beyond the grave 03 - a ghostly demise by tonya kappes Read Free Book Online

kitchen. “First you go all nuts at Artie’s and now you are screaming your way into the Inn.”
    “Did you see the sign you had John Howard put up in the yard of the funeral home?” I pointed over my shoulder. Granny just kept dragging me.
    Once we got into the kitchen she flung me in front of her, letting go.
    “Emma Lee, if you don’t hide that crazy, Doc Clyde is going to admit you.” She shook her finger at me. “I asked you if I could put the sign in the yard and you said yes. Did you forget it already? It was only about an hour ago.”
    “Granny.” I rubbed my arm. Even though I was an adult, she didn’t mind taking over when my parents up and retired. Not missing a beat to tell me when I was wrong. “I said a sign. Not a billboard.”
    The smell of fresh-baked bread filtered through the air, along with something a little sugary.
    “Oh, honey. That was the smallest size. I could’ve gone bigger.” She snapped her fingers. “When your grandfather bought the land for Eternal Slumber, we had an option to buy the land Pose and Relax is on. I wish we had, but that Mamie Sue was a little stingy.”
    “Who?” I had never even heard of this Mamie Sue.
    “Mamie Sue Preston.” Granny waved her hand and did the sign of the cross like she was Catholic. We weren’t. Not a Catholic church in town.
    “Never mind her, she’s dead. But if I did own the land where Pose and Relax is, my sign would’ve been a lot bigger than the little one that’s on the lawn now.”
    “You are telling me that you knew it was that big? Because if you are, you are going to have to answer to Charlotte. She’s freaking out,” I said. “Gross.” My nose curled when I saw the bowl full of some sort of barley, berries, peas and some other sort of oats. “I hope you aren’t serving that for breakfast.”
    Granny ignored me and poured me a big glass of tea and set it on the table.
    “Have a seat.” She gestured and walked over to the oven. She used the lime-green oven mitts to pull something out of the oven. With the large steel spatula, she scooped up her homemade oatmeal cookies and arranged them on a pretty china plate with little flowers around the edges. “Here.”
    She put one in front of me.
    “You aren’t going to win this one with an oatmeal cookie.” I lifted my chin in the air, trying not to smell the deliciousness that was put in front of me.
    “Fine.” She plunked another one down from the plate in her hand. “What about two?”
    She didn’t wait for my answer before she headed out the door with the smell trailing behind her.
    I gobbled them up and poured a second glass of tea before she made it back.
    “Better now?” Granny lifted her brow, a slight grin tipping the edges of her lips.
    “You always knew how to bribe me.” I took another gulp of tea to clear my palate. “Seriously. All the flashing lights? And the motto? I took care of your loved ones, let me take care of you?”
    “It’s a good one, right.” Granny was proud of her play on words. “Me and the Auxiliary gals came up with all sorts of mottos.”
    “I’m sure you did.” I took another long sip. I still wasn’t sure how I was going to handle the whole sign thingy. “Don’t you think the sign is a bit much?”
    “Is the Statue of Liberty too much? What about Mount Rushmore? Is that too much?” Her face contorted, flushed as red as her hair.
    “Those are icons of the United States.”
    “I’m an icon in Sleepy Hollow.” She straightened herself up. “I had the idea to open the caves for tourism. I alone turned this downward-spiraling economy into one of the thriving cities in Kentucky. What has O’Dell done? He didn’t do nothing. In fact, he voted against my proposal of opening the caves.” She opened the junk drawer. Items spilled out onto the floor as she searched around, finally pulling out a pen and paper. “I need to write that down. I forgot all about that.”
    She scribbled away. She was right. O’Dell really