Laure Donavan 2 - Ghouls Night Out (28 page)

Chapter Forty

I wanted to call Mindy right away to
see if the spell had worked. If she answered and had something
snippy to say or a wisecrack, I'd know she was her old self again.
Then again, no answer could mean she was just sleeping. And if I
woke her while sleeping, she would be extremely cranky. So, I'd
have to wait. At least until the sun was up. It was late and I
needed rest anyway. I wanted to be fresh for tomorrow and look my
best. I’d go see Callahan and attempt to explain myself again. It
was time to come clean, celebrity ghosts and all. Plus, I needed to
tell him about Karyn, if he didn't already know.

In a small town like Magnolia, word
spread quickly. Just as I was positive word would spread that I
talked to spirits. Or, at least, claimed to talk with them. More
than likely, people would just think I was nuts. I traveled the
short distance home, trudged inside, slipped into pajamas, and fell
into bed.

I woke in the middle of the night with
a soft touch on my cheek and a caress of my hair. The scent of
spicy cologne tickled my nostrils. My mind couldn't fully register
what was happening. Was it Callahan? What was he doing in my bed? I
needed to open my eyes. Finally, I forced my eyelids open. And saw
him in my bed. Not Callahan, but Anthony, my love-struck
ghost.

“
Shhh,” he said.

“
Anthony,” I yelled as I
pulled the covers close around my body, tucking them up under my
chin. “What are you doing in my bed? Get out, right this
minute.”

“
I wanted to see what it
would feel like. Just one time before I go.”

“
What? You’re
leaving?”

“
You're right, Larue. I
need to move on. Oh, how I wish I had been alive in this time so I
could have met you. I would have made you forget all about
Callahan. Or if you would have been around in the Fifties. I bet
you would have saved me from the accident. You would have talked
some sense into me and I would have never gone.”

“
Anthony, we never know
what might have been. I think you're an incredible guy. I bet if
you had been alive, Callahan would have had a run for his money.” I
winked.

He pressed his lips to mine, and a
warm sensation spread across my mouth. Warm, not cold. Then he was
gone. He’d be happy now. He'd play music all day long with Elvis
and all the other legends of rock ‘n’ roll.

I drifted off to sleep again. When I
woke in the morning, I didn't know if I had dreamed it, or if
Anthony was really gone. I found a single red rose on my pillow and
I knew. I never understood how they did that, but I was grateful to
have met him.

Jumping out of bed, I didn't waste any
time picking up the phone and dialing Mindy's number. It rang, and
rang some more. No answer. I wouldn't panic. Not yet. I’d give her
a chance before I went and hunted her down. After showering, I
dressed in my gray wool pants, cream sweater, and favorite black
heels. I wanted to look my best because Full Cup Coffee Shop was
getting a visit from Larue Donavan. I’d explain the situation…I'd
tell him all about talking to ghosts.

Seth and Mae were sitting on the sofa,
laughing, when I came out of the bedroom.

“
Where's Anthony?” Seth
asked right away. “Was he in your bedroom? I’ll clobber
him.”

“
He's gone,” I
answered.

“
What do you mean, gone?”
Mae asked.

“
I mean, gone. Like you two
should be. He went into the light. Poof.” I gestured with my
hands.

They looked to each other, in
shock.

“
I can't believe it. I
thought he'd be the last to go.”

“
Well, never underestimate
the powers of a good medium. I’m good what can I say?” I
winked.

“
What did you tell
him?”

“
I told him he could see
Elvis and play music all day long.”

“
And that's all it took?”
Mae asked.

“
Isn't that enough? It
beats hanging around here, not having anyone to talk to but other
ghosts and me. I realize change can be scary, and you don't know
what to expect, but sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and
go for it.”

“
Kind of like sometimes you
have to take a leap of faith and tell someone the truth about
yourself? No matter the outcome? A leap of faith that the person
will understand and accept you for who you are and what you
do?”

I stared at Seth. He
winked.

I didn't need a two-by-four upside my
head to know what he meant. He wanted me to tell Callahan. Seth was
right—I'd known that for some time, basically since I first saw
Callahan. I knew if our relationship were to go any further, I'd
have to tell him. Today was the day. But first, I had to find Mindy
and see if she was all right. I couldn't wait to have my old friend
back. As much as she annoyed me with the fitness classes and the
nosy spying, she was the best friend a girl could have. I grabbed
my coat and purse.

“
You guys coming?” I
smiled.

“
We sure are.” They marched
toward the door.

They were dying to know what had
happened to Mindy too. Er, maybe not dying, but excited, to say the
least. When I stepped onto the porch, they were already in the car.
Maybe when all of this was settled, they'd realize they needed to
cross over too. I think Seth just wanted to see Callahan happy. But
what Mae wanted, I had no idea. Maybe she was just looking for a
reason to go back. After all, she wasn’t here because she wanted to
be. I bet it takes a lot of energy to go back and forth between
worlds.

When I drove by Mindy’s, her car
wasn’t in the drive and she didn’t answer the door. She still
wasn’t answering her phone. I was beginning to worry. I decided to
open Book Nook and talk with Callahan. If I didn’t find Mindy by
then, I’d panic.

After a few minutes’ drive, the ghosts
and I pulled up in front of Book Nook. On top of my priorities
list: talk with Callahan. There was no reason for him to be upset
with me, especially now that Anthony was gone. With any luck,
anything that Cooper had done to him was gone too.

No lights shone from his shop, which
was odd considering the bulk of his business was at this hour. He
was always open during this time of day. A tinge of worry formed in
the pit of my stomach. Nothing could be wrong, I reminded myself.
But what if…what if he was in an accident. No, no. I had to calm
down. Nothing was wrong.

