Laure Donavan 2 - Ghouls Night Out (5 page)

She snorted. “Yeah, right. Promises.
Promises. Bye…wait, I almost forgot to tell you.”

“
Yes.” I
snorted.

“
You’re not going to
believe who I just met.”

All right, I confess, I was intrigued.
“Who?”

“
Brianna’s
cousin.”

“
What?” My voice rang out
louder than I’d intended. “You’re kidding?”

“
Would I kid
about—”

“
Oh, stop it. Dish.”
Callahan still watched me, but I couldn’t help myself at this
point. Yes, it was rude to be on the phone, but this was almost
emergency info.

“
He came into the studio
looking for a gym.”

Mindy owned one of those pole-dancing
studios. I’d embarrassed myself a number of times all in the name
of friendship. The most embarrassing was when one of my
grandmother’s friends attended the class and was infinitely better
at working the pole than I was. Who knew a seventy-six-year-old
could move like that? I guess seventy is the new sixty, or
something like that.

“
He? What is he doing in
Magnolia?”

Callahan pretended to be interested in
his burger, but I felt him watch me from the corner of his
eye.

“
He came to take care of
Brianna’s business affairs.”

“
That’s awfully fast,
wouldn’t you say? I mean, how did he know to come here?”

“
I don’t know, I didn’t ask
him. I figured it was none of my business.”

None of her business, this coming from
a woman who liked to use binoculars to spy every chance she
got.

“
He’s really nice. I think
you’ll like him. He’s nothing like Brianna. And hot damn, is he
good looking. God, what did we do to deserve two new gorgeous men
in Magnolia? First Callahan, and now Cooper. He couldn’t believe
all the evil things Brianna did.”

“
While this is extremely
interesting, I gotta go. We’ll talk about it later.”

I wanted to know every detail about
this Cooper guy. I prayed he wasn’t into black magic, too. If only
I could have chatted with Mindy longer, but a hunk of a man sat
across from me. If anyone could help me fib my way out of the
situation I found myself in, it was Mindy.

“
Okay, but wait until you
see him,” she said.

Without answering, I tossed the phone
back in my purse, then set my bag on the floor next to
me.

“
Everything all right?”
Callahan asked.

“
Yes, that was Mindy just
being nosy. Gotta love her.”

Callahan chuckled. “So are you going
to fill me in on this play?”

Damn. I had hoped he’d forgotten my
little fib. I stuffed French fries into my mouth like a chipmunk
hoarding nuts for the winter. Another stall tactic. I needed to
think of something quickly.

After I swallowed my mouth full of
potatoes, I said, “My grandparents’ retirement village?”

Oh, brother. I probably shouldn’t have
answered as if it were a question. Well, at least it was in another
state so maybe he wouldn’t ask to watch me in this make-believe
theater performance.

“
In Florida?” He scrunched
his brow.

I took a gulp of water from my glass,
swallowed, then said, “Yes, they needed a younger
actor.”

“
And there wasn’t anyone
closer?”

Geesh. What was with the twenty
questions? “Well, I was going for a visit anyway.”

“
What’s the play?” he
asked.

Apparently, he was going for more than
twenty questions. I shoved the burger in my mouth for a big bite. I
needed extra time to think on that question. My date manners were
shot all to hell, anyway. Might as well go for bust.

“
Annie Get Your Gun?”
Another question for an answer. I probably should have tried harder
at soundly confident with my choice. My mind was blank, though.
Only two plays crossed my mind and the other one was West Side
Story. He probably wouldn’t buy either one. I could just see a
bunch of seventy-five-year-olds doing the Rumble Scene.

“
How are you going to
practice with them when you’re in Kentucky?”

All right, we needed a change of
topic, stat. Where were the ghosts when I needed them? Couldn’t
they turn the lights off, or toss a tray of food for distraction?
Something? Anything? Couldn’t they throw me a bone?

As if reading my mind, the gang
appeared.

“
I’m practicing on my own,
at home. By myself.”

The look on Callahan’s face was
priceless. In any other situation, it would probably have been
funny but, right now, not so much.

Mae and Anthony snickered at my
answer.

“
Oh, dear. You shouldn’t
lie to the poor boy,” Seth said.

Easy for him to say.

Callahan swatted at the air above his
head, then touched his hair. He swiveled around in his seat,
looking over his shoulder. Mae had dragged her long fingernails
through his thick, dark locks.

“
It’s so lustrous,” she
said. “I couldn’t help myself.”

I sent a pleading look her way. She
gave a sassy grin, then faded away. Daddy-O had pulled up a seat
next to me. With his elbows propped on the table, and chin resting
in the palms of his hands, he fixed his gaze on me. Little hearts
rested in his ghostly eyes. Seth had wandered over to the dessert
tray. It must suck not being able to eat chocolate. That would be
like hell…forever doomed to stare at chocolate, but the decadence
could never touch your lips.

Callahan smiled showing his bright
white teeth. My stomach performed acrobatics. His broad shoulders
bulged at the seams of his shirt. He reached over and placed his
muscular hand on top of mine. The warmth from his skin radiated
through me, reaching all the way to my feet.

Callahan yanked his hand away. “What
the hell? Did you feel that?”

Doomed. Our relationship was doomed
before it truly began. And I’d thought we’d started over. My cool
cat ghost had slapped Callahan’s hand. Apparently, I had a jealous
ghost on my hands. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed a little bit of
male jealousy as much as the next girl, but this was not going to
fly.

I shook my head. “Feel what?” Yeah, my
little Miss Innocent act.

“
It felt as if someone
smacked my hand. Did you feel that?”

Still feigning innocence, I said, “No,
I didn’t feel a thing.”

