Inside the ballroom Detective Damian Jackson pushed his hat back on his head and frowned. He had asked that no information be given about Paul Lowell’s demise. He angrily slapped the table, making one of the computer team jump, then pointed at the only other people in the room—John Lonetree, Jennifer Tilden and George Cordero.
“That’s one,” he hissed. “Any more and I’ll shut this down for endangering an active murder investigation.”
George waited until the large black detective looked away and then shot him the finger, making Jenny smile.
“And here with me tonight is the man responsible for bringing the troubles of Summer Place to the world’s attention—or should we say infamy?”
Dalton rolled his eyes. Infamy? Julie was already going off script. He glanced back at Kelly, who had the script in her lap and was following along. When her eyes met the director’s, she just shrugged.
“Professor Gabriel Kennedy. Professor, just why have you returned to a house that nearly destroyed you personally and professionally?”
“Goddamn it, what is this?” Harris yelled. “The goddamn Spanish Inquisition? I thought she was giving Kennedy the benefit of the doubt—hell, she opens challenging him and we’re not one minute in!”
Kelly looked over at Peterson who was sitting quietly. He frowned and shrugged his shoulders. Kelly wondered if he had gotten to the network reporter.
“Go to camera two—now!”
Gabriel Kennedy came into full focus. Gabriel was composed, not shocked, and he smiled and looked from Julie Reilly directly into camera number two. The wide-angle shot captured both their faces.
“That’s enough, camera three, focus on just Kennedy,” Harris called out. He hit the mute button on his mic as he faced Kelly. “You put a bug in her ear that if she goes off on her own again, I’ll have her fired by the next commercial. I don’t care who the fuck she thinks she is or who the hell she knows. You got that, Kelly?”
Kelly went to the sound console and cued in Julie’s earphone. She rapidly explained the situation and Dalton’s threats. Off camera, Kelly saw Julie smile and nod her head as Kennedy explained why he had come back. He looked into the camera with all the confidence in the world. On the secondary feed, Julie Reilly looked quite annoyed by Gabriel’s seemingly nonplussed reaction.
“Well I guess he was expecting that, wasn’t he?” Dalton said with a smirk. “Okay, New York, getting ready for the break in five, four, three, two—”
On camera, Julie took over from Kennedy and gestured to the house. “After a word from our sponsors, we’ll take a look inside of Summer Place for the first time, and then you can decide whether you agree with Professor Kennedy’s statement: that this house is, by far, the most haunted house in America. We’ll be right back.”
“….One, New York you’re a go for three minutes of ad time,” Dalton said. On his monitor, Julie was looking at Gabriel, and the professor was smiling.
“So you expected me to corner you?”
“I never had a doubt you would revert to your old ways. How can a shark not be a shark?” Gabriel said. He gestured toward the steps that led up to the wide double doors of the house.
Julie shook her head, still disappointed that Kennedy hadn’t stumbled at all in her surprise opening. She placed a hand to her earphone and spoke into her mic.
“Harris, or Kelly, any feedback from New York or the test family in Boston?”
Kelly flipped the switch that gave her direct communication to Julie.
“You mean any reaction about your little ambush, you little—”
“All right, that’s enough,” Harris said. “Kelly, settle down and do your job.” Dalton looked over at the monitor that held the view of the family of four sitting on their couch in the suburb of Boston. The father was watching the commercial; the mother was admonishing the two kids, and a boy and a girl of about of thirteen or so, about holding still when they went live on camera. “No test family reaction.” Harris examined the construction worker and his dowdy wife. “And if I have my way, we’ll not be showing much of Mr. and Mrs. American viewer tonight.”
“Let me know if New York has any comment. Especially the news division,” Julie said. She walked faster to catch up with Gabriel.
“Okay everyone, places in the ballroom. Julie and the Professor will enter the house. They’ll be in the ballroom exactly two minutes after we start rolling. For God’s sake, look like you’re busy doing something when the camera pans. Mr. Sickles, I don’t want to hear a smartass comment coming from your mouth, you hear me?”
Camera Ten moved just far enough to show Leonard standing behind one of his computer researchers with his hands on his hips, looking angrily at the lens.
“Not a word, even when they introduce you,” Dalton finished. “We’re back from commercial in five…four…”
The view opened with Julie Reilly standing in front of the massive stone and wood fireplace. Gabriel had already gone inside the ballroom to head off any chance that Leonard might retaliate for the slight.
Julie started explaining how the television investigation would be conducted—how the three teams would explore certain sections of the house after the lights went out. As she spoke, she moved closer to the ballroom, which had been tagged “command central” earlier in the opening.
“Before we meet our teams...On a personal note, I want to state that while I reported on a massive breakdown by the Kennedy investigation seven years ago, I am only an interested observer here. I have no evidence or convincing argument to say that Summer Place is at all haunted. I believe that Professor Kennedy’s original theory concerning this beautiful, mysterious house is nothing more than a conductor that allows the mind to roam freely, injecting anything it wants into the moment, and that includes things that go bump in the night and strange sounds coming from a very old house. Now, we’ll meet tonight’s team: the Supernaturals.”
