by Lotta Smith
“Oh, of course. I’m not offended. Actually, I have a plan of my own tonight. Have a lovely night!” Jackie threw us a kiss and disappeared.
Mouthing my appreciation to my guardian ghost, I ditched my cutlery on the table and let Rick pull me close to him for an activity that was way sweeter than dessert.
* * *
A few days later, it was 8:00 p.m. on Friday.
“All right, folks. Welcome to the Wayward on the Beach tour! I’m Brian Powers, the CEO of Club Paranormal Tourism. I’ll be your guide, walking you through the wicked, paranormal world hidden beneath the normal world.”
The deep, throaty voice of Brian Powers boomed in the bus via its sound system. “So, we’ve almost arrived at tonight’s destination, and I have a few things I want you guys to understand. No shrieking, no running around, no smoking, and no photos without permission from tonight’s host.”
Brian was Rick’s friend from childhood and the hottest exorcist du jour among the TV people in New York City—not that there were that many exorcists on TV to speak of in the first place. He’d finally obtained fame and, as a result, starred in not just one but six TV shows.
He went on. “We’re not a bunch of toddlers high on sugar. Be nice and courteous. After all, we’re visiting a private residence whose owner has courteously agreed to host us.”
Despite the rather harsh words he used, the participants on the bus seemed happy and excited. In addition to the tourists, there were guys carrying cameras and equipment with names I didn’t know. They were mostly filming Brian, but they occasionally panned out to the rest of the bus.
We could have joined the tour on the bus, but the bus was full of paying guests. Plus, we might need to stay longer than the tourists, so in order to secure transportation back to Manhattan, we were following the bus in Rick’s Ferrari, and I was watching the tour live-stream via Brian’s website.
“I didn’t know he’d launched his own tour company,” I muttered as the people on the bus hooted and cheered to every word uttered by the star exorcist.
“Technically, it’s not his own tour company. It’s one of those shows that lets viewers participate, and he’s more like a hired tour guide.” Rick glanced at the video feeds coming from the tour bus. “Still, considering the show’s website is always overrun with eager participants for the upcoming tours, his popularity must be spreading.”
“I see.” I nodded, watching the enthusiastic people on the mini bus. “I hope Fiona and Leo will be happy to have this crowd.”
It had been a few days since my meeting with Fiona in Midtown, and during that time, she and I had many chats on the phone and had come up with a plan—hence us following the tour bus heading for Fiona’s family manor in Norwalk, Connecticut.
According to her, she hadn’t told her husband about her mystical encounter because he happened to be one of those people who didn’t believe in supernatural phenomena. At the same time, he had this tendency to get overly protective, and she wasn’t keen on making her possible jeopardy into a big thing. I didn’t have a problem grasping her situation. If it weren’t for Rick being my boss and only colleague when I was with the FBI, I might have been institutionalized after knowing Jackie. Rick also tended to be quite protective sometimes. He said we couldn’t limit Fiona’s would-be murderer to living people, and then he came up with the idea of including Brian when we visited her.
Standing at 6’5, with the build of a former NFL draft pick and dressed in a Mafia-style all-black suit made of glistening fabrics, Brian looked like one of those phony self-proclaimed psychics or mediums out there. However, he actually happened to be real. He could see and talk to dead people—including Jackie—and so far, he’d collaborated with us many times when we were with the FBI. Also, he happened to have saved my behind more times than I wanted to remember.
When Rick suggested involving Brian, I wasn’t sure what Fiona would say; however, she found this newly offered plan absolutely fabulous. Though the couple still had their jobs in Manhattan and commuted on weekdays, they were planning to turn Fiona’s family manor into a bed and breakfast. Before making a full career change, opening a café utilizing the storehouse building was their means of a test drive.
Brian promised to mention the Edenfelds’ plan to make the haunted storehouse into a café in the episode, so having him and the TV crews over to their storehouse meant big exposure to millions of viewers, which made Fiona’s persuading Leo easy. Indeed, she said her husband couldn’t be happier, and he had even praised her idea of having a TV psychic visit their would-be café. He believed she fabricated the encounter with her nana to gain exposure, and he even called her a genius.
