My reason for driving fast is to keep up with the cop, who seems to have no inkling of how far behind the others are. And, it's not like I can call him on my cell phone.

"Flash your lights at him!" Fiona urged me.

"You don't think it'll p.i.s.s him off?"

"Who cares?! He needs to quit being a d.i.c.k and slow down...if it were you or me in front of him right now, he'd sure as h.e.l.l be pulling our a.s.ses over and handing us a speeding ticket!"

She's probably right.

To the guy's credit, he did slow down, and it only took me flashing the lights a couple of times. After that, the patrol car's pace remained steady-just five miles above the speed limit, which allowed the others opportunity to catch up.

Before long we reached the back roads that would take us to the bed and breakfast inn. When we arrived at Twin Forks, Charlien and George McGlothin were already waiting for us, standing in front of their ma.s.sive Victorian estate.

The building's quite impressive, with matching turrets and a full wraparound porch that stretches for several hundred feet. h.e.l.l, if I was a ghost I'd be a happy camper in a place like this.

"Sorry about the race over here," I told Jackie and Tony, after we all parked and began unloading our gear.

"Geez, I thought maybe we'd stepped onto the set of 'The Dukes of Hazard'," teased Tony, who paused to look over at tonight's police protection.

Officer Ted Compton stood by his patrol car, reflective shades still covering his eyes despite the fact twilight had already arrived. The anti-Jerry Sloan. An average looking, no-personality kind of guy. Just as long as he kept out of our way, we'd be done with him in a couple of hours.

"Hey, Charlien! It's so good to see you!"

Fiona led the way up to the porch, where the McGlothins had retreated once they saw us coming with all of our gear, followed by our three camera techs. She and Charlien embraced as soon as she climbed the steps to the porch.

"It's good to see you too, Fiona!" said Charlien. "And you, Jimmy!"

I'm not one for a bunch of hugs with relative strangers, but we've grown to really like the McGlothins, even though we've only been here a few times over the years. Kind of strange we'd be on such casual terms, I guess. But it's sort of cool, too.

I shook hands with George after Charlien moved on to Jackie who introduced her to Angie. I took this cue to introduce George to the guys in our group and our camera crew. Since Officer Ted hadn't ventured from the side of his squad car, I didn't feel the need for introductions in his case. Fiona's knowing look told me she wasn't inclined to do it either.

"We're going out to visit George's uncle for awhile, and should be back in a couple of hours," Charlien advised. "You'll have the full run of the house, except our quarters upstairs."

"That'll work great," said Fiona, glancing back at all of us and our near-unanimous nods. "I've already briefed the gang on the rules, so none of the furniture or gla.s.sware will be touched."

"Good. I'm sure it'll be fine," she said, but I could tell from the relieved look on her face it'd been a worry for her. She and George had spent more than a hundred grand finding enough period pieces to make the parlors, reception areas, and guest rooms look much like they did back in the 1880s. "Here's my mobile number if anything comes up before then. You said something about finishing up by ten o'clock."

"Yes, I did. Unfortunately, we won't be able to visit after we finish the investigation tonight," my wife advised. "Once we get our findings put together in the next few days, Jimmy and I'll be back out here. Tom and Jackie will come with us, so we can give you the complete a.n.a.lysis of what we discover tonight."

Fiona added a hopeful smile, and Charlien told her quietly that arrangement was fine with her, clasping my wife's left hand while giving her the note with the McGlothins' cell phone numbers. Lovell led his wife to where their Navigator sat, next to the squad car. He nodded to Officer Compton after they got in, and Charlien rolled down her window.

"We should be back around nine-thirty. See you then!"

"All right, we'll see you in a little bit!"

Fiona waved, and the rest of us joined in. Even the camera crew...it's sort of interesting to watch the persuasive power of the alpha in the group over everyone else.

"Okay, everybody, let's set up the audio and video recorders upstairs and downstairs, so we can get this show on the road," she instructed. "Jimmy and Justin will work with Tony downstairs, and Jackie, Angie, and I will join Tom upstairs. At eight-thirty, we'll switch and trade levels. Our camera crew has their own agenda, from what Jackie told me earlier, so try to stay out of their way while they film us doing our thing."

"Tom, would you mind if I use your infrared camera tonight?"

Angie's sudden request caught us all off guard. Asking to handle Tom's baby is akin to requesting a peek inside his underpants. It ain't happening. Angie's charms not-withstanding, the only way she'll wrest the infrared from him is through physical force. More like a sneak attack with a bat to knock him unconscious. I envision the dude sleeps with the d.a.m.ned thing at night and probably takes it with him wherever he goes. I couldn't help snicker as he pulled his beloved camera closer to his chest while he glared at her.

