Chapter 15

Legacy

Bert sagged suddenly onto a chair. “What ..?” he said in a weak voice. “Still there ..?”

“Major unfinished business,” Merlin remarked.

“Our bodies … ” Skippy echoed hollowly.

“Well, after this long, an’ you have to remember there’s wildlife around here plus the effects of twenty years of weather .. they’re more skeletons than bodies,” Merlin commented. “Sorry.”

“Whoa … I’m a ghost an’ a skeleton,” Skippy breathed. “Walkin’ Halloween. Neat.”

“As soon as we reach civilization,” Derek promised, “we’ll notify the authorities. Your remains will be recovered and given a proper burial. Your parents will know the truth.”

“And that means we’ll be free?” Lassie asked.

Merlin shrugged. “You’re free now.”

“Then why are we still here?” Flipper demanded angrily. “I am so sick of this place.”

“You have to want to go on .. an’ you don’t really wanna go on yet,” Merlin replied. “You have a new .. unfinished business. A favor owed, remember? But, while Bert gets his wind back cos I did kinda march him along .. why not go out to the parking lot? Have a snowball fight or something. Go get a change of air. Hug a tree.”

Lassie slowly stood up. She took a deep breath and walked steadily toward the door. Once there, she glanced back.

“Coming?”

“Sure,” Skippy nodded. “C’mon, Flip. Big wide world out there .. an’ at last we can get to it.”

Flipper hesitated, his face uncertain.

“Go on, man,” Bert urged. “I’m not going anywhere just yet. Twenty years of only being able to look out there. Now you can go for it. You’re free.”

Flipper got up and went on slightly stiff legs to where the other two waited. Merlin opened the door for them. They took one step and paused on the threshold.

“C’mon, already,” Merlin muttered. “You’re letting the heat out.”

“Ladies first,” Skippy invited.

Lassie took another step and she was outside. She began to laugh but it turned quickly to tears. The two guys followed her, unable to believe they were finally outside their prison. Merlin closed the door behind them and turned back to Derek.

“Dr Rayne, sir, I’m ready for my lecture,” she said.

“That’s taking a small liberty with Sunset Boulevard,” Bert commented.

“No, Bert. I meant it,” Merlin remarked.

“And what lecture do you suppose I should give?” Derek inquired.

Merlin accepted a cup of coffee from Rachel and used it to warm her hands. “I think it should be the one about .. having people around you whom you can rely upon totally, followed by the homily about the importance of obeying any and all orders, even when those orders are unnecessary an’ really only given because you have a burden of responsibility which takes precedent over physical an’ mental welfare.”

Derek pursed his lips and slowly nodded. “And, if I should give that lecture followed by the homily, what do you suppose your response will be?”

She considered. “I believe the response would be .. it was all Bert’s idea.”

Bert sat up, his eyes flying open and the blood draining from his face.

Merlin glanced at him. “Bert wanted to solve this haunting an’ release the ghosts to go on. He carried out a very thorough investigation, putting into practice everything he’d learned by observation and by listening to advice, theory and the answers to his questions. I did not assist except to provide the occasional guidance an’ to be his backup in the field. You said yourself that, for this one night, we were one team. Bert is a member of the Luna Foundation, at least until we leave this location, and, therefore, entitled to the same privileges as well as being subject to the same restrictions as any of you. Sir.”

Bert had initially paled but then a blush had grown to completely engulf his face. He struggled out of Nick’s jacket because the heat of close scrutiny was making him sweat.

“It – It was a .. a team effort,” he stammered.

“He’s being modest,” Merlin smiled. “He had the ideas. He persuaded those kids to sit an’ talk to him. I just kept things on track.”

“And the reason for your trip outside?” Derek asked.

“We had to check out the bend in the road, an’, to do that, we had to go thru the pass. It’s still blocked but the snowplows are on their way. The other side, the snow is a lot less. I’d say another hour, we can leave.”

Derek nodded again. “Nice work, Bert. Peri, thank you for assisting.”

“That’s it? That’s the lecture?” Bert exclaimed. “You said he’d shout.”

Merlin looked at Derek, her eyes smiling. “I was wrong.”

“And you said Nick would get physical.”

“I may not have been wrong about that,” Merlin commented, glancing at Nick’s expression.

“Why would Nick do that?” Rachel asked.

