Cemetery Tours

by Smith, Jacqueline

  “Thank you, Sweetheart,” Luke smiled, basking in her flattery. “It’s all because of fans like you we’re able to do what we do.” Michael rolled his eyes. How did anyone take him seriously?

  “You know, I actually died once,” Kate told him, looking oddly smug. That caught Michael’s attention.

  “Is that so?” Luke asked.

  “You never told me that,” Michael said.

  “I didn’t think it would impress you,” she replied.

  “Was it after your car accident?”

  “Yep. Flatlined for four minutes before they revived me.”

  “And did you have an experience? With the afterlife?” Luke asked.

  “I think I did, but it’s pretty blurry,” Kate said. “They pumped me full of so many drugs, I don’t have too many solid memories. My brother’s convinced my brain will never be the same.”

  “I don’t know what he’s talking about. Your brain seems just fine to me,” Luke smiled. Kate looked positively elated.

  “This is just so cool. I can’t believe you’re here,” she gushed. “Will you sign my book?”

  “Oh God, you bought his book?” Michael groaned. After the wild success of his stupid show, Luke Rainer had penned a memoir of his lifelong obsession with all things paranormal. Like the show, the book had been well-received by women between the ages of fifteen and fifty-five. By the critics, not so much.

  “Of course I will. It’d be my pleasure,” Luke responded with a cheeky grin. “You know Mikey, I’m proud of you. It’s about time you found a girl. Especially one with such good taste.”

  “Well actually - ”

  “We’re not dating,” Kate interrupted him. Luke raised an eyebrow.

  “No?” he asked, eyeing her with renewed interest.

  “No. I am very single,” she replied emphatically. Michael watched, incredulous. How could a smart, level-headed woman like Kate be reduced to a silly, fawning fangirl by an arrogant tool like Luke Rainer?

  “Well lucky me,” Luke winked. Kate looked like she was about to faint.

  “Okay, well, it’s been fun, but you need to go,” Michael blurted before he could stop himself.

  “Going somewhere?” Luke asked, observing the suitcase in Michael’s backseat and showing no intention of departing.

  “As a matter of fact yes, and I need to leave soon, so there’s really no reason for you to stick around.”

  “Au contraire, I think I’ve found a perfectly good reason to stick around.” Luke glanced back at Kate. “What do you say, Gorgeous? Are you doing anything today?”

  “My schedule is completely open,” she answered breathlessly.

  “What do you say to dinner? I know a great Italian place downtown. Very expensive, of course.”

  Michael clenched his jaw. Please say no, please say no, please say no.

  “I’d love to!” Kate beamed.

  “Great. I’ll swing by and get you around 7:30? Does that sound good?”

  “It sounds perfect!”

  “Excellent. Why don’t I give you my number and you can text me yours? My phone is charging back at my folks’ place.” Michael knew Luke had grown up in Dallas and that his parents still lived there, but he hadn’t known that was where Luke stayed when he came back to visit. It made him feel slightly better about Kate’s impending date with him, but not much.

  “Sure! Let me run and get mine. I left it up in the apartment.” Without bothering to collect her fallen towel, book, or water bottle, Kate dashed upstairs and across the landing, leaving Michael alone with Luke.

  “She’s something, isn’t she?” Luke asked. “What was her name? Kaylee?” Michael felt his usually mild temper flare.

  “It’s Kate,” he snapped. “Why are you doing this?”

  “She’s a pretty girl. I haven’t been on a date in a while. Plus I know you want her so that’s like a bonus.” For the second time that morning, Michael was rendered speechless. This time, however, it was out of anger rather than surprise. “You really can’t blame me. Knowing you, you probably haven’t even asked her on a date. You can’t take girls like her for granted. You’ve got to let them know you want them. Otherwise, someone else is going to swoop in.” Michael wanted to tell him that the last thing he wanted or needed was dating advice from a guy whose last girlfriend was Teresa Von Lock, the lead singer of the gothic rock band The Necromantics and known by her fans as The Queen of the Dead. However, a door slamming somewhere above them distracted him. Seconds later, Kate came bounding down the stairs.

