by Terri Reid
Chuckling, Bradley nodded. “Okay, let’s see what else your ghost has,” he said.
Mike grinned at Mary and Bradley.
“Christmas,” he said loudly.
“Joe,” the phone chimed.
“The ghost’s name is Joe,” Stanley said. “Says it clear as a bell.”
“Peanut butter,” Mike said.
“Hotel,” the phone responded.
“He musta died in a hotel,” Stanley said.
“Or he was eating peanut butter in a hotel with Joe,” Mike suggested to Mary and Bradley.
Mary bit back a smile. “Stanley, I don’t think your app works very well,” she said apologetically. “Mike’s been helping us, and your app is not repeating what he’s saying.”
“Well, o’ course not,” Stanley blustered. “He’s an angel, not a ghost. My app must be picking up some other ghost in the area.”
“Give it up, Stanley,” Bradley said. “All you have is a random word generator; it has nothing to do with ghosts. We need to use the real equipment from Wyatt.”
Stanley sighed loudly. “Fine,” he relented unhappily. “But I still think it works.”
Shaking her head, Mary paused when she saw Gwen appear in the corner of the living room. “Excuse me,” she said, walking over to meet Gwen. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to let you know that the phones over at the hotel are dead,” she said. “So, Dee can’t call you right now. But he’s doing fine and feels safe.”
Mary nodded. “That’s good to know,” she said. “Thank you.”
Gwen smiled. “Joe, the maintenance man at the hotel, said that he should have the phone up and running in an hour or so,” she added.
“Joe?” Mary asked, looking over her shoulder at the men standing around the dining room table.
Gwen nodded. “Yes, Joe at the hotel,” she repeated.
“The phones are dead,” Mary said slowly, still staring at Stanley and his phone.
“Mary, are you okay?” Gwen asked.
“Yeah, I’m good,” Mary said, turning back. “Just a little surprised, that’s all.”
Chapter Sixteen
“So, I ain’t such a joke after all,” Stanley said with a satisfied nod. “Seems like maybe I do know a little something about this whole ghost hunting thing.”
Bradley nodded. “Yes, Stanley, it certainly seems like you do,” he admitted. “So, do you want to be the one who gives the presentation?”
“What!” both Mary and Stanley exclaimed.
Shrugging, Bradley leaned against the wall in the dining room. “Well, it’s just an idea,” he said.
“I ain’t talking to no auditorium filled with people about something I know nothing about,” Stanley grumbled.
Rosie looked confused. “But Stanley, I thought you just said that you knew a little something about ghost hunting,” she said.
“A little something,” he replied. “Probably a little more than some people in this here room. But that don’t make me no expert. And that’s what we need here, an expert.”
As if on cue, the front doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Mary said, hurrying over to the door. “It might be Sven.”
She pulled open the door and her face split into a wide smile.
“Hello, darling,” Ian said, leaning forward and placing a kiss on her cheek. “I don’t know how you do it, but you get more radiant every time I see you.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked, overjoyed.
She felt Bradley’s hand on her shoulder behind her. “Um, that would be the other thing I did last night while you were out,” he admitted. “I guess I forgot to mention it.”
“You forgot to mention that you called Ian?” she asked.
Ian smiled and looked from Mary to Bradley. “Should I be leaving then?” he asked.
“No!” they both cried out and grabbed him by his arms, pulling him into the house.
“Well, that’s better then,” he laughed.
“Ian!” Clarissa screamed, running across the room and jumping into his arms. “I’ve missed you.”
He picked her up and hugged her. “And I’ve missed you, too, lassie,” he said. “But it’s only been a few days since I last saw you.”
“They were long days,” the little girl replied.
Ian laughed and nodded. “Aye, they were at that,” he agreed.
He turned back to Mary. “So, I understand you need a professorly sort of person to speak at a paranormal conference,” he said.
“Really?” she asked, excited. “Really, you’d speak for our group?”
He nodded. “Aye, I don’t know what I’m talking about, but I can confuse the crowd with me accent,” he said with a wink.
