Larue Donavon 3 - The Ghoul Next Door (12 page)

“
There’s a reason why she’s
looking for work, Mindy. The woman is a walking disaster, bless her
heart. I like her, really I do, but I can’t afford to have her in
my shop. The Dairy Queen is just now rebuilt after she caught the
fry cooker on fire. Why they let that woman around heated oil is
beyond me.” I shook my head.

Mindy nodded. “I guess you’re
right.”

The bell on the door jingled and we
both looked up. Of course I was hoping it was Callahan or a
customer. Either one would be good to have around. Unfortunately,
it wasn’t Callahan. I’d settle for the customer.

The blonde woman met my gaze and
smiled widely as she approached us. She held her shoulders back and
puffed her chest out. Her steely glint told me she wasn’t looking
for a book. She looked like trouble. There was something familiar
about her, but I couldn’t put my finger on what exactly. She wore
cream-colored slacks with a delicate honey-gold, floral-patterned
blouse. Diamond studs dotted her earlobes and a matching pendant
hung daintily around her neck.

“
Hello. My name is Jane
Howe. I wondered if you’re hiring?” she asked in a clipped
tone.

Not exactly an ideal candidate for a
customer service representative. I was sure my mouth fell open.
Mindy coughed as she glared at the woman.

No way. I smelled a rat. This was not
a coincidence. I didn’t believe in coincidences. Everything
happened for a reason. Who was this woman and why was she in my
shop? It was downright spooky that she had showed up at exactly the
right moment.

I wasn’t hiding my suspicion. “What
makes you think I’m hiring?”

She quirked an eyebrow. “I’m sorry,”
she stuttered. “I didn’t mean to disturb you.” She glanced down at
our food. “I’m new in town.”

Yeah, obviously she was new in town.
I’d never seen her before. Magnolia was a small town. I was
surprised I hadn’t heard about a new resident yet. It was hard to
hide the newcomer status in Magnolia. I supposed I had to give her
the benefit of the doubt until I knew differently, but I would get
to the bottom of this. It wasn’t as if she’d said someone had sent
her. She’d just randomly stepped into my shop at the very moment
I’d said I was looking for an employee. Talk about
bizarre.

I put on my sweetest smile. “I can
give you an application. Did you bring your resumé?”

She smiled in return. Mindy still had
a stunned look on her face.

“
I do have a resumé.” She
pulled the sheet of paper from her bag, then stepped forward and
held it out to me.

I took the resumé with some
reluctance, then glanced down at the page. She had a lot of retail
experience listed… and in a bookstore, no less. So yes, she was
more than qualified for a position at Book Nook. I needed to know
more about his woman. Who was she?

“
You said you’re new in
town?” I asked with a quirked brow.

“
She seems like a lovely
woman. You should hire her.” Candy Cherry had popped up and was
standing beside the woman.

Mindy leaned in closer. She didn’t
want to miss a word.

“
I wouldn’t trust her,”
Elvis said as he made his way from the back of the
store.

“
You’re not that gullible,
are you?” Mr. Fine snorted. “Even your BFF here knows that you
shouldn’t trust this woman. And she just told you to trust people.
That should tell you something.”

Candy Cherry leaned against the
counter. “Oh, come on, people. There is absolutely nothing wrong
with this woman. She’s perfectly lovely and I think she would be a
nice addition to your store, Larue. It might be refreshing for your
customers to experience a pleasant smile for a change. And
certainly don’t let what your BFF says influence you. She’s a
therapist’s dream. Years of work wouldn’t straighten out the mess
in her head.”

Oh, if I could whack a ghost I would.
Oh, how I would. Like one of those carnival games where you whack
the mole. And I’d thought my former ghost friend Mrs. Johnson was a
pain in the ass. This woman had her beat times ten over. What did
she have against Mindy?

“
There you go. My point has
been proven. If she thinks she’s okay, then you most definitely
shouldn’t hire the woman.” Mr. Fine took a draw from his
cigarette.

Jane stood in front of me, batting her
lashes and flashing an innocent smile. Little did she know the
debate about her employment fate that was going on around her.
Would she still want to work here if she knew about all the ghosts
that hung around all the time?

When I didn’t say anything, Jane
continued trying to sell herself. “I’m new to Magnolia, yes. I can
tell by the look on your face you’re wondering where I came from,
but I can assure you I am completely honest, trustworthy, and an
upstanding citizen.”

I stared while she continued
talking.

“
I just hopped in my car one
day and drove. When I came to Magnolia, I knew this was the place
for me, so I stopped. I loved the name and the little shops. The
town has a lovely feeling, like when you’re here you know you’re
home. I decided to try and make a life for myself here.” She
flashed another smile.

I shot a glance to Mindy. She shook
her head as if to say, no way. No one would just drive through and
decide to stay. Although… I supposed that was exactly what Callahan
had done. When he decided he wanted to open a coffee shop, he had
just driven around until a town called out to him. Was I really to
believe that Magnolia just called out to people? Maybe, but I
wasn’t trusting this woman.

“
So you just decided to
stay? Where are you living now?” I crossed my arms in front of my
chest.

“
I rented a room at Red Rose
Inn. Until I can find someplace permanent, you know.”

I nodded. “Right. Well, it is a nice
place. I hope you’ll enjoy it here in Magnolia,” I said through a
fake smile.

Mindy frowned. But I knew she was
already thinking about getting this woman to attend a pole fitness
class. That was Mindy, trying to make everyone healthy one metal
pole dance at a time.

After digging around in a drawer, I
handed Jane an application. “You can fill this out, but I’ve gotten
quite a few applications, so I’m not sure how soon I’ll make a
decision.”

Could she tell I was lying? Probably,
but what could I do?

“
Thank you.” The smile faded
from her face.

