Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Oscar was thankful for the sunlight flooding in through the bay windows. The thought of Ullman rushing him unexpectedly in a darkened hall, dead face twisted in rage, was enough to chill his blood. Everyone else looked uneasy as Nigel rewound the tape, so at least it wasn’t just him.
“The poor kid.” Tina picked at a fraying patch on her skirt. “Can you imagine waking up and finding a pissed-off ghost in your room at that age?”
“I know Montague doesn’t trust Gloria, but are we sure she’s the major problem here?” Chris asked. They took their camera off its mount and began to shoot other angles, in case this discussion ended up being something they wanted to share on their channel.
Or could share, given the NDAs.
“I mean, she pulled a prank on the parents, convincing them to dig for buried pirate treasure,” they went on. “Annoying, maybe, but not malevolent.”
“What I don’t like is how she won their trust first, claiming to have messages from dead relatives.” Oscar wished he had another glass of lemonade, but contented himself with more coffee despite the heat. “That’s suspicious, right?”
“Spirit guides were all the rage back in the day.” Nigel sat down beside Oscar and leaned his elbows on the table.
“Mediums would claim all the knowledge they received from the dead came through their guide—usually male, I’ll add.
For the most part, there were no such guides, but if a female medium pretended an enlightened dead man was speaking through her, it gave her more credibility with her audience.
” He stole Oscar’s coffee cup and took a swig.
“And don’t worry, it managed to be racist as well as sexist, since such ‘guides’ were often claimed to be the ghosts of Indigenous people. ”
“Oh good,” Chris muttered. “So what does that have to do with Gloria?”
“Just that her interactions with the parents reminded me of them. Messages from dead relatives, the location of something lost or hidden, all relayed second-hand through one spirit.” Nigel shrugged. “It’s just not the typical behavior of a haunting, that’s all.”
“Agreed.” Hauntings tended to be frightening rather than informative. “But it changed after she gained Larry and Karen’s trust. Why? Was it all a deception from the start?”
“So you think Montague is right about her?” Chris asked.
Oscar looked to Nigel. Nigel frowned at nothing for a moment as he considered.
“I think we should keep an open mind,” he said at last. “It’s possible Ms. Montague is right, and Gloria is the bigger problem.
Or she’s just a child, but one prone to acting out.
Or Ullman was trying to drive the Vanderwalls out of ‘his’ house, and his daughter got the blame. ”
“It would be nice if we could call the Vanderwalls and talk to them ourselves,” Oscar said. Too bad their only connection to the outside world was via satellite. “Especially Andy. I’d like to know how he remembers Gloria.”
“Yeah.” Nigel eased back in his chair. “But at least we have the tapes. It looks like one of them has an interview with the whole family, so maybe we can get Andy’s perspective as it was then.”
Tina yawned. “I need a nap if you want me awake for tonight.”
“And I need to switch out the batteries on the static cams and PolterPal.” Chris lowered their shoulder camera. “Does anyone want to come with me?”
“I will.” Oscar heaved himself up. “Tonight, we’ll check out the third floor and seance room.”