After photographing every detail of the room on her iPhone and texting the pictures to Val, Kate dragged her suitcase to the side of the bed and, without bothering to unpack, scampered out into the hall, eager to see the other rooms.
Gavin had been assigned the Storybook Room, Luke the Mariner’s Room, and Michael the Fireside Room. Each room seemed more spectacular than the last, and by the time she’d visited all of them, Kate had taken so many pictures that her iPhone battery was almost drained. She’d have to dig out her charger after dinner.
“This place is awesome,” Kate gushed as she and Michael made their way back to the dining hall. Gavin had gone ahead with the rest of the crew to set up some more film equipment. Kate was happy to pass on that. She realized now that what went on behind the scenes didn’t really interest her as much as she thought it would. She liked the stories they learned, the people they met, and the places they visited much better than watching them try to figure out which cord went where and if they had enough battery power and if the camera was set up at just the right angle. It was sort of cool to see how much hard work went into creating that one perfect shot, but after a while, it got a little tedious.
“It’s a lot cooler than I was expecting,” Michael admitted.
“And still no ghosts, huh?”
“Just Brink,” Michael replied, casually slipping his hand into hers.
“Well, maybe they’ll show up later.”
“You say that as though you want them to show up.”
“I do! Wouldn’t it just suck if the one episode of Cemetery Tours that we get to be in turns out to be the one with no ghosts? Seriously, it’d be the worst episode ever.”
“It couldn’t be any worse than the one where Luke fell into that patch of poison ivy and decided to take his pants off,” Michael remarked.
“To be fair, he didn’t know that they were still filming him. I’m pretty sure that was all Peter and Gail’s idea.”
“Yeah, but as executive producer, he could have made the decision not to include it in the episode.”
Kate threw her head back and laughed. “You’re hilarious. You know that, right?” She kissed him swiftly on the cheek. “At least he was wearing boxers that day.”
“Yeah. Thank God,” Michael quipped dryly, as though that was in no way enough to make up for the fact that he’d still had to endure the sight of Luke Rainer in his underwear. Kate snickered again.
By the time they reached the dining room, where Mrs. Drake had set out a magnificent feast of rosemary roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and seasoned vegetables, the cameras were already rolling again.
“Hey, there are the two crazy lovebirds,” Luke grinned and turned his handheld camera on them. “So Mikey, what do you think of the house so far?”
“Um, it’s great. Why are you filming this?”
“In a place like this, you never know what’s going to happen. There was one time back when the show had just started, we decided to turn the cameras off for just a second and what happens? A mannequin gets knocked right off its feet in the middle of a department store. No explanation at all. That could have been one of our most compelling pieces of evidence up until that point and we totally missed it. I’m still not over it.” Luke sounded genuinely distressed for a brief moment, but he quickly recovered. “And just for future reference, you never question the camera. You just go with it.”
“Right.”
But it soon became pretty clear that Michael had no intention of “going with it.” Apparently, acting natural in front of the camera was not Michael’s forte, so instead of even attempting to be normal, he completely clammed up. He didn’t say a word throughout the entire meal. Not that he would have had much of an opportunity. Luke, Gail, and Carolyn talked throughout most of the evening. Every once in a while, JT or Peter got in a sentence or two, but for the most part, Luke carried the conversation.
“So after dinner, I was thinking we might do some sort of séance. Well, not a séance per se, but you know, some sort of ritual to kind of introduce ourselves to Sterling and Joanna. Maybe have the digital recorder going, see if we can get any responses? What do you guys think?”
“I brought my old Ouija Board. We could see if - ”
“No.” Kate interrupted Gail without even thinking about it. Suddenly, all eyes were on her.
“Why? What’s the problem?” Luke asked.
Kate had her own reasons for not liking Ouija Boards. For one thing, they were creepy. For another, she fully believed that if you invited any sort of entity in, light or dark, good or evil, it would come. But neither of those reasons would have caused her to voice her objection if Luke and his crew had decided to use a Ouija Board.
No, she’d only spoken up because she’d seen the look on Emily Drake’s face.
