Janet McNulty - Mellow Summers 07 - Two Ghosts Haunt a Grove by Janet McNulty

forgotten to close. Good one, Mel. Just as they reached it, a huge gust of wind attacked them and the door slammed shut, sending echoes of its fury throughout the inn. Shocked, I just stood in the window and watched. At the same instant, pounding hooves of a horse raced for them, but I couldn’t see the horse that the hooves belonged to. The two men fell over crashing into the dirt as though something had knocked them over as the hooves reached them and then galloped away.
    “What was that?” demanded one.
    “I don’t know,” said the other, “but I don’t want to find out.”
    They jumped to their feet and ran back to the van. The engine roared to life and the tires squealed in the zeal to get away.
    Not wanting to remain in that place any longer, I ran out of the room. My feet carried me down the stairs not caring how much noise they made. Something had just arrived and I had no desire to find out what. I rushed into the kitchen finding the door Detective Shorts had told me about easily. Fresh air greeted me as I burst outside. Making certain I was alone, I took off down the property and to the gate. It hung open—wide open. I raced through it knowing that it had been left open on purpose. The moment I exited the gate, it swung shut latching itself.
    I turned around and paused. In the distance stood a horse with its rider; the ghost I had seen earlier with Jackie. Smiley’s Ghost. I knew it was him. He eyed me a moment before riding off and vanishing into thin air.
    Too shaken to stay a minute longer, I ran down the road and to my car. I ran the entire mile, my lungs burning for air. Detective Shorts had just pulled up by the time I arrived out of breath.
    “Mel!” He leapt out of his car leaving the engine running. “Mel, you all right?”
    “Ghost,” I said.
    “Shouldn’t you be used to that by now?” he asked. “Are you hurt?”
    I shook my head. “I just saw Smiley’s Ghost. He scared those two guys away.”
    “What were you doing there anyway? Didn’t I tell you to stay away from this place?”
    “I have their picture on my phone, but the battery is dead.”
    That piqued Detective Shorts’ interest. “Give it to me.”
    I handed him my phone. He plugged it into his car charger. After a few minutes it had charged enough to turn on. Then, he took a cord and connected it to his phone. I watched as he downloaded the picture to his cell phone. Once done, he handed mine back to me.
    “Now, what’s with your car?” he asked.
    I looked at my car and realized that I had forgotten to put the hood down. Brilliant, Mel. “It overheated or something,” I said, “but I couldn’t get the engine started.”
    Detective Shorts got in the driver’s seat and turned the key. “Seems the battery’s dead too.” Without another word, he positioned his car in front of mine and pulled out some jumper cables. He hooked them up. “Wait,” he said as I moved to turn on the car.
    Detective Shorts pulled something out of his trunk and carried it to the front of my car. “Just like I thought. You radiator fluid is low.”
    Low? Tiny had just checked it a couple of days ago.
    “Now try it,” said the detective.
    I turned the key and my car started. Good thing too. I really did not want to leave it parked here.
    Detective Shorts closed the hood of my car. “Now, go straight home.”
    “I’m not—”
    “I mean it,” the stern look on his face told me not to argue. “And don’t think about taking any detours because I’ll be right behind you.”
    Of course he would. I guessed I had had enough of an adventure for one day. I got in my car and put it in gear steering it towards home. A quick glance in my rearview mirror showed Detective Shorts was right behind me determined to see to it that I went home and stayed out of trouble.
     

Chapter 10
    My alarm clock blaring in my ear pulled me from the strangest dream I had ever had. I had dreamt that Greg and I were dressed as Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum jumping