Laure Donavan 2 - Ghouls Night Out (24 page)

“
Did you hear that?” Mae
asked. Her voice wasn’t as boisterous as usual.

I nodded and let out an audible gulp.
“I did. Let’s just get this little escapade over with before I get
killed.”

“
Yeah, let’s not waste any
more time standing around. You’re putting Larue’s life at risk, you
big dummy.” Seth glared at Anthony.

After moving over to the next aisle,
Anthony moved to a site next to a line of trees. The area was full
of older graves. A few of the stones had fallen over and others
were crumbling from age. I could tell it had been there for some
time. A few steps away, a smaller area was surrounded by a small
vine-covered, black iron fence.

“
This is the one.”
Anthony’s voice rose as he pointed and I moved closer.

We joined him in front of the aged
tombstone.

“
See, the name…Cooper C.
Garret. Just like the clown messing with you claims is his name.
Died in 1874.”

“
What? Are you serious?” I
pointed the flashlight, casting an eerie glow on the old
stone.

“
Well, that’s my point.
He’s using some dead guy’s name.”

“
This isn’t the same guy.
Anthony, I cannot believe I let you drag me all the way out here
for this. This is crazy. Why on earth would he pick a man who died
over a hundred years ago to impersonate? Wouldn’t he pick someone
who’d recently passed away?” I stared at him.

He considered my words, then said,
“Well, I don’t know. I just know that there’s something fishy about
him. I have a feeling.”

“
I have a feeling, too. And
my feeling is I want to be home in my warm cozy bed. Now, if you’re
done with these shenanigans, I’m leaving.”

I whipped around and weaved back
around the headstones, listening for more strange sounds. If I
could make it out of there alive, I swore I’d never listen to these
ghosts’ lame ideas again.

“
Fine, Larue, don’t listen
to me, but you’ll see I’m right about him. You can’t live a lie
forever. And he’s living a lie.” He pointed with his index finger
from emphasis.

“
Is that right?” I said
over my shoulder.

I didn’t mention that maybe Anthony
was lying to himself about being dead and needing to go to the
other side.

“
Don’t you want to visit my
grave?” he asked with melancholy in his voice.

I stopped in my tracks. He might as
well have punched me in the stomach. How could I say no?

“
Of course I do, Anthony. I
wouldn’t miss it for anything,” I said, trying to comfort him with
my words.

“
Oh, for heaven’s sake,
what do we need to look at your grave for? It looks like all the
others.” Seth huffed.

“
Now, Seth, let’s pay our
respects to the dead.”

He chuckled.

“
Laugh all you want, old
man, but I bet my tombstone’s bigger than your
tombstone.”

Okay, I’d heard it all now. Men never
tired of comparing sizes. We moved down the row of graves until
Anthony stopped in front of his.

“
Aren’t your family members
buried next to you?” I asked.

“
No, I guess when I died
they found the best spot they could for me. They’re buried across
town. I visit often.” He looked down, avoiding my gaze.

“
That’s nice.” I
nodded.

Talk about awkward. We stood in
silence for several seconds.

“
Um, it’s a nice spot,” I
added, at a loss for words. What else could I say?

“
Yes, yes, it is a very
nice location,” Mae said, as she nodded.

“
A great place to spend all
of eternity,” I added.

“
Okay, that’s enough
reminiscing, let’s get out of here,” Anthony blurted
out.

Without another word, he floated ahead
of us. I’d never understand Anthony. I wouldn’t even attempt to
figure out what went on in his head. There was no way to navigate
the male mind…especially the dead male mind.

As I stepped forward, a dark shadow
dark shadow darted from one tree to another. My breathe caught in
my throat. The shadow figure was back. We froze as we watched it
glide from the old part of the cemetery. No one said a word as we
watched it fade into the darkness, the glowing ring around it
disappearing. My senses were on high alert. A prickly sensation ran
through my body.

“
Look at that house,” Mae
pointed, drawing my attention away from the dark shadow.

I looked to my right. My eyes widened.
A mansion sat at the graveyard’s edge. The shadow figure reappeared
in front of the mansion, gliding across the way and disappearing
when it reached the home.

“
That house wasn’t there
before,” I said, as I stared wide-eyed.

“
No, it wasn’t. It’s never
been there. I’d remember if it had been.” Anthony moved a little
closer in that direction.

“
The house had to be there.
Maybe you just didn’t notice it,” Seth said.

“
I’m buried here. Don’t you
think I’d remember a house right there?”

“
It’s beautiful,” I
said.

Light shone through the windows. The
house stood three stories high with intricate cornices, a sizeable
amount of windows, several chimneys, and a porch that spanned the
length of the home. It sat alone atop the hill. The same white glow
that outlined the dark shadow figure contoured the home, as if a
glowing aura surrounded the spectral mansion.

“
Did you all see the dark
shadow disappear when it reached the front porch?” I asked, looking
at the ghost gang.

They nodded without saying a
word.

“
Let’s check it out.” Mae
moved closer to where Anthony stood.

Seth twisted his hands. “I’m not sure
that’s a good idea. It would be considered trespassing. I don’t
want you to get in trouble, Larue.”

“
I’ll just go a little
closer.” I looked to Seth, then back at the large home.

“
Don’t forget about the
shadow we just saw.” He reminded me.

I stopped on the spot. Yeah, there was
that little thing to consider. Before I had a chance to move
further, a gasp cut through the night air.

“
It’s gone,” Mae
said.

“
I don’t believe it. It
just disappeared.” Anthony’s voice rose to a level I’d never
heard.

“
A ghost house…I don’t know
what to say. I think I may have peed my pants.”

“
Maybe you should have worn
an adult diaper,” Mae said.

“
Let’s get out of here,”
Seth said.

