Page 24 of Ghost in the Cupboard

“It’s not fair, Silas!” Sal was shaking a paper in my face as I climbed out of my car. “Look at this!”

Four of the homeless folks, including Gary, were with her, waiting to talk to me. Ginny was over by the front door of the diner, trying to get it unlocked, shooting me an apologetic look. Obviously, she’d been attacked by the crowd first, seen me coming, and turned their attention to me. Upon being distracted by my arrival, she’d slipped away.

That’s a true friend for you.

“What’s not fair?” I grunted, doing my best to wiggle out of the car with five people pressing in against me. “What’s got you all riled up so early in the morning?”

“This!” Sal barked, shaking the paper in her hand. “I am fit to be tied, Silas! Fit to be tied! They can’t do this to us! To the town! How come they are—”

I grabbed the paper out of Sal’s hand, silencing her with a crooked frown. My message had been made clear—I had to know what she was talking about to respond. Waving a paper in my face wasn’t going to help any. Glancing over my shoulder, I’d found that Ginny had managed to slip into the diner, avoiding any further outbursts from the group of folks.

“What is this?” I asked, speaking mostly to myself, as I examined the paper Sal had been holding.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Gary eyeing the front door of the shop. If he went inside and started staring at Ginny, I’d have another screaming Banshee. I looked up from the paper I hadn’t even started to read yet, and locked eyes with Gary.

“It’s burgers and fries today, Gary,” I said. “Saturday, remember?”

Gary, slightly startled, jerked, but then nodded, and stepped away from the diner’s front door. Rejoining our little mix of folks in his own way, Gary stood behind his friends, staring down at his feet as I put my attention back on the paper. After a quick glance, I looked up at Sal and huffed.

“It’s the same thing the county police have been posting for months,” I said. “Why are you so out of sorts?”

“Look at it, Si!” One of the other folks demanded, jabbing their finger at the paper. “They’re trying to run us out of here!”

The person who had spoken up, I believed, was the one they called “Suzie-Q” down at the camp. I wasn’t certain if the middle-aged woman in flannels, secondhand bib overalls, boots, and a puffer jacket looked much like the name. However, her brown curls kind of made the whole thing make sense. Sometimes a single physical attribute can explain an entire, seemingly, mismatched nickname.

“It’s the same notice that they’ve been putting on all the abandoned buildings,” I said, calmly. “If they find people squatting, they’ll arrest them, board up the buildings better, blah blah blah. It’s just an attempt to scare you all into staying down by the river.”

“Well,” Sal spoke up, “it’s working! I can’t be getting arrested, Si! All I have left is my freedom.”

I did my best to give her a sympathetic look.

“Look,” I said, “you all know county is not going to spend time, money, and officers, coming around here often enough to catch you all squatting at night. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing. Stay outside in the day unless it’s unavoidable, and take shelter at night.”

“How long will that work?” A voice to my side asked. “How long before they start tearing down buildings to keep us from being able to live?”

The question wasn’t a bad one. For my entire life, I’d known that any government, local or otherwise, existed to make people’s lives harder—especially those they deemed lesser than. The homeless population of Sage Grove was literally hurting no one using abandoned buildings at night to stay out of the elements and stay safe. Stapling notices to the buildings that they’d be arrested, the buildings would be sealed better—or even destroyed—was nothing more than cruelty.

Fortunately, our local government didn’t really have the time or resources to carry through with their threats. They might be able to find an officer or two to swing by in the middle of the night and check things out, maybe nail a few windows and doors shut, but that was it. The unhoused population had to deal with the indignity of the notices, but they weren’t going to lose their squatting places anytime soon.

“You can’t tell us this isn’t a real threat, Silas!” Ronny-Boy spoke up. He was shifting nervously next to me, pulling at the ripped cuffs of his long-sleeve shirt. “We all saw what they did with The Eternity!”

I rolled my eyes. The Eternity Inn had been a point of contention in the community for months.

“The county didn’t seal it up,” I said to Ronny-Boy. “The Milners did that before Harlan died. You know how they are. The thought of anyone using one of their properties without paying was too much for them.”

The group around me couldn’t help but chuckle. The Milners had their fingers in tons of businesses and ventures. They were capitalists through and through. The Eternity Inn had been purchased by the family in the 30s and been in the family ever since. However, in the last few decades, with the loss of population and commerce in Sage Grove, the Inn had closed. Shortly before Harlan’s death, the family had the place sealed up—and it would probably stay that way now that Harlan was dead. Rumors swirled that Rhonda was selling off many of the businesses and properties owned by the Milner Corporation.

“If the corporation can’t sell it, they’ll end up bulldozing it and giving the land back to the city,” I explained. “It’s a business decision. Nothing to do with y’all.”

“Are you sure?” Sal spoke up for the group. “Winter will be here before long. What’ll happen if they seal up every place in town? Or worse, tear ‘em all down? We’ll have nowhere to stay warm.”

I stood before the small group of representatives from the camp and looked them all in the eyes, one by one.

“I will make sure you have somewhere to sleep at night in winter.” I made my vow. “Even if you’re sleeping in The Lunch Counter at night, we’ll figure something out. All right? Do you all feel better now?”

I was met with four smiles and one crooked attempt from Gary. Finally, I was able to usher the group away from the diner, allowing me to go about my day as normal. Sal muttered a quick apology as she led everyone back to camp, also letting me know she’d be back later to pick up lunch for everyone. Gary lingered behind the pack, glancing over his shoulder at me numerous times as they all walked away.

Frowning, I couldn’t help but feel that Gary wanted to speak to me, but didn’t know how. In fact, I wasn’t sure Gary was even capable of speaking anymore. I hadn’t heard a word come from his mouth in months. When he finally stopped looking back at me and continued on with the rest of the group, I pushed him from my mind. If the man wanted to speak with me—or communicate in some way—he knew where to find me.