Haunt Couture and Ghosts Galore (17 page)

Chapter 24

 

 

The day had passed with little action. It almost seemed like the calm before the storm. I sat behind the counter, working on my inventory. Once I'd finished with that task, I pulled out my computer so I could take a quick glance at my e-mail. I didn't want to miss any potential orders, but I also was looking for another message from the person who had wanted to meet me. I had dropped the request and not responded at Sam and Charlotte's request. I couldn't stop thinking about it, though, and I was seriously thinking about setting up that meeting. I just hoped the person contacted me again. Sam and Charlotte would be unhappy about it, but after all, they did want me to solve the murder, and that just might be the key to doing it.

I held my breath as I opened the browser. When I spotted the message, I glanced up to see if Charlotte and Sam were watching me. They were busy talking to each other, so I clicked open the message. If they knew what I was doing they'd be hovering over my shoulder within seconds telling me to turn off the computer. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. Sure enough there was another message from the person who had wanted to meet me.

The person seemed even more insistent this time. Something was different about this message though. This time the person had left her name. That was what let me know she was desperate to talk with me. What was strange, though, was that she had been in my shop and had a chance to speak with me but hadn't. Rita Riggs had signed the message. She had been in my shop, so why hadn't she told me what this message was then? I figured there was only one thing for me to do now: contact her and find out. That wouldn't be easy, though, because she hadn't left her number.

She also hadn't left the e-mail address for me to contact her. If she wanted so desperately to get in touch with me, then why hadn't she left her contact info? I typed a response to her comment and told her to call me as soon as possible. With any luck she would see that I had left a response. If not, I would continue to look for a way to get in touch with her. Since she hadn't left her number, I figured I would have to find her another way. I'd seen her a couple times now, so maybe it wouldn't be so hard to find out. I knew I couldn't ask Meaghan, because there was no way she would help me. I'd have to figure this out on my own. Sam and Charlotte were still talking. Thank goodness they hadn't noticed what I was up to yet.

Taking the opportunity before the ghosts noticed, I typed Rita's name into the search engine. The links that appeared didn't look as if they were about her. I clicked on the first one, but it was just a site that had lists of names.

“What are you doing?” Charlotte asked from over my shoulder.

I clutched my chest and jumped. “Oh, you scared me. What are you doing, Charlotte?”

Her brow furrowed. “You sound guilty. What are you up to?”

I closed the screen that I'd been looking at, then said, “I was just checking my e-mail.” I knew she could read my guilty expression.

Sam stood in front of the counter. “Are you hiding something from us, Cookie?”

“She is hiding something. I can tell by the look on her face. You got another message, didn't you?”

I tried to talk, but the words wouldn't come out.

“I knew it. Cookie, you know it's probably dangerous for you to see this person.” Charlotte placed her hand on her hip. “We've already discussed this, Cookie.”

“I know we already discussed it, but something new has come up,” I said.

“Like what?” Charlotte asked.

I tapped my fingers against the counter and avoided her stare.

“Well? Are you going to tell me?”

“Okay . . . the person who wants to meet me finally left her name. It's Rita Riggs.”

Charlotte's eyes widened and her mouth dropped.

“This is interesting.” Sam tapped his chin with his index finger.

Charlotte reached for the counter as if that would steady her. I knew the dizzy spell was all for show. Sam rushed around in an attempt to catch her.

“I suppose you should talk to her then if you have a name,” Charlotte said.

She had recovered quickly.

“So now you don't mind if I talk to her? What changed your mind?” I asked.

“Well, if the woman gave you her name and she was in here before, then I have to know what she is up to,” Charlotte said.

I looked to Sam. “I suppose Charlotte has a point.”

I think Sam would agree with just about anything Charlotte said.

“You two aren't going to get an argument out of me,” I said.

“Now what do we do?” Sam asked.

“I have to find a way to get in touch with her. She didn't leave a number or address.”

“Did you search the Internet?” Charlotte pointed toward my laptop.

I tapped on the keys. I entered her name, but a bunch of useless information came up.

“I don't know if I'd ever get used to having access to that much information.” Sam peered over my shoulder.

“What does it say now?” Charlotte asked.

I scrolled down the screen and spotted something interesting. I clicked on the link. “It looks as if Rita posted her résumé online.”

“What does that mean?” Sam asked.

“I guess she's looking for a job.” I pointed at the screen. “Look at her last employer.”

“Well, what do you know,” Charlotte said.

The last employment Rita listed was with Shandra. Apparently she did modeling for her. So now I knew that they did have a connection.

“I wonder if she's calling to tell you that Shandra murdered Melanie,” Charlotte said.

I picked up my phone. “There's only one way to find out.”

I dialed the number that Rita had listed. After a few seconds, I placed the phone down.

