06 Hauntin' After Midnight Read online

“Erin wants to talk with me.”

  Tammy shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “I don’t think it is either, but she wants to talk to me about the murder, so I have to go.”

  “What if she is the murderer?” Tammy asked.

  “That is a problem,” I said. “I’ll be really careful and I won’t go anywhere alone with her.”

  “Well, if you’re not home at a reasonable hour I’m calling the police.” Tammy waved her finger.

  “You’re forgetting that I have the police with me,” I said.

  “I just have a bad feeling about this,” she said.

  ***

  After work I grabbed my bag and headed out the door, walking the short distance over to the bed-and-breakfast. Officer Ellison followed me. It was in an old Victorian-style house. Outside it was painted blue with white shutters and wide front porch. The place was really charming. A wide path led up to the porch. On each side of the door were rocking chairs. The left side of the porch had a black swing that hung from the ceiling.

  Officer Ellison waited on the front path. I walked up the path and knocked on the door. It opened when I knocked. That was strange.

  “Is anybody here?” I eased it open just a little bit.

  I called out again, but no one answered, so then I stepped into the hallway just a little bit. I called out again, but still no one was around. This was really weird. The door on the left of the hall was a bedroom. I wondered if that was Erin’s room. What if she had just stepped out for a moment? I probably should mind my own business, but when I saw her bag on the bed, I knew for sure that it was her room. I became instantly curious. Maybe she’d left the door open on purpose, like this was some kind of setup to lure me into the house. Tammy could be right. I shouldn’t be here alone, but yet I wanted to look around. It was dangerous, but I was always taking risks. Besides, Officer Ellison was right outside. Maybe just a little quick look and then I could get out of there.

  My head was telling me not to do it, but my legs were walking right into the room. I stepped in just a little bit and called out to Erin, but again I got no answer. The house was eerily silent. Now I was in this room and I had to do whatever I was going to do and get out of there. Did I really want to go through her things? That was such an invasion of privacy, but when looking for a murderer sometimes I had to do these things. I went over to the bag on the bed. I just peeked in without touching anything. I couldn’t really see anything that was in there though, so it would require me actually pulling some things out.

  “Erin, are you here?” I called out again just to make sure that she hadn’t come in.

  There was no answer and no noise. I quickly stuck my hand in and started pulling out some of the contents. A hairbrush, compact, chewing gum. I couldn’t believe I was actually doing this. My heart beat faster and I prayed she wouldn’t catch me. Then I realized that I had found something valuable. These were the pages from that book. She’d had them all along. Maybe that was why she wanted the book. I couldn’t wait to see what they said. I realized there was writing on the back of the pages just as Elle had said.

  The woman was murdered, but I can’t tell anyone. I saw it happen. He threatened me and my family. To protect my family I will have to keep quiet about this. Her death wasn’t an accident.

  It was information about a murder. The man had witnessed it. I assumed that was Elle’s husband. Why did Erin have them?

  So the man had witnessed a murder. Could Katrina have figured this out and that was why she’d been murdered? It had happened so long ago. What would be the connection? That couldn’t be it, right? I wasn’t sure if I should ask Erin about this. I mean, she would know I had looked in her purse if I told her about the pages. Maybe I could think of a way to bring it up and see her reaction. She would just deny it though. She had a way of playing innocent on everything, but I knew she was much more involved.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  I jumped when I heard Erin’s voice. I spun around to find her standing at the door. The pages were still in my hand, so it wasn’t like I could deny it. She had caught me red-handed. Now I had to confront her with this and somehow find a way to call Officer Ellison in here for back up. “Why do you have these pages?” I asked as I waved the pages.

  “Why are you in my room looking through my things?” Erin stepped closer to me.

  I wondered if there was going to be a physical confrontation. With narrowed eyes and clenched fists, I knew she was angry. She reached out and grabbed the pages from me. It was too late though, I already knew what they said.

  “Are you in the habit of going through people’s things? Were you trying to steal something?” Erin asked.

  “I don’t steal things. I just snoop.”

  Clearly she was not amused.

  Chapter 25

  “You called me here for a reason, so why don’t you tell me what it is,” I said. “You have the pages back so we’ll act like it never happened.”

  An evil grin came over her face. “You would like that, wouldn’t you? I do actually want to talk about the murders.”

  “Okay, I’m waiting,” I said, placing my hands on my hips.

  I wanted her to think that I was really trying to work with her and not fight. I wanted her to think that she could tell me about the murders. Otherwise if she was angry with me she would just keep this information to herself.

  “What about the murders?” I repeated.

  She came a few steps closer and I began to panic. It looked as if I was going to have to defend myself.

  “All of this for a couple of pages out of the book?” I said.

  “It’s much more than that,” she said.

  She reached out to grab me and I dodged to the left.

  “You’re not going to get away from me,” she said.

  “You want to bet,” I said as I dodged for the door.

  I had to get out of that room. She had an advantage as long as we were in there. I wanted to be out in the open. Plus, Officer Ellison was outside waiting for me. I supposed I did have an advantage with him.

  “Don’t you remember that the police are with me?” I said.