Chapter Thirty-Five

My bed never looked so good.
Unfortunately, none of the ghosts were following the ‘stay out of
my bedroom’ rule. They paced across the hardwood floor in front of
my bed. Well, Seth and Anthony paced. Mae lounged in the
overstuffed chair that sat in the corner beside the
fireplace.

“
I stopped by Callahan’s
place,” Seth said. “And it was no easy task, let me tell you. You
know how much energy it takes to zoom from place to place. Anyway,
there’s something wrong. I’m worried about him.”

“
What do you mean, there’s
something wrong with him?” I asked.

“
I’m not quite sure. He
just doesn’t act himself. Call him,” Seth said.

“
No,” Anthony
exclaimed.

Not this again. Seth was right. I
should at least attempt to call Callahan again. I owed him the real
explanation for the conversation he had overheard. I needed and
wanted to make things right between us. I missed his delicious lips
and his smile and body…well, you get the idea. He was sexy, smart,
and fun and I wanted to see his gorgeous face again. I wanted to
tell him about Mindy and get his advice. See what he thought. And
if what Seth said was right, well, this situation was getting
extremely dire.

I picked up the phone and dialed his
number. My breath caught in my throat and my hands shook. I hadn’t
been this nervous since Mindy forced me to take that helicopter
ride over the Atlantic shore last summer. The other end of the line
rang and rang, but he didn’t answer. Was he avoiding my calls? Of
course he was. Maybe Cooper had convinced him I was snobby and
rude, as well. It didn’t seem Callahan’s personality to believe
gossip. The only explanation was the one I didn’t want to believe.
Had it really happened again? Had Cooper used black magic on
Callahan, too?

I hung up. “He didn't answer,” I said
to the expectant faces staring at me.

“
Give him a chance. Try
again in a minute,” Seth said.

“
Yes, you should try
again,” Mae said. “He’s too gorgeous to let him slip
away.”

Anthony dropped something on the other
side of the room. “Sorry.”

I think he just wanted to get my
attention since we were talking about Callahan and not
him.

“
So we need another plan.”
Seth clapped his hands together. “We can’t wait around for Becky to
give us details.”

“
I can’t come up with
another plan right now. I’m exhausted and I can’t think
straight.”

“
We have to act now. You
said Mindy was a good spy. What would she do?” Seth face had grown
more solemn.

“
Well, she would have spied
on Cooper to see if he was practicing black magic. But I don't own
binoculars.” I sat up in bed. “I can buy some. Wal-Mart is open all
night and, since I doubt I'll be sleeping much tonight, I might as
well go.”

“
Spying. Now we’re
talking,” Mae said. “Never done it, but I'll try anything once,
twice if I like it, three times to make sure.”

“
Do you know where this
Cooper fellow lives?” Seth asked.

“
No, but I know where
Brianna lived and, if Cooper took over her shop, I bet he took over
her home as well.”

“
Good thinking.” Anthony
winked.

After grabbing my purse and locking
the door behind me, I climbed into the car. The gang piled in with
me. “I never thought I’d see the day I was headed to Wal-Mart in
the middle of the night with a bunch of ghosts to buy
binoculars.”

I so needed a vacation. Things kept
getting crazier. Who knew what would happen next? After a bit of
bickering between Anthony and Seth about which product was
superior, I picked the binoculars I thought were best. I had to
keep Mae from touching everything in the store; she really liked
Wal-Mart.

“
The socks are two for one
dollar. That’s a bargain. Do you need socks, Larue?” Mae
asked.

I continued my trek toward the door. I
had plenty of socks.

We climbed back into my old car and
headed toward Brianna's…or should I say Cooper’s house. What
exactly I was looking for, I didn't know, but with any luck, I’d
see something to help sort about this madness. Maybe Mindy,
Callahan, and Cooper were there having a big party and lots of fun
without including little ol’ me. Heck, the whole town was probably
there. Cooper probably had plans to cast a spell on the whole town
of Magnolia. I had to stop him before it was too late. Becky and
the coven were taking too long.

We pulled up to the curb and I cut the
headlights. My car backfired when I turned off the
ignition.

“
Can’t you all buy decent
vehicles?” Anthony remarked.

“
I’ll get around to buying
a new car. Leave me alone. I like my car,” I said.

The house was located in a gorgeous
neighborhood with large estate homes. Most had gated entrances but,
luckily, Brianna's former residence didn't.

Anthony let out a whistle. “Wow.
Someone was loaded.”

“
Yeah, she had a few bucks
to throw around. She should have bought a nicer personality with
some of that money, though. Did I say that out loud?” That wasn’t
nice of me, but sometimes the truth hurt.

I grabbed the plastic shopping bag and
pulled the binoculars out. Sneaking out of my car with a sick
feeling planted firmly in my stomach reminded me I’d just done this
with Mindy a short time ago. The old Mindy would be so proud. I’d
been convinced Mindy and I would go to jail that day. Now look, I
was doing it without her prodding. Not that I’d decided to do this
all on my own. Seth, Mae, and Anthony hadn’t tried to stop
me.

“
Please, don't let me be
arrested,” I murmured.

How would I explain why I was snooping
in the dark with binoculars? It sounded as bad as it looked. I made
my way up the street with the ghosts trailing closely behind me.
The bushes lining the sidewalk concealed my movement nicely, and I
was thankful. When I reached the house, I paused, taking in a deep
breath. The crisp scent of fall leaves hit my nostrils.

“
I don’t suppose I can turn
back now,” I said.

It was more of a statement than a
question. I knew I needed to do this. What surprised me, though, is
how easily I accepted that fact. I’d complained when Mindy made me
do it the first time. Well, I guess technically she didn’t make me.
I could have always said no.