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"Hello?"

It was Jed "Christie, your grandfather played guitar for fun soht? I see him a year or so before he died"

"He used to play at O’Reilly’s It was a real hangout for the Irish in the area It’s still there"

"Thanks for the info"

"Why? What’s up?"

"I’ at all kinds of stuff You just keep your door locked, okay?"

"I always do" As she spoke, Killer started to bark, followed by the doorbell It was uncanny how he always knew ahead of ti "Someone is here"

"Don’t open the door till you knoho it is," he said, but she had already set the receiver down

12

"I don’t believe it," Dan breathed He was standing in front of the bulletin board, staring at the piece of paper announcing the casting for the ne had been done He touched the sheet reverently

Zeus, main: Daniel McDuff Stand-ins…

He didn’t see ould be standing in for him He didn’t care He couldn’t believe it His own name was there, and he was too excited to think past that

"Congratulations!" someone said, and he turned The face in front of hiht No, it couldn’t be

"Thanks," he said, and his voice was hoarse

Other people caratulations continued to flow It was incredible His life was incredible He was so happy…

"Patti Jo was up for this show," sootten?

But…oh, hell He had e s as if he had conquered the world

"Christie?"

Jed knew she hadn’t hung up on him, that she had just set the phone down, because he could hear the dog barking and some kind of coain, and, swearing, he headed out, unable to explain the sense of sheer panic he was feeling

"Gen? My God--I can’t believe you’re here!"

"Christie!"

It was so good to see her friend, it see on the front porch, and she wasn’t alone She ith her husband, Thor, and an older man she introduced as Adam Harrison

Christina kneho he was froations, specialists in the paranor to the press that he believed in the supernatural or the occult He see without actually saying anything at all

He was an i man He was obviously in his seventies--or ht and had a full head of snohite hair His eyes were both warm and sharp, the kind of eyes that seemed to see far beneath as obvious on the surface

She led theether, where the conversation was casual at first Then, as if they’d si and they all just stared at one another

"I have a ghost," she said into the silence

"So you told Gen," Thor said, and she had to sh the iant, and very blond No one, she was certain, had ever fit the name better She had , but she had liked hiht away

Christina looked at hilanced at Adam with a trace of amusement "I’m fairly open to the possibility," he said

"You toldyour house," Genevieve offered encouragingly

"Yes"

"Why?" Genevieve asked

"Why?" Christina echoed "Because I’ve seen hi her lips

"Why would he be haunting this house?" Thor explained

"Did he ever live here?" Adam asked

She shook her head "No"

"Has he…threatened you in any way?" Genevieve asked

Christina shook her head "No Though he had s around in the house, putting coffee on," she ad tricks onforward "Christina, you don’t think Dan or Mike would…would try to scare you out of here, do you?"