"What if she just tags along while you use it, so she can see what you see, Tom?" Jackie suggested.

Great idea. You could immediately feel the tension ease, at least with him. Not so much with our other child.

"How am I ever going to become a complete believer in what you guys do, if I can't try out the equipment myself-unenc.u.mbered by anyone else?"

For crying out loud, Angie...why don't you go buy your own d.a.m.ned camera if you doubt what goes on among us?

"Ladies and gents, we don't have time to bicker about this s.h.i.t, so if Tom doesn't feel comfortable sharing his toys, you'll have to try some other sandbox, Muscle Mutt," I said, my own abrasive side shining through. Already ten minutes to eight, this c.r.a.p's cutting into our game time. Like Fiona said, we need to get this show on the road... now!

Angie glared at me in response, her bright emerald eyes on fire. At least Tom seemed appreciative. Relieved, he led Jackie upstairs, where they carried the crate containing the remotes and other equipment.

"You can use either one of our cameras, Angie," offered Fiona. "Jimmy and I've captured quite a few anomalies using both the Nikon and the Canon. And, we've got killer zoom lenses for both."

"Nah, it's all right," she said, smirking again as if it'd all been just a joke to her in the first place. Odd girl, I say. "I appreciate the offer, Fi. But I'll pa.s.s for now...maybe I'll sneak a peek at what you're looking at once we get going."

"Sounds great!"

Fiona's smile was completely genuine and sincere. I just hope Angie realizes what a good friend she's got here. She and Fiona walked upstairs together, after Fiona gave me a light kiss on the mouth.

"See you later, Cracker Jack!"

Plenty of ice on that, delivered like a spitball to an unwary batter.

"Man, she's showing you the same love I'll bet she reserves for the hemorrhoids on that gorgeous a.s.s of hers!"

Tony snickered at Justin's joke, and before I turned around with my own wise-a.s.s comeback, a pair of bright camera lights blinded me. Yep, the camera guys were right on top of that one...I should've known they'd be keeping a close eye on Justin and me. Sam Moore and Brandon Jones are their names, one black and the other white. Good natured dudes, twenty to twenty-five years old. The girl, Sally Preston, joined the others upstairs. Blond and pet.i.te, I figure she'll get a thorough look-over by Jackie before the night ends.

This arrangement will take some getting used to...especially the network's cameras sneaking up on us. It brings visions of the incriminating 'asides' Reality TV is famous for. That's the last thing I'd want, to be saying s.h.i.t you'd for sure regret later, like the divas on "Real Housewives of Atlanta" and other crazy shows like it.

"Well, okay...Tony, let's set up the remotes in both parlors and the main reception area," I advised, shielding my eyes from Sam and Brandon's lamps while motioning for him to follow me. "We probably should put one in the kitchen and maybe another in the dining room too. You know?"

"Yeah, that sounds good to me," he replied, huffing a little from the burden of his duffle bag. "I'll be right there."

"Hey, let me help you with that," offered Justin, who encountered little resistance as he claimed the bag from Tony.

"Thanks, man."

Tony smiled shyly at the camera closest to him, and I knew for sure the dynamic of working together would change for us. I would've stepped in and taken the d.a.m.ned duffle if not so distracted by the brief spat with Angie, and the added pressure of making sure we didn't just wander around aimlessly in our inaugural investigation for the TV pilot. I imagine it wouldn't take much to get the project nixed.

But I hadn't considered the affect on everyone else.

I wondered if Tom would react like Tony just did, and G.o.d only knew what camera-shy Angie would do. In fact, she might become the star of this project, since everyone loves the b.i.t.c.hes in Reality TV, whether that's admiration or loathing. They get fanfare either way.

Only Jackie and Fiona's stability would save us tonight, since I had no doubt neither one of them would let the distractions of being filmed throw them off course.

Good for them...I better get my a.s.s in gear downstairs.

"Time's wastin' boys!"

I threw myself into full throttle. A veteran of this process for several years now, I'm the guy who showed Tony how to do it, a few years ago. It only took a few minutes to set up the cameras and recorders, but synching them up took us until 8:06 p.m., according to my watch.

"Okay, we're going to move through the first floor now," I advised the camera guys, who simply nodded. Justin snickered while Tony wore another of his s.h.i.t-eating grins. Great. Just as long as they don't clam up when it comes to the ad-lib banter the TV pilot's producers are looking for. "On previous trips here, we've captured dissolving orbs with our video cameras, and a full ghost face reflection on a still shot. Fiona also captured one of the clearest EVPs we've ever collected, and that was near the staircase over here."

