of the crime, didn’t you? You wanted to come back here so you could relive what you’d done, right?” I asked.

  She glared at me and I knew my assumptions were correct.

  Jessica reached out and grabbed the sleeve of my dress. It happened so fast I didn’t have time to move. Wiggling like a crazy eel, I managed to pull away.

  “We can’t let her do this,” Alice said.

  “I don’t know how to stop her,” Charlotte said.

  I stepped backward, trying to put distance between Jessica and me. She moved toward me with every step I took. I slipped in the wet grass but managed to right myself.

  We crossed over the path and back onto the grassy area.

  “Cookie, look out,” Alice yelled.

  “Behind you,” Charlotte shouted.

  When I turned around, I realized that I was by the water. Was this how she’d killed Nicole? Would I end up with the same fate?

  “Don’t let her get you,” Charlotte called out.

  I was trying my best, but Jessica was tough. She was much stronger than she looked.

  “Oh, I can’t watch. All the negative vibes are snapping my energy,” Alice said.

  I moved forward. I’d only made it one step when Jessica grabbed me again. I was so very close to the edge of the water. I was just an okay swimmer. I didn’t know how deep the water was. Jessica would probably hold me under. I hoped Heather didn’t come back. I didn’t want Jessica to attack her too.

  I pulled my arms up and managed to spin Jessica. Now she was the one on the edge. Just a little more and I might be able to push her in. That might allow me time to get away. She had her hands on my arms, but her grip wasn’t nearly as tight as it had been. Was she getting tired? I knew I was, but I couldn’t give up now.

  I pushed Jessica, but it wasn’t enough to get her in the water.

  “Keep going, Cookie, you almost had her,” Charlotte shouted.

  Jessica’s sandal was now stuck in the mud at the edge of the pond. Our eyes met. She looked panicked.

  “You’ve got her right where you want her now,” Alice said.

  “Give her a shove.”

  I pulled away, gasping.

  “You won’t get away with this. Get back here and help me,” Jessica said.

  Yeah, right. Did she think I was that stupid? Trying to keep as much distance between us as possible, I reached over and shoved Jessica. She stumbled backward, trying to right herself with the aid of her arms. But it was no use—she fell backward. A large splash rose up when she hit the water.

  “Good job, Cookie, now get away from her.” Charlotte didn’t have to tell me; I was already moving across the path.

  When I looked back, I realized that Jessica had gotten the shoe off.

  “Uh-oh, here she comes,” Alice said.

  Jessica had managed to get out of the water. She looked even angrier now. I was in trouble if I couldn’t get out of there.

  “Run, Cookie,” Charlotte urged.

  I took off across the lawn, trying not to slip. I wish I had time to stop and take my shoes off. I could move faster without them, but I couldn’t afford to stop. I was headed in the direction of the parking lot. If I could just make it to my car, I could use the phone.

  Jessica slowed down because her feet were slipping. I moved my legs as fast as I could until I felt they would fall off. My side hurt, and it was difficult to catch my breath.

  A hand grabbed my shoulder, and I fell to the ground. Jessica had caught up to me. I struggled to my feet. Jessica got up at the same time. She reached to grab my arm yet again. She just wasn’t going to give up. I saw the hate in her eyes.

  “You aren’t getting away,” Jessica said.

  I was going to try my best to get away, that was for sure.

  “Let her have it,” Charlotte said.

  Jessica swung at me with her other hand, and I managed to duck. Now she was throwing punches. My daddy had taught me a thing or two about fist fighting. I just needed to land a good one on her jaw. Jessica still had a hold of my left arm. But that left my right arm free. So I pulled back my arm and punched forward with all that I had. My fist landed squarely on her jaw. My daddy would be proud to see that I’d used what he’d taught me. I yanked my arm away and spun around.

  When I took off, I ran smack-dab into someone’s hard chest. I knew it was a man. I looked up into Dylan’s eyes. Was I ever glad to see him. I stumbled forward, and he helped me right myself. He had a firm grip on my arms until I got my balance again. I wasn’t sure how he’d found me, but I was thankful. And I didn’t care if I had to explain why I was there. He would just have to deal with it.

  He looked me in the eyes, but didn’t say anything.

  When I was on my feet, he yelled out at Jessica. “Stop right there.” He pulled his gun and pointed.

  She was frozen on the spot. But it didn’t look as if she was quite ready to turn herself in just yet.

  “Oh, thank goodness he is here,” Alice said.

  “My nerves couldn’t have handled much more of that,” Charlotte said.

  Jessica didn’t stop like Dylan had told her to. Instead, she turned around and ran. Dylan took off after her. He was much faster than she was, and I knew it would be a matter of seconds until he caught up to her.

  Just as I knew he would, Dylan caught up to her, giving her shoulder a hard shove. She fell to the ground, and he grabbed her up, bringing her to her feet.

  “You’re hurting me,” she said.

  Yeah, she hadn’t been too worried about hurting Nicole or me. Besides, he wasn’t hurting her.

  “Thank goodness this is over,” Charlotte said.

