The Girl with the Uninvited Ghost: Pandemonium Cozy Mystery #1

Chapter 32

"Where are we?" Guy looked around the dark gravel parking area.

"You mentioned you wanted to visit the stones. Well, here we are." Mahogany gestured to a green and brown painted sign attached to the side of a tiny ranger station that read, Historic Archaeological Site.

"OK," Guy said, stretchering out the word. "But why now? We've just found Priscilla, who may or may not have been murdered by Neema's tea. This is hardly the time to play tourist." He hopped off the back of the sunshine-yellow Vespa and stretched his back.

"What are you doing?" Mahogany raised an eyebrow at Guy's semi-solid form as she cut the Vespa's engine.

"Old habit." Guy bent and touched his toes. "I used to have a terrible back. Car accident in my teens. I haven't gotten used to the whole no pain thing." He shrugged. "So, if we're not here to visit the site, why are we here?"

A short, hairy man exited the ranger station and strode toward Mahogany on stout legs. "Park's closed," the ranger said, waving his hand at Mahogany to turn her scooter around and head the way she'd come.

"Hey, Ted." Mahogany pulled off her helmet and placed it on the Vespa's seat. "How are you this evening?" She straightened her sweater and fluffed her pink curls.

Ted came up short and squinted at Mahogany. "What are you doing here? Park's closed." He curled his lip, baring the tip of one white fang. The waining moonlight gleamed off the needle-sharp point.

"That's Ted, the Vampire?" Guy eyed the small harry man who looked more like an angry Danny DiVetto than Brad Pitt in Interview with a Vampire. "How in the world does he persuade people to let him bite them? His charisma is a zero."

"He's a vampire. If he wants to put on the charm, you can't say no," Mahogany said out of the corner of her mouth. "Plus, drunk Frat boys are pretty easy prey."

"Good thing for him," Guy muttered.

"Bazgul, come please," Mahogany whispered. In a flash, Bazgul appeared on her shoulder. "I need to use the ranger station to look over something I don't want Neema to see."

Ted's gaze landed on Bazgul perched on Mahogany's shoulder, and a greedy glint glowed in his black eyes.

Mahogany smirked at Bazgul, who danced on her shoulder. "Oh, go on."

Bazgul chattered and leaped from Mahogany to Ted, a span of more than ten feet, and landed on Ted's shirtfront with the grace of an Olympic gymnast.

Ted's perpetually sour expression relaxed a bit. "Neema? What's that old crone done now? Steal another baby?" He pulled a small baggy from his pocket and offered a banana chip to Bazgul. The demon spider snatched the chip and munched it with delight.

"Not as far as I know," Mahogany said. She waited for Ted to pass his judgment.

The short, gruff vampire turned on his heel and started back to the ranger station, muttering to Bazgul the whole way.

"Come on," Mahogany said and started after Ted.

"What's up with him and Bazgul?" Guy said, following Mahogany.

"Ted's intrigued with the idea of a demon who has attached himself to a human. Bazgul and I have been coming here since I was little, and we made friends with Ted."

"And there's no love lost on Neema. He seems to hate her."

"It's something we've bonded over," Mahogany said, entering the station. The tiny ranger station consisted of a tall reception desk that bisected the room, separating the on-duty rangers from the visitors. On the tourists' side sat a wall mount stuffed with colorful fliers for local and nearby attractions. A small bookshelf held baskets filled with postcards, stickers, travel guides, and patches promoting the stone circle. Behind the desk sat a large radio connecting the station to other parks in the area. A scuffed door led to a restroom the size of a postage stamp.