“What are you thinking?” Brannon whispered.
“Just listening to the priest,” I said out of the corner of my mouth.
“You’re watching Penelope, aren’t you?” he continued.
He knew me too well.
“Of course not,” I said, staring straight ahead.
Once the last prayer was over, people started walking toward the graveyard’s gate. Who would I speak to? Brannon had stepped over to talk with another detective. This gave me a few minutes to get my sleuthing actives on without him noticing.
Since the red dress had caught my attention so much, I decided it was best if I spoke with Penelope. I stumbled my way across the damp earth with my heels spiked through the ground with each step. I wanted to call out to her, but I knew that I could draw attention.
Unfortunately, as I got close and thought I’d call out without everyone hearing me, my shoe became wedged in the earth. I stumbled forward but luckily managed to catch myself with the palms of my hands. So much for my sleuthing skills. I watched as Penelope walked through the gate, eliminated my chances of asking her questions right now.
At least no one had noticed that I fell. Not even Brannon. I managed to get to my feet before anyone looked my way. At least my pride had been saved. Other than the fact that my ego had taken a blow because I hadn’t gotten to interrogate my suspect.
“Are you okay?” the nasally female voice asked from over my shoulder.
I spun around and came face to face with the middle-aged brunette.
I chuckled nervously. “I’m fine. Thank you.”
“I saw you stumble, but I was all the way across the graveyard. I would have helped you up.”
“That’s extremely nice of you. I’m okay though,” I said with a smile.
I glanced over my shoulder and watched as Penelope walked farther and farther away.
“I’m not one to gossip, but can you believe she wore that?” the woman lowered her voice.
“It’s certainly an interesting outfit choice for a funeral. Do you know her?” I asked.
“Penelope?” the woman chuckled. “Oh, yes. I’m surprised she’s here.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why do you say that?”
Maybe my sleuthing skills weren’t so bad after all. Okay, this had fallen into my lap, but I’d take it just the same.
“Penelope and Tabatha didn’t get along. Penelope thought that Tabatha was going to fire her once she got the mansion. But then the night of the wedding…” The woman looked all around before continuing, “They were arguing because apparently Penelope had been dating Tabatha’s boyfriend.”
My eyes widened. “Seriously? Where’s Tabatha’s boyfriend now?”
“He took off to Texas. From what I heard the police are looking for him.”
This was the first I’d heard of that. Why hadn’t Brannon told me these things? Was it because he didn’t want me involved in the investigation and he thought by leaving out little details that would stop me? Well, I had news for him, nothing would stop me. Unless of course they put me in jail. That might be a slight deterrent, but I digress.
“How did you find out this information?” I asked.
“I overheard them arguing,” she said with a Cheshire cat grin.
“You were at the wedding?”
Why were all these people at the wedding and I didn’t even know it?
“Yes, I was at the wedding,” she said casually.
“Do you know Tammy?”
“Oh, the bride?” She chuckled, sounding like a giggling mouse. “I was only there to help Judy.”
“Oh, okay. So you worked at the mansion too?”
“Well, no. I didn’t work there. I’m just friends with Judy. It’s terrible what happened.” She shook her head.
“What happened? You mean with Judy losing the mansion?”
I took a chance in guessing that this was her meaning.
“Yes, that’s what I meant. It really wasn’t Judy’s fault that she got behind in the payments and the mansion went up for foreclosure.” The brunette frowned. “Tabatha swooped right in and bought it out from under her. Judy was furious, but she held it in pretty well.”
“I can imagine,” I said. “I guess she spoke to you about it.”
“Judy kept most of it to herself.”
“She was angry with Tabatha because of this?” I asked.
“Well, yes, but she wouldn’t kill Tabatha.”
“Oh, no. I didn’t mean that,” I said.
Actually, it was exactly what I meant, but since this woman was friends with Judy, I couldn’t let on that I thought Judy would kill someone. This had confirmed it for me though. Even still, it didn’t eliminate either woman from my suspects’ list. They both had a motive for murder. Maybe they had worked on this together. A team in the murder.
I sensed someone staring at me. When I glanced over, I spotted Brannon headed toward us. It was time for me to terminate my sleuthing mission.
“Thank you for the info.” I hurried away from the woman.
“You’re welcome,” she called out in my wake.
I hadn’t even gotten her name, but I’d definitely gotten valuable information about Tabatha, Penelope, and Judy. I stumbled my way across the graveyard. At least this time I hadn’t fallen.
“What’s going on?” Brannon asked with a suspicious lift of his right eyebrow.
He knew that expression always drove me wild. He looked so sexy when he made that expression that I would confess to anything. Well, almost anything. I certainly wouldn’t confess to murder.
***
Later that day, I was upstairs working in the conference room, straightening up after a group had left when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked across the room and spotted the ghost. She stood in the corner of the room. A white glow surrounded her. She was almost transparent, yet solid enough so that I could make out every feature. Her piercing glare sent a chill down my spine.
There was so much I wanted to say to her. Yet I couldn’t speak. It was almost as if she’d scared me speechless. I should be used to unexpected popups by now. I should know better than to let something like this affect me. There was so much uncertainty about her though. I wasn’t sure what she would do next. She didn’t make a move, which was just as terrifying as if she’d raced toward me.
“What do you want?” I called out.
Of course, she didn’t answer. With her silence, I thought maybe I would get lucky and she’d leave me alone. Yes, that was probably wishful thinking. A girl can dream.
Without warning, the trash can rose off the floor and then slammed down. All the contents dumped out, scattering across the room. She’d made a huge mess. That made her happy apparently based on the smirk on her face.
“Look at this time mess. So this what you’re going to do? You want to be mean?”
I knew I should just run out the door, yet I was stubborn. Stubborn and stupid. I wanted to confront her about her horrible behavior.
“Just so you know, I will call the demonologist and have him banish you from this library,” I said in a sassy tone.
Why had I copped an attitude with a ghost? I suppose it was the adrenaline rush. She remained speechless. Nothing I said provoked a response. That was scarier than if she reacted.