3 The Ghoul Next Door Read online

  She whirled around and swung her arm through the air. “Take that, you jerk.”

  He chortled, then disappeared.

  “He’s not there now.” I handed her a piece of paper.

  “What’s this?” she asked.

  “Notes. What Elvis said today.” I pushed the page toward her again.

  Her mouth dropped open, then she burst out in laughter. “I can’t believe you actually did that.”

  “What are friends for?” I laughed.

  She glanced at her watch. “I’m going to be late. I’ll read this while I wait for the ladies to prepare for class.” Her eyes were lit up with excitement as she glanced over the page.

  “I guess I’ll be on my way home now,” I said, gathering up my things.

  Mindy stared at me with her mouth agape. “You’re going home with Elvis?”

  “Well, yeah. He’s following my every move now. Kind of pointless not to take him with me since he knows I can talk to him and Callahan is with me so much anyway.”

  She let out a snort. “Lucky. You know you love it that he has to talk to you.”

  I shrugged. “I won’t lie. I’m not hating it.”

  “Well, I’m off to teach my last class for the evening. Hey, why don’t you come—”

  “Let me stop you right there because if you think I’m pole dancing in front of Elvis, then you’ve got another think coming. There is no way.” I waved my hands through the air. “I draw the line.”

  “You had Abraham Lincoln wait in the car while you did it, why can’t Elvis wait in the car?”

  “Because it’s different.” I lowered my voice. “He’s Elvis.”

  She stared for several seconds without saying a word. “You’re crushing on a ghost.”

  “Okay, I’ll admit I want him to hang around him for a little bit. But I am not crushing.” I felt the heat rush to my cheeks.

  “He’s a dead ghost,” she said.

  “That’s a redundant statement. If he’s a ghost, then you don’t need to say he’s dead because he couldn’t be a ghost if he wasn’t dead.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Okay. I’ll let you off the hook for tonight, but don’t think you can get by with that lame excuse every night. ‘Oh, I can’t come to class because I have to hang out with Elvis.’” Mindy imitated my voice as she walked toward the door.

  “Love you too, Mindy.” I snorted.

  If I knew her, and trust me I knew her because we’d been friends since dinosaurs roamed the earth, then I knew she wouldn’t ease up on the fitness class thing. She was determined to whip me into shape.

  “It’s time to close.” I called out to the ghosts. “I guess you all will be coming with me.” I made my way toward the front door and flipped the sign to Closed.

  I had no problem with Elvis coming home with me. That was one ghost I actually liked having around.

  Chapter Nine

  I never thought I’d be in this situation—I guessed with my life I shouldn’t be surprised— but I was riding down the road with Elvis Presley in my passenger seat. What would we talk about? Where did I start? Music would be the obvious first choice. There were so many questions. Luckily, he’d taken the front seat. He glanced over at me occasionally as he took in the scenery.

  “I love all your songs… and your movies. I went to Graceland once and took the deluxe golden tour.” I used air quotes with one hand while steering with the other. “Like the whole shebang. I saw everything and even stayed in the Heartbreak Hotel.” Okay, way to stay cool, Larue. I was a blathering fool. Thankfully, I’d left out the part about crying over his grave and secretly looking for his ghost.

  Elvis gave a hearty chuckle—a sexy, hearty chuckle. “I’m glad you enjoyed the visit. I know a lot of people go to Graceland and I’m happy that it’s there for everyone to enjoy.”

  “I bet you enjoyed it when you lived there.”

  “Yes, ma’am. But I had to buy the place. The neighbors at my old house got tired of all the fans around. It wasn’t fair to them, so I found Graceland.”

  “I can see their point.”

  To my disappointment, we pulled into my driveway and it was time to end the conversation. With any luck, we could pick back up later without the interruption of Mr. Fine.

  I hadn’t lied to Mindy when I said the day had been an uneventful one, all things considered. I would admit though, having ghosts hanging around wasn’t easy, but when one of them was Elvis Presley, well, that was almost too much to handle.

  I made my way through the front door with Elvis and Mr. Fine following close behind.

