Larue Donavon 3 - The Ghoul Next Door (18 page)

The waiter didn’t utter a word in
response as he snatched the menus from the table and hurried away
as if we were part of a quarantined section of the
restaurant.

“
You look like you don’t
feel well. Is everything okay?” Callahan asked with a furrowed
brow.

I used my napkin as a fan. “I just got
a little hot. I’ll be fine.”

The restaurant was a cool temperature
so I knew that I was the only one feeling like a boiled potato.
Elvis was across the room checking out the wine, Mr. Fine was
staring blankly out the window and Candy Cherry was following
around the cranky waiter. At least they were leaving me alone. I
was in no mood to deal with any antics.

Callahan and I chatted about the show.
I filled him in on the distressed homeowner, the camera following
our every move and Matt apparently not knowing how to button his
shirt. In spite of the pleasant conversation, a pervasive malaise
hung over me.

Outside the restaurant the wind had
picked up. A man rushed by holding his hat so that it wouldn’t
fly away. It hadn’t been that windy when we’d entered the place
just a few minutes before. How had it picked up so quickly? Not to
mention that the hairs on the back of my neck were sticking up.
Finally our food arrived and I prayed that it would distract from
the strange sensation. I tried to ignore the feeling and focus on
the delicious food in front of me.

As I lifted another forkful to my
mouth, I sensed a gaze on me. I glanced over and spotted Jane Howe
walking toward me. Another visit from this woman? Twice in one day
was two times too many. I wondered if I could hide behind the menu
but remembered that the waiter had taken them away. Maybe Jane
wouldn’t notice me. With any luck, she’d keep walking and we could
avoid another awkward conversation.

I glanced down at my plate and prayed
that she’d keep on walking. No such luck.

“
Hello,” she said cheerily.
“Lovely evening for a romantic dinner, huh?”

I tried to avoid locking gazes with
her, but she wasn’t backing down. We were in a battle—she wanted me
to acknowledge her and I wanted to ignore her. With much
reluctance, I placed my fork on my plate and looked up. I could
have pretended I didn’t recognize her, but I wasn’t that good an
actress. She’d know I was lying.

“
Yes, it is.” I faked a
smile.

“
I was just walking by and
thought, wow, this place looks delish. So I thought I’d come in for
some takeout. I’m looking forward to a relaxing evening in before
my big work day tomorrow. At Cooper’s.” She smirked.

Yeah, I got it. She worked at
Cooper’s. If she thought I felt guilty for not hiring her, well,
she was wrong. I still stood by my decision not to hire the woman.
Whatever mistake Cooper made, that was all his puppy.

“
Can you tell me what’s
good?” Finally she glanced over at Callahan.

I’d hoped she’d go away before I had
to introduce them. The less we talked the better off I’d
be.

“
Oh, I am so sorry to
disturb you.” She stared at Callahan and I knew I’d better
introduce them before I looked like an evil witch.

“
This is Callahan Weiss,
he’s my boyfriend. He owns Full Cup.”

I wondered why she hadn’t applied at
his shop. Maybe she had and he hadn’t mentioned it, although they
acted as if they’d never seen each other.

“
Oh, I’ve heard wonderful
things about your coffee and pastry. I’ll make sure to stop in real
soon.”

I bet she would. Everything about her
made my stomach twist… her voice, the way she walked, the way she
looked at people. Maybe I had been burnt by the recent events, but
I didn’t think she could be trusted. Jane still stood next to our
table, but I didn’t speak, hoping that she’d take a hint and go
away.

“
It’s a pleasure to meet
you,” Callahan said.

“
My name is Jane Howe.” She
stuck out her hand as if she expected him to kiss it. “I can’t wait
to try that coffee.”

Callahan shook her hand gently. “Well,
thank you, I hope you like it.”

“
I’m sure I will.” She
winked.

Ugh. She was so obviously flirting
with him. How rude, but whatever. As long as I didn’t have to deal
with her as an employee I was happy.

“
Well, I’ll see you around,
Larue.” She sashayed off, tossing me a wave over her
shoulder.

Callahan took a sip of his wine and
watched me over the edge of the glass. When he set the glass down,
he said, “Well, that was a little odd. Are you friends with
her?”

I let out a sigh. “No. She’s working
for Cooper now. It’s odd. She just popped up looking for a job the
second after I told Mindy I needed someone to work the
bookstore.”

“
That is odd.” He set his
glass down.

“
I thought it was too much
of a coincidence, so I told her I wasn’t looking for anyone. She
proceeded to walk right across the street and Cooper hired
her.”

“
That’s even
stranger.”

“
I just get a bad vibe from
her.” I glanced over to where she stood.

Callahan touched my hand. “You’re
still on edge from what you’ve been through. She’s probably okay,
just a little strange. There are a lot of odd people around, you
know that.”

Did I ever. This town attracted them.
It must be something in the water.

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure you’re
right.”

Thankfully, when Jane walked out of
the restaurant with her order, she didn’t come back over to talk.
She waved and gave me another smirk, but I could deal with
that.

After dinner, instead of walking
directly back to Callahan’s car, we turned left out of the
restaurant toward the park. The air was crisp, so I cuddled up next
to Callahan. I didn’t mind the cool air as long as he was
around.

Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling in
the pit of my stomach. I was happy with Callahan for sure, but
underneath my happiness was an agitation that I couldn’t explain. I
had no idea what would cause that feeling. I should be happy.
Callahan was next to me and I had an exciting new venture into
television. The opportunity had just fallen into my lap. How many
people could say they were that lucky? I counted my blessings for
the things that I had. 

We walked in silence for a while and I
continued to shove the uneasiness to the back of my
mind.

