“Hey, everyone,” Haley greeted them. “Did you start the party without me?”
Erik shook his head. “A little, Alessia cleared a bad spell, so it was out of the way before you arrived, and we just read a new acquisition and confirmed it had seriously bad mojo. You can look at the other piece as well, but I’d rather not put you in danger.”
“Trust me on this one, Haley, leave it for someone else,” Alessia said.
“Okay then.” Haley seemed to accept Alessia’s advice without another thought. “You said there’s a ghost you wanted me to contact?” Haley poured herself a cup of coffee and sat at the table next to Alessia.
“Yes, if you can reach him,” Erik said.
“Tell me what you need, and I’ll make the connection if I can,” Haley replied.
“Peter Randolph sold the window to me and then got shot. I know the cops won’t accept ghost testimony, but I’d like to see if Randolph knew his attacker,” Erik answered.
Haley set her coffee aside and then rubbed the palms of her hands together. “Okay. Let’s do this. But considering the source, I’m not going to channel the spirit, I’ll just relay what he tells me.” She paused for a few deep breaths and then opened her eyes.
“Peter Randolph, we want to solve your murder and bring the killers to justice,” Haley said. “Please appear to us.”
Another silent moment passed, and then Randolph’s ghost took shape, looking like he had when he had shown up on their doorstep. To Ben’s relief, the revenant didn’t appear bearing his death wound. Ben had seen enough head shots to last a lifetime.
“Not the window,”Haley repeated the ghost’s words.
“You were killed for another reason that isn’t related to the window you sold me?” Erik asked.
“There’s another ghost,” Haley told them. “I don’t recognize him. The second man says they want the dome. It’s priceless and powerful.”
“What dome?” Ben and Erik spoke in unison. Ben wondered if it was the same stained-glass dome that had shown up in Erik’s vision.
“From a hotel. The second man was the auctioneer, and he believes he was murdered because the killers thought he knew where it went; he didn’t. Randolph said he didn’t either,” Haley repeated their comments.
“Was the dome stolen?” Ben asked.
Haley paused.“It disappeared in the last days of the liquidation sale. The second ghost said there was a lot of chaos. So many big boxes and trucks coming and going. It was packed into several large crates, but he thinks someone must have slipped them out without showing papers.”
“Had someone bought the dome?” Erik asked.
“A single bidder paid several million dollars for it. But afterward, when they tried to track down the buyer’sinformation, it was all phony. They paid with a suitcase full of cash,” Haley said.
“Nothing suspicious about that at all,” Ben remarked.
“He thinks that his killer either worked for the mystery bidder or wanted to find the dome to steal it from the buyer. Randolph said his killer kept asking him where the dome was and didn’t believe him when he said he didn’t know,” Haley recounted.
“Does the auctioneer know who killed him?” Ben asked.
“He doesn’t know his name, but he saw him at the auction.”
Erik and Ben exchanged a look. Ben’s computer pinged, and he ignored it for the moment.
“Collectors have long memories, and they can be patient,” Haley repeated what Randolph’s spirit answered.“Maybe the killer has been watching him all these years and waiting for him to lead them to the dome.”
Strain showed in Haley’s face, and Ben knew she would have to release the link to the ghosts soon.
“Thank you for your help,” Haley told the ghosts. “I can help you pass over, if you want.” She listened intently to a conversation Ben couldn’t hear. Erik shook his head to let Ben know he didn’t hear the ghosts, either.
“Then go in peace. This conversation is over.” She murmured what sounded to Ben like a banishing spell.
“What did he say there at the end?” Erik asked.
“He didn’t want to pass on yet. Said he wanted to see the ‘sons of bitches who killed me’ get what was coming to them,” Haley replied.
