A Dastardly Death in Hillbilly Hollow (Ozark Ghost Hunter Mysteries Book 3) Read online

  An instant later, I flinched when I heard the soft ‘thud’ of his landing below.

  Tucker came running over to me. “Are you okay, Emma?”

  I nodded, my heart still thundering in my chest. “Just a little shocked,” I understated.

  Together, we leaned over the broken rail to look at the still figure sprawled below. From here, it was impossible to tell if Peter was dead or just unconscious.

  “I’ve got to get down there,” Tucker said, already reaching for the radio clipped to his belt. It seemed that, despite being unarmed and having on his best clothes for the wedding, he was never fully off duty. “I think I heard enough to get the idea of what was going on, Emma,” he said. “But later I’m going to need you to explain everything more fully.”

  “Of course,” I said, as he rushed off toward the stairs, already barking orders into his radio.

  He interrupted himself only long enough to call over his shoulder to me, “Oh, before Suzy left, she sent me to remind you she needs you at the reception. That’s why I came up here.”

  He raced off down the stairs, before I could answer.

  I knew I ought to hurry on over to Suzy. This was still her wedding day and I hoped what had happened wouldn’t spoil that. Like almost everyone else, she’d already left for the reception where, with any luck, she’d be so distracted with the festivities that she’d be oblivious to the tragedy that had just played out back here at the church.

  Still, I stayed where I was, clinging to the broken railing as I watched Tucker examining the man below. An ambulance pulled into the parking lot only minutes later and, as the emergency workers carried Peter Snipes away on a stretcher, I thought I saw him begin to stir. Not dead then, only injured.

  At last I pried myself away from the railing, descended the long set of stairs, and left the old bell tower behind. Hard as it was, I had to bring my focus back to the festivities for just a little longer yet.

  As I climbed into the farm truck and drove over to the venue at Shaffers’ Farm, it was hard not to feel uneasy. I had pieced together the truth, and I was glad that, even if the worst came to be, at least Prudence’s family would know what had really happened. But I was still upset—and not just because a man had nearly died in front of me. I had seen so much strong love between my grandparents and Suzy and Brian that knowing the truth about what Peter did to someone he claimed to love was earth shattering.

  When I arrived at the reception, Suzy ran over to me. “Where in the world have you been? Did you get lost?”

  I shifted nervously. “Uh, yeah, kind of.”

  Suzy crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Well, as much as I’d love to hear more about the misadventures of Emma, we have more pictures to take!”

  She squeezed my hand and led me over to the rest of the bridal party. I don’t think I ever took that many pictures in my life. Poor Billy looked exhausted by the time it was over.

  While I was standing at the snack bar afterward, idly chewing on a piece of cubed cheese, Billy approached me with one hand nervously rubbing his neck and the other awkwardly at his side.

  Seeing him, it was hard not to blurt the truth out right then and there.

  He practically yelled to me, trying to be heard over the music. “Emma, I, uh…”

  Suddenly, I realized the question about the wedding that he’d been trying to ask me these past few days. I grabbed his hands and found myself shouting, “Yes, I’d love to dance.”

  He smiled, looking relieved. “Great! I’d really like that.”

  As we made our way to the dance floor the upbeat song slowly transitioned to something slower. A love song.

  Billy grimaced. “We can wait until after this one if you –”

  I wrapped both arms around his neck. “I like this song.”

  He smiled and put his hands gently on my waist and we slowly moved back and forth to the beat of the music.

  The night was one to remember. Everyone was dancing and chatting, and Suzy just glowed the entire evening. Everything was perfect, exactly as she had planned it, maybe even better.

  As things were winding down, I found myself walking up to the center of the room to give my obligatory speech. I gripped the paper I had written my notes on and began reading it aloud.