After a few seconds, Callahan said, “I
do hope you understand about me taking on the other
job.”

I waved off his statement. “Of course.
I’m glad you have a chance to help someone.”

Silence lingered again as we moved a
few more steps down the sidewalk. Even when we didn’t talk, I felt
comfortable with Callahan and this time was no
different.

Finally Callahan said, “You’ll be
working with Cooper, huh?”

Was Callahan jealous? I sensed
something in his voice when he asked.

“
Yes, it looks that way.” I
glanced up at the twinkling stars in the indigo twilight. The crisp
scent of fall surrounded us.

“
How do you feel about
that?” he asked.

“
Maybe I should ask you how
you feel about that.” I brushed my hair back from my shoulders.
Maybe I was coming down with something because suddenly it wasn’t
nearly as cool as it had been. Again my face felt really hot.
Callahan seemed fine though.

He met my gaze, then paused. Finally
he said, “I actually like the idea that you won’t be fighting any
demons by yourself.”

I searched his gaze. He seemed
sincere. I’d take him for his word. After all, he had nothing to
worry about as far as Cooper was concerned.

Callahan slipped his arm around my
shoulders and I took in a deep breath. He smelled so good—like
sandalwood and musk. Getting lost in his arms was easy.

Elvis followed us around the park at a
good distance. He was like my ghostly body-guard. Mr. Fine and
Candy Cherry were nowhere in sight again. I had no idea where those
two were always slipping off to.

Callahan and I chatted for a while
longer as we made a loop around the entire park, stopping to kiss
and gaze up at the stars halfway through. When we reached the
entrance, we headed back toward Callahan’s car. It had been a
wonderful evening, but that was about to change.

Before turning the corner to make our
way onto the sidewalk, we paused. Callahan placed his hands on my
cheeks. “I know you have to wake up really early, so I’m going to
let you get some sleep.” He brushed my cheek with his finger. “It’s
hard to stay away though.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

When we reached Callahan’s car, I knew
something was wrong right away. The driver’s side window had been
smashed out and glass littered the ground below. I wanted to lay
down right there on the sidewalk and cry, big blubbering tears, but
I couldn’t. Yet again, I had to pull myself together and face the
bad luck. Again. Why was this happening to us? It was as if I had
been cursed. If it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at
all.

“
Your window is smashed,” I
called out as we hurried toward his car. As If he couldn’t see what
had happened with his own eyes. “Do you think someone was trying to
steal your car?”

“
Probably,” he said,
examining the broken window.

“
Is anything missing?” I
asked.

Callahan looked up and down the
street. Things had quieted down around town. Not many people stayed
out after dark around Magnolia. Stone buildings and brick sidewalks
lined the quaint and cozy historic section of town. Awnings covered
some of the shop entrances, while others had clever signs dangling
gently over the doors.

Then I remembered. “Oh my gosh. I left
my purse in your car.”

I rushed over to the passenger side
and looked through the window. My bag was gone. My stomach sank. I
shouldn’t have left it in there. I had been asking for someone to
vandalize his car to get to it. Could I stop causing problems for
Callahan already? It was like he had stepped into a perpetual Larue
tornado the day that he’d met me. It was a never-ending
whirlwind.

“
I’m so sorry. This is my
fault. I shouldn’t have asked you to put the bag in
there.”

“
Hey, it’s okay. It’s no big
deal. The window can be fixed, but what about your purse? Did you
have a lot of money in there?”

“
Luckily, no. Oh, wait. The
necklace. I left the necklace in the purse.”

I had meant to wear the necklace Karyn
had given me, but the clasp wouldn’t stay fastened, so I’d put it
in my bag. An action that I now regretted.

“
What necklace?” Callahan
asked.

I’d failed to mention this special
necklace to Callahan… one crazy part of my life at a
time.

“
It was a necklace Karyn had
given me.”

The necklace was special and meant for
the coven leader. Even though I wasn’t the coven leader, Karyn and
the coven had insisted I keep the necklace until I decided if I
wanted to take the position. I’d already told them no, but
apparently for some reason they thought I’d change my mind. Well, I
guessed I hadn’t worded my answer strongly… I’d left an opening
there in case for some strange reason I decided being a coven
leader was something I wanted to add to my resumé.

“
That’s a real bummer.”
Candy Cherry smirked.

“
It was a dumb move to leave
valuables in the vehicle.” Mr. Fine tossed his cigarette on the
ground and shook his head.

“
Please don’t be upset,
Larue, I’m sure the necklace will turn up.” Elvis offered a
reassuring smile.

Within minutes the police had arrived
and were filling out a report. They’d seen a lot of me lately. A
few worried-looking strangers hurried by as if we were a part of
some kind of organized crime bust. The noise from the day had
disappeared and the empty streets amplified the desolate feeling
taking over my thoughts.

After talking with the police,
Callahan and I said our goodbyes and I watched in the rear-view
mirror as he drove home with a busted-out window in his car. Our
date hadn’t turned out as planned. But with any luck, it hadn’t
completely ruined our relationship.

The more I drove away from town, the
more I thought about the necklace. I had to get it back, but how?
Where would I even begin to look? I needed to tell Karyn. As much
as I wanted to hide it from her, I knew that wasn’t the right thing
to do. Did this incident have anything to do with the black shadow
I’d seen outside my house? The demon at Jennie Blake’s home? What
about the damaged books in the store? That was when I remembered
the letter. How could I have forgotten the letter? I hadn’t even
mentioned it to Callahan.

When I pulled into the driveway, I
dialed Mindy’s number. She picked up on the first ring. I probably
sounded like a crazy woman as I explained about the letter, the
books, and the missing necklace. Needless to say, Mindy wasn’t
happy that I’d taken so long to tell her about such important
things in my life.