“What happened?” Sam asked.

“The number has been disconnected.”

Charlotte lowered her head. “Cookie, you have the worst luck.”

“Don't remind me,” I said.

“I guess that leaves one option,” Sam said.

“What's that?” I asked.

“Call Shandra.”

I didn't want to deal with her again, but I had no other choice. I sighed and picked the phone back up.

After a couple rings, the female voice said, “Shandra Johnson's office.”

How would I get past the gatekeeper? I knew that was next to impossible.

“May I speak with Shandra Johnson please.”

“May I ask who's calling?” she asked in a snippy tone.

“This is Vivian Jessop.” Sure I made the name up off the top of my head.

“What's this in regard to?” she asked.

Now I was really in a pickle. “She ordered fabric from me.”

“I take care of her orders.”

“This was something I dealt with her specifically. I'm afraid I've never spoken with you,” I said.

She snorted, and then said, “Hold please.”

After a minute, Shandra picked up.

“Shandra?” my voice wavered.

“Who is this?” she asked.

“Shandra, I have a question about Rita Riggs.”

My question was met with silence.

“Hello?” I asked.

Still there was nothing.

“Hello?” I said again.

I placed the phone down. “She hung up on me.”

Would I ever find another way to contact Rita Riggs? It was doubtful.

Charlotte leaned against the counter, looking effortlessly glamorous in her black Dior dress and heels.

“We should ask the cat for more clues,” she said.

I glanced over at Wind Song as she lounged in the sun by the front window. “Don't you think she'd have told us by now if she had another clue?”

Charlotte tapped her fingers against the counter. “Maybe she forgot. You can't expect the cat to remember everything at once.”

“I suppose that's true,” I said.

“It couldn't hurt,” Sam said from across the room.

He'd been staring out the window at the passing traffic.

“I don't know if we'll be able to get her out of the sunshine,” I said.

“Try one of those cat treats she loves so much.” Sam left his spot by the window and walked over to where we stood.

I pulled the bag of cat treats from under the counter. Wind Song immediately looked up and jumped from her cozy spot. She took her time strolling over to the counter though.

“A true diva,” Charlotte said.

Finally, Wind Song reached the counter and leaped up. She meowed and I handed her the treat, then rubbed her head.

“Wind Song, do you have any other clues in Melanie's murder?” I asked.

The cat was now licking her paws after eating the treat.

“I guess that means no,” Sam said.

“Well, at least we tried,” Charlotte said. “You can ask Heather to come use her tarot cards again.”

I straightened a stack of invoices by the register. “I'll ask her to bring them over when she gets a chance.”

I'd hoped that I could get Wind Song to answer yes or no to my questions, but she didn't seem interested in the least. Wind Song stood on the counter and stretched. She was probably ready to get back to the sun.

Wind Song jumped down from the counter. We watched as she strutted slowly across the floor. When she reached the rack of clothing on the right, she stopped. She sat on the floor next to it. I'd never seen her do that before.

“What's she doing?” Sam whispered.

I shrugged. Just then Wind Song reached out her paw and batted at a dress hanging from the rack.

“I think she's doing that for a reason,” Charlotte said.

It did look that way. She'd never done that before. Wind Song never seemed interested in playing with the clothes.

She continued to paw at the black dress until finally it fell to the floor. Wind Song looked back at me and I knew she was letting me know there was a reason she'd done that. The cat marched back to her spot in the sun and closed her eyes.

“That was strange,” Sam said.

I walked over and picked up the dress. I turned around with the dress still in my hands and faced Charlotte and Sam.

“This is the dress that Meaghan was looking at but put back. Do you think Wind Song knew that? Is she trying to tell me it was Meaghan?”

Charlotte and Sam stared at me.

“I would say no, but with Wind Song I know she does everything for a reason,” I said.

“We should visit Meaghan,” Charlotte pointed out.

“I think Charlotte's right,” Sam said.

“Maybe it was just a coincidence,” I said.

“Since when have you known anything Wind Song does to be a coincidence?” Charlotte asked. “Everything she's said has been accurate since she arrived here, right?”

“Well, yes . . .” I said.

“So then what are you waiting for? We should go visit Meaghan right away.”

I was hesitant about visiting anyone just based on what Wind Song said, but then again, I had been the one to ask Wind Song a question in the first place. Why did I ask if I wasn't going to follow through?

“So what do you say?”

“You think it's what we should do?” I asked Wind Song.

She meowed loudly without even opening her eyes. Charlotte and Sam laughed.

“There's your answer,” Sam said.

“As soon as I get a chance to get away from the shop we will go see her.”

