Haunt Couture and Ghosts Galore (8 page)

Meaghan moved over to the desk and looked at the drawer. She pulled out the sketch pad and clutched it to her chest. “Were you looking at my drawings?”

My eyes widened. “No, of course not.”

“You're not a very good liar,” Charlotte said.

“This just goes from bad to worse, doesn't it?” Sam said.

Meaghan stared at me and I knew she knew that I'd seen the designs before. “These are my drawings, you know?”

“Yes, of course they're yours.” I inched away from the desk in case I needed to make a fast getaway.

“Did you look at all of them?” she asked.

“We saw just a few of them,” Heather said.

“Will someone put some tape on her mouth,” Charlotte said.

I knew it was definitely time for us to get out of there. Denying that I'd seen anything hadn't worked. Now what would I say?

“I think it is time for you to leave,” Meaghan said.

“It's probably best that we do leave,” Charlotte said. “There's no telling what Heather will say next.”

Charlotte had a point. It was best that we did get out of there. Heather and I moved toward the door.

“I'm sorry for everything. Thanks again for talking to us,” I said over my shoulder.

Meaghan didn't answer as she followed us to the door. When I stepped out onto the porch, I turned around, but Meaghan closed the door in my face. “That ended well.”

“Rule number one: Never, ever get caught snooping around,” Sam said.

“Too late for that,” I said as we trailed back to the Buick.

Chapter 13

 

 

The next day I was at the shop. The ghosts were unable to talk me into sleuthing this morning. As much as I wanted to help, I had too much to do. Plus, after what had happened at Meaghan's, I needed a break. Besides, there was clothing to be sorted and bills to be paid.

I opened the door for It's Vintage, Y'all and flipped on the light switch. I bounced inside the shop with a spring in my step. I always felt in my element when I was surrounded by the clothing. I looked around the shop at all the items I had gathered since starting the business and I smiled.

“You should be proud of what you've done,” Charlotte said from over my shoulder.

I looked at her. “I guess I should be a little.”

Enough daydreaming, though, I had to dress the mannequins at the front windows. After all, decorating the window displays was important, it was the first thing that people saw when they entered. I had picked up a black Dior cocktail dress with sexy Louis Vuitton black heels to go with it that I couldn't wait to see on one of the mannequins. On the other I had a 1980s brown wool tweed lined pencil skirt. It had a kick pleat in back. I decided to pair it with an adorable pink cotton linen blend blouse with a Peter Pan collar. It had a pleated flounce bodice with a notched waist band. A row of fabric-covered buttons lined the front.

Charlotte's uneasiness floated across the room and invaded my space as I dressed the mannequin. I knew if I asked her what was wrong that it might open a whole can of worms. I still didn't know what was going on with her and Sam though. I suppose I should ask her. I didn't know if she would tell me though.

Today I wore an Yves Saint Laurent navy blue full skirt dress. It had little red polka dots covering the fabric. My shoes were red patent leather peep-toe pumps. I had a red beaded necklace to finish the look. I was excited to make the transition into my fall wardrobe. As much as I loved summer, I loved the fall and winter too. Although the seasons were mild in the fall and winter. I especially loved decorating for Halloween. That was a busy time for me because people liked to get vintage clothing for costumes. Seventies and eighties clothing were always popular for Halloween.

Charlotte lounged on the velvet chaise nearby while Sam stared out the window. It was nice and quiet in the shop for a change. I had music on in the background, but I kept it faint so that it wasn't overpowering. It helped set the mood for the shop. Today I was in an eighties kind of mood, so I had the pop music on. At the moment Wham! was playing “Wake Me up Before You Go-Go.” I hummed along to the music as I worked on the mannequin. This was one of my favorite songs. In spite of my good mood, a strange vibe suddenly hummed in the air.

I was just fastening a belt around the waist of the mannequin when the bell above the door sounded, grabbing my attention. When I looked over at the door, I saw a customer had entered. She glanced my way but didn't speak. She was tall and slender. Her dark hair was cut into a stylish short style. She wore trim black trousers, a black fitted sweater with a boatneck collar, and tall black Gucci boots.

“You should go over there and talk to her,” Charlotte said.

I didn't want to hover over the customers. People liked to be left alone to browse.

The customer roamed around the store. She touched something from each rack that she passed. It was definitely a little odd. But people had their own way of shopping, so what did I care. I couldn't help watch the woman as she browsed though. As she strolled between the racks, I pretended to work on the mannequin, but I was really watching her out of the corner of my eye. I was glad that she hadn't noticed me spying on her. If she did notice, she didn't let on. I hoped that I wasn't acting too strange.

When the woman headed toward the counter, I rushed from my spot and over to her. I made my way behind the counter and took the silver charm bracelet from her hands.

“Did you find everything okay?” I asked with a smile.

She looked down at her purse, then finally said, “Yes, I'm fine.”

“This is a lovely bracelet. Do you like bracelets?”

Her expression let me know she thought the question was odd. “Yes, I do.”

I rang up her purchase and she handed me her credit card. I glanced at the name. Rita Riggs was the name printed on the card. The name didn't sound familiar. She did seem kind of familiar though. I was sure I didn't know her. Charlotte was standing right beside the woman looking her up and down. I halfway expected Charlotte to reach out and touch her.

We watched as the woman walked out of the shop and headed down the sidewalk.

“Well, she was a real oddball,” Charlotte said.

“I won't argue with you there.”

“What do you think it means?” Sam asked.

“I don't think it means anything. She was just eccentric that's all.”

“I don't think so, she gave me a bad vibe,” Charlotte said.

