Several hours later, Yelpy was working in his bedroom, with the door slightly ajar, and Harry was sitting in the living room, keeping watch. It was almost ten o’clock when he saw a shadow go across the window on the landing. Then he heard the faint click of the tumbler in the lock. The intruder was inside.
Harry went to Yelpy’s bedroom and whispered, “Show time.”
As planned, they crept up the stairs and could see a faint light showing under the door of the room with the new lock. Pushing the door open quickly, Harry grabbed the intruder from behind while Yelpy ran to guard the door.
The intruder was wearing a long, hooded black coat. There was a battery-powered lantern on a side table which he had no doubt placed there. Harry turned him around and sat him on a chair, facing the light, and he thought the young man looked vaguely familiar. “It looks like your ghost is just an intruder.”
“Ghost? What are you talking about?” the young man asked.
“I’ll ask the questions,” Harry said, “starting with who are you?”
“R-R-Randy,” the young man stammered. He didn’t look to be more than twenty. “Randell Snook.”
“Okay, now why you’re trespassing in Mr. Pardy’s home?”
“I needed somewhere to sleep. I can’t afford to pay both rent and tuition.”
“Tuition?” Harry repeated. “You’re a student?” Randy nodded. “Perhaps you should start at the beginning and tell us your story.”
“I work at the truck stop diner just down the highway but it’s only minimum wage,” he said. “This place was empty when I found it. I thought the lock on the main door might be harder to break and a new one would be more obvious to anyone who might come around here. So I broke the lock on this one instead – it’s easier to hide. But all I ever did was sleep here, I swear.”
“Where did you eat? And shower?” Harry asked.
“I eat at the diner most of the time and shower at the University. I just sleep here, that’s all. When the owner moved in, he only used the ground floor so I kept coming here. I’m not doing any harm.”
“How do you get back and forth?”
“Walk or hitchhike.”
Yelpy had been quiet up to this point. “I’ve heard enough. I went through it myself. I’m impressed with your ingenuity and I have a solution,” he said.
Randy looked at him doubtfully. “What kind of solution?”
“There’s a storage room off the back entrance that can be cleaned out and turned into a bedroom. Being on the ground floor, you would have access to the bathroom facilities and use of the kitchen if needed. All free of charge.”
Randy frowned. “But why? What’s the catch?”
“Simple,” Yelpy said. “It’s important that you finish your education, so you will be my caretaker. You will keep an eye on the place when I’m away. Do a walk through each evening, checking for broken windows, leaks, that type of thing. ”
“I assume you can ride a bike,” Harry said. Randy nodded. “I have one at home that’s not being used. It’s better than walking and safer than hitchhiking.”
