Haunt Couture and Ghosts Galore Read Free

asked.
    â€œYou know that isn’t true,” I said.
    â€œActually, I don’t know. Aren’t you going to help the poor girl?” Charlotte motioned toward Hannah.
    I’d already dialed the police, so there wasn’t much that could be done. I eased over toward Hannah. When I neared, she finally looked over at me. I approached as if sneaking up on a scared cat. Now that I was standing next to her, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and guided her toward the building away from the body. Her body was rigid as she walked with me. There was no need for her to continue to stare at Melanie’s lifeless body. Nothing could be done for Melanie now. Sirens sounded in the distance, growing louder with each passing second.
    â€œI can’t believe she’s dead. How did this happen?” Hannah whispered.
    I noticed blood on Hannah’s hands. She spotted me looking at her and stuffed her hands in her pockets.
    â€œI had nothing to do with this, you know?” she proclaimed.
    â€œOf course.”
    I wondered if she believed my response. I wasn’t even sure if I believed what she said. After all, it was her shoe by the body and she had blood all over her hands. How would she explain that?
    As if she read my mind, she said, “I was just trying to help her. That’s why I have blood on my hands.”
    The sirens were loud now and the swirling lights covered the area in a red and blue glow. Police officers surrounded the area.
    â€œYou should know exactly what the procedure is by now,” Charlotte quipped.
    Sadly, Charlotte was right. I knew that we would have to give statements to the police, but I wasn’t positive that Hannah wouldn’t end up in handcuffs tonight. If what she said was true, then I felt bad for her, but if she really did have something to do with Melanie’s death, then that just made my skin crawl. Hannah seemed so sweet now in contrast to how she’d acted earlier, but that didn’t mean she was innocent by any means.
    A dark-haired officer wearing the dark blue Sugar Creek Police Department uniform approached us. “Can you tell me what happened?”
    Hannah remained silent with her arms wrapped around her waist as if shielding herself from the harsh reality of what had happened.
    Finally, I said, “Melanie was dead when I came outside. I believe Hannah found her.” I pointed to Hannah.
    She would probably be unhappy that I had told the officer that, but it was the only thing I could do. The officer pulled her to the side and she could no longer hide the blood on her hands.
    â€œDo you see him yet?” Charlotte asked.
    â€œDo I see who?” I asked.
    She waved her finger in my direction. “Don’t play dumb with me. Where’s the handsome and divine Detective Valentine? I know you’re looking for him.”
    Maybe I was looking for him, but the main reason was because I knew I would have to explain why I was at the scene of the crime. Well, maybe that wasn’t the main reason, but a very important reason nonetheless. I peered out over the darkness and then finally spotted Dylan Valentine. He was talking to another officer. He must have felt my eyes on him because he looked over at that moment.
    â€œThis is quite a scene,” a male voice said from behind me.
    I jumped and spun around. A fiftysomething-year-old man stood beside me. He wore a gray pinstriped suit, white shirt with red tie, and black and white spectator shoes. His black hair was styled in a forties cut. I stared at him but didn’t speak.
    â€œExcuse me, ma’am. Where are my manners? My name is Samuel Sanders. How do you do?” He smiled. “I would offer my hand to shake, but . . .”
    Finally, I managed, “Nice to meet you. I’m Cookie Chanel and this is Charlotte Meadows.”
    Charlotte studied her ruby red painted fingernails but didn’t look up at the dapper-looking man.
    â€œAre you an officer with the