“Dean says he’s filed an injunction on Goldstein’s estate, including freezing his financial assets so if you do change your mind, you should still be able to get your money back.” Nic said, pausing at the doorway.

  “I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that. I love this place. You should see all the stuff he has just sitting upstairs. He really needed someone with some design experience working for him instead of paying salesmen way too much with nothing to show for their efforts.” I opened the laptop and went to the folder called costs. I should find what I was looking for here. Or at least a starting point. Nic was still standing by the door watching me. “What?”

  “You are enjoying yourself, aren’t you? I could use you in clearing out some of the locations that aren’t making a profit in our family business.” He smiled and left the office.

  His message was clear. If I decided that cleaning up Goldstein’s Antiques wasn’t worth my time or that Matty had sold me a failing or dead business, I could go work for the family. It wasn’t a job I wanted. But as I made my first call to the power company, it was nice to know I’d be appreciated. And honestly, that I had a fall-back position that wasn’t running back to Seattle.

  By the end of the day, I had a full list of what was and what wasn’t in inventory. I’d check the list against what had been sold the last quarter, but I knew I was missing a lot of stuff. We sat at a table on the main floor, drinking a six pack, and eating tacos that Nic had someone from his office, deliver.

  “You have a lot of nice stuff up there. My mom would love to come look at some things for her dining room. She remodeled the house when my brothers and I left home for college. Now that my dad’s gone, she’s doing it again.” Bubba ate another taco and washed it down with a swig of the beer. “This would be a fun place to work at.”

  Nic shook his head and grinned at me. “You’ve already brainwashed him to your side. No wonder I can’t keep good employees.”

  Bubba choked on the swig of beer he’d just taken. “Oh, no, I didn’t mean I didn’t love my job with Ardronic Enterprises. I do. Since you assigned me to watch your sister, I’m a lot more active. Usually, I stand for ten hours a day. Just stand in one place and watch. Which is a good thing, I’m not complaining since it means nothing bad is happening. Maybe I should just shut up now before I talk myself out of a job.”

  I giggled as I leaned back and looked around at the furniture. “I do have a fun job. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell my brother for years. I’d die if I was stuck sitting at a desk all day. Doing this, I get to be around pretty stuff all the time and make other people’s homes beautiful.”

  “You do seem to have a talent.” Nic nodded to the dining room set I’d put up front while I was doing inventory. “Maybe I should hire you to redo the family house. It’s been a while since anyone touched anything there. Sometimes it feels more like a shrine to our family history than a home.”

  “Now that you own it, you can do anything you want.” I knew how hard it had been for him to stay behind. To be the one taking care of the family and the business. “If you’re serious, I’ll take you on as my first client. I can get some great photos and experience that way. And maybe we can have the house highlighted in a local magazine. I’m sure there’s a few that would die to get inside our home.”

  “More than likely,” Nic pushed his last taco away, clearly not happy with the idea of more attention. “And now you’ve ruined my appetite. Let’s talk about this place. When will you have a list so we can go to Goldstein’s house? The sooner we do this, the more likely it is that you’ll get your property back.”

  “It’s Wednesday, right?” When Nic nodded, I continued. “I can match up the missing inventory with the sales records tomorrow.”

  “I can help.” Bubba said, and then added, “and watch your back.”

  “Okay, with me and Bubba working on it, we should be done tomorrow before five, maybe six.” I had kept the lists in front of me and had gone through, highlighting what was missing. The list of misplaced things was really small. Only one or two items per floor. No, the missing items were mostly off site somewhere else. Like Matty’s house.

  Nic opened another beer for me and handed one to Bubba as well. When he tried to refuse, Nic set the open bottle in front of him. “I’ll have someone drive you home when your shift ends, don’t worry.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Bubba finished his last taco.

  “Anyway, if you can have the list ready by then, I’ll have Dean set us up a visit to Goldstein’s house first thing Friday morning. Then you can have the weekend to decide if you’re keeping this money pit.”

  Bubba laughed and then covered his mouth. “Sorry, that was a funny movie. My mom used to watch it all the time.”

  “I’m not changing my mind about the sale. I might ask for some money back to compensate for the missing items.” I took in the antiques we were sitting and drinking beer around. Some had come over from Europe with local families whose houses no longer highlighted the beauty of the pieces. Others had been sold in estate sales or when the family fell on hard times. No matter how the pieces had arrived here, they had a story.

  You just had to listen to hear it.

  A vision swirled around the empty chair next to me. A man in an old fashion suit and wire rimmed glasses smiled at her. “I have to say, I’m quite enjoying listening to you and your thoughts about the items here. You seem to understand the value of things, not like so many of the others who wander past here, looking for the next plastic piece of furniture to waste their money on.”

  I heard Bubba’s gasp but ignored it. If he was going to be hanging around with me, he needed to get used to the appearance of visitors. I focused on the apparition. “I’m assuming you’re Harry?”

