“From what we overheard, they think it’s a haunted house promotion,” Cain said. “They were all holding these black rectangles with a mini-TV screen in front.”
Slate had never wanted to banish a spirit as much as he did at that moment. Not only was Gary putting the portal at risk, but he also threatened to ruin Dash’s day. “Just great. Soon those videos will be all over social media.”
“Maybe that’s not a terrible thing,” Dash said. Everyone stared at him like he’d lost his damn mind. Everyone except Meredith. She didn’t understand what was at stake yet. “Wow. Tough crowd. Hear me out. What is Oriskany Falls known for? The Halloween celebration. And what has anchored the end of the festival?”
He paused and rolled his hand around. When no one answered, he scoffed. “Everyone issogood in a crisis. We’re known for the Blackwood Haunted House.”
Slate didn’t see where this was going, and from the blank expressions of everyone else, neither did they.
“Oh my God, Doc!” Meredith was wagging a finger at her brother. “You’re brilliant. Of course, I’d have thought of it if I lived here too. But it’s still brilliant.”
“One of you two Bobbsey Twins want to explain what you’re yammering about?” Morten asked.
“If people think it’s a promotion, we make it a promotion,” Dash said.
If Dash hadn’t looked so pleased with himself, Slate would’ve let out a strangled growl. “And that helps how?”
“Marketing, handsome,” Meredith said. “We come up with a way to make it seem like this was all a prank to get free publicity for the haunted house.”
Dash nodded, and Slate pushed the irritation away to focus on the idea. It had great potential, but they needed to execute. He scanned the confused looks in the room, and when his gaze landed on Thomas, Oliver, and Cain, something clicked.
“If you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking, I think it will work,” Slate said.
“That’sa whole lot of thinking,” Liv said, plopping her hand on Slate’s shoulder. “How about you tell us your idea?”
Chapter Seven
Slate stood where Liv told him—center of the Commons, plan view of everyone who wanted to see, fifteen feet from the demonstration table. The same table with pumpkins and gourds Gary had caused to levitate the day before. He thought it was tempting fate, as if they were daring Gary to return for an encore performance. Meredith, however, said it would add to the “planned all along” narrative they were selling.
A crowd gathered. It was bigger than Slate expected, but not a total surprise. Liv and Meredith spent the morning plastering “Special Haunted House Preview—Today at 2p.m.!” notices around town. They were a dangerous duo.
Meredith had taken Dash’s idea and turned it into an actionable plan, and Liv brought the plan to life. It was a tiny bit deflating when they chose Millicent and his mother as their primary assistants. When the four of them put the entire scheme together before dinner, his butt-hurt feelings had turned into respect.
The temperature dropped around Slate and a spirit materialized. “Gary’s not here, man,” Cain said. “Word is he went back to Woodstock to look for some old friends.”
One less thing to go wrong. They didn’t need Gary crashing the demonstration with ideas about how to make it better. “How long will he be gone?”
“Hard to say. Could be an hour, could be tomorrow.” Cain shrugged. “Time’s weird for us, you know?”
Liv suddenly appeared at his side. “Nervous?”
People filled the Commons, but they didn’t see the dead walking among them. Most ghosts were curious, but respectful. A few were oblivious but still harmless. “More like irritated. I was really looking forward to a calm Halloween. One where Dash and I didn’t need to worry about the veil. Where we could hang out with you, like you and I did as kids. He’s ruining that, and it makes me mad.”
“You have a right to be angry,” she said, rubbing his arm. “After all you’ve done, you’ve earned a fun Halloween. Just don’t let that irritation cloud your judgment.”
The warning was spot-on. With every new episode, Slate struggled to control his emotions and stay focused. “I’m working on it.”
Meredith appeared on the demonstration platform—a slightly raised section of the Commons that usually hosted the farmers’ market. She wore a wireless microphone, and she commanded the space like she did this sort of thing every day.
“Thank you all for coming out this afternoon!” The crowd noise settled. “As many of you saw yesterday, there were some odd things happening here on the Commons. What you witnessed was my brother, Dash Reeves, and his boyfriend, Slate Blackwood, testing some new technology for this year’s haunted house exhibit. Unfortunately, my brother let his inner geek take over, and he demonstrated the equipment a day early.”
The last bit was an ad lib, probably because Meredith knew her brother would make her take that part out. It might be off-script, but it was effective. People all over town had heardDash talk about new technology with a passion that bordered on reverence. Many in the crowd nodded or smiled at the reference.
“Blackwood Manor is grateful for the enthusiastic response—and the free publicity.” That drew laughs. “Today, however, we’re going to give you an official demonstration, complete with as much of an explanation as Slate can provide. He asked me to remind everyone, if this goes wrong, it was all Dash’s idea.”
Slate didn’t try to hide his smile. Meredith was good. Hopefully, good enough to sell this to the town. Somewhere in the crowd, his parents and Dash’s grandparents were talking a bit too loudly. People ‘overheard’ them as they created a real-time narrative, making people remember things they’d never actually been told.
It was clever and brilliant.