“Because I took his jacket. I did not steal it. I didn’t even want to borrow it. Peri said I had to,” Bert replied, cheerfully flagging his innocence by telling the truth and passing the blame, safe in the knowledge that Nick wouldn’t hit his wife.

“It’s all water under the bridge,” Derek declared. “Nick has his jacket back. The investigation here is concluded. A successful effort by everyone, and led by Bert.”

“Congratulations,” Alex smiled.

“But – ”

It seemed, even when he’d done nothing wrong, Bert was still determined to argue.

“It was your idea which set us on the right track,” Derek cut in, determined in his own way to stop this before it got started. “You said this was a sitcom. You didn’t know why but it was the correct instinct. Sitcoms are based on .. errors in communication, and it gave us the direction we needed to follow to gain one half of the answer. You and Peri provided the other half. As I said, nice work.” Derek looked round at his team. “Nick and I are fully rested and ready for the drive home as soon as the road is clear.”

“Okay,” Rachel agreed. “So .. who wants breakfast?”

*****

“It was you,” Nick murmured. “You did the investigation. You just let him take the credit.”

Merlin shook her head. “That isn’t true. What is true but which Bert knows nothing about .. is that I did a deal with Flipper.”

“What kinda deal?” Nick inquired, his eyes narrowed.

“You have to ask? Bert was desperate to experience the paranormal. He believed in the idea of ghosts but he wanted to believe in ghosts. Everything we’ve done since he arrived on the doorstep, we’ve had to exclude him for his own safety an’ our security. But this .. this was perfect. A contained, non-dangerous situation, three ghosts, an’ a mystery, plus you were all asleep. No one was likely to say anything they’d regret later. So I asked Flipper to .. put on a show. Let Bert experience the paranormal. These kids have walked the walk for two decades; if anyone could talk the talk, it was them. Costume an’ makeup was exactly right. Act One was horror .. an’, true to form, Bert fainted. Act Two was genuine telekinetic activity, not special effects. And Act Three was the monologue in which he learned what it was like on the front line of spectral manifestation.”

“And, in return ..?”

“I’d take them on to the forest. To do that, we had to solve the mystery.” She put her arms around his neck. “Bert’s grown a lot tonight, Nicky. Don’t be hard on him cos he borrowed your jacket.”

Nick laughed softly. “He looks like he’s about dead on his feet. If I say one word to him, he’ll keel over.”

“That’s the other favor I’ve done tonight. He’ll sleep all the way back to San Francisco.”

“Bless you,” Nick said, kissing her.

Merlin closed her eyes. “You know what I really wanna do soon as I get home?”

“What?” he asked, nuzzling her neck.

“Take a long, hot shower.”

“Easy enough to arrange.” His breath was hot on her flesh.

Her eyes opened to slits. “With you.”

“Very easily arranged,” he murmured. “But we don’t have to wait that long.”

“I was so hoping you’d get my day off to a great start.”

He grinned wickedly.

“Nick! Peri!” Rachel called. “Breakfast!”

“Five minutes!” Nick called back.

“Mmm,” Merlin purred, running the tip of her tongue around the curve of his ear.

“What ..?”

“You taste of chocolate.”

Nick pinned her against the door. “Don’t push your luck,” he warned.

In the diner, Rachel returned to the counter. “He said five minutes,” she remarked, frowning, to Alex. “That isn’t like … Oh,” she realized and blushed faintly. “In the ladies’ restroom, too …”

*****

Derek went out to the parking lot to assess the road for himself. The sky was growing light now, the east a sheened pearl gray. Night still lingered on the mountain and, beyond the pass, stars glittered in the frosty air of the west. But stars meant no cloud and no cloud meant no more snow. It was turning out to be a promising day.

He felt pleased for Bert. The man had wanted this night to happen and fortune had smiled on him. It was, really, the best way to have an encounter with the paranormal. Nothing more dangerous than flying chocolate cakes. Derek smiled broadly. That would forever be a choice memory, despite never being talked of again, not even in the most heated of arguments.

He was pleased Merlin had been with him, to provide protection and guidance. For one night, even if Bert had never realized it, he’d had the personal service of a guardian angel. The best friend to have with you when encountering the paranormal for the first time. For all that Merlin wouldn’t have told him the truth, would have spun webs of lies and deceit about herself and the Legacy, she was the most realistic and grounded of any of them.

