Closer: Bay City Paranormal Investigation, Book 4

them.
“Is it all right if we come, Andre?” Bo opened the cabinet beside the refrigerator and handed Sam a blue mug with cartoon dolphins capering across it. “You’re the group leader on this case, so it’s your call.”
Andre laughed. “You know as well as I do that you wouldn’t stay away if I asked you to. You’d play the ‘boss’ card.”
Sam snickered as he poured coffee into his mug. “He’s got you figured out, Bo.”
Bo glared at him. “I would not do any such thing. If Andre would rather not have us on the team, we’ll stay here.”
“And put up with the tension and fighting from you being forced to stay here and be good? No thanks.” Andre held out his mug for Sam to refill. “Seriously, I don’t mind at all if y’all come with us, and I’m sure the rest of the team feels the same. The more the merrier.”
Bo’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded. “Thank you, Andre.”
Sam stirred caramel-flavored creamer into his coffee, set the mug on the counter and took the clean plate Bo had left beside the stove. “What time do we start tonight?” he asked, piling his plate with biscuits and sausage and spooning gravy over it all.
“Eight thirty. That’s the earliest we can set up and get started after they close for the day.” Andre held a hand out. “Will you hand me a piece of sausage?”
Grabbing a crisp brown patty off the platter, Sam laid it in Andre’s palm. “How many nights is the investigation going to run? Or is that worked out yet?” He picked up his laden plate and started wolfing down his breakfast.
“We’ve arranged five nights at the fort, six hours each night including set-up and take-down.” Andre bit into his sausage, chewed and swallowed. “I doubt we would’ve done any more than that even if Joanne had been able to be there any longer, which she couldn’t. This is a relatively simple case. Five nights ought to give us plenty to work with.”
Bo nodded, winding the tail of his braid around one hand. “So, y’all didn’t sense anything out of the ordinary there?”
“Since when are residual hauntings and apparitions ordinary?” Sam asked with his mouth full.
Chuckling, Andre hooked his fingers through the handle of his coffee mug. “I guess they’re only ordinary to professional paranormal investigators. But I believe I know what Bo means. Come on, let’s go sit down.” He strolled out of the kitchen and into the breakfast nook without waiting for an answer.
Bo went first. Sam followed, watching the hypnotic glide of Bo’s walk, the flex of firm buttocks and long legs barely hidden by the clinging red swim trunks he wore. Sliding into the chair beside Bo’s, Sam set his plate and mug on the table, reached over and squeezed Bo’s thigh. Bo shot him a wicked grin in return, the sight causing a familiar clutching heat in Sam’s gut.
“To answer your question,” Andre said, sitting across the table and leaning his elbows on it, “no, Cecile and I didn’t sense anything other than the general feeling of age and death that we get in any place with a history as long and bloody as the fort’s. There was no sense of anything intelligent or in any way malicious.” He turned a solemn look to Sam. “We didn’t sense the sort of energy we’ve come to associate with portals.”
A vague tension Sam hadn’t realized he’d been carrying eased from his body. “Good. I really don’t feel like dealing with any more of those right now.” He traced the thin line of the scar on Bo’s thigh with his thumb.
Bo’s hand covered Sam’s. “What about the EMF levels?”
Andre shifted in his chair, looking uncomfortable. “It was high. Four point three to four point seven, on average, though it varied from spot to spot.”
Sam’s stomach knotted. Every portal they’d dealt with so far had been associated with high natural electromagnetic field levels. In fact, most had opened in the presence of EMF significantly weaker than this one.
Turning Sam’s hand over, Bo wove his fingers through Sam’s. “But you didn’t sense anything that would indicate portal activity.”
Andre shook his head. “Definitely not.”
Glancing at Sam, Bo squeezed his hand. “It’ll be okay, Sam.”
God, I hope so. “Promise me you’ll tell us right away if your leg bothers you even a little.”
“I promise.” Bo bumped Sam’s shoulder with his. “Don’t worry, okay? Lots of places have a strong electromagnetic field. That alone doesn’t mean there’s any potential for a