What happened?
“Oh, Annie, it was just terrible,” I said as I headed across the library floor toward the reference desk.
My footsteps echoed across the hardwood floor, bouncing off the walls of the large expanse of a room. Sun streamed the tall windows along the front of the library allowing dust motes to dance through the air.
Based on the look on your face, I take it that this is bad news. Tammy decided not to get married? Did she run away from the wedding?
I frowned. “You came up with that scenario rather quickly. But no, that’s not what happened.”
Your face looks sullen. Did someone die?
My eyes widened. “How did she figure that out just by my expression?
Annie stood by the end of the reference desk. I’m waiting for your answer. Don’t keep me in suspense.
“Yes, there was a murder,” I said around a sigh.
Tell me it’s not Tammy. The message popped up on my phone within a second.
“No, of course not. I wouldn’t be this calm if it had been Tammy.
I suppose not, no. Who died? Is there a ghost here now? She looked around the library.
I wouldn’t mention the ghost that I’d seen at the mansion. Yes, Annie the ghost was scared of ghosts. It was kind of understandable though. I mean, when we’re alive we were scared of certain people, so I suppose that carried over into the afterlife
“The wedding planner.”
My phone dinged again when Annie’s message came through. How ironic. Who did this to her? another message came through
“That’s what we’re trying to find out,” I said as I grabbed a stack of books.
We???
I chuckled to myself when I saw that Annie had added several question marks to the end of her text. Annie had all the text lingo down. I wasn’t sure where she’d learn this from, but nonetheless, she was a pro.
“The police are investigating. And I may or may not be doing my own investigation.”
Annie shook her head. Oh, I wish you wouldn’t get involved.
Should I just ignore that text message? Annie was staring right at me. She moved even closer to me now. I suppose ignoring the statement was out of the question. She stood right beside me. Cold air circled around me, coming off her like she’d just stepped out of a freezer.
Seconds later I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. A shadow. Was there another ghost here?
“Is there another ghost here, Annie?” I asked.
I figured that if she’d seen a ghost, she would have already told me. But I had to ask.
Not that I’m aware of. Why do you ask? Once again, she searched the surroundings.
The tall library windows allowed sunbeams to stream through the room, dancing across the hardwood floors. Tables and chairs filled the space. And of course, the stacks of books all around. The outside of the building was a grand three stories with façade made of stone, a turret, and gables. Hardwood floors throughout the interior and intricate wood carvings made the interior just as grand as the exterior.
A large crystal chandelier in the middle of the space dazzled a prism of light around the library in the dark hours. The staircase with marble treads that lead up to the other floors made the rich interior even more opulent. Mysteries and romance were on the first floor. Reference and other stuff on the second. Rooms for meetings were on the third floor.
There was something decidedly special about the building here at Devil’s Moon, which probably wouldn’t surprise a lot of residents in town. Over in the corner of the reference section on the wall close to the ceiling was a portal. Yes, right there the library. It led to the other dimension. Whatever the other dimension was. Sometimes ghosts slipped through. They weren’t always good.
Luckily, I knew a great demonologist who had closed up the portal, but on occasion, the entry worked its way open again. I was always on the lookout for a ghost who had slipped through into the library from the other side. I just couldn’t get away from the spirits no matter where I went. They were at my house too, because well, I lived in a former funeral home.
Okay, I hung out in cemeteries too and the library was haunted. I guess it was no surprise that I was now talking to ghosts too. I looked around the library, but I saw no signs of a ghost. Thank heavens for that small favor.
Other staff should arrive soon, so I busied myself with the morning routine. Annie followed along behind me.
You have to tell me everything that happened.
Annie sent the text message, so I pulled the phone from my pocket. I proceeded to explain everything that had happened at the mansion the evening before.
That’s just terrible. What will Tammy do? Is she going to get married?
“They rescheduled for next weekend. Thank goodness they were able to change the dates on their flights for their honeymoon. Tammy will be in to work today,” I said.
She should have taken the day off.
“I gave her that option, but she wants to stay busy to keep her mind off what happened.”
I suppose that’s understandable. The poor dear.
“We’ll just have to do the whole week over again as if the last one didn’t happen.”
I hope another murder doesn’t occur when she tries to get married again.
“Don’t even speak of such things. That will freak Tammy out,” I said.
“Tammy will freak out about what?” the soft voice asked.
I whipped around to find that Tammy had walked in. No more talking about the murder right now. Tammy would want to get her mind off it for a while. How would I explain my comment? Tammy usually looked chic from head to toe. Today she appeared a bit disheveled. Perhaps that word was too harsh to describe her. I’d just say she was less polished, wearing a simple black sweater and slacks. She wore no jewelry and her blonde hair, normally styled trendily, was just pulled back into a ponytail.
“Good morning, Sweetie,” I said as soon as she walked up to the reference desk.
“What will I freak out about?” she asked with a frown.
I had hoped that she wouldn’t push the issue. Now I had to come up with an answer.
“Someone put a romance book back in the self-help section.” Her voice shot up.
Tammy had a thing about romance books. One of her number one pet peeves was when someone shelved one of them incorrectly. “Don’t mess with the romance section” was her motto.
She scowled. “It was The Duke’s Ravenous Rescue, wasn’t it? I’ve been looking for that book.”
I knew that would work. However, I hadn’t found that book so now I’d dug a bigger hole for myself. Oh, what a tangled web we weave. I had no choice but to continue the lie. I’d have to pick up a new copy of that book.
“That’s the one,” I said with a smile.
Now I had to hope she didn’t ask to see it right away or that she didn’t go looking for it on the shelf. Tammy busied herself with her morning routine though, so I hoped I was off the hook for the time being. She seemed oddly calm considering what had happened less than twenty-four hours ago.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I should mention anything about yesterday or if I just let it go and give Tammy some space. I decided to do the latter and immediately started talking about work. Alas, my decision to keep quiet about the event didn’t last long. I suppose I wasn’t as strong as I’d thought.