  She reached for my shirt and I continued my dash for the door. The fabric ripped, making an unpleasant sound. I cringed at the thought of what my shirt looked like now. I loved that shirt.

  “Now you’re going to pay for that,” I said. “And in more ways than one. Not just with money.”

  “Shut up. I’m so sick of hearing you talking. Your stupid voice is annoying.”

  I reached the bedroom door and then headed for the main entrance of the bed-and-breakfast. “My stupid voice? I’m sick of hearing your whining.”

  She screeched because yet again she’d failed at grabbing my clothing.

  “I’m upset that you don’t even care that your aunt was murdered,” I said.

  “How dare you,” she yelled.

  Was the bed-and-breakfast owner here? If so, could she hear us arguing? I hoped not. It was completely rude to come into her home and then do this. Now I’d almost reached the main door.

  The smell of roses drifted across the air. Where had it come from? The scent became stronger with each passing second. It was overwhelming now, but in a good way. I glanced around, as if looking would show me where the aroma had come from. Erin must have noticed it too. She had stopped her pursuit of me for just a moment to seek out the source of the perfume too. Now was my chance to get out of there. With the heavy fragrance still encircling us, I made a dash for the main door. A few more steps and I’d be outside, and with any luck, away from Erin.

  I didn’t make it to the door though. It wasn’t Erin who stopped me. Cattie appeared in front of the door. I stopped in my tracks and stared at her. So that was why the rose scent kept coming around. I suppose that was her way of letting someone know she was around. Her eyes seemed clearer now. The blue was almost mesmerizing. Erin released a gasp. When I glanced over my shoulder Erin
had stopped too. She saw Cattie. Finally I wasn’t the only one who could see her. Erin was staring right at Cattie.

  Erin backed up, bumping against the wall. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open.

  After a couple seconds, she said, “What is that?”

  I was surprised. I thought Erin would be fearless. Maybe I could use this to my advantage. But I’d have to convince the ghost to move out of the way so I could get out the door. Why was Cattie stopping me from leaving? Did she want Erin to hurt me? Was she helping Erin? Cattie had been staring right at me, but then she turned her attention to Erin. It was as if she was noticing her for the first time.

  What if I asked the ghost to move out of the way? I could be forceful with her and see if that worked. Though it could only make things worse.

  “You have to get out of here,” I said.

  Cattie didn’t move. She remained in front of the door. I assumed Erin saw the ghost in the same way as I did. Cattie was see-through. Solid enough to make out all her features, but the background was still visible behind her. Just then Cattie moved forward. I stumbled to the left to avoid her. Her focus was locked on Erin.

  Now Cattie was standing right in front of Erin. It was as if she was blocking her. Cattie was giving me a chance to run. Erin screamed out and I took off for the door. I fumbled with the knob for several seconds. The more nervous I became the clumsier I got. Thank goodness I got the door open and headed outside. As I crossed the threshold I glanced back. Erin still screamed and then Cattie disappeared. Had Erin scared the ghost with her screaming? Now Erin locked eyes with me. Uh-oh. She took off in a sprint toward me. I didn’t need to look back to know Erin had caught up with me. She sure was fast.

  Once on the porch Erin reached for me again, but I managed to get down the steps before she grabbed a hold of what was remaining of the back of my shirt.

  I looked around for Officer Ellison. Where had he gone? Missing at a time like this when I actually needed him. For a few moments he was nowhere in sight, but then I spotted him standing on the sidewalk beside the giant oak tree. He wasn’t even paying attention to me, nor did he notice that I was running toward him.

  “Officer Ellison, can you help me?” I yelled as I continued to close the distance between us.

  Finally he looked up and saw that I was running toward him. I glanced back and saw that Erin was still chasing me. Wasn’t he going to stop her?

  Officer Ellison made no attempt to come and help me. What was wrong with him? Couldn’t he see that she was coming after me? And after all the murders in town and Brannon had asked him to follow me to make sure I was safe. He knew she could be the murderer. I was beginning to think that I was right and she was the murderer.

  “Something is wrong with her. Can you please ask her not to punch me in the face?” I said as I got close to Officer Ellison.

  He grabbed me by the arm.

  “What are you doing?” I asked. “I’m not the criminal here.”

  He was acting as if I had tried to attack her and not the other way around. When I looked him in the eyes I realized that he wasn’t here to help me at all.

  “You just can’t mind your own business, can you?” he asked. “You just had to get involved and now look what happened.”

  What were they going to do to me? It looked as if I had found the murderers, but I still didn’t know why they’d done it. Was it just for the money?

  “You killed your aunt just for this house?” I asked Erin.

  “Well, she had more than just this house.”

  I turned my attention back to Officer Ellison. “And you’re helping her. You’re working together. You took a pledge to protect and serve. This is not protecting and serving. Murder is not protecting and serving,” I said.

  “Yeah, well, sometimes things don’t work out as we planned,” Officer Ellison said.

  And to think I was trying to fix him up with Tammy. That made my skin crawl. I had put her in danger by encouraging her to date this guy. She’d never let me hear the end of that. I could hear her now. “Oh, great, Rip fixed me up with a serial killer.”

