Oleander House: Bay City Paranormal Investigations, Book 1

the only chicken. I’m in too.”
Bo flashed a quick, pleased smile. “All right, let’s get busy. Here’s what we’ll do this afternoon. We can break up into three teams and go room to room with still and video cameras, and see if we can get any more of whatever it was Sam got in that picture. Radios on channel two, and we check in with each other every ten minutes.” He turned to Sam and Andre. “What was going on right before you took that picture, Sam? Anything you can think of that precipitated the phenomenon you witnessed?”
“I’d asked whatever inhabited the house to show us a sign of its presence,” Andre answered. “But I did that in every room, and we only got the…thing in the parlor.”
Bo nodded. “Hm. Well, I guess that’s as good a place to start as any. Whoever mans the video cameras, make sure you ask that question in every room you hit. As a matter of fact, why don’t we work out a list of questions and a standard method of sweeping each room, so that everyone does it the same way.”
“Sounds good,” Amy said. “Why don’t you let me fix lunch while you start on that?”
David laughed. “Way to get out of paperwork, Amy.”
She stuck her tongue out at him and headed toward the kitchen. Andre followed her, grinning in a way that told Sam he might want to stay out of the kitchen for a while.
David plopped into a nearby chair. “Well, guess it’s just us. What say we get cracking on that procedure list?”
“I’ll take notes on the laptop,” Cecile offered.
“Okay,” Bo said. “Let’s get to work.”
As they gathered around the table, Bo’s shoulder brushed Sam’s. The contact sent electricity shooting up and down Sam’s spine. He tried to catch Bo’s eye, wondering if the touch had been deliberate. Bo’s gaze was fixed resolutely on the table, but the tremor in his hands gave him away.
Sam didn’t know whether to feel elated or alarmed, knowing that Bo was still half-pursuing him even as he swore there could never be anything between them. He sighed and put his focus on the task at hand, leaving the mystery that was Bo for another time.
    After half an hour’s discussion, they decided on a list of five questions to ask and a standard procedure for investigating each room. Sam was surprised and more than a little uneasy when Bo announced that he wanted Sam to partner with him for the afternoon. One look at Amy’s expression told Sam that she didn’t like it either.
    The other teams got their cameras first, another detail Sam couldn’t help but think was deliberate on Bo’s part. Not that he minded. As Bo gathered their equipment, Sam grabbed his arm. Bo looked startled, but didn’t protest.
    “Look,” Sam said before Bo could say anything. “I don’t know why you’re doing this, but—”
    “We have to work together,” Bo interrupted. “Do you really want to spend the rest of this week dancing around each other, afraid to even look each other in the eye?”
    Only one of us is afraid, and it’s not me. Sam kept the thought to himself.
Bo continued speaking. “And what about the next investigation, and the next one after that? What about the ten-hour days in the office, going over evidence and making sure everything’s documented? If you’re going to stay with Bay City Paranormal, Sam, we need to get comfortable working with one another.” Bo stared into Sam’s eyes. “You do want to stay, don’t you?”
Sam held Bo’s gaze. “Do you want me to?”
“Yeah, I do. But don’t start thinking that…” Bo blinked, looked down at his feet then back at Sam’s face. “You’re good for this team. You’re smart, you learn fast and you mesh well with the rest of the group. That’s all. Understand?”
“Yes,” said Sam, even though he knew it wasn’t entirely true. “Completely.”
Bo narrowed his eyes, as if he’d expected an argument that hadn’t materialized. Sam gave him a bland and unrevealing smile. So Bo wanted to pretend that there was no spark between them? Fine. If there was one lesson Sam had learned well in his life, it was how to hide what he felt. He could wait.
“So,” Sam said, breaking the heavy silence. “Ready to get started?”
Bo’s smile seemed forced. Sam pretended not to notice. “Sure. We’ll start in the kitchen, go through the mudroom and sun porch, then head outside to do the outbuildings.”
“Got it.” Sam thumbed on the video camera. “Let’s go.”
    Three hours later, Sam and Bo had finished their