Aftersight (32 page)

Cali

East Barnet, Northern London

May 6, 7:30 p.m.

I moved out of the lounge and into the formal dining room, carefully stepping around camera tripods and electrical cords in the dim light. Members of Thomas's team were hurrying around the house, troubleshooting connections and doing last-minute setup. They all wore headsets so they could talk with Thomas, who was upstairs in the attic where he'd set up the command center.

Twilight was coming on and the house was filled with a thin, violet light. The team had been working so diligently all afternoon and evening that no one had stopped to turn on lights. I'd been told that Lord Humphreys, his wife, and daughter had come home for a pit stop before the girls and I arrived. It seems he was pretty torqued off at all the electrical gizmos Thomas's team had set up, and had left red-faced and fuming to get something to eat. He sounded like a charmer.

The Humphreys' place had an animated energy to it that made me think of the moments before a party: house cleaned, chairs set up, cold cuts, chips and dip set out on tables, ready for guests who hadn't yet arrived. In this case our guests might never be seen, but it felt like they were lurking nearby, unwilling yet to show themselves.

But who wants to be the first guest at a party?

I wandered through the kitchen and out the back door, watching Archie tinker with something in the rear of the lighted van. I sensed eyes on me and turned to see Tyson leaning near the kitchen door, one cowboy boot propped up against the wall. He put a cigarillo to his lips and the tip glowed orange.

I called over. "What'cha got there?"

"Tobacca. What's it look like?"

"It looks like a girl cigar."

"Ouch. An unprovoked attack."

There was something familiar about Tyson, something I couldn't quite put my finger on. I walked up to him and stood close. I had to crane my neck to look in his eyes. "You got another one of those things?"

He studied me for a few seconds, skewing his jaw, before pulling off his cowboy hat and removing the pack. "You ever smoked one of these?"

"I've smoked cigarettes."

"This ain't like smokin' a cigarette." He handed me a narrow, brown stick. "You don't inhale cigar smoke, you just hold it in your mouth."

I held up the cigarillo. "What's a cigar got to do with
this
?"

Tyson smirked. "Nice."

He flicked open his lighter. I was just leaning into the dancing flame when Sara called out from somewhere overhead. "Cali, we're ready. Please join us up in the attic."

I stood back, smiled regretfully and handed Tyson his tobacco. "Maybe next time, cowboy."

Tyson flicked a bit of ash from his own cigar and dropped the spent butt on the ground, smothering it with his boot before collecting it into his shirt pocket. Together, he, Archie, and I made the trek up to the very top floor of the house, where Thomas, Sir Alex, Sara, Nicole, and Becky had gathered at the far end of the attic. There was only one light on, a reading lamp that lit up dozens of notes and hand-drawn plans of the house. The rest of the room's light was provided by four oblong computer monitors displaying digital video and audio feeds.

"I'm happy everyone could make it," Thomas said. "I just want to talk a little bit about how we expect tonight to unfold. Now that everything is set up, most of my team will withdraw. Archie will remain up here in the command center at all times. I'll alternate my time between here and the rest of the house. Tyson will be a floater, finding quiet spots to stand vigil and observe.

"I've provided headsets for all of you. Archie will show you how to use them. When you talk in one, identify yourself. Talk softly but clearly. We don't want to do anything to disturb the family more than they are already.

"I'd like you girls to pair up. One pair should stay with Emily in her room, the other can sit in the lounge or move about wherever you see fit, just do take care not to wake the Humphreys. I'll let you girls work out between yourselves who sits where and for how long. For now, I'd like you to remain here in the attic for the most part until the Humphreys go to bed."

A handheld two-way radio crackled on the table. "He's coming."

"All right, it's time for the party to start," Thomas said. "Sir Alex, would you mind joining me for a parley with Lord Humphreys? Between the two of us, maybe we can settle him down long enough to get something done."

"Certainly, Mr. Banks. Please lead the way."

Becky

East Barnet, Northern London

May 6, 7:45 p.m.

Archie handed me a headset, clipped the pack onto my belt, then showed me how to press the button to talk. "Whatever you say will be heard by everyone on the channel, including me, so be sure you don't mind it being broadcast before you say it." He smiled a snaggle-toothed grin.

"I feel ridiculous," Sara remarked, playing with her earpiece. "Is this what working retail is like?"

"What do you say?" Cali nodded toward the stairs. "Time to meet Emily?"

"Maybe we should meet her one at a time rather than descendin' on her all at once," Nicole suggested.

