Soul Walk (A Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud Mystery Book 7) Read online

Lacey shook their hands, murmured greetings, then had to get out of the way as the crew began to set up. They had chosen a corner of the main room on an earlier scouting visit, tables backed by low bookshelves, tall windows letting in the cool autumn light.

  Lacey stepped back and let the others figure out the best light and the best backdrop for the shoot. Kevin and Skip set up at different angles and took light readings; another crew member brought in a large silver reflector to even out the shadows. Diana fussed with the table and chairs, arranging them just so. Lacey still had her mic and battery pack from earlier, and a tech helped Irene with hers. The gray-haired woman smiled uneasily to Lacey.

  “Quite a production, isn’t it?” she said.

  “Oh, yeah,” Lacey agreed. “We might as well just stand back and wait until they’re ready for us. I’ve learned that much.”

  Finally everyone seemed happy with the setup. Lacey and Irene were called in and seated at the table, angled toward each other, and more light readings were taken. Irene had a folder of papers in front of her, and got some last minute instructions from Diana.

  “You’ll hand the papers to Lacey one by one,” she said. “We’ll get close-ups of them later, so don’t worry about that. Lacey, you’ll prompt her for more as you go.”

  Lacey noted Irene’s nervousness and actually felt like a pro. She was grateful that she was getting the hang of this, and smiled reassurance to the archivist.

  “Okay, let’s start,” Diana said. “Anytime you’re ready.”

  Lacey waited a beat, then addressed Irene. “What do you have to show me?”

  Irene fumbled a little. “Well, uh, I found this old newspaper record from 1949…”

  Irene revealed the news accounts one by one and passed the papers to Lacey. Lacey made a show of scanning each page and tried to inject the kind of dialog she imagined if this were an actual revelation.

  “So this could be our ghost, the hanging man?”

  “Uh, yes, I think so,” Irene said.

  Lacey quickly learned to keep her comments and questions short and to the point; anything more complex seemed to rattle Irene, and they were forced to do many more takes. Irene would frequently flub, then look straight at the camera.

  “It’s okay,” Diana would say. “Keep going.”

  It took more than an hour to get it all, and Lacey knew the editors were going to have a job cutting out the flubs and splicing together all the good bits. Then Kevin shifted behind her and got close-ups of each document over her shoulder. Finally he got some wide shots of the two of them talking softly, which Diana explained would be paired with a voice-over later. By the time they were done, Lacey thought they’d been filmed from every possible angle.

  Irene seemed visibly exhausted.

  “My goodness,” she said to Lacey. “This is harder than I thought.” She pulled off her glasses and squeezed the bridge of her nose.

  “You’re doing great,” Lacey told her.

  They were required to wait longer still while Diana and Kevin conferred, making sure they had everything they needed. When Diana finally declared it good, both Irene and Lacey let out long sighs of relief.

  “Heavens,” Irene laughed. She neatened her pile of papers in the folder and got to her feet. Lacey stood as well, and touched the woman’s shoulder.

  “Now you can relax,” she said. “Either that or go out and have a drink.”

  Irene smiled. “No, I’ve still got work to do, I’m afraid. But do you know when this will air?”

  “I don’t,” Lacey said. “But Diana might.”

  When the production assistant broke away from the cameramen, Lacey waved her over. “We were wondering if you have the air date for this scheduled yet?”

  “Oh, no, not yet,” Diana said. “We might use it for the season finale, which means January of next year, but we’ll see.”

  “A definite maybe,” Lacey said to Irene. “Well, it was very nice meeting you. Thanks for your help.” She shook the woman’s hand.

  “Oh, thank you,” Irene said. “I was so nervous and you were so calm. You’re very good at this.”

  Lacey leaned forward and whispered, “Not really. I think I just cover it up well.”

  The last bit was filming Lacey exiting the library and walking back to the Tahoe. Again, she had to do it several times before Kevin and Diana were happy. She noticed the red color in the sky above the Pacific and checked her watch. Almost five. It had been a long and very full day.

