Harry looked at Phoebe. “Now that you know what it is, do you want them removed while we’re here?”
“That’s not necessary,” she said. “It doesn’t bother me.”
Harry nodded and then looked at Joe. “Did you notice anything else?”
“Needs more insulation… for winter,” he said.
“If I get it, can you install it for me?” Phoebe asked.
Joe nodded and looked at Harry, raising his eyebrows. Harry knew that meant he would be required to bring Joe here to do that job when the time came… payback for what Joe had just done.
“While you’re getting that,” Harry said, “pick up a tube of exterior caulking too. What’s around your craft room window on the outside should be replaced. That’s probably why the room is cold.”
********************
Several days later, Phoebe came to pay her bill. “I fear my ghost stalker – if that’s what he was – has moved on. I have not felt its presence for the past few days.”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?” Harry asked, frowning slightly.
“I would have been satisfied just to know it was friendly, not a real stalker. But, I’m not unhappy about it. I think it was the ghost of Mr. Peters, looking for his wife. He may not have been able to get into the home where she was because it was a place he had not been during his human life. So he kept returning to the only home he knew, probably hoping she would return.”
“If that’s what it was, why did he stop coming?”
“Simple. When she died they were reunited and there’s no need for him to return to the house anymore.”
“Just as long as you’re happy with the end results,” Harry said.
“Oh, I am,” she assured him. “It’s just a little sad… that house is the kind you expect to find a ghost in… and it no longer has one.”
Bertie had been quietly listening to all this. “Maybe another one will move in,” she suggested.
“I will definitely let you know if that happens.” Phoebe smiled as she walked towards the door. Then she paused and said, “By the way, I planted two red rose bushes, one on each side of the gate, in memory of the Peters couple. It might draw them both back to the house.”
Harry was shaking his head, unsure what to make of the conclusion of this case – or mystery – or … he wasn’t even sure how to classify it. He heard a snicker and glanced at Bertie. “What’s so funny?”
“I was wondering if the Miss Phoebe Wyatt experience has been enough to make you believe there’s some measure of truth in the existence of ghosts or spirits?” she asked, as she tried unsuccessfully to smother her giggles.
Harry shook his head. “Oh no! I’m staying neutral on this. However, I’m more inclined to think that some people are more open to suggestion and they pick up on things that others don’t… without even realizing it. I won’t admit to anything more.”