It took just a little over an hour to reach the Victorian-style manor in Norwalk.
When we got out of the Ferrari, the tour guests were coming out of the bus.
“Oh my God, I’m so excited!” I caught one of the female participants exclaiming as she climbed down the steps. “According to the information, the owner of this manor encountered her granny who’s been dead for, like, years! Can you believe that, Lauren?”
“How cool is that?” the girl called Lauren agreed. “I really liked that haunted castle tour. It was totally awesome to be there with Brian on that episode. It was a little pricier than other tours, but that was so worth it. Carrie, you really should have been there.”
“I know! Oh my God, I’m so jealous! I really wanted to participate in that, but I had an exam I couldn’t miss.”
Carrie looked like a college student, and Lauren seemed to be slightly older. Both were clad in attire that made them look like clubgoers rather than participants in a paranormal tour. Then again, as I looked at the other participants, I noticed most of them were young women.
“Excuse me?” a guy coming from behind said to the women. “Have you participated in these tours before?”
Unlike the majority of the guests, he appeared to be a businessman, probably in his mid- to late-forties. He was wearing a dark suit, perhaps coming directly from his workplace, and was the most formally dressed person on the bus.
“Yes, of course!” said Carrie, taking Lauren’s hand. “Actually, we’ve participated more than a few times. We kept bumping into each other and became friends.”
“Wow, that’s nice.” The businessman smiled. “For me, it’s the first time to join this kind of tour, and I haven’t quite grasped the knack for it. Also, I have to admit, I’m a little nervous about having an encounter with some frightening ghosts.”
“Oh no. You don’t want to be so scared of our friends from the other world,” another guy, sporting rimless glasses, chimed in. “When you’re afraid of them, you’ll scare them away. You know what? Our otherworldly friends are so sensitive.”
“Hey, Larry. We meet again.” Lauren did a little finger wave at him, and he blushed.
“Yes, yes!” Jackie popped up by my side from out of nowhere. “Mandy, did you hear that? That Larry dude understands us so well. Like he said, the people in our group are so very delicate.”
“I heard,” I said, putting my phone to my ear. “I’m sure he can’t see you. That’s why he believes all ghosts are delicate.”
“Hello? Are you implying I’m not delicate?” Jackie narrowed her eyes.
“Why don’t you try waving at him?” I suggested, prompting the ghost of a drag queen to wave at Larry, but he didn’t wave back.
While Jackie was attempting to get Larry’s attention, the businessman nodded like a bobblehead as he said, “Oh, I see.”
“You know, the secret to having more encounters with ghosts is being open-minded,” Lauren said. “Perhaps, if you imagine yourself embracing our ghostly friends, they’re more likely to see you and share their story.”
“Thank you very much for walking me through this. Oh, where are my manners? I’m Wesley. Wesley Andreano.”
As Wesley introduced himself, I looked at the tour guest list and noticed his name marked as “new customer.”
There was anot
her name, Susan White, marked as a new customer, and spotting her was easy. Unlike Wesley Andreano, she didn’t engage in conversation with the other participants. She was clad in a navy wrap dress that showed her cleavage. Arms crossed, she was impatiently patting the ground with the tip of her shoe.
“Who’s she?” Jackie asked me, pointing at the bored-looking woman. As I relayed my assumption of her identity, the ghost said, “I think the name Susan White is an alias. What kind of parents name their child something like that?”
“Hey, Jackie, you have to apologize to all the Susan Whites and their parents in the world,” I muttered to her, but she just shrugged.
In the meantime, Carrie and Lauren’s conversation continued.
“…and when we shrieked, the door of the haunted house suddenly slammed shut. I’m sure it wasn’t the wind. Though there was no evidence, I know it was the ghost….” Carrie was talking about her experience with the previous tour, sounding like a horror show host.
“Yeah, that time was crazy.” Carrie nodded at her friend’s words.
