Free Haunted Tales by Terri Reid Page B

office opened, and the
bell rang. “Well, hello there,” Kristen purred, looking over Mary’s shoulder to
the front of the office. “Now that’s what I call Officer Tall, Dark and
Handsome.   Honey, you can arrest me
anytime.”
    Mary spun her chair around and saw Bradley walking toward
her desk. “Hi,” she said.
    He leaned over her desk and kissed her. “Hi yourself,” he
replied.
    “So, he likes fat girls?” Kristen asked, floating over next
to the desk. “What a waste.”
    “I’m not fat. I’m pregnant,” Mary replied through gritted
teeth.
    Bradley looked at her questioningly.   “Yeah, I know,” he said. “And you’re not just
pregnant, you’re ravishing.”
    “Oh, so he’s the one who got you knocked up,” Kristen
stated. “Lucky you.”
    With a long-suffering sigh, Mary placed her hand on
Bradley’s arm and said, “Bradley, I want you to meet Kristen Banks, a former
fourth-grade teacher.   Kristen, this is
my husband , Bradley.”
    With Mary’s touch, Bradley was able to see the ghost of the
young woman standing next to Mary’s desk.   He had to admit it was still a little disconcerting to be able to see
dead people, but he was getting used to it.
    “Hello, Kristen,” he said.
    She studied him for a moment. “Do you think you’re going to
get fat?” she asked.
    Concern crossed over Bradley’s features. He looked down at
his waistline and looked back at the ghost. “Why do you ask?”
    Shrugging, she sighed. “Well, I had a fiancé who looked a
lot like you when we were engaged,” she said. “He was a real hunk. But I just
saw a picture of him, and he’s pretty much gone to hell. I just wondered if all
hunks turn out that way.”
    “You think I’m a hunk?” Bradley asked, a grin spreading
across his face. He looked down at Mary and nodded in Kristen’s direction. “She
thinks I’m a hunk.”
    Mary bit back a smile. “Yeah, I heard,” she said. “And I
agree.”
    “I wasn’t trying to compliment you,” Kristen interrupted. “I
just wanted to know if you were going to get fat.”
    “I’m not planning on it,” Bradley said. “But thanks for
asking.”
    “You two deserve each other,” Kristen snapped. “But what did
I do to deserve ending up haunting McMillan and wife for the rest of eternity?”
    “Who?” Mary asked.
    Kristen threw her hands up in the air. “I’m doomed.”
    “Mary will help you cross over,” Bradley said. “She always
does.”
    Sighing heavily, Kristen shook her head.   “The only clues we might have are in my
journal, and unless my old desk is still around, that journal is long gone. So,
we can’t find anyone.”
    Mary stopped and shook her head. “Wait. What?   Your old desk?”
    “Yes. My old desk.   Because that’s where the secret compartment
was,” Kristen said slowly, as if Mary wasn’t very smart. “In
my desk.”

Chapter Twenty-one

 
    “I’m so glad you’re here,” Mary said when Andrew opened the
door to the old school. “Kristen stopped by my office and told me about a
possible clue.”
    “Great,” Andrew said, looking around the hall. “Where is
it?”
    “In her classroom,” Mary said, heading in that direction.
“But let’s hurry. I’d rather not turn on the lights and let the neighbors know
we’re here.”
    Mary started dashing up the stairs, but after the first ten
steps, she realized that she just couldn’t dash anymore.   Grasping the handrail, she stopped to catch
her breath and then continued up in a more sedate pace. “I keep forgetting I’m
pregnant,” she breathlessly apologized.
    “Oh, no, don’t worry,” Andrew said. “We have plenty of time.
We can go slower if you’d like.”
    Mary smiled at him. “I’m good, thank you,” she said. “We
don’t need to go slower.”
    They reached the second floor and walked down the hallway to
the classroom.   Mary hurried to the desk
and pulled open the top drawer on the right side. “She said there was a secret
compartment in the