Larue Donavon 3 - The Ghoul Next Door (22 page)

I studied his gaze. Much to my relief,
I believed him. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I did.

“
Is she really working with
you?”

He chuckled nervously. “I had no idea
when I offered to help Mike that he was dating my ex-girlfriend.
What are the odds?”

“
With my luck, the odds are
pretty good.”

Callahan stood and took my hands into
mine. “Ginger was always strange. That’s why we’re not together
anymore. I’ll talk to her, okay?”

I studied his face. “Okay. I was
worried about you, though.”

“
I was used to her antics.
She’ll be fine. It’s her way of playing a joke. I’ll tell her it
isn’t funny.”

A joke? I for one wasn’t laughing at
her idea of humor. “Do you think it has anything to do with the
magic? Maybe someone is messing with us again,” he said.

Anything was possible, but what if
this was just his way out of this sticky situation? My belief in
him had already begun to fade. Why did I always assume the worst? I
was letting this negativity control me—the big black cloud hung
over my head. But I’d been around too many men who allowed the lies
to roll right off their tongues with perfection. Would I ever be
able to trust a man? Would I ever have a trusting
relationship?

“
Callahan, I’m suddenly not
feeling well. I think I just want to go to bed.”

He frowned. It looked as if I’d
punched him in the stomach. “Can I help? Do you need
anything?”

I shook my head. “I just need to be
alone.”

I spoke the words, but I didn’t feel
them. It didn’t matter though because there was no way I could stop
myself from telling him to leave.

Callahan stopped at the door and
looked at me. “I’ll call to check on you.”

I nodded but didn’t answer… and with
that he was gone.

I padded through the house. My ghosts
were nowhere in sight which was completely weird and slightly
unnerving. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt as if
something was following me though. Were Mr. Fine or Candy Cherry
making their forms invisible to me?

For what seemed like the millionth
time, I glanced over my shoulder. Nope. Nothing back there. Could
something sinister completely hide from me? I was pretty sure the
evil spirits could be invisible any time they wanted—just like the
ghosts. That was totally not fair.

As I sat on the sofa, I stared blankly
out the window. My phone rang, breaking my reverie. I pulled it out
from my purse and noticed Mindy’s number. I didn’t answer. I didn’t
know why I didn’t answer, but something told me not to pick up. The
worst part? Why was I listening to the voice in my head and where
was the voice coming from? It wasn’t any of the ghosts around me.
So who was it? Or what was it? Had the evil spirit followed me from
the investigation? My thoughts were muddled.

A few minutes later when Callahan
called, I did the same thing—I ignored the call. This was no way to
treat the people who I cared about, yet I couldn’t force myself to
pick up the phone.

As I stood by the window, a faint
voice called out like a whisper across the wind. “You should just
jump,” it said.

That message chilled me to the bone. I
was terrified. In no way did I want to jump and why was this voice
telling me to do so? This was the last straw. This evil thing
wanted to hurt me, and I had to get rid of it. I had isolated
myself from everyone and that wasn’t like me at all.

A noise sounded from outside. It
sounded exactly like the noise Callahan and I had heard the other
night. A twinge of pain ran through my body when I thought of that
evening spent with Callahan, but something forced me to push the
thought away.

That power also pulled me outside,
forcing me to leave the protection of my home. But I had to know
what was going on; where the noise had come from. Maybe it wasn’t
safe… maybe I was asking for trouble by going out there alone, but
I had to face my fears. I had to take care of this on my
own.

I slipped on my shoes and coat and
eased out the back door. Pulling my coat closer together for
protection from the wind, I stood on the back porch and peered out
into the darkness. A partial moon shone in the sky with lights
twinkling through the breaks in the clouds.

I’d turned off the porch light, so if
anyone was out there they wouldn’t see me—at least I hoped they
wouldn’t notice me. The night air was still and no noise sounded.
My gaze was drawn to the woods just beyond my house. It was as if
something was out there staring at me, watching every move I made
and waiting for its chance to pounce. I wouldn’t give it the
opportunity.

As I turned to hurry back inside, a
noise sounded from beside the house. I spun around, but couldn’t
see anything in the dark. I stepped off the porch and made my way
around the side of the house. My heart pounded in my ears. What if
I wasn’t prepared for what I’d find? With that thought, a shadow
zipped around the side of my house and I took off running after
it.

Yeah, I should have run the other
direction, but I didn’t. What had I been thinking? I should have
run back inside, locked the door, jumped into bed and pulled the
covers up over my head. But no. Instead I ran after the
thing—whatever it was.

My long coat flowed in the wind behind
me as I ran through the grass chasing this thing. Had it been a
person or the caped shadow figure? It was so dark I didn’t know if
it was a living and breathing person or a spirit. Either way, I
wanted to know for sure. I had to know what it wanted with me. I
hoped I didn’t find out the hard way that the thing wanted to kill
me.

As I made my way to the front of the
house, I saw the shadow move around the other side of the porch.
How long would this game of chase continue? Would we run around the
house all night? I didn’t think I could keep up the pace for that
long. Sure, the pole fitness had helped me, but I could only last
for so long.

My shoe slipped and I stumbled forward
but caught myself before I fell face first in the mud. The rain had
turned my yard into a marsh. When I looked up, I spotted the shadow
figure fading into the tree line. There was no way I was going in
there after it. Whatever it was would have to go. I had a feeling
it would probably be back. It wasn’t the last I’d see of the thing.
But the question remained: was it a person or a spirit? It had
moved just like the dark shadow I’d seen recently. Had someone
really unleashed a demon on me from their black magic? It wouldn’t
surprise me in the least.

