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Cary’s face lit up immediately. “Awesome.”
“I can’t say for certain how many,” Grant added, “but it should be very exciting. Maybe even some lightning.”
That was part of their code, using weather to describe spiritual activity in case anyone was eavesdropping. Bad weather meant there was definite spiritual energy, and lightning was a way of saying that there was a chance of contact with the ghost.
Or in this case,ghosts, as Grant was fairly certain there were multiple spirits here.
“Hey!” Finn greeted them as he approached. “What’s the word on the weather?”
Carlson Finn was the show’s co-host alongside Cary. He was an experienced investigator and had appeared on the podcast several times over the years. When the QuikTV producers said Cary needed a second person to help lead the show, he called Finn without hesitation.
Finn was a passionate believer, but he shared Cary’s views on authenticating paranormal evidence and trying to disprove hauntings instead of sensationalizing them. He was a handsome Black man with dark brown skin, and he was as short and slender as Cary was tall and broad.
Cary was pale, freckled, and he wore his thinning auburn hair back in a ponytail whereas Finn shaved his head and wore only a neatly trimmed beard. While Cary usually dressed like he was getting ready to go fishing, Finn preferred a business casual wardrobe of pressed slacks and polo shirts and always looked sharp.
Grant was of average height, so he was taller than Finn but shorter than Cary, and he was definitely on the thicker side even when compared to Cary’s impressive build. Grant preferred to think of himself as curvy, but he knew his weight was another reason he didn’t want to appear on camera. A life of dealing with spirits had led to a life of comfort eating, and he’d never had much luck losing the extra pounds hugging his stomach and thighs.
He kept his reddish-brown hair short, shaved his face every morning and then tried to pluck away his stubborn unibrow, and that was about as much effort as he was willing to put into his appearance. Anything more felt like trying to put fancy wallpaper over a hole in a wall from a truck crashing through and hoping no one would notice.
It was easy for Grant to blame his uneventful love life on his busy schedule working with the show, but he knew the true culprits were his lack of confidence and the whole having to deal with spirits thing.
There was nothing worse than trying to go to a romantic dinner only to find that the damn restaurant had a horrible fire back in the thirties and hearing the charred staff wandering around, crying because they were lost and in terrible pain.
Okay, no, trying to explain to his date what was happening and having him think Grant was crazy—that was worse.
Fuck the living.
Except for Cary and Finn and the rest of theProbecrew, of course. They were pretty all right for people with pulses, and the few members who knew about Grant’s gifts had always been nothing but respectful, if sometimes a bit curious.
Luis Bachata, who preferred to go by his last name and was the tech manager for the team, would not move into his new apartment until Grant came over to check it out to make sure there weren’t any ghosts hanging around.
Aurora Soska, the actual team historian and another investigator, had less practical requests, like wanting to know if Grant had experienced anything like that ghostly blowjob scene fromGhostbusters.
Grant politely declined to answer.
He wasn’t desperate enough to hit up ghosts for sex, although he did sometimes wonder if it was possible…
“Grant?” Finn pressed.
“What? Right. Weather.” Grant totally wasn’t thinking about having sex with ghosts. He pulled at his scarf, clearing his throat as he confirmed, “Stormy. Lightning.”
“That’s what I’m talking about.” Finn beamed. “This is gonna be great!”
“And just think, guys!” Cary gushed as he slung his big arms around their shoulders. “We get to be here forthreemonths.”
“Three months,” Grant said, trying to echo Cary’s excitement.
That was the hook for the new season ofThe Paranormal Probe. Instead of only staying one night at a location, they were going to be staying here for three whole months to film their third season. Many fans had complained that they weren’t staying long enough, especially in places where they weren’t able to gather any evidence. After all, maybe the ghosts just weren’t feeling active that night. With cases that had a lot of activity, fans wanted even more. This was the plan to make everyone happy—three months dedicated to a single location.
The Allan Hotel was perfect.
It already looked creepy, was known for being haunted, and the owner had been willing to let the cast and crew have full run of the place. Part of the contract with QuikTV said that no other guests would be staying there while they were filming. Grant had wondered how the hotel owner could afford such a huge loss of potential revenue, but it didn’t seem like they were missing out on much judging by the state of the exterior.
Although the hotel was open for business, he didn’t think anyone had stayed here in a long time. It was just as well since other guests could potentially contaminate their evidence collection and interfere with the investigation. Cameras and audio recorders would be rolling twenty-four-seven to capture any and all potential traces of the paranormal. Cary and Finn would lead the investigations at night alongside Bachata and Aurora, who would work as a secondary team, and Grant would…
Well, he would do what he always did.
Hang out, hang back, and wait.