  Diana consulted her clipboard while Lacey pulled the mic cable out from under her shirt.

  “I’m hoping we can film at the sheriff’s office next week,” Diana said. “Are you available?”

  “Sure,” Lacey said. She handed the mic to the sound tech and unclipped the battery pack.

  “Okay, I’ll call you as soon as I know.” She beamed. “This is going very well. It’s fun, don’t you think?”

  Lacey smiled. “Yeah.” Not, she thought. A full day for probably ten minutes of screen time. The slow pace drove her crazy. She checked to make sure she had everything in her pack and pulled out her phone as she walked to her car.

  “Hey,” Sam answered.

  “Hey. I’m just now leaving Pepperdine. It’ll be a while until I get home.”

  “Long day?” he asked.

  “You can say that again.” She sighed. “I hadn’t taken anything out for dinner, so I have no clue—”

  “I’ll figure something out,” he said.

  “Okay, great. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

  “Okay. Love you.”

  “Love you, too. Bye.”

  Lacey concentrated extra hard on the drive home; she was tired, and knew it. Ever since she’d turned to private investigating, she’d been able to set her own hours and take breaks whenever she wanted. Working a full day—a very long, full day—was no longer what she was used to. She wasn’t sure she wanted to get used to it.

  By the time she got home, it was almost full dark. Her headlights slewed across the front window of the apartment. She parked next to Sam’s truck and dragged in through the front door.

  And was immediately assailed by the luscious smells of marinara sauce and garlic bread.

  She dropped her pack on the couch and headed straight for the kitchen. Sam was just taking a pan of garlic bread out of the oven. Meatballs simmered in sauce in a large skillet on the stove. The table was set.

  Surprised beyond belief, Lacey took it all in. Her wide-eyed gaze swung to Sam, holding the pan of garlic bread, oven mitts on both hands. For some reason it struck her funny, and she stifled giggles.

  “What?” he asked archly.

  “You cooked all this?” she queried.

  “Hey, I was a bachelor for almost five years—and a single dad. I know my way around the kitchen.” He loaded the garlic bread into a warmer and set it on the table, then turned back to meet any challenge she might bring.

  There was none. She went to him and let him fold her into his arms, melting against him. When she looked up, he kissed her warmly.

  “You know,” she said, “I could get used to this. You may have had a very good idea after all.”

