Haunted

Page 52

And now, out of the hole, away from the terror, she was at a complete loss. Had she been pushed, or had it been the wind?
She dumped her clothes straight into the garbage—the summer silk black tank and skirt were never going to be the same again. She thought she’d hate the outfit the rest of her life anyway, always associating it with an afternoon in an open grave. Before hopping beneath the shower spray, she opened the medicine chest and downed several ibuprofen tablets, anxious to avoid the headache that threatened.
A shower had never felt so good. She had the water steaming, the pressure hard, and she stayed far longer than she should have. But she emerged mudless, hair squeaky-clean, and feeling far stronger than she had when she had first emerged from the pit.
The rain had turned the warmth of the day into a coolness that didn’t quite fit with the Virginia summer and she had been chilled to the bone. She found a light knit sweater and jeans, and dressed quickly.
She paused for a moment, wondering if the ghost was being recessive, hiding, but watching. She felt as if the room were warm, not at all cold. If the ghost was there, and watching, it was with sympathy, and no other emotion.
She exited her room just as Matt left his.
“Ready? We don’t have to rush. If anyone wants to move on, they can. Your hair is still wet.”
“It’s all right. It will dry.”
He nodded, and lifted an arm, indicating that she should precede him down the stairs. She was irritated to realize that she was afraid to do so.
She hurried down each step, anxious to keep a distance from him. When he opened the front door, they saw that the rain had stopped completely. But evening was there, and the darkness seemed more ominous than ever.
Matt didn’t seem to notice. He walked ahead of her, and opened the passenger’s seat door of his car. She slid in.
He didn’t speak on the drive to the Wayside Inn. But she caught him glancing at her frequently.
“What wrong with you?” he asked her.
“Nothing. Really. I was pretty shaken up, of course. No one likes to fall into an open grave. And, of course, I was soaked. But now…I’m fine.”
He didn’t reply, but she knew he was still watching her, as if not believing a word she’d said. But they reached the Wayside Inn, and she jumped out of the passenger’s seat before he could walk around. Darcy hurried toward the door and was startled when it was flung open.
Clint was the first one out, reaching her, picking her up, swinging her around, and looking at her anxiously.
“Poor baby! We all walked off and left you in a grave!” he said, dismayed.
“Clint, you can set me down. I’m fine. Just fine.”
“Darcy!” Adam was the next one out. He didn’t lift her, and she offered him a warm hug before he could crush her.
“I’m fine. Thank God Matt came to get me out. Otherwise, I’d still be there, screaming.”
“Matt! Good going. But how did you find her?” Carter asked, bursting out the door behind Adam.
“Hardly brilliant police work,” Matt said dryly. “We’d left her in a churchyard. I went back to it.”
“Naturally!” Penny said, poking her head out of the door. “Darcy, dear, I ordered you a hamburger along with a new one for Matt. I hope that’s okay. I mean, you’ve been with us long enough for me to know that a ghost buster isn’t necessarily a vegetarian. Why one would assume such a thing anyway…never mind. Is a hamburger all right?”
“Lovely, Penny, thank you,” Darcy said.
“And we’ve nice hot coffee on the table for you already!” Mae called loudly from within.
“Bless you!” Darcy shouted back.
Clint held the door open. Carter ushered her on through. Mae caught her, hugged her, and Mrs. O’Hara came up to her as well, eyes huge. “Poor, poor, dear! You are accident prone, Darcy. But I hope you don’t think that it’s Stoneyville. We’re really a wonderful little place. I’d never want you to go away thinking otherwise.”
“Great!” Clint teased, grabbing Darcy’s hand and leading her to her place at the table. “Don’t be fooled. They all thought you’d gone over to the enemy. Okay, so maybe I did, too.”
“The enemy?” she said.
Clint made a face. “Max Aubry.”
“Of course, I didn’t go off with Max Aubry.”
“Did you tell him that you were a psychic, and that you can talk to ghosts?” Penny asked anxiously.
“No,” Darcy said. She was aware of Matt watching her, arms crossed over his chest. “I explained to Mr. Aubry that our firm worked through solid research, and that was that.”
“Clint! This is horrible. We’re worried about what poor Darcy might have said, when she just spent an hour in a grave,” Penny protested.
“I would have died,” Delilah said. “I would have flat-out died of the fear. But then, you are you, and I imagine that you just told the bones or ghosts what they could do with themselves!”