“I don’t care how you do it,” she replied, “as long as it’s you up there and not me.”
“You should wear that shirt,” Rosie said, coming over to Ian and giving him a hug.
“Which shirt?” Ian asked, a little confused.
“That black one. You know, the one that fits you so well,” Rosie replied with a giggle. “It’s quite becoming.”
Ian grinned. “Why Rosie, you’ve made me blush,” he said, leaning over and placing a kiss on her cheek, too.
“Now, just cut that out, you whipper-snapper” Stanley grumbled, coming over and shaking Ian’s hand with a good natured smile.
“Stanley, it’s good to see you,” Ian said. “Are you part of our team, too?”
“‘Course I am,” Stanley said with a smile. “I’m the brains of the team.”
“Oh, well, then,” Ian replied, “I will be leaving now.”
“Sorry. We’re not going to let you go,” Mary insisted. “So, how much did Bradley tell you about the case we’re working on?”
“He gave me an overview,” Ian said. “But I’m thinking I need a little more information and then, perhaps, a plan of what you want me to speak about and what we’re planning.”
“We’re planning on not getting killed,” Stanley said. “And not letting Dee get killed, either.”
Ian nodded. “Good plan,” he said. “But I’m hoping for a few more details than that.”
Chapter Seventeen
The squad car pulled up in front of the house, and Bradley stood on the front door, scanning the area. He glanced at the police officer driving the car and nodded. In a coordinated and nimble move, the officer got everyone out of the car and quickly escorted Dee and Sven up onto the porch and into the house.
“Man, that was so cool,” Sven said once they were in the living room. “It was like we were in a movie.”
“Or it was like someone is trying to kill Dee,” Bradley said. He let the officer out of the house and then closed and locked the door. “And you need to remember that.”
Sven nodded. “Oh, yeah, of course,” he said. “I mean, I’m totally, totally serious about this whole murder thing. And, I, like, have an idea.”
“You have an idea who might be after Dee?” Bradley asked.
“No,” Sven said. “Something awesome. Something that came to me in the middle of the night.” He paused and looked slowly around the room for effect, something he’d done many times when he was being filmed. “I had, like, a psychic revelation last night.”
“And what did this revelation tell you?” Mary asked.
“Houdini,” Sven said slowly, nodding his head. “Houdini.”
“What are you talking about?” Dee asked.
Ian came down the stairs at that moment. “I believe he’s referring to the fact that Houdini and his wife had a code phrase and a promise that whoever died first would somehow come back and tell the living one the phrase. It would then prove that there was life after death.”
Looking at Ian, Sven nodded again. “Yeah, exactly,” he said. “That was my revelation. Who are you?”
“Sven, this is Professor Ian MacDougal from the…,” Mary began.
Sven ran across the room, grabbed Ian’s hand and shook it rapidly. “University of Edinburgh! Du
de, you are so awesome,” he gushed. “You are my hero. I modeled myself after you.”
Ian pulled his hand out of Sven’s grip. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, too,” he replied hesitantly. “And you would be?”
Sven looked crestfallen. “You don’t, like, recognize me?”
“I’m sorry, no. Should I?” Ian asked.
“I’m Sven. Sven Mendelsohn, the star and lead investigator of Ghost Discoverers,” he said.
“Oh, aye, the Ghost Discoverers,” Ian said with a smile. “I do believe I’ve heard of you now.”
Sven shot a smug look over his shoulder at the rest of the room. “Of course he’s heard of me,” he said. “We’re known pretty much worldwide.”
“Aye, I heard you left a bit of a mess when you were investigating the underground city of Edinburgh,” Ian continued.
Dee barked out an unexpected laugh and then quickly covered his mouth with his hand.
Sven turned quickly back to Ian. “Who told you that?” he asked.
“Oh, I’ve known the curator for a long time,” Ian replied. “We’re good friends and all that. She told me she had to use a wee bit of bleach to take care of the spot you left on the ground.”