  “Please make yourself at home, Elvis. My home is your home.”

  “Hey, you didn’t say that to me.” Mr. Fine pointed at me with his cigarette.

  “Exactly.” I smirked.

  “You have a lovely home,” Elvis said as he looked at the photos on the mantel.

  “Thank you.” I smiled.

  “Whatever,” Mr. Fine huffed.

  I’d bought an old farmhouse of the outskirts of town. It was a great combination of old and new. I’d painted the walls with warm yellows, greens and browns and added splashes of color around to add cheer. One of my favorite things was the overstuffed sofa. I loved to curl up with a good book.

  I made my way from the living room into the kitchen, but something was different. The house now held a strange vibe. It was as if it was being haunted, but it wasn’t the ghosts standing next to me that made me feel that way. Had the shadow being returned? Becky Schultz had been a nasty witch who sent a shadowy being to harass me. She’d been taken away for practicing black magic just like Brianna.

  I wanted to chalk the feeling up to my imagination, but I’d only be fooling myself. There was something else that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, and I was usually very good at finding the source of bad vibes. This one had me perplexed. I really needed another living person around to help me shake the bad feeling. Since Callahan was busy doing inventory at his shop tonight, I couldn’t ask him to stop by. I’d have to beg Mindy to come over after her class.

  Sure, I hadn’t allowed Mindy to talk me into pole fitness, but I knew I’d owe her a class attendance. She’d get me soon enough. In reality, she should beg me not to attend. I wasn’t exactly graceful. Most other students in the classes I took part in spend the whole class watching me make a fool out of myself instead of actually exercising. But I digressed.

  If I asked Mindy over for a margarita night and burritos, maybe I could sweet-talk my way out of a few classes. Not to mention, she wouldn’t be able to resist coming over to hear more about my latest celebrity ghost.

  Mindy picked up the phone after one ring. “You think you’re so clever by calling me after class.”

  “Hey, I haven’t scared anyone with my gyrating body moves, bruised myself, or embarrassed you, so I think you should thank me.”

  “You can’t get out of doing my class forever. I’ll catch up to you,” she warned.

  “Why don’t you come over for burrito and margarita night?” I said in a singsong voice.

  “Darn you, Larue. You know I can’t say no now. You have Elvis Presley in your living room. I know I can’t see him, but just knowing he’s there. He’s still there, right?”

  I glanced over at Elvis who was trying to be polite to Mr. Fine by listening to his God-awful caterwauling. “He’s still here. He’s actually singing in my living room right now.”

  Okay, I lied. That was so not nice of me, but I figured it was a little payback for all the embarrassing pole fitness classes. I’d make her tough it out for a minute, then confess the truth.

  “What! That is so not fair. I want to be psychic too.”

  “Careful what you wish for. It’s not all that it’s cracked up to be.”

  “So what song is he singing now?” she asked around a sigh.

  I couldn’t hold back my giggle. “He’s not singing right now. He’s just sitting in my kitchen.”

  “I’ll get you for that, Larue Donavan.”


  “Are you coming over here for margaritas or what?” I asked.

  “I’ll be over in a few.”

  “Oh, pick up some cheese,” I said. “We need lots and lots of cheese.”

  “Yum. I miss cheese,” Elvis said.

  Note to self: don’t bring bananas or peanut butter into the house while Elvis was there.

  Chapter Ten

  A short time later, the front door squeaked and I knew it must be Mindy. Scratch that, I assumed it was Mindy. For all I knew, the footsteps could be from another ghost ready to camp out at my house. Thank goodness she was there though. Maybe now I could forget about the strange vibe that hung in the air.

  “Mindy, is that you?” I called out.

  I hoped she replied. I really didn’t want to deal with another ghost right now.

  “I’m here. I have the stuff for the burritos,” she said as she entered the kitchen.

  “Oh, great. It’s her again.” Mr. Fine snorted.

  “Shut up, Mr. Fine,” I said without even looking in his direction.

