After Wanda killed the engine, we hopped down to the asphalt below, and Marty cast a glance over his shoulder at the two of us. Then he murmured something to Henner and they abruptly ended their conversation.

  “Sorry we’re late,” I started. “We were—”

  “We aren’t technically late,” Wanda interrupted. “I texted Henner, remember?”

  “We just showed up ourselves,” Marty said as he gave us both a big smile.

  “And if you hadn’t given us the extra time,” Henner added. “RJ might not have had the experience he just did.”

  “The experience?” I repeated, looking at Henner in question.

  He nodded. “Yeah, I just got off the phone with him and… he caught some weirdo looking through his bedroom window.”

  Wanda and I exchanged glances—I could feel my eyes widening and her eyebrows were already reaching for the dark night sky. I looked back at Henner and took a deep breath. “This guy… he wouldn’t have been short, bald, with blood-stained clothes, five-o’clock shadow, and a comb-over, would he?”

  The guys faced me and both appeared perplexed.

  “How did you know?” Marty asked at the same time that Henner said, “That’s exactly how RJ described him.”

  “The same guy was peeping through Astrid’s bedroom window, too,” Wanda replied with a shrug.

  “And Finn’s.”

  Marty shook his head fast, breathing in deeply. Then he faced me again with a frown. “Uh… wait a minute. Some guy was peeping through a second-story window?”

  “I don’t claim to understand the ways of peeping Toms,” I answered, with a shrug. “I only know it wasn’t a ghost.”

  “Are you sure?” Marty questioned.

  I nodded. “The guy left footprints in the mud under the window.”

  “Footprints?” Marty continued as he eyed me narrowly. “Does that mean you went looking for him, Pops? By yourself?”

  I shook my head. “Roy, uh… Roy happened to stop by to say hi and when we, um, when we told him what happened, he investigated.”

  “And it’s a good thing he did,” Marty answered—whatever hang-ups Roy had with Marty, the latter didn’t seem to reciprocate them. And thank God for that—I could only handle one jealous man in my life and, even then, I wasn’t sure how well I was handling him.

  Marty nodded at me. “At least Roy is good for something.”

  “Anyway,” Henner said, giving Marty an expression that wasn’t encouraging, before he faced me again. In general, Henner was the peace-maker of our group. He didn’t like it when anyone was on the outs with anyone else.

  “We’d figured the guy probably was a spook,” Henner continued. “But, we just spent the last hour figuring out he wasn’t.”

  “How’d you do that?” I asked.

  Henner faced me. “We ran every test with our ghost-hunting equipment we could and, turns out, the guy had to have been as corporeal as you and me.”

  “Yeah, Poppy just told you that,” Wanda said, sounding irritated.

  Henner smiled. “Well, I’m just corroborating Poppy’s story.”

  “While this… intruder might be corporeal,” Wanda continued, “he definitely has some supernatural powers or abilities.”

  “Why do you say that?” Henner asked.

  “Because, he blocked me from running a tracking spell on him.”

  “Interesting,” Henner said as Marty added, “We called the Police.”

  “We reported it, too,” I told him. “Maybe if enough people call this guy in, Taliyah and her deputies will be able to track him down.”

  Henner shuffled his feet. “Hope so!” Then he looked at me and then Wanda. “You ladies ready to eat?”

  We nodded and followed them up the front steps and Marty held the door for us. Once we walked inside, Shelby Stomper, the hostess and the wife of centaur, Stanley Stomper, greeted us with a big smile. I didn’t know Shelby well, but she was always friendly. She took four menus from her podium and led us to a booth in the back of the restaurant.

  A moment later, our server appeared. He was a young man named Gary (according to his name tag) and I’d never seen him before. Not that that was such a surprise, since I’d only been living in Haven Hollow for a year or so. But, even so, this town was a small place (population 683) so strangers weren’t a common occurrence. And, no, Gary didn’t fit the description of the Peeping Tom.

  “Gary must be the guy who replaced Fifi,” Marty said after Gary took our drink orders and allowed us time to peruse the menus.

