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Scene #28
*When you've haunted a building since the Beatles met Ed Sullivan,
you see a lot of changes.* The two ghosts floated between
their buildings, high enough that the air currents from traffic
below didn't affect them. Still, they swayed occasionally in the
autumn breeze and had to compensate to remain virtually face to
face. *Change comes hard for most of us, Chad—living or dead,
yet change is the nature of the world. You'd think we'd get used to
it after all this time. I've been going with the flow…but enough is
enough.* *I know what you mean. Change can kiss my ass.*
*I'm not complaining, mind you, but when your new owner ripped off
the roof, he replaced it with a God-awful glass and steel
penthouse. It's an eyesore here in historic Back Bay!*
*Apparently he's some big-shot American League Baseball pitcher who
thought it would be groovy if this antique brownstone looked like a
space station had landed on the roof. I was used to the old owner.
He was a crotchety, grumpy, eccentric recluse, but he didn't change
anything.* *Since that owner died there, I would have thought
he'd have investigated the place more thoroughly before the estate
sale.* *Sometimes people see only what they want to see.*
*He saw a beautiful old Grand Dame, with most of the units already
rented.* *Yeah, and a great way to make some bread in later
years when he can't lob a ball over home plate. But even as much as
I don't like change, I don't hate this kid. He seems like a
clean-cut, Midwestern boy. In fact, I feel kind of sorry for him.
Wait until he sees what the designer did to his bachelor pad. He
just turned it over to her, saying, ‘Make it clean and modern.'*
Harold clucked his tongue. *Somehow, I don't think he meant
hard white sofas about a foot off the floor, with chrome all around
and a thin bolster pillow for a back.* *She probably thought
all Lucite tables were a good idea too. For some reason, I can't
see him placing coasters under every glass or running around with
window cleaner and paper towels all the time.* *He probably
imagined big, overstuffed leather furniture. A recliner, or at
least a comfortable chair and ottoman facing a big TV, which he'd
claim as his favorite place in the world.* *Maybe I should
have decorated homes. If exposing cover-ups hadn't been my bag, I
might not have been murdered. Besides, I know a bachelor's taste.
This avant garde flake didn't have the man's needs in mind at all.
Personally, I'm glad I have my own place. 3A is my pad, I don't
care what anyone says. A few people have tried to rent it in the
past, but none of them stay for long.* Chad emitted an evil
snicker. Harold sighed. *Now, about the long-term residents.
Some of them are rather strange? Is he going to let them stay?*
*Supposedly the whiz-kid re-signed all of their leases. Good thing
since I don't know where this bunch of misfits would go if he
didn't. Across the hall from me in 3B live Morgaine, Gwyneth, and
Athena—two witches and their owl familiar. Fortunately, the new
owner has a soft spot for animals and allows pets. They're
secretive about what they do for a living, but I know what goes on
in there. Luck and healing spells don't pay the rent, but phone sex
does!* Harold laughed. *The people in 2B moved in at the
same time as the baseball star. Apparently, they're his aunt and
uncle. I heard something about his Uncle Ralph needing a job, so
he's the new maintenance man. His Aunt Dottie has taken it upon
herself to keep an eye on the building while the pitcher is away.
And she'll get an eyeful if she's quick.* The wind shifted and
separated the pair. They had to swim toward each other to continue
chatting. *Their next door neighbor in 2A, Konrad Wolfenden,
is a werewolf. He works at night and passes himself off as a
security expert, but his expertise is breaking and entering places
that aren't secure at all. Then he gets his accomplice to visit the
owners the following day and sell them expensive alarm systems.*
*How do you know that?* asked Harold. *I've heard him
give the details of nightly prowls over the phone to some cop. I
don't like to leave the place or I'd follow him, but hey…I need to
do something to entertain myself—so I eavesdrop. I might as well
live vicariously. There's no other way in our case.* *So,
that's the second floor. Now who's on the first floor?* *Well,
we have another were-being in 1A, only this guy isn't a wolf. He
turns himself into a Raven which kind of suits his personality.
Nathan Nourie works in a morgue and has the most morbid sense of
humor I've ever heard. He likes to play prophet of doom and wait
until he gets people all wigged out, then says he's kidding and
walks away, laughing. If I could, I'd kick his ass. 1B is
available, but not for long. I heard a single chick is moving in
there.* *I hope she's open-minded and tolerant of eccentric
neighbors!* *Jeez, I almost forgot. There's an “unofficial”
resident in the basement. A vampire named Sylvestro. He calls
himself Sly. He's unemployed.* *The basement would be
uninhabitable by anyone else's standards, so he's not depriving
anyone of rent, right?* *The only finished room down there is
a small laundry for the residents. The old owner didn't even know
the vampire crashed there.* *Sly will probably want to keep it
that way, but I doubt he'll get away with it for long. The old
owner never left his apartment and these new folks seem to come and
go a lot.* *I can't wait to see that confrontation. It should
be a gas.* Chad chuckled.
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