Oleander House: Bay City Paranormal Investigations, Book 1

already finished and headed into the kitchen to make sandwiches for dinner. Sam went to join him. The rest of the group arrived a few minutes later.
“Y’all find anything helpful at the library?” Andre asked as they all gathered around the dining-room table.
Amy shrugged. “A few personal experiences posted on message boards and such. Nothing scientific or in any way verifiable.”
“But some of those personal experiences sounded a lot like yours, Sam,” Cecile said. “The black fog, the feeling of something inside their mind, the cold, everything.”
“We’re gonna look into it some more maybe tomorrow,” David added through a mouthful of sandwich.
“How does the electromagnetic field figure into it?” Sam asked. “Or does it?”
“We don’t know,” Bo answered. “Like Amy said, the only references we’ve been able to find so far are personal experiences and weren’t part of scientific or even amateur investigations. The people whose stories we saw had no equipment to measure EMF and no knowledge of baseline levels for the area they were in.”
“That we know of,” David pointed out. “Not that it matters. If they had that information but didn’t post it on the boards, it’s the same as if they didn’t know it to start with.”
“Right.” Bo picked up a carrot stick and nibbled on the end of it. “The main thing that all of the stories had in common was the feeling of something trying to come through into our reality from somewhere else, using the person’s mind and body as a sort of gateway. Maybe that’s the angle we need to hit it from next time. Look for references to spirits manifesting physically through the living.”
“It’s not a spirit,” Sam said, trying not to stare at Bo’s mouth, the way the carrot stick dented his full lower lip.
“Then what is it?” Amy asked impatiently.
Sam shrugged. “I don’t know. But whatever it is, it’s very much alive.”
Bo leaned his elbows on the table and pinned Sam with a penetrating stare. “How do you know that?”
“It was inside me. I could feel it moving through me. I could feel its mind working.” Sam stopped, fumbling for the right words. “It may not be alive in the same way we are, but it’s definitely not a human spirit. I can’t explain how I know, I just know .”
“I think he’s right,” Andre said. “I know I didn’t have the same kind of experience that Sam did, but what I felt the other day wasn’t like any ghost or spirit I’ve ever dealt with before. It was something completely…other.”
Bo tapped his chin with the carrot stick. “Hm. I have no idea how it could possibly be a living being. But if you say that’s what you think it is, then I believe we should look into it.”
“I joined a couple of the message boards I was looking at yesterday,” Cecile told them. “I’ll ask around tomorrow and see what the other members think. Maybe some of them have had the same feeling as Sam.”
Sam let his mind drift while the rest of the group discussed plans for the next morning’s trip back to the Gautier library. He had no intention of going with them, even if they’d invited him along, which they hadn’t. Part of him wanted very much to have the house to himself, even though the thought filled him with fear. He had a feeling that without the others there to distract him, the strange connection he seemed to have to this house would snap into sharp focus.
And then? He didn’t know. But the possibilities excited and terrified him.
“Earth to Sam.”
Sam blinked and grinned sheepishly at Andre. “Sorry, I was thinking. What?”
Andre grinned back at him. “We were thinking it would be nice to unwind, after all the excitement the last couple of days. We’re gonna bring some chips and beer to the upstairs porch and just hang out for a while, want to come?”
“Sure, sounds great.” Sam popped the last bite of sandwich into his mouth, chewed and swallowed. “C’mon, Andre, you and I can grab the beer.”
Bo laughed. “I’ll get the chips and salsa. David, you can bring some napkins and paper plates if you don’t mind.”
“Sure thing, boss.” David hopped to his feet, kissed the top of Cecile’s head and went into the kitchen.
“Great.” Amy stood and stretched. “Cecile, the boys seem to have everything covered, what say you and I go on up to the porch and put our feet up?”
Cecile practically glowed, as if Amy’s friendship was the only thing she needed in order to be fully