“Well, it wasn’t like that at all,” Sven said. “Sure, I was frightened. I mean, you should have seen the EVPs we got down there. But I just spilled my water on myself. Nothing else happened.”
“Oh, I see,” Ian said. “Funny, she thought it was another substance altogether.”
Dee chortled behind his hand, and Ian looked over at him and nodded. “And you’d be Dee. Is that right?” he asked.
Dee walked over and extended his hand. “It’s an honor to meet you, Sir Ian,” he said. “I’ve read all of your papers about the paranormal—”
“And he’s told me all about them,” Sven inserted. “Dude, they are awesome.”
“Well, it’s just Ian, not Sir anything,” he said to Dee. “And, from what Mary and Bradley have told me, we’ve a bit more pressing things to discuss than my papers.”
“Yeah, like my Houdini idea,” Sven inserted.
Ian looked across the room to Bradley. “My study of criminology largely relates to the paranormal side of things,” he said. “But when you’re looking for suspects, would you consider someone who would gain something, for instance fame or notoriety, if their coworker were killed?”
Bradley looked directly at Sven. “Yes, as a matter of fact, they’d be on the top of my list,” he replied.
“Wait. What?” Sven asked. “I don’t want Dee to die. I was just, you know, coming up with ideas in case it happens. I mean, dude, the guy got pretty close yesterday.”
“And where were you yesterday when someone tried to shoot Dee?” Ian asked.
“Wait. Wait. I’m not the bad guy,” Sven insisted. “I am so not the bad guy.”
“Then perhaps we all ought to concentrate on keeping Dee alive and not on what we’ll do if we fail,” Ian said quietly, moving away from Sven and over to Mary. “Where would you like us to meet, darling?”
She placed her hand over her mouth to cover the smile and coughed softly. Ian grinned down at her. “The dining room would be best,” she said. Then she turned to the room at large. “Would anyone care for some tea?”
“Tea?” Sven said with disgust. “Who drinks—”
“Tea would be wonderful,” Ian interrupted.
“Yeah, like he said, wonderful,” Sven added. “Really wonderful.”
Mary rolled her eyes so only Ian could see and then smiled. “Okay, then, I’ll put the kettle on,” she said. “The rest of you take a seat at the table.”
“I’ll check on Clarissa before we get started,” Bradley said, beginning to walk up the stairs.
“Oh, I left her upstairs with a post-birthday gift,” Ian said. “A DVD of her favorite show. She was quite absorbed with it when I came downstairs.”
Bradley laughed and turned toward the table. “Well then I’ll just join the rest of you,” he said. “Now, the first order of business is a list of the people who might want to kill you Dee.”
“Aye,” Ian added. “And how many of them are going to be at the conference tomorrow.”
Chapter Eighteen
Ian watched Gwen circle around the room and stop behind Dee’s chair. He noted the similarity in their eyes and their smiles. “So, is it your mother that’s helping with this investigation?” Ian asked.
“Dude, his mom is dead,” Sven warned Ian under his breath. “Ixnay on the om-may.”
Ian turned to Sven, surprised that Sven didn’t know about Dee’s mom helping them. “Do you believe in ghosts?” he asked.
Sven looked shocked. “Dude, it’s what I do,” he said.
“I know that,” Ian replied calmly. “But do you actually believe in ghosts, or do you think it’s just a show?”
Sven glanced around the table to ensure that he could speak privately to Ian, then leaned over. “You want the truth?”
Ian nodded. “The truth will set us free,” he replied.
“Yeah, right,” Sven said, brushing Ian’s words aside. “The thing is, this is a good gig, and I’ve kind of got the right personality for it. I mean, the networks are looking for someone who’s larger than life. And me? I’m it.”
“You certainly do seem larger than life,” Ian agreed.
“So, just between you and me, you know, the professionals in this room,” Sven continued. “This whole paranormal thing is crap. There’s nothing out there. It’s all electronics blips or random radio waves. It can all be disproven. It’s like a multi million dollar business, and we all want our share.”
“So what would happen if I could prove to you there were ghosts?” Ian asked.
