Spooky Hijinks (15 page)

“Great, that’s all I need, an actress and a couple of buffoons traipsing all over the mansion when we really have a case to investigate.”

“You should let the ATF do their job. It’s safer that way,” Millicent suggested.

I put a forkful into my mouth, nodding as my taste buds did a happy dance. Millicent left us alone after that, and Caroline appeared again, minus her manly spirit guides.

“Ghost hunters? That sounds scary,” Caroline said.

“Not really. They just walk around with gadgets, checking thermal temperatures and such.”

“They’ll probably set up cameras, too,” Eleanor added. “They picked up a voice their last trip here.”

“And what then?”

“Nothing. They just determine if the place is haunted or not, and leave. It’s not an actual science. Unless Sara plans to add it to the brochure that this place is officially haunted, nothing will change all that much.”

“It’s pretty well-known around town that this mansion is haunted, anyway,” Eleanor said with a smile.

“Yup, but all you have to do is just stay out of their way. I don’t anticipate this being a problem at all.”

“But what about the spirits in the attic? Will they play along?” Eleanor asked.

“I’m not sure, but those ghost hunters had better be nice with them. They don’t like to be bothered. There’s no telling what they might do. I’ve seen them appear to people and scare them something fierce.”

“You better talk to them beforehand, then,” Eleanor insisted.

“I’m not doing any such thing. I don’t want to get involved with this. As I said, we have a case to investigate.”

“Well, please be careful. It would be awfully disappointing if you girls were turned into spirits, too,” Caroline said.

After Caroline left, Eleanor agreed with her. “She’s right. We do need to be extra careful.”

“Speaking of being extra careful,” Stuart said as he walked in the door. “Did you see who came over to the Hills’ place earlier?”

“No. We just heard cars coming into the driveway. We hightailed it out of there, like I said.”

“How was it possible that you two went over there and managed to leave without anyone seeing you or you seeing them?”

“They have an extra driveway, and I parked there so nobody would see our car.”

“But why would you do that?”

“Because we didn’t want to get into any trouble when the ATF showed up.”

“What made you so sure that would happen?”

“Well, you mentioned it is why.”

“I want you to tell me exactly what happened over there.”

“Nothing. We just were asking them a few questions and told them about another militia member who had been robbed the night before.”

“And what did they have to say about that?”

“That a fellow militia member by the name of Harvey Smith had taken their guns home with him, and that he was robbed.”

Stuart rubbed his brow now. “So their guns were robbed twice in the same day?”

“Appears so, but what do I know? Does seem strange, like information was leaked. How else would anyone even know their guns were moved? You don’t see any other militia members being robbed, do you?”

“No, and I have to agree, except for one thing: Smith is working undercover for the ATF.”

I shook my head. “What? You hired a felon?”

“He’s not a felon. His imprisonment was part of his cover. He’s an agent.”

“One that went bad, from the way it looks.”

“That’s up for some dispute now, but we have bigger issues. The Hill brothers are missing.”

My heart about leaped out of my chest now. “What?” was all I could choke out. “That can’t be. Perhaps they left on their own.”

“Could have, but there was blood in the house.”

“Well, Curt was injured. He was on the couch when we were there.”

“Okay, but the blood trail leads out the back door.”

“I won’t believe that those boys were taken that unaware, unless they were betrayed by one of their own. If they were murdered, you would have found their bodies. There’d be no reason for them to be taken anywhere if that was the case.”

“Unless someone wanted us to believe they were the ones responsible for the missing guns. There’s evidence at the scene that makes us believe they were involved.”

“You better start looking elsewhere. I know those boys, and they aren’t criminals.”

“They did time for drug charges.”

“I know, but they’ve been clean since they got out. You can ask anyone.”

“So you don’t have any idea of who they might be involved with? Or who might be holding them up somewhere?”

“No, I don’t. I hope you don’t think I’m involved. I didn’t even know you hadn’t gone out there until we got home.”

“You’re putting me in an awkward position here, Mother. Not only did you assist the Hill boys with getting their guns back, but you also went over there today when I told you specifically not to. It’s looking like you might have warned them off.”

