“That turned out great!” Karen said.
“Yeah, it did,” Lacey fudged. “You guys all did a great job.”
“So did you do all the research?” Webb asked.
“I did, actually,” Lacey said. “There was one point where I got stuck and almost called for help, but then I pushed through.” She shrugged. “Sam says I’m like a dog with a bone once I get going on something.”
“Well, you did a fabulous job,” Webb said. “Any idea what your next case will be?”
“Uh, no. Diana hasn’t mentioned anything.”
“There’s no shortage,” he said. “And I hear Meralda and I might be going to the UK.”
“Oh? That’ll be interesting.”
“Ghosts galore over there,” he said.
The celebration died down somewhat as people fed their faces. Lacey looked around for Sam; he was wedged in between Esmeralda and Kevin. She watched him for signs of his mood. He must have felt her eyes on him, for he glanced over briefly, his eyebrows up near his hairline. She nodded once. Yes, they had to talk to Diana and Barry. Soon.
But the party threatened to go on. It was already after five, but the crowd thinned only slightly. Lacey finished her plate, set her half-full glass of champagne aside and began to circulate in Sam’s direction.
He was standing with a couple crew members that Lacey couldn’t place, still holding an almost full glass of champagne. The two techs—lighting, she thought—were plying him with questions.
Just as Lacey walked up, Diana appeared as well. She raised her glass to the new stars, smiling broadly.
“We need to talk,” Sam said.
“Oh?” Her smile sagged a little. “About?”
“The epilog.” He kept his answer short, clipped. Lacey knew he was giving Diana a chance to do this elsewhere.
“Oh, that,” Diana said, waving away his concern. “It’s okay. They decided—”
“It’s not okay,” Sam said. “It implies that we were unable to release the spirits. It implies that we failed, and we’ve never had the chance—”
“Hang on,” Diana said abruptly. She set down her glass and moved toward the door. “Come on. Let’s go to my office for a minute.” She held the door for them and ushered them down the hall. “There on the right,” she said.
Her office was a smaller version of Barry’s. Nice, but not spacious. She motioned them to chairs and sat behind the desk.
“The Offendahls decided not to do the releasement,” she started. “Since word got out about the show being filmed there, they got a real uptick in their bookings. Apparently plenty of people want to see the hanging man and the little girl.” She held her hands out, smiling widely. “So you’re off the hook. No need for a releasement.”
Lacey was stunned, and felt sure Sam was, too. He recovered quicker than she did, though.
“They need to be released. They’ve suffered long enough.”
Diana leaned forward on the desk, her smile forced. “I understand, but the property belongs to the Offendahls. It’s theirs to do with as they wish. We can’t force them to do anything.”
“And meanwhile,” Sam said with a tight jaw, “it looks like we were unable to clear the ghosts. That’s not true.”
Diana looked down uneasily. “Well, not really,” she fudged. “We don’t specifically state that…”
“It’s implied. I tell them we can release the ghosts, and then the epilog says nothing worked. But nothing was done. It’s a lie.”
At the word “lie,” Diana looked up sharply. The smile was gone. “This is how they want to leave it. It’s good for business.”
“It’s not true,” Sam said. “You need to change it. Say they never tried to release the ghosts.”
Diana sat back in her chair and toyed with a pen on her desktop. “I’m sorry you’re not happy with it,” she said. “I’ll, uh, talk to Barry about it. But you do realize that you signed off on it. Both of you gave your approval.”
“Not for that,” Sam said. “Not for the ending.”
She drew in a breath and exhaled. “You don’t have approval rights on that.” Her blue eyes were direct and unwavering. “I’m sorry.” But she didn’t sound sorry.
Sam sat motionless for a moment. Lacey could feel the tension in him, the way he held his body, like a coiled snake.
He stood up abruptly, startling her and Diana.
“Come on, Lacey. Let’s go.”
She jumped to her feet and went to his side. They faced Diana as one.
