Soul Walk

by Melissa Bowersock

  “Sure,” Sam said. “When do we do the releasement?”

  Diana scanned her papers. “I’ll have to see when we can schedule that.”

  “Soon,” Sam suggested.

  Diana glanced up. “Yeah, sure. I’ll let you know.” She smiled reassuringly. “It’s nice to have this almost done, huh? Feels good.”

  “Yes, it does,” Lacey said. She wasn’t even going to mind admitting Sam was right. She glanced at her watch. Only nine p.m. Compared to the other sessions, this was a speed job.

  “Okay,” she said as they went south on PCH. “You were right. Much quicker, much easier. Thank God.”

  “Yeah, that was a breeze compared to before,” he said. “I’m guessing it gets easier as we all get used to each other.”

  “The only fly in the ointment,” she said, “is that every episode will be a new place, new people, new situations. So even if the crew works well with us, each new location will present different challenges, which will take time to work out.”

  “True enough,” he agreed. “Well, we still haven’t signed off on the whole deal yet. We’ll see how the last review goes, and the releasement. We don’t need to make the big decision until this one’s in the can.”

  The big decision, Lacey thought. She didn’t even like the sound of that.

  ~~~

  TWENTY-ONE

  Wednesday at four, they met Diana in the lobby of the black glass building and followed her to the screening room.

  “I think you’ll be very happy with this,” she said to Lacey. “You actually have quite a natural talent for this, and you did really well on the reveal. Barry is very, very happy with it all. With both of you.”

  They took seats in the center of the theater and Diana cued the tech.

  “Gotta wait a minute,” the man said through the phone. “Barry said to hold up until he got here.”

  Diana angled a meaningful smile at them. “Barry’s coming. He’s very excited about this.”

  They didn’t have long to wait. Barry pushed through the doors less than five minutes later and greeted them.

  “Lacey, Sam, good to see you.” He shook hands enthusiastically. “I hear you two have been acing every segment. You’ve certainly made our jobs easier. Even the editors have been telling me what a cake walk this has been.”

  He took a seat beside Lacey and nodded to Diana to cue the tech up in the projection room. The lights dimmed and the screen came to life.

  The Pacific coast filled the screen, the blue-green waves rolling in and breaking into white foam on the beach. The camera panned, pulled back, and focused on Lacey behind the wheel of the Tahoe.

  “I’m heading to the library at Pepperdine University…”

  Lacey cringed. To her ears, her voiced too loud, too… much. Seeing herself as larger than life was uncomfortable.

  As her screen self reached Pepperdine and walked to the door of the library, she remembered each take, over and over and over. Then in the library; Irene looked less nervous than she had in real life. Maybe the editors had used the later takes, when she had calmed down. The exchange went smoothly, Irene passing papers to Lacey, the close-ups over her shoulder. It all flowed seamlessly. As Lacey had surmised, the whole sequence took about ten minutes. An entire day for ten minutes.

  The screen went blank and the lights came up. Barry turned to Lacey with a big smile on his face.

  “Great stuff, Lacey,” he said. “Don’t you think so? Sam, don’t you think she did a great job?”

  “I do,” Sam said. His eyes sparkled at her, and a barely perceptible smile curved the corners of his mouth.

  Lacey’s face flamed.

  “She’s a natural,” Diana added. “And she just gets better.” She cued the tech and the lights dimmed as the screen came back to life.

  Lacey in the Tahoe again, driving to the sheriff’s office. Her voice didn’t sound quite so loud this time. Arriving, parking, walking to the door. Meeting with Don. Papers passed, one by one.

  Sam’s hand stole inside Lacey’s, his fingers threading between hers. She glanced over; he was beaming. Her face went hot again.

  The sequence ended and the lights came up. Diana actually applauded.

  Lacey buried her face in her hand.

  Barry laughed. “Now, come on, Lacey. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. You did a fantastic job. Really. For a first-timer, you did super.” He patted her shoulder.

  She dragged in an unsteady breath. “It’s just… weird,” she said, waving a hand up at the screen.

  “Don’t worry,” Barry said. “You’ll get used to it in no time. From all I’ve seen, the show is coming together really well. I know it’ll be a hit.” He stood up. “I just want to tell you both again how happy I am that you’re with us. We’re going to do great things together.” He shook both their hands. “Now I need to get back. Good seeing you.” And he sprinted out of the room.

  Lacey blew out a long breath. Sam squeezed her hand and she smiled shyly to him.

  “Well, at this point,” Diana said, “I think this is pretty much just a formality, but let’s get your signatures on this review agreement.” She passed her clipboard to Sam, who signed the paper and handed it to Lacey. She signed and dated it, still coming to terms with the surrealism of it all.

  “All right,” Diana said as she reclaimed her clipboard. “We’re hoping to have the entire episode finished next week, and we’ll have you come back to preview it. I know you’ll be very happy with it. It’s been quite an experience, hasn’t it?”

  That’s an understatement, Lacey thought.

  They stood and filed out of the row of seats, Diana still chattering. “We’re hoping to air this in January, probably late in the month. We’ll be running spots for it starting in December, though.”

  They reached the front lobby. Diana shook their hands. “So you two can relax now for a while.”

  “Wait,” Sam said. “What about the releasement?”

  “Oh.” Diana frowned down at her clipboard. “I haven’t been able to schedule that yet. The Offendahls said their business is picking up, what with the holidays coming up and all, so we haven’t been able to find a time to do that yet.” She smiled. “But we don’t need that for the show. Typically we just have a quick epilog at the end, just a couple sentences about the outcome. So don’t worry about that. We’ve got all we need.”

  Sam was thoughtfully silent, but Lacey filled the gap. “Okay, well, keep us posted.”

  “I will.” Diana smiled broadly. “Hey, if I don’t see you before, have a nice Thanksgiving.”

  “Yes, you too,” Lacey said. “Goodbye.”

  Sam still hadn’t said a word when Lacey pulled out of the parking lot and headed for home.

  “What are you thinking?” she asked.

  “I don’t like putting off the releasement,” he said. “Is that true, what she said? They don’t normally show the resolution?”

  “As far as I remember, yes. The couple shows I watched were both like that. Web and Esmeralda had the final reveal with the owners, then there was just a paragraph that said the people either did or didn’t do what Esmeralda suggested.”

  “Huh.” He stared out the window at the darkening sky.

  “Hey,” Lacey said, “want to use the long Thanksgiving weekend to do some serious apartment-hunting?”

  “Sure,” he said, still looking outward.

  They drove the rest of the way home in silence.

