in front of the mirror.
“Where did you see the message?” he asked.
“Right here.” Jess leaned forward and breathed on the mirror. It fogged up, but revealed nothing.
“I swear, it was right there!” She stepped back, blinking. “It was right here!” The floorboard creaked outside the room.
“What is it? What happened?” Allison asked, entering with Gage.
“Writing,” Jess said, trying not to look at either Bryan or Gage. She didn’t need to see Bryan’s expression to tell he was probably smirking.
“Like the other night?” Allison asked.
Jess nodded. “Except one of the girls wrote it. Gracie was here. We talked for a few minutes and then she said Riley wouldn’t let her stay anymore. Next thing I knew, she was gone and the writing appeared on the mirror, like she was writing it from the other side.”
“How about using some of that fancy equipment?” Gage suggested. “Like an EMF reader or whatever. Maybe it’ll pick up on something.” He gave Jess a gorgeous half-smile.
Was Gage saying he believed her, or that he didn’t? It sounded as though he was giving her the benefit of the doubt. At this point, she didn’t think he actually doubted her, anyway. If he’d been a jerk before, it was probably just because he was trying to establish some weird power play, testosterone thing. Guys sometimes did that. She tried not to think about what Bryan had told her about Gage. She tried not to think about what his lips would feel like against hers. “Yeah, the equipment. Good idea.”
“I like it,” Bryan said. “This looks like the perfect opportunity to get my geek on.”
Dr. Brandt sat a box on the Great Room’s coffee table. He took out three devices, handing one to Jess and the other to Gage, keeping one for himself. “One per team. Sorry, you’ll need to share. These are EMF meters, also known as electromagnetic field detectors. Not only will they give us readings, but they also have alarms.”
“So, if there’s a particular threshold and we’re, say…in the dark, it’ll let us know?” Bryan asked.
“Exactly,” Dr. Brandt replied. “Better, the display is backlit so even if you are in the dark, you can see what the reading is.”
He pulled a few more devices from the box. “For each of you, there’s a flashlight, a digital thermometer and voice recorder. And we also have a full spectrum video camcorder which allows us to film in the dark.”
“Cool,” Gage said, hand extended. “Do you mind?”
Dr. Brandt handed the device to him. “Pass it around.”
The guys spent a few minutes going over the equipment before handing it to Jess. She had no real idea what she was looking at, aside from the camcorder itself, which seemed like any other handheld video camera. “You mean this works in the dark?”
Dr. Brandt nodded. “Yes. It does. Well, we could’ve added an IR booster, but this should suffice for our purposes. And, it still gives us some light to see by.”
“What else have you got?” Gage wanted to know.
Until now, Jess hadn’t noticed how quiet Allison had been. She was staring at the box on the table. “No,” Allison said. “You shouldn’t have brought that here.”
Dr. Brandt gave her a puzzled look. “Brought what, Allison? Do you know what’s in the box?”
Allison nodded. “It’s either Tarot cards or a Ouija board.”
“You can’t possibly know that,” Jess said. “Can you?”
Allison gave a disinterested shrug. “It’s all pretty standard stuff, actually.”
“But it’s not standard,” Dr. Brandt said. “At least, not exactly.” He pulled out a Ouija board. It was old, the oldest Jess had ever seen. Not that she had seen that many, but this one wasn’t plastic, small or glowing. There were creepy people illustrated in the lower corners, each one appearing to be using the board.
“It’s an antique,” Dr. Brandt explained.
“Is it as old as the house?” Jess asked.
He smiled. “No, not quite. This board is from
“Where did you see the message?” he asked.
“Right here.” Jess leaned forward and breathed on the mirror. It fogged up, but revealed nothing.
“I swear, it was right there!” She stepped back, blinking. “It was right here!” The floorboard creaked outside the room.
“What is it? What happened?” Allison asked, entering with Gage.
“Writing,” Jess said, trying not to look at either Bryan or Gage. She didn’t need to see Bryan’s expression to tell he was probably smirking.
“Like the other night?” Allison asked.
Jess nodded. “Except one of the girls wrote it. Gracie was here. We talked for a few minutes and then she said Riley wouldn’t let her stay anymore. Next thing I knew, she was gone and the writing appeared on the mirror, like she was writing it from the other side.”
“How about using some of that fancy equipment?” Gage suggested. “Like an EMF reader or whatever. Maybe it’ll pick up on something.” He gave Jess a gorgeous half-smile.
Was Gage saying he believed her, or that he didn’t? It sounded as though he was giving her the benefit of the doubt. At this point, she didn’t think he actually doubted her, anyway. If he’d been a jerk before, it was probably just because he was trying to establish some weird power play, testosterone thing. Guys sometimes did that. She tried not to think about what Bryan had told her about Gage. She tried not to think about what his lips would feel like against hers. “Yeah, the equipment. Good idea.”
“I like it,” Bryan said. “This looks like the perfect opportunity to get my geek on.”
Dr. Brandt sat a box on the Great Room’s coffee table. He took out three devices, handing one to Jess and the other to Gage, keeping one for himself. “One per team. Sorry, you’ll need to share. These are EMF meters, also known as electromagnetic field detectors. Not only will they give us readings, but they also have alarms.”
“So, if there’s a particular threshold and we’re, say…in the dark, it’ll let us know?” Bryan asked.
“Exactly,” Dr. Brandt replied. “Better, the display is backlit so even if you are in the dark, you can see what the reading is.”
He pulled a few more devices from the box. “For each of you, there’s a flashlight, a digital thermometer and voice recorder. And we also have a full spectrum video camcorder which allows us to film in the dark.”
“Cool,” Gage said, hand extended. “Do you mind?”
Dr. Brandt handed the device to him. “Pass it around.”
The guys spent a few minutes going over the equipment before handing it to Jess. She had no real idea what she was looking at, aside from the camcorder itself, which seemed like any other handheld video camera. “You mean this works in the dark?”
Dr. Brandt nodded. “Yes. It does. Well, we could’ve added an IR booster, but this should suffice for our purposes. And, it still gives us some light to see by.”
“What else have you got?” Gage wanted to know.
Until now, Jess hadn’t noticed how quiet Allison had been. She was staring at the box on the table. “No,” Allison said. “You shouldn’t have brought that here.”
Dr. Brandt gave her a puzzled look. “Brought what, Allison? Do you know what’s in the box?”
Allison nodded. “It’s either Tarot cards or a Ouija board.”
“You can’t possibly know that,” Jess said. “Can you?”
Allison gave a disinterested shrug. “It’s all pretty standard stuff, actually.”
“But it’s not standard,” Dr. Brandt said. “At least, not exactly.” He pulled out a Ouija board. It was old, the oldest Jess had ever seen. Not that she had seen that many, but this one wasn’t plastic, small or glowing. There were creepy people illustrated in the lower corners, each one appearing to be using the board.
“It’s an antique,” Dr. Brandt explained.
“Is it as old as the house?” Jess asked.
He smiled. “No, not quite. This board is from
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