An Inner Darkness Book 5 Bay City paranormal

didn’t mean to imply otherwise,” he said, turning as Bo walked up to him. “I’m sorry for the deception. I guess I wasn’t thinking straight.”
    “Don’t worry about it.” Smiling, Bo gestured toward his office. “Have a seat in my office. Would you like some coffee?”
Lee nodded. “That would be great, thanks.”
Danny stood. “I’ll get it. How do you take your coffee, Mr…?”
“Rogers,” Lee supplied. “Lee Rogers. Just a little sugar, please.” 24
www.samhainpublishing.com
An Inner Darkness
    “Thank you, Danny. Andre, could you join us?” Bo glanced at Sam, an apology in his eyes, and Sam felt a rush of affection. Bo was all business when it came to BCPI, but he never failed to spare a thought for Sam’s feelings, and he had to realize Sam was dying to know what had brought Lee here. The “haunted house” story had to be a front. It couldn’t possibly be the real reason for Lee’s visit.
    “I think Sam should be in on this too, since if you take my case you’ll have to deal with Janine and the kids. Is that okay?” Lee took the mug Danny handed him and smiled his thanks.

    “Of course he can sit in, if you like.” Bo started toward the office. “Danny, I think it would be a good idea if you hold my calls during this meeting. Except in case of an emergency, of course.”

    “Certainly.”
    Sam trailed behind Bo and Lee. Andre stepped into Bo’s office beside Sam. They shared a questioning look. Everyone in the BCPI office knew Lee’s name, but no one but Bo and Sam had ever met him. He’d never been to the office before. Sam wondered what was so pressing that he would risk Janine’s wrath by coming here.
    The four of them settled into the comfortable leather chairs gathered around Bo’s desk. Lee took a sip of his coffee. His hands trembled ever so slightly.

    “So. Lee.” Arms folded on his desk, Bo leaned toward Lee. “What can we help you with?”
    Lee frowned. “I told your secretary when I called. We have a haunting.” A muscle twitched in Bo’s jaw. “I’m sorry, I’d assumed you’d given Danny a false reason for coming here as well as a false name.” Lee ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair. “I wish. No, I think our house really is haunted. It’s nearly one hundred years old, people are bound to have died there in the past. I’ve tried to find some other explanation for what’s been happening, something normal, but nothing else fits.” He let out a harsh laugh. “Janine’s going to kill me when she finds out I came here. She doesn’t exactly believe in the supernatural. But I’m sure you knew that already.”
    www.samhainpublishing.com 25
Ally Blue
Clasping his hands in his lap, Andre fixed his sharp brown-eyed gaze on Lee. “Tell us what’s been going on in the house, and for how long.”
    “I’ve lived there for four years, but never experienced anything out of the ordinary until about three weeks ago, about a month after Janine and the boys moved in. Strange noises, lights going on and off, objects falling off shelves for no obvious reason. Nothing spectacular, for the most part. Certainly nothing you couldn’t blame on other, more logical explanations if you tried hard enough.” Lee’s brows drew together in a troubled frown. “Until last night.”
    “What happened last night?” Bo asked, watching Lee’s face.
    Lee shifted in his chair. “It was about an hour after you dropped the boys off. They were getting ready for bed, and Janine and I were talking.” He grimaced. “No, that’s not true. We were arguing. I lost my temper and yelled at her. Things were just starting to get really ugly, when I felt an intense, burning pain in my back, right between my shoulder blades. It hurt so badly it stopped the argument cold. Janine had me take my shirt off so she could look, and she found four shallow parallel scratches right where I’d felt the pain a moment before.”
Sam felt his eyes widen. “Wow.”
    “Yes.” Lee gave Sam a humorless smile. “Of course, Janine thought I must’ve scratched myself earlier, and not noticed until that moment. But I know that wound wasn’t there before. It happened when we were fighting, and no one was in the room but Janine and me. And there was nothing inside my shirt that could’ve caused those scratches. It almost has to be something paranormal that did it.” He turned his pleading gaze from Sam to Bo to Andre. “This all started out slowly, with just a few strange noises and such,