The Wantland Files

by Lara Bernhardt

  Rosie flashed a huge smile. “And here you are poised to comfort him.”

  “They’ve only been dating a couple of weeks. He doesn’t need comforting. He’s the one that ended it.”

  “All the better. He doesn’t need to recover. He can move along to better and smarter. And lucky for him that woman happens to be right here.”

  “You know I’m not going to do that.”

  “Oh, come on. What would it hurt? I know you don’t want anything serious. So just have a little fun. I know you remember how.”

  The door opened, and Sterling walked in, looking refreshed and carrying a drink tray like the night before. Tonight, however, he balanced three cups instead of two.

  “Hello, ladies! Coffee anyone?”

  “Absolutely,” Rosie replied, reaching for her beverage.

  “I got you mocha again. I hope you like it. If you don’t, speak up. Otherwise I’ll just keep getting it.” His brilliant smile lit up the room.

  She noticed Rosie’s flush and decided to exit. “I’m finished here. The chair is all yours.” She forced a smile as she stood to leave.

  “No need to race off. Here. I brought you coffee. I don’t know if you got that nap or not but I figured a shot of caffeine would do us all good either way. Dark roast, no sugar, skim milk.” His dark eyes crinkled, radiating warmth.

  She accepted the cup, brushing his fingers with hers. “Thank you. That was very thoughtful. I appreciate it.” She couldn’t break his gaze. This will never do.

  She looked to Rosie for help but found only an irritating grin plastered across the woman’s face. “I’ll leave you two alone and get started on the house.”

  “Stay and visit with us. I won’t need much makeup. Just a smidge of powder. Then we can go inside together. Like partners.”

  The butterflies in her stomach danced. Stop that. Remember how annoying he is. Still, no need to be rude. “Okay.” She sat in a chair and took a big drink of coffee.

  “Okay, ladies. Tell me about the times you’ve been dumped. Best and worst.”

  Rosie picked up the powder brush. “I have so many breakup stories. Hmm, best—”

  “Wait a minute,” Kimberly interrupted. “Is this about Amber?”

  “Yep. I’m trying to figure out what to do about that.”

  “I told you, you need to call her. You still haven’t?” How could this guy be so charming and such a jerk at the same time? Oh, wait. Wasn’t that always the case? What guy wasn’t a jerk deep down? On the plus side, at least the butterflies were gone.

  “I don’t want to call her back until I know what I’m going to say. So I don’t get caught off guard. She’s going to be upset. Will she yell? Cry? Tell me off? I need to be prepared for every possible contingency.”

  “Maybe she’ll say she was about to dump you and is glad you saved her the trouble. Have you considered that?”

  Rosie shot her a look and dusted powder over Sterling’s face. “Nobody likes to get dumped. She could respond any of those ways. Although, probably not the way Kimberly suggested. She’ll get over it. Just call her back and let her vent. Then it’ll be over.”

  “I don’t want to hurt her feelings. I just don’t want to be with her anymore. We’re not a good match.”

  Kimberly scoffed. “Just yesterday you were raving about how great you two are together. How you were both so willing to work for the relationship.”

  “You saw right through that. That’s what I wanted to believe. Sure, she came and met me for dinner, but she asked me for money while she was here and suggested I book an island getaway for us. When you told me she’s a gold digger, I knew my concerns were valid.”

  “I never said—”

  “Look,” Rosie interrupted, “just be honest with her. That’s what every woman wants. You can be nice about it, but be honest. Don’t make up a story. Don’t tell her you’ve realized you want to be a Catholic priest. Or that your mom is dying and you needed the money from her checking account to get back home and you promise to pay her back. Or that you’re leaving for a yearlong cruise and won’t be able to write and then not have any excuse ready when she sees you two months later at the bar where you met her. Or—”

  “We get it.” She knew Rosie’s examples of horrible breakup stories could go on for days. “Rosie makes a good point. You don’t need to prepare because all you need to do is tell her the truth. You don’t want to be with her. Honesty is better than BS every time.”

  Rosie nodded. “Exactly.”

  “Okay. I hear you. I get it. I’ll call her first thing in the morning.”

  “Call her now!” What was with this guy?

  “My makeup is done. Time for us to figure out why Danielle thinks she has a ghost in her house.”

  She stood. “News flash. The show doesn’t start without us. Take a couple of minutes to check in with Amber. You’ll feel much better afterward. We can leave you alone, right, Rosie?”

  Rosie linked an arm through hers. “Of course. Get this over and done so you can move on to better things.”

  She stomped Rosie’s foot.

  Sterling seemed not to notice as he pondered the idea. “Nah. I don’t want to be rushed. Or stressed or distracted. I’ll call her in the morning before we have breakfast. Meet you in the dining room?”

  Rosie dug an elbow into her side. Never one for tact or grace. She took another drink of coffee. “I’ll probably be there the same time. Sure. We can eat together.”

  He stood and offered a gorgeous smile. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

  18

  Michael raced to her side the moment she entered the house and gripped her forearm with both hands. “RandMeier called me before I had the chance to call him.”

  “And?” She couldn’t tell if his enormous eyes and crushing grip were excitement, terror, or disappointment. With Michael, it could be anything.

