Where The Heart Is: A Bay City Paranormal Investigations story

see.
Ron’s return to the table jarred Dean out of his thoughts. Setting a laden tray in front of Kerry, Ron kissed her on the top of her head and sat across the table from her. “Hey, babe. I got you the pescado asada .”
“Perfect, thanks.” She picked up her fork and dug in. “Mmmm. This is awesome.”
“So what’d the doctor say?” Ron asked, curling his fingers around his refilled glass.
“Everything’s fine. The baby’s healthy as a horse.” She grinned. “Kicks like one too.”
Dean laughed. “Okay, there’s a mental picture I didn’t need. A horse in your belly.”
She arched an eyebrow at him. “You’re kind of a nutball, aren’t you?”
“And you’re just now figuring this out?” Ron teased.
Kerry threw a tortilla chip at him, then turned back to Dean. “Are we investigating tonight?”
Dean shook his head. “Naw, Sommer has guests. Almost a full house, for once.”
“Oh.” Kerry dipped a chip into the little bowl of salsa verde , popped it into her mouth and crunched it up. “I’m glad he has that much business, but I’m kind of bummed we can’t come over and play ghost hunters again tonight. I’m starting to get seriously curious about who this ghost is, and why it’s so attached to Sommer.”
“Me too.” Ron reached over and stole a stray bit of fish from Kerry’s plate. “I’ve been trying to think of who might’ve died there, but I can’t come up with anything.”
“Yeah, none of the staff I’ve talked to knows anything about anyone dying there.” Dean picked up his last tortilla chip and nibbled at the edge. “I’ve been meaning to do some research on that, but I keep forgetting.”
Ron gave him an evil grin. “Yeah, Sommer keeps you pretty well occupied, doesn’t he?”
“I’ve been helping out around the inn,” Dean protested over Kerry’s giggles. “I’m sort of filling in for Rich until he gets back.”
“Speaking of which, he ought to be back soon, right?” Kerry asked.
Dean nodded. “He’s flying home tomorrow and coming back to work Sunday.”
Kerry looked shocked. “Already? Couldn’t Sommer have at least given him a day to get over the jet lag?”
“He tried to. He told Rich he could take up to another week off, but he flat refused. Said he wanted to come back to work.” Dean shrugged. “The best part of that is, I’ll actually get to interview him before I have to go back to Mobile, and see if there’s ever been any paranormal-type happenings at the inn before Sommer took over.”
“I bet there hasn’t been,” Ron said, his expression solemn. “All of it seems to revolve around Sommer.”
“Yeah. Which means whoever died there must’ve been connected to him in some way.” Kerry’s eyes went wide. “Oh my God, you don’t think it could be one of his parents, do you?”
In fact, that very idea had been worming to the surface of Dean’s mind for a while now, and he thought maybe Sommer harbored the same suspicion. It would certainly explain the way Sommer clammed up every time Dean tried to broach the subject of the spirit’s identity. However, he didn’t feel comfortable confiding his hunch to Kerry and Ron just yet. Not when Sommer was still so clearly struggling to come to terms with the possibility.
“I don’t think there’s any evidence to point to that,” Dean answered, truthfully enough. “Besides, wouldn’t someone know if that had happened? The staff would definitely have known, and the obituary would’ve been in the papers.”
Kerry’s shoulders sagged in clear relief. “You’re right.”
“So who do you think it could be?” Ron wondered.
Dean shook his head. “I don’t know. But, like I was saying before, I’m planning to do some research and see if there are any records of a death there, especially anyone even remotely related to Sommer.”
“I can do that, if you want,” Kerry offered. “The library’s open on Saturday, I could go over there tomorrow morning and poke through the town’s death records for you.”
“That’d be great, if you’re sure you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. I like playing Nancy Drew.” She cut off a chunk of burrito with her fork and scooped it into her mouth.
“Cool, thanks.” Picking up his bottle, Dean took a long swallow of cold root beer. “I’d better go. I promised Sommer I’d be home by three.”
Ron glanced at his watch. “It’s only two. Does it take that long to ride out to Sommer’s place?”
“You rode a bike all the way from Blue