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I nodded. “He’ll come back. I’ll ask him then.”
Bubba shook his head and repeated. “You were talking to a ghost.”
This time I actually looked at my bodyguard. His face was stark white. “Are you okay, Bubba?”
He took a breath, then a sip from the beer, then a second sip. “I’ve just never seen a ghost and you just sat there and talked to him like he was a regular person.”
“He was a regular person. He just isn’t alive like we are.” I tried to soften my voice. My grandmother had the same conversation when I’d caught her sitting and chatting with a ghost in the parlor one afternoon. “It’s not scary.”
Bubba looked at me like I was crazy. “Ma’am, I’ve lived in New Orleans all my life and I’ve never actually seen or heard a ghost. I guess this job is going to be more interesting than I thought it would be when I first took it.”
I reached over and covered his hand with mine. “At least you’re not just standing for ten hours a day.”
He chuckled and let out a breath. “I had to open my mouth, right?”
7
First thing on my list today was an appointment to get the locks changed at the shop. I had no idea who, besides Sarah, had keys. While Bubba and I went through and verified the list of missing items, a locksmith worked on the doors. There were more doors than I’d expected. Two on this floor, the large door in the back on the loading dock had to be rekeyed, and then every floor had two doors. One that led to the stairs, and one that led to an iron fire escape on the back wall. Then there was a door to the roof which was also accessible to the fire escape. The cost of new locks and keys was going to go over my initial budget, but for security reasons, it had to be done.
The locksmith finally finished around noon. Bubba had just called in a delivery order and he was waiting at the front door for our food. I sat at the dining table on the first floor that I’d taken over as my desk. It was easier than working in the office and I could access the collection quicker. The man in the Lost Keys Cause Nightmares t-shirt set a copy of the work order and a ring of five keys on the table.
“There it is. It took longer than I’d expected due to the number of doors in this place. I already gave one to your assistant over there by the door. You’ve got a lot of real estate here. You should think about remodeling those top floors into apartments. They’ve got good bones and a lot of space. You’d make a fortune.” He keyed some information into his phone while he chatted. “And the good news, that fire escape of yours is solid. That can’t be said for a lot of these old buildings. Most of them have had to be replaced by now, but it looks like yours was made strong in the first place.
Harry nodded, sitting beside me. “I put the fire escape in when they first came out. Maryann wanted to go with the less expensive, but I insisted on putting in the best. You can’t be too safe, right?”
I pressed my lips together, trying not to react to Harry’s statement. I turned away from him and toward the locksmith. I glanced at his shirt for his name. “Thanks Leo. I appreciate your thoroughness. Since I just bought the place, I have no idea how many keys are out there.”
“It’s a smart idea to replace the locks. One of my other clients bought a shop that had a lot of old jewelry. He decided not to replace the locks, trusting that the prior owner had given up all the keys. He was robbed within a week. Then he puts new locks on. Kind of like shutting the barn door after the horse escapes. Anyway, you did the smart thing, even if the price tag is a little higher than normal.”
“Do I pay you?” I glanced at the scribbled numbers. They looked like product code, not prices. Kind of like the coding system Matty had set up.
“No, the office will send you a bill. They said I didn’t even need to get a deposit. Apparently, you have good credit with us.” He looked around the room. “You got a lot of nice things in here. You might want to upgrade your security system while you’re at it. We don’t do that but we have a referral I can give you.”
While he dug in his bag for the security company information, I leaned back and closed my eyes. What had I been thinking? I should have started with something smaller. Like that Garden District shop Danielle had shown me. Something that didn’t have five floors and needed a lot of upkeep.
“But then you wouldn’t have me to help out,” Harry said to my left.
I opened my eyes and looked at him. I didn’t realize ghosts could read minds.
Harry laughed, “Even if I couldn’t read your mind, your face tells the entire story. Buck up, buttercup. Things will be okay. I’ve got faith in you.”
The locksmith had a flyer in his hand and was watching me. Apparently, I’d missed something he’d said. “Sorry, I was just thinking about the security system.”
“These guys are solid. They’re not going to blow smoke at you or over charge. Tell them that Leo sent you and they’ll even give you a few bucks off the final deal. The guy that runs it is my cousin’s brother-in-law. He has horrible tastes in football teams and politics, but other than that, he’s a pretty good guy.” Leo set the flyer down and looked around again. “The one good thing about this place is it stays cool. No matter where I went, there seemed to be a chill around me. A lot of these old buildings are hotter than hades. Sorry for the swear word.”
I thanked him and walked him out of the building. On the way, I met Bubba who had our food. He gave me the food, then took Leo to the front door so he could relock it. I set the food down on the table and glanced over at Harry who was still hovering. “I take it you followed him around this morning?”
“Yes. You never know what type of man they’re going to send. He’s one of the good ones. He admired some of the items but took great care with his work tools and didn’t break anything. You should give him a positive review with his employer when you pay them.” Harry leaned into the table. “What’s for lunch?”
“Today, it’s a taste of New Orleans. I ordered a little bit of everything, just in case you were picky.” Bubba answered Harry’s question as he set the key on the table. “He gave me this, but I thought you might want it.”
I held up the ring. “I think I’m good. You can have it while you’re working with me. That way if I get a call in the middle of the night about something going on with the building, I can send you and go back to sleep.”
“Like that would happen. You’d be down here before I could even get my shoes on. You’re pretty hands on with this business.” He blushed and started taking food out of the bag. “I ordered a red fish dish, shrimp and grits, beans and rice, gumbo, and some shrimp jambalaya. And creole bread.”
“That’s a lot of food.” I took in the smell and almost melted. Harry seemed to be in his own food coma.
“I thought we could share and eat family style, unless you want something specific.” Bubba looked at the dining table covered with food. “Maybe I went overboard.”
