Oleander House: Bay City Paranormal Investigations, Book 1

lit Andre’s face. “Everybody’s happy.”
Cecile’s brows drew together. “I thought that you charged for your investigations. The real ones, I mean, like this one.”
“We do,” Amy said. “But we charge on a sliding scale, according to what people can afford, so we don’t always get paid much.”
“We’re getting plenty for this job, though.” David smirked. “The owner’s stinking rich.”
“Thank God for that,” Andre said with feeling.
“Money makes the world go ‘round, brother.” David held a hand up over the table and Andre highfived him. Sam laughed, feeling some of his initial nervousness draining away.
The remainder of dinner was spent in comfortable conversation. Sam learned that Andre had been in college studying computer science when an encounter with something he couldn’t explain had sparked an interest in paranormal investigations. He’d been hired at BCPI as an apprentice investigator a few months later and never looked back. David had moved to Mobile after a bitter divorce drove him from his Florida home. He’d met Bo when the construction company he was working for at the time was hired to renovate the old house BCPI used as an office. He’d taken an immediate interest in their work, and the budding business had hired him mostly based on his enthusiasm.
Cecile was the only one who wasn’t a member of Bay City Paranormal Investigations. A self-professed psychic, she’d been sent by the owner of the house as an adjunct to the scientific investigation. The sour expressions around the table told Sam her presence wasn’t exactly welcome.
“So what about you, Sam?” David asked, scooping up the last bite of his Mississippi mud pie. “What’s your story?”
Sam set down his coffee cup and shrugged. “Not much to tell. I’ve been working in computer tech support for a community hospital ever since I got out of college. It paid the bills, but I never liked it much. I’ve been interested in hauntings since I was a kid, and I belonged to a ghost-hunting group back home in Marietta. That’s how I heard about Bay City Paranormal. A friend of mine pointed me to the website and told me he heard y’all were looking for another tech person. So I emailed Amy, and here I am.”
“We’re glad to have you.” Bo drained his coffee cup and stood. “If you’re done I’ll show you your room, then we can get started.”
Sam pushed away from the table with a contented sigh. “Yeah, I’m done. That was great, Bo. Best meal I’ve had in forever. You’re a terrific cook.”
“Thanks. It’s kind of a hobby.” Bo chuckled. “I think the main reason my wife hates for me to go on these things is that she has to cook while I’m gone. Even the kids get tired of frozen pizza and takeout after a while.”
Sam laughed, but his heart sank. Not that he’d expected anything else, of course. The odds were against Bo being single at all, never mind single and gay. The disappointment didn’t show on Sam’s face. He’d learned long ago how to hide his feelings.
“So, you live in Mobile, right?” Sam asked as he and Bo walked down the hall to the foyer.
“Yep. I grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, and I moved to Mobile when Janine and I got married. I’d just started investigating full-time, so it wasn’t difficult to pull up stakes and move the whole operation a few hours down the road.”
“How old are your kids?” Sam picked up his duffle bag and started up the wide, curving stairs beside Bo.
Bo smiled. “Ten and seven. Boys. They’re good kids. What about you, Sam, do you have a family?”
“Just my mom and sister.” Sam’s tone was relaxed and casual. He’d become an expert at answering questions like that one.
“Girlfriend?” Bo’s eyes twinkled.
Sam gave him an easy smile as they walked down the upstairs hallway. “Nope. I’m a busy man, no time for that sort of thing.”
Bo laughed. “You have to make time.”
“Yeah. Maybe I will, one day.”
“You do that.” Bo opened the last doorway on the left. Sam followed him inside. “Here’s your room. Bathroom’s across the hall, just go in the door right across from yours and it’s inside to your right. There’s a door right next to the stairwell too. Sorry, there aren’t many bathrooms. This place is old enough that it had outhouses when it was built. Indoor plumbing was only added in the last seventy-five years or so.”
“No problem. I grew up in a one-bathroom house, I’m used to sharing.” Sam tossed his