So .. all’s well that ends well, he thought. If this TV show ever gets made and commissioned, it will be interesting to see how much of tonight is present in the content. I just pray it isn’t set in a big house on an island in San Francisco Bay. We’ll be inundated with visitors who’ll think we are the real thing and they will be wrong. We are more than the real thing. We cannot act the part because we are the part.

“Er .. Derek?”

He glanced round. Flipper didn’t look any different for his hour outside in the cold. He wasn’t flushed, his eyes weren’t sparkling. He wasn’t dressed warmly. Derek shivered just looking at him in his jeans and shirt sleeves. But there was a calm to his face which hadn’t been there before.

“Yes, Philip?”

“The others an’ I have been talking. Can you answer a question for us?”

“If I can,” Derek nodded, hunching into his coat.

“Now we know why we didn’t go the usual route, we can leave the diner. We’re outside, so we really can leave the diner. What if .. we don’t wanna go on to the other side just yet? We can do that, right? Travel the world. Okay, it means we’d have to stand on airplanes but we could just stroll on board .. without buying .. a ticket … ”

Derek was shaking his head.

“We can’t ..?” Flipper murmured. “But we’re free. We can hitch a ride on a truck coming thru … ”

“No. It doesn’t work like that. Ghosts haunt a location. You are free, yes, to go on to the other side. You’re not free to roam wherever you want around the world. If you attempt to do that, you’ll only find yourselves back here. Maybe not in the diner but in the parking lot or the general area of this mountain.”

Flipper’s face fell and he closed his eyes. “Free isn’t really free then. Comes with a price tag.”

“I have visited the other side. Between you and me .. Peri is not a typical woman. She has the ability to take people across and, if, like me, they are not dead, she will bring them back again. I can tell you the other side .. is wonderful. I will fight to live but I am not scared of dying because I know where I will go, what opportunities await me. You can do anything you want over there, Philip.”

He nodded. “It’s just .. I had a dream, y’know? And it’s one I’m never gonna fulfill. I know I’ll never get my break in movies or TV, but .. to just see it. To go there. I could go on an’ be happy. As it is, I'll always have one regret.” He sighed and turned to watch the lightening sky. “I guess I won’t be the only one over there with failed dreams.”

“I’m sure that’s true,” Derek agreed.

“Thanks for your time, Derek. Appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome,” Derek murmured sadly.

Bert came out, shivering in his borrowed sweater. “Derek! Breakfast’s ready!” he called and saw the dejected slump to Flipper’s shoulders as he walked slowly across the parking lot.

Bert frowned. This wasn’t meant to be a sad time. This was a happy day. He’d unlocked the prison door .. well, he’d played a big part in unlocking the prison door. It hurt him to see Flipper unable to celebrate.

“Coming in?” Derek asked as he passed him.

“Just a second. What did he talk to you about?”

“He has a regret,” Derek replied. “A failed dream which, despite being free, he still cannot make come true.”

Bert nodded. “I’ll go talk with him.”

“Bert, some things are impossible. Don’t make promises you will not be able to keep,” Derek warned.

“Sure. I understand.”

Bert headed toward where Flipper stood alone. “Hey, guy, what’s up?”

Flipper glanced round, forcing a smile. “Nothing, man. I’m cool.”

“After everything we’ve been thru tonight, don’t lie to me now. You’re a good actor but, right this second, you couldn’t act your way into a kindergarten Christmas play.” Bert shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders. “Sometimes .. life gets too raw for anyone to act their way thru it an’ all any of us can do is talk it out.”

“But you act all the time,” Flipper said and sounded faintly accusing. “With Peri, with us, with them. Especially with them. You’re always wearing a mask.”

“For protection,” Bert commented. He began to stroll and Flipper walked with him. “I guess I’m just like the next guy .. or ghost. I don’t take rejection too good an’ so I don’t get into situations where I’m rejected. I admire people like Peri cos she doesn’t give a damn about doing things because of appearance or it’s the majority view. She goes against the flow an’ does ’em cos it’s good an’ right. I admire the others because they find the truth an’ they live with it, no matter how hard it is. An’, yeah, I admire you an’ Skippy an’ Lassie because you have strength to hold on and believe that, one day, it has to change for the better. Me? I do what I’m told. I know I seem to be a pretty shallow kinda guy an’ the way I do things pisses people off but that’s just the act. The mask. I’m scared that .. if I’m myself, I’ll get rejected. That people will think I’m not enough. No ‘I’ in team. Lone wolf gets thrown outta the pack. Easier to .. act the way they want an’ fit in.”

