Twilight: Bay City Paranormal Investigations, Book 3

Lex blinked, clearly fighting tears. Sam felt terrible for her. He wished he could go give her a hug, but he didn’t dare. It was irrational, Sam knew, but he felt that everything he said or did was under scrutiny by Parsons and the silent Ramirez, and he didn’t want to draw undue attention to himself.
Evidently Bo didn’t feel the same. He limped forward and leaned against Lex’s desk. “What about my employees and myself, Detective Parsons? Do you have any more questions for us?”
Parsons glanced at Sam and Dean before settling her calm gaze on Bo. “Actually, Mr. Broussard, I do have more questions for you. You and your friends may wait in the common room for me. I need to speak with Lex privately before I question you.”
The muscle in Bo’s jaw twitched, announcing his anger to anyone who knew what to look for. “That’s Doctor Broussard, Detective. And unless you have a very good reason to tell me where I’m allowed to go, I will be in my cabin, resting. You can find me in cabin four when you’re ready to question me.”
If Bo’s declaration fazed Parsons at all, she didn’t show it. She nodded. “Very well. Now, if you’ll all excuse us?”
Without another word, Bo turned on his heel and strode out of the office. Sam and Dean followed. As he pulled the door shut behind him, Sam caught Lex’s eye. She gave him a wan smile.
In the empty common room, Bo fell into one of the rocking chairs gathered around the woodstove and shut his eyes. His expression was blank and calm, but the crease between his brows spoke volumes.
Easing himself into the chair beside Bo’s, Sam leaned as close as he dared. “You okay?”
“No. I’m tired, and angry, and my leg’s bothering me again.” Bo opened his eyes and met Sam’s gaze. “I probably shouldn’t have let her get to me, but damn. She was acting like we were suspects. Wasn’t she?”
“I’d say.” Plopping into the chair on the other side of Bo, Dean picked up a book lying on a nearby table and scanned the back cover. “Don’t worry about it, Bo. It’ll only take a few minutes for her to find out we weren’t even here when that person was killed.”
“If she’s right about the body being there for several days, that is,” Sam pointed out. “What if she’s wrong? What if that person was killed after we got here?”
Dean shook his head. “There’s no way. There was no blood on the ground, remember? If it had happened in the last two days, there would’ve been blood. So it had to have happened before we got here.”
“How?” Sam wondered. “We were all there. We saw it happen. How is it possible that it actually happened up to three weeks before we saw it?”
Bo’s brow furrowed. “I have an idea—”
“What?” Dean interrupted.
Bo let out a soft laugh. “I don’t want to say anything just yet, in case I’m wrong.”
“Fine, be that way.” Setting the book down again, Dean leaned back in his chair to peruse a nearby shelf. “Oh man, they have Jenga! We should totally play later.”
Sam smiled. “Yeah. Tomorrow, maybe. Bo, you want to go back to the cabin now?”
“I do, yes.” Wincing, Bo rose to his feet. “Sam, you don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to. I’ll be fine.”
Sam gave Bo a narrow look. “In other words, you’d rather I didn’t stay in the cabin with you.”
Bo’s cheeks went pink. “Sam—”
“It’s okay, I know what you’re thinking. If we’re alone in the cabin, Parsons might get more than she expects when she shows up to question us. I don’t think anybody wants that.” Sam stood, one hand on Bo’s arm. “Okay if I walk you to the cabin?”
Bo’s gaze softened, and he smiled. “I’d like that.”
“I’ll just wait here,” Dean said, slouching in his chair and stretching his feet toward the warmth of the woodstove. “Bo, you want to meet me and Sam back here later and hike up for the sunset?”
“If Parsons will let us, yes.” Bo scowled at the closed door to Lex’s office. “I hope we don’t have to stay inside. I’d like to see if we can gather more information about whatever’s going on in those woods.”
Sam’s stomach clenched. “I guess we should do that. I’d still like to know why we witnessed a death that most likely happened days or weeks ago. But I have to say, I don’t want to see it again.”
“Amen, brother,” Dean agreed.
Bo rubbed his chin, a thoughtful look in his eyes. “Like I said, I have a theory about what’s going on. I just want