beyond the grave 03 - a ghostly demise (12 page)

“Yeah”—a long sigh escaped him—“Mary Anna has taken it real hard. Sometimes I wish she’d just move out of this town so she can move on, but she thinks she needs to be here just in case Dad comes back.”

“Your dad was so good to you and your family. It just seems so weird that he would disappear without telling you.” I shook my head in shame.

“I was about to go to the state wrestling match too.” Teddy’s jaw clenched. The sun bounced off his bald head. “I was so mad at him for not showing up. I figured he was on a binge.” His biceps tensed. I noticed he was fisting his hands.

“Do you know anything about a gambling ring he might have been associated with?” I asked nonchalantly.

“Gambling? Dad would never waste his money on gambling. He drank every dollar he earned. It’s a shame. I wish he could see me now.” Teddy looked out over the square as though he was thinking about his dad and what could’ve been.

“I wish there was something I could do for Mary Anna.” I didn’t want to continue asking questions. I could see the pain in him. “She’s such a great employee. And she can’t leave town.” I ran my hand over my hair. “Who’d fancy me up for my dates with Jack Henry?”

“Wait.” A sneaky grin crossed Teddy’s lips. “You and Jack Henry Ross are an item?”

“Ye-es.” I dropped my mouth for a dramatic effect. “Why?”

“The creepy funeral-home girl and the jock? And I thought I’d seen it all since I’ve traveled the world.” Jokingly, he nudged me.

“Funny.” I rolled my eyes.

Ahem.
Bea Allen cleared her throat and raised her drawn-on brows sky-high and tapped that big, ugly toe. She pumped her election sign up and down, gesturing Teddy to do the same.

“If you would please excuse me.” I pushed my way around Bea Allen and her small army carrying the
VOTE FOR O’DELL
signs. “I’ll see you tonight, Teddy.”

I hurried up the concrete steps and pushed the heavy glass doors open into the old marble hallway. Doors ran along the entire hallway and above each door hung a small sign. I was looking for the Record Room and on the way there I just happened to peek in the mayor’s office and pictured Granny sitting at the large desk in front of the large window that overlooked Sleepy Hollow.

Granny would make a good mayor because she was relentless and would get things done.

“How can I help you?” The deputy clerk stood up from behind the tall counter and blew a breath of air, causing her bangs to fly upward. “It’s hot in here.”

“It sure is.” I fanned myself with my hand like it was really going to create a difference. “Hey, do you know anything about a newspaper that used to be in Sleepy Hollow?”

“Hmm . . .” Her lips twisted around, she tapped her temple with her finger. She brought the finger toward me and shook it. “You know”—she paused and looked up in the air—“I recall someone saying something about a newspaper, but I don’t think it was long-lived. Most people get their news or put their news in the Lexington paper.”

“Right.” I snapped my fingers. “I’m looking for the paper that was here.”

“Let me ask Viola. She’s been here as long as the courthouse.” The deputy clerk winked. She put the back of her hand up to cover her mouth. “Not really, but you know what I mean.”

I laughed to make her feel better. I didn’t care how old Viola was, I wanted the information I asked about.

The deputy clerk was only gone for a minute when she came back with a piece of paper.

“Viola said there was a paper here a while ago and short-lived. There was only one person that ran it. She couldn’t recall the name, but she did say the paper was located at the old mill.” She slid the paper across the counter toward me.

There was some sort of address scribbled on it. It had to be the old-mill address. I already knew where it was, but I took the piece of paper anyway and thanked her for her time.

Armed with the knowledge that Bea Allen and her little army of electioneers were in front of the courthouse, I slipped out the side door and made my way back to the hearse, which was still parked in the lot across from the Inn.

I wanted to drive out to the mill and see if there was any evidence of the paper. If I could get the name of the editor, I might be able to track him down and see exactly what he knew.

“Where we going?” Cephus sat in the passenger seat of the hearse.

“We are going to the old mill to see if I can track down an editor from the old newspaper from here. He had a tip on a gambling ring around here.” I took the piece of paper that Terk Rhinehammer had out of my pocket and held it up for Cephus to see.

