“Hi?” I answered. “What’s up?”
“I caught wind of what’s happening in your hometown,” she said. “Well, actually it was Mike, but he passed the news along. Another body? And a more recent victim at that? It sounds like you might need a little help. Should we be headed your way?”
“Yeah, it wouldn’t hurt,” I said. “How soon can you be here?”
“As soon as you say go, but there’s a catch,” she said.
“A catch? What kind of catch?” I asked. What was Rachel playing at?
“Well, let’s just say Mike thinks this will make a pretty good episode of our new reality show. A psychic and a ghost hunter going after a serial killer and all that.”
“Ugh,” I had to say. The last thing I needed was to bring a whole film crew into town, especially now that Jonathan was kind of on my side. But I didn’t really have a choice, did I? I needed to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.
“How soon can you get here?” I asked. As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them.
Thirteen
The next day, Rachel and the rest of the gang arrived in town. After they settled in at the inn, we met up at Sammy’s Bar & Grill. Kane tagged along, surprisingly looking forward to catching up with the ghost hunter group.
Rachel greeted us as soon as she saw us enter and led us to a big table in the back. Poor Danny, the owner of the place, didn’t even have enough time to say hello to us.
Mike, Jacob, and Chloe were already seated. Mike and Jacob were having an intense conversation about something while Chloe looked like her usual meek self in the corner. She was playing with her long red locks.
Chloe looked almost startled when I greeted her as if I woke her from a daydream or something.
“You okay?” I asked her.
“Yeah, just a bit more spacey than usual. I think I’m just nervous,” she said.
“There’s nothing to be nervous about, Chlo,” Mike said. “This is going to be an opportunity of a lifetime!”
“Yeah, I’m with Chloe on this one,” Jacob said. “You would be too if you had to carry all that heavy recording equipment. Running from ghosts is one thing. But a real-life serial killer? That’s a whole other ballgame.”
“You guys can be so dramatic sometimes,” Rachel said. “This is going to be fun! Just think positive!”
Chloe looked away and didn’t say anything. Jacob groaned. And Mike nodded in agreement.
I’d met the four of them while I was out of town on another job. They were a group of ghost hunters. Mike was the one in charge since he was the one financing the whole thing in the first place. He was in charge of gadgets and the technical aspects of the operation. Jacob was the cameraman, responsible for recording the visual ghostly activity. Rachel was in charge of promo and was the resident spiritual cleansing lady. Sage, salt, and crystals were her forte. Chloe, shy and withdrawn as ever, was the resident psychic. She could get flashes of psychic insight when she touched objects. While her gift wasn’t as strong as Callie’s, it was still pretty useful. It certainly helped on my last case.
I looked around but I didn’t see any sign of a film crew.
“You guys are here by yourselves?” I said. “Rachel said you were still shooting that show.”
Mike looked away then. Jacob looked down at his plate. Chloe was already in her own world. Rachel was the only one that could look me straight in the eye.
“We finished shooting the pilot and now it’s up to the network if they want to pick it up,” she said. “They were only willing to put up money for the pilot. We’re funding this gig ourselves. We’ll all be hooked up to cameras and Jacob will take some extra shots with the big camera we just bought for the occasion.”
While Rachel was putting a positive spin on things, the rest of the crew remained quiet.
“That’s great,” I said. “The case I’m working on has a lot of potential. But, I’m afraid the local sheriff won’t take kindly to you guys running around recording everything. The cameras will definitely have to be off when I take Chloe to the morgue.”
The look on Chloe’s face when I said “morgue” was priceless.
Just then, Danny came over with our orders. There was an awkward silence as we thanked him for our food. Once he was gone, Chloe actually spoke up.
“Rachel, you didn’t say anything about a morgue. Does this mean I’ll have to touch a dead body?” Chloe asked her friend and coworker.
Rachel brushed the whole thing away like it was nothing. “What’s the big deal, Chloe? You touch her arm or something and get a vision and then we’re out of there. It shouldn’t take more than a minute tops. Isn’t that right, Meredith?”
“Yeah, Rachel’s right,” I said to Chloe. “But the hard part will be convincing Jonathan, that’s the local sheriff, to let us back in the morgue in the first place. He barely let me in there the last time.”
“Leave that to me,” Rachel said. “I can be very convincing when I have to be.”
I had no doubt about that. Rachel had the kind of personality that could light up the whole room. Her enthusiasm was infectious, that was for sure. Even I was starting to believe that everything would be easy-peasy, even though I knew better from experience. There was a reason she was also in charge of their promo.
“I don’t know. I don’t feel very comfortable. Touching an object is one thing, but a person?” Chloe said. She looked even more nervous than usual if that was possible.
“Maybe you don’t have to touch the actual body,” Rachel said. “I assume she was clothed when she was found?” She asked me.
I nodded. “I think so. That would make things a bit easier. I don’t think Jonathan can object too much to having Chloe touch one of those belongings. They should have already gotten all they could from those.”
“Ladies’ room time!” Rachel said and got up, practically pulling me from my chair. “Come on, Chlo!”
