06 Hauntin' After Midnight Read online

  “No, you can pay the bartender,” I said.

  He nodded and then just stared at me. “Something else you wanted?”

  “I thought I recognized you, but I guess it was someone else. Are you from Devil’s Moon?” I asked.

  He probably thought I was flirting with him. He took a drink of his beer and then said, “Yeah, I’m from around here.”

  I could tell this conversation wasn’t going to be easy.

  “Oh, now I remember where I knew you from. Didn’t you date Katrina Kohl?”

  Okay, not so subtle. He immediately frowned. “Are you friends with her?” he asked.

  I didn’t want to tell him how I really knew her, so I just went along with the friend theory. “Yeah, we’re friends,” I said.

  He focused his attention on the beer again and took a drink. Next he said, “So, I guess you know she broke up with me.”

  “No, I didn’t know that,” I said.

  I figured if I told him that he might give me details of the breakup. It was a long shot, but worth a try at least. Why hadn’t he mentioned her death?

  “Why did you break up?” I asked.

  “Like I said, she broke up with me. I guess she just wanted out of the relationship. There was no explanation.”

  “Really? She said that you broke up with her.”

  He turned to look at me, but didn’t answer. His glare could have burned a hole right through me. After a couple seconds he picked up the mug again. He drank the rest of the beer and set it down again. Without saying another word he stood from the table. He walked across the room and then out the door. Wow, that was really weird.

  I grabbed the empty mug and headed back over to the bar.

  “What happened?” Tammy asked.

  “I don’t know. I tried to make conversation with him, but he really wasn’t that interested. So then I said that Katrina told me he broke up with her, and he didn’t answer that either. He just glared at me, then got up, and walked out the door.”

  “Yeah, I saw that.”

  “He is really strange. I want to know the truth. What was really going on between them? That might give me an answer on whether he murdered her.”

  Tammy shivered. “I just can’t imagine that a murderer was sitting right there and you were talking to him.”

  “Trust me, I’d rather not talk to him, but it’s the only way I’m going find out what happened. I just have to keep pushing forward.”

  “He definitely acted strange.”

  “And now I have to find out more about him and the relationship. It’s obvious he won’t be the one to tell me.”

  “I can ask around about him,” Tammy said.

  “That will help, I guess. I should head home now.”

  “What about Brannon?” she asked.

  “Yeah, well, I guess I’ll wait for him to call me.”

  “Don’t be stubborn. He was just giving her a ride.”

  “I’m sure… I suppose,” I said.

  I headed toward the door.

  Tammy said, “Just be careful out there.”

  I waved. “I promise I will.”

  I didn’t want to tell her, but her warning made me nervous. I knew I had to be careful, but there wasn’t much I could do with a killer running around. Plus the guy was following Erin. There was just so much that I couldn’t figure out. Right now I was going to head home as quickly as possible. At least it wasn’t raining now.

  I wasn’t going to lie and say that I didn’t think about going to the house. The thought had crossed my mind, but I figured it was best that I didn’t go. I still wanted to find out where the dark shadow had come from and what was causing the haunting. It had affected Katrina so much. I had to do more research to see what I found about the house.

  I headed down the sidewalk toward my place, crossing the street once I reached the intersection of Main and Flaget Streets. I glanced over my shoulder a few times to see if that guy Scott was following me, but no one was back there. In fact, the town was extremely quiet. There were only a few cars out, and no one walking along the sidewalks. Though Scott had been hiding behind a tree when he was watching Brannon and Erin. Maybe he was hiding out and watching me now. I glanced around at some of the trees, but didn’t notice anyone. The purpose of hiding was to go unnoticed, so that was kind of a moot point.

  I walked along on the street toward my apartment and that was when I sensed a presence of someone behind me. I was almost too afraid to turn around. My heart raced and my stomach twisted into a knot. I had to see who was approaching and prepare myself for a fight. I spun around and let out a little gasp.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Brannon was behind me.

  “You should know not to do that.” I waved my hand. “It’s okay. I’m sure my heart will calm down soon enough. Just in case do you have a defibrillator in your car?”

  He laughed. “I can perform CPR.”

  “Where did you come from? I didn’t see your car.”

  “I just pulled up and got out. I didn’t want to let you walk alone. Since it’s such a lovely evening I thought we could walk together to your place.”

  I released a deep breath, still trying to calm my nerves. “That’s a good idea. Thank you.”

  He fell into step beside me.

  “So I saw you earlier. I was going to talk to you,” I said.

  “So why didn’t you?” he asked.

  “You were with Erin.”

  “Oh, yeah. She said that that person had been following her again, so I gave her a ride home.”

  “I figured that was the case,” I said, leaving out my suspicious thoughts. “Anyway, I saw the guy who was watching her.”

  “You did?” he said with a raised brow. “Where was he?”

  “He was hiding behind a tree. So then I followed him.”

  “You shouldn’t have done that, Rip. You should’ve called me immediately.”

  “Maybe I should have, but I didn’t. He went into the tavern so I followed him there. I have his name, if you’d like to know.”

