“Stay on the ground floor and around people. If Kelly sneaks out of the ballroom, let her go. Do not try and follow her. If she tricks out one of the floors, we’ll find out tomorrow night — there’s no need to take chances in there.”
“You got it, Doc, no chances,” Julie said. She half-smiled in a nervous way and then looked at Jenny, as if envious of the fact that she now had a real man to watch over her, not just her inner ghost. She finally turned and went toward the house.
Jennifer had never been inside of an actual barn before, and she had decided on the spot that she wasn’t made to be a country girl — even though her profession had kept her in the country wilds most of her career. She had an inkling inside her mind that she was no longer cut out for field work, and that after Summer Place she would officially call it quits. Instead of trying to uncover the mysteries of the collective minds of tribes and peoples, she would learn about Jennifer instead. For the first time in her life she just wanted to be Jenny and nothing more. She looked from the roof above to the men and they were both watching her.
“I think Dr. Tilden has made a decision on something,” John said, smiling at her.
“You think you can figure anyone out, don’t you, Mister Lonetree?” Jennifer asked.
“Yes, eventually,” he answered.
It was obvious to Gabriel that they were forming some sort of attraction, and Gabe didn’t know if it was a good thing or bad. He did, however, decide that it wasn’t up to him to approve or disapprove.
“Jenny,” he said, “since your friend Bobby Lee has vacated the premises, why don’t you take the money the network gave you and get the hell out of here? We can manage fine without you.”
John Lonetree swallowed. Gabriel had voiced just what he had been thinking, but he hadn’t wanted to say the words. Part of him wanted Jenny to stay — not with them, nor even the experiment, but because he just wanted her near.
“Trying to spare the little woman of the horrors of Summer Place, Gabe?” she said, and turned to John. “And you? Is that your opinion?”
“No,” he said, quietly enough that Jenny took a step toward him.
“What was that?” she asked.
“No. I want you to stay. You know, to at least observe. We don’t have very many people around here that we can trust.”
“I see.” She turned to Gabriel. “There you have it. I’m needed, so I’ll stay. Afterwards, I’ll go learn to bake cookies and pick flowers, but for now you’re stuck with me.”
John looked from Jennifer to Kennedy and nodded. He removed his cowboy hat and placed it on the gate to the first stall.
“Well, it ain’t the Waldorf, but it’ll do, I guess,” John said. He opened the polished wooden gate. “I’m calling this stall; it’s closest to the door.”
Two hours later, the sun had completely vanished from the sky and half of the technical crew sat underneath the portico of Summer Place and along its magnificent steps. They were waiting for the argument to settle down so they could move in and get some sleep for the trying day ahead. As it looked right now, it would be quite a while before that could happen. Wallace Lindemann stood his ground like an eagle defending its kill.
“Look, it’s academic until tomorrow morning. I misplaced the keys to the house — I think I left them inside on the bar — and every call I’ve made the Johanssons has gone straight to voicemail. You’ll have to throw your sleeping bags into the tents and trucks, and that’s it.”
“You bastard,” Kelly said, “you’re intentionally keeping us out of the house. All my people want is sleep. Look, Lionel Peterson took thirty of them into Bright Waters — he practically bought the two local hotels out — so it’s only us,” she said gesturing to those men and women sitting and standing on the steps below them. “We’ll stay put in the ballroom and only use the downstairs facilities.”
“As much as I hate to agree with Kelly on anything at this point, I have to say she has a valid point. This group will cause the house no harm. Why would we?” Harris Dalton said. He ran a hand through his hair.
Kelly looked around. Jason Sanborn had abandoned all pretense of being her ally and had vanished with some of the more experienced crew into the large barn and stables with Kennedy and his people. Jason would pay for his disloyalty later; she would make sure of that. Right now, she missed his ability to calm people and force them into making sensible decisions. That was exactly what he had done with a quarter of her tech crew, only that decision had been to trust only Kennedy and sleep in the barn. She frowned.
“Look,” Lindemann said, “there’s nothing I can do about it. Everything is locked up, and when Summer Place is secured like this there isn’t so much as an open window to crawl through. If you’ll excuse me, I have a room waiting for me in Bright Waters, which is where I suggest you go also.”
Kelly shook her head. She knew Peterson had been behind this little maneuver, as well as the house cleansing earlier. She was about to attack again when something caught her eye. She tilted her head.
“I think you may have misjudged the security of Summer Place, Wallace.” She nodded toward the front of the house.
The doors were wide open, and the glowing golden lights of the massive entrance hall shone through them like an invitation to warmth and comfort.
“What the hell?” Lindemann took two steps down the stairs, bumping into Kelly. She watched him like a cat watching a mouse.
“This time, I’m afraid it was not Summer Place pulling a fast one,” Harris Dalton said. He took the remaining steps up toward the house two at a time.
Just as he reached the entrance, a man stepped into the doorway and tossed Harris a set of keys. Kelly smiled. He was an ex-Marine by the name of Howie Johnson — one of the best cameramen in the business and a close associate of Dalton’s.
“Nothing to it, boss. These old window locks are far from burglar proof.” The big man slapped Harris on the shoulder.
Dalton turned and then underhanded the keys to Wallace Lindemann, who stood fuming on the steps. He was angered not only by the break-in to his property, but also because for a moment he had thought the house had somehow opened up on it own. He swallowed and looked at Kelly.
“The downstairs bathrooms and showers, the ballroom, and that’s it. I know how much liquor is in there, so keep your people in check.”
Lindemann pushed past her. She wanted to laugh as she joined Harris at the doorway. The men and women left on the porch were starting to gather their things to join them inside Summer Place.
“That was pretty smooth,” she said to Harris, admiring the large cameraman.
“I didn’t do it to piss off Lindemann, Kelly, I did it because this crew needs sleep. I don’t want anyone to leave the ballroom tonight, and I’m placing two of the security guards on the stairway to make sure no one gets lost or comes up with a sudden desire to explore. Work begins in the morning.”
Kelly tried her best not to react to the thinly veiled insult. She placed a hand in front of her mouth, pretending to cover a yawn.
“You’ll have no argument out of me, Harris.” She made her way past the two men and into Summer Place.
Harris watched her and then looked at Howie, who was grinning. “Don’t snicker. Lindemann is right, this house is dangerous in more ways than one. Your job is to keep an eye on that woman. She’s slick, and she will attempt to get a jumpstart on equipment placement. And one more thing: It’s not that I don’t want this goddamn place to eat her, I just don’t want it to eat her until after this thing goes straight to hell tomorrow night. This damn place can swallow her up, as long as she humiliates herself on national live TV first.”