I knew she wasn’t happy with the
outcome of her visit, but I couldn’t take any chances. Mindy and I
watched in silence as she spun around and made her way through the
maze of aisles. With hurried footsteps, she walked out the door as
mysteriously as she’d entered.

“
What do you think about
that?” Mindy asked as soon as the door closed. “That was too
weird.”

“
That was very strange,” I
agreed. “I don’t know what to think. More witchcraft at
work?”

Mindy’s face dropped.

“
I have to know who that
woman really is. I don’t believe her name is Jane Howe, but I
intend on getting to the bottom of it.”

“
Look at where she’d headed
now.” Mindy pointed toward the front windows.
“Cooper’s.”

“
Not again. Cooper couldn’t
be involved in anything bad.”

I might have believed it from him at
first, but now that I’d gotten to know him? No way. He could be
annoying, but he was an okay guy. Most of the time.

“
Well, don’t think the
worst.” Mindy placed her hand on my arm for reassurance. “Maybe she
is going in there to shop or to get an application from him. I
don’t think he knows her.”

“
I hope so, because I don’t
think I can handle any more witchcraft.” My shoulders slumped at
the thought. “Just to be safe, maybe you should stay away from her
and I’ll warn Callahan too. I don’t want any more spells cast on
you two. I can’t handle that anymore.”

“
You and me both,” Mindy
said.

Candy Cherry snorted. “You couple of
crybabies need to toughen up.”

Elvis appeared, cutting off her words.
She attempted to tone down her nastiness when he was around, but
she had a hard time of it.

We moved to the front of the store and
watched as Jane made her way from the front of High Fashion to the
register where Cooper had been working. He seemed extremely
interested in what Jane had to say. With his gaze fixed on her, I
couldn’t tell if he was looking at her chest or face.
Men.

Cooper handed her a piece of paper and
I knew what that meant. I leaned closer to the window as if that
would give me a better view. I needed my binoculars. Mindy had
finally gotten to me and I’d purchased a pair of my own one night
at Wal-Mart with Mae West. Mindy had finally converted me over to
her side.

“
She’s asking him for a job
too. And knowing him, he’ll probably give it to her,” I
said.

“
That statement is more than
likely correct based on that skirt and blouse she was wearing. Men
can be such suckers sometimes. So easily persuaded.” Mindy
snorted.

We watched as they spoke, and when
Jane turned to come out from his shop, we hurried away from the
window. I didn’t want her to see us snooping on her.

Mindy giggled. “We’re getting good at
this.”

The first chance I got I was going
over there to warn Cooper. Sure, I couldn’t tell him not to hire
her, but he did need to look into her background first. You
couldn’t just leave a stranger in charge of your business without
knowing anything about them. A pretty face didn’t always equal an
honest face. He should know that from his cousin
Brianna.

As soon as she’d turned the corner, I
said, “Come on. Let’s go.”

Before Mindy and I had even crossed
the street, my ghosts were waiting by the front door of High
Fashion. When we stepped through the door, Cooper’s eyes
widened.

“
Elvis Presley follows you
everywhere you go? I thought that was a one-time thing. I’m
impressed.”

I smirked, as if to say, yeah, I’m
good. “Never mind that. I have another bone to pick with you. What
did that woman want?” I pointed toward the street.

“
Oh yes, Jane Howe. She
seems great. She said you turned her down for a job. A little
intimidated, huh?”

Okay, maybe Cooper could be an ass at
times.

He focused on his iPad. “Anyway, I
hired her.”

“
What?” Mindy and I said in
unison.

“
I can’t believe you hired
her.” I stepped closer. I wanted to snatch the device from his
hands and force him to look at me.

He glanced at me, then back down. “I
needed someone to work.”

“
But you don’t know anything
about her,” I said.

“
She gave me her resume.” He
pointed at the paper. “She had references and
experience.”

I crossed my arms in front of my
chest. “So she claimed. How do you know she was telling the
truth?”

“
Yeah,” Mindy agreed.
“Cooper, you can be so dense sometimes.”

He smirked. “Well, I guess I’ll find
out. But I have someone to work for me while we tape the show. You
don’t.” He quirked a brow.

“
He does have a point,”
Mindy said.

I narrowed my eyes. “I’ll find
someone, just you watch.” I pointed. “And I guarantee you’ll
discover that your worker isn’t on the up and up. Don’t come to me
when she casts a spell on you.”

I turned on my heel and gestured for
the ghosts to follow me. “Come on, guys. Let’s get out of
here.”

I groaned as I walked through the door
of Book Nook and marched to the counter. I hadn’t even turned
around to make sure the ghosts were still with me. Honestly, did I
really need to look? They always followed me. Even Candy Cherry was
hanging close at the moment.

“
Can you believe that guy?”
I asked Mindy. “He’s crazy.”

Elvis leaned against the counter and
my stomach flip-flopped at his nearness. “Men sometimes don’t think
things through when a pretty woman is involved.”

Since he was all man, I was sure he
knew what he was talking about.

“
Who are you going to get to
work?” Mindy asked.

I bated my eyelashes and flashed a
smile her way.

“
Oh, Larue, you know I would
if I could, but my place is barely hanging on. I don’t have anyone
to instruct the classes.”

My shoulders slumped a little. “I
know, but it was worth a shot, right?”

She patted my hand. “If we put our
heads together, we could find someone.”

“
Do pardon me for
interrupting.” Candy Cherry sashayed closer to the
counter.

As if I had a choice. I was shocked
that she’d been polite enough to ask before injecting her
wisdom.

“
What about the woman who
stopped in to say hello?” my crabby ghoul friend asked. “Beth was
her name. She said she was bored since her wee one started school.
She even left her number for you, remember?”