These Haunts Are Made For Walking (Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Book 1) (7 page)

Once I reached the hallway, I stopped dead in my tracks. As it turned out, the reaction was entirely appropriate, because Marion was lying at the bottom of the stairs like an old rag doll. Her coffee cup was on one side of the floor, while a smashed chocolate cupcake rested by her outstretched hand.

The rest of the Book Wormers stood around Marion with their mouths hung open. I knew by the way Marion’s head was twisted at an awkward angle and the color of her face that she was no longer with us.

“I’ll call 911,” I said breathlessly.

“She must have fallen down the stairs,” Sue said in a shaky voice.

“I can’t believe this happened,” Dana said.

Katherine lowered herself to the step and sat. Her gaze was locked on Marion’s body. She clutched a copy of
Hidden Secrets
to her chest. Dana stood beside her. For a split second, we exchanged a glance.

My phone dinged again. This was not the time for more messages, but I couldn’t stop myself from looking.

This is absolutely disastrous. Don’t just stand there, dear, do something.

A presence came from behind me. I whipped around to see who had slipped up on me. It was the dead librarian. Apparently my new friend was going to follow my every move. I wanted to tell her to go away, but not with the Book Wormers right there. Since they hadn’t reacted to her presence, I knew they couldn’t see her. No matter my haunted tour guide qualifications, they’d think I was insane.

After dialing 911, I ushered the women out of the hallway. No good would come from the women staring down at Marion’s body. She couldn’t be saved.

“What happened?” I asked Dana as we waited by the library’s front door.

She ran her hand through her hair. “Sue and Marion were still arguing. Marion suddenly said she wasn’t feeling well, so she left the room. That’s when we heard the noise and ran out to check on her.”

I glanced toward the staircase and caught a glimpse of Marion’s arm as she lay on the floor. I took in a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves, but it was ineffective.

“Are you okay?” I asked Sue.

Her face was pale and her eyes were blank as she stared straight ahead. She nodded, but didn’t look at me or utter a word.

Katherine stood in the corner with her head in her hands. I didn’t know the right words to console the women. What did anyone say in a situation like this?

It took forever for the sirens to sound in front of the building. Or maybe it was only a couple minutes, but when you’re staring down at a dead body and have a ghost texting you, it’s easy to become a little confused. The flashing lights blanketed the area with an alternating glow of red and blue.

I held the door open and waved the authorities over, as if they didn’t know where the library was located. Unfortunately, the first face I spotted was that of Officer Brannon Landon.

“Are you okay?” Brannon asked as he stepped through the door.

“I’m fine.” I nodded.

“Where is she?” he asked.

I pointed toward the stairs. “In the hall at the bottom of the stairs. She fell.”

Why had I offered that last detail? I mean, it was kind of obvious that Marion Burns had fallen. He didn’t respond as he rushed toward the body. Maybe he hadn’t heard my stupid comment.

A couple paramedics followed Brannon, but I already knew it was too late for Marion. That poor woman. She must have been terrified when she fell down those stairs. Not to mention she’d been fighting with all the Book Wormers. I wondered how they must feel now that she was dead.

A stream of uniformed personnel flowed through the library. I hadn’t figured there were that many people in the Devil’s Moon Police Department. A few of them cast a look my way. They probably thought I’d brought a dark cloud with me when I’d moved back to Rocky Point. Heck, maybe I had.

I leaned against the wall by the front door, then slid to the floor. The cool air from the open front door touched my skin as I sat there staring blankly. The faint lightning still flickered in the distance. At least the storm had passed.

My phone alerted me to another text.

This all seems a bit odd, don’t you think?

After glancing around to make sure no one would see me, I let out a heavy sigh, then said, “What seems a bit odd, Annie?”

My life had now been reduced to receiving texts from ghosts who more than likely only existed in my mind.

Marion’s death. The victim in the mystery book fell down the stairs too, but that wasn’t the real cause of death. Marion didn’t die from a fall either.

I looked at her. “Are you serious?”

I waited for the text to come through.

Dead serious.

Quicker than lightning, the police had arrived on the scene, questioning everyone—including me. It seemed as if the whole town was there to watch the spectacle unfold. Yes, Brannon was asking the questions. People would think I had done something wrong since I was now being interrogated by the police. I stood in the corner by the counter, trying to stay out of the way and go unnoticed. That wasn’t working in my favor. It was interesting that Annie was now nowhere to be found. I guessed she didn’t like that many people being loud in the library.

Brannon made eye contact with me. I wanted to look away, but for some reason I couldn’t. He stopped talking with a fellow officer and headed my way. My cell phone dinged. Before he reached me, I looked down at my phone.

Tell him about me.

I glanced around, but still didn’t see Annie. If only I could text her back. My answer would have been no way. The coroner was taking the body out. The men wheeled Marion right past the service desk. A chill raced down my spine.

“It’s been an interesting first day of work for you.”

I tucked the phone into my pocket. “Not at all like I had planned. I feel terrible for what happened.”

“We’ll be leaving now. You should get rest.”

I shook my head. “I still have a haunted tour to give.”

“Under the circumstances I’m sure everyone would understand if you didn’t make it tonight.”

I switched off the computer that had popped back on. This time I unplugged it. “The computer’s been acting up,” I said when I noticed that Brannon was watching me. “Anyway, I don’t have anything else to do tonight, so I would only sit home and think about what happened today.”

“I see your point. Listen, I don’t have anything to do now either. We won’t know anything else until we get back the autopsy report. Would you mind if I took your tour night?”

