The Long Island Anti-Medium

Alessandra answered. She agreed to come, and named a few dates in the upcoming couple of weeks they could get down there. Jane intended to get Felix's opinion, but she wanted things to be taken care of as soon as possible. It was lucky she hadn't moved on a locale for Halloween this year; nothing had felt right as the holiday approached, though there had been some options in the running. First special episode had been Mary King's Close in Edinburgh, and the goal was to top the special every year.

Sadly, no answer from Felix came until the next day midmorning, but when Jane had the earliest coinciding days, she called the entrepreneurial trio and confirmed the trip.

Minutes later, the tickets came through. It was real. It was happening. Perhaps the ghost opportunity of a lifetime...! Jane Dana Callahan could not wait.

***

"Five minutes," 'M' informed his brothers, looking at his cell. "She's five minutes away."

The cameo necklace subtly glowed in the light, and the blond paced before it. The antique held the key to everything. To finding Genie, and starting over. To their future success and their unfinished business. His friends flanked him, placing a hand on each of his shoulders, and they looked at each other deeply.

Sometimes it was still weird. They had been friends for sixteen fucking years, after all, and they knew each other down to the bone. But the three men... the three men in the rubble had hated each other. Thrown together by fickle fate and bound to the same woman, they'd disliked each other already when it all went to hell. After that, each of them suspected it was one of the other two's fault. Tempers were high. One of them had fled a murder scene already. One was a known user of women, and the last was famous for his hot head and sense of vengeance. They'd been arguing and screaming, about to have a brawl, when the mine collapsed and swallowed them up.

It didn't even make sense that her necklace turned up in the shaft. By the time it did, all three of them knew it shouldn't have been there. Genie was last seen wearing it, and her body wasn't recovered. How the fuck would she have gotten into the mine shaft after being shot? It made no sense. It was why the men hadn't let go or moved on from the place. It was why they made contact and offered three enterprising young men who bought a ghost town a deal.

A knock shattered their quiet remembrance, and all three rushed to open the door. As Calvin pulled the wood back, he revealed a thick, curvy woman behind it, dressed unexpectedly in a bright orange sweater, a red skirt that barely touched knee, orange knee socks, and red shoes. Her brown hair was loose about her shoulders, she wore glasses, and had a shoulder bag slung across her body.

"And here are my mysterious benefactors now," Jane said, breaking the ice. "Good afternoon, misters Smith, McClary, and Strand. I'm Jane Callahan, alias Janna Diana, the Long Island Anti-Medium. You summoned me. I'm here."

Right behind the striking figure of a reality TV star dressed as Velma Dinkley came a man of modest height and stout, rounded figure, then a tall woman with ash-blonde hair that had a slender, willowy build.

"Your outfit choice..." Spoke the wiry, thin guy with the thick, close beard and dark brown hair. He then gave a wolf whistle. "I very much approve. Kinda cheeky, aren't you?"

"You might say that," she replied smoothly, grinning. "Wouldn't you know, since you're such huge fans?"

Everybody laughed, and the men ushered their guests into what they used as their living room. It would once have been considered a 'parlor', holding the nice furniture for company and special occasions. The furnishings were modern and tastefully appointed. Jane studied her hosts while making introductions to the three of them, and she couldn't take her eyes off Calvin in particular. He was indeed as big and broad as she'd hoped, with long dirty-blond hair she got the distinct impression he'd deliberately sleekened for her specifically. M was the other blond, gorgeous, and impeccably dressed. That left the dark one as Randy, and he matched his name. All three of them had a raw wildness and a sense of power about them. It was intoxicating.

"Welcome, Jane, Alessandra, Felix. We're so excited to be able to have you here so we can discuss our proposal." M stood in front of the impressive, large fireplace, smiling huge, very charming in a sky blue button-down shirt and silvery grey slacks. "Later on we'll have a quick tour of the town so you can see its layout and the progress on construction, but we'd like to invite you to lunch. We have a lovely spread waiting for you in the dining room, and we can begin to talk shop there. Please, make your way through the hall behind me."