The young girl, who’d remained as silent as Michael throughout all of dinner (truthfully, Kate hadn’t even noticed she was there until her mother asked her to pass the mashed potatoes), had gone absolutely rigid with alarm the moment Gail mentioned the Ouija Board. Kate had no idea what had happened to her to elicit such a reaction, but whatever it was had left a deep impact.
However, if Emily Drake was like other shy teenage girls, she wasn’t going to want Kate to direct the spotlight over to her. So she simply replied, “I just don’t think it’s a good idea. If there’s anything I’ve learned from horror movies, it’s stay away from the attic, stay away from the woods, and stay away from Ouija Boards.”
“Wait a minute. You used to play Ouija Board all the time with your friends. You’d sit around for hours giggling and asking it things like, ‘Ooh, will Eric ask me on a date? He’s so dreamy. Hee hee hee!’” Gavin imitated his sister’s high-pitched voice. Gail giggled loudly.
Oh that’s perfect. Way to be supportive, Bro.
“Okay, first of all, we were twelve. Second of all, Eric Jensen was the hottest guy in the eighth grade and he was really tall. Finally, that was before I grew up and had a personal experience with the paranormal that left me a little more cautious around this stuff than I was in my youth.” After a brief moment of consideration, she turned to Luke. “This won’t make it to the final cut, will it?”
“Probably not,” Luke said. “The vast majority of what we film actually doesn’t. It’s hard to cram three days of footage into forty-five minutes of show time.”
Kate was relieved. Unless something spooky happened during dinner, that meant she didn’t have to worry about her brother calling her out on television and that maybe Michael could relax a little.
As it turned out, her little speech about Ouija Boards wasn’t very effective. Once they’d finished eating, Gail sprinted back to her room to retrieve the Ouija Board while Luke, Peter, and Gavin transferred all the equipment into the master bedroom. Kate, Michael, and to her surprise, JT, lingered behind to help Mrs. Drake clear the table and wash the dishes. Emily had disappeared shortly after dinner.
Of Luke’s entire crew, JT was the one who’d always seemed the most like a stereotypical ghost hunter; dark, mysterious, a little broody. She realized, watching him carry a pile of plates into the kitchen, that she really didn’t know a whole lot about him. Unlike Luke, who’d written a book and who told anyone who would listen about the time he saw the ghost of his grandfather, JT was incredibly reserved about his personal life and experiences. Somewhat odd for a celebrity.
“You know, JT, if you need to go help them set up, I think Michael and I can handle the rest of the dishes,” Kate told him as she filled the sink with hot water.
“They’re fine. Besides, I don’t want anyone thinking that the guys on Cemetery Tours are a bunch of divas,” he offered a wry grin.
“I think that ship sailed with Luke,” Michael remarked, drying off the crystal glasses that Kate handed to him. To her surprise, JT chuckled.
“Luke is an enormous douche, but he’s a good guy. He’s my best friend.”
“How did you two become friends? I mean, I know you met at that bar he
used to work at, but how did you go from two guys in a bar to two of the most famous paranormal investigators in the world?”
“Three. Gail worked at the bar, too,” he reminded her.
“That’s right.” Kate felt silly for forgetting.
“It was a while ago, I think I’d just turned 21, and it was just around Halloween. One of the other patrons came in with this wild story about a ghost in his apartment. That was all it took. That night, Luke told us the whole story about his ghost experience and how he’d always wanted to investigate it further. Gail was totally into it. I didn’t want to be the only skeptic, which I was at the time, so I agreed to go along with it. I never expected to actually find anything.”
“So, you went along even though you didn’t believe in ghosts?” Michael asked.
JT just shrugged in response as Luke appeared, clapping his hands loudly.
“Okay, clean-up brigade, are you about done in here? Because we are ready to get our Ouija on!”
Kate hesitated. The neurotic, over-protective, rational part of her wanted nothing to do with the séance or Ouija Board or whatever. The eager, curious, slightly reckless part of her, however, didn’t want to miss a moment of any ghostly interaction. There was no debating which part would win out in the end.
“We’re almost done! Don’t start without us,” Kate told him.
