The Ghost Trackers Case Files: Book 1

Nevada

Chapter One: Meetings and Greetings

“She’s probably an actress.” Miles, the Ghost Trackers’ main camera man grumbled.

“I bet fifty bucks on her being a major phony who wants to leave in the first hour of our lock-down.” Andy, the Ghost Trackers’ co-host and second camera man laughed.

“And she’s probably a really ugly, fat, old, cat lady!” Miles added.

“Seriously, does the board think that by adding this hippy-dippy chick is going to attract viewers? What are they thinking?! I’m thinking that this girl will make our current viewers drop our show!” Brody ranted.

“Say goodbye to Ghost Trackers.” Miles mumbled so that nobody else heard, or everybody pretended not to hear. Either way, the comment was ignored.

“So we should film our introduction now.” Brody suggested.

“Shouldn’t we wait for the girl?” Miles asked. Miles always was the rule follower.

“Nope, we won’t! We’ll just tape our intro just like we always do. She won’t change it. Actually, let’s not tell her the background story for this place. If she’s a real then she’ll figure out what happened. And if she gets it wrong—which I know she will—then she’ll just look stupid on camera. It wouldn’t be our problem!” Brody was in a foul mood. He didn’t care how bitter he sounded. He knew that this girl would mess up his show, and he would hate her for it. This girl could be a nun, or a worker in the Peace Corps who delivered food to children in third world countries, or a teacher for the blind, or a freaking angel—Brody would still hate her. He didn’t care.

Brody was the kind of guy who thought of plans A, B, and C even before a problem arose. He was always prepared for just about anything. Brody believed that he could get this girl to quit the show. His plans would send Amelia running. Then he’d be back in charge of the show—his show. If she quit then the board wouldn’t cancel Ghost Trackers. Brody would find a way to revive his show.

“If she’s a good psychic then she’ll know not to show up later.” Brody added. Miles and Andy laughed.

Brody knew that if he hated Amelia, the Miles and Andy would too. Miles and Andy were like Brody’s left and right hands; he needed them. Andy was Brody’s best friend since high school and Miles came from the network as their camera man. They’d support Brody throughout any situation. They were his companions, his comrades, his amigos. Together the guys were the Ghost Trackers, and the board—or some girl—wouldn’t change that.

Miles was setting up a camera on a tripod. On Ghost Trackers everyone had their own camera and a digital recorder. Their show was made up of the footage that they each recorded on the supernatural occurrences that happen at each of the haunted “hot spots” they visited. Most of the time, Andy and Miles filmed Brody while they hunted for ghosts. Sometimes they wouldn’t get anything, so they’d have to add things in digitally. That’s where the show started getting worse.

Once the camera was set up, the men sat down on a stool in front of the camera. Miles hit record and a red light lit up in the top frame of the camera.

“Hi, I’m Brody Nickels and welcome to the first episode of Ghost Trackers, season five.” Brody began the intro. They weren’t always so formal, it was just because it was the start of a new season and there were some new changes. “In this season we’ll be making some changes to our show. We’ve selected some of the most haunted places in America to track down the ghosts that roam there. We’ve also added a new cast member that you’ll meet in a little bit. She’s a psychic named Amelia.” Brody paused and flashed a smile, as if it was a warning to Amelia to watch out.

“To kick off this season, we’ve selected a place that is extremely supernaturally active. In southern Nevada we are visiting the Garcia Ranch. The Garcia Ranch was home to a kind, hard-working family in the early 1870’s. They were a family of five; a mother, a father, a brother, and a set of twin girls. With them lived the father’s friend from the Civil War, Rodney Chesterfield. He was very close to the twin girls, Alexa and Alexandria, apparently a little too close.

“One morning the mother, Rosa, went to wake her girls up and found them dead. They had been strangled to death. And then Rodney was found in his room dead. He had slit his wrists. There was more than a coincidence here. It was believed that Rodney had killed the girls, and then committed suicide, knowing that he’d be found guilty.