"Thanks so much for the hospitality," Felix Hernandez gushed, taking in the decor and construction as he passed, already framing shots in his mind. "This is one of the best receptions we've ever had."

"Absolutely," Alessandra Rusimov agreed. "Do you get any activity in the house itself?"

"Nope," Calvin informed the group, moving everyone out of the living room, down the hall, passing the kitchen on the right. Dining room was next on the left, and a fully set table for six lay waiting for them all. It was a large enough to seat at least ten, so there was plenty of extra room, and their settings had been placed at one end, three across on each side on the right half of the table. Should be nice and intimate for their conversation. "The farmhouse we're in was built after the heyday of the coal boom, and despite the proximity of the mine we spoke about, the house is (as far as we know) spirit-free."

"We figured we'd film a little pre-tour-and-lockdown material in the house, especially before we lead your team to the mine directly. There's a lot of interesting shit about the land out here." This from Randy, who ushered the guests in and pointed them to their places. Jane was central on the team's side, with her guests flanking, and across from her on the host's side, M wound up directly across, with Calvin to his left and Randy to his right. There were already multiple charcuterie boards laid out, including fresh fruit and crudités, a selection of breads and crackers, cheeses, cured and sliced meats, and even miniature desserts.

Jane salivated looking at it. She absolutely loved charcuterie.

"Please help yourselves. We thought finger foods would be an easy thing to eat while we talk. We put everything together ourselves." The handsome young man beamed across the table as everyone pulled our chairs and sat down.

"I adore a good cheese plate," the ghost hostess cheered. She reached for the tongs on the closest plate, and began selecting cubes of cheddar and Gruyère, slices of Manchego, and crumbles of goat. Unseen by Jane, the men smiled, looking over her. In person, she was definitely the one. Those proportions? Her eclectic sense of dress and personality? Genie would be so happy, whenever and wherever they found her. They had to prime the canvas, and it started with getting that cameo around her neck.

"So while everyone gets food, let's lay out the basics here," Calvin began, helping himself to crudité to start. "We will take Jane and the team around the entire town in the episode, showcasing some of its haunted buildings and most historic spots."

"Plenty of information about the area and its heyday as a coal mining boom town will be given, and we'll delve into some of the famous local characters who are reported to still haunt the place." M seamlessly continued from his friend. The three of them obviously had their entire operation down to a fine science.

"The lockdown, though, happens in the caved-in mine. At least three dozen miners and a handful of others were down there when it collapsed. We've excavated parts of it very carefully- and that's where the whole fucking show happens." Randy was enthused. He practically vibrated with the excitement. "It's where we've got the most restless ghosts, and will eventually become a featured tour when we've rendered enough of it safe to stage period recreations of the environment."

"I'm loving it so far," Jane nodded, before biting into a piece of cured ham and cheddar on a cracker.

"I am petitioning the network for a two-hour special," Felix immediately told them, using his free hand to gesture and point. "The lock-down goes all night, so airing that live isn't guaranteed to net us two hours of good television. A live stream could be a great tie in for hardcore fans, and we'll advertise that, but this episode probably won't air until next Halloween."

"We can live with that," M replied.

"I had the same thought," Jane nodded.

"First and foremost we want to air the best episode possible," practical Alessandra said. "A solid night in your locale may just yield us enough interesting footage and evidence to keep a two-hour special rolling.

"Well that sort of gives us a nice segue into the heart of the matter," Calvin announced. "Not only do we want to obviously introduce the area and lead the tour, but we want to be on lockdown with your team as well. We can carry our own cameras and would participate in the investigation without monopolizing your equipment."

"But we insist on being part of the lockdown." Randy's eyes flashed hard, catching Jane as she chewed a bite of fruit. Hastily, she sped through eating it and swallowed.

"We don't often feature our hosts in the investigation, but I think given the nature of the proposed special and your close ties to the location, we could do that," the woman said, glancing over at her companions, producer first, then her lead teammate.

"I'm willing to accept the term," Felix nodded.

"Great!" The news clearly enlivened all three of them. M carried on, very pleased. "We'd like to make the episode absolutely riveting for your demographic, but have some fun with it as well."