  “Right,” I answered as I remembered Fifi was no longer working for Roy. She’d quit in order to open Hallowed Homes.

  “Huh,” Marty started. “Looks like Roid changed up the menu.” I glanced down at it and nodded as he looked at me. “What are you gonna get, Pops?”

  I shook my head. “I’m not sure.”

  “I hope Roid kept the open-faced turkey sandwich ‘cause it was my favorite.”

  “Yep, he kept it,” Henner answered and pointed to the option in question. Marty just nodded.

  “I think I might try the blue-cheese burger with extra fries,” he answered as he closed his menu.

  “Yuck!” Henner gasped. “Operation: Indigestion.”

  The rest of us laughed. “No one is making you eat it,” Marty countered. “You can stick with your tried and true.”

  “Which is what?” Wanda asked.

  “An order of fries with a side of fries and fries for dessert.”

  “Well, I’m not hungry, so it’s a whiskey sour for me,” Wanda announced.

  Henner snorted when she didn’t say anything else. “Is that just the first course or is that the appetizer for a bourbon and coke?”

  “The whiskey sour and the bourbon and coke are the appetizers,” she answered. “For the main course, I think I’ll order a keg of amber ale, a bottle of Gewurztraminer, and a bottle of triple malt with a quadruple shot of Crown Royal on the side.”

  The guys laughed, but fortunately for the rest of us, Wanda only ordered the whiskey sour when Gary returned.

  “You need food, Wanda,” I whispered as I nudged her.

  “Ugh, you’re so bossy,” she grumbled as she, begrudgingly, then ordered the seafood platter appetizer.

  I ordered one of Roy’s famous steaks and Henner, yes, ordered a large fry with numerous dipping sauces.

  As we awaited our food, we laughed and joked and caught up on the latest Haven Hollow gossip, which wasn’t much. Then we talked a bit about this mysterious stranger showing up in numerous windows until our food arrived. After that, everyone was quiet for a good twenty minutes while we stuffed ourselves so full of food, I for one couldn’t move. When the plates were cleared, we settled in with an after-dinner drink.

  That was when Wanda, in her Wanda manner, asked, “So, Henner… how about you tell us the truth regarding why you really want us to help clear out your grandmother’s house?”

  The color drained from Henner’s face and he reminded me of a deer in headlights for a moment or two, before he remembered himself. Then he swallowed hard, tossed his whole drink back and wiped sweat off his brow. He took a deep breath.

  “All right. Here goes.”

  “So there is more?” I asked.

  “I knew it!” Wanda exclaimed triumphantly.

  “Henner?” Marty asked.

  Henner nodded. “Something weird is going on at my grandmother’s house.”

  “Something weird?” Wanda repeated. “Weird like what?”

  “Like one night a couple of weeks ago, I heard footsteps and when I went to investigate, I found the front door wide open.” He took a breath. “So, I figured there was someone in the house.”

  “Oh my God,” I breathed, eyes wide.

  “I went searching to see if anyone was in the house and in one of the guest bedrooms. I found bloody handprints on the walls and blood on the floors.”

  “Are you sure it was blood?” I asked, shocked.

  Henner cocked his head to the side as he considered it. “I mean, pretty sure? It was some kind of red liquid.” Of course, my mind immediately returned to Finn’s description of the weirdo in his window with red stains all over his shirt.

  “Well, now that’s not something you hear every day,” Wanda admitted, her attention firmly planted on Henner’s face.

  He nodded at her. “And that was when I realized the housekeeper, Mrs. Nicholson, had disappeared.”

  “What?” Marty asked, his eyes widening in shock.

  Henner nodded. “She was cleaning the house that day and I’m worried something bad happened to her.”

  I had met Mrs. Nicholson a few times, and she’d always struck me as a kind old woman, so I was sorry to hear she was missing.

  “Then there was never any furniture to move in the first place?” Wanda asked, frowning at Henner.