  ~~~

  TWENTY-TWO

  Thanksgiving was… a challenge. Lacey hadn’t made a big deal about it in the two years since she and Derrick broke up, but knew this year was different. She and Sam were a team in more ways than one, and she went the whole nine yards: turkey, stuffing, candied yams, pumpkin pie. Not for the first time she wished she had her own kitchen, or at least a bigger kitchen, but she would make it work.

  Sam and Christine compromised on the kids; Christine and Ed planned a brunch at eleven a.m., then Sam would pick
up the kids in the early afternoon for Lacey’s full-on dinner. Daniel and Kenzie would stay with them until Sunday morning, when Sam would take them home.

  “What do you need me to do?” Sam asked, trying to stay out of Lacey’s way as she darted about the kitchen.

  “I’ve got it,” she said, checking the turkey and wrapping rolls in aluminum foil. “Oh, can you pick up a thing of whipped cream when you get the kids? I forgot that.”

  “Sure.” He watched her for a moment, then stepped in and pulled her into his arms in between tasks. “You’re really okay with this family stuff now, aren’t you?”

  She smiled up at him. “I am. Six months ago, I wouldn’t have even considered it, but now…” She leaned up and kissed him. “I’m really enjoying it. Who knew, huh?”

  “Yeah,” he chuckled. “Who knew.”

  The morning brunch did nothing to dampen the kids’ appetites, and Daniel and Kenzie took full plates as well as jamming black olives down on all ten fingers to snack on at intervals. Lacey made mental notes for future reference: Kenzie liked mashed potatoes without gravy, and Daniel refused to eat “wet, green bread,” his term for stuffing.

