Dottie’s jaw dropped. “I thoughtIwas the manager.”
Jason rested his hands on his hips. “And I thoughtIwas the landlord.”
Her lips thinned into a tight line.
Merry took a deep breath. “Dottie, if it weren’t for Konrad, I might not be alive. He saved me from a would-be rapist with a knife to my throat. Don’t you remember that night?”
Konrad stared at Dottie and waited to see what she’d say to that.
She relaxed a bit, but her arms remained folded in front of her. “I remember. But does that mean he gets a free ride? How are the other tenants who pay their rent regularly going to feel?”
Merry folded her arms too. “They don’t have to know.”
Konrad coughed. “Um, Merry, they already know. They held a bake sale to help me out.”
Dottie had a smug look of satisfaction on her face. “You see? They all know. I watched the whole thing from that window.” She pointed to the bay window facing Beacon Street. “Roz and Morgaine set up a folding table on the corner, and Gwyneth risked her neck walking into oncoming traffic to sell the goodies. Nathan bought some, so he knew about it. In fact, the only one I didn’t see was Joe.”
“And he already gets a break on his rent,” Merry added.
Konrad’s eyebrows shot up. “He does? Why?”
“Because his roommate is an officious ghost,” Dottie said. “And for some reason, he won’t let anyone stay there except Joe, so it’s half the rent or none at all.”
Konrad scratched his head. “I heard Joe is moving out. I can give you half the rent right now.”
Dottie gasped. “Joe’s moving out? Oh, no. We’ll never get that place rented again.”
Konrad stuck in hands in his pockets. “I don’t know. He seems to like me. Maybe he’ll let me move in.”
“You’re kidding. Now I know he hates me,” Dottie wailed.
“What makes you say that?”
“Apparently I’m the only one he plays tricks on.”
“Tricks?”
“Yes. Last fall, before we held the séance and he was still trying to frighten potential renters away from what he considershisapartment, I was showing it to someone, and he moved boxes from the closet right into my path, causing me to trip. I could have broken my neck!”
“Are you sure that was his doing?”
“Don’t you start questioning my sanity too. I get enough of that from my husband and nephew.”
“Sorry.”
Dottie jammed her hands on her hips. “But why would he like you? It’s not like you can protect him from anything. He’s already dead. You can’t talk to him like Morgaine and Gwyneth can. You can’t even see him to know he wants you to turn on the TV, like Nathan does.” Dottie threw her hands in the air. “I give up.”
Jason patted her shoulder. “I’m sure he doesn’t hate you. He probably just knows he can get a reaction from you. If you ignore him, he’ll probably leave you alone.”
“Oh, no. I tried that.” She shook her head, vehemently. “If I ignore him, he keeps upping the ante until I lose my temper and scream at him.”
“What does he do?” Konrad asked.
“Irritating things. He sees me waiting for the lottery numbers to be read with my ticket in hand then causes static on the TV. He turns the oven off as soon as I put a roast in. He shakes up my cans of soda in the fridge.
Konrad bit his lip.Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t laugh.
Jason sighed. “I don’t know what to tell you, Aunt Dottie. There’s nothing we can do about a ghost.”
