Haunted Renovation Mystery 1 - Flip That Haunted House (5 page)

After a drive to the police station—with a
cruiser following me—and the sheriff warning me not to leave town,
I stumbled through my door. Much to my chagrin, I forgot to leave
the outside porch light on when I left home early in the day. Of
course, I didn’t think I’d be late and didn’t think I’d have a
killer to worry about, either. Without wasting any time, I hurried
in the door, then turned on every light along my path through the
house. I tossed my purse on the sofa and headed to the
bathroom.

My stress level was through the roof. I tied
my hair up in a ponytail and climbed in the shower, letting out a
deep sigh. As the hot water fell over my face, I tried to shake the
vision of Payne’s limp body slumped in the chair. The image of
blood on my hand and the realization that I had been so near a
murder scene wouldn’t leave me alone. The pictures were scorched
into my mind. Creepiness settled in and I couldn’t shake its grip.
Not only did the fear from finding Payne Cooper haunt me, but the
eerie silhouette running from the building, as well. It was almost
more than I could handle. I slipped into my favorite pajamas and
climbed into bed. The soft comforter was my only security at that
moment.

I settled under the covers, then the phone
rang. I knew who was calling before I answered it.

“Baby. It’s Mama.”

Her twang grew more pronounced with
stressful situations. Allow the twenty questions to commence. I
rubbed my temples.

“Hi, Mama.” I fell back onto the bed.

My mother may not be very tall, but you
wouldn’t know it by her voice. It was larger than life. “I am sick
with worry. What happened?” she demanded.

“I really don’t want to talk about it
anymore tonight. It was traumatic.” I let out a deep sigh.

How the heck did she find out so soon? The
rewards of small town life.

“I’m coming over.”

“What? No, not tonight. I’m already in bed.
Plus, it’s a thirty minute drive down that dark dirt county road.
You live in the boonies.” And they wondered why I had moved
away.

She sighed. “Fine. But I’ll be there first
thing in the morning. I wish you’d let me come over tonight. I want
to know exactly what happened.”

“I promise to tell you everything tomorrow
and I promise I’ll be fine.”

“Are your doors and windows locked? I knew
we should’ve bought you a watchdog.”

“I’m all right, really.” I needed off the
phone.

Actually, her visiting tomorrow might not be
a bad idea, as much as I hated to admit. I could use a little help
with the new place—but not too much.

“Mom, I’m fine. Please don’t worry about me.
Just come by tomorrow.”

“I’ll be there in the morning with bells and
whistles on.” Her smile almost came through the phone.

That’s what I was afraid of…her literally
wearing bells and whistles.

“Get some rest now,” she said.

“Oh, wait. Come by the old house. I’m going
to work there early.”

Before I settled back in, I called Lacey to
let her know what had happened and to check on how she felt. She
had wanted to come over too, but there was no way I’d allow her to
pamper me just because I discovered a dead guy. I promised to call
her tomorrow. At least Lacey hadn’t held my driving skills against
me. The trip to the hospital was an honest mistake, it could have
happened to anyone. She was always there when I needed her—a true
friend.

Sleep hadn’t come easy. I tossed and turned
like a child waiting for the boogie man to jump out of the closet.
My night had been full of dreams that I couldn’t recall. I’d woken
once with my heart pounding and covered in sweat. Probably best
that I hadn’t remembered them. I looked at the clock throughout the
night almost hourly.

The next morning, I headed out early. With
so much to do, I didn’t want to waste a single minute. Time was
money, or so I’d heard. The police had spotted the key with my name
on it at Payne’s and were nice enough to hand it over. I was
shocked they hadn’t considered it evidence. The murder scene still
filled my thoughts, but I had to work.

Leaves and twigs crunched beneath my feet as
I crossed the driveway toward the house. The morning sun
illuminated the mini-mansion highlighting the dirt, decaying
cobwebs, and chipped paint. Walking up the path made me feel at
home, though. The house and its surroundings encompassed many of my
favorite things. I wanted to grab a blanket, spread it out, and nap
under the shady umbrella of drooping branches from the weeping
willow trees.

