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The next evening, the signboard outside of Trevor's saloon had the notice that they were having a séance in the actual place of a live poltergeist sighting. And there was a crowd gathered around the front door, shifting anxiously to get in on the new tour.
Nate rolled his eyes as we walked past. "Those two guys will stop at nothing to one up each other," he commented.
I had the night off and we were trying to figure out whether to go to Yvonne's Café for a quiet dinner or head up to the Halloween festival for junk food. I mean, the answer is always junk food, but I think maybe the universe was staging an intervention.
"We should totally go, shouldn't we?" I asked, calling his bluff.
Nate smiled. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"I mean... for research," I added, pretending like we needed a justification. "Just to see what damage Granny is going to have to repair when she buys the building."
"TOTALLY," said Nate. He placed his hand on his heart, honoring the great sacrifice we were making. "For Granny."
We both laughed and then lined up behind the group to get a ticket from Madison. She had traded out her sexy-pirate outfit for a sexy witch. But let me tell you, it didn't matter how much lace and sparkles she strapped around herself, no disguise could hide that she was a horrible human being.
"Did they ever figure out how all that stuff appeared in the middle of the storeroom?" Nate asked as we moved one more up in line.
"If you ask me, Tango probably planted it to get the rumors started that something was going on."
When we got to the front, Madison looked at us smugly. "Coming to enjoy the best tour in town again?" she asked. "I really should get a pull-quote from you." She held up her hand like she was reading a headline. "How about: 'Founder and Girlfriend Secretly Ditch Their Family and Best Friend to Come on the Best Tour on the Island!' It has a nice ring of truth."
Suddenly, Lottie bounced up. "They're here to keep me company, Madison," she replied, giving Nate's arm a squeeze and our nemesis a sickly sweet smile. "Trevor personally invited me."
Madison's face bunched up. I know she wanted Lottie as far away from her boyfriend as possible, but in the same breath, knew Lottie could make or break their enterprise with the swipe of a pen. Switching into marketing mode, she managed to choke out, "I'm so glad you're here, too. Writing another article?"
"Always!" Lottie replied. "I'm thinking about covering customer service at small businesses and the little touches people do here in Seaside to make people feel welcome."
Madison darkened, getting the jibe, but bit her tongue. "Well. That sounds like a great spin. If you'll excuse me, I need to make sure I provide some of that customer service we at Trevor's saloon are so famous for."
As she walked away to gather up more money, I muttered under my breath, "They are definitely famous for something."
Lottie turned to Nate and me. "Sorry. Didn't know if you needed saving or not."
"Always happy to have a knight in shining armor defend our honor," Nate laughed. "What are you doing here?"
Lottie brightened. "My article was a huge hit. The edition completely sold out. So, the editors asked if I'd do a follow up."
I tried to act innocent and not blurt out that Tango and Echo had bought every copy they could get their hands on. Those two, in trying to cover things up, had created a monster.
But speaking of dueling ghost hunters, Tango sidled up beside me. Out of nowhere with not so much as a hello, he stated, "I'm going to tell them you were the witness."
"Don't you dare," I replied. "I paid to go on your tour. I'm here as a civilian."
He shook his head like he couldn't believe I would decline this opportunity for fame and his fortune. "Do you understand the power you hold in your hands? You saw a poltergeist and don't even seem to appreciate how huge that is."
"I saw the building shift and a wire pop off," I informed him.
"Skeptics are good. But don't be so skeptical that you keep your mind closed to the wonders of our unseen world."
"UGH!" I replied.
"Don't deny your gift..." he urged, backing away and whispering, "don't deny it..." He then turned to the group and gave his normal intro, stating that this was a super secret tour with a onetime only séance. I wondered if any of them would come back tomorrow to find out that it was happening again.
We headed up the street to the hardware store. A guy on the tour jumped out at his girlfriend to scare her, and her delighted shriek made us all laugh. I could practically imagine Echo's disapproving look at the shenanigans.
Tango took out his keys and opened the door to Ralph's hardware store. It was bathed in a black light that made all the sawdust on the floor glow.
"Right this way..." Tango said, ushering us in.
We climbed up the stairs to the storage room and a table had been set up with all the artifacts in the middle. Spooky music played and there was a hiss of atmospheric fog from a smoke machine. Battery operated candles sat on the storage shelves. The theatrics were a bit over the top. I picked up a little antique metal car that was tucked between cardboard boxes and put it where it was a little more visible. What good is a pretend ghost-child if you hide the props? Somehow, Tango had timed the soundtrack to have a creepy kid's laugh ring out right at that moment. I gave Nate a mock shiver, and then playfully wiped my fingers on the sleeve of his jacket.
"Ghost cooties..." I informed him.
To which he then took his arm and rubbed the invisible ghost cooties on my back. "EW!"
Tango interrupted us. "Now, if everyone would gather with me around the table, we'll see if we can contact the spirits who left these gifts of their lives past for us."
He stepped around behind the table, but suddenly there was a cracking sound. The plank beneath Tango gave way and his foot busted through. Desperately, he reached out and grabbed the closest thing to him, a set of shelves filled with heavy stock. It tilted and crashed down over him, burying him beneath.