"Maybe," Cali agreed. "Who do you think ought to go first? Sara, maybe? They're the same age."

"Oh, let me go first," I volunteered. "I'd like to meet her."

"Okay, why don't you go down and spend a little time with her," Nicole said, "then come back here and we'll figure out who goes next."

"Sounds like a plan."

"And Becky..." Nicole added.

"Yeah?"

"Maybe lose the headset for now."

"Right."

I descended the stairs to the second floor. The bedrooms and hallway were dark but a glow welling up from the stairs gave off enough light to see. I heard what I assumed was Lord Humphreys' muffled voice shouting from somewhere below, between the softer tones of Thomas or Sir Alex.

When I reached the ground floor, I realized why Lord Humphreys was upset. Equipment was everywhere. Cameras on tripods sprouted from seemingly every nook and corner, their red record lights glowing like eyes in the dark.

I was passing through the kitchen on my way to the lounge when I saw a young girl sitting at the kitchen table with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk. She was pretty, with long brown hair, fair skin, and thick eyelashes. "Are you Emily?"

The girl, her mouth full of cookie, sporting a fine milk mustache, nodded.

"I'm Becky."

Swallowing. "Pleased to meet you." We shook hands. "Would you like a biscuit?"

A biscuit?
"Oh, a cookie. No, thank you."

"Won't you sit with me?"

I pulled up a chair and we sat for a moment in silence.

"Are you psychic?" Emily asked.

My forehead creased involuntarily. "Hmm. I guess. But I suppose, in a way, we're all psychics."

Emily seemed to think about this. Nodded.

The door to Lord Humphreys' study opened. There were heavy footfalls in the hall. An immense globe of a man in a navy blue suit appeared in the doorway. He seemed startled that I was there. "Oh, hello there. You must be one of Sir Alexander Bray's students."

I stood. "I'm Becky Reynalds."

"Well,
you
look perfectly normal," he pronounced. Then to Emily, "Princess, why don't you patter upstairs with your new friend, show her your room?"

"Yes, Daddy."

Emily and I picked our way through the forest of tripods and electrical equipment. There were three cameras in Emily's bedroom alone, capturing the space from all angles. I felt a bit strange thinking that they were recording our every move, but Emily didn't seem bothered by it.

"Would you like to play a game?" she asked.

"Sure!"

We sat on the bed. Emily started shuffling a deck of cards.

"It must be kinda weird," I said to fill the awkward silence, "all these strangers in your house like this."

She shrugged. "Can you see into the future?"

"Me? I don't know. Sometimes I get information about the future, I guess."

"Do you know what's happening to me? Do you know if I'll be all right?"

"I'm not exactly sure what's happening to you. Not yet. I'm kind of new at this. But I know what it feels like to have contact with spirits. That's how all this started for me."

"Really?" Emily perked up and for the first time since we'd met, she seemed genuinely interested in talking to me. "Will you tell me about it?"

"I got into a car accident about a year and a half ago. I was riding in a car with three other boys when we were struck by a drunk driver. I was the only one in the car who survived."

"Were the boys your friends?"

"One of them was, yes. Not long after that this little girl named Jenny started talking to me. I could hear her but I couldn't see her. I've since learned that she died several months before my car accident. After Jenny, other spirits came to talk to me, too."

"Really? Were you scared?"

"I was very scared," I admitted. "Emily, I have some friends, friends from my school, who are upstairs waiting to meet you. They're girls like me, who've had some of the same experiences that you're having. I think you might like to talk with them."

"I'd love to meet them."

Sara came down next and within minutes the three of us were playing cards together and laughing and joking. I thought it was going well enough for Nicole and Cali to make an appearance, so excused myself to go upstairs and get them.

When I reached the attic, I found Nicole on a chair meditating and Cali sitting behind the table of computer monitors with Archie, watching the grid-like row of video feeds coming in from all points of the house. The conversation taking place in Emily's bedroom was being broadcast quietly over loudspeakers. They had been listening in on every word.

Nicole and Cali followed me down to Emily's room. Our arrival interrupted the card game, but only briefly, and soon we were all playing and chatting. It was going so well I momentarily forgot why we were there until Emily's mother appeared in the doorway, met everyone and announced she was going to bed.

We had been making a fair amount of noise and, to be respectful of the Humphreys' home life, Nicole suggested we break up the party. Cali and Nicole would stay behind and Sara and I would go downstairs for a while.