  “For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Emma Hooper. I’ve been best friends with Suzy ever since we grew up together. It has been my honor…”

  I hesitated suddenly and looked up at Suzy. Then I crumpled the page in my hand. Suzy’s eyes widened, but I flashed her a comforting smile, so she would know I hadn’t completely lost my mind.

  I explained, “I had a speech prepared, but someone like Suzy deserves so much more than a few planned words. She’s not the type of girl you can plan anything out with. She’s always changing and growing, and as we all know, she’s always been spontaneous. Watching Suzy grow up has been a truly amazing experience. I’ve never met someone so determined, strong-willed, or – to put it bluntly – bossy.”

  This raised a few chuckles from the guests.

  I continued. “The truth is, Suzy has more often than not been the glue that held us together, and not just the two of us, but our friend Billy as well. The three musketeers. One for all, and all for one. We’ve all been best friends for as long as I can remember. If any of us ever needed an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on we were always there for each other. One of our greatest fears has always been losing each other. After all, it takes three people to be the three musketeers. That’s just basic math.”

  A few more polite chuckles came from the audience.

  “But now, she has finally found the one who compliments her so well and understands everything about her. She even let him pick out the honeymoon destination! Believe me, I’m as surprised as you are.”

  This was met with roars of laughter, and one of the groomsmen teasingly tapped Brian’s shoulder.

  “When I look at Suzy and Brian,” I added, “I see a love built on mutual understanding, but more importantly, on trust. I pray you two have a long happy marriage, and that your trust only grows from here on out. Suzy… Suzy, I’m sad to say we are no longer the three musketeers. But Brian…”

  I turned my attention to him with a grin. “Brian, I’d like to formally invite you to be a part of the Fabulous Four.”

  I set the microphone down and rushed out to give the happy couple a hug as all the wedding guests clapped and the crowd began to disperse.

  Suzy wrapped her arms around me and grinned in excitement. “Emma, what was that? Your speech was so beautiful.”

  I hugged her close. “Well, to be honest, the one I had written and prepared was much more poetic and elegant, but I felt like you deserved something more heartfelt.”

  She laughed. “I loved it and so did Brian! Wait, where’s Billy?”

  We looked around and saw him hovering nearby.

  “Billy, get over here!” Suzy exclaimed.

  He came and joined the group hug.

  Suzy said, “I love you all so much, every single one of you.”

  After that, for the rest of the evening, I didn’t even have to try to stop thinking about Peter Snipes and my close brush with death. This was a happy occasion for all of us and nothing could spoil it.

  Chapter 25

  “Wow. So it was Peter Snipes all along?” Suzy’s eyes were wide. Her white teeth seemed neon against her tanned skin. Brian had arranged for them to honeymoon in the Bahamas, and Suzy had picked up a killer tan over the two weeks they had spent there.

  I said, “Yeah, and you know, for a while there I was so sure it was Cindy Green.”

  Suzy shook her head slowly. “It almost makes you wish it had been Cindy. I mean, a spurned, jealous woman trying to murder a rival is horrible but not so unexpected. But trying to murder someone you supposedly love? Just awful.”

  It felt so nice to be talking about all of this with Suzy. Of course, I had spilled the beans to Billy practically right away, but I hadn’t se
en Suzy since the reception and there was no way I was going to ruin her honeymoon that night by telling her what had happened with Peter Snipes back at the church. No, she’d had to wait until she came home to get the story.

  I said, “You know, the part I was having the hardest time coping with was that Prudence trusted him. She gave him her heart, and he turned around and tried to kill her. It’s almost enough to make anyone want to give up on love. But then I see you and Brian, or my grandparents, and I’m reminded that real, unwavering love is out there.”

  Suzy wrapped me in a hug. We held each other quietly for a moment until Suzy finally couldn't hold her tongue any longer.

  “I can’t believe he really tried to kill you, and you still managed to show up to the reception and deliver a speech like that. Emma, you are truly amazing.”

  I laughed. “It was your day. I wasn’t about to steal the spotlight.”

