He nodded.
“Well, I suspect if you get someone out here, they can take care of it fast.”
Standing, he took a step back as I stood up beside him. “My father, he died last year, and he used to do everything around the house. I never gave this place a second thought.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Me too,” he said sadly and then rallied, giving me a wan smile. “I didn’t even think about the radiators. “Thank you. Hopefully that’ll account for our ghost problem as well.”
“Get someone out here today or tomorrow if you can. I think it’ll give your mother some peace of mind.”
He nodded and pulled out his phone, but before he could call, I asked him about his dogs. It turned out he bred and trained them for law enforcement all over the country.
“Does the deputy here in town—Gage, I think it is—does he have one? I only ask because I met some guys earlier, and I’m thinking if he had a dog, maybe they wouldn’t have told me how unimpressed with the man they were.”
He scoffed. “You know how dogs can sense fear?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, Gage nearly wet himself the last time Thor charged up to the gate when he came by.”
“Oh. That’s too bad. When I was deployed, we had two guys with dogs, German shepherds like yours, and when they came on patrol with us, we all loved it because the dogs would roust guys we would’ve never even seen. And they’re brave as hell.”
“Yes,” he agreed, clapping me on the shoulder. “Let me know if you’re interested in coming by and seeing some of my dogs while you’re here.”
“Thank you, I will,” I said, leaving him then to go find Benji.
The house was a single-level ranch and bigger than I thought it was. When I turned another corner, I found both him and Mrs. Kramer standing in the hall, frozen, I was guessing, to listen for signs of spectral activity. Benji had something in his hand, a box that he kept checking, and Mrs. Kramer went from listening to checking it as well.
“There’s nothing on the EMF detector,” he informed the adorable woman in an oversized sweater, yoga pants, and knee-high purple Uggs. “I don’t have any other pieces of equipment with me, but––oh, Shaw,” he greeted me, “did you hear the knocking?”
I cleared my throat. “I did,” I replied, walking down the hall to them. “Mrs. Kramer, would you say that all the places in the house where you’ve heard the knocking have been near different radiators?”
“No, I wouldn’t say that,” she assured me, not sounding all that certain.
“Because there’s one right there,” I said, pointing a few feet away. “And your son said it’s colder than normal in here.”
“Yes, that’s true, but Mr. Grace said that’s to be expected in a house with ghosts. The temperature becomes icy.”
“Sure,” I agreed, forcing a smile, “but it’s also to be expected”––I walked over to the radiator and lowered my hand toward the top––“if you haven’t bled––”
“No!” she yelled.
“That’s hot!” Benji warned me as I laid my hand on the radiator.
“Actually, they’re all cold on top, Mrs. Kramer,” I told her, crouching down in front of it. “And hot on the bottom.”
“Are they?” she asked, coming over to join me, putting a hand on my shoulder.
“Yeah,” I replied softly, giving her hand a pat before standing up. “Mr. Kramer, he used to do a lotta stuff around the house, didn’t he?”
She nodded quickly.
“I suspect that weatherproofing for winter, checking all the radiators and stuff like this was on the top of his list.”
“Yes,” she whispered, her voice going out on her. “It was.”
“Well, your son’s gonna call someone to come out and take a look at everything, and I suspect he’ll make sure he’s here for the appointment.”
“And that will take care of all the noises?” she asked, reaching for me.
I took her hand in mine. “I suspect so, because that,” I said quickly, making her listen as there was a groan and what sounded like a death rattle down the hall, “is a radiator.”
Her face broke into a wide smile.
“But if the sounds persist after they’re fixed, and you’re a lot warmer in here––”
“I’m looking forward to that,” she admitted. “I’m turning into a popsicle.”
I laughed, and she joined me.
“A momsicle, as it were,” she teased me.
“Yes, ma’am,” I said as she squeezed my hand, her other on my forearm. “But again, if the noises persist, you give Benji a call and we’ll get right back over here.”
She nodded. “It’s been lonely since Jim passed, and I never noticed all the sounds in the house before. I never thought twice about it when he was alive.”
Her son walked back into the hall then.
“Maybe it’s time for Thad to give you one of his lovely dogs.”
Her face scrunched up. “I don’t know that I want a big––”