The rerun had not escaped the notice of Sterling and Amber. He shot a dirty look her way over the rim of his beer. She made mental note of his unprofessional behavior. They were practically on the clock.
Amber stared over a shoulder, apparently putting two and two together. Finally. The woman raised a hand to wave.
Something about the look on Amber’s face set off another red flag. The woman slanted her eyes and appeared almost predatory. She needed to get closer and verify her suspicions. Or dismiss them if she was wrong.
She choked down the bland, rubbery chicken and soggy broccoli as quickly as she could.
Michael noticed. “Ready to get back and set up?” he asked. When she nodded, he and Rosie dived into their meals.
While Michael settled the check on the expense account, she palmed the waiter a twenty-dollar bill on top of the generous gratuity she knew Michael would give him. Waiters appreciated the cash they could slide directly into their pockets. She remembered that from her college years spent scraping by waiting tables. She also remembered the difference an extra twenty could make at the grocery store.
The young man lit up when he realized she’d double tipped him. “Wow. Thanks, Ms. Wantland. Our manager told everyone not to ask for your autograph, but—”
“You’d better not ask, then,” she said, sliding her autograph pen out of her purse. The restaurant used cloth napkins, so she retrieved an old business card, as well. After signing it, she pressed it into his hand. “We can both honestly say that you didn’t ask for anything.”
She detoured to Sterling’s table on the way to the exit. “I’m headed back to set up for tonight. You two enjoy your alone time. See you back in thirty minutes. So nice to meet you, Amber.”
Laying a hand on the woman’s back, she grasped her crystal and read what she could of the woman’s spectrum. Dominant red chakra. Significantly dominant. Something else . . .
Amber pulled away from her hand, brows knitting together in a tense scowl. “Nice to meet you, too.” The woman’s brittle tone didn’t support her statement.
She shuddered at the ancient residue she detected on Amber’s soul. The woman looked so young and vapid. But that appeared to be a false front for a malevolent being. Sterling Wakefield was in serious danger. And she couldn’t bring herself to care.
10
Kimberly sat on the floor of her makeup trailer, breathing deeply, while the sound of ocean waves washed over her. Rosie had already touched up her makeup and hair. She needed to relax and allow her senses to focus before she headed into the house.
Sterling barged into the trailer carrying a drink tray. “Oh, good. You’re out of the makeup chair. My turn.”
Breathe in—one week. Breathe out—let it go.
He handed Rosie one of the cups from the tray. “I brought you coffee. Thought you could use a shot of caffeine before we start tonight.” He lifted the second cup from the tray and slurped.
“Thank you!” Rosie took the cup and drank deeply. Then her eyes darted to the empty tray.
Kimberly opened her mouth to comment on the fact that he’d brought two instead of three. She would’ve gladly taken a cappuccino. But she suspected he wanted to irritate her. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing it worked.
“I would’ve brought you one, too, Kimberly, but I wasn’t sure if coffee falls into your healthy choices. Besides, I didn’t know how you’d take it. You’re the mind reader.”
“I’m not a mind reader. I’m a clairvoyant, and I am able to interact with discarnate entities.” She could tell by the look on his face he felt quite pleased with himself. Didn’t need to be a mind reader to see that.
Sterling squatted next to her and leaned in, speaking directly into her ear. “Saying sciencey-sounding things doesn’t make them true.”
A shiver ran up her spine in response to his breath on her skin. She ignored both that and his attempt to goad her. “Coffee is quite good for you. It has many beneficial health properties. I notice you didn’t feel the need to read minds to bring Rosie coffee.”
“Nope. I knew she’d appreciate whatever I brought her. I went with mocha to match her gorgeous complexion.” He threw a grin at her.
Rosie, taking a swallow of her mocha, nearly choked.
Kimberly breathed in and out, determined to rise above it. “For future reference, I take mine with just a little skim milk and no sugar.”
He lifted his cup as if to toast her as he moved to the makeup chair. “Just a little powder, Rosie. Can’t see how I need anything more when we’re shooting in the dark. I’ve noticed nobody looks particularly good through night vision.” He looked directly at her as he said it.
She ignored her inner voice, the one telling her to stay quiet. “So how was dinner? Have some good alone time?”
“So good. I’m really glad Amber made the visit. I notice your boyfriend didn’t come for dinner. Does he ever meet you?”
She bristled. He’d managed to turn the conversation back on her. She didn’t want to share personal information with him. But now she was stuck. “I’m not currently dating anyone. My busy schedule doesn’t allow for relationships. It works better this way.”
“It works if both people are willing to make the effort. Like Amber and I are.”
“And how long have you known Amber?”
Rosie answered. “They just started dating a couple of weeks ago.” She flushed. “Sorry.”
“No problem. I know we’re making a big splash. I’m fine with it. People think we look good together. We’re a good match.”
“And you think a couple of weeks is long enough to know she’s willing to work for a relationship?”
“I think she demonstrated it tonight. You saw. She came all this way to see me.”
“Or to be seen with you.”
“What are you implying?”