My stomach twisted into a tighter knot
with each lie that slipped from my lips. I felt ashamed for lying.
But what choice did I have? Damn ghosts. I stole a glance at
Anthony again. He smiled broadly and winked. He was handsome—I’d
give him that. His eyes twinkled under the light, too. Wait. Why
was I noticing a ghost’s good looks? I had a hot-blooded male right
in front of me and his lips screamed ‘kiss me.’ Not literally, but
they were so succulent…

My phone rang again, jarring me away
from the thought. Yet again, I fumbled through my purse, pulled it
out, and groaned as I saw the caller ID. Mindy again. The thought
crossed my mind not to answer, but I’d worry something was wrong if
I didn’t.

“
I’m sorry,” I said,
looking at Callahan. “I need to answer.” Next time, I’d place my
phone on vibrate. Would there be a next time? And whom was I
kidding? I was addicted to my cell phone as if it were chocolate.
Turning it off would be like turning off my access to the
world.

He smiled. “It’s okay. You’re a
popular woman.”

Popular with confused spirits. “Yes?”
I said when I clicked open the phone.

“
You need to get to your
store now. There’s a huge problem.” Mindy’s voice shook with
panic.

Chapter Eight

Mindy hadn’t been kidding when she
said there was a problem. Callahan and I pulled up to the curb in
front of Book Nook to discover a couple of police cars with
flashing lights, the glass in the front door of my store smashed
almost completely out.

I hurried from the car, through the
nosy people gathered on the sidewalk, and up to the entrance.
Callahan followed on my heels. By now, he certainly had to think I
was certifiable. No doubt he thought I needed to be in a little
padded room.

I expected to look up and see a dark
cloud hanging above my head. The autumn air had been pleasant until
now. Instead, it felt oppressive and foreboding. My hands felt
clammy and my face flushed. I guess finding your store vandalized
would do that to a person. A nervous vibration pulsed through me
and I couldn’t shake it.

Mindy stood by the door with a man I’d
never seen before. Something sparked in my mind. He looked
familiar. When our gazes met, it hit me. I saw the resemblance, and
it sent a chill racing up my spine. The man had dark hair and
chiseled features, but the eyes were the same as
Brianna’s.

A couple of policemen talked amongst
themselves in the far corner of the store, next to a pile of torn
up books. My heart raced as I scanned the space. I tried to remain
tough, but tears pooled in the corners of my eyes.

“
Larue, thank God you’re
here.” Mindy raced to my side, squeezing me in a tight
embrace.

“
I don’t know what to say.
How did this happen? How did you know this happened?” I
asked.

“
I drove by, saw it, and I
called the cops. It had to have just happened. Otherwise, I think
someone else would have called.” She clutched at her
chest.

“
You think? Sometimes I
wonder if anyone would bother to call.” My gaze scanned the area,
trying to take an inventory in my mind.

“
You should let them know
you’re here.” Mindy pointed.

We turned our gaze toward the police
officers huddled in the corner.

“
Excuse me.” I interrupted
their whispers. The uniformed men turned toward me. Their faces
were scrunched up with confused looks as if they’d heard a nagging
fly buzzing around their heads. They acted as if they didn’t know
who I was. I knew differently. Officer Caldwell furrowed his brow
and studied me for a second. He came in all the time to buy
political thrillers.

Finally, the lightbulb clicked. “Oh,
hi, Ms. Donavan. Didn’t see you there. You want to take a look
around and tell us if anything’s missing?”

Five-foot-two wasn’t that short. How
could he not see me standing there? Did I blend in with the
books?

“
Did they take my cash?” I
looked toward the register, which sat in the middle of the store,
against the right side of the wall.

“
You had cash in the
store?” The officer shifted his feet, his shiny shoes squeaking
against the hardwood floor.

“
A little bit under the
register. I was in a hurry and didn’t take it to the bank.” I’d
been in a rush to get to my date that had now turned into a
complete disaster.

The officers exchanged looks of pity,
as if shaming me would make the situation any better.

All right, so leaving cash in the
store was not a smart move on my part. But I had a tendency to
learn my lessons the hard way. Plus, my date with Callahan had
caused the logical thinking section of my brain to malfunction. A
guy as hot as him—that was enough to make any girl not think
straight.

“
Don’t let anyone touch
anything, for Pete’s sake,” Officer Woods bellowed from the back of
the store.

Why did I get the gnawing feeling in
the pit of my stomach that I’d never figure out who broke into Book
Nook? No doubt, this police force would bungle the entire
investigation. This was small potatoes compared to the real
investigations they usually took on—no need to worry about a little
break-in at the local bookstore.

“
We need you to sign the
police report,” Officer Caldwell said. “We’ll also need a little
information, if we stand a chance of figuring out who did
this.”

Well, that was a real confidence
booster.

Another tall, uniformed man
approached. “Larue.” Deputy Fredericks nodded with a tip of his
hat.

Michael Fredericks and I had attended
the same school since first grade. It was hard to imagine him
enforcing the law when he used to throw paper balls and eat
erasers.

“
How’s it going, Mike?
Sorry, I mean, Deputy Fredericks,” I said.

Mindy snickered.

I crossed my arms in front of my
chest. “Maybe you can shed some light on what’s really going on
here.”

“
We’ll spend some time
looking for fingerprints but, to be honest, I doubt we’ll find
anything. It’s probably someone playing a prank. Things like this
just don’t happen in Magnolia, you know. The downtown shops are
pretty safe.”

I looked up at him just in time to
catch his worried expression. Pretty safe…until now.

“
Well, obviously they do
happen in Magnolia because I’m staring at the mess caused by it.” I
frowned.

“
I understand your
frustration, really I do. We’ll see what we can do to find out who
did it. I’ll be back to talk with you later.” He patted my arm,
then turned to leave.