Ghost of a Promise (4 page)

Five bedroom doors crashing hard against their frames.

With no one up there to close them.

Chapter Four

Everyone in the room seemed to freeze at once. Ava glanced at each of the
Phantoms
crew with their bulging eyes and shook her head. They were in for a treat investigating this house if door slamming got them this excited.

Elise clapped her hands three quick times like a schoolmarm. “
Tom, get the camera upstairs. Kerry, Sam, go with. Verify no one
’
s up there. The rest of you, start bringing in equipment.
”

They shuffled out.

“
Not you, Jackson.
”

He turned toward his producer, having the gall to look sheepish.

Ava fueled her anger again.
“
You.
”
She stuck her finger into his chest.

Damn, his chest was hard. Like solid granite hard. Oh, what muscle must lie under that tight navy shirt. Come to think of it, his arms were nice too. Wide shoulders and toned biceps straining against the cotton
…

She blinked and recovered.
“
A Kerrick? What kind of show are you people running here? You think you can lie your way in here
—”

“
You called us, luv.
”

Stupid, sexy accent.
“
That hardly matters if you came under false pretenses.
”

His large hands dropped to his waist, where his jeans rode low on his hips.

Don’t look. Don’t look
.

“
False pretenses? We
’
re here because you called. We
’
re here to investigate the paranormal incidents.
”

She made a sound closely resembling a drowning elephant when his accent disappeared.
“
You
’
re not even British.
”

He huffed and those really pretty blue eyes of his narrowed to slits. Black-as-midnight eyelashes shadowed his cheeks. He scratched at his square jaw, where scruff was beginning to grow in.
“
I have dual citizenship.
”

Elise made a humming noise as she scribbled.

“
Now what are you doing?
”
Ava asked at the same moment Jackson asked,
“
What
’
s that you
’
re writing?
”

Accent returned. Her belly heated. British accents always turned her on. Oh, how she hated that just now.

Elise glanced up, her gaze darting between the two of them.
“
A Kerrick returns to Trumble territory.
”

Ava didn
’
t like the smirk on the producer
’
s face.

“
Based on the story you told us, Ava, this is going to be phenomenal. Plus
”—
she waved her pen at them
—“
you two are hot. Sexual tension is crackling.
”

“
Absolutely not!
”
Jackson shot out, charming grin gone. The jerk looked at her as if she were the most hideous thing he
’
d seen this week. But then he kept looking and the interest and appreciation heated her insides all the way to her bones.

She tried to keep up.
“
What are you talking about? There is no
‘
sexual
’
in this
‘
tension.
’”

“
I may finally win an Emmy,
”
Elise muttered to herself.
“
Listen, Ava, you need something from us. Having Jackson here may just rile the spirits enough to get your answer.
”

Elise was probably right. Hopefully right. She didn
’
t like being lied to, but if the end result was keeping the family mansion and her plans for the B&B, then she
’
d deal.

“
And Jackson, you
really
should have warned me about your connection to the house.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. His stupid sexy bedhead-look ruffled when he ran his hand over the wavy, black strands moments later.
“
I
’
m sorry. Look, as I said, it
’
s a very distant relation. Two-hundred years is a long time to hold a grudge, wouldn
’
t you say, luv?
”

Was he trying to piss her off again?
“
Grudge? Your distant family members were traitors. This isn
’
t about a grudge. I could care less about where you came from. I just don
’
t like being lied to.
”

He waved his hand.
“
Fine. Fine. Wrong I was.
”
He beamed a thousand-watt smile, showing a row of perfect white teeth.
“
Forgive me?
”

Oooh
. He was going to be trouble. Four weeks of delicious, irritating trouble.

She sighed. “
All right. No more lying, though.
”

Wait. What?
Did she just forgive him? That easily?

Sammy and Kerry came into the room. “
Nothing,
”
Sammy said.
“
No one
’
s upstairs and all the doors were closed. We opened them.
”

Sammy gave Jackson a weak smile, and the look that passed between them had Ava wondering if they were involved romantically. Jackson mouthed,
I’m fine
, and Sammy nodded.

Kerry had long, thick blonde hair, which she tucked repeatedly behind her ear and made Ava jealous as her wild, red curls were always just north of unruly. Every member of the crew was good-looking. The techies, Amir and Terrance, both black men in their late twenties, were stacked like body builders.

“
Where do you want base, Elise?
”
Kerry asked.

Jackson looked at Elise before focusing on Ava.
“
What about the dining room? The table would be comfortable for Amir and Terrance to watch the monitors. A room with less activity is also best.
”

Ava nodded.
“
Fine by me.
”

“
Okay, we need to film your welcome,
”
Elise said.
“
Let
’
s get that and the tour done so they can set up.
”

She felt like stupid wrapped in more stupid with two cameras on her as she opened the front door and welcomed the crew she
’
d already met three hours before. Elise was silent this time around as Jackson introduced the gang from the front porch. Ava put on her game face and smiled.

From there she led them to the living room.
“
This used to be a ballroom. In here, people have seen a white mist and the bottles on the mantle have been known to move.
”
They walked into her office-slash-library.
“
I work from home, so I
’
m in here a lot. I sometimes feel like I
’
m being watched.
”
The crew nodded and they went into the parlor.
“
This is the only room that still has period pieces. People have heard voices in here, and the window has been known to open by itself. My aunt used to close the window and drapes, only to find them open again soon after.
”

No one really disturbed the parlor. Neither she nor her great-aunt ever came in here, other than to clean. The chest in the corner was an original Goddard Townsend from 1801. Two Hepplewhite chairs in solid mahogany from 1802 were placed on either side of the chest. A matching Chesterfield couch and settee, dated to 1900, faced each other in the center of the room.