Don’t do it, she told herself. She’d already talked to him more than she wanted to. He’d made his bed, let him lie in it. He wouldn’t take her advice anyway. Once again, she ignored her own advice. “Have you slept with her yet?”
He choked on his coffee. “Excuse me?”
“If you haven’t, I advise you not to. You don’t know what you’re dealing with. She’s bordering on dangerous. It would be the best sex you’ve ever had, but for your own well-being, you should break it off and stay away from her.”
“Don’t be preposterous. She’s very sweet.”
“Is she? Be honest with yourself.”
“Why would I stay with someone who wasn’t nice to me? I mean, I’m not exactly desperate.”
“You must be giving her lots of presents, then.”
“I like to spoil my girlfriends—I won’t deny it.”
“I suspect she’s asking for more than you’re gifting. Try not giving her what she asks for and see what happens.”
“So you think she’s just after my money?”
She noticed a tinge of concern cross his eyes. She’d struck a nerve. “No, not just your money. Your celebrity, too.”
“No, she’s not.” He didn’t sound quite as confident as he probably wanted to.
“If you’re that sure, try it once.”
“Let’s get you powdered and ready,” Rosie said, lifting the brush to his face.
Touch-ups complete, Sterling took his coffee and headed for the door. He paused on his way out. “I think it’s obvious you’re jealous because I’m in a relationship and you’re not.”
She laughed. “No, not the slightest bit true. I told you—my relationship status is a choice.”
“Sure.” He left before she could answer.
“That man!” she seethed to the closed door. This would never do. He riled her up continually. She couldn’t work like this.
Rosie held her cup out. “Want some?”
“No, thanks. I’m wide awake now.”
“I think he kinda likes you,” Rosie said before sipping her mocha again.
“You must be joking. He insults m
e every chance he gets. Goes out of his way to antagonize me. Hasn’t said one nice thing to me since he got here.”
“Exactly. Just like a little boy with a crush who will pull a girl’s hair or insult her in front of the class. Because he wants her attention, however he can get it. Sterling is attracted to you—”
“No—”
“And he doesn’t know what to do about it. Especially since he’s dating another woman.”
“First of all, though I do agree his mentality and emotional level seem to be about that of a little boy, I don’t believe that theory. I think he dislikes me and my profession. Which he wouldn’t even call a profession.”
“I’m telling you, I know what I’m talking about. Remember Angelo? He trash-talked me right up until we went to bed.”
“Your last boyfriend? The one who stole your car? That guy is a psychopath.”
“Yeah. But he sent me to the moon in bed.”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. Secondly, Sterling isn’t dating another woman. He’s dating a succubus.”
Rosie nearly dropped her mocha. “Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure.”
“That’s why you asked him if he’d slept with her yet.”
“Right.”
“You have to tell him.”
“You saw his reaction. He’s God’s gift to women. And he wouldn’t listen even if I did tell him.”
“But he’s in danger,” Rosie insisted.
“Eventual danger. Not immediate. And after this week, he’s not my problem anymore. Let him snark all he wants. I know what I’m talking about. And I’ll be the one saying ‘told you so’ when that succubus destroys his soul.”
11
Kimberly spotted Sterling as soon as she entered the house. He stood in a corner alone, TJ’s camera recording whatever he said. Her curiosity got the best of her, and she edged close enough to hear. She heard her name almost immediately.
“I’ll admit Kimberly’s vision at the crib took me by surprise. We’ve seen these fits before, where she seems to go into a trance, sweats or babbles, and later reports a vision or voices. I fully expected the camera to cut away while her makeup artist sprayed her with fake sweat. In this regard, I was incorrect. Kimberly did flush red and sweat of her own volition. This does not, of course, prove she saw a vision of a baby and a cat in the crib. A red face and excessive sweating are not proof of supernatural activity. Frankly, the simplest cause of these symptoms would be ingestion of high amounts of capsicum extract, available at any health food store. Even if she didn’t take supplements, the symptoms could be completely self-caused. We see similar physical responses in individuals who report religious fervors and purport to speak in tongues or believe they’ve seen angels or demons. They want so badly to experience these things that their bodies produce the desired symptoms. But the origin is psychogenic, similar to how somatic illnesses can occur—”
She’d heard enough. She stepped into the shot. “Saying sciencey-sounding things doesn’t make them true, Mr. Wakefield.”
“Damn it. That was going so well. Can you edit her out?”
She smiled back. Finally. She’d managed to get under his skin. And by using his own words.
TJ nodded. “Just repeat the last couple of lines.”
Sterling grabbed her arm as she stalked away. “I’m not saying sciencey-sounding things. I’m discussing actual science with research, statistics, and brain scans to back it up.”
“That is your belief.”
“No. That is the scientific community’s belief. Not one person’s opinion based on aberrant personal experiences.”
She jerked her arm free and stormed away. Why did someone so thick he didn’t even realize he was dating a succubus irritate her so much? She had to learn to control herself around him.
She found Michael in the bedroom.
“There’s my girl. Just double-checking camera angles, battery packs, all the usual stuff.” He peered through a camera mounted on a tripod. “This one will be dedicated to the crib all night.”
“Good. What is Sterling doing?”