  “What’s his name?” Brannon asked.

  “Scott Lynnwood. He’s Katrina’s ex-boyfriend.”

  “Yes, I’m familiar with him. We’ve talked to him extensively about her murder.”

  “Do you think he did it?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” Brannon said. “But I do want to find out why he was following Erin.”

  We reached my place and Brannon walked me to my apartment.

  “You’re going by to see him now, aren’t you?” I unlocked my door.

  He flashed a grin. “You know me well. Make sure to lock the door when I leave.”

  “I always do.” I stood on my tiptoes and kissed Brannon goodbye.

  Chapter 8

  The next morning I was at the reference desk at the library working when I noticed someone approaching me. It was Erin. I had expected to see her here. Dark circles ringed her eyes. Her hair didn’t look as shiny and smooth as it had. Her clothing was more casual, consisting of jeans and a t-shirt.

  “Good morning,” she said.

  “What can I do for you?” I asked.

  “I just wanted to stop by and talk to you about the house again. I wanted to know if you were really serious about buying it because I do intend to sell.”

  I really didn’t think that she should be here right now.

  I sighed. “Yes, as a matter of fact I still do want that house. I don’t know… I’ll definitely be a little more hesitant than I was because of the murder, of course, and the haunting. I’d still think of Katrina if I owned the house. Every time I looked out that window I would think about Katrina and the murder. I’m not sure I would be able to handle that. Plus, she didn’t want me to have the house. It would be bad if I went against her last wishes.”

  “It’s not her house now.”

  I shook my head. “I’ll have to think about it some more. Sorry.”

  “Well, I hope that you’ll reconsider it,”
she said. “I don’t mean to rush things or anything, but I don’t have plans to stay here much longer. Just until after the funeral and then we’ll work out the paperwork. I want to get out of here. No offense. It’s a lovely town, but it’s not my hometown.”

  “I completely understand,” I said. “I’ll let you know.”

  That was all I could tell her right now. Should I tell Erin about Scott and how he’d followed her?

  “Well, just let me know if you want it. I guess I’ll be taking off now.” She gestured.

  “There is one other thing I wanted to talk to you about,” I said.

  She stopped in front of me. “What’s that?”

  “I know who’s following you.”

  “Is that so,” she said. “Who is that?”

  “His name is Scott Lynwood.”

  Her eyes widened. “I know Scott.”

  “I knew you would. Do you know why he would be following you?” I asked.

  “I really have no idea other than the fact that he was dating Katrina. Or perhaps he thinks the house is his. He thinks that she left it to him and he’s getting it.”

  “That could be it,” I said.

  “Then I will have to show him a thing or two,” she said through gritted teeth.

  Her demeanor had definitely changed when she’d thought she wasn’t going to get the house. But why would she think that? If there was a will then it should be obvious that Katrina had left the home to her. I made a mental note to check on that.

  “Well, thanks for letting me know,” Erin said. “I’m glad to find out. I will take care of it now.”

  What did she mean by that? She was beginning to scare me with her behavior. She had taken a dark, twisted turn.

  She narrowed her eyes. “Do let me know about the house, all right?”

  I nodded without saying anything. She turned on her heel and walked out the double doors. I had a feeling she was going to go pay Scott a visit. Maybe I should tell Brannon that she was about to do that. I wasn’t even sure if I was supposed to have told her who had been following her. Maybe that was what Brannon was supposed to do. I hadn’t thought about it before saying anything. I’d just done it.

  As soon as Erin walked out of the library Tammy came over. “What was that all about?”

  “She still wants to sell the house,” I said.

  “What did you tell her?” Tammy asked.

  “I told her that I wasn’t sure yet. I mean, every time I was there I would think about Katrina and how she didn’t want to sell the house.”

  “Well, now Katrina probably would want you to have the house after everything that happened. She’d probably want to get rid of the bad things in there.”

  “That’s why she wanted to tear it down. I don’t know. I have to think about it,” I said.

  I received a text message. Since Annie had stepped close to the desk I knew it was from her.

  I don’t trust that woman.

  Annie stood in front me at the desk with her hands on her hips.

  “Which woman?” I asked.

  She sent another message. Erin.

  “Why do you say that?” I asked.

  I’m not sure, but when I figure it out I’ll let you know.

  I chuckled. “Okay, Annie, thank you for that.”

  Tammy was still standing beside me while I had the conversation.

  “Is that all Erin said?” she asked.

  “I told her about who’s following her and I think she’s going to go talk to him. She seemed really upset.”

  “I would be too if someone was following me,” Tammy said.

  “Yeah, I know, but this was like really angry. I’ve never seen her this way. It’s kind of scary. I think I need to give Brannon a call and let him know what’s up.” I picked up the last book that was on the counter. “I’m just going to finish this and then go to my office.”

  A piece of paper fell from the book. I reached down to pick it up and noticed that there was writing on it, so I unfolded it. At first I thought it was probably just something that someone had left in the book when they returned it, but this wasn’t just any scrap paper. No, it was addressed to me. It wasn’t signed by anyone though.

