I stomped the caked snow off my boots and opened the door to the theater. There was nothing visually unusual about it, other than the fact that it was apparently haunted. Whatever deep, dark, eerie atmosphere I was expecting was dispelled as I stepped inside. The first thing that hit me was the unmistakable popcorn and fountain drink smell. Salty and buttery goodness doesn’t really scream “a ghost is going to steal your soul tonight!” However, it did make my mouth water.

  The decor had nothing to do with potential ghostly encounters either. I guess if Lennox had booked it for October, there would be movie posters for horror flicks and monstrous creatures. Since it was February, the world had moved on from spooks and gore to matters of the heart. The lobby was decked out with framed posters of classic romance movies, like Casablanca and When Harry Met Sally, and strings of pink and red hearts dangled from the ceiling. There was even a display for a Valentine’s double feature of 90s RomComs with a selection of heart shaped candies available for purchase.

  The only indication of tonight’s purpose was a long table toward the back draped in a black tablecloth. It had the Midnight Paranormal Group logo on it and a small crowd of people gathered around it. I figured I’d better head there first.

  “Amy! You made it!”

  Len had spotted me before I found him. He was heading over from the concession stand with a drink in his hand. He totally looked the part of “fearless ghost hunter”. He sported spiky black hair with lime green tips, black eye liner, an eyebrow ring, a lip ring, black jeans, polished off with the black long sleeved t-shirt with the paranormal team’s logo. He wasn’t dressed the part of ghost hunter on a dark night. This was Len. He still loved to toy with people’s expectations through his appearance. Odd couple that we were, I was wearing a camel overcoat with skinny jeans, boots, and a pink chenille sweater. My dirty blonde hair was down, to conserve warmth, and the ensemble was topped off with a wine colored knit hat my mom had made for me. Let’s not forget my professorial tortoiseshell glasses. I would never admit it to Len, but I’d thought if I wore something light, maybe it would keep any unpleasant spirits away. If there were any at all.

  I waved, not wanting to yell across the lobby to answer him. There were a fair amount of people milling around. It looked like it was going to be a good crowd.

  He bounded across the space to wrap me up in a bear hug. “See? I knew you’d come.”

  His breath was warm on my ear, reminding me that I was still freezing from being outside.

  “Let me get my coat off. I’m too cold to hug.”

  Len laughed. “Feels just right to me. Perfect ghost temperature.”

  Choosing to ignore that comment, I shrugged out of my coat and folded it over my arm.

  “Did you get signed in yet?” Len asked.

  “Nope. I just walked in.”

  He linked his arm with mine. “Then come on. Let’s make it official!”

  As we walked to the table, the young woman working it kept flicking her gaze to me and Len.

  “Who’s the check-in girl? She’s trying to give me the once over even though she’s busy.”

  Len glanced over.

  “Really? You think she’s sizing you up? That’s Emlynne. She’s really cool.”

  Emlynne was wearing her long brown hair in two braids, one draped in front of each shoulder. She also had the paranormal shirt on, but she’d paired it with a red skater skirt, fuzzy black tights, and knee high black boots.

  Compared to her and Len, I looked like I’d be more at home with the romcom display than the ghost hunting crowd.

  While we hovered at the end of the line, I took advantage of the quiet moment. I opened my purse before Len got swept away in the events of the night. “I brought you something.”

  Len’s hazel eyes sparkled in genuine surprise for a moment before he went back into standard Len mode.

  “You mean something other than this tremendous bravery of yours?”

  I nodded and grabbed the little package I’d chosen to mark the occasion. It had gotten a little squished in my purse, but it still looked pretty nice.

  “Whoa!” Len glanced from the tiny wrapped box in my hand to my face. “A proper gift?”

  I handed the box to him.

  “You’ve been wanting me to come do this with you for so long and tonight you’re the head of the team. I thought that deserved a little something.”

  He carefully tore off the paper, exposing the shiny black box underneath. He looked at me quizzically.

  “Open it,” I urged. “I hope you like it.”

  He popped off the lid. It wasn’t anything amazing, but his face lit up anyway.

  “Number one ghost hunter,” he read the inscription on the white enamel ghost pin I’d commissioned for him. “This is awesome! Thanks, Ames!”

  He immediately pulled the pin out of the box and affixed it to his shirt.

  “How do I look?”

  He seriously puffed out his chest to show off the newly attached pin. A little ghost pin had just become his pride and joy. This was the sort of stuff people missed when they wrote him off. His less-traditional exterior was a great disguise for his buoyant, genuine, and geeky interior. It had always been obvious to me. I didn’t know how most people overlooked it.

  “You look like an official ghost hunter. Brad is going to be so jealous.”

  Lennox grinned. “A really hot ghost hunter or just an average one?”

  “The hottest, of course.”

