Haunted Renovation Mystery 1 - Flip That Haunted House (24 page)

I jumped up and ran to the Volvo. Before
even closing the door, I shoved the key in and turned the ignition.
Nothing. I turned it again. Still nothing. Of all the times for the
heap to finally give up on me. I paced around across the yard,
trying not to gnaw on my fingernails. Reed’s truck was gone. Barney
Fife, er, Sheriff Bass and his gang were convinced Carolyn had left
on her own free will. Frank and I knew that was bull. I stood in
the driveway and looked around as if a ride would magically appear.
Across the way, a couple of neighbors worked in their yard. I
couldn’t ask them. They didn’t know me and they’d surely think I
was crazy for asking them to take me to a potential scene of a
crime. Frank hadn’t had time to return home, so I couldn’t call
him. I dialed Lacey’s number, but she didn’t answer. What could I
do? I’d find a way, I had to. The killer would get more than they
bargained for when they messed with me. But who would drive me
there?

“Mama, I need a favor.”

I’d bought her a cell phone for Christmas
last year. Even if she barely knew how to use the thing, it was
worth every penny at that moment.

“Sugar, what’s wrong? You sound upset.”

“I need you to drive me somewhere.”

“I’m shopping right now. Can you wait until
I’m done?”

“No!”

“All right, calm down, sugar, don’t yell at
your Mama. Where is it you need to go?”

“Mama, listen to me. I’ll have to explain
everything when you get here, right now I don’t have time. I need
to go find my friend Carolyn. She’s in a bit of a bind.”

“Where is she?”

“Let’s just say it’s off the beaten
path.”

“In the woods or something?”

“Yes, in the woods, Mama, lots of trees,
animals, and such. We have to keep this a secret. I don’t want
anyone to see us. Now, how fast can you get over here?”

My frustration mounted. She asked too many
questions.

“Faster than you can say hair on a biscuit,”
she sang.

I think that meant she could be here in a
jiffy, but I wasn’t about to ask.

“Please, just hurry.” I clicked off before
she could utter another “Sugar.”

I hurried back to the porch steps and sat
down. Pulling a page from Payne’s notepad, I scribbled a note to
Reed. After explaining the situation as best as I could without
sounding crazy, I placed the pad down and glanced at my watch.
Where was she? Taking a hair tie from my purse, I pulled my hair
back in a tight ponytail, the perfect style for my dangerous
mission. I glanced at my watch again. She should be here soon. I
told her to hurry and it had been almost an hour. My mouth was dry
and my pulsed thumped. I fidgeted from side to side as I waited for
her. When push came to shove, I could count on my mother for
anything.

A loud clanking echoed through the
neighborhood. I stood, placed my hand above my eyes to shade the
sun, and peered down the street. That’s when I saw it. Coming down
the road with a trail of sooty air emitting from it, as if a
theatrical fog machine on wheels, was my father’s old white truck.
He’d owned the thing since before smog covered cities.

I watched as she steered into the driveway,
the smoke making a black
Z
behind it as the truck turned.
Something bright and shiny glimmered from inside the truck, but I
couldn’t make out the source. As the clunker came to a stop in
front of the house, it let out one final putter, releasing a large
puff of smoke. The large gasp from its tailpipe could have easily
been the one last cough the truck spit out before it died.

With one swift movement, my mother flounced
from behind the wheel. Just when I thought she couldn’t shock me
with her wardrobe, she did. There was no time to ask about her
lovely costume. I’d wait until we were in the truck.

She spotted me and threw her hand up, a
smile from ear to ear.

“You’ve gotta love her,” I said aloud.

The whole neighborhood probably heard the
junker pull up. With the note in my hand, I hurried to the door and
stuck it between the crack. A small portion was visible. If Reed
came over, he’d find it. Where was he anyway? I turned, scooped my
purse from the step, flung it over my shoulder, and ran to the
truck. I pulled the door open and hopped in, knocking coffee cups
and papers out of my way.

“Get in. Hurry,” I said.

“I’m coming. She scuttled over and slid
behind the wheel.

“Come on, Mama. We have to hurry before it’s
too late.” I gestured for her to turn the key.

“What’s wrong with your car?” she
squawked.

