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“Like what?” Adam held the door open for her as they walked back outside.
“I don’t know, but that’s the fun of finding out.” Her eyes shone golden-brown in the sunlight. “Since it’s a weekday, everything is closed, but let’s check it out anyway.”
He was beginning to realize he’d follow her anywhere. “Okay.”
Since Bee also had her car, they drove separately and parked in the lot beside the shoreline. The wind was stronger near the shoreline, throwing whitecaps over the ocean, but the sky was still clear and bright. People walked or jogged along the beach path, but the boardwalk appeared deserted. The rides were still, the game and food booths shuttered.
They climbed the stairs to the long wooden walkway bordering the beach and leading to the wide pier that jutted into the ocean.
“We once filmed an episode ofHex or Hoax?at an abandoned amusement park in Tennessee,” Adam said as they walked past the ticket booth. “It had closed down years ago after three people reportedly died there. The land was also a sacred Native American burial site, so you can imagine the stories that evolved.”
Bee nodded. “I remember that episode. Clyde said it was haunted…or rather, that you couldn’t explain any of the strange phenomena. Which obviously implies haunted.”
“The place is a big tourist attraction now, especially among hard-core horror fans,” Adam said. “They have a Fright Fest every Halloween, and people can camp out on the grounds overnight.”
“I know you didn’t think the site was haunted,” Bee said. “So what did you come up with behind the scenes? How did you think the owners were trying to fool you?”
“Actually, they did a good job. They were helped by the site itself—it was pretty creepy, this deserted field with all these abandoned rides that were starting to fall apart and get overgrown by grass and tree branches. The moonlight created a lot of light and shadow effects. The owners hid fog machines around the rides, and they used a speaker system to broadcast some echoing noises. The most effective thing they did was put thin, frayed threads, almost like cobwebs, over a couple of the surveillance cameras. That created some apparition-like movement on the video that was hard to explain. They didn’t try to do too much, which made it successful. And of course, they had a great story.”
She glanced at him. “You almost sound like you admired it.”
“It was creative, so yeah. Obviously, I don’t like people who want to defraud others, especially for profit, but I could appreciate the effort they put in.”
“Then you must not like anyone who appears onHex or Hoax?” Bee remarked. “If you don’t believe any of the sites are actually haunted, then we all must be out to defraud people for profit or gain.”
Unease twisted in Adam’s chest. “That’s not what I think. Not every site owner is actively trying to fool us. Sometimes, they really believe their house or historic inn is haunted, and I have to tell them the noises they’re hearing are just the house settling, or the apparition caught on tape is an electrical glitch.”
“Does it ever bother you?”
“Finding evidence?”
“Disillusioning people.”
His unease intensified. He’d never thought of it that way before, and he wasn’t sure he liked it. “I just give people the facts. And if they don’t want to believe them, they don’t. I’m not trying to take anything away from them.”
“But you’re implying that they’re wrong.” She stopped at the end of the pier, where a railing overlooked the white-capped cove and rocky shoreline. “That their senses and imaginations aren’t real.”
“I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve been told I was wrong.” He shrugged. “It’s part of life, right?”
“Yes. And you were also accused of being wrong when you weren’t.” She leaned her hip against the railing. The wind stirred her hair around her shoulders.
“If you’re telling me I’m a hypocrite, I’d have to agree with you,” he said.
She studied him for a long moment before shaking her head.
“I don’t think you’re a hypocrite. I think you were put in a bad position and did what you had to do to make the most of it. I’ve done that too.”
His chest constricted. “In the foster homes?”
She nodded. A shadow clouded her eyes. “But all of the things that don’t have real-world evidence—fantasy, imagination, creativity, other worlds—is how I escaped the bad stuff. So while I admire your commitment to science, I think you’re missing the fact that sometimes a fantastic worldview is beneficial. Even necessary.”
“I can appreciate that,” he admitted. “My point is that it can’t beproven.”
She smiled slightly, drawing his attention to her lips. He liked sparring with her almost as much as he liked kissing her.
Almost.
“My point,” she said, “is that it shouldn’t be.”