I understood what she was talking about. Because the woman had seemed odd to me too.

I settled on the stool behind the counter and grabbed my laptop. I needed to check my e-mails and see if I'd received any online orders. My computer powered up and I made it to my blog.

Charlotte leaned over my shoulder. “Anything good?”

“I don't know yet. I haven't had a chance to check.”

“Well, hurry up, I want to see too.”

“Okay, okay, I'm looking,” I said.

Charlotte was almost as excited as I was about looking at my messages. After all, she had helped me set up the online shopping and a lot of advertising for the shop. Business had increased since I'd run into the ghost of Charlotte Meadows.

I was always excited when I saw that I had a message. So when the screen popped up, I hurriedly clicked on the link and waited for the message to pop up on my screen. I hoped that it was a message with someone wanting more vintage-clothing advice. I scrolled through the short comments and then spotted something lengthier.

“Hmm. That is interesting,” I said.

“What does it say?” Charlotte leaned closer.

“It's a request to meet with me,” I said.

“It's a what?” she asked.

“Exactly what I said. Someone wants to meet me.”

Charlotte tapped her foot against the floor, drawing my attention to her white and black peep-toe Christian Louboutin pumps. “That is a terrible idea. You aren't possibly thinking of doing such a crazy thing, are you?”

“I had thought about it,” I said.

Charlotte threw her hands into the air. “Do you believe her?” She looked at Sam.

I frowned. “It's not that bad. I don't know what you're throwing such a big fit for.”

“Why doesn't this person just come into the shop if they want to talk with you?” Sam asked.

“They want to lure her away,” Charlotte said.

“I can't believe y'all. You want me to investigate this, right? What better way to do it than to talk with everyone who might have a clue?”

“I can think of quite a few more ways that aren't nearly as dangerous.” Sam crossed his arms in front of his chest.

I shrugged. “It was just a thought.”

Charlotte glared at me. “I had better not catch you doing anything stupid,” she said.

I held my hands up in the air. “I promise I won't do anything stupid.”

The key was that I didn't think it was stupid. So if I did go, it wouldn't be going against their wishes . . . technically.

Wind Song jumped down from the window and leaped up onto the counter. She meowed loudly and pawed at my arm.

“Are you hungry, Wind Song?”

She didn't meow in return. Usually she was very loud when she was hungry so I always knew she wanted food.

“Okay, so what's wrong?” I asked.

She meowed and pawed at my arm again. I had to figure out what Wind Song was trying to tell me.

“I think she wants to give you a message,” Charlotte said.

“It does seem that way, doesn't it?” I said. “You will have to wait, Wind Song, because Heather is busy working this morning. We'll just have to wait until she can come over,” I said.

“Maybe not,” Charlotte said. “I have another idea. Just talk to her another way.”

Hmm. I hadn't thought about that, but how would that be possible?

“I need something else to use,” I said.

What else could the cat use? It wasn't like she could pick up a pen and paper. I placed my hands on my hips and looked around for an idea. Unfortunately, nothing was jumping out at me.

“Sorry, Wind Song, I just can't think of anything.”

The cat meowed again as if my answer was not acceptable. She wasn't going to let me off that easily.

“Okay, I have to think of something.”

Apparently, this is very important to Wind Song. If it was that important, then I had to know what she wanted to tell us.

“All you have to do is write yes or no on a couple pieces of paper and then ask her questions.” Charlotte waved her hand.

Why hadn't I thought of that? Why wouldn't it work?

“Okay, I think that will work. What's the worst that could happen? I guess we should give it a try then,” I said.

“Now you're talking,” Charlotte said.

“This is much better than going to meet a stranger who wants to see you,” Sam said.

“The person could kill you. I don't want to deal with a ghost of you.” Charlotte shivered at the thought.

I placed my hands on my hips. “What is that supposed to mean? I'd be just as pleasant in the afterlife as I am here on this level.”

I picked up a pad of paper and wrote out the word “yes” on one page and then “no” on another.

“Okay, Wind Song, let's see how this goes,” I said.

I held up the yes and explained what I wanted Wind Song to do. “Do you understand?” I asked. Then I held up the paper so that she could see the words. If she could spell, then I knew she would be able to read the word too. I just couldn't wait to see what she had to say this time.

“This is quite exciting,” Sam said.

He had moved closer to see what the cat had to say.

“Okay, Wind Song, do you have something you want to tell us?” I asked.

The ghosts and I watched as Wind Song continued to lick her paws. Maybe we overestimated her desire to talk with us. Finally, she stopped licking her paws and batted at the page with the “yes” written on it. Charlotte giggled, and Sam said, “I can't believe it.”

It was hard to believe and if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it. I had gotten a lot more used to it now though. I still wanted to know how she did this. Maybe I would never find out how or where she came from.

“Do you know who murdered Melanie?” I asked.

Wind Song touched the paper with the word “no.”

“Too bad,” Sam said.

“Do you have an idea who did it?” I asked.

The cat batted at the yes paper. My eyes widened.

“Now this is getting good,” Charlotte said.

“Who is it?” I pushed. “Meaghan?”

She touched the paper for no.

I sighed. “Shandra?” The cat picked no again.

“Hannah?”

No again.

“Are you sure you have an idea who did this?” I asked.

“No” was the cat's response.

Charlotte groaned. “The catnip must have gotten to her. She doesn't know what she's talking about.”

Wind Song jumped down and rushed to her spot in the window as if she was offended by what Charlotte said.

“I think you upset her,” I said.

“She'll have to get over it,” Charlotte said.

My question-and-answer session hadn't gone well. Maybe I should stick with the tarot cards and Ouija board.