Larue Donavon 3 - The Ghoul Next Door (14 page)

So Elvis Presley was my guardian
angel? Finally my luck was turning around. Maybe I should buy a
lottery ticket. On second thought, if my luck was changing I
wouldn’t have crazy ghosts lingering around and a shadow person
stalking me. Scratch that lottery ticket idea.

“
What do you want to help
with?” I drizzled more syrup over the waffles. I needed calories to
fuel my long day ahead.

I had a laundry list of things Elvis
could choose from that I needed serious help with, so there wasn’t
any problem there. But what did Callahan need help with? He’d
managed to make it through two bad magic spells. What else could
possibly happen to him?

“
I’m concerned with
everything that’s been going on with Callahan. He needed my help
sooner, but I came as soon as I could.”

“
Things have been tough, but
I’m sure we have things under control now.” I sipped my orange
juice.

I wasn’t sure if Elvis was buying my
assertion. I decided to try a subject change, steering the topic
back to him.

I speared another piece of waffle.
“You know, I used to tell my mother I wanted to marry you.
Fortunately, that wasn’t possible, so now I have
Callahan.”

“
Things have a way of
working out, don’t they?” He winked.

I rinsed my plate and placed it in the
sink. “My mother always said, ‘You can’t, dear, he’s dead.’ My
mother’s blunt like that.”

He smiled. “At least she’s to the
point.”

I laughed. “That’s one way to look at
it.”

“
Maybe there’ll be wedding
bells in the future for you and Callahan.” He studied my
face.

Heat formed in my cheeks and I
shrugged. “Who knows what the future holds? We haven’t known each
other long and we’re just taking one day at a time and enjoying
each other.”

“
That’s all you can do,”
Elvis said.

My cell rang and I excused myself for
a second. For some reason, Mr. Fine followed me. I couldn’t breathe
without him listening.

“
Are you on your way?” I
asked when I picked up Mindy’s call.

“
We’ll be there in a few.
What’s going on now?” she asked.

Translation: what was Elvis
doing?

“
I’m just chatting with
Elvis while I wait.” I was being devilish lately.

She sighed. “Lucky. Can you tell him
that I’ve watched all his movies a million times? I think my
favorite is Blue Hawaii, but it’s really hard to decide. My
favorite song is It’s Now or Never, or maybe Don’t Be Cruel.” Mindy
let out a quick breath and continued. “I sure do like mama’s boys.”
Mindy barely stopped to catch her breath.

Hmm. That wasn’t what she’d always
told me about liking mama’s boys. I guessed she’d changed her mind
as far as Elvis Presley was concerned.

“
I’ll make sure to do that,”
I said before hanging up.

My chat with Elvis had been a rare
opportunity to ask questions though. So many people would do
anything to have a chance like I that. I had no idea what was
causing my celebrity ghost visits, but I hoped it didn’t stop
anytime soon. Unless the famous ghosts were bad… then they could
stay away.

When I looked at Elvis sitting in the
kitchen all alone, his haunting eyes became more apparent. It was
the look that had apparently captivated everyone who came into
contact with him. Fame surely had come with a price for him and I
wasn’t positive he’d ever asked for it. His voice was so pure and
the southern charm mesmerizing that I could barely take my eyes off
him. There was nothing like a good ol’ Southern boy—those full
lips, the high cheekbones. Callahan took after his cousin in the
looks department too.

Loud bangs sounded from my bedroom and
my mischievous ghost was nowhere in sight. I knew she was up to no
good. Following the sound, I walked into my bedroom to find the
contents of my underwear drawer thrown across the floor.

“
What the hell are you
doing?” I yelled.

She turned and smirked. “I’m bored. I
thought I’d check out your room.”

She moved over to the bookshelf and
began tossing books onto the floor.

“
I command you to stop right
this minute.”

She whipped around and glared at me,
then began laughing hysterically. “You’re cute,” she said in
between snorts.

