Page 11 of Stalked By Shadows
His smile was huge. “I’m a bit of a nerd,” he agreed.
“A bit?”
“I’m just saying, depression is often attributed with higher intelligence. Anxiety has direct links to the over-stimulation of the hypothalamus. I think we don’t have all the details yet. So am I a believer in the paranormal? I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Wow,” I said. Stunned by the whole idea. “I guess I never thought of it that way. Brain function and all.” Though how many times had I been told it was all in my head? Maybe it was, in a different way.
“Anyway,” Sarah said. “That’s why we’re here. Two weeks of exploring the most haunted city in America. Well, Jared’s here for the ghosts, I’m here for the food.”
“You should definitely sign up for one of Micah’s tours then.”
“His Facebook group says he always has new hotspots to give. Some of them tour with him once a month to find out where he’ll take them next.” Jared looked positively giddy with that idea.
“Well then we’d better sign you up,” I said. “Maybe get you some gear like shirts and candles so you’re ready to hunt ghosts?” The last was a bit of teasing but they both agreed that it would be great fun to play paranormal investigators while they were in the city.
Chapter 4
Italked the couple into a handful of T-shirts, a one of a kind vase, which they planned to give as a Christmas gift, and a leather-wrapped glass bead bracelet from the case which had a sticker price I’d been shocked by.
The bracelet had a little card with it talking about the different kinds of stones beaded in the leather and how the weaving, matched with stones, created a balanced design that symbolized strength, protection, and harmony. Sarah tried it on and admired how it fit on her slim wrist. “This is so beautiful.”
“We’ll take it,” Jared told me.
The couple didn’t bat an eye at the nearly $1000 order. I took the time to wrap everything carefully, even finding a box for the vase to help them get it home in one piece.
They signed up for the Saturday night ghost tour. Micah walked in the main door as I was finishing up their registration, his arms full of books, and Sky beside him holding two plates of what looked like mounds of powdered sugar.
“We’re headed there next,” Sarah said.
“Café du Monde,” Micah said. “The beignets are good; coffee is a little on the bitter side. There’s a great praline shop nearby in Jackson Square too. Cattycorner from du Monde. Made by culinary students so they are super inexpensive, but since they are supervised by pros, they always taste amazing.” He set the books down as Sky took the plates of sugar to the backroom.
“We’ll find it,” Jared told him. “I love pralines. Am hoping to bring some home too.”
Micah pulled out a small map of the quarter which I’d noticed most shops had, and drew on it, circling a small shop. “Lots of great artists in Jackson Square. If you walk it earlier in the day, you’ll get free music and lots of locals who set up around the fence. Some of the prints in the shop come from there. And that’s where the artist whose bracelet you bought got her start. They usually show up around eight in the morning and are done by five.”
“We will definitely be checking that out. Thank you,” Sarah said. “We look forward to the tour on Saturday.”
“I’ll see you then,” Micah said. They left examining the map Micah had given them.
I turned the tablet Micah’s way. “I did this right, yeah?”
He examined the order and payment. “Yes. Nice order.”
“Huge order. Are they normally that big?”
“Nah. Only every once in a while. Mardi Gras is great for sales. I’ve always got the storeroom packed full in preparation. Most of it is mass crap that people buy, but collectors come through. We do start picking up this time of year, people buying ahead for Christmas. Halloween is pretty good for sales too. I do nightly tours the week before and after.”
“I heard you do some ghost hunting thing on Halloween,” I said.
Micah shrugged. “I do a drawing every year and pick six people to ghost hunt with me somewhere local. We film a lot of it and post it on YouTube. Brings in a lot of attention for the tours.” Micah sorted the books, stickered them, then some went to the regular shelves and some went to the locked shelves.
He was hard to read. I couldn’t tell if he believed in ghosts or was only using the idea of it as income. I guess it didn’t matter much. Jared’s words still pinged around my head. Maybe I wasn’t crazy. Maybe my brain was wired to see things others weren’t. Wasn’t that the definition of crazy? I sighed.
Sky appeared with a plate, offering me one.
“I’m not sure that’s food,” I told her.
“It’s not,” she assured me. “It’s divine nectar.”