  “You’re going to jail,” Alice said.

  I released a deep breath. Where was Heather? Had she been the one to find Dylan? Now I was worried about what had happened to her.

  Dylan put Jessica in handcuffs and spun her around. “Come on. We’re going for a ride.”

  He walked Jessica across the lawn.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Yes, I’m fine. But we need to find Heather. She could be in danger.” I hoped Dylan understood the seriousness of the situation.

  “I’ll look for her after I secure this suspect,” he said. I followed Dylan as he led Jessica toward the parking lot.

  Chapter 24

  Charlotte’s Handy-Dandy Tips for Navigating the Afterlife

  Opening and slamming doors

  is the classic haunting antic.

  This tried-and-true method

  will always get results.

  We arrived at the parking lot as other police cars showed up. Jessica wasn’t talking to the cops. She looked over her shoulder a few times to glare at me. Dylan put her in his car until the other officers came to get her. I was shocked to see that the news crew from Savannah had shown up. I hid behind my car, hoping that I could avoid an interview.

  “It would be good advertising for the store,” Charlotte urged.

  That was true, but I wasn’t sure about that kind of publicity. Besides, I was a soaking wet mess.

  The ambulance arrived, and Dylan insisted that I get checked out. Of course, the paramedic confirmed what I already knew. It was just a couple of cuts and bruises. But I was worried about finding Heather. I knew that she should have returned by now. The knot in my stomach told me that something
was wrong.

  As soon as the paramedics were through with me, I had to go look for her. I could see that Dylan couldn’t help me find her. He had too much going on at the moment.

  Preston Hart came over and caught my arm.

  “Hey, Cookie,” he said. “What is going on? I can’t get anybody to tell me what happened. Do you know?”

  Did I ever. I had a front-row seat for all the action. But could I trust Preston? I still wasn’t sure that he hadn’t been involved. I would test him to see how he acted.

  “Jessica is the one who killed Nicole.” I looked at him for a reaction.

  He swayed as if he would fall over. “Are you serious?”

  Okay, it appeared that it had come as a shock, but then again, he was an actor.

  “What happened?”

  “She attacked me down by the water when I asked her about it. She admitted it to me.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” he said.

  Was he calling me a liar? I shrugged. “Well, it’s the truth and my friend heard her too.”

  “Not to mention the ghosts,” Charlotte said.

  “Where are they taking Jessica?” He pointed toward Dylan’s police car.

  “To jail,” I said.

  “So this is real?” he asked.

  “Very much so, I’m afraid.”

  “Why would she kill Nicole?” he asked.

  “Jessica said Nicole stole the part in this movie from her. And also that Nicole stole you. I guess Jessica thinks that you are a couple. Is that true? Were you dating her?” I asked.

  “No way. I was not dating her. She was supposed to be my friend. She was supposed to be Nicole’s friend too,” he said. “How could a friend do something like this?”

  “Well, obviously, she wasn’t really a friend.”

  Preston leaned against my car and placed his head in his hands. Now I truly believed that he hadn’t been involved. He really seemed upset by the news. Not only had he lost his fiancée, but someone he thought was a friend had taken Nicole from him.

  But I still hadn’t gotten the answer for one thing.

  “I saw you at the Plaza Hotel with Jessica,” I said. “You met her in the lobby and then went upstairs. You were holding hands.”

  He looked up, red-eyed. “I thought she needed comforting. I know I did and I figured she did too. My parents had arrived in town that day and I took her up to meet them. Not that I have to explain this to you, but there was nothing going on between us.”

  He was right. He didn’t owe me an explanation.

  “Preston, I am sorry about your loss. I hate that I had to be the one to tell you about Jessica. I know it can hurt deeply when you find out that a friend has betrayed you.”

  He stared straight ahead, lost in thought. “Thank you for the information. I hope you’re doing okay.”

  “Thanks. I’m fine.” I nodded.

  “Well, I’d better go,” he said.

  He didn’t get far before a police officer stopped him. As I scanned the area again, I realized that all of the movie crew was now standing around. Charlotte and Alice stood beside me, taking in all the excitement.

  “Hey, what is she doing?” I followed Charlotte’s pointing finger to see what she was talking about. Apparently, Dylan had taken Jessica from the backseat of his car to transfer her over to the vehicle that would take her to jail. She was moving her arms and hands a lot. No one was paying attention to her. The police officer who was supposed to be watching her was talking to someone else. The next thing I knew, Jessica had slipped her hands out of the cuffs.

  “What was she doing? I can’t believe she did that,” Alice said.

  “I’ve seen it happen before on TV,” Charlotte said. “She probably has small hands.”

  I had to catch someone’s attention before Jessica got away. I was afraid that she would try to grab the policeman’s gun. Instead, she decided to take off running.

  I waved my arms through the air, trying to get anyone’s attention. I called to Dylan, but my voice didn’t carry over the noise of so many people talking.

