Books lining a shelf on the other side of the room flew off onto the floor. If she didn’t leave soon this place would look like a tornado came through.
“Stop right now,” I yelled.
I guess my scolding hurt her feelings. It made her even angrier. I knew because at that moment she rushed toward me. As I screamed, I stumbled backward, bumping into another small table in the room. To my surprise, she disappeared before she hit me. I thought for sure she would really let me have it. Her actions had shocked me so much that I couldn’t catch my breath for a second. My heart hammered in my chest. I raced for the door.
She scared me much more than I thought. I needed to figure out a way to stick up for myself around her. She was unpredictable though and I wasn’t sure what she was capable of. Once out the door, I raced down the hallway and down the stairs. Thank goodness all the patrons had gone for the day. Only a couple of employees were left in the building. After seeing the ghost, I was ready to take a break from the library. Tomorrow would be a new day, but for now, I wanted a break.
Chapter 20
The next morning, I was headed toward the door to leave for the library when someone rang the doorbell. Midway down the stairs, I froze. I assumed the ghost wouldn’t ring the doorbell, but crazier things had happened. Maybe she was just playing games with me. I stepped over to the door and peeked outside. Judy stood on my porch. How had she found my address?
I opened the door. “Judy, what a surprise. Is everything okay?”
“It’s just that I saw the ghost and I thought I would let you know.” Judy’s normally perfectly styled dark locks were slightly disheveled like she’d just rolled out of bed and come to see me.
“You saw her at your mansion?”
She nodded. “Yes, she was clear as day.”
“What did she do?” I asked.
“She motioned for me to follow her outside, but I didn’t go. I’m not brave enough for that.”
“Interesting,” I said. “Perhaps you should have gone.”
Judy might have found out if this ghost had a message for us. I wondered if I went to the mansion again if the ghost would try to get me to follow her too. And would I do it? It was easy for me to tell someone else to do it, but when it came down to me actually doing it, would I have enough nerve?
Judy pushed the hair out of her eyes. The shiny gold and onyx ring on her finger glinted in the sunshine. “I shouldn’t have bothered you with this. I was just a bit surprised and wanted to tell you.”
“I’m glad you told me. Maybe I can stop by sometime.”
That would be good. She kept looking over my shoulder. I glanced back wondering if there was something behind me. Nothing was back there. At least not that was visible at the moment. When I turned my attention back to Judy, she had her arm raised above her head. Then she reached down and smoothed out her hair.
Had she been ready to hit me or was she truly just fixing her hair? Her presence was starting to freak me out a bit. Two words flashed in my mind like a blinking neon sign. Potential murderer. Yes, it was time to get Judy away from my house. But what about the other questions I had for her? Perhaps just a couple more minutes of talking. I wouldn’t turn my back on her again though.
“I heard about the mansion,” I said.
I tried to sound as sympathetic as possible. Her eyes narrowed and I instantly regretted what I’d said. It was too late to take it back now. The words had floated out into the universe never to be taken back. Judy obviously didn’t my sympathy. I’d already put the words out there. I might as well ask more. What could it hurt at this point? Unless she was the killer. That would definitely throw a wrench in my plans.
“Tabatha bought the house. I can only imagine how hard that was for you. Especially that you stayed on working there.”
“It wasn’t as if I had a choice. I had no money. I needed the job.”
“What will happen to the mansion now?” I asked.
“I suppose it will be up for sale. That gives me a chance to get it back.” A wicked smile spread across her face.
Even more motive for murder. Would she have the opportunity to slip up to the bedroom and strange Tabatha? Absolutely. No one would have thought twice about seeing her move about any room in the mansion. What would place her at the scene of the crime though? There had to be some clue the killer had left behind.
“By the way, how did you know where I lived?” I asked.
She studied my face until finally, she said, “Tammy gave it to me. The other day. In case I needed an emergency contact.”
Oh, I suppose that was a legitimate answer.
“Again, I’m sorry for everything that happened. I can come by and see if the ghost makes communication,” I said.
“You know, it’s better if you don’t. Things were stirred up enough with the séance.” She turned and hurried down the steps.
Chapter 21
The next day, Tammy was still trying to recover from the disaster of her wedding and worried about finding the killer. I had the exact emotions. Well, not the totally the same. I wasn’t the one who had a wedding cancelled. Nevertheless, I wanted to help find the killer so that Tammy could have some resolution. I knew she felt bad as if it was her fault that Tabatha had been murdered. I told her there was nothing she could have done to stop it, and that it wasn’t her fault at all.
“There’s something that I need to tell you,” Tammy said.
“What’s that?” I asked as we pulled up to the tea shop.
A large sign sat on the lawn in front of the small white cottage style house. A drawing of a teacup overflowing with flowers decorated the front with the name Petite Flowers Tea Shop underneath.
“It’s just that… well, I don’t know,” Tammy said.
“What do you need to tell me?” I asked as I took the keys from the ignition. “This must be bad news.”
“Well, I think the police will discover this soon enough. I argued with the wedding planner right before she died.”
Wow, the wedding planner really argued with a lot of people.
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” I asked.
“I just didn’t want to worry you. Plus, I’m worried that the police think I did it. I mean, I was right there. I was arguing with her.”
“Don’t say that,” I said.
Tammy shook her head. “I’m the prime suspect. I’m going to jail.”
“No, you’re not going to jail. Calm down,” I said. “Take a deep breath. You’re not going to jail. What was the argument about?”
“She wanted to change the song at the last minute and I told her absolutely not. She didn’t like my choice of songs and she got snippy. I guess I was a little on edge, you know? It was my wedding day and all and I wanted was for it to be like we had planned.”
“That’s understandable.”
“I yelled at her.”
“What did she do?” I asked.
“She stormed out of the room and that was the last I saw of her.”
Okay, I had to admit that Tammy might have a problem explaining that to the police, but really was arguing over a song motive for the murder?