“Are you sure?” Michael asked, looking surprised. “I mean, after everything you said at dinner...”
“That was more for Emily’s benefit than mine,” Kate confessed.
“Still, you sounded pretty adamant,” JT spoke up.
“Okay, yeah, I admit it. Ouija Boards kind of freak me out.”
“Any particular reason?” Luke asked.
“So, you heard Gavin giving me a hard time about playing with Ouija Boards as a kid,” Kate began. “It’s true, my friends and I used to ask it all these dumb questions about boys and if we were going to grow up to become movie stars. But then one day, my friend Simone and I got curious and we started asking if there were any ghosts or demons around. It said ‘yes.’ We got chilled. Our cat started freaking out. We asked it to leave, and suddenly, everything was calm again.”
“So, you were a sensitive before all that business with Trevor last spring?” Luke asked.
“I don’t think so. That was the only time anything like that happened, which makes me think that whatever we contacted was pretty powerful,” Kate said. “Anyway, that’s why I think Ouija Boards are creepy. But I still want to be a part of whatever you guys are going to do.”
“You know, we might not even need the Ouija Board, with Michael here,” JT observed.
“Mikey can’t call spirits. He can just see them. Since these ghosts seem to be a little camera shy, the Ouija Board might be the best way to actually get them to show up. Mikey, however, will be able to tell us when they show up,” Luke said. “I for one still think the Ouija Board is a good idea. We don’t have to start with it, but if it comes down to it, Gail and I will do all of the communicating. The rest of you don’t even have to touch it if you don’t want to. Just sit there, look pretty, and Mikey, keep your eyes open for ghosts. Not that you have any control over it, but you know what I mean.” Luke grinned like a kid on Christmas and clapped his hands together again. “So... everyone ready?”
Chapter 11
The cameras kept rolling as Kate, Michael, and JT followed Luke into the same room where the crew had filmed their first interview with Mrs. Drake. To no one’s surprise, both mother and daughter had elected to pass on the séance. Truthfully, Kate found it a wonder that Mrs. Drake had even agreed to let them perform it in the manor. Her daughter was scared to death of the ghosts that supposedly haunted Stanton Hall. If there were ghosts in the building, then a séance all but guaranteed a surge in supernatural activity.
Then again, since Mrs. Drake didn’t believe in the ghosts, then she didn’t really have a reason to believe that a séance would be anything more than a group of people holding hands around a bunch of candles and an old Ouija Board.
Both Kate and Michael had opted out of the whole Ouija experience, but they were still going to watch from the couch. Luke was surprisingly okay with that. What he wasn’t okay with was Kate snuggling up next to Michael while he was supposed to be on ghost patrol.
“I don’t want you to have any distractions. Kate is a distraction,” Luke explained. Kate threw him a look. “Don’t worry, it’s a compliment.”
“Sure it is,” Kate murmured.
“No, really. You wouldn’t want to be with a guy who found dead people more interesting than you, would you?” Luke asked.
“Well that explains why you’re still single,” Gail remarked. Luke ignored her, but Kate could tell that Michael was trying not to snicker.
“For another thing, this is all going to be recorded. I want people to take Mikey seriously, and how serious can he look cuddling up with the cute blonde while the rest of us are here baring our souls to the Ouija Board?”
This time, Peter was the one who chuckled. Everyone turned to look at him. “I’m sorry, man. It’s just, do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound every time you say ‘Ouija Board?’” He’d almost dissolved into a full blown giggle fit. “Come on, it’s a funny name. ‘Wee-Jee’ Board.”
“How many glasses of wine did you have, Peter?” Luke asked, not sounding very amused at all.
“None, man! I swear!”
“He’s just drunk on life,” JT remarked. “Come on, let’s hit the lights.”
As the room descended into darkness, the soft glow of the candlelight, dancing across the room and casting eerie shadows upon their faces, became their only source of illumination. Careful to avoid being burnt, Gail set the Ouija Board, dirty and faded with age, in the center of the candles.
“Wait a minute, aren’t you supposed to touch the Ouija Board to make it work?” Gavin asked.