“That’s not how it went. I assure you, someone is setting the Hill boys up.”

Stuart frowned, and Moraine sighed from the doorway. “Look, if there’s anything you’d like to tell us, please do it now. I understand how you think you might know the Hill boys, but sometimes people can be quite deceiving if they want to be.”

“No, I don’t believe they had anything to do with this, and there’s no way you’ll be able to convince me otherwise. You need to look elsewhere.”

“We’re still investigating, and I can’t say for sure what’s happened out at the Hills’ place, but it does appear that something went down there, and not a good something.”

“The way I look at it, someone went over there to shut them up. I’d look more closely at this Harvey Smith, and I don’t care who you say he is. I smell a rat.”

“Please stay out of this investigation. If I have to tell you one more time, I’ll arrest you myself, Mother.” Stuart left abruptly, and Moraine followed him out the door.

“This doesn’t look good for the Hill boys,” Eleanor said.

“I know, and first thing tomorrow, we’ll head out to see Rosa Lee Hill.”

“Why not tonight?”

“Because the feds are most likely out at her place now is why not. I don’t want to be arrested, do you?”

“Of course not, and you’re right. We’ll just have to hold off until morning, but aren’t the ghost hunters expected in the morning, too?”

“Yes, but we don’t have time to sit around here all day playing babysitter. We have to solve this case and figure out where the Hill boys really are. There’s just no way I believe militia members like them would allow themselves to be taken anywhere, unless that’s what they wanted.”

“So what now, Agnes?”

“We’ll go on up to bed and get some sleep. I can tell tomorrow is going to be a long day.”

We bid Millicent a good night, promising to be up early to help her greet the ghost hunters. My legs felt like they weighed a ton as I ascended the stairs while I still had the energy. Caroline appeared and bobbed along beside me.

When I changed into my pajamas, I reminded Caroline to be on her best behavior and to stay out of the way of G.A.S.P. when they got here. The room was deadly silent as I crawled into bed, and Caroline was next to me when I closed my eyes. With her here, the room had cooled considerably, but I didn’t mind it all that much. Having her here comforted me in some small way. With no noises over my head tonight, I was able to drift off to sleep quite easily.

              
Chapter Thirteen

When I got up, I didn’t fiddle around much, but jumped right into the shower, appearing downstairs once I was dressed in tan slacks and a beige and white striped sweater. I also wore mid-ankle boots, since it looked like there was three or four inches on the ground outside. It sure was looking more like Christmas, but my mood certainly wasn’t, since all I could think about this morning was Curtis and Curt Hill and just where they might have gone. I just wouldn’t allow myself to think that anything untoward had happened to them. No, I knew those boys, and they were resourceful. They just couldn’t be dead. I couldn’t even imagine what my good friend Rosa Lee was going through right now, but I’d find out firsthand, and soon. Certainly, by now the feds must have moved their investigation forward and away from Rosa Lee’s house, or so I hoped. I couldn’t risk Stuart finding out that I was continuing to investigate this case.

When I was on the last step, I saw that Eleanor was chatting with Millicent, who looked more worried than ever. Poor dear really had taken on quite the load since she’d heard the ghost hunters were headed to the mansion.

I couldn’t help but notice that Eleanor had makeup on today—blue eye shadow over her lids, bright rouge over the apples of her cheeks, and the same god-awful red lipstick that she’s been known to wear on occasion, usually whenever she wanted to get attention. She had on white slacks and a red sweater, but when I noticed sandals on her feet, I just shook my head. I could see my first task of the day would be to convince her to change, or at least find more suitable footwear. I’d just hate the poor dear to catch her death of pneumonia before the wedding, delaying it even further. I, for one, wanted to get the wedding behind me so that we could get back to normal, or as close a version to normal that I could get. Lord knows my life is not normal by a long shot.

“Hello,” I greeted Millicent and Eleanor. “Why are you looking so worried?”

“The ghost hunters are here,” Millicent said. “They’re unloading their gear.”

