Haunted Guest House Mystery 03-Old Haunts (38 page)

Walking closer, I could see how the contraption was going to work. Deeper than it first looked, it would be possible to hoist up at least some small furniture items or boxes for some-assembly-required pieces. And the chains mounted inside would raise and lower Melissa slowly and safely, but also add an element of fun to the process that just running up the stairs would not be able to offer. The accordion grate she’d have to close to prevent her falling out would keep her safe.

“You’re a genius,” I told Tony, and gave him a hug of my own.

“Didn’t I tell you?” Jeannie glowed, rubbing her ever-growing belly.

Melissa tried out the dumbwaiter first; then, after having deemed it “awesome,” and noting how easy it was to raise, she insisted on giving her grandmother a ride up. Mom looked momentarily wary, but refused to concede that her granddaughter could do anything that wasn’t perfect, and took the ride.

The rest of us went up the pull-down stairs, which Tony had suggested I leave intact, “for emergencies, and just because you won’t always want to pull everything up with your arms.”

My attic, soon to be Melissa’s bedroom, was still about as far along as Jeannie, but it was definitely getting there. The walls were up and smooth, the windows installed, the paint bright yellow (the final decision having come after Melissa had compared color cards for a day and a half), the border wallpaper hung around the crown molding and the skylight installed. But there was still no air-conditioning up there because the ductwork I needed was lying in a carton in the basement. It would be the first equipment the dumbwaiter would deliver.

“It’s beautiful,” Mom said after climbing out of the dumbwaiter with a big grin on her face. “You’ve done a wonderful job up here, Alison.”

Paul and Maxie, floating near the skylight, smiled down at us.

“I had help,” I said.

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