He squinted. He fidgeted. And he huffed.

“Do you want to tell me about what you are feeling?” I asked. “And not do the old disappearing act like you have been doing.”

He sighed so big, his shoulders heaved up and fell down.

“If you really want to go to the other side, and you really want me to help figure out who murdered you, I have to know you inside and out. Your life. Your drinking. Your womanizing. And your gambling habits.”

“Hey now, I told you I was faithful to Leotta. Can’t say she was, but I was.” He beat his chest like a gorilla. “The gambling might be another story. Something I’m not proud of.”

“Did you bet on the ponies?” It was so easy for everyone to run up to Lexington and place bets at the Keeneland Racetrack.

“Something like that.” His lips clamped down. “If Teddy knew, he’d be so disappointed. I can’t even imagine what Mary Anna would think.” He was silent for a few seconds. “Do you think someone killed me over a gambling deal?”

“Maybe. Money does strange things to people.” I eased the hearse up to the old mill and put it in
PARK
. “Did you owe money to someone?”

“No. I was a winner. Natural.” Pride spewed out of his eyes. “I made a lot of money that way.”

“Can you tell me who was in the gambling ring?” I asked.

“I don’t know. It was all done on the down-low. I would leave a piece of paper with what I wanted to bet on and it was done. I would go to the same spot and pick up my winnings. Granted, I went directly to the Watering Hole to celebrate.”

“The bartender from there told me you were waiting on a big payday.”

“Big payday?” he questioned. “One thing about this ghost thing, your memory isn’t always as clear as if I were living.”

“Hence Vernon Baxter?” I was still feeling guilty.

I thought of Vernon Baxter sitting in the tiny cell at the Sleepy Hollow jail. He was probably alone unless Jack Henry had pulled someone over coming through town after leaving the Watering Hole. Most of the time, the residents of the jail were the drunk drivers needing to sober up.

“I’m sorry I accused him of killing me, but I’m not sorry for the sack of crap he is. Maybe sitting in the jail will give him time to think back about how he tried to break up me and Leotta.” Anger spewed from his mouth.

“Cephus.” The old mill was not in the best shape. There were more clapboards hanging off the side than hammered in. “You are going to have to get over that. I hate to tell you that you’re dead. Don’t you want Leotta to be happy?”

“No one made Leotta happy but me.” He crossed his arms and lifted his chin in a debonair way.

“When you were living. What about now?” I asked. “Don’t you want her to be with someone like Vernon Baxter, who can give her anything?”

“You sayin’ I didn’t give her anything? I did.” His brows furrowed. “I took her to the flea market every single weekend, giving her twenty-five dollars, telling her she could get whatever she wanted. If that ain’t treatin’ a woman right, then I don’t know what was.”

“How generous of you,” I said in a monotone voice.

“Besides, she’s with Terk Rhinehammer.” Nervously, he tapped the windowsill. “That makes me mad too. Why are we here?”

“I need to find the editor of the old Sleepy Hollow newspaper.” I opened the door and got out.

I put my hands on my hips and took a good look around me. I wasn’t sure what the best way to get into the mill was going to be. The large, wooden, sliding door had ivy grown up and around it. There was no way in there unless I had cutters to cut the vine.

“I thought you were working on my case?” he muttered. “I knew Chicken Teater was crazy when he was alive. Seems like dying didn’t help him any. He gave bad advice.”

I took a deep breath. There was no sense in arguing with a ghost. I took the first steps toward the mill and noticed another small door on the side that was hanging off the top hinges. The weeds around it had grown up and kept it open.

I grabbed the emergency kit out of the back of the hearse and took out the flashlight.

I pointed the flashlight through the open door into complete darkness. With the help of the light, I could see there was a desk and some papers scattered around. That was my target. With the flashlight aimed on the prize, I slipped into the mill, letting the darkness wrap around me.

Prickles traveled up my legs and arms. I knew I wasn’t in any harm, but the thought of a creepy mill and the darkness reminded me of one of those scary movies that I would see on the TV and scream at the girl to walk back up the stairs and not go down into the dark basement, where the killer was waiting for her.

“Cephus?” I asked.

