Page 57 of Ghost
“Francis, youarea sight for sore eyes.”She reached up and wiped a single tear away with her middle finger.She then turned to Mason.“It was Francis’ body that they found here?”
“Yes, Ellen.It was I.”Francis had appeared in front of the pair.“Mason and his friends revealed where mother had hidden me all those many years ago.Ellen, I cannot believe that you are still alive.”
“Francis, you are a scoundrel.You know better than to reveal a lady’s age.”She smiled lovingly at Francis.“You’re still the handsome devil you always were.”She sighed heavily.“I knew that Aunt Imogene had something to do with your disappearance, but no one could prove anything.”
“Let us not dwell on the past, my dear, sweet cousin.”Francis smiled at the small woman.“I would like to hear all about your life.”
“I would also like to sit and chat with you at length, but that will have to wait and only if Mr.Montgomery will allow me to come back for a visit.”
Mason was standing there agog, his mouth hanging open.“You can see him?”
Mrs.Trudeau patted Mason’s arm.“Yes, my dear boy, I can see spirits.I would have seen him many years ago, had I been able to enter this house.”She turned her focus towards Francis again.“Right now, we, meaning Mr.Montgomery and I, need to return to his guests.But be rest assured, dear cousin, that I will return for a very long visit as soon as possible.”
Mason was about to turn to walk back outside when Mrs.Trudeau stopped him.
“I will explain it all to you later.”She looked up at Mason.“I think that Francis thinks highly of you.”She starred at Mason a moment longer.“You shall come to tea tomorrow.”
“Oh, I can’t tomorrow, I’m afraid.”Mason motioned around the house.“I have a lot of work to try and get done tomorrow so I can move in here.”
“Very well, then.You tell me when and I will make sure to be available.”
“How about Tuesday afternoon?”Mason asked.
“Why don’t we make it a dinner date, then?”Ellen Trudeau didn’t wait for an answer; she simply walked out the door.
* * * *
The rest of the eveningwent well, and Mason got to know more about the neighborhood and some of his closer neighbors.It appeared to him that many of the people didn’t live all that close but had a connection to many of the houses around him.
One older gentleman, Alfred Stockbridge, turned out to be his current landlord.Alfred managed to single him out from the crowd after everyone had eaten and were mingling about.
“Mr.Montgomery, I wished I had known that it was you and that your intention was to renovate the old Watson place.Had I known, I would have told that stupid, worthless realtor to give you the place at a discount.”
“It’s alright, Mr.Stockbridge.Unfortunately, I will be vacating, or pretty much have already,” Mason laughed.“I don’t think Patty was willing to wait for me to start work on hers and Nick’s property.”
“Still, had I known...”He cleared his throat.“I would also be interested in retaining your services.You see, I think now that the neighborhood is starting an upwards turn again, I wish to renovate my own family’s home and move back into town.”He frowned slightly.“I’ll be more than happy to get rid of that old monstrosity that my mother and father had built out in the ‘burbs.”He shivered slightly.“I always hated that house.”
“Which house is yours?”Mason asked.
“It’s the one with the two-story turret, two doors down from Mrs.Trudeau’s.”
“Oh, wow.”Mason had seen the house, and immediately had wanted to see the inside.“I’ve noticed it.It has a lot of possibilities.”
“That it does.She was a grand ol’ house in her day and I’d like to get her back into shape.My mother hated it, mostly because she hated my grandmother.”Alfred chuckled.“The feeling was mutual.Anyway, Mother decided it would be better to build a new house in the more fashionable part of town.She’d wanted to sell the place, but because of the trust, she couldn’t.So, my father, always the businessman, had it split into apartments, as many of the older houses around here were, and got rental income from it.”
“And you say you want to move back into it?”
“Yes.That would be my intention,” he answered Mason.
“I’ve not even seen the inside, but I think I can safely say that it would take a lot of work and a lot of money.”Mason glanced over his shoulder to his own home.“I expect that I’ll be working on this one for years to come, and only as I have the money to do it.”
“I quite understand,” Alfred said patting Mason on the shoulder.“I have the time and the money to get it done.While I’d like to have it done as soon as possible, I am also realistic and know it will take some time.”
Mason thought a moment.“To be honest, I don’t even know when I’ll have time to look at it.And you also own the house next door, the one that I am or was living in?”
Alfred harrumphed.“Only for two weeks.Yes, I also own that house.”
“No offense, but it could do with a little work as well,” Mason said softly, hoping not to offend a potential client.