  Dessert was pumpkin pie with whipped cream in front of the TV, watching the last of the Detroit Lions’ football game. Lacey might have predicted that by the time she had finished cleaning up the kitchen, Sam and both kids were snoozing. She wiggled in between Sam and Kenzie and got comfortable. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed a sleep that resembled a pile of sated puppies.

  Friday and Saturday, they visited a few more apartment possibilities, went to a movie and played miniature golf. The apartment they liked the first time out—the third one they saw—was looking better and better with each new rival. Lacey could see their future coming into focus more and more as time went on.

  It was a good feeling.

  ~~~

  TWENTY-THREE

  Diana called on Tuesday to invite them to the preview of the show.

  “Friday at four. We’ll have a little celebration.”

  Lacey was nervous. She even thought about wearing a dress, but when she looked through her closet, she realized she didn’t want to be nervous and uncomfortable. She settled on a pair of black slacks and a russet-colored sweater.

  Sam went the easy route: black jeans and a black turtleneck. How the man could look so totally hot and sexy and still be casual and comfortable was beyond her. The only color on him was a large turquoise and silver cuff bracelet.

  “How come I’ve never seen that before?” Lacey asked. She took his arm and examined the fine silverwork.

  Sam shrugged. “I don’t wear it much. It gets in my way.”

  “From the reservation?” she asked.

  “Yeah. My cousin’s a silversmith.”

  “Which one?” Sam had a multitude of cousins, some of which she’d met when they were on the reservation.

  “Wesley. You don’t know him.”

  “Huh. Maybe I should. Maybe the next time we go out there, you should introduce us.”

  “Maybe I should.”

  When they arrived at the Unexplained Channel’s office building, the female go-for escorted them to the screening room. Lacey made an embarrassed confession.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t remember your name.”

  “Karen,” the girl said. “Karen Alstead.”

  “Karen.” Lacey vowed to remember. After all, if they were going to do more of these things, she needed to know names.

  Karen reached the double doors to the screening room and held one open for them. Sam and Lacey stepped through to a swelling of applause.

  The entire crew was there. Diana and Barry, Kevin and Skip, the sound techs, even Webb and Esmeralda. Lacey stalled in the doorway, stunned at the response.

  “Come on in,” Barry said. He strode to them and took Lacey’s arm in one hand, Sam’s in the other. “The party can’t start without our two new stars.”

  Escorting them down the aisle, Barry led them to seats in the front row. Lacey nodded and smiled to the well-wishers, feeling slightly ill. Stars? What a thought.

  Barry motioned them to the two empty seats. Webb was on Lacey’s other side, Esmeralda on Sam’s.

  “Good to see you again,” Webb said. “I’ve been hearing good things.”

  “Thanks,” Lacey said. “I guess we’ll see, huh?”

  Barry stood in front and called the crew to order. “Okay, folks. I know you’ve all seen bits and pieces of this during production, but only a few of you have seen the finished cut. I think you’re all in for a very pleasant surprise. So without further ado, let’s watch Sam and Lacey in the Unexplained Channel’s ‘Haunted Malibu.’”

  More applause as the lights dimmed. The screen came alive with The Restless Dead’s congealing, ghostly logo.

  A voiceover, a man’s deep baritone, made the announcement.

  “Today on The Restless Dead, we welcome a new team of paranormal investigators, Lacey Fitzpatrick and medium Sam Firecloud. They’ve been called in by the owners of a boutique B&B in the beautiful coastal city of Malibu in Southern California to investigate disturbing claims of paranormal activity.”

  Lacey watched, mesmerized as the story unfolded. She watched herself and Sam approach the building, Kevin’s pan upward on the front of the structure, their first walk inside. The voiceover continued to explain as Sam started his walk.

  She wanted to glance around, check the faces of the people around her, but couldn’t do it without being obvious, so she just sat very still. She heard no movement among the crew, however, no fidgeting, no conversation. She guessed—hoped—that was a good sign.