Before I had a chance to yell at her
more, she vanished, leaving me to pick up the mess around my room.
If she wasn’t already dead, I’d kill her. I grabbed the contents of
my drawer and shoved them back in.

“
Do you need any help?”
Elvis asked.

I whirled around, and unfortunately,
had a pair of underwear in my hand. I shoved them into my pocket.
“No, no. It would use too much of your energy to help. You need to
save up your strength.”

I’d get her back for this.

***

I didn’t bother to say goodbye to the
ghosts when I walked out the front door. I knew they’d be coming
along with me anyway. With any luck, they’d help me out. Sometimes
ghosts could reason with other ghosts when the living couldn’t get
through to them. Okay, Candy Cherry probably wouldn’t help, but
what could I do?

While I waited for the crew to pick me
up, I wandered out to the mailbox to place a letter inside. My
bills still had to be paid. When I opened the box, I spotted an
envelope. That was odd. I’d checked my mail yesterday and nothing
had been in there but a few advertisements. I pulled the envelope
out, flipped it over and looked at the front. It was addressed to
me, but there was no return address. My stomach turned. Memories of
Brianna Garrett flashed through my mind. It reminded me of the time
she had sent me chocolates and tricked me with her magic into
thinking they were from my mother. I’d eaten them and become
deathly ill. I’d never eat anything someone sent me
again.

Without me noticing, the crew had
pulled up in front of my house. They honked the horn, so I stuffed
the envelope into my bag and hurried over. I’d have to read it once
I got in the SUV.

Matt approached and Cooper followed
along behind me. “Okay. We’re all set. You all will follow me in
the SUV. A cameraman is in the vehicle. He’ll be taping from this
moment on. So watch what you say. Things start now, gang.” He
clapped his hands.

“
Don’t worry, we’ve got
manners. Our mamas didn’t raise heathens,” I said as I made my way
toward the vehicle. “Well, some of us aren’t heathens.” I looked at
Cooper and grinned.

“
Cooper, you’ll be in the
van with Larue, okay?” Matt looked at Cooper, who nodded while
staring at me.

Mindy had rolled her window down,
straining to hear the conversation.

“
I’m not sure if there’s
room,” I said.

“
Um, it is a small van,”
Mindy said, trying to help me out.

Matt frowned. “We need him with you,
Larue, he is your co-host.”

“
Yeah. Okay, I guess we have
room,” I said reluctantly.

It wasn’t as if I had a choice, unless
Cooper wanted to walk. But far could it be? Fifty miles? The
exercise would be good for him.

“
I tried,” Mindy
mouthed.

“
Okay, so you’re ready
then?” Matt asked again.

“
Yeah, I guess I’m as ready
as I’ll ever be. At least we’re not in front of a live audience.
I’m not sure I could handle that.”

Maybe I should have been more
enthusiastic? But that strange, irritated feeling had returned
right after I’d finished my morning waffles. Could Mindy tell that
something was on my mind? Probably. She knew me too well. I really
wanted to know what the letter said.

I hopped in the backseat of the SUV.
Unfortunately, Mindy had taken the front seat leaving me to sit
next to Cooper in the back seat. How would I get a chance to read
the letter with him watching? I didn’t want him to know any of my
business. Plus, the darn camera was on us. Cooper gave me a funny
look when Elvis sat between us, but he didn’t mention it in front
of the camera. I shrugged but didn’t offer an explanation. It was
the type of situation that words just couldn’t explain.

We pulled up to the farmhouse like a
fleet of FBI agents—dark cars and vans full of equipment. Our
presence had to be intimidating to the homeowner. It looked as if
we were taking over her home. I’d been on this street of historic
homes before, but I’d never paid attention to the house looming
over us.

I still wasn’t sure if I knew the full
extent of what I had gotten myself into. How long would it take
before I figured out what all of this meant? Thank goodness the
location had been close to home. I wasn’t sure if I could have
accepted the gig if it had been too far away. I wasn’t ready to put
that much distance between Callahan and me this soon in our
relationship.

