Take A Haunted Walk With Me (Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Book 5) Page 16

  John followed me up the path to the front door. “Has anything ever attacked you in this place?”

  That was a strange question, although I had been attacked here. Did he sense something?

  “Um, I’ve seen a lot of scary things in this place.”

  That was all that I told him. I didn’t want to scare him too much. I opened the door and he motioned for me to enter first. Once he stepped in, I started recounting the stories associated with this place. Suddenly a shiver came over me. John stared at me, making my uneasiness even worse. I guided him through the downstairs and then headed up the stairs. John was being quiet and not asking many questions.

  When we reached the top, I motioned for him to follow me down the hallway. “A lot of shadow people have been spotted in the front upstairs windows.”

  When I reached the last room down the hallway, I turned to speak with John. He wasn’t there.

  “John?” I called out.

  There was no answer. Where could he have gone? I went back down the hallway and looked at the next room. All the doors up there were open, so I figured he had stepped into one of the rooms to check it out. He should stay with me for the tour and not wander off.

  “John?” I called out again.

  I moved down the hallway to the other room. However, he wasn’t in there either. My nerves spiked. I looked through all the rooms, even checking the closet, and he wasn’t there. He couldn’t have just disappeared like that. This wasn’t some magic show. Had he left and not told me? Maybe he’d seen something that had spooked him. I was ready to get out of there too. I was surprised that I hadn’t heard him leave, although I had been talking, so maybe I hadn’t heard his movements. I went back down the stairs. Once I reached the bottom, I called out for him. When I didn’t get an answer, I grew more frustrated. I had no choice but to leave if I didn’t find him soon.

  That was when it hit me. He had disappeared just like his girlfriend. My anxiety spiked and my stomach turned at the thought. I rushed over to the back window to see if he was outside. Heaven forbid that he had been murdered out there too. Luckily, I didn’t see him out there, but that still didn’t explain where he was. I went over to the front windows. I didn’t see him out there either. After what had happened to his girlfriend it wasn’t cool for him to take off like this.

  I moved into the other rooms to look for him. The house was eerily quiet. I wasn’t waiting for something to grab me or a shadow to attack. I’d agreed to take him here because I’d thought he would be with me the entire time. I didn’t like coming into the old funeral home alone any more.

  I walked over to the closet and wrapped my hand around the old brass doorknob. My heart pulsed faster as I twisted the knob. When I opened the door, something lunged out at me.

  “Boo,” John called out.

  I stumbled back and landed on the hardwood floor.

  “Did I scare you?” John asked with laughter in his voice.

  I stared up at him. By the scowl on my face, I assumed that he knew I was angry. I scrambled up from the floor and raced over to the front door.

  John followed along behind me. “I’m sorry if I scared you. I just thought it would lighten the mood.”

  “If you wanted a lightened mood then you shouldn’t have come on a haunted tour,” I said as I walked out the door.

  John hurried along beside me. “I do apologize. It’s just that I’ve been through a lot lately.”

  I glanced over at him. He gave me a pleading look. I guessed I could see where he would want to ease his pain a little with a bit of humor.

  “Do you forgive me? Can we continue the tour?” he asked.

  I sighed. “Sure, we can continue, but please don’t do that again.”

  “I promise I won’t,” he said.

  Leaving the funeral home, I headed over to the bookstore. John really didn’t seem that interested now, even though he had asked for me to take him. It seemed as if his mind was somewhere else. I assumed he was thinking about his girlfriend, so I just continued talking and let him be lost in his thoughts, if that was what he wanted. I hoped he wasn’t thinking about scaring me again. Maybe he was quiet because he felt bad about what he’d done.

  We kept up a brisk pace as we headed down the sidewalk. That was when I realized that I was taking him to the antique shop. I couldn’t do that. If he noticed he didn’t say anything to stop me. He probably wanted to be nice and not point out my mistake. Surely he would stop me before I took him inside. I stopped before we reached the shop.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked.

  My tongue was tied. What would I say? He followed my gaze and realized that I was looking at the antique shop sign down the way.

  “I’m so sorry. I was distracted and didn’t realize. We should turn around and go back the other way.” I motioned over my shoulder.

  “You know, I really want to go to the shop,” he said.

  I glanced over at him. Was he serious? The look on his face seemed as if he was dead serious.

  “I know what you’re thinking. Am I crazy? I just thought if I went back there it would give me some kind of closure.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say. I didn’t know how I felt about going back there with him. It was one thing to go back there by myself. I supposed he wouldn’t want to go back there on his own though.

  “Okay. If you really think you want to go,” I said.

  When we reached the door, John stopped me.

  “Is something wrong?” I asked.

  “Do you mind if we don’t go in?”

  “Of course. I didn’t think you were ready to go in there yet. Let’s go back to the restaurant,” I said.

  “No, I want to go to the back of the shop.”

  Okay, this was getting stranger by the minute.

  “Why would you want to go back there?”

  “I just feel like if I go back there maybe I can figure out what happened to her.”

