Halloween Waffle Murder Read online

  Sonja’s face wrinkled into a painful scowl. “What do you want me to do? Cancel the party?”

  “Maybe we should,” Frank said, jumping to the most drastic decision.

  “No, I don’t think that is necessary,” her father interrupted. “But I do think there should be precautions taken.”

  Sonja folded her arms. “Like what?”

  Her father reached into his pocket and retrieved a small medallion on a chain. “Wear this tonight. It wards off dark magic.”

  Sonja snatched it without a second thought, wanting this conversation to be over. She put it over her head and stuffed it under her blouse. “There. Are you happy?”

  “Just be careful, okay?” Frank urged, that familiar pale look of fear coming over his face. He always looked like that when he was worried his wife might be in some sort of trouble.

  “Great. Can we go to the party now?” she insisted, hoping to forget this conversation, the chandelier accident, and anything else potentially paranormal for the evening. She was okay with cute ghosts in white sheets and stereotypical witches on broomsticks—but she had no desire to deal with those things for real at the moment.

  The hard features on her two favorite men’s faces faded away into smiles. “Yes. Let’s go and try to enjoy the evening,” Frank agreed, not wanting to stress his wife out anymore. He held out one arm for her to take.

  She grabbed it and the trio eagerly headed toward the party.

  Chapter Four

  By seven-thirty, the masquerade was in full swing. The DJ was playing Monster Mash while guests in all manner of colorful costumes danced about the ballroom. Fake candelabras flickered beneath a curtain of cobwebs, dimly illuminating the room. Victorian sconces gave a little more light to the tables as well, where many guests sat enjoying the treats Sonja and Alison had painstakingly prepared.

  “Oh, hon, this party is just wild,” a woman in an extravagant pink and purple feathered outfit said, touching Sonja on her arm. It didn’t take a whole lot of work to figure out who was behind the mask this time. It was the police department secretary, Marie. Her poof of purple hair gave her away. Despite being a slightly older woman in her early seventies, she never shied away from crazy hair colors or styles. She was likely the biggest fan, except for Frank, of Sonja’s waffles. “And that new recipe, oh my, it’s the best,” she squealed.

  “Thanks, Marie.”

  “You should make this thing an annual to do.”

  “Well, I hope so. It was a lot of work, but it’s worth it.”

  “Sure, it is, dear,” she praised.

  “And, Frank, you look wonderful as a ninja,” she said, turning her attention toward the man she’d worked under for years.

  “I’m a samurai.”

  Marie waved off his comment. “Same thing, hon. Whoever replaces you better be at least half as handsome.”

  “I can’t make any promises,” he chuckled.

  “You, as the sheriff, and you, dear, as our local sleuth,” she said, poking a finger at Sonja (a comment that only brought a cringe from Frank), “should be able to identify everyone here at the party despite the masks.”

  “I can’t guarantee that,” Sonja laughed, glancing around at the many guests who’d filled the room. Many of them she picked out right off the bat. Others took a little more time to decide who it was.

  “Well, maybe you can help me. Who is that fellow in the green?” she asked, pointing across the room toward the refreshment table.

  Looking in the direction Marie indicated, Sonja saw who it was and felt an instant chill. The man was dressed in a gaudy green suit. His tie was in the shape of a tentacle. An overly large mask covered his face except for the mouth. It also had tentacles sprouting from it.

  The sight of him made Sonja shiver, but she couldn’t place why.

  When she noticed the man was talking—somewhat heatedly—with her own father, a sick feeling came to her stomach. “I-I have no idea who that is,” she admitted.

  Shouldn’t her father be dancing with her mother, she couldn’t help wondering, instead of chatting with this creepy looking stranger? However, Sonja’s mother, who’d driven up separately to the estate, was on the dance floor with some of her local girlfriends. They were all out on the dance floor making fools of themselves, but not caring.

  They looked like a bunch of peacocks.

  When she glanced back to her father and the strange man, they were gone. “Where did they go?” she asked.

  “I guess they stepped out for a moment,” Frank said.

  “Anyway, hon, the party is great,” Marie said again, having already moved on in the conversation like she had a habit of doing. She waved and headed off to grab some more snacks.

  “Who was that guy?” Sonja wondered out loud.

  “I haven’t the faintest idea, but I’m going to check it out,” Frank said, his face set with determination. Clearly, he thought it might have something to do with the omen from earlier. He pushed through the crowd and out the doors to the hallway, leaving Sonja alone at the table.

  Frank didn’t come back right away, and Sonja began to grow worried. She was just about to go looking to see what was holding him up when Alison grabbed her arm. “Sonja, some of the guests snuck off to explore the house.”