I pointed to the ornate oak staircase just ahead. The McGlothins left the night security lamps surrounding the staircase turned on, for obvious protection. People used to break their necks all the time back in the day, and it really gets dark in here when the lights are off. Our hosts worry about a modern tragedy, where a lawsuit would a.s.suredly close the place down.

The station's cameramen nodded again. They must be under strict instructions to interact as minimally as possible. Well, I guarantee the cut-up comment they caught earlier from Justin will be it for tonight, then. I'll have to address this later with Jackie, and make the suggestion that these guys need to partic.i.p.ate-at least a little, until Justin gets comfortable. The producers will be glad they did, I'll say that. As for me, all I need is something irritating or humorous to poke fun at. Maybe that's all Justin needs, too...so we'll see.

It was kind of weird going through each room snapping pictures while the two bigger cameras followed us around. I'll bet the station will have to invest in infrared cameras like the other paranormal television crews.

"Anything significant yet?" asked Jackie, once the rest of the gang rejoined us on the landing. "Tom caught something upstairs with his camera, and Angie was there to see it, too!"

"Well, how about that," I snickered. "You probably still need more proof, though, don't you, Angie?"

"Yep!" she quipped, smiling naughtily. Granted, in the dimness, it might've been Angie's usual smirk. "Irrefutable proof means a lot more than some shadow pa.s.sing by us, or a heat signature registering on the screen. Give me a d.a.m.ned apparition I can see and taste!"

Did she really have to go there-licking her lips as if longing for some big ole ghost dong to have some fun with? d.a.m.n! And I had a hard enough time getting over that mist invading my house last week... I just hope her suggested f.e.l.l.a.t.i.o dissipates from my memory p.r.o.nto. No Angie nightmares for me, please.

"Well, we better get started down here," said Fiona, motioning for her group to split up on the main floor. It's probably what we should've done. "Jimmy, we'll meet you guys in the foyer in about an hour. Okay?"

"Sure."

I motioned for my group to separate upstairs. I took Sam with me, and Brandon joined Justin and Tony. We planned to meet on the landing in thirty minutes, and then trade sides.

Sam and I began our tour of the seven bedrooms on the north end of the house, starting at the far end and working our way back to the landing.

"So, have you ever been inside a haunted house before?" I asked, turning slightly toward him, mindful to avoid looking directly into his camera's lamp.

"Nope...can't say as I have," he replied.

"Well, much of what we uncover tonight, your camera might not catch- "Whoa, man! Hold on a moment...."

"What?"

"I just saw something...it's gone now, but I might've caught it with my camera."

He pointed to the first bedroom, which we'd just left when we started our conversation.

"Can we take a look at the video?"

"Not yet...boss's orders were to run for three hours straight, so we'll have plenty to review later on," he said, turning the camera toward that bedroom again. "I'm not supposed to carry on a conversation with you either."

"That's my fault," I said. "But I'd still like to know what you saw."

He hesitated for a moment, and then sighed. I could barely discern his head shaking in the dimness.

"It looked like some guy with a top hat sitting in that chair."

He pointed to the antique high-back sitting near the window, next to a large armoire.

"He stood up, too. I thought he was about to join us."

"They can't hurt you, man...just remember that."

"Who?"

"Ghosts."

We checked the rest of the rooms, but didn't detect anything. I could hear Justin and Tony laughing on the other side of the hallway, and I saw an occasional camera flash.

Hopefully that was funny enough to keep the pilot alive and well....

The only other significant thing we encountered on our side happened in the same room the apparition appeared in. On our return to meet the others, we paused for a moment. Hoping to see the apparition? Maybe...but we experienced a deep chill that pervaded the room. It felt like a cold night in January, where a short while earlier July's humid stuffiness greeted us.

Even Sam thought that was really weird.... It actually frightened him, I think, perhaps even more than the spirit he thought he saw. That could be chocked up to shadows and light. But, Sammy my man, temperature fluctuations ain't so easy to explain away, are they now?

"I think Tony just encountered something back there," Justin advised, pointing behind him when the others rejoined us.

"It looked like some guy with one of those Abraham Lincoln hats," added Tony, pointing to the hallway behind him.

"Did you guys get it on film?"

"We might've," said Justin. "Brandon, here, thinks he might've caught it with his camera too, but-"

"He can't share that with us until after the investigation," I said, interrupting him. That's truly a bad habit of mine.

"How'd you know?"

"Because Sam can't do it either," I explained. "It's quite possible he might've caught the apparition with his camera, too."

"Really?"

Justin sounded more hopeful than surprised.

"Hey, guys?"

Fiona called to us from downstairs.

"Yeah?"

"Charlien and George will be here in a moment. They're coming home early.... Why don't we go ahead and close things down for the night?"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" I called down to her. "We've got a lead on a ghost wearing a top hat up here!"

"Really?"