  “He is thrilled! The video is trending, everyone is talking about Wantland. He says he isn’t too pleased I didn’t consult him first, but this is exactly what he wanted. The publicity is fantastic. I told him we have another clip ready to release, and he gave me the thumbs-up. Says to keep building the hype.”

  Sterling slapped him on the back. “I knew this would work.” He pumped a fist in the air and smiled at her. “Didn’t I tell you? Okay, I got another clip this morning—”

  “Actually, I’m going to use the one from last night, where Kimmy comforted you,” Michael said. “I think it’s perfect. We come back from the one where she loses her cool and show her softer side.”

  Sterling blinked. “I thought we should stick with what worked before. The two of us disagreeing, arguing our different viewpoints.”

  “No. RandMeier wants to focus on the relationship developing between you two now. Build on what’s attracting the attention. Everyone is gossiping about the two of you alone in the trailer.”

  “We were never—”

  “Doesn’t matter, Kimmy. The suspicion is fueling attention. And he said the next clip needs to leak something about the haunting. So I’m hoping we get something good tonight.”

  Sterling put his hands on his hips. “But—I kind of have this worked out. I mean, this was my idea.”

  “And you’re lucky he decided he liked it. And that I was able to play it off that I was in on it. RandMeier doesn’t like being out of the loop.”

  Kimberly couldn’t help but smirk. “I don’t think you get it. RandMeier gets what RandMeier wants. That’s the only reason you’re on my show this week.”

  “Sorry you still feel that way,” he muttered.

  She opened her mouth to reply, but Michael spoke before she could say anything.

  “No one says no to RandMeier. We will have to release clips the way he wants now.”

  “Don’t worry, Michael,” she said. “The entity will be my main focus tonight. Something tells me it’s the key to this haunting.” She watched Sterling, waiting for the usual snarky reply. But he said nothing and wouldn’t look at
her.

  Michael clapped his hands once. “Okay, let’s get the cameras rolling, record the recap, and go dark. We have a house to clear. Elise, you have a research update?”

  She could tell he felt much better than this morning, unlike Sterling, who remained quiet and distant. Michael had a little bounce in his step as he set up with the crew.

  She sat at the table with Elise. “Have you been able to find out about Danielle’s grandmother? Anything about witchcraft in the family?”

  “Not that I can tell. Not an easy question to ask, but I see no evidence of it.”

  “I’m less convinced the cat is the real problem here. I’m not sure how it all ties together but I have a feeling—”

  Sterling dropped into the seat beside her. “Didn’t you forget someone, partner?”

  That tone again. “Nothing personal. Just used to working alone.” She offered a smile, but he didn’t return it.

  “You ready, Kimmy? Can we start recording?”

  She thanked Elise for her help, moved to the camera, and waited for Stan to bring them into focus. Michael counted her in.

  “Last night we discovered the Williamses’ home is host to not just Felix the cat but also another unknown entity. Is it a previous occupant? Are the cat and the dark shadow related? Though I interacted with both entities last night, I don’t yet have answers to those questions. Elise, did you find out anything more?”

  “I talked to the previous owner’s brother, Frank. Frank said his brother, Dale, and his wife, Edna, lived here for forty years. They never had children, so Frank oversaw the sale of the home for Dale since he was the sole surviving relative. He says he remained pretty close to Dale and Edna, but neither of them ever mentioned any strange occurrences. I don’t think the house itself is the source of the haunting.”

  “Were you able to learn if any deaths have been reported in the house?”

  “Edna passed away here, of course. Prior to that, I’m not sure. I’ll keep digging.”

  “You said she died peacefully in her sleep. Nothing traumatic?”

  “That’s right. And Frank confirmed it. Said it was ‘just her time.’”

  “Okay. Thanks.” She tried to hide her disappointment. She’d hoped the black figure might be explained by the history of the home. But she still had no idea what it was or what it wanted. Hopefully it would show up again, and perhaps this time she would successfully connect with it.

  “What was that about?” Sterling asked.

  “Sometimes we can glean information about a haunting from the home’s history. A sudden, traumatic death can wrench a spirit from the body and leave it wandering the earth, unaware it’s dead and needs to move on. If that was the case here, I might be able to intervene and explain to the spirit it needs to leave this world behind and translocate to the next plane of existence. But Elise found no evidence that’s the case here.”

  “Sure.”

  “The important thing tonight will be connecting with the unknown entity. I have to discern why it’s here and what it wants. And if it’s somehow connected to Felix. Then I can determine how to get them out of here. For good. We don’t want repeat hauntings.”

  “Good luck. Hard to imagine you connecting with anything.”

  What did that mean? Aware of the camera still rolling, she shook the confusion off her face. She could talk to him later, offscreen.

  “And cut,” Michael said. “Okay, Sterling, let’s get your Confidential Corner recorded and move on from there.”

  “Sure.” He moved to the corner of the living room. Stan raised his camera and cued Sterling to start.

  She couldn’t help but overhear.