Not that he was going to be able to help me if a killer was in there, but knowing he was there did make me feel better.

“No way I’m going in there,” Cephus called out from behind me. “I don’t like snakes.”

“Me either, but you need me to figure out who killed you, right?” I asked, and took another step.

Something scurried around my foot and I immediately flashed the light to the ground.

“Oh my God!” I screamed when the rat ran in the opposite direction. “Hurry, hurry.” I encouraged myself to see what was on the table.

There were all sorts of notes and notebooks, along with a copy of the newspaper. I flashed the light to the top of it. The volume number was nine and the notepad next to it said volume ten.

“You see something?” Cephus asked from the outside.

“I think the paper ran nine weeks because of the volume numbers.” I glanced down at the notebook and saw the words
gambling ring
printed on it. “I think I found something.”

Just as I grabbed the paper, some sort of explosion happened, knocking me to the ground.

“Emma Lee?” I heard Cephus call out my name through the dust. “Emma Lee?” His voice was a little more frantic this time.

“Over here!” I coughed out, and tried to sit up. The papers were still in my grip.

“Get out!” Cephus was more urgent than ever. “Or you’ll be joining me on this side!”

I jumped up and tried to run as fast as I could to the small light from the outside world coming through the door. I could see Cephus’s outline.

“What?” My head hurt. The smell of fire made my head twirl around.

Flames fluttered around the old mill’s ceiling right before another explosion blew the roof off.

“Hurry!” He motioned with his hands. The look on his face told me I better haul ass. “Hurry!” Urgency rang in my ears.

I flung myself out the door and outside the mill and landed on the ground just in time. The mill shot up to the sky, exploding into pieces.

Chapter 15

I
scrambled away on my knees and hands, still gripping the papers, and planted my body up against the hearse. The sound of sirens echoed in the background.

“Emma Lee, are you okay?” Cephus stood next to me, the look of concern set deep in his eyes.

I nodded, taking in several breaths. My chest heaved up and down. Fire engines roared up the road. I opened the hearse door and threw the papers inside. I tried to steady my shaking hands when I saw the fire trucks pull in and Jack Henry closely following them in his cop car.

“Emma Lee?” Jack Henry jumped out of the cruiser and rushed to my side.

Immediately, I started to cry. A lump caught in my throat. It was the closest to death I had ever come. And I wasn’t ready to join my clients on the other side.

I melted into Jack Henry’s arms. He rubbed and kissed my head, letting me know it was going to be all right.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

The firefighters were busy trying to put out the flames from the burning mill. Black smoke billowed around us.

Jack Henry ushered me back to his car. He took a blanket out from the trunk and placed it over me once he got inside next to me.

“Please don’t tell me this has to do with Cephus Hardy.” He already knew the answer before I had to admit to it. “Damn, Emma Lee. I almost lost you.”

“I’m fine.” I shook off the notion that I really did almost go up in flames.

“I don’t care. What about the next time you get a hair up your butt and decide to investigate?” He rolled down his window when the fire inspector walked over and gestured for him to roll it down.

“I can tell you right now that this was no accident.” He held a piece of pipe in his hands along with some wire nuts. “Someone wanted this place to no longer exist. I’ll finish up after they get all the flames out, but this was found a few feet from the back.”

“I’ll be right back.” Jack Henry got out of the car and walked behind where the old mill used to sit.

He squatted and looked around the tall grass. I watched as he got up and looked through it. There was nothing behind the old mill but a creek and woods.

“Someone knew you were here.” Cephus played with the ring on his finger. “They knew you were here and wanted to make sure whatever it was that was in there stayed there.”

“Right.” My head felt like someone had taken a hammer to it. “Or they were sending me a clear warning to stop nosing around.”

Patiently, I waited in the car for Jack Henry to finish up the quick investigative work before he drove me home and tucked me in the bed.

One thing I loved about my small town was no matter what your relationship was with someone, in the time of tragedy, everyone pulled together.

Word had spread fast about the old-mill explosion. Everyone and their brother had called to make sure I was okay and if there was anything they could do for me. Even Beulah Paige Bellefry stopped by with some lemon bars.