  “Harrold Eugene Winchester at your service. I owned this place a few hundred years ago, it’s hard to keep track. Long before Mr. Goldstein bought the place and named it after himself. Such an ego, that man. I called the shop, New Orleans Best Antiques. He thought it sounded commercial. Of course, it’s commercial. How do people know what you’re selling if you don’t announce it.” He pointed to the last taco. “Now that smells amazing. What is it called again?”

  I explained tacos and their country of origin, at least what I knew about the food. As Harry started to disappear, I realized he might have witnessed Matty’s murder. “I’m sorry to bother you, but did you happen to see Matty Goldstein when he was killed?”

  Harry nodded, his face sad. But when he opened his mouth, no words came out and the last of his spirit disappeared.

  I slapped the table with my open hand. “I should have asked him that earlier. But no, I go on a long explanation of tacos and Mexican cuisine.”

  “You were talking to a ghost,” Bubba said.

  “It’s a common problem. You get comfortable chatting and forget the most important subject. It’s like calling someone and forgetting to ask the one question you called about because you get involved in the conversation.” Nic pointed out.

  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.”

  “Maybe a little, but it’s great.” My phone buzzed with a text. “And look who just showed up. Can you let Nic in? I guess there will be three for lunch.”

  Harry watched as Bubba hurried to the front door. “That man’s a keeper. You’re lucky.”

  I stared at Harry’s softly disappearing form. “Bubba is my bodyguard, not my boyfriend.”

  He hovered over the shrimp and grits, taking an exaggerated sniff. Then he looked at me before he disappeared. “Does he know that?”

  “Hey, sis,” Nic stopped a few feet away from the table. “Wow. I came over to see if you needed lunch, but I guess that’s already been handled. Were you hungry?”

  I stood and gave Nic a hug. “I’ll have you know that I didn’t order this feast. Bubba was kind enough to order for us.”

  Nic held up his hand. “Way to go, bro.”

  The men did their bonding slap and I sat back down. “Harry was here for a bit but I didn’t ask him about Matty. He looked so happy about the food, I didn’t have the heart to bring it up.”

  “You can ask him next time.” Nic sat at the table and grabbed a plate. “Speaking of our late antique dealer, I’ve got us an appointment to go through the house tomorrow at 8:00 AM. The judge wants this part of the discussion done and over with so he can schedule a meeting with the creditors. Apparently, the ex-wife is pushing for a speedy will reading.”

  “Annamae knows her.” I took the red fish dish and put some on my plate with the sauce. Then I grabbed the rice and beans. “She’s not her favorite person.”

  Nic chuckled. “I’ve heard that from a lot of people. Anyway, will you have the list ready?”

  “If I have to stay here all night, I’ll have the list done.” I took a bite and groaned in pleasure. There was nothing like the seasonings they used here in New Orleans. I could have almost the same meal delivered in Seattle, but it would have either been served with no sauce and limited spices to highlight the fish or with an Asian flare. Every place had their own mix of what food should taste like. And this, this was like being home. I broke open a roll and took a bite without butter. It was sweet and fresh and before I knew it, the roll was gone.

  Nic looked up from his plate. “Eddie, I thought you’d be closer to being done. What have you been doing all day?”

  “One, it’s only lunch time. And two, we have new locks and a lead on a security system upgrade. I know the alarm system Matty set up is still active, but I’d feel better about hiring my own company.” I reached for the jambalaya. “Besides, I was kidding. We should have this done by five or six at the latest. Just like I’d said yesterday. Bubba’s getting really good at identifying different historic periods.”

  Bubba nodded. “My mom would be proud. She wanted me to do something creative with my life, but I went practical at college and got a business degree. Between that and football, there wasn’t a lot of time for extra classes.”

  A noise sounded from the front door. I stood up and saw Aunt Franny banging on the glass door. She looked mad. “This can’t be good.”

  “I can tell her to go away,” Bubba stood and moved toward the front.

  “No, I’ll go. Nic, you stay here as well. No need getting us both in trouble.” I walked over and unlocked the door, but only opened it a few inches. I could feel Nic and Bubba watching me. “Hey, Aunt Franny. Sorry, we’re not quite open yet. I can give you a call when we are.”

  “You spent my money on this firetrap? Are you kidding?” She glared at me. Then she started shaking her finger like I was a five-year-old child. “That money was supposed to go to me. I’m her daughter. I’m supposed to have her powers.”

  “You’re going to need to take that up with Grandma.” I leaned against the doorframe. I wasn’t going to tell Aunt Franny I knew about the love potion or about the fight. That was between her and Grandma. “Now, is there anything else? I’ve got work to do.”

  “If you don’t relinquish the money and the power, I’m going to cut you off. You will no longer be my niece.” Her gaze was cold, calculating.