Page 56 of Ghost of a Chance
“Yeah well, not well enough.Dan’s a skeptic.I’m guessing the fireplace helped change his mind.He was totally trying to leave today.”
“I could tell,” Kirsty said.“So can you find out if this place is really haunted?”
“I can do some research around it.Right now I just have the spooky vibes description from the Airbnb website.”
Gia watched her carefully.Kirsty had to come clean about the voice.She wanted to talk to her best friend about it and have Gia be her rational self and help her figure out if she hallucinated it or actually heard something.
“When we did the séance, I heard a voice that neither of you did—”
“I knew it!You are totally the real deal,” Gia shouted.“Great.So even if it’s not Paul, maybe you can get whoever you heard to talk again.”
If only it were that easy.“I haven’t been able to get in touch with it again.So there’s that.Maybe it’s whoever lit the fire.”
“Sure.This is great.Let’s film you—”
“Describing it?I’m pretty sure that’s the boring stuff that isn’t going to make it to air.”
“True.I can spin what you’ve told me and get something going for PR.”Gia paced around Kirsty.Something she’d seen Gia do before when she was unraveling a problem and figuring out the best way forward.“Tell the story.But Bri’s show is all visual.”
Everything was about visuals.They needed to produce something that could be aired on the show.
“What if… I just sit up all night with the book.See if that gets a reaction from Paul.”
“That’s an idea.Sort of a slumber party with the book?You should get Jasper in on it too.”
“Yeah, he just told me today that Paul was his cousin.How could he hide they were related?”
Gia rolled her eyes.“Dudes.”
“Yeah but still.”
“Even if we don’t hear a voice…something is escalating Paul.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, but for filming.None of the things I’ve experienced have ever been seen by anyone.I’m feeling more like a fraud than ever.This could backfire.”
Gia put her hands on Kirsty’s shoulders, shaking her slightly.“Snap out of it.You aren’t a fraud, you’re doing great.I will send a note to both Periwinkle and Bri reminding them that you sense things.We’ll still get a good story.”
“Yeah?”
“Who was named as Thoms Hollow’s favorite mystery author?”
“Me,” she said smiling as she remembered Gia’s work to get that distinction.Even though Kirsty was pretty sure she was Thoms Hollow’s only mystery author.
“That’s right.So get your game face on and start weaving us a tale about Paul the ghost and figure out his ending.”
There was a knock on the door and it slowly opened, Chewie nudging his way in with Jasper close behind.Jasper leaned against the jamb.Their eyes met and she was instantly taken back to that moment in the rain, and a hot throbbing started deep inside of her.
“Uh, Dan admitted he used a slow burn igniter to start the fire.Gia’s off the hook.I mean, that wasn’t a ghost,” Jasper said.
“We can’t have Dan doing stuff like that,” Kirsty said.It was bad enough that she was fabricating her own skills.“That will lead to all of us losing our careers.”
“Indeed.He’s erasing the footage.I told him he can leave if he wants to end things and I’ll film us, but he felt bad and wants to stay.You two have a moment to think it over.It’s up to you if he stays or not,” Jasper said, snapping his fingers.Chewie ran back to his side as they went back inside.
“Goodness this is a mess,” Kirsty said.
“But it’s not.You heard something.That was real, and so was everything at Bri’s studio.Who’s to say Paul sounds the same in the afterlife.”Gia paused, eyes sparking with curiosity.