“Good. I can’t wait to see Troy and Nate again. They have been in Tawas before, investigating the ghost ship
Erie Board of Trade
that was spotted in Tawas Bay once.”
“Agnes and I saw it firsthand,” Eleanor said. “In the fog at Hidden Cove restaurant in Tadium, before it closed.”

“Oh, why did that place close?”

“The owner died, and nobody was able to get their finances in order enough to buy the place. It’s since been demolished to make room for a beach house. Sad, really,” I said.

“That is, and I had no idea those stories of ghost ships in Tawas Bay were true.”

“I suppose not, but it hasn’t been seen since that one time. That was in Tadium, which is on Lake Huron, not Tawas Bay. I’d expect there to be more ghost ships, though, considering all the shipwrecks off the point.”

Two men came forward, juggling large bags and suitcases. I barely recognized Troy and Nate.

“Hello, stranger,” Troy said as he set a duffle bag down. “It’s me, Troy, remember?”

A mountain man beard covered his face, and his hair was quite long, but he had the same twinkle in his eyes that told anyone he might meet just how comical his personality was before he even spoke much. I took a whiff of a fragrance I knew only as marijuana, but since it’s not my place to judge, I all but ignored it until Eleanor said, “Catch a buzz on your way here, Troy?”

He straightened his back, and said, “I’ll have you know that my doctor prescribed it to me.”

“It’s none of our business, Eleanor,” I said sweetly.

“It is if he came here buzzed. One thing we don’t need around here is a high ghost hunter.”

I was a little shocked at what Eleanor had said, although it had some merit.

Nate smiled, massaging his goatee as he set the bag he was carrying down. “Do you happen to have any munchies? I’m starving.”

Eleanor gave me one of her I-told-you-so looks, but remained silent.

“I have some doughnuts. Will that do?” Millicent asked, smiling.

“They’re not here to eat. They’re here to investigate the possibility that this place might be haunted,” Eleanor said.

“That’s okay, they can eat a snack before they set up,” a woman said.

I glanced over and saw that it was Sara Knoxville, dressed down for the occasion in jeans and a brown sweater who had said it. “Hello, Sara. I had no idea that you’d be here, too.”

“Didn’t Millicent tell you?”

“I did,” Millicent said. “I’ll go get the doughnuts.”

“I hope you don’t need us to stick around. We’re planning our wedding,” I informed Sara. “We’re almost ready, but still need to clear up a few details.”

Eleanor blurted out, “But I thought we did that yesterday, Agnes.”

I grabbed my friend around the shoulder. “No, dear. We still need to see how our wedding dresses are doing. Our friends are making them for us, and I just don’t quite know what they’ll look like, so I’d like to take a peek. I have visions of them making them the wrong size.”

“Oh, right.”

“Go along, then. That’s why I’m here. I wanted to be on hand during the investigation. It might even be useful to see firsthand how a
real
ghost hunt goes.”

When Millicent brought out the doughnuts, Eleanor and I grabbed one each, heading to the closet for our jackets. “Please, change your sandals for something warmer,” I said. “There’s snow on the ground.”

“Oh, right.” Eleanor went upstairs and returned with boots on, her pant legs tucked into them. She clutched her big, black bag that fronted as a purse, and I hoped that it might contain a pistol at least, just in case we got ourselves into any trouble. We both own pink pistols, and I hated to admit it, but they sure came in handy at times during our investigative career.

There were a few snow flurries when we went out the door, and I frowned as I saw that the car was covered in snow from last night’s snowfall. I climbed into the Cadillac, gasping as the snow that covered the car came raining down on me from the top of it. I cranked over the engine and frowned even more when I saw the ice that had formed on the windows. I had forgotten about warming up the car twenty minutes before we left, which would have required me to go all the way outside, since Eleanor didn’t have an automatic starter. This was just one of the things you had to deal with during the winter in Michigan. Eleanor and I shivered until the car began to warm up, but I could see it would be a while before the windows would be clear enough to safely drive.

I hopped out of the car and grabbed the ice scraper from the backseat and brushed the front and side windows off and then worked on hacking at the ice with the scraper without too much elbow grease. It made me want to do a happy dance that it came off easily enough. Luckily, the back window defogger managed to clear that window at least.