“Oh, my. I wish I’d been there….” Wesley’s eyes widened.
As the guests bragged about being regular customers and chatted excitedly about their previous paranormal encounters, wowing Wesley, Susan glanced at them and snorted. She shook her head as if she couldn’t believe she’d signed up for such a ridiculous program.
While I was observing her, wondering why she joined this trip in the first place, Rick touched my arm. “I think that’s your friend,” he said.
“Mandy, thank you for coming!” Fiona came toward us, waving both arms. A tall guy followed her out of the house. I assumed him to be Leo, except he seemed to have gained some weight. In addition, I sensed a slight difference in his aura, but I couldn’t tell what it was. Though, considering three years had passed since I’d last seen him, I attributed it to his aging process. To be honest, I couldn’t say I hadn’t aged at all in the last three years.
“Hi, Fiona! Long time no see!” I ran toward her with open arms. Hugging and air-kissing each other, I asked in a stage whisper, “So, did your grandma tell you any additional information regarding the danger coming your way?”
“No,” she whispered back to me. “Actually, I haven’t seen Nana since the day she gave me the warning.”
“I see. Hopefully either Brian or I can communicate with her. At least, we can try,” I replied softly before we parted.
“So, you and Leo met at our wedding, right?” she said, indicating her husband.
“Yes, we did.” Leo nodded, smiling. “It’s been three years. Talk about time flying.”
“I know!”
“So, Mandy, you must introduce me to your soon-to-be husband,” she said playfully.
“Of course,” I said, grinning. “Fiona, Leo, this is Rick. Rick, this is Fiona and Leo.”
“Nice meeting you.”
After shaking hands with Rick, Fiona pulled me aside. “Oh my God, I’ve seen him in Page Six, and he’s way hotter in person than in photos!” Her voice was still low, but her tone was excited. “You’ve got to tell me all the juicy details about the romance between you and Rick.”
“Hey, Brian,” Rick called to the exorcist, gesturing at him to come over. “Come and meet Fiona and Leo, our hosts here.”
“Right. Coming.” Brian excused himself and scurried toward us. “Hi, I’m Brian Powers, and I appreciate your generosity to—” He was speaking smoothly like he did on TV, but as soon as he locked eyes with Fiona, he suddenly faltered.
“Hi, Brian.” Fiona smiled at him, extending her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I like your shows so much.”
“Oh really?” Brian muttered. I realized he was turning pink. No, considering it was night and the lights were limited to the moonlight and pathway lights, he should have been turning crimson.
“Yup, she’s telling the truth,” Leo chimed in. “For the past month or so, she’s been binge-watching paranormal shows. Obviously, she’s mostly hooked by your shows.”
Brian was speechless for a moment until he finally managed to mumble, “Wow! I mean… I’m so flattered.” He enthusiastically shook hands with Fiona.
In the meantime, Rick was biting his lip as if he was resisting the urge to burst out laughing.
“Hey, isn’t it odd?” I whispered in his ear.
“What’s odd? What are you talking about?” A corner of his lips quirked up into a lopsided grin.
“I’m talking about Brian,” I explained. “You know, he turned red, and he’s acting as if he has no idea how to have a conversation. Is he sick or something? I was so relying on him in case this situation goes wrong.”
“No worries, he’s fine,” Rick said softly, chuckling. “It’s just your friend here happens to be his type. Hell, I wasn’t expecting this.”
“Come on, she’s married.”
“I know, I know. Wow, this is gonna be fun.”
As I stood by Rick, who was still struggling to suppress his laughter, I started to doubt if bringing the exorcist in was the right decision.
CHAPTER 3
“Wow….”
Many guests gasped as we were led into the main building of Fiona’s family manor, aka the Kimmelstiel Manor. The Victorian-style architecture looked enormous and magnificent from the outside, but with one step into the building, I felt as if I had wandered into one of those good old days lost in history. The oak floors gleamed, reflecting the soft light spilling from the old Noritake chandelier. All the furniture was solidly built and embellished with delicate adornment.
