"Go ahead," Lou encouraged. "I gotta return the key, but it's okay if everyone else wants to head out. Dave will keep me company so I don't stand here like an idiot all by myself."
Teetering on his feet, Conner wasn't sure what to say. "So . . . um, I guess we're all done, right?"
"If you determine what the message means," Lou said, "then I'd like to talk to you about it. As of now, it's an unresolved detail to the story. Dave and I will wrap up here within the next couple days."
"No more interviews?" Trevor asked.
"Couple kids and a teacher about the mass hysteria."
Conner was curious about their identities but not enough to ask who was being interviewed. "Thanks for helping us figure out the whole story."
"No. Thank you," Stella stressed. "Your participation was just as valuable as Father O'Leary's. You guys did a great job of helping us piece together Jared's story."
Lou shook hands with each of the guys. "Yes, thank you." He smiled sympathetically. "Do your best to put this behind you. Don't let this have a lasting effect."
"We'll try," Adam replied.
"You have my contact info," Lou said. "I'll reach out to you guys if needed. And I'll let you know about the pilot episode."
Conner lowered his gaze to the sidewalk. "Doubt I'll watch it."
"That's understandable." Lou stepped toward Trevor's car. "I wish I had better parting words than take care."
Adam shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Anything else would sound really weird."
As they reached Trevor's car parked at the end of the driveway, the three shook hands with Stella and then said goodbye. As they pulled away from the house, not one of them looked at the paranormal investigators or at the house. And as they drove down the street, not one of them glanced back.
Trevor steered the car onto the next street. "We're in agreement, right? We're gonna burn the tree."
Adam eagerly replied, "Hell yeah. Burn that bitch to the ground."
"When?" Conner asked. "And how are we going to do this without getting caught?"
Trevor smiled. Conner had always been the practical one, always thinking logically. Adam, on the other hand, was the impulsive one, always eager to move forward with anything that Trevor or Conner suggested. So Trevor knew Conner would make sure their plan made sense, and Adam would make sure they achieved their task. Now Trevor needed to devise a good plan of action.
"Obviously," he said, "we can't tell our parents what we're doing or where we're going. Secondly, we can't show up at that field during the day. We don't want someone to call the cops."
"They'd arrest us," Adam replied.
"Exactly." Trevor's smile widened. "I feel good about this. I don't know, I feel like we're finally doing something good as far as Jared is concerned. We can't go back and make things right, but we can make sure things don't go more wrong."
"I feel good too," Conner replied. "Let's plan the best way to do this. Then we'll go"—he glanced at Adam—burn that bitch down."
* * *
"We did good work," Stella said. "Don't you think?"
Lou gathered his notes from the coffee table in her suite. "We did. I have a good feeling about this."
"Yeah, me too," she replied, dropping her purse onto a chair. She gathered her hair into a ponytail and tilted her head from side to side. "We can finally relax a little."
"Dave and I will interview the kids and teacher tomorrow in the a.m. Then we'll probably head home Thanksgiving morning."
"You're really not going to do anything for the holiday?"
"No. Don't worry. We're just a couple of lonely guys. I'll probably treat Dave to dinner once we're home."
"That sounds nice."
At the dining table, Lou collected his remaining papers and folders while Dave packed his gear. "I'll let you know how tomorrow goes."
"Please do."
"Then we'll all work our asses off making the pilot too good for the network to pass on."
"Don't worry." She plopped down onto the sofa, more relaxed than Lou had ever seen her. "This was the perfect story to negotiate a series deal. We'll be fine. Let's put it together and then fine-tune it for submission."
Lou set his butt against the dining table and crossed his arms. "You know, it was nice working with you."
"I agree."
"I know we've had our differences and not-so-friendly run-ins, but we worked good together. Thank you for all your help."
"You're welcome." She rose to her feet. "Thank you for all your hard work. And for taking me and Walter on with this project."
He waved his hand dismissively. "One of these days you can bring me on board one of your projects. That is, unless we're in a long-term committed work relationship now with the series."
"One can only hope."
He smiled and extended his hand. "Drive safely. I'll let you two get settled back home for a day or two before I start calling."
"That's mighty generous of you," she teased.
"Well, I'm a nice guy."
She escorted them to the door and then placed her hand on Dave's shoulder. "Take care of each other. I'll talk to you guys soon."
In the elevator, Dave set his bag of gear onto the floor and then searched his pockets. "We'll have to think of a new nickname for her. She's not much of a ball-buster anymore."
Lou chuckled. "When we're working on the series together, she won't hesitate to bust our balls. Trust me."
* * *
Puckering in front of Jasmine's bathroom mirror, Hailey applied her favorite pink power frost lipstick. Then she brushed a few stray strands of hair from her forehead. Pleased with what she saw, she smiled at Jasmine's reflection in the mirror. "So . . . I'm ready."
"You look great." Jasmine rested her chin on Hailey's shoulders. "You always look good. But you look especially good tonight."
"Thanks."
"Are you sure about this?"
Turning, Hailey asked, "You think it's a mistake?"
"No. I just wanna
