Spooky Sweetheart Waffle: Book 9 in The Diner of the Dead Series Read online

  “I will.”

  “Okay,” she said, heading for the door. “I’ll only be a minute, and then I’m coming right back.”

  “Just find him, dear.”

  Stepping out into the hallway, Sonja searched for a light switch, something she had failed to do moments ago. Easily finding it near the kitchen door, she flipped it. Nothing happened.

  Walking to the other side of the hall, she found a second light switch and flipped it. Again, nothing happened. “What’s going on?” she wondered aloud.

  The noise of the car outside drew her attention. Cracking the door, she watched as the old, rusted beater drove off. Something seemed really odd, and Sonja suddenly felt frightened for her father.

  An ear shattering scream echoed through the house.

  The kitchen door burst open, and Alison peered out. “What the heck was that?”

  “I don’t know,” Sonja exclaimed. “But it sounded like Belinda.”

  Daniella’s ghost going up the stairs popped into her mind.

  “Stay here,” she ordered her friend, taking her phone out of her pocket and using its glow as a makeshift flashlight. “I’m going upstairs to check.”

  “Hurry,” Alison cried.

  Jogging down the hallway, Sonja bounded up the steps and into the upstairs landing. “Belinda?” she shouted.

  “I-In here,” came the cry from a nearby room.

  Running down the similarly dark hallway, glass crunching under her feet, Sonja burst into the bedroom. Every shelf in the room was lined with lit candles, giving the room an eerie glow.

  Belinda stood in the corner, a look of panic in her eyes as she pointed at the floor.

  A large yellow pentagram was haphazardly painted across the wooden floorboards. A huddled lump of a person lay in the center of it.

  Sonja knelt down. “Who is it?”

  Grabbing the shoulder of the person, she rolled him carefully onto his back. For the first time in her life, she felt herself instantly freeze in place, as if some outside force held her there. Fear, denial, and sorrow all ran through her at once.

  The person in the circle was dead.

  It was Hayden Dockers.

  CHAPTER 12

  * * *

  The Smith Manor was swarming with paramedics and police. Sonja sat outside the back door on the steps, a blanket wrapped around her body. No one had found her father yet, and she was getting more worried by the minute

  Her mother was currently being treated by paramedics in the back of an ambulance. She was pretty weak, despite only having a minor head would. Sonja had tried to be in the ambulance with her mother but was ultimately in the way.

  At this point, Sonja was so beside herself with this whole murder case. Why were both of these men dead, both of them in the same manner, and both who were staples of Haunted Fall’s community?

  She couldn’t help but speculate inwardly that all of this was somehow connected to that pageant and to Daniella’s own death.

  Belinda sobbed nearby, far more shaken and upset than Sonja. The raven-haired woman sat with her back against the manor, rocking and blubbering to herself quietly. For all the times that woman had seen a ghost, or had claimed to see one, it was clear she had never seen a dead body.

  Frank similarly was in a tizzy, running back and forth, in and out of the manor, talking to paramedics, talking to his deputies, talking to the coroner. When he had first arrived, he had asked her a few simple preliminary questions before getting into the nitty gritty of the investigation.

  “There you are.”

  Sonja was so shocked by the familiar voice, so loud and so close, that she nearly fell off the steps. Regaining her balance, she turned to face father standing behind her on the steps, she nearly fell over a second time.

  “Dad? Where have you been?” she exclaimed, examining the tall man standing with his hands in his pockets just the same way he had earlier that day. “I’ve been worried about you.”

  “I was locked in some closet until just a few minutes ago when one of the deputies heard me and let me out. He told me that your mom got hurt?”

  “In a closet?”

  “Yeah,” he affirmed. “Your mom? How is she?”

  Sighing, Sonja glanced back at the ambulance. “She’s fine. Just a minor head wound it seems.”

  “I better go see her.”

  “Don’t worry,” Sonja stopped him. “They told me I had to wait out here already.”

  “I see.”

  “So why were you in a closet?”

  “Someone pushed me in,” he admitted. “Locked it behind me.”

  Sonja mulled this new fact over in her mind. “Maybe the murderer hit mom on the head and locked you in to get you two out of the way?”

  “Another murder?” he exclaimed.

  Sonja only nodded.

  Sighing, he gently grabbed his daughter’s arm. “We need to talk in private.”

  Glancing around the busy backyard to make sure no one was watching, he led his daughter into a small thicket of trees nearby.

  Once in the private seclusion of the trees, Sonja turned on her father. “What is it?”

  “How many murders have there been in Haunted Falls recently?”

  It seemed like an odd question, but Sonja complied. “Quite a few. Why?”

  “Your spiritual energy may be stronger than I first expected.”

  “Spiritual energy?”

  “That’s right,” he added. “Every person’s spirit, or soul if you prefer, has a certain amount of spiritual energy or strength to it. The stronger your spirit, the more connection you have to both worlds—the living and the dead.”

  Sonja slumped against a nearby tree. “I still don’t understand. What does this have to do with murders?”

  “Your energy is strong, which is the reason you can see the spiritual realm around you,” he informed her. “It’s why you can interact with spiritual objects, too.”