“Look,” Diana said, getting to her feet more slowly. “I’ll talk to Barry. I’ll see what we can do.”
Sam stared at her. “You do that.” And he turned to go. Lacey rushed to keep up with him.
He stabbed the recall button for the elevator, strode in and stabbed the button for the ground floor as well. Lacey said nothing as the doors closed and the elevator lurched downward, but just put her arm through his and stood silently by his side.
~~~
TWENTY-FOUR
That silence persisted in the car most of the way home. Lacey didn’t mind. She concentrated on her driving and let Sam do whatever he was doing.
When she exited the freeway less than a mile from home, he finally spoke.
“I’m sorry.”
She glanced over. “For what?”
“I didn’t ask you, didn’t think… maybe you wanted to stay.”
Lacey snorted. “Stay? After what they did? They lied. They made us look incompetent so the Offendahls could make more money. That’s a crock of shit.”
Sam turned toward her, an embarrassed smile curving his mouth. “But I still should have asked you.”
“Oh, please,” she said, turning down their street. She pulled into the parking lot and nosed the car into its spot, then shut it down. Only then did she turn to Sam.
“Do you honestly think I would feel differently than you did? They pulled a fast one on us. Two fast ones, actually. First when they reshot the Offendahls’ reactions during the first interview, then that end bit. The first thing, I don’t even care about, but that last… That’s just plain dishonest.” She shook her head. “Here all along we’ve been saying we could do this in an honorable, respectful way so people would understand and they would call us for help. But now, with this, we look like liars. Fakes. It’s… it’s unconscionable.”
“And,” Sam said popping open his door, “what can we do about it? Anything?”
Lacey walked with him to the front door of the apartment and let them in. “I don’t know.” She raised uneasy eyes to him. “I’m not sure we have any recourse. Diana was right. We signed off on the things we had approval on.”
Inside, Lacey dropped her pack on the counter and turned on the burner under the tea kettle. “I need a cup of tea. Want one?”
“No,” he said. Then, “Yeah.” He sighed. “I need to get the taste of champagne out of my mouth.”
Lacey went to him and put her arms around his waist, laying her head against his chest. “I’m sorry,” she said. “This sucks, and it’s all my fault.”
“Your fault? I don’t think so. I’m the one who said we should give it a try.”
“Yeah, but I’m the one who talked you into doing those first TV spots, those morning shows. If we hadn’t done those…”
Sam held her and rested his chin gently on the top of her head. “Forget it. We both thought we were doing the right thing. But you want to know the worst of it?”
“What?”
“Gerald and Trudy. They’ll never be free. They’ll never be able to go on. And all so living people can be titillated by seeing them in their anguish.”
“Oh, God,” Lacey said. “You’re right. That’s terrible.” She raised her face to Sam. “I hadn’t even thought that far, but that’s awful. To make money on their pain…”
The tea kettle began to whistle. Lacey pulled away from Sam and got two cups, tea bags, a spoon. She poured the hot water into the cups while Sam added sugar.
“Well,” she said, returning the kettle to the stove, “I’m going to call Len Carter first thing Monday morning. I’ll see if there’s anything we can do about this.” She dunked her tea bag and watched the clear water turn golden. “I, uh, don’t have high hopes, but we need to be sure. Beyond that…”
She met Sam’s eyes and shrugged.
“Yeah,” he said grimly. He sipped his tea. “But whether we can get them to change that epilog or not, there is one thing we have to do.”
Lacey tipped her head at him, puzzled.
“We have to release Gerald and Trudy.”
~~~
TWENTY-FIVE
By tacit agreement, they let the TV show simmer on the back burner while they immersed themselves in the more immediate concerns of the weekend. The kids, apartment-hunting, wondering if they should even try to move before Christmas or just wait til after the first of the year.
“You know what?” Lacey said after viewing two more apartments that came up short. “Let’s not put a time limit on this. I don’t want to feel rushed and maybe make a bad decision.” She noticed Sam watching her carefully, and she knew what he was thinking. “I’m not stalling,” she said. “I’m ready for this. I’m all in. I just don’t want to be stampeded into a direction.”