The house was a big old farmhouse in
the neighboring town of Stephensburg. It was white with black
shutters and little yellow flowers along the edges of the sidewalk.
It seemed innocent enough, but I felt the bad vibe all the way out
in the car. It was so strong that it could have pounded me over the
head.

The front porch wrapped all the way
around the house. I bet the homeowner would be happy if I got rid
of her unwelcome visitor; the place would be heavenly once the
negative vibe was gone. I’d be happy out there along the tree-lined
street among the peace and quiet. But would I be able to help the
homeowner? My negativity had reached an all-time high. I felt like
a fraud considering I currently had a bad spirit trailing
me.

After climbing out of the vehicle, I
paused, placed my hand above my eyes to shield the sun and peered
up at the house. I knew something was in the upstairs window
watching my arrival. It didn’t feel human and it most definitely
didn’t want me there. I turned back to Mindy and Cooper to gauge
their reaction to the house. Mindy was busy chatting with Matt, and
Cooper didn’t let on if he’d seen the spirit in the window
too.

“
Seems like a nice place,”
Candy Cherry said.

“
More than a few spirits
here.” Mr. Fine’s hand shook as he took a drag from his
cigarette.

“
I’m glad you can sense
them. Maybe you can help me talk to them,” I said, trying to hide
my conversation from the cameraman. They knew I was a medium, but
it still looked like I was talking to myself. I didn’t want to
appear to be a complete kook.

“
I’m not going in there,”
Mr. Fine said.

“
Oh yes, you are.” Candy
Cherry glared at him.

What was that all about? They were a
strange pair.

After helping remove some of the
equipment from the back of the SUV, I made my way up the path
toward the house. The gate squeaked as I pushed it open and the
sound of my footsteps was amplified in my head each time I stepped
across the stone path.

Being followed by a camera crew was
more disconcerting than I’d thought. That high-definition camera
would be the death of me. My pores would look more like craters. If
the show didn’t scare people, my face in HD surely would. For the
love of all skin conditions, who thought that was a good idea,
anyway?

So our first case really was located
in Kentucky. Matt hadn’t lied. Mindy’s fantasy of traveling to
far-away locations had gone up in flames. Staying close to home was
fine by me.

It was part of my job to reassure the
clients. Just because I was doing my work in front of a camera crew
now didn’t mean I’d lose track of the real reason I was there:
helping the person who struggled with a haunting or unexplained
events going on in their life. Whether it was indeed paranormal or
inexplicable didn’t matter. The person needed my help.

Cooper hurried beside me as if we were
in a race to see who could make it to the door first. But when we
reached the steps, he paused and motioned for me to lead the way.
Maybe he had manners after all. Chivalry wasn’t dead as far as this
city boy was concerned. I stepped up onto the long porch, made my
way around the rocking chairs, and stopped in front of the old wood
door. The pretty wreath on the door did nothing to ease the fear of
the possible evil waiting on the other side. I’d been in a lot of
haunted houses, but apprehension never eluded me. Needless to say,
demons were always the toughest.

Cooper joined me at the door—his
fidgeting from foot to foot was a little annoying. But everything
was getting on my nerves lately. Yeah, I was nervous too, but not
because of the demons or ghosts. I was nervous because of the
camera invading my personal space.

Well, I was a little nervous because
of the demons, too. I realized how nasty they could be. Don’t get
me wrong, Cooper was a big strapping man and looked as if he could
handle his own. But, I knew he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t
nervous.

“
You nervous?” I
asked.

“
Who me? No way.” He shook
his head.

I suspected he shoved his hands in his
front pockets to keep from fidgeting.

When I knocked on the door, a negative
energy rushed through my body. The spirits were ready to pounce and
we hadn’t even entered yet. I glanced over my shoulder and spotted
Elvis. He knew inside this home was no place for him. Mr. Fine and
Candy Cherry were nowhere in sight. I thought she was excited to
come in, but I guessed I’d been wrong. My anxiety increased and I
held my breath waiting for someone to answer.