  “Here it is,” she announced and handed her cell phone to Luke.

  “Thank you, Sweetheart.” Luke took the phone and punched his number in. “Text me.”

  “Oh, I will,” she smiled.

  “Well, I guess I better be off. Have a bit of editing to do for my new project. But I will definitely see you tonight,” he promised Kate as he turned to leave. “Have a good trip, Mikey.”

  “Bite me,” Michael muttered under his breath.

  “Bye, Luke! See you tonight!” Kate waved. Once he’d disappeared, she turned to Michael. “Oh my God, I can’t believe I just met Luke Rainer! How do you know him?”

  “We met a few years ago. He came around wanting to film because... well...”

  “Because of the curse?” Kate asked.

  “You heard?”

  “Our downstairs neighbor mentioned it to me. Do you believe in it?”

  “Um, I’m not sure,” Michael answered carefully. “Anyway, that’s how I know him.”

  There was a little more to it than that. The truth was that he’d shown up one day, about a year and a half before the Discovery Channel picked up his series, asking about the building. He’d heard all the stories about the “curse” of the Riverview Apartment Complex, and being the young, enthusiastic paranormal investigator that he was, he decided to check it out.

  When he’d first come knocking on his door, Michael knew he couldn’t turn down Luke’s request to set up a night vision camera and three digital recorders without raising suspicion. The next morning should have been the last time Michael saw him. Unfortunately, Luke was so eager to set up his equipment downstairs where a woman had reported hearing mysterious voices singing in her bathroom that he’d forgotten one of his digital recorders. By the time he returned for it, it had already captured an extensive conversation between Michael and Brink. To the untrained ear, it almost sounded like Michael was talking to himself. Luke however, had been able to decipher Brink’s voice through the static.

  Michael held on to his claim that he was on the telephone and that any voice Luke may have heard must have been recorded through the earpiece, but Luke simply didn’t buy it. He knew what he’d heard and he wouldn’t rest until Michael admitted not only that he’d been talking to a ghost, but that the ghost was talking back, and Michael could hear every word he said.

  The only person in the world to know Michael’s secret, and it had to be Luke Rainer, ghost hunter, reality television star, and douchebag extraordinaire. He’d tried everything from begging to bribery to get Michael to join the Cemetery Tours team. Why? Michael hadn’t a clue. Luke Rainer already had all the success, money, and star power he could ever ask for. He clearly didn’t need Michael.

  “This is just so cool,” Kate repeated. “I’ve never met a celebrity before! You don’t mind, do you? You know, that I go out with him tonight?”

  Yes, he thought. Aloud, he said, “No, not at all. Go - ” He paused to clear his throat. Why did his voice have to crack now? “Go have a good time.”

  “Thanks Michael.” Much to his surprise, Kate threw her arms around his shoulders. “You’re a good friend.”

  I’m an idiot, he thought drearily as he returned her embrace.

  “Don’t mention it.”

  Chapter 8

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  Kate tried to ignore her brother as she applied her mascara, but it was difficult to do so with him hovering over her shoulder. Their bath
room was supposed to be big enough so that two people could stand comfortably in front of the mirror, but with Gavin practically breathing down her neck, they probably could have squeezed in a third.

  “Well, I’m not. So get over it.”

  “You know, I can believe that he has friends here in Dallas. I can even believe he has friends in this complex. But honestly, why would he ask you on a date?”

  “Gee, thanks, Gav. You want to tell me how fat this dress makes me look, too?” Kate snapped. “It’s not like it’s a real date.”

  “So why are you going?”

  “Hello, he’s Luke Rainer!”

  “Yeah, I got that,” Gavin scowled. “How do you know this guy isn’t up to anything?”

  “Like what? You think he wants to kidnap me?”

  “I’m just saying I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be going out with some guy you don’t know.”

  “Well technically - ”

  “No, stalking him on Twitter does not count.”

  “Fine,” Kate huffed. “You know I spent more time with him than I would have if I’d met him speed-dating.”