“Okay,” Sam said. “I think you’re right. Putting an arbitrary time limit on it just raises the stress level. We don’t need to do that.”
“What about the TV show?” Daniel asked. They were watching a movie and sharing a big bowl of popcorn. Sam and Lacey sat on the couch while Daniel and Kenzie sprawled on the floor.
“We’re, uh, not completely sure about that,” Sam said. “The TV people have a different idea about how it should go, so we’re, uh, discussing it with them.”
“But it’s still going to be on TV, right?”
“We’re just not sure,” Sam said. “We’ll see how it goes.”
Luckily the kids’ disappointment was minor compared to Sam and Lacey’s. It was still a sore subject, better left to the work week when they might be able to actually do something about it.
And on Monday, Lacey was determined to do just that. She called Len Carter’s office first thing, but had to leave a message for him. He didn’t call back until almost noon.
Lacey briefly explained the problem.
“So you’re saying they didn’t allow you to release the spirits but implied that you were unable to? Is that right?”
“Yes. But it’s in the epilog, which we don’t have any approval rights for. Is there anything we can do?”
She heard the rustle of pages as Len scanned the contract.
“I see nothing in here about the epilog or the final cut of the show, and any rights not specifically assigned to you two go to the studio. So, the short answer is no.”
“I was afraid of that,” Lacey muttered.
“However,” Len continued, “if you believe they have defamed you or slandered you, you do have the option of bringing suit against them. Obviously that would be quite an undertaking.”
Lacey blew out a breath. “And no doubt they have an entire legal department to draw on,” she guessed.
“I would assume so,” Len said.
“Blurgh.” She drummed her fingers on the kitchen table. “Okay. Obviously we’ll have to talk about it. Thanks, Len. Appreciate it.”
Lacey hung up the phone despondently, knowing they had two choices: go big or go home. As much as she wanted to push back against the Unexplained Channel for their underhandedness, she knew that suing them would take an inordinate amount of both time and money and, unfortunately, would not keep the lie from being aired. Even if they were successful in winning the lawsuit—a long shot for sure—the inaccurate information would still be out there. The studio might be forced to issue a retraction or not air the show at later dates without changes, but the damage would be done.
To make matters worse, she found an email in her inbox later that day from Diana.
While Barry and I appreciate your concerns, the Unexplained Channel has determined that the epilog is, in fact, true and will stand as is. Your time in the B&B had no effect on the ghosts. We hope you and Sam can understand our position and that of the Offendahls and come to terms with this decision.
Coward, Lacey thought. Couldn’t call and tell them herself. But Diana definitely knew how Sam and Lacey felt. No doubt she just wanted to avoid another confrontation.
That evening, Lacey gave Sam the bad news—all of it.
“Can’t say I didn’t expect it,” he said.
“Which doesn’t make it easier to swallow.”
“No. But I’ve been thinking.” He smiled at her, a distinctly wicked smile. His eyes sparkled.
“What?” she asked.
The smile widened into a grin. “A commando raid.”
“Commando raid?”
“Yeah. But we need Ed and Christine. Let me talk to them first, then I’ll tell you what I have in mind.”
Completely baffled, Lacey cleaned up the dinner dishes and the kitchen as Sam took his phone outside and called the LaRosas. She couldn’t imagine what he was planning, nor how his ex and her husband figured in. She reminded herself that they’d been very helpful and supportive during the last case at San Juan Capistrano, but still couldn’t figure how they could help on this one.
Finally Sam came back inside. He tossed his phone on the counter and gathered Lacey in his arms.
“How would you like to take a little overnight vacation?”
“Vacation?” she repeated. “Where?”
That cat-that-ate-the-canary grin was back. “Up the coast a ways. There’s this little bed and breakfast in Malibu I’ve heard of. They say it’s haunted.”