  Suzy’s eyes grew wide. “How did Billy react?”

  I looked at my hands. “He was shocked, naturally, and annoyed that I hadn’t told him about my suspicions involving Peter Snipes sooner. But once I explained my reasons he understood.”

  I didn’t add that I had kept the paranormal nature of my investigation to myself. Billy might know all about the “misfiring synapses” in my brain that allowed me to see ghosts, but I wasn’t ready to explain that I could see the spirits of people in comas too—or that I had investigated an attempted murder at the request of a ghost. Even Suzy didn’t need to know that.

  “What about Tucker?” she asked now.

  I sucked in a long breath. “Tucker had a lot of questions. I mean, tons. Honestly, I thought I was never going to leave the police station, after he called me down there the day after the wedding.”

  Luckily for me, during that meeting with Tucker, I had managed to answer his questions without mentioning ghosts or the fact that I had been intentionally conducting an investigation into what had happened to Prudence. Not exactly being the sharpest tack, Tucker had seemed prepared to accept that I had stumbled onto the truth by accident. The fact that he had arrived in that bell tower in time to overhear Peter Snipes’ confession and to see the attempt on my life also simplified matters.

  We were interrupted by a knock on Suzy’s front door.

  Suzy rushed to answer it and, a second later, ushered Billy into the living room. He was smiling and looking relieved, as if a weight had been lifted from him.

  “I know Brian’s not home right now,” he said, “but I figured I’d find you girls together over here. I’ve just come from the hospital and I have wonderful news that I know you especially will want to hear, Emma.”

  Suzy and I exchanged glances.

  “Well, tell us!” Suzy pressed eagerly.

  “It’s Prudence Huffler. She’s awake.”

  I stared at him blankly for a moment, unsure of what I had just heard.

  Suzy was the first to react. “That’s amazing! It’s like a miracle, isn’t it, Emma?”

  It was indeed. A thrill of happiness filled me, as I realized this particular story would have a happy conclusion after all. It was terrible what had happened to Prudence, but she had survived.

  “We should send her some flowers,” Suzy said, “and maybe visit her, when she’s had time to recover her strength.”

  I nodded, but there was something else on my mind.

  “Does she remember anything about what happened to her?” I asked Billy.

  “Nothing,” he said. “Margene has explained to her about Peter Snipes and she seems to be taking the news pretty well. But she doesn’t understand the details yet and of course remembers nothing that happened while she was in the coma.”

  That last was what I had been waiting to hear. So. Prudence wouldn’t recall anything of her visit to me while she was a spirit or of our conversation on that occasion. It was a little sad to think that she was completely unaware of something so important, and yet, in a way I was relieved. It seemed that, at least for a little longer, my secret was safe. Nobody, not even Prudence, need know I was an investigator for the spirits of the dead and dying.

  Billy had been saying something to Suzy about the road to recovery that still lay ahead for Prudence. But now he interrupted himself to look at me more closely. “You look distracted, Emma. What are you thinking about?”

  I smiled to reassure him. “Oh, nothing. Just thinking of the future,” I said.

  It was true. Prudence had her life ahead of her again, and now something told me that I too would soon have fresh adventures ahead. I might not know yet what they were going to be but one thing was sure—my future would be ghostly.

  Continue following the ghostly mysteries and eccentric characters of Hillbilly Hollow in “A Dangerous Departure From Hillbilly Hollow.”

  About the Author

  Blythe Baker is a thirty-something bottle redhead from the South Central part of the country. When she’s not slinging words and creating new worlds and characters, she’s acting as chauffeur to her children and head groomer to her household of beloved pets.

  Blythe enjoys long walks with her dog on sweaty days, grubbing in her flower garden, cooking, and ruthlessly de-cluttering her overcrowded home. She also likes binge-watching mystery shows on TV and burying herself in books about murder.

  To learn more about Blythe, visit her website and sign up for her newsletter at www.blythebaker.com