“I’m fine,” Chloe said.
Once we were out of sight, Rachel rolled her eyes and sighed. “She’s been like that since we started shooting the pilot. I don’t think she likes the limelight very much.”
“I can’t say I’m very surprised. She’s shy on the best of days. Add a camera to the mix? Well, let’s just say that it certainly doesn’t help someone like her come out of the shell.”
We were in the ladies’ room now. Rachel touched up her makeup in the mirror, her dark skin already flawless. Her naturally curly hair was on full display.
I looked at myself and was sort of sad that my hair wasn’t quite as voluminous as hers. I had purple streaks going through my natural blonde color. I touched up my lipstick, which was a dark red.
“We look good!” Rachel said and laughed.
I turned to her. “What’s the real reason we’re here? I know it wasn’t to touch up your makeup. It already looks great.”
“Aww, you’re so sweet,” Rachel said. “But yeah, you’re right. I didn’t want to say this in front of the others, but this is pretty much our last shot at getting our show on the air. I’ve heard some rumblings from a few friendly people working for the network, and the word is that our pilot wasn’t exactly met with much enthusiasm. They said I was fine, of course. The guys did decently as well. But Chloe. Yeah, Chloe is definitely the weak link.”
“Ouch,” I said.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Rachel was quick to say. “But you know how she is. She doesn’t exactly shine in social situations. I tried talking to her about it, but I don’t think she’s interested in changing. I thought maybe you could have a talk with her.”
“I’m not sure what exactly I can do about it…”
“You have experience being in front of the camera. I saw that interview and you seemed like a natural. Just give her a couple of tips.”
“I’ll try,” I said. “But I have to be blunt here. My main goal is to get to the bottom of this. Figure out who killed Rebecca and this latest victim as well. Your show isn’t really
a priority for me. I just need Chloe to do her psychic thing. I don’t care if she makes a show of it or not.”
“This is important to me. To us. The last few months haven’t exactly been the greatest for our business. Getting a show on the air will help us immensely. And it could help put you on the map, too.”
Rachel had a point. My business was drying up, especially since that hit piece that gossip show did on me recently.
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll see what I can do. But I’m not making any promises.”
Rachel smiled. “That’s all I’m asking. This will be good for all of us, you’ll see.”
Rachel went back to the table while I stared at my own reflection in the mirror.
Then I noticed a familiar face behind me.
“How long have you been eavesdropping on us?” I asked Rebecca.
“Long enough,” she said. “Are you sure this is what you want to be doing now?”
I shook my head. “No, but it’s not like I have a lot of choices, do I?” I liked Rachel and the rest of her crew, but doing a TV show was the last thing I wanted to be doing.
The rest of the lunch, Kane and the guys caught up, chatting about all kinds of things, while I tried to break Chloe out of her shell, but with not much luck. She would barely give me one word answers to my questions. I made a note that I needed to get her alone. Maybe she’d open up more when the only set of eyes on her were my own. And maybe Rebecca’s, but she wouldn’t be aware of those anyway.
We left the guys at the bar. Rachel, Chloe, and I were headed to the police station. Rebecca was with us too, of course. Chloe basically had to be dragged to her feet, though.
“You won’t have to touch any dead people, I promise,” Rachel reassured her. “Isn’t that right, Meredith?”
I nodded. “You’ll just have to touch her personal belongings. I think that’ll be enough.” At least I hoped it would. We needed to find out who this woman was and what exactly happened to her. And hopefully where, because there was a good chance that her ghost was at the scene of the crime.
The receptionist greeted us with her usual disdain.
“What do you want now, Ms. Good?” She asked me. “And who are these people with you?”
“I’m Rachel and this is my friend Chloe,” Rachel was quick to say. She extended her hand and the receptionist reluctantly shook it. “We love your quaint little town! So cozy!”
I cleared my throat to get the receptionist’s attention. Rachel was laying it on a bit thick. “I’m here to see Sheriff Valentine,” I said, trying to keep things as professional as possible.
The receptionist rolled her eyes and pressed a button on her phone.
“I see,” she said. “Alright, sir. If that’s what you want.”
The receptionist didn’t look too happy when she hung up the phone. That only meant one thing: Jonathan agreed to see us. I stopped myself from smiling too widely.
“He’s expecting you,” the receptions said. “Just make it quick.”
“I always do,” I said with a wink.
Once we were in his office, we closed the door behind us. I quickly introduced everyone to each other.
“So nice to meet you, sheriff,” Rachel said as she extended her hand. “I look forward to working together.”
“Working together?” Jonathan said, raising his eyebrows and giving me a look. “I don’t think so. This is an official police investigation and I expect any civilians to respect that. Isn’t that right, Meredith?”
I sighed. “Yes. But there’s just one thing…”
“I don’t want to hear it,” Jonathan quickly interjected. “Unless you have some information to share with me, I’m not interested in hearing what you have to say.”
“The thing is, the only way I would have information to share is if you let Chloe here touch a few of the victim’s items,” I said.
Chloe took a few steps back until she was practically out the door.