“That’s it. Switch sides.” I hopped out and
moved around to her side. “I’m driving.” My mother tumbled out and
scuttled over to the passenger seat. “I’m fine with driving, you’re
too impatient. You’ll have a hard time figuring out how this truck
works. It’s not easy, you know.”

I slid in and scanned the area to
familiarize myself with the gears. “Nothing Daddy drives is easy.
I’ll figure it out.”

“You have to pull on that black knob over
there,” she said, pointing to a large round object.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know, your father added it. The
truck won’t start without it.”

The large black knob didn’t come with the
truck out of the factory—another one of my father’s inventions. I
cranked the ignition, praying it would start, but expected it
wouldn’t.

A loud vroom rang out and a murky cloud of
gray flew up in a big veil from behind us.

“Please don’t let this thing blow up,” I
said under my breath.

“Oh, we’re on our way now. I feel like a spy
on a mission or a ninja,” she chirped.

I glanced at over at her, “Yeah, you look
just like a ninja, Mama,” I scoffed. “You look more like an
overstuffed GI Jane doll. What’s with the outfit?” I asked, almost
afraid of her answer.

She wore baggy camouflage pants with
matching jacket. A pair of orange high top sneakers with a matching
sequined baseball cap completed the look. The woman loved her
sequins.

“I figured it would hide me on our
mission.”

“Uh-huh.”

I couldn’t believe it, but she did have a
point. Hiding would be good but…

“The orange kind of defeats the purpose,
don’t you think?” I glanced at her again, then twisted the steering
wheel. “No power steering?” I mumbled. My arms felt as if they
might fall off.

“I’ve seen hunters wear orange with their
outfits before.”

“Where exactly have you seen hunters? Last
time I checked, you’ve never been hunting.” I navigated the streets
in the
Sanford and Son
truck. The theme song was on a loop
in my head. We looked as if we’d just come from the junkyard.

“On TV and in Wal-Mart. Besides the man who
sold me the outfit said I’d need one of those orange vests. But the
vest just didn’t work for me, so I improvised.”

“Right.” I shook my head.

A man had actually sold her that hideous
outfit? I should hunt him down like a deer for such a dreadful
crime.

“Let me get this straight, you bought that
to wear on purpose?” I struggled with the wheel as we moved away
from town. “Is that what took you so long? I told you to come right
away.”

“I sure did,” she stated proudly. “As a
matter of fact, I bought you one to match.”

“Oh my God. No way.” I looked at her in
horror and the truck veered off. A passing car slowed down, then
swerved to avoid us.

“You need this,” she said.

“Why would you do such a thing?”

“Well, you don’t want to be spotted, do
you?” She gazed at me, waiting for my answer.

“You’d better get your money back, because
I’m not wearing it.”

She glared at me. I kept my eyes on the road
and didn’t acknowledge her stare. A short sniffle escaped her. Then
she let out a sob. I couldn’t believe she pulled the crying move on
me. Of all times. I was stressed and I didn’t need her high jinks.
I looked over. A tear fell down her cheek, slowly dropping onto her
not-so-concealed chest.

“Oh, for the love of sequins. All right.
I’ll wear the darn thing.”

She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue and
smiled. Definitely an Oscar-worthy performance.

“Watch your mouth, young lady.”

I groaned. “All I said was darn.”

“You’ll have to pull over and change,” she
ordered.

“I can’t believe you’re making me do this.
This is a life and death situation and I’m in a hurry.”

“You’ll thank me later. There’s a gas
station. Stop there.” She pointed.

Just when I thought the day couldn’t get any
better.

Lucky me. I could model my lovely camo and
sequined getup in the middle of the Chevron. I wheeled into the gas
station. Several people in the parking lot coughed, fighting the
strangling cloud that grabbed them as I drove past. Of course, the
restrooms were inside—the one time I wanted an outside toilet.

With my head hung low, I trudged through the
store. A couple of women behind the counter chatted, then paused to
watch me. Thankfully, the restroom was unoccupied and I had the
room to myself. I slipped into the stall and wrestled into my clown
fatigues, pulling on the two sizes too big pants, then the
button-down matching shirt. I stood in front of the mirror and
gawked at my reflection. Ridiculous wasn’t even an accurate word to
describe the way I felt.