  I’d had that thought at first too. I’d soon realized being back there provided no clues. I supposed he would have to discover that on his own.

  I agreed and headed around the side of the building with him. This had been one crazy evening. I checked my phone, but didn’t have a text from Brannon. I hoped he sent a message soon. When we reached the back of the building, I stopped at the edge. I hoped that John just wanted to take a peek and then we could leave.

  “Walk with me, okay?” he asked.

  I hesitated, but then finally walked with him toward the Dumpster. Traffic had slowed down out front so there was less noise. The sound of our footsteps echoed off the brick building beside us. When we reached the Dumpster, we paused.

  “This is where they found her,” he said.

  That was something we really didn’t need to be reminded of.

  “Yes, I know,” I said.

  A few more seconds and I would insist that we go back to the front of the building.

  “You want to walk down there a little bit more?” he asked.

  “No, I think I should stay here.” I moved back a couple steps.

  He didn’t answer as he headed away from the Dumpster. I was reminded of when I’d come back here. As he stood across the way he looked like the figure I’d seen that day. Had he been the one back here that day?

  He turned to look at me. I waved and motioned for him to come back. If he didn’t then I’d already decided that I was going to leave. Thank goodness he started walking toward me. The way he stared at me was slightly unsettling. Was he upset about something? Mad because I hadn’t stopped him from going back there?

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  He smiled as if everything was fine. “Just thinking, Shall we go back?”

  I’d thought he’d never ask. I turned to head around the side of the building. Having him walk behind me gave me the creeps, so I moved over so he would walk next to me.

  We turned around and headed in the same direction where we had just come. I glanced over at him since he was so quiet
. He met my gaze. His eyes seemed darker, as if he was angry. Was he mad that I had allowed him to go near the shop? I had apologized and that was all I could do. After what he’d done at the funeral home, I would think he’d be a little more forgiving for what I’d done. This tour got weirder by the minute. I should just tell him I couldn’t do any more of the tour. Was I being too nice?

  After skipping the inside of the antique shop, John and I went on to the restaurant. We stepped inside the old building. The bottom floor was full of customers, so I guided John to the second floor to tell him about the ghostly activities that customers and employees had encountered.

  Once at the top of the stairs, I stepped to the right into the space that was mainly used for storage. John followed me into the cramped quarters.

  “Here there are reports of a female ghost. She’s from the Civil War era. It’s claimed that she is waiting for her husband to return from the war.”

  “How tragic,” John said as he moved across the room over to the window that looked down on the sidewalk below.

  “Some people claim to see her looking out that window on many occasions.”

  John remained quiet as he stared out the window.

  “Well, we should get back downstairs now.” I turned toward the staircase, hoping that he would take the hint and follow me now.

  A bang sounded from somewhere in the room. I spun around to see what it was, but there was nothing there. However, John was right behind me. Way too close behind me. He stared at me and I instantly felt uncomfortable.

  “We should go back downstairs,” I said.

  “Okay.” He nodded.

  I turned to go back down the stairs and that was when I fell forward, tumbling down the stairs. I groaned and tried to get up. When I looked up John was standing over me.

  “Are you okay?” He reached his hand down to help me up. “Should I call an ambulance?”

  I managed to sit up, but I was still a bit dazed. “I’m not sure what happened.” I rubbed my head.

  “You fell down the stairs,” John said.

  “It felt as if someone pushed me.”

  He frowned. “I was behind you. No one pushed you.”

  “Oh, I wasn’t implying that you pushed me. It’s just that it felt so real. Like a hand pushed me.”

  “It looked as if you just tripped to me.”

  I finally managed to get to my feet. I was surprised no one from the restaurant had heard me fall down the stairs. I’d often worried about falling down the stairs since they were so steep. Maybe I had tripped and hadn’t even realized it.

  “Do you think it was the ghost?” John asked.

  “At this point I don’t know what to believe,” I said, straightening out my clothing.

  I pushed the hair out of my eyes.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  I nodded. “I’m fine.”

  Maybe I should have told him I needed to stop the tour. It had been one heck of a night.

  John and I walked out into the main section of the restaurant. Like I suspected, no one even paid attention to us. They probably just thought we were there to eat. I wouldn’t tell the owner about what had happened either. He might ask me to stop doing tours there if he thought someone was getting hurt. I was surprised Mr. Byrd hadn’t told me to stay away, even though I’d had nothing to do with the murder.

  John and I stepped out onto the sidewalk.

  “Sorry that you were hurt,” he said, though he didn’t look at me when he spoke.

  John seemed distracted for a moment. By what, I wasn’t sure. The only place left was Devil’s Moon Cemetery. I could have offered a few more places, but I figured that was enough for the evening.

  When we stepped out onto the sidewalk from the bookstore, I said, “Shall we go to the graveyard now?”

  “Yeah, the graveyard would be great, but I was wondering if you knew of any other places that you usually don’t take people. Like an insiders’ tour or something?” he asked. “You know, maybe something off the beaten path, a little more secluded. I’m really going for that spooky vibe right now. It’s kind of the mood I’m in, you know? A dark place.”