Jonathan looked at the three of us in turn. “This is a police matter, not something a bunch of amateurs and so-called psychics can turn into a show for profit.”
“I’m sorry, sir,” Chloe said, barely audible. “We’re sorry for wasting your time.”
“Thank you for that,” Jonathan said and relaxed a bit. “I’m glad at least one of you understands.”
Before Rachel could interject and really turn on the charm, I asked for her and Chloe to give me a few minutes alone with the sheriff. Rachel reluctantly left the office and said they’d wait for me right outside.
“You have to let Chloe at least try,” I said. “You know if she finds something, it’ll be good for you too.”
“Not if I see it on TV in a year,” he said.
“I promise I won’t let them film any of that. Is that good enough?”
“I’ll have to get that in writing, and I want all of them to sign it.”
I sighed. “Fine, just get the paperwork ready and I’ll get them to sign it. Just please make it quick. Time is running out to catch whoever did this.”
“You don’t think I know that?” He said, looking flabbergasted that I’d even say such a thing,
“Sorry, Jonathan, I keep forgetting you’re the sheriff.”
As if, I thought to myself. The man never stops reminding me. But I had to play nice. As much as I hated to admit it, he was the one calling the shots now. Using my cousin Sarah as an intermediary could only get me so far.
Fourteen
“But that’s the whole reason we’re here,” Rachel said when I told her Jonathan’s terms. “I’m not signing anything.”
“I’ll sign it,” Chloe was quick to say. “Isn’t this why we’re here in the first place? To help Meredith solve this thing once and for all?”
“Really, Chloe? After everything we’ve been through?” Rachel said, obviously upset.
“I don’t like it either,” I said. “If it was just me, I’d have no problem breaking into the morgue and getting to the personal effects, but since you guys are filming everything, I don’t think engaging in illegal activity is on the table, is it?”
Rachel shook her head. “But it won’t be on the camera at all now.”
I smiled as soon as I thought of the perfect solution.
“Share with the class,” Rachel was quick to say when I didn’t say anything.
“Maybe you can do a reenactment?” I offered. “Take some clothes and have Chloe pretend to do a psychic reading on them. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from that interview I did, not everything is as it seems on television. Most of those reality shows on TV are scripted anyway.”
“That’s actually not a bad idea,” Rachel said. “Then we won’t have to cut out all the superfluous crap. Good thinking, Meredith.”
“Glad to be of service,” I said. “Now let’s get back to the guys. Hopefully, they’re done bonding over EVP machines or whatever they were talking about when we left.”
Rachel laughed. “Good luck with that. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from hanging around Mike and Jacob this whole time, is that they can talk about that kind of stuff indefinitely. Especially if there’s alcohol involved.”
After saying our goodbyes for now, Kane and I drove back to my office. I stopped by Gran’s bakery to say hello and update her on everything that was happening.
“It’s just awful,” she said. “Do you really think it could be the same killer?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. Probably not. Let’s just hope it’s not his ghost or something.”
Gran shuddered at that.
“Don’t worry,” I smiled. “I don’t think ghosts have gotten quite that strong. Yet, anyway. Killing someone is one thing. But deliberately dumping their body somewhere? I think that’s beyond them.”
“Let us hope you’re right,” she said. Then she turned her attention to more important things. “Want to take some pastries with you?”
I couldn’t exactly refuse.
I took several and went
next door to my office. Kane had already left to see what he could find out the mundane way. I sat in my office and enjoyed the pastries while Rebecca paced back and forth across the small space.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked her between bites of the delicious pastries. I’d offer her one, but she was obviously not in a state to appreciate them on any level.
“I’m thinking about actually doing something. Maybe I can take another look around town?”
“You’ve already done that,” I said. “But if it makes you feel useful, go for it.”
“You’ll really be alright by yourself? With a possible serial killer on the loose?”
“I’m not worried,” I said. “I don’t exactly invite danger on myself. I’m careful.”
Rebecca raised her ghostly eyebrows.
“What? I am.”
“Sure you are,” she said. “I’ll check on you periodically, okay?”
“Do as you wish,” I said. “Just don’t go too far.”
She promised she wouldn’t. And then she walked through the glass door and disappeared around the corner.
The thought of not having her around once we got to the bottom of this was almost too much to bear. So I stuffed my mouth with another delicious pastry to forget all about it.
My phone rang an hour or so later, while I rearranged my files for the umpteenth time. When I said business was slow, I meant that it was practically nonexistent.
“I’ve got the papers drawn up and ready to sign,” Jonathan said on the other line.
“Great,” I said. “Where do you want to meet?”
“At Sammy’s Bar & Grill will be fine,” he said. “I’m overdue for a lunch break anyway.”
I called up the ghost hunters and Kane and pretty soon we were all back at Sammy’s.
“Welcome back,” Danny said when he saw us again. “Back so soon?”
I explained why we were there. He led us to a table away from the other customers and took our drink orders while we waited for Jonathan to show up.
Ghostly Endings (A Ghost Hunter P.I. Mystery Book 5) Page 9