Weed Whacked by Jess Haven

Author:Jess Haven [Jess Haven]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Witt & Grace Publishers
Published: 2024-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

That night I dreamed of Alice and Sarah, my murdered aunt and cousin. They were both dressed for Halloween as zombie princesses, and they were skipping from room to room through a house I’d never seen before. George was walking behind them, carrying a pumpkin and a set of twinkle lights. I was behind them all, trying to keep up. The others were looking for something, but I didn’t know what it was, and when I tried to ask them, I couldn’t make a sound.

I woke up with a start a few minutes before my alarm. I felt a powerful urge to talk to George. I wanted to know how he was feeling, and if there were any developments in the case. I figured I should also fill him in on my progress. Or lack thereof.

I heated some leftover soup for breakfast, feeling slightly smug that I would consume an entire serving of vegetables before nine. Then I rewarded myself with a slice of the pie I’d bought at Happy Acres. Take that, diet gurus.

Next I called the nursery, and learned that George was working at Lakeside Park, one of their maintenance clients.

Perfect. Walking the lake path would get me to the park in about ten minutes. I’d enjoy some fresh air and see how other lakeside houses were decorating for Halloween. Quite a few of them were registered as ghost walk sites, so I could size up the competition.

The first stop kicked things off with a bang. In the backyard, between the house and the lake, a wood-planked structure took center stage. It was the size of a large playhouse and artfully designed to appear as if it could crash to the ground at any moment. Skeletons climbed up the walls. A flock of crooked headstones poked through the grass around it. If ever there was a haunted house, this was it. Two young men were stringing wires among the trees when I walked by, and I noticed a pile of gauzy ghosts in a wagon at the edge of the back patio. This stop was going to be pretty impressive. I thought briefly about how much Bea would have loved to see this, then quickly put the thought out of my mind.

The next two houses were tastefully decorated with an assortment of fall colors and textures, but they clearly weren’t aiming for anything scary. They probably weren’t on the walk.

The fourth house was another story. A giant broomstick lay on the grass near an enormous set of legs sticking up out of the ground. The legs were clad in orange-and-black-striped stockings, the feet in pointy black shoes. Apparently a massive witch had fallen headfirst into the ground. I wondered if the story would get fleshed out in the coming weeks, or if that was all there was to it.

I wouldn’t be able to compete with the expense the other homeowners were putting into the walk. Good to know. I’d need to use my imagination. And Grace’s imagination as well.

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