  “No, but I didn’t want to mention what had happened over the phone,” Henner responded with a shrug. “You never know who could be monitoring the lines.”

  While his statement made no sense to me and I imagined it made no sense to Wanda, neither of us commented.

  “So what exactly do you want us to do about it?” Wanda asked after a stretch of silence.

  “Wanda!” I reprimanded her.

  “Okay,” she answered with a sigh. “Let me rephrase my question… How can we help you?”

  Henner nodded. “I wanted to ask you if you could… tour the house and see if you pick up anything… magical with your extrasensory perception. I’d really like to know if there’s something lurking around.”

  ***

  Wanda and I gave Henner and Marty a hug (well, I gave them a hug—Wanda just sort of stood there, looking completely uncomfortable as they embraced her).

  “See you ladies tomorrow,” Henner called as he waved and started for his mid-80s black, Lincoln Continental, which was parked behind Marty’s hearse.

  “I can’t wait,” Wanda grumbled.

  She sauntered towards her Escalade and I started to follow her before Marty grabbed my elbow.

  “Hold up, Pops.”

  “What’s up?” I asked, as I turned to face him.

  “How about…” He nodded toward his long, glossy black hearse. “How about I give you a ride home?”

  “Are you coming, Poppy?” Wanda called and tapped her foot impatiently.

  I glanced between her and Marty and frowned as I tried to figure out why he wanted to give me a ride—and why he seemed so intent about it.

  “Well, Wanda drove me here,” I started.

  “And I’m sure she won’t mind if she doesn’t have to drive you home.”

  “Astrid’s at my house and so are Darla and Libby, so she has to go to my house anyway.”

  “Party at your house!” Marty said with a laugh, but I could tell he still wanted to drive me so I turned back to Wanda. “You go ahead. Marty said he wanted to give me a lift.”

  “Even though we’re both going to your house?” she frowned.

  “Right,” I answered.

  “Okay,” she said, shaking her head like the subject didn’t make sense, which it kind of didn’t, but I figured Marty had something on his mind.

  Meanwhile, Marty hurried to the passenger door of the hearse and opened it for me. He grinned and bowed from the waist to wave me into the seat, saying in a deep voice, “Your carriage awaits, m’lady.”

  I laughed and sitting down, took stock of the hearse’s interior and had to admit the thing still gave me the creeps. Just thinking about the numerous dead bodies that had been ferried around in it… yeah, it wasn’t a thought that brought me the warm and fuzzies.

  A wave of heat washed over my cheeks when I thought about why Marty had asked to give me a ride home, though I wasn’t sure what the reason for the heat was.

  We’re only friends…

  It was the same line I’d been telling myself from the moment Marty walked into my life, when he’d appeared on my porch beside Ophelia Ponsobby, long before Wanda had killed her (and done the rest of Haven Hollow a big favor).

  As to Marty and me, we’d been skirting around the issue of our attraction to each other for months—ever since I’d moved to Haven Hollow—but things had definitely escalated since I’d broken up with Roy. At least, it seemed like they’d escalated—he definitely called me more often and we’d met up for lunch and dinner quite a few times since the relationship with Roy ended. But maybe that was just what happened when you broke up with your boyfriend—your friends filled in to try to keep your mind away from depressing thoughts.

  I squirmed in my seat and wasn’t sure why my nerves were on overdrive, but the fact remained that they were. Marty and I were good friends and always had been, so there was no reason to feel like this. For all I knew, maybe he was about to give me the details of another ghost related case that was giving him a run for his money. Maybe I was worrying about nothing.

  Why are you even worrying in the first place? I asked myself.

  Because I… I just don’t know how I’ll react if Marty says he has feelings for me.

  Why would you think he’s going to say he has feelings for you? It’s not like he does.

  Well, he might…

  Marty didn’t cast any heartfelt glances at me as he drove. He just faced forward and hummed along to the Zydeco pouring out of the speakers in an array of accordion, washboard and drums. Indigenous to Louisiana, Zydeco was a blend of blues and Cajun music that was lively, but I just didn’t have an appetite for it like Marty did.

