Konrad heard a knock on his door. Wondering if it might be Roz and she got home early, he strode over and opened it wide. To his surprise and slight disappointment, Morgaine stood there.
“Hi, Konrad. Do you have a minute?”
“Uh, sure. Do you need something moved?”
She chuckled. “No, I don’t need your strength this time. I need one of your other skills.”
“Really? What’s that?”
Morgaine lowered her voice. “I need a thief.”
Konrad stiffened and glared at her. When he could speak again, he whispered, “You’d better come inside.”
She entered his apartment, and he shut the door carefully to avoid the loud click. He then whispered, “Is Chad here?”
She asked in a normal tone of voice, “Chad, are you in the room?” She waited a bit and shook her head. “Nope.”
“Whew. I know he can’t blab what he overhears to anyone but you or Gwyneth, but still—”
“I know what you mean.” Glancing at the books lining the walls, she said, “Wow, you must really like to read.”
“Very much. But right now I’m more interested in what you have to say. Take a seat.”
She sat on his brown microfiber couch. “I only know what I overheard a few days ago.”
“You’re just going by what you heard?” Konrad sat in the adjacent overstuffed armchair. “I mean, you’re psychic, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I know absolutely everything.”
“Whatdoyou know?”
“Just bits and pieces, and I’ve learned it’s better not to jump to conclusions until I double check the information I’m getting.”
“Okay. What do you know, and what do you have to double check?”
“Relax. I know you’re a good man, and I’m quite safe sitting here, talking to you. I know you work nights. And yesterday, I overheard that you were arrested. I was hoping you might be able to help me with something in an ‘It takes a thief’ kind of way.”
“I’m not stealing anything for you.”
“Oh, no.” She laughed. “I didn’t mean that.”
Konrad shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Okay, keep talking.”
“I need your advice to help me with my first job as a medium. I’ve been called in to communicate with the ghost haunting the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.”
“You’re kidding. The art museum that was robbed several years ago?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s haunted?”
“Yup, so there might actually be an eyewitness.”
“Excellent! I was severely pissed off when I found out about the theft.”
“You and the rest of the world, apparently. But I was down in Maryland then and didn’t hear much about it. The cops don’t want to tell me anything, either. They say it’s so it doesn’t affect the questions I ask the ghost, but I think they want me to prove my abilities as a psychic and medium.”
“Have you talked to the ghost yet?”
