Haunted (A Bishop/SCU Novel Book 15) Read Free

from what I’m hearing, the kids dare each other to touch the front door and then haul ass, running halfway down to Main Street before they stop. It’s just to prove to each other how brave they are.”
    “I just don’t like it. That might be what they’re doing now, but no more than a year before you became sheriff, a team of those ghost hunters decided to stay the night in the parsonage, and even if nobody knows what happened, they were gone by daylight.”
    “Leaving the place undamaged, even if the front door was standing wide open. I read the report. And whatever did or didn’t happen didn’t end up on TV or YouTube, for which we can be grateful. So?”
    “So how long will it be before some of the older kids dare each other to spend the night in the church or parsonage?”
    “Don’t hold your breath. It’s just the younger kids trying to prove they aren’t afraid of ghosts. The older ones are way too caught up in teenage stuff to worry about whether a local landmark is haunted. Though I imagine the preacher’s story gets told around the occasional fireplace or campfire.”
    “I wish you wouldn’t be so cavalier about it,” the mayor complained. “It was a tragedy, what happened up there.”
    “Yes, I know. But it also happened a decade ago, and I’m being practical, or trying to. Dale, what is it you hope to accomplish? The Baylor sisters own the parsonage, and if they want to allow visitors—ghost hunting or otherwise—it’s their business. As for the church, it’s a respected historical landmark, kept in good repair, and hasn’t been vandalized in my memory. So?”
    Mayor Fish rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable.
    Trinity eyed him. “Come on, spit it out. What’s really bugging you about the church?”
    “I’ve just . . . heard things.”
    “For instance?”
    “At least two people I know aren’t imaginative have told me they saw the stained-glass windows of the church glowing in the middle of the night. A flickering glow, as if a fire burned inside.”
    “And they didn’t call the fire department?”
    “It wasn’t that kind of light. I mean, they were sure the church wasn’t on fire.”
    “And they were close enough to be sure?”
    He sighed impatiently. “With binoculars, yeah, they were sure.”
    “And didn’t see anything else suspicious? Through those binoculars?”
    He flushed. “No. They didn’t see anyone hanging around the place, or an unfamiliar vehicle, or anything like that. It was days ago, and, yes, the church is still standing. I drove up there yesterday to make sure there was no damage—which is when I saw the NO TRESPASSING sign defaced.”
    “Okay, okay.” She frowned at him. It was sometimes difficult to take Mayor Fish seriously because he was a fretful man by nature and tended to fret about minor things, but Trinity had learned to read him well enough, she thought, to know that he was seriously bothered.
    And not telling her everything.
    “Look, I’ll check it out,” she told him. “I’ll go up there and make sure all is well. Talk to the sisters and find out if anything odd has happened at the parsonage. Look for signs of trespassers past the age of twelve, and make sure the church is locked up tight. How’s that?”
    “All I can hope for, I guess.” He clearly realized that hadn’t been either the most gracious or the most professional response, and he cleared his throat as he rose to his feet. “Thanks, Trinity, I appreciate it.”
    “No problem.”
    She gazed after him for a long moment, then looked down at the black dog who had been lying silent and motionless on his bed behind her desk. “Come on, boy,” she said, rising. “Let’s go see if we can figure out what has Dale so worried.”
    —
     
    “NO TROUBLE TO speak of, Sheriff,” Edith Baylor said, her round face placid as always. “Haven’t seen anybody poking about the church or graveyard, and no sign the parsonage has been disturbed.”
    “Are you and Lana