  Instead, I settled into the idea that he really just wanted to drive me home for the sake of driving me home (maybe to double check that the house was really secure from the peeping tom). At that thought, my nerves started to quiet.

  Halfway down the road to my house, Marty broke the silence. Turning towards me, he seemed to vomit out the words, “You know you can always call on me if you need help with anything, right?”

  “Um, yeah, of course,” I answered, facing him quizzically.

  “You know that, don’t you, Pops?”

  “Yes, and you know I’m always here for you too,” I answered. “You’re my closest friend in Haven Hollow.”

  He nodded. “Well, that means a lot to me.” Then he hesitated.

  “Me too.”

  He glanced over again, but his expression wasn’t a romantic, I-can’t-live-without-you one.

  Why would you expect it would be? I asked myself, and couldn’t explain the anxiety flowing through me. I wasn’t sure what exactly was going on with me, but it was annoying all the same. Furthermore, I wasn’t sure what I was hoping for—that Marty would reveal his undying affection for me? Hmm, I couldn’t say I was hoping for that because…

  Because why?

  I was pretty sure I was scared—scared of facing the idea that he did have serious feelings for me. Scared to face the opportunity of yet another relationship that would go down in a blaze of anything but glory.

  But, no, Marty’s expression wasn’t lovelorn. It was direct and searching.

  “If anything or anyone ever bothers you or Finn, I want to know about it.”

  “Okay.” He continued to look at me, so I gave him a smile. “Thanks.”

  “If that weirdo guy comes back, I want you to call me… right after you call the cops, of course.”

  “Right,” I answered with a quick nod. “The first time the guy showed up, I was actually in the process of calling you, but Roy happened to call me first.”

  Marty exhaled. “Yeah, and it bugs me that Roid was there for you and I wasn’t.”

  “Well, it was just a case of timing, really.” I cleared my throat. “And you really don’t have to call him Roid.”

  “I like to call him Roid,” Marty answered on a smile. Then the smile dropped and was replaced with another searching expression. “Are you guys… working on things?”

  “No,” I answered immediately. “We’re done.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. Roy and I… should never have been together in the first place.”

  “I don’t know that you ever told me why.”

  I shrugged. “We’re just going in different directions and we want different things out of life.” Then I sighed. “The truth is that we never had any business getting together, but sometimes things happen… when they aren’t meant to, you know?”

  He nodded, but then shook his head. “It doesn’t seem like Roid—”

  “Roy.”

  “Roy,” he corrected with a boyish smile. “Is aware of that.”

  I sighed again because this topic made me uncomfortable. In general, I didn’t like hurting people and especially not friends. And Roy was definitely my friend, so it didn’t sit well with me that he was still in pain over our breakup.

  “Yeah, he’s having a bit of a tough time with it.”

  “Well, I don’t blame him,” Marty continued as he turned to face me with a compassionate air. “If I had you as my girlfriend and then lost you, I’m not sure how I’d get over it either.”

  I looked at him in surprise and found the same surprise in his expression. Clearly, he was as startled by his own words as I was.

  “Well, thanks.”

  A few awkward seconds passed, then he cleared his throat. “Anyway, back to this guy who keeps showing up in everyone’s window—he sounds like a real creep, but worse than that, he could be dangerous. I don’t want you taking any chances with your safety or Finn’s.”

  “I won’t take any chances.” I hesitated as I thought about the weird man again. Every time thoughts of him entered my brain, my stomach responded with a knot. “Who do you think it is?”

  He shook his head. “I have no idea. The description of the guy doesn’t ring any bells and RJ didn’t recognize him either—RJ’s lived here his whole life.”

  I nodded. “It just doesn’t make any sense. I mean, at first I figured he had to be a thief casing out various houses, but he hasn’t actually broken into anyone’s house.”

  “That we know of.”

  I cocked my head to the side. “Right.”

  “Maybe he’s just a Peeping Tom?”