Chapter 8

Paul followed Henry’s two-tone red and white F-150 pickup to Samantha’s apartment. She lived across the street from the Wal-Mart Supercenter, in a nice fourplex-designed apartment complex. Four up and four down. Luckily her unit was a downstairs apartment so she didn’t have to navigate the stairs. KatLynn Eidelman lived in the same complex, but across the property from Sam and upstairs. However, she met Sam and party at Sam’s front door. Kat helped bring the truckload of flowers and gifts into the apartment, making three trips back and forth. Paul hung back, helping bring two plants at a time to the door and set them on the stoop. Someone else carried them inside, because when he came back with two more, the first two were already inside the building.

He lingered on the porch, thumbing his phone and checking his iPad. Henry had helped Sam inside and was settling her on the couch. He looked up and saw Paul loitering on the porch. “Come on in, son. I’m sure Sam wouldn’t mind.” He glanced at his daughter. “Do you?”

“No.” She said half-heartedly.

“Are you hungry?” Henry asked. “Do you need anything else?”

“I’m fine, Dad.” Sam blushed at his doting.

“All right, then. I’m gonna get back to the store. I’m sure you mother will be over in a while to check on you and bring a casserole or two. In fact, I’m sure the whole Gladstone family will have a label on something in your fridge by night fall.” He winked at Paul and shook his hand. “Call if she needs anything.”

KatLynn and Paul nodded.

Awkward silence settled between them and KatLynn wouldn’t sit. She paced from the kitchen to the living area. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can get you, Sammy?”

“No. Really. I’m fine.”

KatLynn glanced at Paul who had sat down in a rocker next to the couch. He seemed to be terribly busy between his phone and his pad.

“I-I’ll go home then. You call if you need anything. I mean anything!” KatLynn gave her stern-teacher look.

Sam rolled her eyes. “I will. Go!”

She left. Paul leaned forward in the rocker and rested his elbows on his knees. “I can’t tell you how afraid for you I was when you spun off the road.”

“Yeah, how did you see me wreck? How’d you know it was me?”

Paul stared at the floor a moment. “I saw you drop Alan off.” He lowered his head and scratched the back of his neck.

Sam swallowed. Geesh, he must have seen the big kissing scene, too. Her blushed warmed her face. “I’m sorry you saw that.”

“Oh. No. I never—You’re entitled to see whomever you wish. It’s a free country. I just—And I get why him. I mean, even I realized he’s a very handsome man. That’s why we hired him.”

Sam tilted her head and considered his words.

“You mean took him on as a partner? Right?”

“No. We hired him. He’s an actor from Hollywood. We hired him to be the Face of Paranormal Encounters.” Sam looked up at him. The confusion in her face prompted him to explain further.

“I head up all the investigations. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Paranormal Science and Master’s in Parapsychology. But I’m no good in front of the camera. I get all tongue tied and I sound like an absolute idiot. So we hired Alan, a professional actor and voiceover talent to speak in front of the camera when we need someone to narrate what we are doing. I feed him the information, haven’t you noticed the ear plug in his ear? He just parrots what I tell him, like a script.”

“Why did I think he was your partner?”

“Probably because we let people think that. He is a method actor, he likes to stay in character, so it comes across as if he is my partner. In truth, he’s my puppet.” Paul chuckled.

“Oh man. That explains so much!” Sam laid her head back on the overstuffed arm rest of her couch. “I thought I was seeing two sides to your personality. Behind the scenes, you were a brute.” She giggled.

“Nah. I’m no brute. I just like getting things done and done right. I don’t appreciate all his tomcatting around. He forgets, sometimes that he’s playing a role, too, and gets on a high horse.”

They chuckled.

“Speaking of high horse.” Paul slid to the floor on his knees and faced Sam. “Did you really see the Phantom Horse and Rider?”

Sam bit her lip and nodded. Tears pooled in her eyes. Paul touched her hand. Electricity danced through her arm and into her middle. “Sam, that’s so cool.”

“What do you mean cool? Don’t you work with stuff like this all the time?”

“Not really.” We get light orbs and weird sounds. An obscure voice or lights flickering. But this investigation has been the most profound findings we have ever encountered. In fact, with your family’s permission, I’m thinking about doing a more in depth study of this Grandpa Harold.”

“What do you mean? You’re not going to do the show on Halloween night?”

“Oh, yes we’ll do that for the PE TV show, I’m talking about my company, API, Inc. I’d like to contract with Mayor Hal Gladstone to conduct a more thorough investigation. Like over a year’s time or more.

“Why? How can you do that?” Sam stared at the gleam in his eyes.

“How?” He smiled and held up his iPad. “I’ve been texting since yesterday with my banker. I’ve sent him a preliminary plan and the pictures that Chief Gibson took. He’s on board and has investors who are excited about the Gladstone Project.”

“Gladstone Project? Not Phantom Horse?” Sam giggled. “Uncle Hal’s gonna hate that.”

We’ll still do PE projects, of course, that’s our bread and butter, but I want to come back here as often as we-I can. Maybe keep some continuous feed surveillance cameras at the bridge and link it to a website where people could go online anytime and watch for activity. Like the San Diego Zoo. You can watch the pandas anytime you want.” Paul chuckled.

Sam stared at the twinkle in those emerald green eyes of his. He was even more handsome when he talked about the paranormal activity. His enthusiasm energized her.

“The why is simple.” He leveled his eyes with hers. “Don’t you know? Why is because—I know you well enough to know that you’d be miserable if I asked you to come with me to Denver or anywhere other than here. My job is mobile anyway. We travel to the sightings, they don’t come to us.

If-If you want me to, I can move the headquarters of API to Phantom Horse, Colorado. What better town to headquarter out of, than Phantom Horse?” Paul chuckled. “It’s perfect. And this project is something I’ve wanted to find my whole career. I’ve dreamed about finding a sighting like this since I was a kid. THIS is why I went to college, why I got my degrees. You, Samantha Gladstone, are just icing on the cake. A very sweet ... and wonderful ... icing on a beautiful, tasty cake.”