I felt my stomach flip in excitement of giving new tech a trial run and grabbed the bag with my Handycam, an EMF meter, my voice recorder, my personal spirit box with attached mini-Bluetooth speaker just in case I needed it, and my witchy stuff.
“You ready to do this?” I asked Kholt and Aaron, and they both nodded, gesturing for me to lead the way to the kitchen.
I clicked on my flashlight and took off for the back of the house. Just a few steps in, my magic surged. When I looked ahead, I saw a figure in the kitchen that I knew wasn’t one of the cast. I gestured for Aaron to start filming and reminded myself to don my accent. When we got there, I saw that it was Desmond.
“Hello, Desmond,” I said, waving to the soldier. Realizing that Kholt and the viewing audience couldn’t see him, I turned toward Kholt and then the camera. “Our soldier from 1812 is here. I’ll try to let you know what he has to say.” Figuring this was as good a time as any to do it, I decided to introduce Kholt to the viewing audience.
“Given the nature of this investigation,” I said to the camera, “we brought in some extra help. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Kholt Leroy.” Aaron turned the camera on Kholt, and he gave a little wave and a shy smile.
“Kholt owns and operates one of the best construction firms in the state. He’s here to make sure that none of the damage these buildings sustained can hurt us, but also to make sure that we don’t hurt the residences. You may see him on camera from time to time as we go along, so I wanted all of you to know who he was.”
I turned back to our runner. “What do you have for us, Desmond?” I asked the ghost.
He looked a little uncomfortable, and I couldn’t think of a time I’d ever seen him look that way. He issued me a little bow. “I just wanted you to know that the adjacent building is very active tonight, and they seem mighty interested in you, Ms. Larken.”
Interesting.I relayed what he’d said for Kholt and the camera and then turned back to Desmond. “Would you do me a favor and get Wren and Findley for me?” I asked, hoping that giving him a task that he was used to and knowing that we’d have additional magical muscle on hand, even if from beyond the veil, would put him at ease. I saw the shift in his expression immediately.
“Of course, ma’am. I’d be happy to oblige.”
“Thank you, Desmond,” I said, and he disappeared.
I turned back to the camera. “Some of you may be wondering why I seem to be connecting to the spirits a little easier tonight,” I said. “Deveraux and I worked some magic a few days ago so that we could all see the ghosts like he does for this investigation.” They didn’t need to know that I had gotten my extra mojo boost from having hot, sweaty, and literally life-altering sex with the handsome guy I’d just introduced them to. “Given the psychic things that Dakota, Dev, and I picked up, we figured this would be a plentiful hunt, and we wanted to add another layer to the investigation. After all, we’re all researchers at heart, and finding bigger and better ways to interact with those beyond the veil is always at the forefront of our minds.
“Let’s go take a peek at the area Desmond said is so hopping tonight, shall we?” I asked and flashed a smile at the camera.
If they were interested in me, I’d give them me. I was confident enough in my magic and the rules between the living and the dead to say they wouldn’t be able to affect me. But Iwascurious. And I needed to see how the night unfolded.
Chapter28
~Kholt~
Ifollowed Lark and Aaron through the kitchen archway and into the area that led to the adjoining building’s walkway, my flashlight in hand. Everything that Van, Lennie, and I had set up the other day was in place, the Ghost Grid on a stand and ready to be used. We had pointed it at the entrance to the walkway, positioned so that it reached a little behind the doorframe and a bit into the room we now stood.
Aaron followed Lark on her trek around the room, filming her as she took some electromagnetic field readings.
“We have some spikes,” she said, holding up the device. “It’s jumping from point-three to six, then back down to one before . . . man, that was a fourteen. There’s definitely something going on here.” She looked into the camera.
“I’m going to see if I can get anything on the spirit box,” she said and reached into her bag, pulling out what looked like a little recorder attached to a palm-sized speaker. When she turned it on, I heard a series of staticky clicks.
She held up the device. “This is a spirit box. It scans through AM radio channels to produce a white noise effect. The spirits then manipulate that energy to create words and phrases for us to hear.” She smiled at the camera, and I once again felt her pull like some unstoppable force.
“Let’s see if we can make contact, shall we?” she said and then held the device out in front of her.
“Is anybody here with us?” she asked, and the machine hummed and whined a bit, the radio-like sounds cutting through the white noise. “Our team member, Desmond, told me that there are some people back here who would like to talk to me. I’m here. And I’m listening.” She walked in an arch, getting closer to the wall and the entrance to the walkway.
“Miranda? Kids?” she said. “Are you here?” She looked at the camera again. “When we were doing walk-throughs the other day,” she explained, “we made contact with some children in the residences. I’m trying to reach them again tonight.”
The spirit box gave off another few radio-station-sounding noises, and then, clear as day, I heard, “Star.”
I saw Lark’s forehead furrow. “Was that a response, or was that just random?” The device emitted another series of bleeps and blarts before I heard, “Lee.”
“Interesting,” Lark said, waiting for a few moments without anything new coming through. She turned off the device and stowed it in her bag again. She turned to Aaron. “I’m not sure we’re going to get much more there. What do you say we use the new tech?” She beamed a smile and walked over to where the Ghost Grid was mounted. I felt a frisson of excitement race across my shoulders.
Playing with the device, she spoke aloud. “The Arnot twins have done it again.” She smiled at the camera and explained how the new device worked. “All of you at home will be able to see the shape of the spirit that manifests if we get any activity. We call it the Ghost Grid.”
She turned on the device, and a series of evenly spaced green pinpricks filled the area in front of us from ceiling to floor. We waited for a minute, and then I swore I saw something pass by a few of the lights on the left-hand side.
“Did you see that?” I asked, and Aaron turned toward me with the camera.