  Mindy placed the bags on the counter and began scanning the area. I knew who she was looking for and I felt sorry for her not being able to see Elvis. He was her favorite.

  I pulled the cheese from the bag. “I’ll start the food if you get the blender.”

  “What’s this?” Mindy pulled the witch’s ball from the package where I’d left it on the table that morning.

  “It’s called a witch’s ball. It captures bad spirits. At least that’s how the story goes. Anyway, it was on my front porch this morning. I’m not sure who sent it or why.”

  She placed her hand on her hip. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about it.”

  “I know. I guess I was a little distracted by Elvis.” I pulled the glass pitcher from the cabinet.

  Elvis winked and I blushed.

  “Where are you going to hang it?” she asked, spinning it around from the string attached at the top.

  I looked at the twirling ball. “How about in front of that window?” I pointed toward the small kitchen window.

  “It’ll look nice there,” Elvis said.

  Yeah, well, he looked nice anywhere in my house. I liked the touch he added to the scenery.

  “Elvis likes it,” I added with a grin.

  Mindy looked around and giggled. I know it had been awhile since Elvis had experienced this kind of giddiness, but he probably never forgot the type of reaction he stirred in women. Mindy reached up and hooked the ball to a small nail that I’d hung over the window. I’d had a sun-catcher there until I’d accidentally broken it while knocking down a cobweb.

  The sun shone through the ball, cascading the purple and blue colors across the room. When I watched the ball twirl, a strange sensation took hold. I’d had this feeling many times in the past. It was the same creepy feeling I’d had recently when the strange dark shadow had followed me around, but that had been associated with the black magic Becky had performed. I was glad that witch was no longer in Magnolia. But why was I feeling this again?

  As Mindy reached up to attach the string on the nail, she said, “You know, I’m getting a bad vibe in your house tonight, Larue. Something is giving me the creeps. And I have zero psychic ability. If I’m picking up on it, what are you feeling?”

  Should I tell her that I felt the same way? Since I couldn’t keep secrets from her, I knew I had to say something.

  Mindy had stepped away from the ornament, watching it dance through the fading sunlight. Without warning, the ornament floated away from the nail and smashed onto the hardwood floor below.

  “What the hell just happened? Did you see that?” Mindy’s eyes widened and her mouth hung open.

  The ornament had shattered and wisps of smoke danced up from the broken pieces. The dark mist floated up from the floor away from the shards of glass and then the cloud swirled and grew in intensity until reaching the ceiling. Once there, it slithered over to the corner of the room, crawling down the wall until it reached the floor.

  A dark figure hovered in the corner and seemed to watch us. I couldn’t be sure though, because it had no distinguishable facial features. A strong presence emanated from this mist—anger, distrust, and jealousy came off it in waves. Whatever this thing was, I knew it was aware of us.

  The thing felt like a demonic spirit and it had come right out of the witch’s ball. How had the glass fallen? Had Mindy not hung it securely on the nail? It had looked as if it had been thrown from the nail by unseen hands. I knew it wasn’t Elvis or Mr. Fine because they’d been standing behind me the entire time. I prayed it wasn’t a demon. I could handle a person or ghost, but I didn’t want to face a demon.

  The spirit continued to take shape as it remained in the corner of the room, watching us as if we were the intruders. The bad vibe continued to waft off the spirit, floating across the room and smacking us in the face. Yeah, this was definitely not a happy spirit. How could the foreboding feeling be so strong and fly all the way across the room?

  As long as it stayed over there in the corner, I wouldn’t have to tell Mindy to run, but if it came closer, she’d have to get out of the house before it attacked her. I couldn’t risk the consequences of having this thing assault my best friend.

  The thing continued to hover a few inches off the floor. A white glow ringed the outer edge of the otherwise pitch black form. The eyes weren’t visible, so I had no idea if this thing was watching us at the moment. The glowing ring around it expanded, growing wider and wider. I shifted from one foot to the other, not sure what my next move should be.