They moved into the dining room, painted a plain beige. The dining room set was Aunt Lois
’
s and was an eight-seat naked wood design that matched the hutch.
“
Not much happens in here either, but we rarely used this room.
”
They preferred the coziness of the kitchen instead when Aunt Lois was alive.

“
I agree this would be the room to set up in,
”
Sammy said.
“
I
’
d be afraid of breaking something anywhere else.
”

She smiled, liking Sammy. She directed them into the kitchen, which, besides her third-floor suite, was her favorite room. When Aunt Lois remodeled, she let Ava pick out everything, from the stainless-steel appliances to the six-burner stove to the rainforest-green marble countertops. The cabinets were a distressed white design.

“
I sometimes hear humming in this room and feel like I
’
m being watched. Often, when I wake in the morning, I
’
ll find a teacup on the counter like someone left it there for me.
”

“
Interesting,
”
Jackson said.
“
Are they usually kept in the cabinets?
”

“
Yes. I keep the cups above the coffeepot.
”

She took them out back so they could get a shot of the cliffs and cemetery, then they headed inside and up the three-story wooden spiral staircase. She gave them a tour of the five bedrooms, which had been remodeled when Aunt Lois was young for a small bathroom to accompany each bedroom. She told them the experiences of doors closing on their own, footsteps being heard, and the transparent figure of a woman who
’
d been seen.

The crew members doubled up and picked out their rooms to sleep in. Kerry and Sammy were to bunk in Aunt Lois
’
s old room, with Amir and Terrance in another, and the cameramen, Tom and Earl, in two separate rooms. Jackson would sleep alone in Peter Trumble
’
s bedroom, which was also the closest to the stairwell to the third floor. Lee and Paul apparently didn
’
t stay on location with the rest of the crew.

Ava walked into the empty central hall.
“
Aunt Lois claimed she felt she couldn
’
t breathe in here. The paintings are often found tilted.
”

Jackson walked over and lifted one of the forest prints from the wall.
“
Two brackets. Hard to just knock over or slide off.
”
He replaced the painting and stepped out of the room, glancing up the stairs.
“
Would you mind terribly if we did a sweep upstairs? In case anything does happen, I
’
d like a preliminary recording.
”

She shrugged.
“
I guess not, but like I said, nothing happens up there.
”

Jackson leaned in and whispered,
“
What a pity.
”

She narrowed her eyes to slits and clenched her jaw. And okay, being this close to him was so, so nice. But why was he flirting with her, especially with a camera nearby?

The top of the stairs opened into her little loft living room and kitchenette, which had minimal furniture. Her bedroom to the right was ordinary.

“
This floor used to be storage or maids
’
quarters.
”

Jackson led the group back down the stairs, where they assembled in the dining room.
“
Right. Big house. Lots to investigate. On with it, then.
”

“
Cut,
”
Elise called.
“
Perfect. Amir and Terrance, where do you want to set up the still cameras?
”

Terrance crossed his arms over his massive, muscled chest.
“
We need a fixed camera in the parlor definitely, with the claims of windows and drapes opening. Same goes for the central hall upstairs because of the paintings.
”

Amir concurred.
“
The kitchen, too, with the teacup thing. I think the last one should go in the hallway upstairs because of the womanly apparition, and especially after those doors slammed.
”

She stood back and listened, confident they knew what they were talking about. They started discussing EMFs and thermos, which is when she zoned out. Elise stepped into the corner when the cameras came back on and they had this discussion again on film.

Over the next two hours, Tom and Earl followed the crew around as they positioned cameras, taped down cords, and set up more technology in her dining room than NASA could ever hope to acquire. They worked silently together, never brushing shoulders or arguing. Like a well-oiled machine. They were also very respectful of the house, using extreme caution not to bump the walls or disrupt the furniture. It was pretty impressive, even if she was out of the loop.

Before she knew it, Elise and Lee were saying their good-byes. Paul was to stay overnight and interview town members tomorrow, as well as try to obtain whatever history he could. Darkness was descending when she closed the door behind Elise and Lee.

“
What now?
” she asked.

…

They decided to head to Crabby’s for dinner, a seafood bar and grill Ava recommended a few blocks down the street. They walked a paved sidewalk parallel to the cliffs in silence, Ava leading the way.

Jackson liked the small-town feel of Kerrick. After being on location constantly, either in big cities or extreme rural areas, it was a nice change to be in small-town America. Passersby waved their greetings, and not a one asked for an autograph. Actually, no one seemed to recognize them.

Burning leaves and saltwater filled the brisk air. Most of the businesses along this back path were closed for the day, except restaurants and bars. He pulled his coat tighter, the bloody wind biting as the roar of the waves pummeled the rocks below.

Crabby’
s looked like a weather-beaten shack from the outside and was dangerously close to the cliff
’
s ledge. Several cars were in the lot when they pulled open the front door. The interior was a stark comparison to the exterior. Polished cherry paneling covered the walls, scattered with life preservers, buoys and fishing nets. The front of the building had a bar to the right and four or five high tables. Along the left wall were three dart boards and two pool tables where a few guys were racking a game. The back looked to be the restaurant and had a great view of the ocean. The pub didn
’
t smell like beer and cheap perfume. Rather, garlic butter and baking bread made him inhale deeply, warming his bones.