The door to 3A clicked and opened. A dejected-looking Joe strolled into the hallway. “Let me save you girls some trouble,” he said. “I’m moving out.”
Morgaine gasped and narrowed her gaze on Gwyneth.
Gwyneth sidled up next to Joe and stroked his arm. “Y’all don’t have to go on account of little ol’ me.”
“No, I want to be, uh, closer to the beach. Yeah. Summer’s coming, and I thought I’d rent a beach house.”
“Well, that sounds like fun!” Gwyneth said. “I hope y’all still want to be friends.”
Morgaine gave her the hairy eyeball.
Konrad coughed discreetly and mumbled, “Well, I’ll let all of you work this out.” Just as he was about to descend the stairs, he pivoted. “Don’t kill each other.” He mumbled under his breath, “It’s not worth the guilt.”
The trio stared at him wide eyed as he turned to jog back downstairs to Roz’s apartment.
***
Roz was glad Konrad was upstairs when her phone rang. It was Shawn at B.A.S.H. Apparently Morgaine’s validity as a medium had checked out.
“I thought you said you debunked ninety percent of haunting reports.”
“We do,” Shawn said. “Unfortunately, it looks as if the museum is one of the other ten percent. Our sensitive confirmed the presence of a spirit, neither friendly nor unfriendly. It’s what we call a benign haunting.”
“Well, there’s nothing benign about what this spirit is trying to do to my client by framing him.”
Shawn cleared his throat. “With all due respect, did it ever occur to you that your client might be guilty?”
Roz’s jaw dropped.Konrad, guilty?She felt like a fool. No, she hadn’t considered it. Not for a moment. And why not? Was her judgment clouded because she was sleeping with him?
“Ma’am? Is there anything else we can do for you?”
“Ah, no. Thank you for investigating it and getting back to me so quickly.”
“Our pleasure. It was an interesting place. I might go back there just to enjoy the atmosphere.”
“Be careful you don’t piss off the resident ghost.” Roz hung up.
Konrad returned and let himself in. “Is everything okay?”
Damn, I need to work on my poker face.“Uh, yeah. Didn’t you say you had an alibi for the night of the theft?”
“Yeah, but I also told you it can’t be proven.”
“Why not?”
Konrad stared at the ceiling. “Oh, boy.”
“What is it?Tellme!”
“Okay, okay. I guess now that you know about me, I can tell you more. I was with my pack.”
“Oh, you have a…pack?”
“And the trial lands on the full moon. That means they probably won’t testify for fear of being caught in the city when they shift.”
“But don’t you shift at midnight? And youlivein the city. Somehow you manage to handle it.”
Konrad hung his head. “There’s something else I never told you. I was kicked out of the pack in disgrace.”
