5

Ray found a baseball cap with the Ghostbusters logo on it and gave it to the girl to wear. Soon they departed in the quiet car, no lights, and no siren, not even wearing their standard jumpsuit-style uniforms. He tried to explain the functions of some of the equipment to the girl, but she seemed bored and even unimpressed. Winston made the most headway with her as they rode through the city.

"You're from Montana? What part?"

She shrugged.

"You like New York?"

"Uh-huh."

"Where do you go to school?"

She made a face.

"Do you like school?"

She shook her head.

"Do you have a lot of friends?"

Finally brightening, she turned her gaze away from the passing scenery. "Yes!"

"Where do you hang out? What do you like to do?"

"ArtReal," she answered as though that should cover it.

"ArtReal," he repeated, unable to imagine what that was.

"Sounds like an art studio," suggested Ray. "Are you an artist, Amanda?"

"No."

"Is it a club?" tried Winston.

"No."

"A mall? A restaurant? A café? A coffee shop?"

"No." She never embellished any of her responses, and they quickly grew tired of interrogating her.

The realtor's BMW was parked near the residence and he exited the vehicle as soon as he recognized the Ecto-1. He looked disappointed as they emerged, expecting full uniforms and sci-fi gear warmed up and ready. Ray stepped forward to greet him while Winston and Egon grabbed the items they thought they might need. The realtor was dressed casually in a pinkish-beige polo shirt sporting a small embroidered golf ball on one side of his chest. His heavyweight, expensive wristwatch glistened in the same shade of pinkish gold as his belt buckle. His hair had been blow-dried and his chinos neatly creased. His shoes were immaculate. Despite the fading afternoon light he wore metal-framed sunglasses atop his head. He noticed the teenager immediately and his disapproving gaze followed her everywhere. "Why is there a child here?" he finally blurted.

"My niece," Egon replied. "Ready, Dr. Stantz?"

Ray finished up his conversation with the guy. "So, we should have something printed up for you by tomorrow morning."

"Could you overnight it to me?"

"You work at night?"

"No," the guy admitted. "I just want it as soon as possible."

"You will receive it as soon as we are able to get it to you," Dr. Spengler answered him, and the man fidgeted under the scientist's imperious gaze.

"C'mon," Winston told the girl, smiling to himself.

The realtor's lock had already been removed and the door swung open easily. Winston and Amanda waited before it while Egon tried to get a general read from a PKE meter that immediately squealed and died.

"What does that mean?" the realtor grunted suspiciously.

Egon smiled as he reholstered the device. "Nothing. Nothing at all." They had a single functioning meter left and he shook his head at Ray when he offered to activate it. The teen stood directly before them.

"K-II?" asked Ray.

"It'll do," Egon told him.

The K-II meter read electromagnetic fluctuations and not actual psychokinetic energy. As Ray mounted the front steps, it showed spikes when he swept it past Winston and the girl, noticeably climbing when it was nearer her. With a shrug he moved past them into the house.

The guys had an array of tools at hand and utilized all of them—a digital camera with multiple lenses and filters, a digital ambient temperature probe, a meter that detected high and low frequency sounds beyond normal human hearing, and a long, slender, tube-like probe that measured the proliferation of airborne ionized particles. Drs. Spengler and Stantz went into their zones, each focused on collecting data while Winston softly kept up a running commentary for the benefit of their guest. Within twenty minutes they had canvassed the entire site and absolutely nothing untoward had been detected.

The realtor was relieved when they emerged and explained that the house appeared "clean". He was on his cell phone, attempting to contact the buyer before he'd even entered his car.

"Well, that was uneventful," Egon sighed as he deposited his gear within the Ecto-1.

"We still got paid," Winston pointed out.

Ray was standing beside the car, staring at the girl. "I want to test her."

Said Egon, "She's definitely the source of some kind of mild disturbance."

"She's broken three PKE meters," Ray reminded him.

With a sigh, Winston laid a hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him. "Do you know what Zener cards are?"

"No."

He mentioned, "We don't need paperwork for that."

Egon's mouth twisted to one side, and then he said, "I guess it's a start."