  Again that was a weird request, but I supposed I could do that.

  “Well, there’s this other graveyard. We would have to drive there,” I said.

  After what had happened there I wasn’t sure why I was agreeing to go back. I was oddly attracted to the place.

  “I’ve got my car right here,” he said, motioning.

  “Yeah, okay, I guess that would be all right.”

  I hopped into the passenger seat of his car and gave him directions to the old cemetery. Maybe I shouldn’t go, but if he wanted spooky that was definitely the place to go. I sent Brannon a text to let him know I’d be a little later.

  Going to that old graveyard.

  Why?

  Taking a tour there.

  Please be safe.

  You know I will.

  We drove out of town just a little bit. Halfway there John’s phone rang. He glanced at it, but ignored the call. A couple seconds later the phone rang again.

  “Aren’t you going to answer that?” I asked.

  “It’s not important,” he said, keeping his eyes on the road.

  I assumed he turned the phone off.

  “So tell me about this place you’re taking me,” John said.

  The more we drove the more nervous I became. The area was spooky and a lot of things had already happened tonight.

  “Well… I believe it’s an old family graveyard. There used to be a home nearby, but it’s since fallen down.”

  “Interesting,” he said as he kept his eyes on the road. “How did you find out about it?”

  “It’s an odd story. I received… well, I had this book and I wanted to look for the deceased owner. Eventually I found her grave there.”

  “Wow. That is some impressive detective work,” he said.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “Where was the book from?” he asked.

  I’d been afraid that he would ask that. “It was donated to the library.” I wasn’t going to mention the fact that the book was haunted.

  Chapter 23

  As we drove up to the turnoff, I spotted something in the road.

  “There’s a branch in the road,” I said.

  John pulled the car over to the side and shoved it into park. “Good thing you saw that. I would have run right over it. Might have hurt the car. Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome,” I said.

  He opened the door and got out. “I’ll be right back,” he said as he hopped out.

  I watched as he walked around the front of the car. Uneasiness swept over me. It felt as if someone was watching us. I glanced to my right, halfway expecting to see someone out there by the trees.

  As I waited for John to drag the branch out of the way, I happened to glance down. I noticed something in the floor of his car. It looked like a map. I reached down and picked it up. Yes, it was definitely a hand-drawn map of this area. Someone had made this for him. Why did he have a map of this area? He had acted as if he didn’t even know this area. Had he been looking for it before? I wanted to know who had drawn this map for him. Probably the only way I would find out would be to ask.

  The map had been drawn in black ink on a plain piece of white paper. Nothing unusual stood out about the drawing other than the fact that we were near the location now. He hadn’t needed me to take him here at all. Why hadn’t he mentioned that he knew this place was near? Did he know where he was? Maybe someone had given him the map and he still didn’t know how to get here. Regardless, it was still a little unsettling.

  John tossed the branch onto the side of the road. He headed back toward the car.

  I placed the paper back onto the floor. Did he even remember that he had left it down there? I supposed if he was trying to hide something down there then he wouldn’t have left the paper there. Maybe he wanted me to see it. But why would he want that? I
tried to make sure I placed the paper into the exact same spot so he wouldn’t be suspicious that I had been messing with his things. I glanced to the right again to see if anyone was there. I still had that feeling that someone was watching us. No one was there.

  John opened the car door and slipped back behind the wheel.

  “Everything okay?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

  “Just fine. What about you? You seem nervous.” He eyed me suspiciously.

  “Oh, everything is fine. We’d better get to the graveyard. It’s getting late.” I gestured.

  John placed the car into drive and continued on the way. I glanced down at the paper. Had he even noticed it when he got back into the car? He was watching me. Did he know what I was thinking? Had he seen me looking at the paper?

  I couldn’t gauge his reaction. Nerves raced through my body. I was going to ask him about the map. It was a risky move, but I had to do it. John glanced over at me. He probably sensed my nervousness.

  “I wanted to ask you a question,” I said.

  “Sure, go ahead,” he said with a smile.

  “When you were moving the branch I happened to notice something in your car.” I reached down and picked up the paper. “It’s a map of this area. Have you been here before?”

  I was nervous to hear his response. My hand shook a little while I held the paper.

  He glanced at the paper in my hand. It didn’t seem to catch him off guard. “I had heard there was an old graveyard out here. I wanted to see it.”

  I quirked an eyebrow. “Then why didn’t you mention that when I first told you about this place?”

  “I didn’t?” he asked.

  “No, you didn’t.”

  “Oh, I guess it slipped my mind. Is everything okay? You seem upset.”

  “It’s just that I was surprised to see this.”

  “Nothing was meant by it,” he said.

  “Who gave you this map?” I asked.

  He didn’t answer right away, which wasn’t a good sign. He stared at the road with his hands on the steering wheel. If he didn’t answer soon then I was going to run the opposite way when I got out of this car. I would insist that he let me out right away. Something didn’t seem right that he didn’t want to answer me.