I hurried toward the back door before
the thing had a chance to return. What had I been thinking by
chasing something in the middle of the night? I’d lost my
ever-loving mind. I rushed in, locked the door and flipped off the
muddy shoes. I hoped they weren’t ruined.

My breathing was still heavy from my
nocturnal exercise. I moved over to the window to see if the thing
had returned, but thankfully, I saw nothing. I needed a shower and
sleep. I’d block this whole mess out of my head and worry about it
tomorrow. I needed time to relax. The stress was getting the better
of me.

After a long hot shower, I slipped
into my cozy pajamas and buried myself under the covers. There was
nothing like the comfort of my bed to make me feel safe. As if
nothing could possibly get me there. Well, as long as I didn’t
stick my toes out from under the covers, because then for sure the
monster under the bed could get me.

The thoughts overwhelmed my mind so
much that I finally resorted to counting sheep to take my mind off
of what I’d seen. It must have worked somewhere around number a
hundred and ten because I didn’t remember counting after that. But
I woke up with a start the next morning.

When I pulled my legs from the covers,
I was shocked at what I saw. Panic rose from my stomach and my
heart raced. My feet were covered in dried mud. My stomach turned.
I knew I’d taken a shower the night before. I remembered. I had on
the pink pajamas I’d put on, but the bottoms of the legs were muddy
too. Had I been sleepwalking? There was no other explanation,
right? I’d never done it in the past. Not that I was aware of at
least, and I’d know by now. What had happened?

When I looked down at the floor, I saw
my footprints, but that wasn’t all. My prints weren’t the only
ones. I recognized the others as the demons that had visited me in
the past. My stomach turned. Apparently, I’d taken a jog with a
demon. I had to do something. This was the last straw. I wouldn’t
put myself in danger like this ever again. I had to get rid of
whatever was invading my life. I hadn’t invited it and I wouldn’t
allow it to stay.

I looked around the room but saw
nothing else out of place. Where were the ghosts anyway? Where was
Elvis? Had they seen me leave in the middle of the night? I stepped
out into the foyer, but didn’t see anyone or anything. Of all times
for the ghosts to disappear. It figured. When I needed them, they
were nowhere in sight. I stepped back into the bathroom and hurried
into the shower. I had to get the mud off my feet. I didn’t want to
see the reminder of what had happened during the night.

It was the last day of filming and I
was thankful for small favors. Thinking about what might happen
didn’t give me the warm fuzzies. My behavior had been growing
stranger by the minute. I feared the worst. I just wanted it to be
finished so that I could get back to my normal life. Even dealing
with the ghosts on a daily basis sounded like a welcome reprieve.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that something was
definitely affecting me. I just had to figure out what it was. A
demon? Black magic? Or both? I felt as if something was pulling at
me, willing me to do things that I would have never dreamed about
before. Everyone had to notice that I was acting
strange.

Now every time the mailman showed up a
dread took over and my stomach tumbled. Today was no different. As
soon as I watched him approach my house, I spotted the envelope in
his hand. It looked different from the regular mail and I’d learned
to recognize it right away.

When I stepped out the door onto the
porch, he greeted me with a smile. “Good morning, Larue. How are
you today?”

I wanted to say lousy, but I wouldn’t
burden him with my problems. He knew my mother and I didn’t want
any of this to get back to her.

“
I’m doing great, Arthur.” I
offered a big smile.

“
Wonderful, so good to hear.
You have a nice day,” he said as he placed the mail in my
hand.

Staring back at me was the
letter—another letter from her. I couldn’t take my eyes off it.
Finally, I remembered to acknowledge Arthur.

“
Thank you. You have a great
day too.” I waved.

He was
so
going to tell my mother that
something was bothering me. I could expect a call later. I stared
at the envelope, and for a split second contemplated not opening
it, but realized that I had to know what it said. What more could
she say? Why was she still writing to me? But until I knew her
motives, I had to continue opening the letters. I didn’t believe
that she was just having fun. What if I didn’t open the letter and
this was the one time when she finally told me what exactly she
wanted from me? I would always wonder if I didn’t read it. She
couldn’t keep playing this cat-and-mouse game with me forever.
Eventually she’d get sick of it.

I ripped the linen envelope open and,
with that, the same rose scent floated up from the letter. I knew
for sure that it was from her. My stomach flipped as I pulled the
paper from the envelope, unfolded it, and took in a deep breath—the
floral smell made my stomach turn.

I was sure the message would be more
of the same that I’d come to expect from this woman. Why didn’t she
show herself to me and stop being a chicken? If she had something
to say, then she could say it to my face instead of sending letters
as if it was 1898.

By now you should have
received plenty of correspondence from me, so I hope I’ve made my
point clear. No hard feelings. I’m sure you’ll find someone else
eventually. Sorry if I came off harsh, but you have to know I am
serious when I say stay away from Callahan. As long as you stay
clear, this is the last letter you will receive from me. If I find
out you are still harassing him, you’ll get a visit from me in
person.

Best regards,

Ginger

Okay, she had officially arrived in
the stalker category. Somebody needed to call the guys with the
little nets to come and collect her.

The car horn honked, so I stuffed the
letter in my bag and trudged my way down the porch. Only one more
time, I reminded myself, and then I could put this investigation
behind me.

As soon as we arrived at Jennie
Blake’s home we began the final day of our investigation. As far as
I was concerned, I’d seen enough. What more evidence did they need?
But I supposed Matt had his own ideas of how he wanted to do the
show. Far be it from me to interject my opinion.

Cooper and I made our way through the
house. We’d become quite the investigative team and he was better
than I’d expected. Mindy had stayed downstairs to help Matt. That
was probably for the best. We eased into the bedroom where we’d
originally met Heath, the old guy who used to live in the house. He
still wouldn’t talk directly to me. I glanced around the room but
saw nothing and felt no presence.