  “Never a doubt,” he said, dipping his head down toward hers again.

  ~~~

  NINETEEN

  The next film date was set for the following Wednesday. Lacey was needed at the sheriff’s office at nine a.m. for the second research segment.

  The good news was that she knew what to expect this time.

  The bad news was that the time spent waiting for setup, filming retakes, and alternate angles didn’t change.

  Last one, Lacey told herself over and over. Last segment for her. All that would be left after this was the final reveal with the Offendahls and then the releasement.

  The “expert” that Diana found for the sheriff’s office was an older man, a longtime volunteer, named Don Zimmerman. He was a tall, gaunt man with a gentle handshake and calm, gray eyes. They settled in at a table in a conference
room.

  “So you were LAPD?” he asked Lacey quietly as Diana and Kevin did their last-minute adjustments before filming.

  “Yes. Eight years. How long have you been volunteering at the sheriff’s office?”

  “Almost eleven years,” Don said. “Ever since I retired.”

  “Were you law enforcement?” she asked.

  “No. Owned a rock and gravel company.” He grinned.

  “Not exactly the same thing, huh?” Lacey laughed.

  “Okay, folks,” Diana interrupted. “We’re ready to go. Lacey, start anytime.”

  Lacey nodded and composed herself to appropriate seriousness. She positioned her notebook in front of her and raised her pen.

  “I understand you were able to find out some information for me,” she said to Don.

  “Yes.” He opened the folder he had on the table. “Here’s a police report from 1929…”

  Bit by bit, he revealed the known facts of the cold case and Lacey filled in what Sam had sensed. Luckily, Don was much calmer than Irene had been, and spoke as if it were just he and Lacey in the room, not several others with cameras, lights and boom mics. They ran through the entire exchange several times, but only to get slightly different nuances, and not for any goof-ups. It went surprisingly well.

  “You’re a natural,” Lacey told him as Diana and Kevin conferred over the last take.

  “I belong to Toastmasters,” he said with a wink.

  “Ah.” Lacey chuckled. Maybe that was why Paul had recruited Don instead of doing this himself. Well, that, and a busy schedule.

  “Okay,” Diana said. “We’re going to go through it once more for good measure and that’ll do it. Lacey?”

  The last take, in Lacey’s view, was flawless. The exchange went smoothly and Lacey injected a bit more emotion into her response to the police report. Diana loved it.

  “That was terrific,” she said. “Okay, we are good. Let’s head back outside.”

  Lacey shook hands again with Don. “Thanks so much. It was very nice meeting you.”

  “You, too,” he said. “I’ll look forward to seeing how you and your partner set the little girl free. Tragic story.”

  “Yes,” she said. “They don’t have an air date yet, but if you check The Restless Dead periodically, I’m sure it’ll be announced.”

  “I’ll look for it.” He winked again.

  Outside, they finished up the few sequences of Lacey leaving the building and climbing into the big white Tahoe. She checked her watch: not quite four. Earlier than last time, thank God.

  As she handed back the mic and the battery pack, she noticed Diana flipping through the pages on her clipboard.

  “Next is the final reveal,” she said. “I’ll see how soon I can set that up. You guys available for the most part?”

  “Uh, yeah, sure,” Lacey said. Anything to get this over with.

  “Okay. I’ll call you. Have a good evening.”

  “You, too,” Lacey said. She grabbed her pack and waved to the crew.

  “Good job,” Kevin called as she headed for her car. She flashed him a smile and a thumbs up.

  She and Sam pulled into the apartment parking lot at almost the same time. She got out of her car and stumbled into his arms.

  “Tired?” he chuckled.

  “Dead,” she said. She turned her face up to him and delighted in his welcome home kiss. “And I have no idea what we’re having for dinner.”

  “I do.” He reached into the truck and retrieved a large brown bag that smelled suspiciously like Chinese food.

  “You are an absolute angel,” she said.

  “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get you inside before you fall down.”

  He grabbed a quick shower while she set the table and put all the food in covered dishes to keep it warm. Sitting down to the delicious smells of Chinese food and Sam’s sandalwood soap, she sighed.

  “Another tough day?” he asked.

  “Not as tough,” she admitted. “But I just don’t know if I can do this on a regular basis.” She thought a moment. “You know how, with movie stars, you’re always hearing about them waiting in their million-dollar trailers, reading or napping or putting golf balls? Now I know why. The standing around half the day drives me crazy. I keep thinking I could be doing a zillion other things.”

  Sam watched her thoughtfully as she spoke. “It’s funny that neither of us realized how much more you’d be impacted by this than I would. I just do my normal walk and I’m done. You do all the grunt work.” He broke a fortune cookie in half, slipping the paper out before he popped the pieces in his mouth. “I still think we can do good things with this,” he said finally. “But we’ll have to see if it’s worth it. If it’s too draining, we’ll have to walk away.”

  Lacey nodded, not happy to think she might be the weak link in this new venture.

  “What’s your fortune say?” she asked.

  Sam read the slip of paper and grinned. “There may be a trailer in your future.”

  ~~~

  TWENTY

  Diana scheduled the final meeting with the Offendahls for Sunday evening. Sam and Lacey took the kids out for an early dinner at a soup and salad bar, dropped them at their mom’s and headed for Malibu.

  “This shouldn’t take too long,” Sam said as they cruised up the Pacific Coast Highway.

  “I think our definition of ‘too long’ is vastly different than the Unexplained Channel’s,” Lacey said wryly.

  “Yeah, but they’ve filmed there before, they know the layout, the lighting conditions. How much is left to figure out?”

  Lacey laughed once. “I don’t know. But I’ll bet they’ll find some.”