“Bert .. you’re not acting now,” Flipper pointed out. “You weren’t acting when you said you wanted to help us.”

“No. No, I wasn’t. Last night .. I guess it was a life changing experience for me. I feel different. Okay, I sound the same but I think different. When I get home .. I have a decision to make. Do I stay like this or do I go back?”

“You can never go back,” Flipper said. “Who better to tell you that than a ghost? An’, if you try, you’d be letting yourself down big time. You’d be saying .. all this, everything you did an’ learned, means nothing.”

“You’re right,” Bert grinned. “Okay .. I give myself permission to be myself. Hey, world, listen up!” he shouted. “Take me or leave me, but this is how I am! Now,” he said, looking at Flipper, “what’s on your mind?”

*****

Once they’d done eating, Derek and Nick went outside to check the road and take a walk up to the pass. The sun was up now and the bitter chill of the night just a memory. It was still cold but it was bearable and there would be no more snow, not for them.

Inside the Mountain Pass Café, Alex and Rachel tidied up, did the dishes, left everything as they’d found it the night before, and calculated how much they owed. And, at the same booth they’d used the preceding night, Merlin and Bert sat down with Lassie, Flipper and Skippy to return the favor and finish the unfinished business.

“I’m not an Executive Producer,” Bert began. “But, one day, I’m gonna get there. For now, I’m an Associate Producer. A .. low grade, unofficial supervising producer. I get to be on the sound stage an’ sort out problems. I’ve only done this for around six months. Before that, I was a Production Assistant. A gopher. I’d run messages, errands. Liaise between departments. I do have a trailer but I share it with two others. About the time I got the promotion, I began to develop this idea for a show. People like me .. well, we do have ideas but it’s rare that anything comes of them. I’m too young an’ inexperienced for one thing and the ideas which are picked up and developed usually come from the writers. The guys who started out as freelancers and then join the staff. They get to create shows an’ be Executive Producers. Guys like me work for guys like them. But I pitched my idea to my bosses an’ they didn’t blow me outta the water. They told me to go do some research. Come back with facts an’ figures .. then they’d think it over. An’ that’s why I’ve been hanging with these guys for the past four days. Learning what they do, how they do it. Gathering my information, my ammunition. I went to San Francisco with my head stuffed full of preconceived notions an’ theories an’ stereotypes, an’, boy, was I wrong.”

Flipper put his chin in his hand as Bert sipped his coffee. At last, his eyes were sparkling.

“Okay, let me take you thru a typical day at work,” Bert said. “I get up at five thirty an’ drive to the studio. By that time, the makeup people have been at work for at least thirty minutes … ”

Merlin smiled to herself as Bert talked on. He was the same weedy guy to look at but he sounded different. His voice had a lower tone and it wasn’t so fast. Maybe that was down to pure weariness but she didn’t think so. Bert had looked in the mirror and seen that the old jacket didn’t fit anymore, so he’d thrown it away. He spoke with quiet confidence, with experience, and with deep passion. As the Luna Foundation loved and believed in what they did, despite the obstacles and difficulties, so did Bert. And this Bert Burko was someone they could listen to.

Alex and Rachel came to the next booth to do exactly that, and they listened in silent fascination, as absorbed as Flipper, Lassie and Skippy.

After an hour, Derek and Nick returned and checked out the two vehicles. The Ranger Rover started on the second try. The 4x4 was as reliable as ever. They moved them from the shelter to the parking lot in front of the diner. The snowplows had come thru. They could leave whenever they wanted. Inside, Bert was drawing to a close and answering Flipper’s questions. He looked exhausted. His eyes were hooded and a little bloodshot. Derek and Nick came over and waited patiently for the questions and answers to finish. Anything less would have been an insult to a professional.

Eventually, the voices were silent and an atmosphere of expectation began to rise. Flipper straightened.

“Well .. I guess we’re at the end of this road.”

“I guess so,” Bert agreed sadly. “Guys .. thank you. Maybe .. we’ll get to meet up again one day, when my time comes.”

