Liam lifted his gaze from the book in his hand. “Maybe.”
Ugh. Couldn’t she get just one year without a major mystery to solve?
“Can I take a closer look?” Harper asked, gesturing to the pile of discovered artifacts.
Natalie let out a snort. “Please. Have at it. I don’t think I can take on even one more thing right now.” She could not add one more task to her already stuffed To Do list.
“Hey, Nat.” Jules came through the doorway, a paper in her hand. “I found this open and on top of that pile of mail next to the cash register. It’s an invitation. The Salem, Massachusetts historical society is inviting you to sit on a panel for their event.”
Harper’s eyes widened. “Wow. Natalie, what fun. I’ve always wanted to visit Salem.”
“One of the other speakers is Professor Lionel Graves. He’s the guy who wrote that book you just ordered for the shop. The one about Mudville’s founding families,” Jules continued, referring to the page in her hand.
“You definitely have to do it. Will you, please? I’ll go with you,” Harper offered, as if that would make the event less painful.
Natalie drew in a breath. There it was. That one more thing that could push her over the edge. And of course it had come out of that damned pile of mail. She knew it had looked ominous the moment she’d seen it.
She shot Liam a glance.
His smirk made it easy to guess what he was thinking. She should have tossed that whole pile in the trash, like he’d suggested. If she had, she wouldn’t be badgered into going to Salem to be on some panel.
With a sigh, she said, “Okay. I’ll go.”
Harper clapped. “Yay! This is going to be so much fun.”
As fun as a root canal, and this event wouldn’t come with any laughing gas.
“Yeah. Fun,” Natalie said flatly, picturing the kinds of horrors Salem’s ghosts would bring. Women burned as witches for one.
“They included an email address and asked for your answer ASAP. Want me to shoot them an email from the store account?” Jules offered.
“Yes,” Harper answered for Natalie. “If you wait for her to do it, she never will.”
Jules grinned. “I’m glad you said it and not me. I’m on it.”
Natalie stayed quiet. It was obvious she didn’t have to talk as Harper and Jules organized her life for her. It would have been more annoying without the excitement of Liam’s discovery of the fireplace to soothe her.
“What are we going to do about all this?” Liam asked, sweeping a hand to indicate the piles.
The answer to that was clear. “I guess we need to call a meeting of the ghost council.”
Liam groaned. “I was afraid you’d say that.”
“Yes! I’m so excited.” Harper, still new to knowing ghosts existed, bounced with her anticipation. “And don’t forget the LADS. The Mudville Ladies Amateur Detective Society will definitely want to see this,” she added.
A meeting of the ghost council, and the LADS, and a panel in Salem, not to mention the clean-up from Liam’s discovery…
Natalie’s To Do list had just gotten a whole lot longer.
Chapter Three
“Look at this scenery,” Harper said while facing the side window of Natalie’s car. “Isn’t it gorgeous?” she asked, finally pivoting to face Natalie behind the wheel.
“New York is pretty gorgeous too,” Natalie reminded her.
“Yes. But this is… different. Ooo. Look. We’re almost there,” Harper squeaked when the exit for Salem sign came into view.
Yes, they were almost there, but Natalie couldn’t rally the level of enthusiasm Harper showed for their impending arrival and that was for a number of reasons.