“We’re pretty much just using it as a prop for now. Besides, if all the stories and myths about Ouija Boards are true, then theoretically, we shouldn’t have to touch it to make it work,” Gail replied. “However, if we do use it later, I’ll be sure to ask it if you think I’m cute.”
“Gail...” Luke warned her.
JT cleared his throat.
“Shall we commence?” he asked, obviously trying to spare Kate, Michael, and Gavin from his coworkers’ bickering.
“Yes,” Luke affirmed as he stood to face one of the cameras they had set up. Peter filmed him from a different angle. “It’s our first night here at Stanton Hall Manor in Kennebunkport, Maine. This mansion is notorious for being one of the most haunted buildings in North America. Since we haven’t had a whole lot of luck making contact with the spirits that dwell here, we’ve decided to take matters into our own hands by conducting a séance. We have candles burning, we have a Ouija Board, and we will have our digital recorders rolling the entire time just in case we catch a disembodied voice our cameras don’t pick up. I’ve also set up motion detectors in every corner of the room and in the very center. And I think that pretty much covers it. JT, are we good to go?”
“We are ready,” JT confirmed.
Kate felt an unnatural chill as Luke took a seat and joined hands with Gail and JT. Subconsciously, she scooted over toward Michael, who wrapped a protective arm around her. If Luke noticed, he didn’t say anything.
“Anything yet?” she whispered to Michael.
“No,” he answered.
“We’re ready to begin,” Luke murmured in a hushed, even tone. Kate took that as a subtle request for them to stop talking.
In the candles’ soft glow, Kate could see that Luke, Gail, and JT had all closed their eyes. Their breathing had steadied and slowed, and for an instant, it almost seemed to Kate as though they’d all fallen asleep. Then Gail began to speak.
“If there are any spirits in this house, we invite you to come and speak with us now.” The candles flickered. Kate waited for a response from Michael. Nothing. Gail
continued. “You’re lonely. You’ve been lonely for a long time. We know, because you’ve been reaching out to people. Well, we’re here now. Talk to us.”
“Do you think this will work?” Kate whispered to Michael.
“I don’t know. I’ve never done a séance before,” he replied.
“I guess you’ve never really needed to, huh?”
“No.”
“What if it doesn’t work?”
“Then we’ll go to Plan B,” Luke muttered.
“What’s Plan B?” Kate hissed.
“Working on it. Shh.”
Kate had never been a particularly patient person, nor had she ever been all that skilled at sitting in silence. Even in kindergarten, she was the kid who would get sent to time-out for talking during quiet time. It wasn’t that she didn’t understand the concept of silence, it was that the absence of any and all noise made her antsy. It always had.
“Sterling? Joanna?” Gail continued. “If you’re there, we’re asking you to give us a sign. We know you’re trapped here. We want to help you, but you have to let us. We are opening ourselves up to you. Use our energy. Speak through us. We’re here for you.”
Suddenly, one of Luke’s devices, a motion sensor that he’d placed in the center of the room, began to wail and light up. Kate flinched, unnerved by the sudden disturbance.
“See anything, Mikey?” Luke asked.
“Not yet...” Michael replied, sounding sleepy. Considering how dark it was, Kate wondered if he’d even be able to see a ghost if one decided to show up.
“The candlelight probably triggered it,” Luke murmured.
Kate wasn’t so sure. Perhaps it was the eerie shriek of the motion detector, but the hairs on the back of her neck were suddenly standing on end. Something in the atmosphere had shifted. The air was a little too tense, too cold, and too still. So very still. A chilling and invisible presence filled the room, and at that moment, there was no doubt in Kate’s mind.
The séance had worked.
~*~
Michael was struggling to stay awake as Gail continued to beckon whatever spirits may have been listening. The séance was turning out to be so boring, however, that he really wouldn’t have been surprised if they had just tuned her out. His own thoughts were just beginning to drift up to the very comfortable-looking bed back in the Fireside Room when suddenly, he felt Kate go rigid beside him. He turned to look at her. She was sitting up straight, alert and focused.
Between Worlds (Cemetery Tours Book 2) Page 8