Free Haunted Fixer-Upper, The by Rose Pressey

means of transportation. I parked the car beside his truck and got out. It was getting late and I wanted to get to the house soon before we wasted the whole morning. The afternoon sun shone in the front windows of the house and really heated the place up. I hated working in the heat. Not to mention I didn’t like staying after dark in the house. I wasn’t sure when I’d get the nerve to be in that house alone after sunset. Would the man be lurking in the woods then too? I had to find out who he was and what he wanted.
    I hurri ed up the stone steps of the old house that was now Millerton Used Cars and pushed through the door.
    “ Hello,” I called out.
    Where was everyone? The tick-tock of a clock was the only sound. I turned to my left and headed toward Gordon’s office.
    When I stepped into the room, I spotted Reed standing over Gordon’s motionless body. Gordon was lying on the floor with a pool of blood surrounding him. Reed held a hammer in his hand. My eyes widened and my mouth fell open. My stomach sank. I closed my eyes for a second, praying that when I opened them again this would all be a dream. When I forced my eyes open again, I realized this was real and nothing short of a nightmare.
    “What the hell is going on?” I yelled.
    A look of sheer panic was in Reed’s eyes. “Gordon is dead,” Reed whispered.
    “ I can see that.” I rushed over and pulled Reed toward me. “What happened to him?”
    Reed still held the hammer in his hand. He was silent for a moment, as if his vocal cords no longer worked, until he finally lowered the hammer and placed it on the desk. “I don’t know,” he said breathlessly. “I came in to get the papers from him and found him on the floor.”
    “ Have you called the police yet?” I asked.
    He shook his head. “No, this literally just happened seconds before you came in.”
    “Are you sure he’s dead?” I asked as I peered down at the body.
    I’d had the unfortunate experience of discovering a dead man before. This time looked no different. The life had left Gordon’s body. Reed looked at me blankly, so I didn’t repeat the question. I scanned the room, but nothing seemed out of place. The only odd thing I noticed was a piece of peppermint candy still in its wrapper next to the body. It was the kind of candy that my grandmother kept hundreds of in her purse.
    I pulled the cell phone from my purse. “Come on, let’s wait outside on the porch.” I pulled Reed’s arm with one hand and held the phone up to my ear with the other.
    Within seconds the swirling lights of the police cars descended on the car lot. I’d never seen this much madness. Not even when I’d discovered the body of the owner of the other house I’d bought. This was not going to look good for us. The last person I’d bought a house from had been murdered too—plus, Reed and I had been the ones to discover the body this time. Well, technically Reed had discovered the body and I’d found him standing over the man with a hammer in his hand. Yeah, that wouldn’t look good to the police either.
    Who had killed Gordon Millerton and why? Was the killer still around? Chills ran up and down my spine at the thought.

 
    Chapter Eleven
    The parking lot was full of screaming sirens and flashing lights. My heart rate spiked just thinking about the fact that I’d have to talk with the police. I’d had my share of doing that recently and didn’t care to be a part of an investigation ever again.
    An officer in a crisp, blue uniform rushed out of his cruiser and straight toward us. With his dark hair and slim physique, he was night and day from the sheriff back home. He was younger than the sheriff too, but oddly enough, they had the same scowl down pat. This conversation probably wouldn’t end well.
    Another policeman who looked like a steroid-laced version of the first one climbed out from a car and joined his colleague. Now they both had their laser-like focus on us.
    I really hoped I didn’t