The history of the home fascinated me—the
lives of previous owners and the fact that so many years ago they
walked the same floors was amazing. I navigated around the broken
spots in the stone pathway. Birds chirped overhead, but otherwise
silence surrounded me. Dew covered the grass and the crisp air
carried the scent of damp earth. The place definitely had that
old haunted house
look, but it wasn’t exactly the Bates
Motel, either. I wasn’t afraid—well, only slightly. I was walking
into unknown territory.

As I marched up the steps, I couldn’t
believe I owned the place. The big old house was mine, which left
me feeling excited and terrified at the same time. I shoved the key
in the lock and turned the knob. I sighed with relief when the key
worked.

I opened the door and stuck my head in.
“Hello?” As if I had expected the ghosts to answer.

Honestly, I prayed I wouldn’t get a
response. I’d had enough excitement to last me for a while—a
relaxing morning wasn’t too much to ask for. The stale, musty air
hit me—I’d have to air the place out. I turned to my right and
entered the parlor. Walking over to the mantel, I ran my hand along
the intricate details, trailing the scroll pattern. They didn’t
build houses like that anymore.

I twirled my keys between my fingers and
whistled as I made my way through each room, trying to memorize
every detail so I could daydream later. A cobweb dangled from the
large once-gold chandelier in the dining room and I knocked it down
on my way through to the kitchen. I sauntered into the room and
surveyed the mess. The leaky sink faucet dripped a rhythm. A large
piece of duct tape repaired the cracked window at the back of the
room. Maybe I’d throw some paint on the cabinets and bring them
back to life. I set my keys on the countertop and opened the
cabinet doors for a closer examination. The orangey-colored oak
cabinets were outdated, but there was no way I’d replace them.

Through the hallway was a small door. I
wrapped my hand around the tarnished brass knob and yanked on the
door, almost afraid of what I’d find. Dust motes escaped and
floated through the air as I poked my head in the cramped space. A
narrow staircase loomed all the way to the third floor. Where did
the stairs lead?

The stairs were steeper than I’d thought,
but I kept my eyes forward. My heart pounded. It wasn’t just the
climbing that made me have that reaction. The spirit of a serial
killer could haunt the place for all I knew and I might be walking
into his trap. A mean ghost wasn’t something to mess around
with.

A loud thump echoed and I felt a sickening
drop in my stomach. Was it the wind? I forced my feet to move up a
few more steps. The bang rang out again from somewhere nearby. The
clomp of footsteps echoed across the space. What if the killer was
in the house? After all, it had been Payne’s property until
yesterday.

I tiptoed the rest of the way up the stairs.
My eyes widened with fear and goose bumps broke out on my arms. I
could handle a haunted house, but if the real-life killer found me,
I would be helpless. I looked to the large bedroom on my left. No
intruder or ghost in sight. A dark and foreboding feeling enveloped
me. Shadows from the swaying branches outside played off the walls.
Dirt covered the window blocking a considerable amount of natural
light. I eased across the room, trying to quiet the click-a-clack
of my shoes against the plank floor.

“This is one heck of a house.” The
oh-so-familiar twang tone floated through the air.

“Mama.” I groaned.

She stepped from the room across the hall
and stood in front of me, wearing zebra-print skintight pants, and
a red sequined blouse. Red high-heels completed the outfit. She
held her little white dog in her arms.

“My gosh, Mama, what are you doing here? You
almost gave me a heart attack.” I clutched my chest.

“I’m sorry, but I came to help, remember? I
told you I’d be here early. You all right? I was so worried.” She
wrapped her arms around me. Her citrusy scent hung in the air.

I wiped my forehead with the back of my
hand, and then nodded. “I’m fine. How did you get in here?”

“The front door was open.” She gave a flash
of curiosity.

“It was?”

A chill ran down my spine. It was locked
when I arrived, and locked yesterday when I had tried to enter.
What was going on?

“I heard you found the body. It’s just
horrible. My poor baby. You want to talk about what happened?”

“Maybe later.” I grinned halfheartedly.

“This place is gorgeous. We can do so much
with it.” Her finger glided across the worn wallpaper.

I was thankful she hadn’t pushed the murder
subject.

“
We
can do no such thing. I’m doing
this all by myself.”

She snorted. “We’ll see about that.”