“Damn it, she’s doing it again. Where the hell did that come from—the Supernaturals? She’s making a joke out of the whole thing!” Kelly said loudly. Dalton turned and gestured for her to shut up, waving his hand angrily.
“Peterson, you’re the executive producer. At commercial break, you’re going to have to corner that woman and rein her in,” Harris said, watching Julie Reilly enter the ballroom. She went directly to Gabriel, who started introducing the team. The only person off camera who looked pleased at all was Leonard Sickles. The grinning young man clearly thought that the new nickname was cool.
Peterson almost couldn’t hide his smile. Instead of answering Dalton, he just nodded. He would indeed talk with Julie about naming the team and going off script. However, deep down inside, he wanted to thank the arrogant bitch for upstaging the maniac professor and his team of ghost hunters.
“And finally a man who is not a member of my team, but an independent observer, Father Dolan of Columbia University,” Gabriel concluded.
“Well, there you have it, the three teams of men and women who will try and make America believers in the supernatural. Right after the break, the hunt is on. We’ll be right back.”
Julie nodded to the cameraman, who gestured that they were off live TV. Jennifer Tilden came forward.
“The Supernaturals? Are you joking?”
“I thought the team needed a name. It’s far better than calling you the group, or something.”
“Well let me tell you what I think,” Jenny continued. Lonetree took her arm, but she wasn’t dissuaded. “It may not be a joke to you, but you’re trying your best to turn us into one, on live TV no less. Why now? Why make us think you were coming on board as a fair and impartial observer? You know, Gabriel said he expected this much from you.”
The last statement caught Julie off guard. She felt hurt that Kennedy never had trusted her; that all of her acting had been for nothing. Had her insincerity been that obvious? Kennedy was ignoring her and he didn’t even seem upset. He walked up to Damian Jackson and looked at his watch. He had one minute to say w
hat he wanted to express to the state policeman.
“You see, Detective, I’m more observant that you thought. I picked up on Julie’s little game early on, and now I’ll tell you what you’re hoping for in this mess. You think that I’m here to publicly declare that I was responsible for what happened that night. That maybe this is some grand stage for my confession and I’ve been waiting all of these years for the big moment.”
“Personally, I bet you want to confess that you had the disappearance of your student staged. That’s what I’m hoping for. And then I’ll arrest you all over again.”
“I guess we’ll see eight hours from now, won’t we?” Gabriel smiled and started to turn away. “By the way, are you armed?”
Damian Jackson smiled and patted his coat. “Always. Professor. Always.”
Gabriel allowed his smile to grow. The policeman’s grin vanished as he wondered what the professor’s question had been about. Why would he need a gun against ghosts? Now he had to wonder if Kennedy was running a game, just as Julie Reilly had been.
Dalton absentmindedly watched the commercial airing from the New York studio. The soap advertisement showed a small girl in a clean, unbroken field of wheat as the image of the bar of soap spread across the screen. Dalton blinked and then caught himself.
“Okay, we’re back in ten, people, get to your places. Professor, Julie, you’ll start off by taking Leonard up to the second and third floors to explain his tech. Then we’ll switch to Lonetree in the stables and his walk-through of the pool area. Then after the next three-minute commercial break, we go dark. All power inside the house gets turned off, save for the ballroom. Okay, here we go in five, four, three, two—”
As the camera panned backward, bringing the base of the large staircase into focus and showing the expansive stairs leading upward—just the effect Harris Dalton had been hoping for—Leonard Sickles, Gabriel Kennedy, Father Dolan and Julie Reilly began their slow climb to the second floor. Leonard started explaining the technology behind his motion detectors. He pointed out the small blue LED lights that had been strung along the thick wooden banisters of all the stairs. From the first floor to the third, the little lights were designed to detect the slightest variance in temperature and air movement; the miniscule swirling of dust particles to the minute drop in temperature. The system would track anything moving along the stairs or hallways. The blue illumination would be picked up in the dark by the naked eye, and would also show brightly for the infrared cameras.
After Leonard finished and Julie and her team started back down to the first floor of Summer Place, Dalton switched over to John Lonetree, Jennifer, and George in the stables. John repeated the story of the assault on the riding trail and then moved the show outside and along the colorful pool. The atmosphere was developing well. Inside the van, Kelly allowed herself to breathe. Everything was going smoothly for the moment. She chanced a glance over at Peterson who brushed at a nonexistent piece of lint on his black slacks. While he looked outwardly bored, Wallace Lindemann, who sat next to him, was anything but. He continually shifted in his seat, as if his ass was on fire. He watched nervously for anything on the monitors that might spell disaster for his plans to sell Summer Place.
After the teams finished their tours, the commercial spot for their main advertiser came on. Everyone had three full minutes to gather themselves. Julie stood to the side and listened for any instructions that might come over her earpiece. She glanced at Gabriel, who stood silently, mostly ignoring those around him. He didn’t even flinch when the makeup girl started tapping at his face and neck with a sponge.
“Okay, Julie, make sure the professor is ready to go lights out after the break. We’ll start with your team on the third floor,” Dalton said over her earpiece.