I stuffed the cap under my arm, the sequins
crunched as I folded them. Maybe my mother wouldn’t enforce the
complete look. I paused at the door, then pushed forward into the
open expanse of the store so everyone could take a gander. I
shuffled to the door, praying the women at the counter wouldn’t
notice. The worst part? The place had security cameras. They’d
probably roll back the footage later and laugh at my expense.

“Oh. My. God. Alabama is that you?” The
screech echoed through the food mart.

Did I dare look up? Surreptitiously, I
titled my head in the direction of the whiny voice. Then I saw her.
Dana McCubbins. Know it all of my senior class. My nemesis. Well,
at least in my mind, she was the enemy. I couldn’t let her see me
in the outfit.

“Alabama, it’s me, Dana.” She waved. Her
brown bob swayed with the movement.

I had thought she left town after
graduation. She swore she’d never come back, and I was holding her
to that proclamation.

Any other time, I’d be friendly, I swear.
But right now, I had to go. Carolyn needed me. I slipped out the
door and hurried over to the waiting truck. Not bothering to turn
around and acknowledge Dana. She had sabotaged my locker on more
than one occasion. On purpose, so I didn’t feel too badly.

“Um, Mama, I don’t think I can pull off this
look as well as you do.” I slinked back into the truck.

Customers still stared. Hadn’t they ever
seen sequined camouflage before?

“Nonsense, you look fantastic.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” I quipped.

A short distance later and we eased up the
dirt path toward the cabin. I parked the truck behind a line of
tall pine trees.

“Maybe we should leave the truck running,
you think?” I grabbed Mama’s hand, stopping her from turning the
key. “It’ll backfire and echo all over this place,” I said.

“Oh, you’re right. Good thinking. What do we
do now?”

I stared at her for a second, not knowing
what to say. I didn’t have a plan. Another scheme I hadn’t thought
out.

“Come on, let’s go up there and see if we
can find her.” The rusty truck door squeaked as I opened it.

“Tell me again why you think she’s there?”
She followed along behind me, clipping at my heels.

“I explained it once in the truck already. I
don’t have time to tell you again.”

Only a few white clouds dotted the sapphire
sky. The day would have been perfect if only it were twenty degrees
warmer. We inched our way up toward the cabin. I darted between
trees and she followed my moves. The large evergreen trees
sprinkled around concealed our movements.

As we neared the cabin, my mother paused. “I
hope no one sees us.”

I grabbed her hand and pulled. So much for
her being like a ninja. The cold wind whipped through my camouflage
jacket and I shivered. Too bad she hadn’t bought the winter
version. We inched toward the small house. My heart pounded in my
ears. I looked around, but not another living soul was in sight.
The modest log cabin sat on top of a small hill surrounded by
rolling acres. A porch spanned across the entire front. Rocking
chairs sat on each side. There was a screen door in the middle with
double windows on both sides of the cabin. No decorations like
Carolyn’s cabin, the place almost looked vacant.

The area was isolated, miles away from any
other homes—a perfect location for a kidnapper and murderer.

We reached the edge of the cabin and I
motioned for Mama to hit the ground.

“We’ll have to crawl the rest of the way,” I
whispered.

How ridiculous we must have looked in our
matching sequined-camo combos slithering along in the grass like a
couple of snakes. I crept up the narrow wooden steps onto the
porch, then crawled along the ground to the window. I wanted a peek
inside. On the opposite corner, a cat licked his paws and began
smoothing out his overnight wrinkles. He didn’t seem to mind the
humans snooping around.

My mother shuffled across the porch floor on
her stomach like a solider crawling along a battlefield. I climbed
onto my knees and peered into the cabin. My hand flew to my mouth,
stifling my gasp. Fear shook me to my core, but at the same time
relief washed over me. In the middle of the room was Carolyn—roped
to a chair. She had an unhealthy pallor as she sat in the simple
oak chair, her posture crumbled and listless.

Just seeing her made me dizzy and a nausea
overcame my stomach. The room was illuminated by the sunshine
bouncing off the white walls and warmed by the natural woods.
Old-fashioned light fixtures were mounted on the walls and a large
crackling fireplace occupied the room’s center. Behind me, Mama
clawed at my pants, trying to hoist herself for a view.