Chapter 18

S imon walked into the Paragon building, once again caught up in the magic of being here with her. He gave a heavy groan and spoke to himself. "You might as well just accept it. You'll have to buy this one. If you lose it, you'll be crushed, and you know it," he muttered. When his words echoed in the big emptiness, he smiled, absolutely loving everything about it. As he stepped forward, going through the first floor, his mind was much clearer, much more analytical about what needed to be done and what the costs would be.

When his engineer called him and had a couple questions about another project, Simon asked Benjamin bluntly, "Where are you right now?"

"I'm downtown," Benjamin replied. "Why?"

"Just wondered if you could pop over and take a look at a building I'm considering. It would be great if you could do it now, since I'm here."

Benjamin laughed. "You don't have enough on your plate already?"

"Apparently not, and this one would be a huge project," he added. "So, I want to know whether I'll lose one shirt or two shirts."

Silence came on the other end, before the engineer groaned. "You do have the dandiest taste in buildings. "

"Yeah, I do," he agreed in satisfaction, "but I've got to admit that I really love this one."

"Which one is it?" Benjamin asked, resigned to it now. "I'll see if I can swing around."

"The Paragon."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously."

"That's a hell of a building."

"I know it is, and I would absolutely love to have it."

"I didn't even realize it was up for sale," he muttered.

"Don't go thinking that you'll get it out from under me," Simon said, with a laugh.

"Oh, no way. I don't have the kind of money required to get that building on its feet," he shared. "Not even close. And honestly you need to seriously think about that one."

"That's one of the reasons why I'm busy looking at it again and called you just now. So I'll take your comments under consideration."

"And then you'll completely ignore them, I presume?"

"Ooh, ouch, do I have that kind of reputation?"

"Absolutely," he said, with a laugh, "and that can't come as any surprise. Anyway, give me… maybe twenty minutes, depending on traffic, and I'll be there."

"Good enough. I'll be inside, wandering around, taking a good look at it."

"Good, then take another—and another one after that," the engineer suggested in a sarcastic tone, "because you'll find that it needs way the hell more than you're expecting. That building has been around since forever."

"I know she has, but I also feel as if somebody needs to give her some love."

The engineer groaned. "Only you would say that. Dude, you need to get a partner."

"Already got one," he declared in a cheerful voice.

"What does she think of all this?"

"Honestly, she's the one dealing with the dead body found there."

A shocked silence came on the other end. "I presume that means she's a cop—at least I hope she's a cop, although I guess she could be a coroner. I hope it wasn't a murder connected to that place."

"It was a murder, and it was one of two recent murders of homeless men connected to this place. However, it will not in any way impact how I feel about buying it."

"I guess it might make the price a little easier on you."

"It might at that," he replied, with a laugh, "but it's hardly enough of a reason to buy it or not."

"No, you've already got your thought process well into this one, so it doesn't matter what anybody says. I'll see you in twenty." And, with that, Benjamin disconnected.

Simon pocketed his phone and continued to walk around the property. He could see in his mind's eye what it would look like after his rehab, and that always meant he was on the right path.

With almost a childlike glee, he wandered through, seeing the entire property at its best, which put a huge smile on his face. When he got to the stairwell where he'd first seen Shawn, his smile fell away, and he groaned.

"Shawn, if you're around and if you want to tell me something, feel free," he offered. "I'm not very good at this, and I really don't know how to talk to ghosts and spirits, but, hey, if you want to tell me something about your death, I'll see if I can make somebody step up and take notice."

Suddenly a weird shimmer filled the air. Simon froze and slowly turned to look up and down the stairs, expecting to see a spirit, but he didn't find anything of any form.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught a weird shimmer again, like a heat wave, but he wasn't quite sure what he saw or if he even saw anything. He wondered if it was just his imagination, which, in this case, it could very well be. Doing what he did, and having just enough talent to see things that probably weren't there, also gave Simon the ability to create them.

He groaned and called out, "Shawn, I'm not very good at this, so you might need to make it as definitive as possible." He waited a little bit more, and, when a door slammed upstairs, he frowned.

"Okay, that's pretty definitive." Moving quickly, he climbed up the stairs to the next floor. It wasn't that door that had slammed shut but one several more up. As he continued to climb, he looked around, wondering if somebody human was here. It was certainly possible. Why wouldn't there be? People were living in this place long before Simon ever took a look at buying it again recently, so it made sense that another homeless guy could be here.

As he walked up, he found the older homeless man he'd seen before and had talked to outside, the one who wore the cap. He was just sitting here, staring up at him. "Hey, are you okay?"

He shook his head. "Kind of lonely."

"I'm sorry, but you probably shouldn't be in here."

He nodded. "I know, but I thought maybe Shawn might be here. He was always going on about the ghosts. So I figured maybe he was one of them now."

"And the ghosts don't bother you?"

" Nah , they're dead," he said, with a shrug. "They can't hurt me none."

Simon had to admit that was a refreshing attitude and one that he appreciated. "Did you ever think you saw Shawn's ghost here?"

The guy shrugged. "Maybe. I told him, if it was him, he should find a way to leave before getting stuck in limbo here. That would suck. After all, Shawn had found ghosts were here anyway."

"It did, indeed, suck, but hopefully he'll find some answers and get some peace somewhere. I'm sorry for your loss."

He looked over at Simon and nodded. "Yeah, the trouble is, most people don't give a shit about the homeless population. It's not as if we're thriving members of society."

"No, but you're entitled to live how you want, and, as long as you're not hurting anybody else, I'm happy for you to do you."