  They pulled up in front of the B&B and parked behind the van. As soon as they exited the car, the sound tech was waving them over to get their mics.

  “You know the drill,” he said. “Pull these up under your shirts and then we’ll do the sound checks.”

  Before they had finished that, the go-for came to get them. “When you’re done here, we’re all ready for you inside.”

  Lacey glanced at Sam. Just one corner of his mouth curled upward in a told-ya-so smirk.

  Inside the B&B, the crew was indeed ready. The overhead lights were off, hurricane lanterns lit, and cameras and reflectors were in place. The Offendahls sat at the dining room table while Diana prowled behind the cameras with her clipboard.

  “There you are,” she said. She motioned them to chairs, this time sitting Sam next to Bobbi and Lacey next to him. The four of them nodded hellos.

  “All right,” Diana said. “What we’re doing tonight is sharing with the Offendahls all we’ve found out about the ghosts. Lacey, you’ve got all the files. You can explain piece by piece what you found, and share the printouts as you go. Sam, we’d like you to chime in as she goes through it.”

  They both nodded. By this time, Lacey knew these stories forward and backward. Sam, of course, knew them intrinsically, but he’d reviewed the records as well.

  Kevin got his final light level readouts from Sam and Lacey, gave Diana a thumbs up and she gave the word to start.

  “Anytime,” she said. “We’re rolling.”

  Lacey took the lead. “Good to see you folks again. We’ve done a lot of research into the paranormal manifestations and we want to share with you the information we were able to find. I’ll start with the front right room. Bobbi, that’s where you said you saw the man hanging in the closet, correct?”

  Bobbi nodded, swallowing convulsively. “Yes, that’s right.”

  “Okay, well, we tracked him down. His name was Gerald Mayhill…”

  After the two days filming the research segments, Lacey felt like she had a handle on what Diana wanted—the pacing, the pauses, the reveals. She gave out the details bit by bit, as if she pulled away one sheer curtain after another until the full tragic story of Mayhill was laid bare. The Offendahls were appropriately affected.

  “Oh, how awful,” Bobbi said of the bus a
ccident. “All those children.”

  “That cold draft you feel in that room, that heavy depression,” Sam said, “is the manifestation of his profound guilt. You can actually feel the weight of the burden he’s been carrying for all these years.”

  Bobbi shook her head. “That poor man.”

  Next, Lacey began to lay out her search for Trudy. The multiple dead ends, the final clue that led to her, the entirely unsatisfactory revelation that her murderer was never found. “We’ll never know who he was,” she said, “or if there were other victims. I wish we could bring justice to this case, but in this instance, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.”

  “How sad for her parents,” Bobbi said softly.

  Lacey nodded. “And she was their only child.” The deep heartbreak was almost tangible in the silence.

  Sam cleared his throat. “So what we need to do is this: both of them need to be released so they can move on. Gerald needs to be released from his guilt, Trudy from her fear and pain. Lacey and I can come back and do that anytime; the sooner the better. They’ve suffered enough.”

  Bobbi and Vince exchanged looks. “What will that consist of?” he asked.

  “I’ll smudge the entire building,” Sam said. “Then talk to each spirit. Let them know we know who they are. We know their stories, we know what ties them here. I’ll assure them there’s no more need for them to stay imprisoned here. They’ll be free to move on to the next plane of existence, as they should have decades ago.”

  The silence was profound. Vince sat back, but covered one of Bobbi’s hands with his.

  “Then that should do it,” he said.

  “Yes. Just let us know when you want us here,” Sam said. “Anytime.”

  The offer hung in the air. The hurricane lamps flickered. Lacey imagined Gerald and Trudy both breathing sighs of relief.

  “Okay,” Diana said enthusiastically. “That was great.” She looked to Kevin. He gave her a thumbs up. “Terrific. All right, folks, we are done. Good job.”

  Lacey gathered all her files together while Sam, Bobbi and Vince all stripped off their mics. Lacey stood and pulled hers out from under her shirt and Diana edged closer with her clipboard.