“You gotta come see one of our plays,” Skippy replied. “Hey, we may even have our own studio by then. We’ll keep a job open for you, man.”

Bert laughed quietly. “Good to know. Thanks.”

“Are we all done here?” Derek inquired.

“Yep,” Rachel said. “Just these cups to wash an’ the money to leave.”

Derek turned to Flipper. “I wish there was a way to grant you what you desire the most.”

“So do I, but .. I’ve had the next best thing. Thank you, all, for your help.”

“As soon as we get over the mountain, we’ll contact the authorities, I promise. Your families will be informed of what happened.”

Alex pulled on her coat. “Goodbye and good luck.”

“Break a leg,” Nick nodded.

Rachel switched off the kitchen lights and returned to the diner. “Take care. Pace yourselves.”

“We will. We have plans,” Lassie smiled.

“Big plans,” Skippy grinned. “This is not the end of the Mountain Pass Players.” He looked at them. “So .. how do we do it?”

“Peri, we’ll wait for you out in the vehicles,” Derek murmured. “Don’t forget to switch off the lights and lock the door. Bert ..?”

“Just one second. I’ll be right with you.”

Merlin frowned at him as the others left. “What is it, Bert?”

“Ghosts haunt a location, right?”

“Yeah. So ..?”

“I have an idea … ”

*****

“He can ride with me,” Nick offered.

“I have no objections to him riding with me,” Derek responded. “He’s changed, Nick. These ghosts have been a revelation to him.”

Nick nodded. “It was the blond guy,” he said.

“Was it? How do you know?”

“He’s got that look in his eye. I can tell. It was him.”

“What look?”

“Kinda twinkle. He threw the cake.” Nick leaned against the hood of the 4x4. “I feel sticky all over.”

Derek carefully studied the ground. “It was funny .. for us,” he hastily added.

“I can imagine.” Nick grinned then laughed softly. “Must have been something to see.”

“It was.”

“But we’ll never mention it again. Okay?”

“Absolutely,” Derek quickly agreed, his voice stone cold sober.

Bert came out and, several seconds later, the lights in the diner went out and Merlin followed him into the parking lot.

“We’ll let him decide,” Derek said.

When presented with the choice, Bert Burko shook his head. “I’m sorry. I just want a backseat. Don’t care which one. If I don’t lay down an’ get some sleep … ” He stumbled and hauled himself upright. “I’m out on my feet, guys. Just .. wake me when we get back to San Francisco, okay? And take it easy going round that bend.”

“Of course. Nick, will you follow me?”

“Sure thing, boss.”

Bert carefully climbed into the back of the 4x4, lay down and closed his eyes.

“They get away okay?” Nick asked Merlin as they followed the Range Rover onto the road.

“Uh huh,” she replied. “They won’t see this place again.”

*****

Once over Pine Mountain and able to get a cell phone signal, Derek called the police and then waited in the area to show them the approximate area of the accident. Merlin took the officers to the actual location.

“We were out hiking an’ .. just discovered it,” she told them. “We checked and they have bags in the trunk. I know we shouldn’t have but we looked an’ found ID. Cassidy Renman, Skip Delaware, and Philip Jones-Harwood. I’d guess, from the way they’re skeletons an’ all, that they’ve been here a long time. About .. twenty years. They must’ve been reported as missing.”

“Looks like they went over the edge from all the way up there.”

“Seems so,” she agreed. “Can we continue on home or do you need us for statements or something?”

“We’ve got Dr Rayne’s name, address an’ phone number. If we need you, we’ll call.”

Merlin nodded. “Hope their parents learn what happened to them.”

“We’ll inform them.”

And so they left the mountain and drove home to San Francisco. The halt had added two hours to their journey time so it was the middle of the afternoon when they at last arrived home on the island. Bert was gently woken but he was still bleary-eyed and slightly incoherent.

“Stay the night,” Alex urged, concerned that he would try driving in this state. “Catch up on your research. You must need to make notes on everything that happened. Then have dinner with us, get a good night’s sleep, and head home in the morning. It’s no problem, Bert.”

He nodded slowly then frowned. “Did it really happen ..? I didn’t just dream it, did I?”

“It’s Monday, January 21. You didn’t just dream it. You’re a hero,” Alex smiled.