  Officer Ellison wasn’t loosening his grip on my arm. Instead they marched me toward the car.

  “Where are you taking me?” I asked.

  “Now if I told you that it would take away from the fun of you being surprised,” he said with a smart-aleck look on his face.

  I was usually such a good judge of character. Clearly, I had failed on this attempt.

  “Brannon will be looking for me, you know,” I said.

  “I think we have ways around that. He’ll just think that you decided to leave. We have this all planned out.” He opened the back door of the car and shoved me in the back.

  I didn’t know what they had planned, but panic surged through my body. I had to get out of here. I was trapped in the back with no way out. The doors of the car were locked. Officer Ellison got behind the wheel and Erin climbed in the other side.

  “Look, no one has to know about this. I can keep a secret,” I said. “We’ll just forget this ever happened. I’ll go back to the library and do my job. We’ll all be happy.”

  They laughed in unison.

  “You’re so funny,” Erin said.

  “She cracks me up,” Officer Ellison said.

  He started the car and pulled away from the curb. So much for trying to talk them out of killing me. I was really rethinking my need to help solve the murders.

  “Why did you take those pages? Did you think that was going to save you from being discovered? They been there all those years,” I said.

  “As long as we got rid of them, then yes, no one would figure out what happened,” she said.

  “Yes, but why not destroy them right away? Why did you keep them? That leads me to believe you want them as a souvenir,” I said.

  “Well, they are kind of neat, and old, so yes.”

  “So you want to have something to remind you of the murders? You are truly sick. That was your aunt.”

  “The money means more to me than any relationship.” She smirked. “Katrina had a nice collection of property around the state.”

  That was a truly disgusting statement. Just looking at her made me sick.

  We rode in silence. I couldn’t handle not knowing where we were headed. Officer Ellison pulled onto the old road that led out of town. It was less traveled and I wondered if we’d even pass a car. Not that it mattered because I wouldn’t be able to get anyone to help me.

  “How did Katrina get so many properties?” I asked.

  Erin stared straight ahead. “If only you would have agreed to buy the house then maybe I wouldn’t have to get rid of you.”

  “Get rid of me?” I repeated.

  They snickered as I panicked. So they really were going to kill me too. I stared out the window, trying to think of a way to get out of this. Could I run for it once they finally let me out of the car?

  “You know, I wasn’t planning on a road trip. I’m totally not prepared. I didn’t bring pajamas or a toothbrush.”

  This time she didn’t laugh. “Do you think you’re funny?” she asked.

  Mildly humorous, yes. I guessed my nerves brought that out in me. Obviously she didn’t enjoy my attempts at humor.

  I couldn’t sit still. My legs twitched and I twisted my hands. I stared out the side window at the passing trees. It would be dark soon and then I knew the worst would happen to me. I hadn’t even gotten to say goodbye to anyone.

  Officer Ellison punched the gas. He must really be in a hurry now. I stared at his profile. His face looked different to me now. I guessed because I knew how evil he was. He glanced in the rear view mirror. I didn’t think he was looking at me. I turned to look behind us.

  There was a car speeding behind us. Actually whoever was behind the wheel was driving erratically. The sun was setting behind the car and blocking my view of who was inside. Was this just a bad driver or was someone after Officer Ellison? It wasn’t a police car, so I knew i
t wasn’t Brannon. My stomach twisted into a tighter knot when I thought of him.

  “What the hell is wrong with that person?” Erin asked. “Can’t they see you’re a police officer? You should pull them over and stuff them in the backseat too.”

  “Yeah, you psycho. What’s one more murder?” I asked.

  Oops. Did I just sat that out loud?

  “I might not be able to get to you now, but soon enough I will and you’ll be sorry,” Erin said.

  “Maybe I will, or maybe I won’t.” I smirked.

  What was wrong with me? The fear must be causing me to become delirious. I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. The snarkiness just spewed out like a water faucet. All of a sudden the car bumped into the back of Officer Ellison’s car. My head whipped forward.

  “Son of a…” Officer Ellison said.

  This person was hitting his car on purpose. Officer Ellison managed to stay on the road, but the driver behind us wasn’t giving up that easily. He pushed the gas even more. We took off so fast that my stomach sank to my feet.

  “This person must have a death wish,” Erin said.

  “Their wish will come true when I get a hold of them,” Officer Ellison said.

  Up ahead the road curved and I thought for sure that would be when we’d end up crashing. I glanced back to see if the car was still keeping up with us. Sure enough, it was right there as if we were towing it.

  The sun had moved and was no longer blinding my view of the driver. Tammy was behind the wheel. Her face contorted as she concentrated on driving. What the heck was she doing? How had she known I was in this car? She’d said she would come after me, but I hadn’t really believed her. I should have guessed though. When she said she was doing something, she did it. Now I was worried that she would crash. She had to stop before she got hurt. Who knew she could drive like that? Seriously impressive skills.

  Whose car did she have anyway? Tammy didn’t have a car right now.

  “I see that’s your friend,” Erin said. “She thought she was going to flirt with my man.”

  “She didn’t want your disgusting man,” I said. Just because Tammy had batted her lashes a few times meant nothing.