“A four-year-old probably being murdered is pretty dark,” Bellamy points out.
I nod. “It is. Absolutely. But I don't think that's it. I just feel as if there's something more.”
“Like what?” she asks.
“I don't know.” I take a sip of my drink and pop a French fry into my mouth. “Maybe Slimer will show up and be able to tell us the whole story.”
“Okay, still not Ghostbusters. But keep looking for all the parallels,” she says.
I pick up another fry and swirl it through the concoction of mayonnaise, mustard, and barbecue sauce Sam got me addicted to over the last few months.
"Does your screaming at me about breast pumps count as the librarian scene?"
Chapter Eleven
“Are you ready? It's going to start in just a minute,” Sam says.
“I'm just grabbing a few extra snacks,” I say.
“What else could we possibly need?” Sam asks. “The investigation's only supposed to be a couple of hours.”
I carry the bowls of snacks into the living room and set them on the table.
“But I thought this was supposed to whisk me away on some grand adventure into the Twilight Zone,” I teased. “Maybe I'll get hungry along the way.”
“Not the Twilight Zone,” Xavier says. “That's something completely different.”
"Thank you, Xavier," I say. "Are you comfortable?"
"Maybe prop me up a little," he says.
I grab the pillow from the end of the couch and stuff it behind my laptop screen. I have the computer sitting on a couple of books on the cushion beside me to get it high enough to see.
"Better?" I ask.
"Much. I can see the screen now."
"OK, good. Here, I have your favorite blanket," I say, wrapping the afghan around the base of the computer and tugging it up the sides just enough for him to be able to see them at the edges of his screen.
"I wish you guys could have come to Sherwood to watch with us," I say.
"Sorry," Dean says from somewhere behind the computer where I can't see him. "This case is taking up more time than I expected it to."
"It's okay. I understand. Where are you?"
Xavier holds up his phone where he has Dean on a video call.
“Hurry up,” Sam says. “They're starting.”
“I’m not going to be able to be around for the whole thing,” Dean says. “I have to meet with that guy who called me earlier.”
“The boyfriend of the polygamist who is suspected of killing one of her husbands?” I ask.
“I think that might be the sentence of the day,” Sam says.
“Polyandrist,” Xavier says. “If it’s a woman with multiple male partners, it’s not polygamy. It’s polyandry. Now, if the woman also has wives, then it is polygamy, and I stand corrected.”
“The show is starting,” Sam says flatly after a few seconds of silence.
“He’s supposed to have some information for me but is only willing to meet tonight because he says she thinks he’s at work,” Dean says.
“That’s okay. You do what you’ve got to do. I’m sure you’ll get filled in on all the details.” I pick up the bowl of popcorn. "Bellamy and Eric are at home, too. They are watching and are going to text throughout the show. I do have to say, I kind of feel as if I'm being denied the whole watch party experience. Y'all are the ones who wanted to do this and now we're all scattered around."
"It's okay," Xavier says. "We're using technology just like they're going to. Only we're detecting each other, which is a whole lot easier than detecting ghosts. And a computer is much easier to use than an Ovilus."
My eyes slide to the phone in Xavier’s hand again, and I see a resigned stare.
"Xavier, what did you do?" I ask.
His face lights up and the other hand pops up from beside him, revealing a strange-looking device. He looks like a little boy with his action figure ready to watch his favorite movie.
"Shhhh," Sam says, totally transfixed on the TV. "You're missing the beginning."
"Popcorn?" I ask, holding the bowl in front of the computer screen.
Xavier reaches past the screen as though he's reaching into the bowl and comes back with a handful of popcorn.
"Thank you. I'm glad you remembered."
"Of course."
"Emma!" Sam hisses.
"Sorry," I whisper. "I'm watching."
I curl up with the popcorn in my lap and watch Ken and a woman I assume is Elsie walk in slow motion away from a truck. Three guys behind them have heavy cameras and other devices, and they all carry the same bleak, serious expression.
The voiceover in the background is deep and heavy. I can already tell this is going to be a long couple of hours.
Chapter Twelve
The Investigation
Thirteen years ago, four young men walked into Sherando Ridge National Park in Virginia. Jason Zapinski, his cousin Gregory Zapinski, and their friends Ben Perkins and Julian Garrett told family and friends they were planning to hike and camp for the week. They were familiar with the area and no one was concerned. However, a few days after entering the park, all communication with the group stopped. They weren't answering their phones or posting on social media. This was unusual, particularly for Jason, who was the youngest of the group and known to record his daily movements with photographs. It was one of those photographs that revealed their fate.
Jason's mother, trying to find out what happened to her son, searched his social media and discovered a picture of him in front of a cabin. She recognized the cabin and knew it was several miles from where they’d said they were going to hike. None of the four was