I couldn't exactly tell Meaghan that a cat had sent me though. She didn't need to know why I was there. I'd act as if my being there was just an accident. Or that I had just been in the area and decided to stop by for a visit. Never mind that I barely knew the woman and we weren't friends at all. I'd work around that little detail.

I knew that what I was doing was crazy, but in a weird way it seemed like the right thing to do.

“This is crazy, isn't it?” I asked.

Charlotte brushed off my question with a wave of her hand. “Of course it is, but life is full of craziness. That's what makes it so much fun.”

“I don't know about that, but thanks for the encouragement just the same,” I said.

Chapter 25

 

 

It had been a while since I'd been shopping for vintage items. I was going through withdrawal and needed to make a trip to a nearby thrift shop. Sam and Charlotte followed me outside to the car.

“Where are we going?” Charlotte asked as she walked along beside me.

“I want to hit some shops in the next town over.” I made it to the car. “I can't let my inventory get too low.”

She tapped her fingers against the car's leather seat. “I suppose you do need to do that. We can't let the business suffer because of this.”

“I'm glad to hear that you agree.”

Stars twinkled in the sky.

“Although we should probably be going home at this hour, not shopping,” Charlotte said.

“Charlotte, it's only seven.” I cranked the ignition.

Charlotte peered out the window into the darkness. “Something just gives me the creeps. I have a weird feeling.”

“Charlotte is right, there is an eerie feeling,” Sam said.

They were starting to freak me out. I stared at the road ahead of me and tried not to think about what they said. That part wasn't easy though; now that they had put the thought into my mind, it would probably be all that I would think about.

“What are you thinking about, Cookie?” Sam asked.

I wouldn't let them know that I was getting the weird vibe now too. The drive there was kind of a lonely one even though I had the ghosts with me. Something about the darkened sky made me uneasy. It was as if there were eyes in the night watching us. Sam and Charlotte had been right. I had to ignore it though. I tried to convince myself that it was just my imagination working overtime. The
WELCOME TO BELLEWOOD
sign appeared and I released a sigh of relief. Thank goodness we finally reached town and the shopping area where the store was located.

After parking the car, I headed across the lot to the entrance of the store. It felt as if someone was watching me. Lights from the nearby shops illuminated the area, but just behind that was the empty darkness. I glanced to my left and to my right. Not a lot of people were shopping tonight, so the area was mostly empty.

Now that I was at the store, I wasn't sure what I was looking for exactly. It was getting harder to find good vintage in thrift shops, but there were bargains and gems to be found. Not surprisingly, I was the only one in the shop other than the two employees behind the counter. The space was full of racks and racks of clothing. Some furniture and knickknacks were in the back of the room. At least the sections were marked off with women and children's to the left and men's and miscellaneous to the right.

I headed for the women's section, hoping to score a bargain. Charlotte was helping me look and Sam had that typical man look on his face as we browsed. He looked completely bored. I'd try to make my shopping as quick as possible for him. I pulled out a white Izod sweater from the eighties, but then realized it had a stain that would probably never come out.

Next, I found a Scott McClintock blouse. I loved the understated elegance of the piece. It would be perfect for an evening out on the town or a Christmas party. The top section of the blouse was strictly see-through lace and a velvet corset section made up the middle portion. Pops of sequins decorated the entire fabric. Since the blouse was so sheer it would need something underneath. When I spotted the tear in the side of the fabric, I realized it would not be worth my time to repair it. Sadly, I shoved the blouse back on the rack.

“Hey, what about these totally rad Jordache pinstriped acid-washed skinny-fit jeans. I had a pair just like this in the eighties,” Charlotte said.

“I think I have all the eighties jeans I can handle for now.” I moved down the aisle.

“Hey, isn't that someone messing around with your car?” Charlotte pointed out the window.

“Do you think someone is trying to steal it?” I rushed over to the window for a better look.

Even though I had parked fairly close to the store, it was still hard to make out what the person was doing out there. It looked as if he was up to no good, though, and I wanted to stop him before he got away with my car.

“We have to stop him,” Charlotte said.

She didn't have to tell me.

“But what if this man has a gun or other weapon? He could be extremely dangerous.” Sam's face wrinkled with concern.

The employees behind the counter looked at me as if I had stolen something as I ran past them and outside. They would probably call the police, but that might be a good thing if someone was trying to steal my car. I shoved the door open and rushed out into the night air. Now more than ever that spooky feeling was getting to me. This had to be why we'd had that strange feeling on the ride to town. This man had probably been watching me when I'd gone inside the store. That thought sent a shiver down my spine.

“Hey, stop,” I yelled out at the man.

I knew by the size that this was a man. He didn't turn around and acknowledge me when I called out to him.

“This man is no good, Cookie, you have to be careful,” Sam said.