My phone dinged. I definitely ignored it. Having such a good-looking tour goer could possibly be distracting, but I couldn’t say no. “Sure, that would be fine. I’ll just close up and then we can go.” When I glanced to my left, Annie was across the way by the mystery section. She pointed at me and then my phone dinged.

Brannon nodded. “I’ll wait outside.”

“Great. See you soon.” I forced a smile on my face.

Once he’d walked out of the library, I looked to my left again. Annie stood right beside me. Her eyes moved down toward my pocket. That was my hint to check my messages. Ignoring her, I made sure Jane Austen had food and water, then I moved around the counter toward the entrance. The officers had all cleared out.

After a long day of work, I wanted nothing more than to go home, but I loved the tour and as long as there were people who wanted to see the haunted sites, then I wanted to show them.

Annie wouldn’t stop sending me messages. And she wouldn’t stop talking about Marion’s death. I let my curiosity get to me—I had to check the message.

Murder. Happened just like the murder in the book the Book Wormers were reading. Not coincidence.

She had got to be kidding me. Now the ghost thought Marion had been murdered? I looked at Annie. Her misty silhouette hovered by the mystery section. Annie’s attention was focused solely on me. The lights flickered and my phone dinged again. I knew Brannon was waiting for me outside. I worried he would come back and catch me talking to Annie. Maybe I shouldn’t have engaged the ghost, but I was curious.

There is a killer and you should find the killer before the police throw you in prison.

“In prison?” I blurted out. “Why would I be in prison? I didn’t do anything. Furthermore, the death was an accident in the first place.” If anyone saw me talking right now they would think I’d lost my marbles.

But Annie had a point. I’d been there when Marion was discovered and I was new in town—well, new in that I’d just moved back. That might be all the reason the police needed.

Maybe they will try to pin it on you.

Annie sure had picked up a few new phrases since becoming a ghost.

Annie had a point—stranger things had happened. I stared at my phone.

You must solve the murder.

What did I know about solving a murder? This was real life, not some author’s murder mystery. Marion had fallen down the stairs, nothing more.

“Good night, Annie.” I switched off the light and closed the door, leaving the ghost in the dark.

I just hoped that Annie didn’t follow me. Although my tour goers would probably have loved to see her, I needed time to wrap my mind around everything that had happened. It was a lot to take in on my first day on the job.

When I stepped out into the night air, Brannon was standing on the sidewalk by the streetlight waiting for me. The glow highlighted his handsome features. I pulled my sweater up close to fight the chill and walked over to him.

“Are you all set?” he asked with a smile.

“I’m ready.”

Now that I thought about it, Brannon probably just wanted to come along so he could talk to me about investigating the library. The rumors of a haunting would only increase now that Marion had died in the building. If people only knew that the place really was haunted. I wouldn’t tell Brannon about meeting the ghostly Annie. That would only cause me more problems.

As we walked along, he said, “I heard you are originally from here? What brought you back?”

“It seemed like the right place to be and the job was available. They say you always come back home.”

“Not always,” he said almost under his breath.

“What about you? What brings you to Devil’s Moon?”

He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked down at his feet. “I moved here on someone’s suggestion.”

That was a vague answer, but I didn’t push for an explanation. It was a short walk to the starting location for the tour and we’d almost reached the destination. The conversation had been nice, even if I hadn’t known what to say. I spotted a group of people waiting for me.

“I guess I’ll join the others,” Brannon said.

I wouldn’t lie. Having him on the tour would make me a little nervous. What if I messed up?

Brannon fell in with the group. They looked at me expectantly.

“Welcome to Devil’s Moon Haunted Tour. Tonight I will guide you through shadowy alleys, take you into darkened corridors and share with you ghostly tales from around town. Step back in time with me and be on the lookout for spirits from beyond. This town is not without its tragedies.” I glanced at Brannon when I said that and wondered if he was thinking about Marion too.

I handed out the flashlights. The tavern owner let me stash them behind the bar. Since the meeting spot for the start of the tour was in front of the tavern, it worked out well.

I felt Brannon’s eyes on me as I narrated the story for the first haunting. The group listened intently as we made our way to the next building. I tried to weave humor into my stories as well as being spooky. My grandfather always said I had a knack for storytelling.

The restaurant at the corner of Main and Flaget Streets was the first stop. The brick building dated back to the late 1700s. People dined at tables scattered around the room, but I took the side stairs to the upper level. That way we could have a bit of quiet and I could share the paranormal sightings with my guests without disturbing the restaurant’s patrons.

“Please watch your step,” I said as I led the group up to the second level.

I was acutely aware of Brannon’s presence behind me. When I glanced back I saw that he was at the back of the group, as if he was trying to stay out of the way, but his focus was on me. He smiled when our eyes met.

“Patrons of the restaurant have reportedly seen a woman in a white dress walk down this staircase,” I said when we reached the top of the stairs.

There were three couples on the tour tonight and Brannon by himself. Everyone listened as I explained the witnesses’ accounts of the ghost.

“The woman is reported to be the ghost of a Civil War soldier’s wife.”

After I’d taken the group through the entire second and third floor, we emerged from the back door into the alleyway. The crisp fall air stirred around us as we walked to the street.

Brannon had been quiet for the entire trip and I couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking. After traveling through several more buildings, we reached the graveyard. Tonight more than ever I felt as though eyes watched us. And I didn’t think it was Mrs. Clatterbuck this time.