“Anything else?” Harry prompted.
“A cold draft now and then, up in the attic.”
“Do you spend much time up there?”
“It’s where I work.”
“What kind of work do you do?”
“Painting and sculpting is my passion but I do advertising, on consignment, to pay the bills.” Whitley laughed softly. “Rent… electricity… food… those necessities don’t pay for themselves.”
“You’re right about that,” Harry agreed. “I’ll need to check out the apartment. Is tomorrow morning good?”
“Yeah, sure, I have a meeting at eight-thirty but I’ll be home before ten. Will that work?”
“Ten is good. I’ll see you then.”
As Whitley let himself out, Harry was thinking that it was good Bertie would be back tomorrow. His volunteer partner was much better at doing Internet research than he was. Besides, she enjoyed it.
***************
Bertie’s SUV was in the driveway when Harry walked across to the office the following morning. He smelled the fresh brewed coffee as he opened the door. “Welcome back,” he said, with a grin. “Did you have a good trip?”
“It was nice being together and reminiscing, though it was sad watching her give away things that she’d no longer have room for. But downsizing was her choice. She said taking care of a smaller place will leave more time for knitting in the winter and gardening in the summer.”
Harry filled his coffee mug and sat down. “Are you ready to do some research?”
“Do you even have to ask?”
He laughed. “I had a visit from a young man named Jordan Whitley yesterday afternoon. He doesn’t believe in ghosts but he thinks his apartment is haunted.” Then he told her about Whitley’s experiences.
“What do you want me to search for?”
Harry rubbed his chin. “That’s where it gets a little tricky. I think we need to know why some people see and hear things that others don’t. There must be something that makes them more open to such things, some reason why they experience things that no one else does.”
Bertie was thoughtful for a moment. “I’ll start with that and see where it leads. That search will probably turn up other leads… and it could take some time. I’ll see what I can find.”
“Good. Meanwhile, I’m going to check out his apartment and talk to the building manager if possible.”
Whitley’s apartment was in a large, four-story mansion that had been converted into eight bachelor apartments about ten years ago. Whitley had said his apartment was “four floors up, at the back.” That meant he had the rear apartment on the top floor, which explained why he also had the attic space.
Harry walked into the ground floor entrance and immediately noticed the elevator just ahead. Good. Climbing four flights of stairs would definitely aggravate his knee and he still wasn’t ready to consider surgery.
He stepped into the elevator and pushed the fourth floor button. When the elevator stopped, Harry stepped out into a short hallway. Apartment 402 was just a few steps away.
Whitley appeared seconds after Harry knocked and held the door open as Harry stepped inside. “Okay, where should we start?”