The older guy looked at him with a small smile. "But how do you know I'm not hurting anybody else?"

"I figure you're not. Regardless, it would be nice if you didn't," Simon said, with a nod, as he leaned against one of the walls.

"What are you doing back here anyway?" the homeless guy asked, eyeing him curiously.

"One, I feel bad about Shawn. And, two, I'm still looking at purchasing the property."

"But it's not even Shawn who they found here. It was Frankie."

"I know, but I didn't have the same connection with Frankie."

"Yeah, something was always a little off about him."

"Off in what way? "

" Sly ," the homeless man said, with a shake of his head. "He was the one guy you probably shouldn't have left a backpack around because it would disappear before you had a chance to get your shit out of it," he muttered. "I know lots of guys on the street have a code, and they all talk about having groups and friends and sharing a creed on the streets, but Frankie was one who, if he could make a few bucks, he would make a few bucks."

"And yet is it fair to steal from the other homeless people? Aren't most of them hurting in the same way and in the same boat?"

He groaned. "Frankie didn't bother with street rules."

" Huh ."

"Somebody asked him about Shawn."

"Somebody asked who?" Simon asked.

"Somebody asked Frankie about Shawn, and Frankie told me about it."

"What did Frankie say?"

The older guy shrugged. "He was a little excited about some money the guy promised him. Frankie told me that it was good money, but he was also kind of wary."

"He should have been. Seems the same guy could have killed both Shawn and Frankie. So did Frankie say anything about who and why?" Simon asked.

"No, just something about Shawn knowing somebody and getting into this black truck. Supposedly the same guy told Frankie that he would come back and take him out for a meal or two and they could have a talk, maybe even about getting him off the streets."

Simon nodded, as he listened. "But it didn't work out that way, did it?"

The old guy shook his head. "I'm assuming it didn't.… I' m thinking it was probably the same guy too." He looked over at Simon. "It was, wasn't it?"

"I have no idea," he stated honestly, "but the cops are working on it."

The old man spat in the corner at that. "Damn cops."

"Not all of them are shit."

"No, not all of them," he agreed. "But the bottom line is, I don't trust them, and I can't talk to them. I did tell this to the one lady cop who was here earlier, but I'm not talking to them anymore."

Simon winced, and at the same time, wondered if he was referring to Kate. "I do know one cop who's worth talking to, if you've got anything to say."

"I got nothing," the older man said. "All I know is, Frankie talked to some guy, told him about seeing Shawn getting into a truck and talking to the driver. Haven't seen either again."

"Would Frankie have been smart enough to check out whether this guy was driving a rig that was the same color?"

The older guy stared at him and then slowly shook his head. "Honest to God, he probably wouldn't."

Simon nodded. "And that just brings up all kinds of nasty ideas."

"Ain't no such things as coincidence."

"Any idea why Shawn felt connected to this place?" Simon asked, as he turned and looked around at the huge building that looked so calm right now.

"He used to work here. At least that's what he told me."

At that, Simon stiffened and turned to look at him. "He worked here?"

"Yeah, I think that's what he said." He frowned. "Or maybe somebody he knew worked here, somebody who was big in his life."

"Ah, that's interesting. Maybe he thought the guy would still be here."

"Maybe, but I don't think his buddy died here or anything. I think he's just dead now."

"Interesting."

"Yeah, lots of people are interesting," the older guy said, followed by a hard sigh. He struggled to his feet, took a look around, then shook his head. "I won't be back. Hopefully Shawn's ghost can get the other ghosts to move on to where they are supposed to be." And, with that, he turned and walked out.

As he watched the older man leave, Simon turned and headed upstairs. He was going by sheer instincts, but the fact that Shawn spent time in this building because he had known somebody who worked here from years ago probably meant that he had known that somebody fairly well.

Considering that Shawn was also killed or at least found at the Feldspar house, it made sense that maybe that Feldspar connection stemmed from here at the Paragon as well. Shawn seemed to think so, even when he was alive. Yet Shawn never told Simon more about that, just wanting Simon to talk to the ghosts themselves. Simon snorted. As if that was going so well for him. Regardless he sent a message to Kate. Shawn and Feldspar, it's probably connected to the Paragon.

When she called him a few minutes later, she was fuming. "Are you in that damn building again?"

"I am. I'm waiting for my engineer to show up. But the homeless guy, the older one with the cap—"

"Yeah, what about him?" she muttered, her voice distant, as if he'd caught her in a bad time—but she'd been the one to call him.

"He said that Frankie talked to somebody about seeing Shawn get into the truck."

Silence came from her end for a moment. Then she spoke up. "Go on."

"Yeah, the old guy also told me that he thought Shawn had worked here in the Paragon, but then he thought maybe Shawn was close to somebody who worked here. It's confusing, but there it is."

"You would have to be pretty damn close to somebody if you kept visiting a building that was completely empty and gone in terms of what it used to be."

"I know," Simon agreed. "I just wondered, considering we're talking about Shawn ending up at the Feldspar house, if his death isn't connected somehow to the Feldspar business records you found here at the Paragon. Maybe Shawn had visited the Feldspar house before. Maybe Shawn is the one who found the business documents at the Feldspar house and brought them to the Paragon for some reason. I think even Shawn was known to sell information for a buck or two. Homeless guys are known for that."

"Well, crap.… I knew some of that, but it's good info, and the same old guy held it back from me. I'll follow up on that." And, with that, she was gone.

He stared down at the phone and sighed. "You're welcome, Kate."

Just then he heard a shout at the front door and grinned. That would be Benjamin, and now they could get down to business.