“No,” Darcy said pleasantly. “I was frightened. Truly frightened. It was an eerie experience—even for me.”
“Let’s hope you don’t catch your death of cold!” Mae piped in. “Drink up that coffee, it’s nice and warm. Soup! You should have some soup. And I made chicken noodle from scratch. Sim! Get a bowl of that chicken noodle for Darcy.”
“I could go for a bowl myself,” Matt said. “Sim, would you mind?”
Carter left Delilah’s side long enough to grab the chair next to Darcy’s. He touched her cheek. “Thank God!” he said softly. He shook his head, amazed, looking at Matt. “She was inside the grave! And you still found her.”
“Inside, covered by the old oak. It went down, lightning,” Matt said. He looked at Darcy. “She’s a fighter. She was still screaming. She was easy to find.”
“Hey, why didn’t you call someone?” Clint asked.
“The cell phone is dead.”
“Better a phone, than a person!” Mae said cheerfully.
“Of course.” Darcy laughed.
“You’re really not hurt?” Clint asked.
“I’m really not hurt,” Darcy said.
Clint offered her an ironic half smile. “Hm. Well, I will say—you are accident prone. But thankfully, you bounce right back.”
“Thankfully,” she agreed.
Delilah sighed. “You’re certainly much braver than I. And I was under the belief that I was a highly competent woman!”
“I’m sure you are,” Darcy murmured.
“But, at least, you did have to be dragged from the grave,” Delilah said.
“Couldn’t get out myself,” Darcy told her.
“But you tried hard, huh?” Clint said, picking up her hand. “Look at what you did to your palms.”
She gently extricated her hand. “Naturally, I tried.”
“We’ll get some aloe on those palms,” Penny said firmly.
“They’ll be fine,” Darcy said.
Sim brought them bowls of soup. They smelled wonderful.
“Oh, my, what a story!” Delilah said. “Thank the Lord that Max Aubry isn’t here now. Can you imagine his headline? ‘Psychic thrown in a grave at ceremony for skull she discovered!’”
“You’re right, Delilah, let’s be glad he isn’t here,” Matt agreed, obviously irritated.
“I’m here,” Jason Johnstone said, “but don’t worry, Matt. I have no intention of writing up the incident.”
“Actually, why not? It is news,” Mae commented. Matt glared at her. “But then again, the ceremony was so beautiful. That’s what should be in the news.”
Matt looked at Jason. “Hey, write what you see as the truth,” he told him.
Delilah let out a long sigh. “Well, I’m afraid I’m going to have to get home. Make some of the calls I should have made during the day. I’m actually not my own boss, not the way Matt is.”
“I’ll be going in, too, tonight, Delilah,” he informed her.
She smiled at Carter. “Thanks for the escort through the graveyard. I admit, any time I was in that place on my own, even for just a few minutes, I felt creepy.”
“Delilah!” Penny chastised. “It’s a beautiful cemetery and church.”
“Sure. Of course. And that’s how I always make sure we write it up when I work with the tourist board! Darcy, I truly hope you suffer no ill effects. Bye, all!”
“I’ll see you to your car,” Carter said.
Adam yawned. “Sorry!” he apologized. “It’s not the company. But I’m not a young man. Now that I know Darcy is safe with you, Matt, I’m heading back for a long, hot bath. Anyone with me?”
Clint nodded, rising. “I guess I should be getting back, too. Since you’re together, of course, and no one is left dining alone!”
“I’ve work to do, too,” Penny murmured.
“We’re fine, right, Darcy?” Matt said.
“Of course,” she murmured.
The hamburgers had come. She was famished, she realized. And once she had eaten, she knew that she would feel much stronger. And far more sane.
Far less suspicious.
The others left. Even Sim went home. Mae was there to handle the bar.
As they finished the hamburgers, Darcy and Matt were alone. They didn’t talk, but ate. He consumed his last bite a minute after Darcy had given up.
He set his napkin on the table, eyeing her. “Let’s play pool.”
“Pool?”
“Yeah, come on, since you’re a shark. Let’s see if you can beat me.”
He rose, catching her hand, dragging her to her feet. “I don’t know if we should play right now,” she protested.
“We should definitely play. You keep insisting you’re fine, so let’s play.”
“All right.”