  Sam’s first walk was appropriately creepy and startling. When he told of the hanged man, Lacey heard a couple of indrawn gasps. When he talked about the young girl, she heard an audible sigh.

  The first meeting with the Offendahls, however, puzzled her. She didn’t remember Bobbi expanding on the paranormal activities like on the screen. Lacey thought back. Was she not remembering correctly? Bobbie had been hesitant, understated back then. Here, she was certain, more descriptive. She rubbed her arms as if chafing away a chill. Lacey didn’t remember any of that.

  She glanced at Sam. He turned slightly, arched an eyebrow at her. So he noticed, too.

  The segment continued with Vince. He, too, was more talkative, more certain of his experiences. Instead of saying nothing until prompted by Sam’s question about cold spots, he waxed eloquent about the mysterious drafts and the legion of heating and A/C people he’d called in, all to no avail.

  Then Lacey noticed something. All the parts that were new were done in close-ups of Bobbi and Vince, either together or separate. They had re-shot their portions of the discussion. Made them more dramatic, more mystifying.

  She almost laughed out loud. The reality wasn’t sensational enough; the production team just had to ramp it up. It didn’t affect her or Sam or how they were portrayed, but Lacey recognized a needle of anger under her skin. It wasn’t false; it wasn’t a lie—but it wasn’t the truth, either.

  And the worst part, she thought, was that they didn’t tell her or Sam. Did they think they wouldn’t notice?

  She hazarded a quick glance over at Diana and Barry. Both were eating up what was on the screen. Loving it.

  She sat back and tried to keep herself from fuming. See it all, she told herself. Let it play out.

  The research parts were exactly as they had been in the previews. No enhancements there, thank God. Those two sections were intercut with Sam’s second walk. Again she saw that hard glitter in Sam’s eyes. No one else would ever notice.

  Finally, the last reveal with the Offendahls. That, too, was exactly as it had been filmed. Except… she remembered Sam telling them what he would do to release the ghosts. That portion seemed … truncated. Had they run out of time? Had to cut that part to make room for commercials?

  The show ended there, with only a brief epilog.

  To date, all attempts to
rid the property of the ghosts have failed. It remains haunted to this day.

  Lacey sat up in her chair as the lights brightened and the writing on the screen faded. She looked over at Sam.

  His eyes were black obsidian, hard and glassy. His mouth was a thin, straight line.

  “Great stuff,” Webb said, his hand on Lacey’s arm to get her attention. “Well done!”

  The rest of the crew applauded. Barry stood up, still clapping, and called for more noise. The crew responded, hooting and calling. More people stood, giving an ovation, and more, until they all stood, clapping and smiling.

  “Come on up here,” Barry said, motioning for Sam and Lacey to join him. She ducked her head, hoping her shock wasn’t evident on her face. She and Sam stood before the applauding crew, dazed by the epilog and the adoration that followed.

  Lacey pushed the former aside and concentrated on the latter. She, too, applauded, but for the crew. She nodded especially to Diana, to Kevin, to Barry. Sam, more reserved, did likewise. It was a mutual admiration fest.

  “All right,” Barry called out, holding his hands up for quiet. “There’s quite a spread laid out in the big conference room. What do you say we go up and celebrate?”

  Very loud, vocal agreement. The people in the rows of seats began to file out, an orderly train of bodies all headed for the elevators. Webb, Esmeralda, Diana and Barry all crowded around Lacey and Sam and ushered them out. Lacey only caught a glimpse of Sam’s face. He was not happy, but he was keeping his annoyance in check.

  The conference room was bedlam. The sideboard was a full buffet of luncheon meats, cheeses, bread and rolls, side dishes, and desserts. Champagne flowed. Webb tugged Lacey through the line, handing her a plate, a glass. She couldn’t keep track of who all pounded her lightly on the back and offered congratulations. Wading through the smiling faces, she was channeled to a seat at the table. Good thing, she thought, because she couldn’t eat standing up with both hands full. Karen, the go-for, sat on one side of her, Webb on the other.