“Oh. That’s nice,” Bert said distantly. “Okay. Yeah. I could use a shower. Wake me up some.”

They watched him haul himself upstairs.

Nick folded his arms. “You think it’s permanent, this miraculous change?” he wondered.

“I don’t know,” Derek replied. “But .. we can hope. He did come here to learn about what we do. Now he knows at first hand. How he deals with that knowledge, only Bert can say.”

“I think I’ll hit the shower too,” Nick said. “When I’m done, I’ll pack away the gear.”

Merlin followed him upstairs. “I think I should go with him tomorrow,” she began. “Make sure he gets home okay.” Nick glanced back but said nothing. “You know how it is sometimes,” she went on in defense. “There’s a delayed reaction. If he was staying here another week .. we could help him deal, if it happens. Time an’ distance from the event … ” She shrugged. “I’ll drive down with him an’ fly back. Probably be home tomorrow night.”

“Okay,” Nick agreed.

“Really? You’re not just saying that?”

“I’m cool. Wanna help me get rid of this chocolate residue?”

“Sure.” She watched him go into the bathroom. “Man, I wish I could’ve seen that.”

“You say something?” he called.

“No,” Merlin replied promptly because she knew, more than anyone, where to draw the line.

*****

A couple of hours later, after they’d all showered and had a change of clothes, it was business as usual. With Merlin sitting as door guard in the library, the others safely retired to the control room where Derek checked his messages and returned phone calls. Nick unpacked the equipment and carried it up the stairs in relays ready for storing away in the various labs. Alex updated the log entries for the house and, with Rachel watching, began a small research project.

“What are you doing?” Rachel queried.

“There was a link,” Alex replied. “It might have been tenuous but there was a link between Skip Delaware and the mysterious Harley. If I remember correctly,” she said, turning to face Rachel, “Harley was the sister of the girlfriend of the brother of Skip’s brother’s friend. I think. It was something like that, anyway,” she shrugged. “I can’t believe that, with such a huge crisis – the disappearance of a son – that the family wouldn’t have investigated every avenue. Imagine if it were Kat. You wouldn’t rest until you’d talked to everyone you possibly could, even if it took you the rest of your life.”

“Damn right,” Rachel muttered.

“Yet, apparently, they didn’t ..?” Alex shook her head. “I don’t believe that. From what Skip told us, his parents kept him on an understandably tight leash because of his experimentation with narcotics. That doesn’t sound at all to me like his parents didn’t care what happened to him.”

“More the opposite,” Rachel nodded.

“Right. And, even if Skip swore on the Bible that his days of experimentation were over, his parents would still be concerned, worry that he might slip back.”

Rachel nodded again.

“Now, I don’t know about you but I got the impression that Skip didn’t get along with his older brother either. Brothers who are a couple of years apart in age, in their early twenties .. they’d talk, wouldn’t they? Share things which they’d keep secret from their parents?”

“Children of any age that close together have secrets from their parents,” Rachel said.

“So Skip could’ve told his brother he intended to quit town for the summer, even if he swore him to secrecy. He didn’t. He didn’t trust him. Skip was happier with his friends, he said so. But he didn’t even tell them of his plans. There’s Tommy, the one who baled at the last moment. Didn’t he know about Philip?”

“Maybe he didn’t.”

Alex accepted that. “Well .. did he know about Harley?” She gazed at the computer screen. “If Skip’s brother or Tommy did know and kept silent, the cops would’ve forced them to say something. This wasn’t something minor. This was critical. Yet no one knew anything and it all hinges on this Harley. Why didn’t she come forward and volunteer the information.”

She began to type, connecting to databases and pulling out information. Newspaper reports. The police records of the investigation. “Here it is. Disappearance of two young people, police are appealing for information. No apparent connection between Skip Delaware and Cassidy Renman.”

“They were .. distant friends. Acquaintances more than anything,” Rachel remarked. “Certainly not going steady.”

Alex typed in a search instruction using the keyword Harley, then she went to pour a cup of coffee. After a few minutes, there was an audible beep. Both women turned to the big screen.

There was a photograph which dominated the report. Four days after Philip Jones-Harwood had left town with his two co-travelers, the day after their car had plunged over the drop, there had been a major wreck involving four automobiles on the highway near the college campus. Two people had died. Rick Cotes and Harley Marks.

