The Ghost and Mrs. Fletcher by Jessica Fletcher

in his life. As I followed him into the kitchen, he turned his head toward the voices coming from the library.
    â€œWould you like to meet the others?” I asked.
    â€œNo. I’m going to have my lunch.” He opened the refrigerator and took out the package wrapped in foil and the half bottle of milk, dropped them both in the pocket of his yellow slicker, and went out the back door. I watched as he pulled up his hood and sprinted across the yard to the barn.
He must be using the tools in Cliff’s workshop,
I thought. I wondered what projects Eve had asked him to undertake, and when he had started to work.
I must remember to ask her about him. And now that she has someone working on the house, is she going to invite the medium to come back?
    The phone in my pocket vibrated. I pulled it out and looked at the screen. A message warned me the battery was in need of charging. I quickly dialed Seth Hazlitt. We hadn’t spoken since he’d told me he was requesting an autopsy on Cliff Cooper, and I’d promised to report on the meeting with the medium. I put the phone to my ear and waited to hear the call connect. But my phone chose that moment to die.

Chapter Ten
    â€œI t was such a scary noise, Jessica. I nearly jumped out of my skin,” Elsie said as we sat at Cliff’s kitchen table having our lunch.
    â€œIt’s just an old humidifier, Elsie. It needs a new motor,” I said.
    â€œBarnaby was halfway out the door when he heard it,” Tim said, chuckling.
    â€œI wasn’t scared. It just startled me a tad,” Barnaby said.
    â€œThe only thing that kept you inside was the pouring rain,” Elsie said.
    â€œA practical decision,” I said, smiling at Barnaby.
    He tugged at his collar. “People do say there’s a ghost in this house, Mrs. Fletcher. I just don’t wanna meet him.”
    â€œWho says that, Barnaby?” I asked.
    â€œI heard it down at Mara’s. They say it must be Cliff Cooper’s spirit come back to haunt the place ’cause he lived here so long.”
    â€œThen who’s the figure of a woman the cleaning people supposedly saw?” Elsie said. “You forgot to mention her.”
    â€œYou mean there’s more than one?” Barnaby looked decidedly uncomfortable. “Are we almost done here?”
    â€œNothing to worry about, Barnaby,” Tim said. “Jessica will protect you.”
    â€œTim’s only teasing you, Barnaby. There are no ghosts here. It’s just an old house with lots of noises. Oh, and Eve hired a handyman to help fix up the place. So if anyone heard footsteps, it was probably him.”
    Tony had never returned to be introduced to my friends. I didn’t know whether he’d left or had decided to stay in the barn until the rain subsided. I told everyone about meeting him, although I didn’t describe the circumstances.
    â€œTony Tonelero, huh? Have to say, the name is not familiar,” Tim said.
    â€œI’ve never heard of him, and I thought I knew all our local handymen,” Elsie said.
    â€œProbably from away,” added Barnaby.
    â€œBut why would Eve Simpson hire someone from out of town when there’s local men aplenty could use the work?”
    â€œThey’re scared o’ ghosts is why, Elsie,” Barnaby said.
    â€œBut you know there’s no such thing, don’t you, Barnaby?” I said.
    â€œIt was in the
Gazette
. Ms. Phillips wouldn’t put it in the newspaper if it wasn’t so.”
    Elsie snorted. “Maybe not, but she’s not past exaggerating some if it’ll help sell more papers. I heard that issue disappeared from the shelves. Couldn’t even find a copy in the post office, and there’s always piles of them there.”
    â€œIn that case, the three of you have my undying gratitude for risking life and limb to work in a haunted house,” I said, unable to keep the whimsy out of my voice.
    â€œSpeaking