Page 72 of Mack's Horribly Hellacious Ghost Town
Gwyn came to stand on my other side, and she looked at all of those cameras uneasily. “Brandon, you don’t think my parents will figure out where I am because of them, do you?”
“It’s a real possibility,” I admitted. “But even if they do, they can’t take you back. It’ll be a fight if they try.”
“Just stick close to us,” Beau advised. “No one sane takes on Brandon.”
Heh, true. This large size of mine did have its uses. Even if finding clothes that fit was a headache, there were pros.
“But I’ll give Sylvia a heads-up that this is a concern and something we want to nip,” I said to make Gwyn feel a little better. Plus, I should alert my boss so she wasn’t surprised by TikTok videos flooding her inbox.
I called Sylvia. “Hey, boss? Just a heads-up, we’re getting the spotlight treatment right now.”
She sighed, tired. “Meaning?”
“We’re working the riverbank today and we’ve got a lot of people filming us.”
“Oh. Shit. Of course you’d draw attention, ugh. Gwyn?”
I loved how quickly she put the pieces together. “A little worried her parents might track her down.”
Gwyn leaned in to say, “Sylvia, my parents aren’t huge on social media, but my mom’s BFF is and she’ll report to her immediately.”
“Okay, I’ve got it, I’ll do a preemptive strike here. Her parents have put in a formal complaint to our office, and I think they’ve been trying to find a lawyer to help them, although no one’s been willing to take the case yet. I’m just hearing bits and pieces from people. I’ll notify police of the situation, and let them know they are not to back the parents up if called. Let’s try to keep her out of the spotlight if possible.”
“Sure, but it’s not possible today. We need all hands here.” I took another visual sweep of the area. “You would not believe how bad it is here. This will take all day, just in passing ghosts. This makes the Highland case look like a warm-up.”
“Fuck. All right, I’m hanging up. I’ve got calls to make.”
“Please and thank you.”
Beau gestured for Gwyn to come with him. “Let’s get started. And maybe wear a hat, let’s keep your face on the down-low.”
“Oh, sure, great idea. I think Booker has a hat I could borrow.”
When did Booker ever fail to have the needed thing?
I kept track of Gwyn as she went to Booker. He, to no one’s surprise, had a hat tucked in a bag and handed it to her. I felt relieved when she put it on, as from the top view, no one could see her face. It should help protect her.
We had three different passing lanes set up, split between all of the Mediums. Eli was running up and down the river, tackling the darker souls as she laid hands on them. So she was going to be dead on her feet sooner rather than later. I thought she was supposed to be taking it easy?
Quinn chased after her, yelling, “Wife! Sit your ass down! You’re not supposed to be exorcising!”
Eli didn’t even slow down, just yelled back, “But ghosts!”
I wished Quinn all the luck. He’d apparently need it. I expected Mack to switch and help her after he cut down on some of the friendlies. The way the Mediums moved, it was like a packed stadium down here. Everyone would have an easier time once they had elbow room. I wasn’t worried about Joey missing us, as we were visible enough here. Even if the ghosts didn’t pass the information along to him of us being here, the living were making enough noise to get his attention. Now, question was, would he bite?
But being on the lookout for Joey wasn’t really my job. Not like I could easily spot him, anyway.
My job was something else.
Namely, the set of stairs leading down to the river? This was my territory. I’d seen more than one person try to creep down for a better shot or something. I got myself parked right there, and anyone who tried to put a foot on the stairs, I gave them a stern look and pointed the other way.
No one had dared argue so far, although there was more than one disappointed face.
I stood there looking unfriendly and strict for a good two hours. Time eked by for me, but I had a feeling it went by muchfaster for everyone else, as they were actively working. Even Quinn and Booker were busy, running after Eli. I took peeks now and again and saw the population of ghosts had dropped quite a bit. Maybe a fifth had passed on? Or been forced on. We had a line of ghosts at all three spots, so most of these guys were actively participating, which sped things up a lot. Maybe we’d be done with the river area this week. I couldn’t say today because the river stretched out for miles, but this particular spot would be clearer.
I’d take wins as they came.
I heard another scuff at the top of the stairs and my head whipped around. Goddammit, why couldn’t people learn, no one could come down here!
