All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt by Rose Pressey Read Free Book Online Page B

front of the café, and I wondered if he would catch me staring at him. Without seeming to notice me, the man turned to his left.
    He walked over to a black Mercedes parked at the curb, opened the door, and reached in. Preston was waiting by the coffee shop door, but not paying attention to what his companion was doing. He seemed to be studying the sign in the window that advertised a chicken barbecue at the local Methodist Church.
    After a couple seconds, the man backed out of the car and closed the door. I watched as he joined Preston at the coffee shop. They talked for a moment without going inside. I thought maybe they were going to leave, but then they went into the shop. At least now I knew what car they were driving, although I guess that had little to do with anything. I could be on the lookout for them again though.
    Just when I was ready to turn around and leave, I spotted something on the ground by the Mercedes. Alice and Charlotte must have noticed it at the same time.
    â€œWhat is that?” Alice asked.
    â€œIt looks like a bag,” Charlotte said. “Some kind of a blue duffel.”
    â€œOh, you have to go check it out,” Alice said.
    She was awfully bold considering she wasn’t the one who would get caught.
    â€œYes, you definitely have to get a closer look,” Charlotte urged.
    Normally I would have said no way, but something about the situation intrigued me. After crossing the street, I tried to act causal as I strolled down the sidewalk toward the abandoned bag. If I acted normal, no one would suspect I was up to something, right? Finally I made it to the black Mercedes. Now I had no idea what to do.
    â€œGet the bag,” Alice nudged.
    â€œWhat if someone sees me?” I said out of the corner of my mouth.
    Charlotte sighed. “No one is watching, just get it.”
    â€œWhat if there’s something creepy in it?” I asked.
    â€œWhat do you think it contains? A bunch of poisonous snakes?” Charlotte asked.
    â€œPossibly.”
    Charlotte scanned the area. “The longer you stand here, the more likely it is that someone will see you. So just act causal and pick up the bag.”
    The ghosts were losing their patience with me.
    â€œThere’s a fallen branch there by the tree. Pick that up and poke the bag with it. If there are snakes in there you’ll know it,” Alice said.
    I released a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
    This seemed crazy. Then again, so was talking to ghosts. I reached down, grabbed the stick, and jabbed the bag. I jumped back just in case something came after me. Nothing moved or made a noise.
    Charlotte looked smug. “See, I told you it was safe.”
    I glanced over my shoulder to make sure no one was coming. When I was reasonably confident, I reached down and grabbed the blue duffel. It probably just held some clothing, but I had to admit, I was interested in seeing the contents. I guess I was curious about who had killed Nicole, after all. If it contained harmless items, I could return it to Preston and talk to him some more. I wouldn’t mind another close look at those incredible eyelashes.
    â€œUnzip it and see what’s inside,” Charlotte said.
    â€œThis kind of gives me the creeps,” I said. Nevertheless, I carried the bag toward my shop and set it down on the hood of my Buick.
    â€œYou can’t let a little feeling like that stand in our way,” Alice said.
    No, of course not. She wasn’t the one intercepting the bag.
    As I stood there with my hand on the zipper, I knew that I shouldn’t look through the duffel, but I had to make sure it belonged to Preston, right? I unzipped it and rummaged through the contents. There were a few self-portrait photos of Preston flexing his biceps. A few articles of clothing, like T-shirts and gym shorts, and some protein bars.
    â€œIt must be Preston’s gym bag,” I said.
    The words had barely left my mouth when I saw