Cemetery Tours by Jacqueline Smith Page B

girlfriend was Teresa Von Lock, the lead singer of the gothic rock band The Necromantics and known by her fans as The Queen of the Dead.  However, a door slamming somewhere above them distracted him.  Seconds later, Kate came bounding down the stairs.  
    “Here it is,” she announced and handed her cell phone to Luke.  
    “Thank you, Sweetheart.”   Luke took the phone and punched his number in.  “Text me.”
    “Oh, I will,” she smiled.  
    “Well, I guess I better be off.   Have a bit of editing to do for my new project.  But I will definitely see you tonight,” he promised Kate as he turned to leave.  “Have a good trip, Mikey.”  
    “Bite me,” Michael muttered under his breath.  
    “Bye, Luke!   See you tonight!” Kate waved.  Once he’d disappeared, she turned to Michael.  “Oh my God, I can’t believe I just met Luke Rainer!  How do you know him?”  
    “We met a few years ago.   He came around wanting to film because... well...”
    “Because of the curse?” Kate asked.  
    “You heard?”  
    “Our downstairs neighbor mentioned it to me.   Do you believe in it?”
    “Um, I’m not sure,” Michael answered carefully.   “Anyway, that’s how I know him.”  
    There was a little more to it than that.   The truth was that he’d shown up one day, about a year and a half before the Discovery Channel picked up his series, asking about the building.  He’d heard all the stories about the “curse” of the Riverview Apartment Complex, and being the young, enthusiastic paranormal investigator that he was, he decided to check it out.  
    When he’d first come knocking on his door, Michael knew he couldn’t turn down Luke’s request to set up a night vision camera and three digital recorders without raising suspicion.   The next morning should have been the last time Michael saw him.  Unfortunately, Luke was so eager to set up his equipment downstairs where a woman had reported hearing mysterious voices singing in her bathroom that he’d forgotten one of his digital recorders.  By the time he returned for it, it had already captured an extensive conversation between Michael and Brink.  To the untrained ear, it almost sounded like Michael was talking to himself.  Luke however, had been able to decipher Brink’s voice through the static.  
    Michael held on to his claim that he was on the telephone and that any voice Luke may have heard must have been recorded through the earpiece, but Luke simply didn’t buy it.   He knew what he’d heard and he wouldn’t rest until Michael admitted not only that he’d been talking to a ghost, but that the ghost was talking back, and Michael could hear every word he said.    
    The only person in the world to know Michael’s secret, and it had to be Luke Rainer, ghost hunter, reality television star, and douchebag extraordinaire.   He’d tried everything from begging to bribery to get Michael to join the Cemetery Tours team.  Why?  Michael hadn’t a clue.  Luke Rainer already had all the success, money, and star power he could ever ask for.  He clearly didn’t need Michael.  
    “This is just so cool,” Kate repeated.   “I’ve never met a celebrity before!  You don’t mind, do you?  You know, that I go out with him tonight?”  
    Yes, he thought.  Aloud, he said, “No, not at all.  Go - ”  He paused to clear his throat.  Why did his voice have to crack now?  “Go have a good time.”
    “Thanks Michael.”   Much to his surprise, Kate threw her arms around his shoulders.  “You’re a good friend.”  
    I’m an idiot , he thought drearily as he returned her embrace.      
    “Don’t mention it.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

C hapter 8
     
    “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
    Kate tried to ignore her brother as she applied her mascara, but it was