Shirtwaist Ghosts Chapter 5

5

Allen heard the chime of the elevator doors. As two men rounded the corner to enter his office, he recognized the man in black from the T.V. “Hector?”

“Mr. Harris, nice to meet you,” Hector said extending his hand.

Allen shook Hector's hand.

“And this is Marcos.”

“Hi, Marcos. Nice to meet you,” Allen said shaking Marcos's hand.

“Likewise.”

“Let's talk in here.” Allen led them to his office and motioned for them to have a seat. He had splurged on the Equipale furniture that decorated the reception area and office. Every time someone new entered he couldn't help mentioning how the furniture was hand-made of estaca wood and tobacco-stained pigskin. No two pieces were exactly alike and the cushions had to be custom-made as well.

Hector and Marcos nodded politely as he finished his explanation.
Allen rubbed his hands up and down his thighs. “Now that you’re here, I’m beginning to feel pretty silly about the whole thing.”

“Take your time,” said Marcos.

“We’re not here to judge you, Mr. Harris,” said Hector. “We’re here to listen and help, if we can. If we can’t, we’ll tell you up front.”

“Good, good, it just sounds so crazy.” Allen took a deep breath, offered drinks and drank some water himself before finally retelling all the events leading up to calling El Paso Ghost Hunters.

“So the first time you saw part of their bodies?” said Marcos.

“Yea, that was weird. Why would I only see about half of them?”

“Have you been renovating?”

“Yes, I hired a contractor who gutted the place. Why? Does that mean something?”

“If you find out the floors were moved, lowered or raised, it might explain what you saw,” said Marcos.

“Oh, I get it. The ghosts or whatever…”

“Apparitions,” said Hector.

“Oh, apparitions then. I guess they'd be walking in the building as they remembered it, not what we changed it to. That makes sense.”

“That’s the theory, anyway,” said Marcos.

Hector asked, “Has anyone else experienced anything different or strange?”

Allen snapped his fingers. “Now that you mention it, I think the construction crew complained about things being moved around, but nothing serious, and no one said anything about seeing ghosts.”

“I thought there might have been an accident here. Do you know anything?”

“No, all I know is this used to be a shirtwaist factory. That’s the term they used for a woman’s shirt back in the early 1900s. My great-grandfather was the original owner. He also had a partner, but I’m pretty sure they closed the factory before 1920. They opened up a couple more businesses, but nothing this big.”

“We like to corroborate anything we experience during an investigation with the history of the building. Sometimes it means something, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes, it’s just a folk tale that’s been handed down.”

“I’m all for you doing a full investigation. I’d like to know whatever you find out.”

“Great. Here’s what we plan to do, with your permission of course.”

“Sure, what did you have in mind?”

“Three things. First, we’ll do some research that might give us a clue as to what we’re dealing with. Second, we’d like to do a full overnight investigation at your convenience. Third, after going over all the data, we’ll sit down with you, and let you know the best course of action.”

Allen chewed his lip a couple of seconds before answering, “Well, I think I called the right people.” He patted the top of his desk, then stood up. “Let’s do this.” His shoulders relaxed as he offered his hand to both men. “When do you want to start?”

“You tell us when,” said Hector.

“How about day after tomorrow? How long does this usually take?”

“We’ll start around ten and end about four or five in the morning, depending on the activity level.”

“Do you need me here?”

“That’s up to you.”

“I think I’ll leave it to the professionals.” Allen started walking them to the elevator. “It’s all settled then.” He punched the elevator button. “Guys, thank you, I never believed in this kind of thing. And those dreams or visions, I can’t lie, they shake me up.”

“No problem,” Hector reassured him. “We’ll try to come up with some answers for you and help in any way we can.”