“Is he standing in the corner talking while TJ records him?”
“Yes.”
“He’s shooting a Confidential Camera Corner. New segment we’re adding for him.”
“What? We don’t have time for that. My show follows a carefully planned sequence. Each minute accounted for.”
“I know, sweetie. It’s just this week. I’ll figure it out in editing. This is to allow him time to present his feedback and theories without disturbing your work. I asked him not to interfere so much.”
“You did?”
“Yes. So let him have his Camera Corners. And return the courtesy. Don’t interrupt him.”
Oops. Too late. Well, she wouldn’t interrupt him again.
Elise, her researcher, entered the bedroom. “Kimberly, there you are. I spoke with Danielle about the crib after your vision.”
Michael stopped adjusting the camera. “I’ve said it before, but I’m saying it again. We have the best people on this show. Kimmy and I were just talking about the crib over dinner. Find out anything useful?”
“It does have some history. The crib belonged to her grandmother and was handmade by her grandfather. Their children all slept in it, including Danielle’s mom, who inherited it after her mom’s passing. Danielle also slept in it, and her mom gave it to her when she was pregnant with Drew. So at this point she considers it a family heirloom.”
“Wow. You don’t hear stories like that much anymore,” Kimberly said. “So some definite history. But nothing negative associated with it?”
“Nothing Danielle knows about,” Elise answered. “I’m also looking into the history of the house and property. So far no red flags. No tragedies or murders. The previous owners lived here for decades. Not much history before that.”
“Anything about cats?”
Elise laughed. “That’s tough to detect. Not much in the records about previous owners’ pets. But I’ll keep digging.”
“Danielle is convinced this is a specific cat anyway. I wouldn’t expect to find anything about pets. One more thing. Can you quietly determine if Danielle’s grandmother dabbled in witchcraft?”
“I actually started looking into that. Haven’t made any progress yet. But I’ll let you know when I know something.”
“Thank you. You’re awesome.”
“I’m good here,” Michael said. “Let’s round everybody up and get started.”
A few minutes later, she stood in front of the crib. Stan’s camera focused on her. The rest of the crew crowded into the room. Sterling stood beside her. Michael counted her in.
“We will keep a camera on the crib and the area around it throughout the investigation tonight, since it seems to be the biggest hot spot in the home. I’ve also learned the crib has been passed down through the family to Danielle and could carry some strong residual energy from the many years it has been in use.”
The group shifted to the backyard. This transition would be edited to an instant cutaway.
“I’m standing on the exact spot Danielle says Felix originally appeared. His steps carried him along this path.” Glow-in-the-dark tape lit her marks. She knew the six-step trajectory from rehearsal. “Then he disappeared. We will have a dedicated camera in the backyard, as well, in case the spirit always approaches the same way as before.”
They moved back into the house, settling at the dining room table.
“I’ll start in the dining room and kitchen area and attempt to establish contact with the entity. If we do not succeed with direct contact, perhaps we will hear some EVP on the recordings. Meanwhile, I’ve asked TJ to carry the FLIR tonight and make continual sweeps through the home, hoping he will catch some helpful thermal imaging. Let’s turn out the lights, go dark, and start tonight’s investigation.”
The crew flipped off all the lights. Stan took several shots of switches being flipped and fixtures going da
rk.
She placed the digital voice recorder on the table and arranged the multidirectional external microphone beside it.
“What exactly do you expect to hear on these recordings?” Sterling asked.
“Good question. Dealing with an animal spirit, there’s no telling.”
“No, I mean, generally speaking. What do you think you hear on the recordings you make?”
“You’ve seen the show. The recordings often capture the voices of entities who wish to communicate with us. We’ve heard voices plenty of times. Season two, episode eight, we heard a female voice clearly say hello. The owner of the house identified the voice as his mother’s. Sometimes we record messages from previous home owners. For example, we heard a voice saying, ‘Helen,’ and determined it was the voice of an elderly man who’d died in the home. His wife’s name was Helen, and he seemed to be calling out, looking for her. Rather heartbreaking. But I helped him move along.”
“What does that even mean?”
“I encouraged him to leave the house and cross over to the spiritual plane instead of staying in his old home. He was scared to move on, afraid to leave his wife behind. But, in fact, she had passed away and was probably waiting for him. I convinced him to go find her in the next life.”
“You have a fantastic imagination—I’ll give you that.”
“This isn’t fantasy. The home owners had no more problems afterward. His spirit moved on.”
“But that could be due to the power of suggestion. You told them their ‘spirit’ was gone, and they believed you. Whatever noises or disturbances they attributed to a ghost before your visit they dismissed after. As they should have done all along.”
“We clearly heard the man say his wife’s name. How do you explain that?”
“I doubt these voices are as ‘clear’ as you insist. I look forward to reviewing the recordings.”
“That’s why you’re here this week. To offer your two cents. There are Stan and TJ. Let’s get started.” Stan moved to her side and recorded her. “We’re ready to begin our EVP session. TJ will remain here with the FLIR, to detect any potential attempts to materialize while I engage the entity.”
The Wantland Files Page 6