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made a surprised noise when the ugly plaid draperies opened. “Well, at least one thing works in here. Last time I saw Willet was about a month ago. Tilda fired him because he never got around to doing what he was supposed to do. He came by to pick up his clothes and his peanuts. He didn’t have much.”
    That’s because everything else was stored at Frannie’s. “Any idea where he was going?”
    She shook her head. “We didn’t talk a lot. I got the impression he didn’t like girls. He wasn’t no catch, neither, let me tell you. Tall and skinny with these wild eyes. Seems like he was staying with someone in town, but he could’ve just been saying that.”
    I borrowed a piece of paper from the pad by the phone and wrote my number. “If he should happen to stop by, give me a call.”
    She took the paper. “What do you want him for?”
    “He needs to claim some property.”
    “Probably just junk,” she said and blew a large pink bubble. The bubble popped, and she wadded the remains into her mouth. “That’s all he ever had. Junk.”
    ***
    I thanked Sue Ann and went back to Georgia’s Books to scout for shoplifters. One of the nicest things about Georgia’s Books is the man behind the counter. His name is Hayden Amry, and he’s worth looking at, if only for the startling color of his eyes, a sort of blue-green color that makes me think of Caribbean seas. The rest of Hayden is perfectly fine, as well, but he’s spoken for.
    “So what’s missing?” I asked.
    “Not so much missing as rearranged,” he said. “Sometimes it’s a pack of baseball cards in the children’s section. Sometimes it’s a best seller over in the magazines. Our thief hasn’t established a pattern.”
    “When did all this start?”
    “Not long after the last full moon.” His worried voice made me suspect this conversation was heading into supernatural territory. “I think it might be something more serious than Georgia will admit.”
    “Gremlins?”
    He looked startled. I should have known better than to tease him. Hayden believes in everything.
    “I hadn’t thought of that,” he said.
    “I’m just kidding.”
    “I was afraid it might be some sort of poltergeist activity, but there hasn’t been any damage. Gremlins steal things, though, don’t they, and move things around.”
    “Hayden, I was being facetious.”
    “Then I remembered the store had been built over another building that had burned. If anyone died in that fire, they may be trying to tell us something.”
    Now I was really sorry I’d said anything. Hayden fixed his marvelous eyes on mine, his expression concerned.
    “Do you think Jerry could come and hold a séance here? If we get in touch with the spirit, he or she might tell us what they want.”
    “I don’t think the store is haunted,” I said. “Georgia suspects it’s one of the Yates boys. How about if you fill me in on them? They’re alive, right?”
    “Yes, Clarence and Terrance Yates. Clarence is fifteen, and Terrance is thirteen. They’re always in trouble.”
    “Well, point them out the next time they’re in the store. They sound like more reasonable criminals.”
    Hayden wasn’t convinced. “They’re the kind of boys who’d steal comics or candy, not hardback books or gift items.”
    “If they’re on drugs, they’ll steal anything.” I glanced up. “You have a closed-circuit video surveillance system, don’t you? Have you got these guys on tape?”
    “The tapes have all been snowy,” he said. “Georgia says something’s wrong with the cameras, but I think it’s interference from the spirit realm. How much does Jerry charge for a séance?”
    “I’ll let you two work that out.”
    I wandered around Georgia’s for about an hour, but neither the Yates boys nor gremlins put in an appearance. Promising to ask Jerry about a séance, I left Hayden still eyeing the books as if they were going to hurl themselves off the shelves and went by the Goodwill store in search of