The Seance Secret: A Gripping Victorian Mystery by Vanessa Lind

Author:Vanessa Lind [Lind, Vanessa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-10-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter fifteen

Olivia ~ Present Day

Overnight bag in hand and her hunger pleasantly satiated with the manicotti she and Ethan shared, Olivia climbs the steps to Vi’s house. Overhead, clouds scuttle over a moon that’s almost full, the perfect backdrop for people who’ve lined up in their cars on either side of the street to take in Vi’s Halloween display. With all this traffic, Olivia had to park a block away. She should have walked, but her overnight bag isn’t the easiest thing to tote around.

Nearing Vi’s front walk, she passes a car with its window rolled down. Music plays through the FM channel paired with the display. This is Halloween, this is Halloween. The LED lights flash with the syncopated beat. A black cat shows in one upstairs window. As it fades from view, a witch’s silhouette appears in the adjacent window.

Olivia raps once on the front door, then lets herself in. In the foyer, the crew is gathered around Dr. Maya and her clipboard.

“There she is,” Gabe says.

“Don’t mind me.” Olivia slips past them, headed for the stairs. “I’ll just go on up. Vi’s expecting me.”

“Not so fast.” Stan grabs her arm.

“The nondisclosure agreement.” Dr. Maya flips a page on her clipboard. “I believe Gabe explained it’s mandatory.”

Taking the clipboard, Olivia scans the paper. “I’m not sure this applies to me. It talks about what I see during the filming. But I don’t plan on seeing anything. I’m just overnighting with Vi. We’ll hole up in her bedroom till you’re finished. Or until we fall asleep.”

Gabe clears his throat. “Vi’s going to be part of the taping tonight. I explained to Dr. Maya what you told me, about her hearing noises and such. We want to film her reactions.”

“If the homeowner is experiencing phenomena, it’s critical that we capture those moments,” Dr. Maya says.

“But Vi doesn’t want to be on camera,” Olivia says.

“She doesn’t have a choice,” Gabe says. “It’s in the contract. We need to get her perspective.”

“Her perspective is that her house was just fine till you all set up shop,” Olivia says sharply. “Remember, Stan? She told you her house wasn’t haunted.”

Stan shifts side to side, clearly uncomfortable. “Vi was unaware of certain phenomena. Now they’ve made themselves known.”

“If you’re going to force Vi into being on camera tonight, then I’d better be there too.” Olivia scribbles her name on the signature line of the nondisclosure agreement and returns the clipboard to Dr. Maya.

“Perfect.” Gabe looks relieved. “There’s good energy between you two. It’s going to play out nicely on camera. We’ll start shooting as soon as the lights go out on the Halloween display. I told Vi to meet us in the parlor. After that, we’ll check out her bedroom.”

Olivia treks up the stairs to Vi’s bedroom. Strains of the Ghostbusters theme song waft through the open doorway. She wishes she’d kept quiet about Vi’s unusual experiences. But Gabe already had his data. Even if Olivia had kept her mouth shut, they’d probably have dragged Vi into their filming.

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