  I took off across the lot, rushing toward a group of officers. I hoped they didn’t think I was trying to attack them. What did I have to do to get someone’s attention around here? Jessica had already made it to the edge of the parking lot. Soon she would be on Vera’s property. If I were Jessica, I would rather take my chances with the police taking me to jail. Vera would freak out if Jessica stepped on her land. Dylan finally looked over and noticed me.

  I gestured toward Jessica, but he thought I was motioning to his car. He smiled. This wasn’t going as well as I’d hoped. Couldn’t he just see what I was pointing at? Jessica was about to slip through their fingers. I pointed out Jessica to Dylan. Once again he waved, but then looked over his shoulder. That was when he must have seen her.

  Dylan set out, running after Jessica. When the other officers realized what had happened, they took off in a sprint too.

  “She is one gutsy sociopath,” Charlotte said. “She’s as slippery as a snake.”

  The cops were yelling at Jessica to stop, but she wasn’t about to listen. They would have to tackle her. Jessica had paused to take off her sandals and tossed them to the side.

  Dylan was the first one who reached her. He grabbed her and brought her down with one big swoop. She landed on the ground, and he was almost on top of her. I couldn’t hear what was said because I was too far away, but I figured she was complaining that he was hurting her again. The other officers reached them as Dylan pulled her to her feet while holding her arms behind her back. She looked far from the movie star, with the crazy hair, smudged makeup, and dirty clothes. The tabloids would love photos of her like this.

  Reporters and photographers clamored behind the yellow crime scene tape. They were snapping photos of Jessica as Dylan escorted her back across the lot. He took her over to the police car, and another officer added cuffs around her ankles. She was complaining the whole time. Dylan opened the backseat door, and then shoved her in.

  “She would have to be Houdini to break out of those foot cuffs,” Charlotte said.

  “She is really strong,” Alice said with wide eyes.

  Dylan walked over to me.

  He took my hand. “Good eyes.”

  I might have blushed just a little.

  “I can’t believe they almost let her get away like that. If you hadn’t been watching, then she probably would have succeeded. We need to have you on the police force.”

  He smiled.

  I tried to find my voice. “It was nothing, really.”

  Charlotte coughed from over my shoulder. I ignored her.

  “Well, thanks again.” He slid his hand up my arm. It was then that I remembered how awful I must look with the streaked makeup and dirty clothing. Oddly enough, Dylan didn’t seem to care what I looked like.

  “I guess I’d better get back over there.” He gestured over his shoulder. “I’ll be back in just a few.”

  I wanted to tell him about Heather, but didn’t have the chance. While Dylan was talking to the officers, I decided I would take matters into my own hands once again and look for my friend.

  I slipped away back onto the plantation’s lawn. I figured that Heather had gone in the direction of the main house, so I would look there first. I tried not to worry, but that wasn’t easy. Maybe she had just gotten turned around and couldn’t find her way back.

  The area seemed isolated now that everyone had gathered down at the parking lot because of the police activity. I reached the massive house, with its white columns and giant porch. I marched up the steps toward the front door. I had no idea why Heather would still be inside if this was in fact where she’d gone for help, but since I didn’t see her, I had to check inside. I stepped up to the big black door and knocked. Why was I knocking? No one was there to answer.

  I twisted the doorknob, and the door opened. I stepped inside the massive foyer of the home. The hardwood floors glistened under my feet. It a
ppeared that the house was empty.

  “Hello?” I called out.

  My voice echoed through the large foyer. As I inched my way inside, I saw that a couple of wooden benches lined the walls. A crystal chandelier dangled above me. The rooms on each side of me were decorated with ornate period furniture. I walked from room to room, but saw no one.

  It was strange to be inside the house when no one else was around. I had wanted to see the place, but not under these circumstances. I’d only gotten a chance to see the outside until now.

  “Heather, are you in here?” I called out. I moved through every room downstairs, hoping that I wouldn’t get lost. The place was so big it would be easy to do. I’d moved through the kitchen and back to the foyer and still no sign of her.

  I turned to my left to head up the stairs when I heard what I thought sounded like footsteps. My heart rate increased, and I didn’t know if I should call out again. I was still a little panicked over what had happened with Jessica. Sure, the police had cuffed even her feet this time, but a little voice in the back of my head said, “What if she got out again and is coming for you?” The sound continued through the room to my right, and I wondered if I should find a place to hide.

  I hurried to my left and pulled on the first door that I came to. My intent was to hide in there until whoever was in the house went away. I’d peek out and make sure it wasn’t Heather. But if it was her, wouldn’t she have answered me when I called out to her?

  My hand was on the doorknob when a male voice called out, “Cookie? What are you doing in here?”

  I froze on the spot. I knew that I had to turn around. I eased around to see who had called out to me.

  Ken Harrison, the attorney, stood in the foyer with a puzzled look on his face. “Are you lost?”

  I closed the door and faced him. “I’m looking for Heather,” I said. “She went to get help for us and I haven’t seen her since.”

  Now that I thought of it, what was he doing in the house when everyone else was outside?

  “You do know about what happened?” I asked.

  “Yes, I’m sorry that happened to you. I’m glad they finally got the person who harmed Nicole. I knew Preston was innocent the whole time.”