“This is nice,” Rick said, looking impressed. “I can already picture a high-end hotel coming out of this beautiful architecture. Fiona, perhaps you want to collaborate with a company to turn a beautiful manor like this place into a hotel, with butlers, a chef, and much more.”
“That’s exactly what I was saying to my wife,” Leo chimed in. “But we have different opinions, and so far, we’ve only agreed to disagree.”
“I see.” Rick chuckled. “Speaking of disagreeing, coming to terms on the size of the guest list at our upcoming wedding was the most difficult topic to agree on.”
Rick’s comment was like bait being thrown in a fishing pond for this group of women with a passion for paranormal activity and, of course, gossip.
As soon as a woman asked, “Oh my God, when are you going to get married?” Lauren followed with another question. “How did you guys meet?”
“We’re tying the knot in August. And how did we meet? Oh, I didn’t see that coming.” Rick chuckled. “When I met her for the first time, I was an FBI agent, and she was being detained at Chapel Hill Police Department for a crime she didn’t commit.”
“You’re kidding!” Carrie chimed in, snorting. She didn’t seem to buy his answer as true. “When did you realize your love for each other?”
Pulling me close to him, Rick continued. “When she asked, ‘Do I look fat in orange?’ I figured she had this huge crush on me. Definitely, it was love at first sight on her part.”
“Hey, I didn’t say that.” I slapped his arm, feeling my cheeks burn.
“You did,” he said nonchalantly, flashing his perfect set of pearly whites.
“I so didn’t!” I insisted. Okay, so I might have wondered if I’d looked fat in an orange jumpsuit, but thinking was different than saying it aloud. “Besides, in my opinion, you’re the one who had a bigger crush on me. That’s why you hired me as your assistant as soon as my name was cleared.”
“Come on, that was just a coincidence. I was looking for an assistant, and you seemed to have spare time on your hands.”
Brian cleared his throat. “Hello? We’re here to meet the ghost, not listen to you love birds verbally making out, remember?”
“Oh yeah? I was offering a little entertainment on top of the ghost.” Rick winked.
“Oh, of course! That was fun.” Giggles filled the place.
Brian raised an index finger, shushing them. “Participants, I appre
ciate each of you behaving like a lady or gentleman.”
“Oh, isn’t it fun?” Fiona laughed. “Actually, I was panicking about having you over. Okay, so we were thinking about opening a bed and breakfast eventually, but I wasn’t sure if I could survive having more than a dozen people here at one time.” Then she winked at Rick. “That’s why I want to start small and intimate.”
“Oh, right. I see.” Rick nodded.
“By the way, thank you for your nice words about this house. My family would be so proud.”
“My pleasure. This architecture is a hidden gem.” Rick displayed the polite smile he saved for public and social occasions.
“He’s so right. It’s a hidden gem. And I feel the same—a small, intimate bed and breakfast is more suited than a hotel,” Carrie agreed, admiring the place.
Fiona led us into a spacious salon with enough sofas and coffee tables to accommodate everyone. She excused herself, telling the guests she’d bring some tea and baked goods, so I came along with her to help.
“Oh my goodness… this is so glorious!” One of the older tour participants sighed longingly when we returned. “When was this built?” she asked, munching on a piece of brownie. The baked goods were so yummy, I knew Fiona could do great just by selling them.
“I don’t remember the specific year, but it’s been here a little more than a hundred years,” Fiona replied.
“Older than a hundred years? Look at these columns. They seem as if they could last the next hundred years or much more.”
“That’s what my grandfather used to say.” Fiona nodded. “I spent my childhood here. My grandparents, Stan and Beverly, were so loving.”
The curious tour participants never seemed to run out of questions.
“So, are you and your husband living here now?”
“We’ve been staying here for a while, but we still have our jobs in Manhattan. Then again, commuting every day isn’t as easy as we used to imagine. So, as much as we’re keen on turning this place into a bed and breakfast, we’re considering moving back to Manhattan until we’ve figured out more about our business here,” Fiona replied.