  “And?” she pressed, still not completely clear on what he was trying to say.

  “Basically, Sonja, you and I have a strong connection to both worlds. Unfortunately, it also means death is drawn towards you as well.”

  Her jaw dropped open. “W-What exactly does that mean?”

  “Number one, ghosts of those who have been murdered or wronged are drawn to you. They want your help. Number two, those people who have a murderous quality to their spirit are drawn to your vicinity. That’s why so many murders have occurred here in the last year.”

  In complete shock, Sonja could only stare at the man in front of her. “You mean it’s my fault?”

  “Not exactly, no. However, your spiritual energy is far stronger than I ever expected it.”

  “W-which means I draw more ghosts and murderers toward me?”

  Samuel could only nod yes in response.

  She instantly felt tears of both anger and fear welling up in her eyes. “A-and you’re only telling me this now?”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what level of powers you might have.”

  “You’ve know about my powers all along and never told me.”

  “I had to see first, see if you truly had them.”

  “So, you’ve just been watching me? Stalking me this whole time?”

  Sonja thought back to all the moments she felt like her father was there, or could have sworn she’d seen him hiding nearby.

  “I didn’t feel like I had another choice. I hoped that, if I left, there would be less of a chance of you inheriting my abilities.”

  Sonja shrugged. “Looks like it didn’t work.”

  Her father half-smiled. “I suppose not.”

  For the first time since she saw him that day, she was glad to have her father back. More importantly, she was glad to have someone close by she could turn to for help when it came to supernatural matters. “I just wish,” Sonja added, “that you could have told me about all of this earlier. Figuring out I could see ghosts by myself was one of the scariest experiences I’ve ever had.
”

  “It was for me as well,” her father confided with her. “And I didn’t even have anyone to help me through it, but now you’ve got me.”

  Sonja looked him up and down.

  “I’ve been able to see ghosts since I was your age.”

  “This whole time? You’ve seen ghosts almost your entire life?”

  “It’s true,” he confided in his daughter. “The important thing is that I’m here now, and I won’t be leaving you or your mother ever again.”

  For the first time in many years, Sonja hugged her father.

  * * *

  Walking back toward the manor, Sonja tried to process everything she had just learned. It was overwhelming and mostly made her feel like she needed to sit down again.

  As she reached the manor, she noticed the ambulance was gone. “What? They left without even telling us?”

  “Looks like your friend Alison is gone, too,” Samuel noted, walking up behind her daughter. “My guess is she went along with her.”

  “We have to get to the hospital,” Sonja replied.

  The service entrance on the back of the building opened and Frank stepped out, a bloody knife—seemingly covered in runes and symbols—in a plastic evidence bag in his hand. The coroner was close behind the sheriff, and two paramedics carried out a sheet-covered stretcher behind him.

  “Did you see that knife?” her father asked, watching Frank closely.

  “I sure did,” she whispered. It looked like it was of occult origin. Sonja had a sick feeling in her stomach. “What’s going on?” she asked.

  Looking briefly at his girlfriend from the corner of his eye, Frank turned toward Belinda. “Belinda Smith?”

  “Y-Yes, Sheriff?” she whispered through her shaky voice.

  “Do you recognize this weapon?”

  Glancing up, her face was white and her skin slick with sweat. “It’s mine,” she replied. “But it’s been missing for about a week.”

  Sighing, Frank took the handcuffs off his belt. “Belinda Smith, you are under arrest for the murders of Hayden Dockers and Carson Pool.”

  CHAPTER 13

  * * *

  “There has to be some sort of mistake,” Sonja protested. “Belinda wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

  Frank continued with his job without answering his girlfriend.

  “You have the right to remain silent,” Frank quoted, “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”

  “You’re making a mistake,” Sonja protested.

  “Just take a step back,” one of the deputies stepped in. “Let Sheriff Thompson do his job.”

  “Come on,” she protested.

  Watching Frank load the shaking, handcuffed woman into the back of the police cruiser, Sonja became more determined than ever to solve this case, whatever it took—even if it meant putting herself in danger.

  She wasn’t going to let Belinda take the fall for someone else’s murder.

  * * *

  Driving down the twisting mountain road from the manor, her father in the passenger seat, Sonja’s plan was to head straight to the hospital.

  The road going down the mountain was fairly open, but the other side of the road—heading up the mountain—was packed with cars. It appeared word hadn’t gotten out fast enough, and everyone still assumed the Valentine’s dance was on. Most people looked either confused or angry by the fact that no one was being let through the front gate. The simple fact that the road was only two lanes made it almost impossible for people to turn their cars around. Little by little, people were let through the gate but required to use the circle driveway to turn around and leave again.

  Sonja was just happy that she, and the catering van, weren’t stuck in that mess.

  “Glad we’re not on that side of the road,” Samuel commented.

  “Me too,” she agreed. “Let’s just get to the hospital and see how Mom is doing.”

  “Hey,” he pointed out the window. “I think I know him.”

  Slowing the van slightly, she spotted the familiar pink sports car sitting in the lineup of cars heading up to the manor.

  “Where do I know him from?” Samuel thought out loud as they passed the car and exited the mountain road into downtown Haunted Falls.