  Stop messing around with the investigation and mind your own business or else you will be hurt.

  Don’t think this is a joke.

  Don’t tell the police or the consequences will be even worse.

  This was just like the note that Melinda had given to Katrina. It didn’t look like the same writing though.

  “What is it?” Tammy leaned closer.

  “It’s a note to me, telling me to mind my own business and stay out of the investigation.”

  Tammy’s eyes widened. “This is serious. You have to tell Brannon right away.”

  “It says not to tell the police, but I guess I have to. I want to know who left it.”

  “How will you know that?”

  “That book has been sitting there for a while.” I pointed.

  “It was probably Erin. She was just right there,” Tammy said.

  “No, I saw her the whole time. She never could have left a note. I would’ve seen it.”

  “We could take a look at the video,” Tammy said.

  “Good idea.” I grabbed the book and headed toward the back to my office so that we could rewind the video and see who touched the book.

  As we waited to see I fidgeted in my seat and tapped my fingers against the desk. I had a feeling it was Erin even if she’d been right there, but I didn’t know how she’d done it without me noticing. We played the footage back. It showed me talking with Erin and at no point did she touch any of the books. Of course maybe it was the angle of the camera and I couldn’t tell, but still this would be no way to prove that she did it.

  “That’s a little disappointing,” I said.

  “More than a little,” Tammy said with a sigh. “You have to tell Brannon about this note.”

  “Absolutely,” I said. “Though I doubt there’s anything he can do about it.”

  “And you don’t think it’s from Melinda?”

  “It didn’t look like the same writing, but it seems like her modus operandi.” I turned off the computer and we headed back toward the front of the library.

  I looked on top and under the counter where the book had been to see if there were any other notes, but there was nothing.

  “You set the books there earlier. Where did you get them from?” I asked.

  “They were from the return slot,” Tammy said.

  “So what if somebody had left a note earlier?”

  “I would’ve checked and noticed,” she said.

  “That’s true.”

  “I still think somebody left it after it was placed on the counter,” Tammy said.

  “I was the only one standing up here, right?” I asked.

  Tammy tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’m not sure. I did see other people pass by on the video.”

  “We were watching only a small time period,” I said.

  “That’s true,” Tammy said.

  “Maybe I’ll study the video a little bit more and notice something that stands out.”

  “Maybe it was like a trick of the hand. You know, like a magic trick.” Tammy waved her hands.

  “That’s doubtful,” I said with a laugh. “But anything’s possible.”

  “Just don’t put off calling Brannon. You have to tell him about this,” Tammy said. “I know how you are.”

  “I know, I need to tell him about it. I mean, it does have something to do with the investigation,” I said. “So that’s important. Plus, he might be able to find out who did it.”

  “I know you want to find out on your own, but it’s not a competition, Rip.”

  “Of course it isn’t.” I winked. “As soon as I’m done with the work here I’ll give him a call.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that.” She wiggled her finger.

  “I know you will,” I said.

&nbs
p; Chapter 9

  I’d given the note to Brannon and told him that my two main suspects for penning it were Melinda and Erin. Nevertheless, he wanted to see the video for himself. I’d been tense for the rest of the day, wondering if another note would show up or if someone would come back to do something even worse. Somehow I’d managed to finish the day. Now I had to do the tour tonight. Brannon thought it was too risky, but I’d told him that I would be alert and only go to the normal places.

  Thank goodness it was a small group with me so everything would be fine. Brannon still wasn’t convinced. He knew he wouldn’t be able to talk me out of it. I’d given Brannon the original note, but I had made a copy of it for myself. I wanted to look at it again and see if there was any resemblance to the one that Melinda had written to Katrina. Not that I had the other to compare. I’d have to go by memory.

  After saying goodbye to Annie and Jane Austen, Tammy and I went our separate ways. I headed toward the cemetery. Tammy was going to work at the tavern. Annie stayed at the library of course with Jane Austen.

  I reached the cemetery just in time to start the tour. There were only two people who’d bought tickets tonight, and now I spotted the man and woman walking down the alley toward me. Since they were holding hands I figured it was probably their date night. That was really sweet. It was a bit spooky for date night, but I was sure they would snuggle up if they got scared and that would be romantic.

  When they approached, I said, “Welcome to Devil’s Moon Haunted Tour. Tonight I will guide you through the haunted streets and buildings of town.” I handed the couple flashlights and gestured toward the graveyard’s gate. “We will start at the cemetery.”

  As we walked around the headstones I told them the stories of the lady in blue and other hauntings that people had been seeing for years. Wind whistled through the trees. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Mrs. Clatterbuck. I hoped I could get out of there before she did something. She was sneaky though and getting past her would be tough.

  After the graveyard tour we moved onto the other buildings in town, first at the tavern. Of course I waved to Tammy. She was busy so we couldn’t talk. I took the couple by the bookstore and the antique shop, then we walked past the restaurant. We didn’t go in there this time because it was too crowded. This was Friday night so there were a lot of people in town. The couple seemed happy and like they didn’t mind skipping that one.