Eyes closed again, he said, "According to Glory, lots of people say Morton's ghost is active most nights."
"Okay, what are you thinking? I know that look," Bertie said.
"What look?" Harry tried to feign innocence, chuckled and shook his head. "I can't fool you, can I?"
"I know when you're curious about something. You get that far away look in your eyes, like you're deep in thought. And you have this habit of rubbing your chin. So what is it?"
Harry sighed. "I'll tell you when I decide what it is I'm trying to figure out." And he realized that she was getting to know him too well and he wasn't quite sure how he felt about that. Was he becoming more predictable as he got older? Does that happen to everyone, he wondered?
It was a quiet day and they closed the office early, but, Harry didn't go home. First, he picked up pizza and garlic bread, then he picked up Silas and they drove out to Black's Farm to see Joe.
Harry cupped both hands around his coffee mug as they sat around the table in Joe's cottage. "You two know a lot about the history of this place... and the people too." Both men looked straight at him.
Silas looked at Joe. "He's fishing for information again."
Harry grinned. "What do you two know about the Morton place that burned down some years ago? Was Clive Baxter connected to them? And if he was, how?"
"Jimmy Morton owned house," Joe said. "No children."
Silas nodded. "Yeah, Jimmy inherited from his father, but Baxter is Jimmy's nephew, the son of his sister, Nora."
“That much I know,” Harry said.
"First wife was Eva...," Joe added.
'That's right," said Silas. "She was two years behind us in school. She and Jimmy started getting around together during our last year of high school."
Joe laughed and shook his head. "Chased till he gave in..."
"Do you know exactly how Baxter ended up with the estate?"
Silas took a deep breath. "I heard it was left to his sister, Nora, to be divided equally among his nieces and nephews. There were a few on his wife's side too. None of them wanted anything except the money, so they signed their estate shares over to Baxter."
"Took the money and ran," Joe said.
"Okay, now, what do you know about Morton's sister?" Harry asked.
"Nora... tall... thin..." Joe said.
"A few years older than Jimmy, always serious," Silas added. "I don't think I ever saw her smile."
"Married Addison Baxter," Joe said.
"Right," Silas agreed. "He was a widower, much older than Nora. I think he was close to a hundred when he died."
Joe nodded. "Ninety-eight."
"What do you know about him?" Harry asked.
"Old money..." Joe said.
"Very old," Silas agreed, "got a nice nest egg from his first wife's family."
"Smart man..." Joe said.
Silas grinned. "Indeed he was. He knew how to work the stock markets and increased what they had, many times over."
"Were there any children from his first marriage?" Harry asked.