"Which brings us to the bet," Randy grinned broadly as he spoke. "We're dead serious about the million dollars, and we will have the money on cash on air. The production team and Jane herself can all verify the amount before we settle the terms of the bet."

"It's a clever gimmick, you three," the producer modestly praised them, while noshing eagerly on his selected foods. "Janna Diana has never had a personal ghost experience. You guarantee she'll have one or you pay her a million bucks? That's network gold."

"We hoped you would feel the same," Calvin said darkly, holding a glass of water in hand. He took a sip, eyes boring into Jane as she sat riveted, eating with relish.

"Yeah," she replied, swallowing- pausing as needed to empty her mouth of morsels- "but you still have to outline the terms on what happens if I do." The men exchanged a look with each other. All of them smiled.

"We will," M assured their guests, Jane in particular. "First we want to hear any concerns or ideas you might have for the episode."

"We have a formula we follow," Alessandra said over her nibbles. "Which you may be familiar with as fans. Opening with introductions to the area, then the hosts or guests who suggested the location, alongside owners-slash-proprietors if they're not the same. We then turn to locals who've had experiences, or guides, historians, etcetera. Anyone with colorful stories about the supposed hauntings and the lore. That's about when we bring in our psychic medium, if we have one for that lockdown, and finally we move on to the lockdown itself. We try to spend the majority of our runtime on actual footage of the investigation, with a brief summation at the end, of our collected evidence."

"We do actually try to present any evidence and anecdotes with a scientific grain of salt," Jane added. "We know a lot of what we collect can either be disproven outright, or not easily proven with one hundred percent certainty we're actually getting paranormal phenomena. I might believe, but I've never gotten personal 'proof'."

"On the flipside, I'm a skeptic, and yet I've had experiences I can't explain," Alessandra seamlessly finished. "We like a balance of entertainment and realistic plausibility."

"It's definitely one of the reasons the show works as well as it does," Felix tacked on.

"No one else in this genre is doing what 'Janna Diana' does, either," Randy chuckled. "If you really are a psychic dampener, you're far more interesting than just another dime store medium."

"That's all part of why our ratings continue upward," Jane boasted, proud of herself. She hadn't expected, years ago, this would be her career, but hey. Stranger things had happened...

The table launched into a detailed discussion on how the episode would come together, with Felix taking extensive notes on the trusty pad he carried with him whenever prospective locations popped up. Everything seemed on the up-and-up. The three guys had excellent ideas about the tour and subsequent lockdown, and Jane was genuinely thrilled. She also got the distinct impression that the men were more than interested in her as a potential business connection. Something about the way they looked at her said much, much more.

It surprised her a little that she didn't dislike that at all. In fact, their attention was like an electric hum of awareness between the four of them, and she found herself wanting more. Yearning for whatever she saw on their faces.

An enthusiastic agreement came together with all six people at the table working, and when they finally finished, the food was mostly gone. Jane couldn't let them hold back any longer.

"Alright boys," she hummed, patting her contented belly and sighing with a sense of work well done, "the bet. Let's get the terms outlined so we can put this agreement down and get to work. I'm so excited to make this episode I could burst!" Her benefactors laughed thickly, and so did her companions.

"Why don't we return to the living room for the final formalities?" M then suggested, something weighty in his voice. In an instant the mood shifted, but their guests didn't realize anything was out of the ordinary.

"Certainly," Felix beamed, also quite full and happy. He would've agreed to anything about then, feeling drowsy and pliable. Alessandra was also ready for a solid night's rest back at the hotel, and they went on ahead as their hosts ushered them out. As Jane stood to leave, they surrounded her.

Oddly, she didn't feel threatened or even weirded out by it. Instead she was... comforted. Like they were familiar, even trusted.

"We hope you'll be amenable to our terms, Jane," M whispered to her with a hint of seduction.

"Outlandish as they will be," Calvin warned.

"Because if you are, we'll make your wildest fucking dreams come true," Randy sing-songed.

"Ohh," Jane gasped, feeling a full-body shiver come over her. That was new. Her gut trembled. Something felt strange here, but she couldn't put her finger on it, besides their very intimate surrounding of her body. They escorted her back to their den, where the necklace waited above the fireplace. It had caught her eye before, and they led her straight to it now.