  “Johnny Wales?” Sonja asked.

  “Yeah,” her father exclaimed. “That’s his name.”

  She shifted in her seat. “As far as I know, the last time he was in town was during a beauty pageant.”

  Rubbing his chin, her father responded, “That’s right. He was one of the judges or something.”

  Sonja nodded. “That’s right. How’d you know?”

  “I should ask you the same thing,” he responded.

  Sonja shrugged. “I’ve done a little research.”

  “I volunteered at that pageant,” he commented in reply. “I was the escort for some of the participants, to make sure no one tried stalking them or coming up to them without permission.” He shook his head. “There were some crazy guys who wanted to get close to the girls.”

  Instantly, Sonja thought of Johnny Wales’ quote from the newspaper. Coming to a stoplight, Sonja took the time to examine her father. He was tall, nearly six feet, he had dark hair—which had grayed a little with time—and he had green eyes.

  “You were the last person to see Daniella Fitzgerald alive,” she blurted out.

  “You know about Daniella?” he asked.

  “I told you, I did some research. I figured out who her murderer was last year. Her ghost basically lives at my diner.”

  Leaning back in his chair, Samuel took all of this information in. “That explains quite a lot.”

  “Frank tried to keep everything hush, hush, out of the papers and such. He’s done that with a lot of the recent murder cases, to help protect me.”

  “That day,” Samuel reminisced, trying to remember exactly what happened. “It was the last day of the pageant. Daniella asked me to walk her back to her hotel room. She seemed a little scared.”

  “And for good reason,” Sonja noted.

  “I dropped her off without any problem, but the next day, she was gone. Her parents and her sister were in complete shambles over it.”

  “The paper made it sound like they didn’t care that much.”

  “The parents handled it a little better than the little sister. I’m sure they put on a brave face with the reporters to protect both girls.”

  Sonja nodded. “Makes sense.” She mulled over these facts in her mind, trying to see how all of this might connect to the two murders.

  “That Johnny Wales was a weird fellow,” Samuel noted.

  “I met him earlier today,” Sonja mentioned. “He, Carson, and Hayden were all judges at that same pageant.” Sonja noted.

  Samuel raised an eyebrow. “You think this all has something to do with the murders?”

  “Maybe,” Sonja noted. “It all just seems too convenient to ignore. Johnny Wales shows up in town after almost seven years, and suddenly people connected to the pageant, and more specifically connected with Daniella Fitzgerald, begin dying.” She sighed. “That can’t be a coincidence.”

  “You think Johnny killed those men?”

  Sonja nodded. “He seems too prissy to commit murder, but I suppose it’s a possibility. Do you ever remember him fighting with the other judges?”

  Thinking hard, Samuel shook his head. “Not that I remember, but I hardly knew the guy. Heck, I barely recognized him when we drove by his car earlier.”

  “I see,” Sonja sighed, disappointed in the lack of a motive for Wales.

  CHAPTER 14

  * * *

  Stepping into the hospital room where her mother was lying down, Alison sitting quietly at her side, Sonja was relieved to see she was awake. “Hi, Mom,” she announced, stepping in.

  “Oh, Sonja,” Diane exclaimed, raising both arms up to her daughter. Sonja easily stepped into the embrace, leaning down to be close. “I’m so glad you’re all right. You’re no
t hurt at all, are you?”

  “Mom, why would I be hurt?” Sonja replied.

  “I just worried that maybe the murderer was still upstairs when you found the body.”

  “I’m fine, Mom. I’m just worried about you.” Pulling up a chair, Sonja took a seat beside her mother. “I also found someone else to drag along.”

  “Your father?” she whispered, the tears coming to her eyes. “He’s here?”

  Stepping into the room, Samuel stood at the end of the bed.

  The relief that washed over her mother’s face was surprising and sent shivers through Sonja. “Sam,” she beamed. “I’m so glad you’re all right. I thought for sure—” she suddenly stopped, covering her mouth as if she almost revealed a deep secret.

  Samuel burst into laughter. “Nope, I’m fine.

  His daughter shot him a quick, confused look. Why had her mother suddenly stopped talking like that, and why did it make her father laugh?

  “Samuel,” she scolded him. “It’s not a laughing matter.”

  “I couldn’t help it,” he whispered.

  “Well, either way, I’m just happy to see that you're both okay.”

  “Am I missing something?” Sonja asked.

  “We’ll tell you another time, dear,” Diane patted her daughter’s hand.

  “Anyway, we stopped to see how you were doing,” Samuel nodded. “But right now, we have to be going.”

  “Going?” Sonja exclaimed. “We just got here.”

  Her mother nodded knowingly. “I knew there was no use telling you not to get involved, so I didn’t bother.”

  “You mean the murder investigation?” Sonja asked.

  “You said you wanted to investigate it, correct?”

  Sonja nodded, looking at her mother. “They’ve arrested Belinda. One of her ceremonial knives was used in the killings.”

  “Oh no,” Diane exclaimed, trying to sit up.

  “Now just lie down, Mrs. Reed,” the nurse announced, stepping into the room. “No need to get up.”