No sooner had the thought entered my
mind than I realized that he, in fact, wasn't in an accident.
Callahan stood on the sidewalk across the street with Mindy and
Becky. The three of them were sipping coffee, as if the best of
friends, laughing and having a great time. From the looks of
things, Mindy was still under a spell. And Callahan, too. Becky
gestured with her hand and Mindy moved forward, her motions like a
robot. She looked my way. I knew she noticed me, but her eyes were
black. The same color as Callahan’s. They were under a trance—a
zombie-like state. What I saw in their eyes sent a chill through my
body. The lights were on, but no one was home. Becky smiled as she
watched them; she hadn’t noticed me…yet.

What should I do? I needed Karyn. But
since no one even knew what was wrong with her, that wasn’t
happening. It seemed odd that she’d fallen ill so
suddenly.

“
Hey, guys. Look at them.
Callahan and Mindy are under a trance and I’d bet my last blueberry
doughnut that Becky is involved. What if she’s in cahoots with
Cooper?” Another terrible thought hit me. “You don't think Cooper
or Becky could have had anything to do with Karyn's sudden illness,
do you?”

“
It's possible. Anything’s
possible,” a familiar male voice said.

Anthony popped up in the backseat
beside Mae.

“
You like that little
trick?” He smiled brightly.

“
So much for you being a
great medium,” Mae quipped.

“
Dang it all, why are you
back, you dirty rotten scoundrel?” Seth asked Anthony.

“
Calm down, Seth.” I looked
at Anthony through the rearview mirror. “You went into the light.
Why are you here?”

“
It’s a neat little trick.
I decided I wasn’t ready after all. I want to make sure you’re
okay.”

“
Oh, for the love of ghost
hunting, I am fine. Move on, ghost, move on.” I gestured with my
hands. If only I could really push him over to the other
side.

I let out a deep breath. “Looks as if
I’m stuck with you, huh?”

“
Looks that way.” He
smiled.

I felt a headache coming
on.

Chapter Forty-One

“
Fine. I can’t worry about
you right now. Back to what I was saying about Karyn, before I was
so rudely interrupted.” I glared at Anthony. “What will we do if
Karyn has had a spell cast on her, too? If we couldn't break the
spell on Mindy, I know we can't break one on the leader of the
coven. This is serious.”

“
Who's above Karyn? There
has to be a leader above her,” Anthony said.

“
I have no idea, but I
intend to find out, and right away. There’s no time to
waste.”

“
I could use the smell of
coffee before we get started on a mystery hunt.” Mae wiggled her
eyebrows.

“
Well, the coffee shop is
closed. That's part of the mystery,” I said.

“
You need to save him and
your friend.” Mae leaned forward from the backseat.

“
I need to save him yet
again.” I sighed. “I thought the last time would be it.”

“
Is the guy really worth
all this trouble?” Anthony asked as he shot Seth a look.

“
He's alive,” Mae said. “Of
course he's worth the trouble. Even if she never spoke to him
again.”

“
He's my grandson, and he's
worth the trouble. And she’ll speak to him again. Things will work
out.” Seth gave Mae a worried look.

“
Sorry,” Mae said, while
giving Seth a pat on the leg. He beamed with her touch.
Lovebirds.

I hopped out from behind the wheel,
almost tripping over the curb as I watched the scene across the
street. I had half a mind to go over there and tell them what I
thought was going on but, at this point, I had no idea what Becky
might do to me. She could turn me into a stone statue or something,
for all I knew. I had to call Dixie and ask her what the next step
might be.

After fumbling with the front door, I
ran in and tossed my purse down on the counter. I dumped the
contents, looking for my cell phone. No time to be neat and
orderly. I grabbed it and scrolled through the numbers until I
found Dixie’s.

“
I said I’m not interested
in a magazine subscription,” she said after answering on the first
ring. A baby cried in the background.

“
Um, I'm sorry for
bothering you this early, Dixie, but we have a huge problem. The
spell didn't work. I think Becky’s involved.”

“
I was afraid of that.” She
let out a deep breath, audible through the phone. “I’ve had
suspicions about Becky, that’s why I didn’t invite her to the woods
with us, but I didn’t want to accuse her of anything. What makes
you think she’s involved?”

“
Mindy and Callahan have
the look in their eyes. After seeing Callahan before, I know that
look. Becky knows that look, too. She seems happy that they’re that
way.”

“
Becky's powerful. Her
power rivals Karyn's.”

“
But Karyn didn’t think
Becky was a strong enough witch to be leader. How could her power
rival Karyn’s?”

“
No, she knew how powerful
Becky is, but she knew she couldn’t be the leader. Karyn was
getting ready to ask Becky to leave the coven.”

“
I didn’t know. But it
makes sense now. I wish someone had told me this. So what do we do?
Do you have any idea where we go from here?”

“
We can try to contact the
coven leader for this entire region.”

“
Is this like government?
How many areas and leaders are there?”

“
A bunch. Each area in the
state has one, and then one for the entire state. One for the
region, and so on.”

“
Is there like a
president?”

“
Yes, but I can't contact
her without first going through the chain of command.”

“
How soon can we do this?”
I peered out the window at Becky and her two new
companions.

“
I'll call right away, then
call you back,” she said.

I hung up, unsure about what she'd
told me, and if it would really do any good. I had to trust her;
she was all I had at this point. I walked back to the door and
looked out just as Callahan made his way across the street. He
didn't even look my way. Just like old times. I wanted so badly to
talk to him. I needed to. But if he was under a spell, I knew it
would be pointless. I had learned that the hard way last
time.

After about thirty minutes of pacing,
my phone rang. I hurried and retrieved it from my pants pocket.
Dixie's number showed across the screen.

“
I made the call. She'll be
on her way as soon as possible,” Dixie said as soon as I
answered.