“You couldn’t,” Sven replied. “I mean, I’ve been doing this for four years. If there was something out there, I’d have seen it.”
“But you’re not afraid, right?” Ian asked.
“Afraid?” Sven scoffed. “No. Whatever that curator friend of yours said was wrong. I was never afraid.”
“Okay,” Ian replied. “What would convince you that there was a ghost here in this house with us?”
Sven looked around the brightly lit, homey room and shook his head. “Dude, ghosts don’t hang around places like this,” he said. “They like dark, spooky places with creaking doors and spider webs.” He paused and met Ian’s eyes. “Are you really sure you’ve studied this stuff?”
Ian smiled. “Aye, I’m sure,” he said. “But thanks for your concern.”
Ian glanced around the table and caught Mike’s eye and nodded to him to come near. Mike glided over. Ian turned back to Sven.
“So, what if I were to ask a ghost to levitate something in the room,” Ian said. “Would you believe?”
“Like what?” Sven said. “Like my cup of tea?”
“Sure,” Ian said. “That would work.”
Mike glided around Ian and picked up Sven’s cup, making it look to Sven as if the cup was dangling in mid-air. “Dude, that’s so cool,” he said. “You’re a telekinesis guy.”
Ian shook his head. “No, I’m not,” he said. “A ghost is lifting your cup.”
“Sure. Sure,” Sven said, nodding. “That is so cool that you can do that. Were you born with it, or did you, like, practice it?”
Mike lifted the cup higher and starting angling it so the tea would pour out over Sven’s head.
“Don’t do it,” Ian said to Mike. “As tempting as it may be.”
The cup righted itself and floated slowly down to the table. “The networks would love you, dude,” Sven said. “Hey, I could give you a job on the show. We could, like, tell people there’s a ghost in the room, and then you could do your thing, lift stuff up, and we’d record it. We would get, like, Emmy awards.”
Ian sighed and shook his head. “You believe in telekinesis, but you don’t believe in ghosts?”
“Hey, I’m an educated guy,” Sven insisted. “Ghosts are a figment of our imagination. Everything w
e claim to be supernatural has a logical and scientific explanation.”
Gwen met Ian’s eyes and shrugged. “That boy don’t know nothing about nothing,” she said. “My Dee is the only thing that keeps his show on the air. Without Dee, the only job he’d have with a network would be the errand boy.”
Ian turned back to Sven and lowered his voice. “So, is there a reason someone would want to kill Dee?” Ian asked. “I mean, you know, in strictest confidence.”
Sven shook his head. “No, I mean, Dee’s the behind the scenes guy. He does the research, gets the permits for filming, films the sequences and then does the editing,” he said. “But I’m the guy in front of the camera. I do all the important stuff. If anyone was trying to ruin the show, they’d be going after me.”
“And are you sure they’re not?” Ian asked.
Sven’s eyes widened as he considered Ian’s words. “Do you think…” he stopped and looked wildly around the room, his eyes stopping on Bradley. “You’ve got to get that cop back here. You need to get me back in that hotel room. I need protection, real protection. I’m a star.”
Bradley looked over at Sven. “Have there been any threats…” he began.
“Listen, the professor here spelled it all out to me,” Sven insisted, pointing at himself for emphasis. “The real brains. The real star power. The most important part of the show is me. I just can’t risk it.”
“You’re exactly right,” Mary agreed. “You can’t risk it, and the world can’t risk it.”
“Dude!” Sven replied, pointing his finger at Mary and shaking his head. “Exactly right. Exactly right.”
“Okay, the officer is still outside,” Bradley said. “I’ll have him come in and escort you back to the hotel room. I’m sure you’ll be safe there.”
Sven turned to Ian and grabbed his hand again, shaking it briskly. “Thank you,” he said earnestly. Then he leaned forward and lowered his voice. “And don’t worry. Your whole telekinesis secret? It’s safe with me.”
Ian smiled. “I feel so much better knowing that,” he replied.
“No problem, dude. No problem at all.”