  My heart rate increased. I might have dealt with spirits all my life, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t hold back my fear. Demons fed on fear, though, so I had to keep it in. I’d learned to conceal my emotions years ago—the hard way. Plus, I didn’t want Mindy to panic. I needed to put on my big-girl panties. Mindy and I surely could kick some demon ass if we had to, right? I’d taken on the role of ghost-hunter, now I needed to live up to that title.

  What did this thing want from us? Was this the same dark shadow that I thought I’d gotten rid of when the black magic stopped? Or had it never left in the first place? Had it really attached itself to me? Maybe I was just overreacting, but having a demon attached to me would not be cool—more than a slight inconvenience.

  Mr. Fine and Elvis stared at the thing, standing in a guarded position. They would be no match for an evil spirit. They didn’t have the energy needed to fight this thing.

  I shifted from foot to foot again—ready to fight if I had to. I’d waited long enough. We needed to get out of there before something bad happened. If this evil spirit attacked Mindy, I might not be able to stop it.

  I opened my mouth to tell Mindy to run when this black shadow began to take an actual human form. A ghost was appearing from the mist. Maybe my instincts had been wrong. Maybe this was just a regular spirit and I needed to give the ghost a chance to come forward before I pulled out the holy water. As much as the ghosts annoyed me, I did enjoy helping them cross from this world to the next. Most of them had unfinished business or just wanted to talk with loved ones and they didn’t mean anyone harm.

  Finally after several seconds, the ghost appeared brighter than I’d seen any ghost in a long time.

  Mindy let out a gasp. “I can see her,” she said.

  “That’s because she’s sucking so much of our energy. Your visual of her will fade in a minute. She’s obviously a strong one.”

  The ghost had long, flowing blonde hair and dewy, perfect skin. Her red dress hugged her bosom and hips and flowed out just above her knees. Her red heels and red lipstick matched the dress.

  “What do you want?” I asked the ghostly woman.

  Like most women, she was focused on one thing in the room, and that one thing was Elvis Presley. The devil could have been standing in front of her ready to spear her with his pitchfork and she would have pushed him to the side to keep him from blocking her view of Elvis. A
nd I had to admit, I couldn’t blame her. I probably would have done the same thing.

  I snapped my fingers. “Hello. Over here,” I said. “You can ogle Elvis later, but right now I need you to tell me who you are and what you are doing here.”

  She finally forced her gaze away from Elvis. “Well, princess, I’m here because I’ve been trapped in that ball.” She pointed at the shards on the floor. “You were gracious enough to break it and let me free. For that, I am always grateful.”

  Another one. Unbelievable. Had someone listed me as a contact for the dead? See Larue for spirit activity? I couldn’t believe that myth about the witch’s ball was true.

  Chapter Eleven

  “This doesn’t look like a good situation,” Elvis said.

  Mindy watched on with her mouth still hanging open.

  I gestured with my hands for a time-out. “Let’s set the record straight. I did not break that ball and had nothing to do with letting you free.”

  If she was stuck in that thing, it couldn’t be a good thing. She had been there for a reason. And it wasn’t a good reason either. This situation had bad written all over it.

  She jutted out her hip and placed her hand on it. “Well, one of you broke it. I sure didn’t do it myself. If I could, I would have done that years ago, don’t you think?” She scoffed.

  “Okay, instead of arguing about how you got here, how about you tell me who you are and how you got stuck in that ball in the first place.” I folded my arms in front of my chest.

  Mindy stood behind me as if I was a perfect shield between her and the paranormal world.

  The spirit moved over closer to Elvis and smiled. He gave a half-hearted smile in return. Did he sense what I did? Her eyes held an evil glare as she looked from me to him. I didn’t trust her any further than I could throw her. And have you ever tried to throw a ghost? Let me tell you, it was impossible. Yes, I’d tried once, don’t ask.

  She shrugged. “It was a pretty ball. I was mesmerized by it. It was twirling around and I was watching it dance, then the next thing I knew I was in that sucker. There was no getting out. It was a trap. I know someone specially set it for me. They hated me.” She puffed out her bottom lip. “I was like a mouse going for the cheese.”