  “Not making me feel better, Sis.”

  “Well, I tried.” Kate shrugged as she dropped her back-up mascara and lipstick into her purse. Then, she pulled out her cell phone to check the time. 7:28. Luke would be there any minute. She grabbed her favorite bottle of perfume and spritzed it onto her wrists and neck. Gavin took a few steps away from her to avoid any residual spray. He must have finally realized he wasn’t going to talk her out of it, because he left shortly thereafter, but not before casting her one last look of blatant disapproval.

  Knowing she didn’t have much time, Kate examined her reflection one last time. She had to admit, she looked pretty good. She’d chosen a summer dress, and she’d tied her hair up with a few strands falling loosely into her eyes. With just an extra touch of smoky eye-shadow and a natural shade of lipstick, she finally felt worthy of a night with Luke Rainer. As if on cue, someone knocked on the door, sending her heart into a frenzy.

  “I’ll get it!” she announced and scampered to the entry hall.

  She pulled the door open to reveal Luke Rainer, looking more beautiful than he ever had on her television screen. He wore the same dark jeans from earlier, but he’d exchanged his T-shirt for a button-down collared shirt. She’d noticed earlier that he wasn’t nearly as tall as he seemed on television, but with his rugged jaw line and big, forest-colored eyes, he was still the handsomest guy she’d ever seen. He smiled as he greeted her with a cheerful, “Hello, Gorgeous.”

  “Hi,” she squeaked. Stop it, Kate! You’re twenty-four, not fourteen! For Heaven’s sake, he’s just a person!

  “Hello.” Gavin suddenly appeared beside her, trying to look as important and intimidating as he could in his unkempt state.

  “Is this the brother?” Luke asked Kate.

  “Gavin. How you doing?” Gavin extended his hand. To anyone else, it might have seemed like a friendly gesture. Kate, however, knew her brother. He didn’t really do “friendly.”

  “Great, thanks. I’m Luke.”

  “I know,” Gavin frowned. “So why the sudden interest in my little sister?”

  “Gavin!” Kate hissed. To Luke, she said, “You’ll have to excuse him. He’s not really a people person.”

  “No harm done,” Luke assured her. “So are you ready for the best night of your life?” Kate laughed, but she could practically feel Gavin tense beside her.

  “Absolutely. Let me grab my purse,” she replied. She turned to her brother. “Don’t talk,” she ordered before sprinting off to retrieve her purse from her bedroom.

  Once they’d finally made it out the door, Kate realized just how nervous she was. She was alone. With Luke Rainer. What was she supposed to say to him? Luke, however, was so outgoing and relaxed that she soon found herself talking to him as though he were one of her oldest friends. During the car ride there (he’d brought his more “modest” vehicle - a brand new Ferrari), he asked her about herself, where she’d gone to school, what she did for a living, what hobbies she enjoyed. She realized it was a little pointless to ask him such things after having read his book and seen every single episode of Cemetery Tours.

  She already knew that he’d grown up in both Houston and Dallas and that he’d first become interested in the paranormal when, at the age of six, he saw the apparition of his grandfather standing in his living room. She knew he’d gone to a community college in the area for a few semesters before dropping out to pursue paranormal investigation full time, and that before he earned his time slot on the Discovery Channel, he’d made his living as a bartender in Deep Ellum. That’s where he’d met Gail Marsh and JT Sawyer, two of his fellow investigators. Gail worked with him at the bar and JT was a patron who’d stop in every Friday after he’d finished his job as a busboy at one of downtown’s most prestigious hotels. They began ghost hunting on weekends and by the time Peter Jamison, Gail’s tech friend from college, had joined the team, they had already collected a handful of pretty spooky disembodied voices on their digital recorders. Together they put together a compilation of their video evidence, which included a few shadow figures and one solid full bodied-apparition, and began showing it off to anyone who would watch. After receiving a lot of positive feedback, they decided to see if they could find an agent who would be willing to watch their video. That had eventually led to a contract with the Discovery Channel and the rest was history. The entire crew had been living out near Los Angeles ever since.