  “After the first night spent watching this ‘investigation,’ I can say they all truly believe they see signs of activity. This is not a joke or a scam. Sadly, Kimberly believes she possesses the ability to speak with spirits and to influence them. And the people she surrounds herself with believe in her so-called abilities. So they all see what they want to see. They want to see ghosts and make their observations fit the conclusions they desire.”

  Whoa. She stepped to Michael’s side. “You’re going to let him say these things? I thought he was starting to like me. He even brought me coffee.” She lifted the cup and downed the last swallow. “Now he’s running me down again.”

  “Relax. It’s just for show.” Michael watched him for a moment. “I think.”

  Sterling continued. “I’m also not convinced the camera operators don’t manipulate the equipment to produce shadows and smudges on the recordings.”

  She jumped as TJ spoke over her shoulder. “That’s crazy. I just record. I don’t mess with the footage.”

  “I know you don’t. He’s grasping for anything negative to say.”

  Sterling raised his hand, revealing a camera. “Tonight I’ll be carrying my own camera. Digital. No tampering. We’ll see if I can produce the same results they record. Or if the ‘images’ they claim to see are absent on my recordings.”

  Where did that camera come from? He didn’t have it earlier.

  “Our cameras are digital,” TJ said. “We don’t tamper. He won’t get anything different. To think I helped that tool record his stupid video.”

  Her young cameraman’s tone brought a smile to her face. “Hoffmeier is happy. People are paying attention to us. Come on. Let’s move to the bedrooms.”

  She went to the master bedroom first, hoping the crib would offer new clues. Nothing jumped out at her immediately.

  “Let’s try an EVP in here.”

  TJ passed a recorder to her and continued to capture footage. “What about Michael?”

  “It’s just an EVP. Nothing to direct really. Let him hang around Sterling while he records out there.”

  She depressed the “Record” button. “Second night of the investigation, Williams house, master bedroom EVP session.”

  She remained silent to allow a baseline of the room’s ambient noise level. They would later compare any deviations with the baseline to verify a change. She hoped something would register.

  “I’d like to talk to whoever is in the house with us. I saw you last night. Not the cat. We played with yarn yesterday. Who else is here?” She listened. If anything answered, it wasn’t audible to her. “Can you tell me why you’re here? Did you live here before? Does it bother you that someone else lives here now?” Another silent pause. “What about the cat? Is Felix your pet?”

  That was something she hadn’t considered before. Perhaps the spirit of the cat followed the spirit of Danielle’s grandmother. She didn’t have an answer to why the grandmother would be haunting Danielle’s family, but it was possible. But why did Danielle see only the cat? She needed answers, not more questions.

  “Will you talk to me? Do you like the family that lives here? Do you like the children? Are you—”

  A noise behind her interrupted.

  “What was that?” she asked. “It sounded like it came from the crib.”

  She crossed the room and peered into the infant bed.

  Michael arrived. “Kimmy, you started without me?” Sterling and Stan trailed after him with a few other crew members.

  “Just an impromptu EVP. But I heard something. It sounded like a clatter or a jingling.” TJ moved to her side, aiming his camera in the crib as she shifted items.

  She bumped the overhead mobile, which plinked a few sad notes before falling silent. “That definitely wasn’t it.”

  She reached into the crib. A blanket. No. An assortment of stuffed animals. No. Her hand brushed something hard and plastic. A rattle. She lifted and shook it.

  “That was it! That was the sound,” TJ said.

  “Yes.” She shook the rattle, reproducing the sound again to confirm when they reviewed footage. But she felt certain the rattle was the source.

  Michael and Sterling joined her at the bed.

  “We have activity?” Michael asked.

  “Yes. Right in the middle of the EVP. I wanted to see if
I could prompt the unknown entity to answer me. We heard this”—she shook the rattle—“just as I asked if it likes the children.”

  “I wish we’d had the FLIR on the crib. We might’ve noticed if the cat was in the bed when you heard the sound.”

  “Funny,” Sterling said, “how you never have the camera in the right place to catch proof of paranormal activity.”

  “I’m sure the recorder caught the sound. It was very audible,” she countered. “And we can bring the FLIR in now and leave it on the crib all night. We might still record something. But I’m not sure it was the cat this time.”

  Sterling raised his camera to record her. “What does that mean? You think there’s another ghost?”

  She turned away from him. “You know I do. You saw the images yourself.” Sterling’s on-screen personality got on her nerves. She liked the guy at breakfast and the one who brought her coffee. What had set him off later?

  “Want to continue the EVP?” Michael asked.

  “Sure.” She laid the rattle back in the crib and moved to the center of the room. The crew shifted out of the way. Stan entered the room with the FLIR. “Was that you?” She continued her attempts to engage the entity. “Did you shake the rattle to let me know you’re here? Do you want to tell me something?” Silence. “Can you shake the rattle again? Or talk to me? If you want to talk, this device can record you.”

  Michael held up the K-II device that monitored the electromagnetic fields. “EMF readings are spiking, Kimmy. Keep engaging.”

  “Can you let me know why you’re here? What is it you want? You’re scaring the family that lives here. The mother wants her children to be safe—”

  The rattle shook again.

  The crew gathered around the crib.

  “EMF is through the roof, Kimmy. You’ve definitely poked this bear.”