Read Online Give Up the Ghost: A Haunted Home Renovation Mystery by Juliet Blackwell - Free Book Online

say.”
    “There’s not much to say,” I agreed with a nod. “It’s a tragedy. Did you know her?”
    “I . . . A little. I mean, I met her when she came to do a reading of the house. I basically acted as her secretary, following after her and jotting things down as she said them. She’s . . . She was remarkable. Do they know who did it, or why?”
    “Not that I know of.” I glanced at the cardboard tube in her hands. “Are those the original blueprints?”
    She nodded, still seeming distracted, and handed me the heavy tube. “These are the blueprints I was working from with Skip Buhner, though I have to warn you it doesn’t include all the change orders. And there were plenty of change orders. Also, here’s the list of items Chantelle—” Her voice wavered, and she cleared her throat. “Um, that she suggested we return to the house to appease the ghosts.”
    I read the list:
    Weathervane
    Widow’s walk
    Fireplace surrounds
    Lead and stained glass windows throughout
    Ceiling medallions
    Chandeliers
    Carved corbels
    Gold gilt mirrors
    Stage
    My mind tripped over that last item. “Stage?”
    “There used to be a stage in what is now the Pilates studio.”
    “You mean like a
stage
, stage? For plays?”
    “More like a raised platform, but it had velvet curtains and some really cool carvings around it.”
    I nodded. “This is quite a list.”
    “It was such a shame they took everything out. I know they wanted to modernize the place, but I never understood why they had to just gut it.”
    “You were here throughout the renovation?”
    “For most of it. Stephanie keeps busy with her spiritual work; we met on a retreat out at Green Gulch Farm, in fact. And Andrew is consumed with the business, and frankly I think he just didn’t really have the heart to deal with Crosswinds after a while. So I agreed to act as an intermediary, fielding phone calls, keeping lists of things to discuss, and once a week Andrew and I would meet with the contractor, Skip Buhner, go over everything.”
    “And you lived on-site?”
    “Not while the work was being done. I moved in once the construction was over. They were having trouble selling it so Karla suggested someone living here would make the place more welcoming. Do you know Karla Buhner, the Realtor?”
    “Andrew mentioned her name.”
    “Karla says potential buyers can tell when a house is unoccupied, says it makes a home feel abandoned and unwanted. Gives out sad vibes or something. So Andrew asked if I would be willing to move in.”
    “Have you heard any of the strange sounds, or felt anything . . . odd?”
    “I hate to admit it but I don’t think I’m particularly sensitive. Everyone else seems to pick up on sensations, but I go on my merry way. And I’m a heavy sleeper, take a little nonaddicting sleep aid that puts me out like a light. You ever have insomnia, I recommend it highly.”
    “Thanks. I have plenty of problems, but so far that’s not one of them.” My schedule required me to get up at five a.m. every day, so falling asleep was rarely a problem. On the contrary, I was lucky to be conscious after nine at night, which put a little crimp in my social life.
    “Anyway, sometimes I hear the weathervane squeaking—in fact, I think I’m the one who first mentioned it. Couldn’t figure out what the noise was. Thought maybe it was a loose pipe or something that the workers forgot, so I asked Skip to look around. I don’t know what happened next, but something scared him.”
    I nodded. “Anything else you can think of?”
    Egypt hesitated.
    “Anything at all, no matter how bizarre or silly it sounds?”
    “I thought I heard a man’s voice, calling out. Sort of like a moan, but more than that? For all I know it’s the neighbors, but it’s . . . eerie.”
    “Can you describe the moaning?”
    She shrugged. “Just sort of . . . a ghostly moaning. Or what I assume a ghost sounds like moaning. I’m getting all my information from the