"For our bet, my dear lass, we hope you don't find it too outrageous," M spoke again, low enough to avoid Felix and Alessandra's ears.

"If you don't have a spooky experience down in our mine, you get one million dollars on the spot, babe," the short, wiry one said.

"...But if you do, Jane..." Calvin breathed heavily, rasping his words: "You will marry us."

Something clicked in her, even though her eyes boggled and she couldn't draw breath from the shock. Jane wanted to scoff, but as she began forming the noise in her throat, she became aware of three points of contact on her body. One at the back of her neck, beneath the fall of her hair. The hand there was hot and large. He squeezed. It made her not want to disobey or sass them, and it sent a shiver down her neck. The second touch came at the small of her back, right above the top of her ass. A lighter touch that communicated intimacy without bold possession. The final touch was on her thigh, from the side, and she could see the thin profile of Randolph and his mad grin as he caressed her beneath her skirt. Shock and disbelief at the declaration faded as her mind grew strangely foggy and... receptive.

"Marry me?" She repeated back, making it a question. "You all want to marry me?"

"We'll tell your producer the other side of the bet is a date," their dark-headed brother chuckled. "But we want your solemn oath that you will marry us after we go down into the mine, little morsel."

"We've waited an age for you," Calvin rasped.

"You're the one, sweet Jane," M crooned. "You're the key to the mine's unrest, as well as our ultimate satisfaction."

"But... what..." Her head was spinning. They neared the parlor, and all she could make out besides the blurred figures of her two companions was the jeweler's bust on the mantelpiece, and its captivating display. She'd noticed it before and greatly admired it, but now it called to her like nothing else. Her tongue was thick and didn't seem to want to work. All she could do was walk closer as they steered her. It was like her body was moving independently of her mind.

"We're about to reveal all," M whispered, close to her ear. "All you have to do is listen." Then he brushed his lips across her throat, and Jane tried to suppress her moan. She felt like she'd drank a bottle of wine, her body singing and brain muted.

"We've saved the best for last," Calvin began, drawing attention his way as Randolph and M let her go and helped her straighten. She was directly in front of the fireplace, underneath the necklace. The big man reached for the bauble and drew it down, caressing it fondly before drawing it away from the bust. He held it up to show it off. "The central focus of the episode and the investigation into the mine is a tangled romance. One that ends in an unsolved murder and the collapse of the mine."

Felix and Alessandra were spellbound. Jane could process that much from the looks on their faces. Everything else was fuzzy as hell while she stood rooted in place, feeling both trapped and yet free. The moment had the feeling of fate about it.

"The necklace you see here was discovered by us in the mine," M continued. "It once belonged to a woman called Eugenia 'Genie' LaRue, the town of Creekmouth's most notorious and infamous prostitute. Though her 'clients' were often from all walks of life, she was known to be connected to some of the most influential and conniving men in town. Records indicate that she was quite good at her work and rather popular." There were low, subtle laughs all around from the men. Alessandra listened with her usual curious and fastidious demeanor. Jane was captured by the three of them, unable to break away. Something was... wrong. Off. It wasn't dread in her belly, but definitely flutters. Her legs were prickling in an odd way, but she couldn't break the fog.

"Three men in particular were... sweet on Genie LaRue. One was a coal miner, whose life had been spent laboring, and when he came to town he spent a good bit of his time and spare coin on Genie's company." Calvin's voice said this, but in the back of her mind, Jane was hearing someone else.

Elias, the name whispered through her mind.

"He even wanted to marry her, despite her lifestyle, and he'd saved quite a bit of money to offer her as incentive to settle down."

"The second was a drifter, a conman," M picked up the narrative, quite seamlessly. "Handsome, charming, silver-tongued- he wheedled and grifted his way from boom town to boom town, winning wealthy hearts, reaping the spoils of their bodies, money, and gifts, and breaking them as soon as he disappeared with his ill-gotten gains. All the while whoring, drinking, and gambling away the money he swindled. Until, that is, he met Genie and lost his own heart at last."