“But… but…”
“We’re gonna double date with Ed and Christine.”
Understanding dawned on Lacey. “They’ll get the rooms?”
“Right. The names Fitzpatrick and Firecloud are a little too well known right now. But LaRosa? Just another couple looking for a good scare.” He kissed her. “You in?”
She smiled widely. “Hell, yes, I’m in. When?”
“As soon as they can get the rooms reserved. They’re calling as we speak.”
Lacey laughed. “You’re a sneak, you know.”
“Yeah,” he said, pulling her close. “But you love that about me.”
~~~
TWENTY-SIX
They couldn’t get the rooms until the following Sunday night. Very popular, they reported hearing from the guy who worked nights.
“I’ll bet,” Sam said bitterly. “Keeping souls captive for the entertainment value. We’ll see about that.”
That Sunday evening, Sam and Lacey packed a single, small bag and instead of taking Daniel and Kenzie home, took them to a friend’s house for an overnight stay.
“Can’t we go, too?” Daniel asked as they pulled up in the car.
“Nope.” Sam was not entertaining any discussion.
“Are you doing something illegal?” the boy hissed.
“No. There’s nothing illegal about this. We’re just setting some spirits free. There’s no law against that.”
“But why—?”
“Come on,” Sam said, opening the back door so the kids could get out. “Grab your backpacks. I’ll explain it all to you later.”
Sam walked the kids to the door as Lacey waited in the car. She could see the dejected sag of Daniel’s shoulders. Cut out of the action again, she thought.
“Sometime,” she said when Sam returned and got in the car, “we’ll have to let him go on a case with us. Being shunted off to the sidelines is killing him.”
“Yeah, I know.” He pulled his seat belt around. “Sometime.”
Lacey drove directly to Ed and Christine’s and parked on the street in front of the house. They would go together to Malibu in Christine’s car, a Jeep Cherokee. Sam and Lacey settled in the back seat while Ed drove.
“So what’s the plan?” Ed asked. Lacey g
ot the impression that Ed had kind of gotten hooked on this ghostly stuff after helping with their last case.
“I’d like to release Gerald first,” Sam said. “So we’ll each go to our rooms, then meet in the front right room, whoever’s got it. Then we’ll do Trudy.”
Ed parked in front of the B&B and both Sam and Lacey peered through the front window. They saw no sign of Vince or Bobbi, but only a tall, skinny college kid.
“Just a sec,” Sam said. Lacey saw him grab his black ponytail and stuff it down the back of his shirt. Then he pulled a watch cap on his head. “There. Now there’s nothing distinctive about me, nothing to remember.”
Except that copper-colored skin, sculpted cheekbones and obsidian-black eyes, Lacey thought.
The four of them walked in, Ed and Christine to the counter to check in while Sam and Lacey hung back and examined the paintings on the wall. Lacey heard the exchange, the credit card machine beeping, then the clerk explaining where the rooms were. When Ed had the two key cards in hand, he turned and nodded to Sam. The four of them trooped up the stairs.
“Why don’t you two take that one?” Sam said, waving toward the front right. “We’ll be there in a minute.”
He and Lacey walked to the back left. She wondered briefly if it was a good idea for Sam to spend much time here with Trudy. She wondered if he’d be able to keep his own residual guilt at bay.
Inside the room, Sam unzipped the bag. They’d packed clean underwear and their toothbrushes, but Sam was after something else. He pulled out a fat smudge stick and a lighter.
“Come on,” he said, and headed for the door. Lacey followed, her phone in hand.
They went to the front room and Sam knocked once. Ed let them in. Their overnight bag was still on the bed, unopened.
“You didn’t look in the closet?” Sam asked in a low voice.
Both Ed and Christine shook their heads. Lacey couldn’t blame them.
“All right.” Sam scanned the room. “Why don’t you two sit here,” he said, motioning toward a small round table and two chairs in the back corner. “That’ll give me room to work and Lacey to film.”
Soul Walk Page 12