Trust me, I wanted to be careful. This whole situation was scary. I ran toward my car. The whole time I wondered just how crazy I had to be for doing that. I prayed the man didn't attack me when I got closer. After a few steps forward he took off in a run. I hadn't expected him to do that.

As he ran away, I pulled the phone from my purse and snapped a photo. Only problem was the photo was just of the back of this man. That would not give me much to go on. Maybe there had been a rash of car thefts lately. My picture might actually lead the police to the criminal. Maybe I could stop this man from taking someone else's car.

“Good thinking taking the picture, Cookie,” Sam said.

“She is a smart Cookie,” Charlotte said.

I don't think she realized her pun. I was proud of my quick thinking, even if the photo wouldn't help much. I released a pent-up breath. My hands were even shaking.

“That was terrifying.” Charlotte fanned herself. “I definitely need to relax after that.”

I would need a lot more to relax after this. I'd need an entire vacation.

“Who was that man?” Charlotte asked.

“We'll probably never know,” I said. “Thank you for noticing him though, Charlotte. Without your quick observation there's no telling what would have happened.”

She smiled. “Just helping a friend who helped me. It's not like I could have sent you a fruit basket for what you did.”

“Back to the matter at hand.” Sam gestured with a tilt of his head.

“Right. I should check out the car.” I eased around my car to see if there was any damage.

“Did he hurt the car?” Sam asked.

“So far I don't see anything.” I ran my hand along the side of the shiny chrome.

My car was my prized possession of course and I didn't want anything to happen to it. I opened the car door and took one last look out into the dark night. Even though I didn't see him I still worried that he was out there somewhere. After jumping in the car, I locked the door behind me. At least I felt somewhat safer now.

“It's time to get out of here.” Charlotte pointed toward the road.

After shifting the car into reverse, I backed out of the parking space. The whole time I was on the lookout for the mysterious man. Looking up and down the sidewalks, I didn't see anyone who looked like him. Charlotte and Sam each peered out the windows too. At least I had them to help me.

“That was quite an adventure.” Charlotte leaned back in the seat.

I blew out a deep breath. “Yes, it was. Imagine if I had lost the car.”

“We'd be walking right now,” she said.

“I wouldn't want to walk around out there now after what happened.” I steered back onto the road.

After driving a short distance, I pulled into a well-lit gas station.

“Do you need gas?” Sam peeked at the gauge.

“I have to call Dylan and let him know what happened.” I pulled out the phone from my bag.

I touched the phone's screen and dialed the number. Charlotte and Sam would be happy that I had put the call on speakerphone.

Several rings later and he picked up. “Hi, Cookie, how are you?”

I scanned the parking lot. It appeared to be safe. “I'm not sure.” My voice wavered.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I think someone tried to take my car,” I said.

“Where are you?” he asked with concern in his voice.

“I'm in Bellewood. Actually, I'm leaving there now.”

“Did you get a description of the person?”

“You could say that, yes.”

“I'll come by and take all the information.”

“I'm not going home right now.”

“You're not?” Charlotte said with shock in her voice. “Where are we going?”

“I think I'm going to Savannah,” I said.

Charlotte looked out at the dark sky again. “I'm glad you're going, but why did you wait until it's so late.”

Dylan paused. “Can you call me when you get there so I'll know you're okay?”

“Yes, I'll call you. Thanks, Dylan.”

“He's so sweet,” Charlotte said.

After hanging up, I dialed Heather's number. I needed to hear her encouraging words.

“You aren't going to believe what happened,” I said.

“Where are you? Sounds like you are driving,” she said.

Actually, I just pulled over. “I'm in the gas station parking lot in Bellewood.”

“What are you doing there?” she asked.

“I came to the thrift shop.” I glanced in the rearview mirror to make sure no one was approaching the car.

“Oh yeah, did you find anything?” she asked as if this was a casual conversation.

“No, I didn't have a chance to look.”

“Were they closed?”

“Someone tried to take my car. Or at least I think that was what he was doing,” I said.

“That's terrible. Did you call the police?”

“I called Dylan and I snapped a picture of the man who tried to take it.”

“Since you have a picture it shouldn't be too hard to look for this person,” Heather said.

“It kind of will be hard. The problem is, I only got the back of him.”

“Oh, I guess that will hamper your efforts,” she said.

“I'll give the photo to the police. Maybe they can do something with it,” I said.

“Please be careful on the drive back,” Heather said. “I'll come over to your house to check on you.”

“Tell her there is no need for that because Detective Valentine is checking in on you,” Charlotte said.

She sounded extremely happy about that.

“It's okay. I think I'm going to Savannah anyway.”

“Why would you do that?” Her voice filled with concern.

“I planned on talking with Meaghan, so I've driven this far, I might as well go now.”

She sighed. “Just be careful.”