  Instead of asking about his professional life, Kate asked, “So what do you like to do when you’re not investigating?”

  “More investigating,” he grinned. “There’s actually a place outside of Waxahachie I’m thinking of checking out while I’m here.”

  “Really?” Kate asked.

  “Yeah. It’s called the Old Bluebonnet Ranch. There’s a cemetery right on the edge of the property where a lot of apparitions have been sighted. Think I’ll go see if it lives up to all the hype.”

  “That sounds so cool. I’ve always wanted to go on a real ghost hunt.”

  “Why don’t you come with me?” Luke offered.

  “Are you serious?”

  “Absolutely. I could always use an extra hand, especially since my crew isn’t with me.”

  “Where are they?” Kate asked, her head still spinning at the thought of going on a real ghost hunt with Luke Rainer.

  “Peter and JT are spending the week in New York and Gail is in Reno with her new boy toy.”

  “You’re the only one who came home?” Kate asked. Luke shrugged.

  “I wanted to spend time with my folks. I really don’t get to see them a lot.” As he spoke, Kate realized that this was a side of Luke Rainer that most people never got to see. He always gave the impression that he was a hot shot superstar paranormal investigator. She never expected he’d be the type to fly home to spend time with his parents while his friends partied it up in New York and Reno. “So how long have you and Mikey been friends?”

  “Not very long,” Kate replied. “How do you know him?” She remembered what Michael had told her, but he really hadn’t gone into very much detail.

  “Oh you know, heard there was a cursed apartment complex. Thought it might be fun to investigate. My friends didn’t think it was worth it, but I was curious, so I took my camera and a few digital recorders.”

  “Did you find anything?”

  “That depends. How easily do you scare?” he asked. Kate smiled.

  “Don’t worry, I already know my apartment is haunted,” she assured him.

  “In that case, there’s definitely something there,” Luke said. “I caught several disembodied voices, a couple unexplained mists, and even a few intelligent responses.”

  “Wow. So the building really is haunted?”

  “As haunted as it can get. The question is... why?” He asked, sounding like a voice actor on a kid’s Halloween program as he parallel pa
rked his beloved Ferrari alongside the busy downtown sidewalk. “If there is a scratch on this car when we get back, someone’s ass is gettin‘ run down.”

  He offered her his arm and led her down the block to a fancy Italian restaurant called De Luca’s. Two potted trees glittering with colorless Christmas lights stood on either side of the door, which a greeter, dressed in slacks and a vest, opened for them.

  “Buongiorno. Welcome to De Luca’s.”

  “Grazie, my man,” Luke grinned. “Reservation for Rainer?”

  “For two?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Right this way.” Kate knew she was ogling as they followed the man through the restaurant, but she couldn’t help it. De Luca’s was beautiful; full of classy artwork, ritzy furnishings, and crystal chandeliers. The lighting was dim, and the walls were the color of garnets and covered with intricate designs the color of treasure touched by the hand of King Midas. Passing by their fellow diners, elegant and sophisticated couples sipping wine by candlelight, Kate realized just how underdressed and out of place she was in her Target brand summer dress. Fortunately, no one paid her or Luke the slightest bit of attention.

  Finally, the greeter directed them to a semi-secluded table near the window.

  “Is this satisfactory?” he asked.

  “Very. Thanks a lot,” Luke replied.

  “Anything else I can do for you, just let me know.” He disappeared, and before Kate had time to appreciate the smell of fresh marinara or the soft Italian mood music, a waiter arrived to take their drink orders.

  “How about some wine?” Luke asked Kate.

  “Great.”

  “Red or white?” Kate bit the inside of her cheek as she felt the waiter’s eyes drift from Luke to her. She had no idea which one she liked and she’d left her note cards at home.

  “Whatever you prefer,” she finally answered.

  “How about a bottle of Cabernet?” Kate wasn’t sure she knew one wine from another any better than the names of colors. Still, she didn’t want to seem naive or childish by asking him to describe it.