“Oh no …” Rachel breathed. “That’s why the trail went cold. The only person who might have set them free was already dead, and the information died with her.”

“Now it’s over,” Alex nodded. “Now they can all rest in peace.”

*****

Upstairs, Bert was trying to put his thoughts in order so he could enter them as research notes. It was proving difficult because he was thinking differently. He read thru what he’d written before and he winced.

How could I have been so .. arrogant? How could I have been so incredibly stupid? Ghosts aren’t cute! They may be funny but that’s just the mask they wear. Really .. ghosts are tragic. They spring ready made, full grown from tragedy. They’re sad, yet they put up an’ shut up for the most part. What else can they do? Oh, we can turn them into comedy, into cute little guys, all white and wispy, or completely over the top bullies so they’re funny more than horrible .. but that’s down to the writers and special effects guys. They haven’t ever had to look into a ghost’s eyes and see the torment there, the hope.

And the people like Derek and Alex … Bert shook his head. I just .. came in, asked a few incredibly shallow questions, stuck labels on them and dismissed them as being unworthy of deeper investigation because they weren’t actors. My God ..! Is it any wonder they kept me at arm’s length? Treated me with polite contempt? It’s a miracle they didn’t throw me out the first day!

Bert gazed at his notes and, quietly, deliberately, erased them. Spirits – The Inheritance was a damn good idea but it was too close to the real thing. He couldn’t degrade the people in this house by putting their work and their dedication into forty minutes of neatly edited film. Life wasn’t like that. Life was messy and too short to be wasted.

“Bert? You in there?” Merlin asked.

He went to the door and opened it. “Tell me I’m a Class A jerk.”

She blinked. “Why?”

“Because I deserve it.”

Merlin considered. “You did. You don’t anymore. You’re a hero.”

Bert laughed. “Yeah, right.”

“It’s true! You need permission?” she grinned. “Okay, I give you permission. Now .. you ready to eat?”

“Yeah. I’m starved.”

“Good, cos we’re on KP. Everyone else is busy playing catch up.”

He left his room and followed her down the hall. “I thought I was only a member of the team for last night. That means I’m now relegated to the position of guest again.”

“Doesn’t apply to KP when it’s Andrew’s day off.”

“Who says?” he frowned.

“I do. Rule of the house.”

“Since when?” he demanded.

“About five seconds ago. Can we hustle? Nick doesn’t like to be kept waiting when he’s hungry. He likes his food.”

Bert laughed. “Sure.”

They headed downstairs. “Oh, some good news!” Merlin announced. “I forgot to tell you.”

“I could use some good news,” he invited.

“I’m coming with you tomorrow. Make sure you get home okay.”

“Peri, really, I can do it on my own.”

“I know. But I’m coming anyway. Okay?”

He gazed at her and smiled. “Right.”

*****

They left San Francisco at seven fifteen the next morning. Bert returned Nick’s sweater and his farewells had included the promise that the show wouldn’t be made. He’d lie to his bosses, tell them it was too boring. There was no real mileage in the idea. Instead, he’d suggest a remake of Project UFO. Aliens were pretty hot items, just as hot as ghosts and the like. Then, quietly, he’d thanked them for putting up with him and for their patience. If ever they were in LA, they should look him up. He’d like to see them again. Derek had said they would.

The drive south was enlivened with pounding rock music. They took the direct route rather than the scenic coast road. They were in Hollywood by early afternoon. Bert went to the studio, signed Merlin in as a guest, then, when they were alone, carefully took the white china mug from his pocket.

“Okay, guys,” he whispered. “We’re here … ”

Ghosts haunt a location, he’d told Merlin with a slight shrug. If we take something from the Mountain Pass Café …

Flipper, Lassie and Skippy materialized from the air and looked around in the sunshine.

“Oh, wow,” Flipper breathed. “I finally made it to Hollywood … ”

“We’ll tour the studio, go to wardrobe an’ makeup, go to a soundstage an’ see something in production, then we can get outta here an’ see the sights. And then .. you can go on over with no regrets.”

“Bert .. man, you’re a hero,” Skippy said.

Bert smiled with immense satisfaction. “Damn right,” he said. And, this time, he believed it.

Poltergeist: The Legacy

Fried Green Ghosts

© Jay Brown, 2002

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