  “What?” Sonja exclaimed. “Why didn’t you stop them?”

  “I didn’t actually see them myself. I overheard Frank mention it.”

  Sonja’s jaw dropped. “Frank? Where is he?”

  “He’s out in the hall talking to your dad.”

  She couldn’t help but let out a loud and audible groan. “What are they doing? I’ve been waiting for him to come back for ten minutes now. I was getting worried.”

  “I’m just telling you what I overheard,” her friend noted, putting up her hands in a defensive stance.

  “Did he go after the guests? I can’t have people running all over the manor.” What concerned her the most was the fact that the manor had multiple secret passages and hidden rooms, likely including ones she hadn’t found yet. Having grown up in the house, Belinda knew where some of them were, but there were more unaccounted for.

  “I don’t know,” Alison admitted. “I just thought you should know.”

  “Fine, I’ll go and look for them myself. Did you happen to hear where they were headed?”

  She shrugged. “They were going upstairs, I think.”

  “Great,” Sonja sighed. She wanted people to have fun, and didn’t want to be a spoilsport, but she couldn’t chance one of her guests getting lost or trapped behind a wall or something equally horrifying. Marching toward the double doors, she stepped out into the hall and looked one way and then the other. Neither Frank nor her father were anywhere in sight. She hoped that meant they’d gone off in search of the wandering guests.

  Still, she couldn’t chance them getting lost as well. Frank came into the manor next to never, restricting himself to the cottage where he felt comfortable. And while he knew about some of the passageways, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t accidentally stumble on another one.

  Heading down the hall toward the front of the house, she immediately made her way upstairs, removing her mask as she went. It was dark on the second floor and she didn’t want the mask obscuring her vision more.

  She was sure some guests might find it interesting or fun to go exploring the spooky manor, or even find a private room to tell ghost stories.

  “Is anyone up here?” she called out upon reaching the second-floor landing.

  A thump from down the hall indicated that perhaps someone was already on the stairs to the third floor, and maybe even the tower at the topmost portion of the manor. If that’s where they were heading, it would be easy to find them.

  Marching down the hallway, she continued to call out to any potential hidden guests. No one answered her. She went up to the third floor where it was surprisingly even darker. The farther from the party she got, the quieter it got as well.

  It was eerie.
r />   Calling out again, she didn’t receive an answer.

  Now she was almost certain that they’d gone up to the tower. Heading to the end of the third-floor hallway, she came to a winding staircase. “Is anyone up there?” she yelled from the bottom step.

  When no one answered, she’d about had it. Stomping up the steps, she was near to the top when a shadow encompassed her. A flash of peacock blue shoved past her, feather’s brushing her face and tickling her nose, practically running down the steps like an elephant.

  “What the heck?!” Sonja cried out in surprise as the party guest disappeared. “Hey, come back here!”

  They were gone, and by the sounds of it, were heading down the next set of stairs to the second floor. At least they were heading back to the party, whoever they were.

  Sonja swore she’d look for the person dressed in peacock blue when she got back to the party. Sighing, she was prepared to head back down the stairs when a feeling came over her. Something chilling that sent pinprick sensations up the back of her legs.

  Could it be that there was someone else in the tower?

  Heading up the steps the rest of the way, she emerged into the turret room and gasped. Drawn out on the floor in some sort of iridescent green paint was a circle with a star in it. A low, heavy creak drew her eyes upward next.

  There, hanging from one of the rafters, was the man in the green suit from earlier. “Oh, my gosh,” Sonja shouted, stepping forward to check and see if he was still alive. However, as soon as her feet crossed over the perimeter of the green circle, she felt a strange sense of exhaustion encapsulate her entire body.

  Her legs grew weak, feeling like jelly, and the next thing she knew she the floor was rushing up toward her. Everything went black.

  Chapter Five

  Blinking through a fog, Sonja glanced up to see a blurry face looking down at her. As her vision cleared, she saw that it was Frank. Instantly, she threw her arms up and around his neck. “Oh, gosh. What happened?” she asked, hoping that what she’d seen in the tower wasn’t actually there.

  Could it have all been a dream—or was it the realization of the omen from earlier, the one she’d chosen to ignore?

  “There is a man dead upstairs. It looks like he was murdered,” Frank answered her.

  “Oh, no,” she whispered, slowly letting her surroundings sink in. She was in the library of the manor, laying on the chaise lounge. Her father and mother both stood in the background with their arms linked. Alison stood in the doorway with Marie. Marie’s mask was off, and her makeup smudged. Her face was red, and Sonja wondered if she’d helped move her down to the library after passing out or if she was just worried. Belinda was also there, sitting on one of the shelves with her glowing eyes looking down on her friend.

