The Realm of the Shadows (Tropical Breeze Cozy Mystery Book 2) by Mary Bowers Page B

Do you mind?” Charlie said.
    “I don’t mind. What kind of work? I hear you’re putting in an animal shelter of some kind?”
    Surprisingly, Wizard was truly interested in what we were doing. He asked intelligent questions, made a few suggestions, and gradually I found myself edged aside as Charlie and Wizard pored over the plans like a couple of old buddies.
    “Yeah, that could work,” Charlie said. “But I’m worried about taking out the wall. I don’t know if it’s load-bearing.”
    “Let’s take a look,” Wizard said. “Maybe a pass-through would do just as well.” They began to walk off together.
    Remembering me suddenly, Wizard lowered his head and turned back, saying, “Dang it! I’m sorry ma’am. I’m Walter Sheets. This bunch,” (he jabbed a thumb at the camera and audio men milling around by the cemetery) “calls me Wizard, but I’d druther you’d call me Walter.”
    Suddenly I loved this guy. “Taylor Verone,” I told him, extending my hand to shake his. “One of your fans just told me to give you a hug, but let’s just shake.”
    At the mention of a fan, Wizard looked abashed. “Who was that?”
    “A nice little old lady who volunteers at the animal shelter I run.”
    He perked up. “Ah. I get all the nice, elderly ones. The ones who send me homemade cookies and hand-written letters, not e-mails. Teddy gets the hotties, and he’s welcome to them. They’re a pain in the . . . hey, listen,” he said, coming closer and lowering his voice. Charlie closed in behind him. “The gang here might be getting in your way today, just a little. They decided to go ahead with the show, making it a memorial to Seth.”
    “I was afraid of that,” I told him. “What about tonight? I’ve got Edson Darby-Deaver coming over to spend the night in the cemetery.”
    The concept didn’t seem new to him, and he didn’t react to that part. Instead, he closed his eyes and shook his head, then looked at me. “They’re talking about filming after dark, and they will be in the cemetery. They just can’t resist that kind of thing. They’re telling me the show is going to be dedicated to all those who have sacrificed their lives to the science of the paranormal, or some such nonsense.”
    “’The show must go on.’” I quoted.
    “Yeah. Sorry. And they’re doing Perry’s segment this morning.”
    “Perry?”
    He sighed. “Pluto. Anyway, they do that in daylight, so they want to get it in the can now, then have another go at a night-sequence tonight.”
    “I can’t believe this,” Charlie said, turning to gaze at the crew.
    “I can. Are they going back to the seawall?”
    “I don’t know. They might try to work up another scenario, but with Seth being called to the great beyond by a ghost, it’s probably too good a storyline to lose completely. I just wanted to warn you.”
    “How long does it take for them to get an episode made? I thought they’d only be here the one night.”
    Walter shrugged. “Used to be it took weeks to craft a show. Even a reality show. Now, they got all this whiz-bang equipment, everything’s digital and wireless, so the cameraman and audio tech can run around after them without falling over their own cables; they can throw something together pretty fast. For parts of the show, the on-screen cast actually carries their own cameras. Usually the ‘hunt’ is done in one night. They do a lead-in, explaining where they are and what kind of ghosts they’re after, the history of the place, and then Perry has his segment in the control van. They’ll probably do another night of filming here, then be out of your hair. A few days back at the production company and they’ll have it mixed and edited and ready to go – if it is a go. I’ve got my doubts about the network airing it at all, but times are changing. Nothing’s sacred anymore. And even if it doesn’t get on the TV, it’ll show up on the internet somewhere. So they’ll follow through, just in case. As I