He hurries on. “I only activated it after last night’s episode went live, and it’s focused on the computer. I can’t see the rest of the room. I just wanted to monitor the keyboard after you uploaded the show.”
“To see which of us was tampering with the film and posting the comments.”
“Yes.” He exhales, as if in relief that I understand. “Not that I thought it was you. Honestly, I expected to catch Trin.”
The hairs on my neck prickle. “But it was me? Drunk sleepwalking?”
“No, no. Nobody tampered with it, Hannah. That’s what I wanted to tell you. I have the entire night of tape, and no one came near the desk.”
“Okay, is the orb gone, then?”
His hesitation tells me otherwise, and I hurry to the computer.
“Two minutes, ten seconds,” he says.
I find the spot. As I watch, the orb manifests over Trinity’s seated form.
“Shit,” I say.
“You switched spots,” he says. “That was a good idea.”
“No,” I say. “It was actually really stupid. Now she’s going to see that and?—”
“See what?” says a voice behind me. I wheel as Trinity walks in. She stops. “Who are you talking to, Hannah?”
“J-just Rory.” Did I stammer? Why the hell did I stammer?
Her gaze slides to the screen, and she blanches. I mumble something to Rory and hang up.
“Someone’s hacking the system,” I say quickly. “That’s what Rory was calling about. He put a camera in here and?—”
“He put a spy camera in ourhouse?”
“He apologized. He could only see this desk, and he only turned it on after we posted the show. He was watching in case I was posting the comments in my sleep or something.”
“Orsomething?” Her voice hardens. “He was trying to catch me. Except he didn’t. He caught you. That’s why he called. He installed a secret camera and caught you doing it, and he called to warn you. He thought he was going to catch me, and instead, he caught the girl he likes. That puts him in a really nasty position.”
“I didn’t do anything, Trinity,” I say. “Ask Rory.”
“He’ll lie for you.”
“Then ask him to show you the tape.”
“He’ll have erased it by now.”
“What the hell?” I stop myself and take a deep breath. “Explain why I’d do this to you. Why I’d undermine our show like this.”
“You’re not undermining it. Our show is more popular than ever, and you don’t want to ruin it—you want it all for yourself. You want me to quit.”
“No.I’d quit myself before I?—”
“Do you think I haven’t seen those solo offers? They send them to our damn show address. I find them in the trash folder.”
“I delete them because I’m not interested. If I wanted you off the show, Trinity, I sure as hell wouldn’t do something as silly as this.”
“It’s not silly. It’s clever, and you’re always clever, Hannah. You know I believe in ghosts. You know I’ve said this house has a weird vibe. You found out about my past, didn’t you? What I was accused of. You used that to fake a very public haunting. An on-screen haunting, complete with accusatory comments. You’re hoping I’ll quit. If that doesn’t work, then eventually someone will dig up my past and humiliate me, forcing me off your show.”
I take a deep breath. “Yes, I know about Vanessa. I found out yesterday. You were freaking out, and it worried me, and I had to investigate. Whether or not you bullied her?—”
