“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?”

  “Well, that doesn’t make sense either—I mean, a Peeping Tom surveilling RJ?” Marty laughed as I continued. “RJ isn’t exactly your typical sex offender’s preferred target, is he?”

  Marty nodded. “I’m glad you said it, so I didn’t have to.”

  I exhaled a pent-up breath and couldn’t bring myself to laugh. This whole situation was just… as frustrating as it was perplexing. “If this guy was spying on RJ, then I think he’s just going randomly from house to house. There’s no pattern I can see.”

  “I agree with you, but three sightings doesn’t a pattern make. I say we refer this one to Tally and leave it with her. This dude is out of our line of expertise.”

  “You heard what Wanda said,” I countered, shaking my head.

  Marty smiled at me and gave me an apologetic expression. “Remind me what Wanda said?”

  I shook my head—Marty and remembering things didn’t exactly go together, no doubt owing to his ADHD. “The guy was able to block her tracking spell, remember?”

  “Oh, right.”

  “That means whoever or whatever he is, he possesses magic. That puts him right smack in the middle of our expertise.”

  “Yours, maybe. My expertise is ghosts.”

  Now it was my turn to laugh. “If this guy can block Wanda’s tracking spells, he’s outside everyone’s expertise.”

  Marty pulled the hearse into my driveway. Light shone from the windows in a warm yellow and only drew more attention to the peeling paint of the balustrades and veranda. Sheesh, I needed to make an appointment with a general contractor soon. At least the broken windows in the kitchen were now all boarded up.

  I could see Finn and Astrid through the window, where they were seated on the couch, playing video games. As I watched, Libby passed by and her wide poodle skirt cast a perfect 1950s-housewife shadow across the window. I could have been watching a scene from Ozzy and Harriet, only paranormal style. Yep. That was my life—a picture-perfect family full of ghosts, zombies, witches, and vampires.

  “Can I come in for a while?” Marty asked, bringing me back to the present.

  I glanced over to find him studying me with unusual intensity. “Sure,” I answered, finding it strange he would ask. “If you want to.”

  “I just wondered if…” He paused and cleared his throat, and that feeling of anxiety suddenly revisited me full force.

  Chapter Five

  My heart was pounding, and I was finding it hard to breathe. Why? I wasn’t sure. Maybe because I thought Marty might have been on the verge of announcing he had feelings for me and I just didn’t want to face that conversation.

  Not right now. Not here. Not with Roy inside my house.

  He cleared his throat again, and I looked over at him, my body suddenly going into fight-or-flight mode.

  “I mean, I thought you might still be shaken after Finn saw that weird guy in the window and I, uh…” He lost his train of thought again and rubbed the back of his neck. “I thought maybe… you might want me to stick around tonight?”

  “Oh.”

  His eyes went wide with surprise as he apparently realized what he’d just said. “I mean… I’d be happy to sleep on the couch.” Then he did this weird laugh. “Of course.” He laughed again. “I wasn’t suggesting that you and I… that I sleep in your bed or anything.”

  Seeing how completely nervous he was, I reached out and patted his hand. “I think… I think we’re okay, but thank you. Roy is still over, and so are Darla and Libby. And I think Astrid might want to spend the night.”

  “Is Roy spending the night?”

  “No,” I answered quickly. “That wouldn’t… that wouldn’t be a good idea.”

  “Ah, okay.”

  “My point is, I already have a full house and that means protection in numbers, you know?”

  He nodded as he looked up at the house, but didn’t appear convinced. “If anything happens—”

  “You’ll be the first person I call.”

  He nodded again, but I could tell there was still more on his mind. “There’s something weird about this whole thing.”

  “Something weirder than a stranger looking in random people’s windows?”

  “It isn’t just that.”

  “Then what is it?”

  His bushy eyebrows met in the middle of his face as he frowned. “From what I could gather, this guy was outside Finn’s window, Astrid’s window, and RJ’s windows at what seems to be the exact same time or just seconds apart?”

  “Oh my God,” I exclaimed as I realized he was right, as far as I could tell by everyone’s stories, anyway. “I didn’t think of that, but you’re right. By the time Wanda texted you to postpone dinner, RJ had already seen the guy at his place.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Then how?”

  Marty breathed in deeply. “He must have been teleporting or something.”

  “Where Haven Hollow is concerned, anything is possible,” I answered as I undid my seatbelt and opened the door. “Anyway, I’m going to get going, Marty, but thank you for the ride.”

  “You used to call me McFly,” he said with a small smile.

  “McFly,” I corrected myself. Then I stepped out into the cold night air and felt it enveloping me like the embrace of a ghost.

  “Don’t forget what I said,” he called after me. “If anything happens—and I mean anything—I want you to call me. I’ll be sleeping with the phone next to my bed and the ringer turned all the way up.”

  “Okay. I promise I will.”

  Now freezing, I waved to Marty and hurried inside. He kept the hearse idling until I made it through the front door and flashed the porch light. He flashed his headlights in response and reversed as the hearse backfired, sounding like gunshots against the otherwise still air.

  And then something occurred to me—Marty had never said why he wanted to drive me home. I mean, it wasn’t as though he had to have a reason, of course, but I found it strange, all the same.

  Maybe he was just being a good friend, I told myself.

  By going out of his way to take me home when he knew Wanda was going the same way?

  Hey, Marty can be a strange guy, sometimes.

  Deciding to leave the subject alone for the time being, I walked into the living room to check in with everyone and found Roy sitting in the recliner beside the couch, Finn and Astrid playing video games and Darla and Libby still in full-blown mad-scientist mode in the kitchen.

  Nothing had happened in my absence. And that was just as well.

  Finn looked up and smiled when I walked into the room.

  “Hey, Mom. How was dinner?”

  “It was great. Thanks for asking.” I sat down on the couch next to Astrid and looked over at Roy who gave me a big smile. “How was babysitting?”

  “Hey, we’re hardly babies,” Finn said. Astrid nodded as I laughed.

  “It was good,” Roy answered.

  “Yeah, ‘cause you just slept the whole time,” Astrid said.

  “Slept the whole time?” I repeated, looking at Roy in faux offense. “And to think I hired you for your protective brawn.”

  He chuckled. “I might have dozed off for a second or two, but it wasn’t like I could actually sleep with all the ruckus everyone was making.”

  “Ruckus?” Finn repeated as he smirked at Roy.

  “Yeah, how old are you anyway?” Astrid added.

  Roy frowned at them both. “I’m eighty, thank you very much.”

  “Eighty?” Astrid repeated and her eyes went wide.

  “Sasquatches age much more slowly than humans do,” I said—one of the myriad reasons why it hadn’t worked out between Roy and me. When I was eighty, I’d look it.

  “I don’t care about aging and never have.” Roy looked right at me then and there was something hollow in his expression.

  ***

  It turned out that Wanda was too nervous about the Peeping Tom to allow Astrid to stay over with Finn and me. That was just as well because getting Finn up and ready for school was a feat all on its own.

  After the morning mayhem of getting Finn fed and out the door, I drove him to school. While on our way through town, he chattered about some role-playing game that RJ had told him about.

  My thoughts, meanwhile, centered on other subjects and quite a few other subjects… namely, the magical window peeper, Roy’s and my conversation just before he’d left and the fact that there had been something in Marty’s eyes when he’d asked to drive me home—something I couldn’t quite put a finger on.