  They seemed to say, “I told you so.”

  “Sonja, did you recognize the man upstairs?” he asked.

  “Yes, so unlike you to pass out like that, dear,” Sonja’s mother interrupted before her daughter could answer.

  “It’s true. You’ve seen at least a few dead bodies now, but you’ve never been woozy over it,” Alison added.

  Frank turned and gave them a stern look, forcing them to be quiet so Sonja could answer. His gaze softened as he turned back to his wife. “Did you recognize the man?” he asked again.

  She bit her lower lip and shook her head. “No. I have no idea who he is . . . was. I’m also not sure why I passed out. I felt fine until . . .” her voice trailed off, remembering the strange circle on the floor of the room in the tower.

  Having encountered dark magic before, she wondered if that circle was something along those lines. Could it be true what her father and Belinda had both considered—that a witch might be coming to Haunted Falls again?

  “You felt fine until?” Frank pressed for an answer.

  “I have no idea,” she said.

  “And you’re sure you’ve never seen the man?”

  “Positive.”

  “You didn’t invite him to the masquerade?”

  “Everyone I invited were people I knew from the diner. I would recognize any of them on sight,” she insisted.

  Frank hesitated, but then said the next thing on his mind. “Then, why did he have a picture of you?”

  Sonja’s jaw dropped. “A picture of me?”

  “Yes, one of my deputies is going over the crime scene as we speak.”

  It was a good thing Sonja had invited the entire police department to the party.

  “They found a black and white print out of you.”

  Sonja furrowed her brow deeply, looking around the room, her eyes falling on her father. “Hold on, wasn’t it the same guy you were talking to earlier, Dad?”

  “I’ve never met the man before tonight. I was simply making small talk and asking him how he knew you and came to be invited to the party,” her father answered straight out.

  Sonja scrunched up her nose in disbelief. To her, it had looked like they were in a heated discussion, maybe even an argument.

  “That was it?” Sonja inquired.

  “I’m afraid so, sweetie. I saw him walk off toward the main stairway and then Frank came up to me. I told him how I thought the guy was sneaking off upstairs.”

  “And that’s what I overheard and came to tell you,” Alison noted, tying in the chain of events.

  “Well, where were you two?” Sonja asked, looking into the eyes of her husband.

  “We got held up showing one of the guests where the bathroom was.”

  “We really didn’t think that the guy would pose any trouble. We were going to go upstairs and look for him right after.”

  Sonja slumped back on the chaise and folded her arms. “But I got up there first. Lovely.”

  “We probably found you only a minute or two after you’d passed out, is my guess.”

  Sonja sighed. “So, basically, whoever killed the poor guy did it in the space of only a few minutes without anyone noticing.”

  “Don’t worry. I have my deputies on it already. One is in the tower and the other is keeping all your guests in the ballroom until we can question them.”

  Sonja threw up her hands. “Great. My first big Halloween party and it turns into a murder investigation with all of my guests as suspects.”

  Frank put a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “I’m going to have Marie take you down to the station for the time being until we sort things out a little better up here,” he said.

  “Take me down to the station? No. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Frank glanced over at Sonja’s father and then back at her. “We think it’s best if you go to the station for now.”

  “Am I a suspect or something? Why can’t I stay here?” she blurted out. Although based on the expressions around her, she had a good idea what was coming.

  “Just for now. I think it’s best. Trust me,” he said.

  “I agree with him,” her father noted, driving the point home.

  Now, Sonja knew. They both feared that the omen that had happened earlier wasn’t finished with them yet. They believed that perhaps she was in some sort of danger. She realized she couldn’t very well blame them, seeing as she had passed out and none of them had known why.

  To her, it seemed that the strange circle had something to do with it.

  “Fine, I’ll trust your judgment, but I better be kept in the loop.”

  Frank gave her a look that basically said that wouldn’t happen. Police work belonged to the police, not untrained citizens—no matter how much they became involved. But, as always, Sonja felt like there weren’t rules in place for her personal situation.

  She had paranormal abilities after all. Frank had struggled with how to deal with paranormal clues in murder cases ever since he started dating Sonja.

  “Come on, dear. Whenever you’re ready,” Marie motioned with a smile. The redness in her face had gone down a little and she was looking better.

  Sonja went to stand up but froze in place when she remembered
one very crucial detail from the tower. “Wait, what about the woman in the blue peacock outfit?” she blurted out.

  “Peacock outfit?” Frank asked.

  “Yes. When I was running upstairs, I was nearly pushed over by someone coming back down. It was a woman dressed in a blue peacock outfit with feathers.”

  “Did you get a good look at her?”

  “Not really, unfortunately. She rushed right by me and I only caught a glimpse.”