“What about the basement and the subbasement? We didn’t cover them yet.” She stepped further away from her team, brushing off the makeup girl who attempted to get at her.
“If things bog down, we’ll send Lonetree and his team to the basement. If anything happens down there, we have remotes.”
“Harris, I think it’s important for the creep factor. If we—”
“Look, if you want to direct this thing, I’ll go home right now.”
“Okay, okay.” Julie ducked away, knowing that Gabriel was hearing all of this in his own earpiece.
“Everyone, this is Leonard,” came a voice cutting into the chatter.
“What is it, Sickles? Make it fast,” Harris called out.
“We have something interesting on the computers here. We have some photos from the Lindemann foundation showing the wedding of Lindemann and his wife Elena.”
“I think we have enough background on the Lindemanns, Mr. Sickles, maybe we—”
“That’s not what I’m getting at.”
“Leonard, what have you got?” Gabriel cut in, silencing everyone.
“We have plenty of pictures of Elena after her marriage, but not one photograph of her before. Even the Romanov family history and family tree don’t show any Elena Deleninov—that’s her maiden name.”
“The official Lindemann family lineage declares publicly that Elena was a member of the Romanov family.” Gabriel stepped toward the ballroom door so he could see Leonard inside.
“Look Gabe, we know from the archives that Elena was the daughter of a lowly fifth cousin of Nicholas the Second, but these photos and records show that family as two parents and three boys. There is no Elena.”
“Hold onto that for now, Leonard. See what else you can dig up,” Gabriel said. He nodded into the ballroom toward Leonard and his three computer hackers. Sickles gave him a thumbs up and then leaned back over the shoulder of one of the operators.
“Sounds like old Lindemann may have been sold a bill of goods,” Dalton said from the van.
“I don’t think so. The history is clear on this: Elena and her family financed Lindemann’s expansion into the United States. We’re talking five million dollars. Quite substantial for that time. It’s on record.”
Julie looked over at Gabriel. He was concerned about Leonard’s revelation, even with his secure knowledge of the financial history of the old family.
“Keep digging, Leonard. Mr. Dalton will check on you again in an hour.”
“Okay people, we’re back in one minute. We’re ready for team one to go to the third floor, and then we go lights out.”
“Hey, be sure not to cut the power to my equipment up there. Only the spectrograph has battery backup.”
“Mr. Sickles, do not break in on me again,” Dalton hissed angrily.
“Okay, okay. Chill, man.”
“Thirty seconds. All other teams go to the ballroom as per the professor’s instructions. Okay, where is Father Dolan? I don’t see him.”
“He’s praying over by the coat check station. He’s coming now,” Julie said. She took her place by the broad stairs and Gabriel joined her in silence.
“Camera ten, we’ll start with you. Take the opening shot at the stairs and just follow them all the way up to the third floor.”
The camera operator, a man named Steve, moved his remote camera up and then down. He had worked with Harris before and knew when not to speak.
“Okay—three, two, one, back from commercial, cue Julie.”
“Welcome back,” Julie started. “We’re now ready for the start of our ghost hunt, so if you, America, are ready, we’ll begin with arguably the most haunted part of Summer Place, the third floor. Professor Kennedy has instructed our technical team that it is most effective to conduct the experiment with as little light as possible, so at this point we will go to the very expensive ambient night vision. Don’t attempt to adjust your television’s picture if everything seems to be green-tinted; this is normal. Your screen will be absent color only. I promise you that you will see everything we see. Shall we start, Professor?”
Gabriel stayed as professional as he could and smiled down at Julie. He took the first step up the staircase and raised a small hand-h
eld radio to his mouth.
“Gentlemen, let’s go with lights out, please.”
As the world watched, every visible light inside of the giant summer mansion went out. The property was thrown into inky darkness. If it wasn’t for the faraway flash of lightning, the grounds would have looked nearly primeval.
Halloween had truly begun.
Damian Jackson watched from the coat check area just inside the massive entranceway. He saw Gabriel, Julie Reilly and Father Dolan take their initial steps up the staircase and that was when the lights went out. Jackson placed his heavy raincoat on the counter of the hatcheck station and then his fedora on top of that. He straightened his suit collar and moved to the stairway. The sound man was the only person to turn, but was careful to keep his microphone boom pointed forward toward Kennedy and Julie. Father Dolan would only answer questions or give an opinion when asked.
The trio climbed the staircase with the cameraman and soundman in tow. Once more the soundman turned and looked at Jackson in the darkness of the staircase. Damian raised a finger to his lips and then pointed ahead, indicating the soundman had better watch where he was going. As the team reached the second floor landing, Julie stopped in front of the giant Lindemann family portrait.
“As we showed you earlier, this is the family that originally built Summer Place—the matriarch and patriarch, Elena and F.E. Lindemann,” Julie whispered in a low, mysterious voice as she gestured up at the portrait. “An interesting bit of information has been learned by way of Professor Kennedy’s computer research team, which we met earlier. It seems our motherly figure, Elena, had no pictures ever taken of her before her wedding day. How do you account for that Professor Kennedy?”
The Supernaturals Page 40