  Len and I were known for playful banter. It had always come naturally to us, to the chagrin of several ex-boyfriends and girlfriends we’d had over the years. Our dates came and went, but Len and I were forever.

  “I’m glad you like the pin.”

  “I’m glad you came. Seriously, you’re going to love this. I promise.”

  Although I trusted Len more than anyone, acknowledging the task at hand made my nerves jangle again.

  I’m sure my smile was pretty feeble. All I could think of was melodramatic moaning ghosts like in A Christmas Carol. It wasn’t reasonable, but the vision of a wailing green mist creature screeching through the theater seemed possible.

  Len clasped my shoulder in a reassuring squeeze.

  “Quit thinking the worst. It’s not all The Exorcist, you know.”

  “I haven’t even seen that. The trailer was bad enough.”

  Len chuckled. “I know that, but you get the gist. Think, something more normal, like the movie Ghost. Now that’s a completely different vibe.” He shot me a knowing look.

  “Great,” I deadpanned. “Now that’s another disturbing set of circumstances I hadn’t thought of.”

  “Don’t worry. There aren’t any pottery wheels here.”

  I didn’t get a chance to answer because the people in front of us peeled away from the table and we stepped up to face Emlynne. She stiffened noticeably when Len wrapped an arm around my shoulders and hugged me tight. I may have an active imagination when it came to ghostly catastrophes, but I was definitely not imagining her reaction to me.

  “Em, this is my best friend, Amy. Amy, this is Em. Her name is really convenient because she’s our resident empath.”

  Len may have expected us to groan at his little joke, or humor him with a chuckle, but Em was appraising me with her deep brown eyes. There was a flicker of judgment there. Len and I were no strangers to judgmental looks when we went out together, but Emlynne’s eyes weren’t taking us both in. This was purely for me and she clearly didn’t think I measured up.

  For Len’s sake, I held my hand out to Emlynne.

  “I’ve heard so much about you.” This wasn’t a lie. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

  She softened a bit when I said I’d heard about her, but she was still going to keep me at arm’s length. Seemed pretty obvious to me that Emlynne had a thing for Len.

  “Yeah, same.” Emlynne took my hand and squeezed a tad harder than she needed to, but I supposed she was trying to mark her territory. Poor Emlynne. Len and I had been in each other’s lives a long time. No jealous girlfriend or boyfriend was going to break up our friendship. If this was the path she thought she had to take, she’d be in for a rude awakening.

  Totally oblivious to the secret showdown, Len rubbed his hands together like an evil genius. “I’m going to take Amy around to meet the others and then it’ll be time to start, don’t you think?”

  Emlynne peeled her gaze from me like she wanted me to know she’d be keeping tabs on me. She definitely had a flirty shimmer when she looked at Len. He’d mentioned her before, but not in a romantic type of way. No wonder she was mad. Definitely thought I was standing in her way.

  “Sounds good.” She smiled, all sweetness and light for Len, but he quickly turned to lead me to his team for the night: Travis, Chris, Grayson, and Barb. They spanned in age from the youngest, Grayson, twenty-one, to Barb, sixty-three. It was an eclectic group, which suited Len perfectly.

  Introductions complete, there was nothing left to do but get started. Len moved to the front so he could welcome everyone. I took a deep breath as my heart started to pound. This was going to happen. I was really here to hunt ghosts with these people.

  Just as Len started talking, two familiar men strolled in—Sterling and Carlisle, Len’s older and younger brothers.

  Len paused briefly in his introduction and nodded subtly at his brothers. I slipped from my spot in the crowd to intercept them.

  “Hey!” Sterling’s eyes shone with surprise recognition when he noticed me. “It’s Ames! How’d he rope you into coming to this freakshow?”

  Sterling couldn’t have looked more out of place. He wore a long black overcoat, matching leather gloves, with a stylish wool scarf. His black slacks and leather dress shoes made it look like he’d come straight from the office…which shouldn’t be the case at 9pm on a Saturday.

  Carlisle was a mini-Sterling in training. Although he didn’t seem to be wearing a suit, he did have on khakis and brown loafers, visible beneath his long gray overcoat. Their cheeks were red from the cold and I couldn’t think of a single good reason they’d come out to see their brother.

  “What are you doing here?” I aimed to be as neutral as possible. This was a big night for Len. I didn’t want his brothers to spoil it. While I wouldn’t say they all hated each other, they definitely had a dysfunctional relationship, mostly based on teasing Lennox.

  “What?” Sterling carefully pulled off his gloves and tucked them into his coat pockets. “How could we miss the chance to see our dear brother do the only thing he’s good at?”

  Carlisle fought hard to contain the grin at his older brother’s expense, but wasn’t doing a very good job of it.

  I crossed my arms over my chest and planted my feet squarely on the floor. “If you’re going to act like that you can—”

  “Geez, Sterling. You made Amy mad already. That’s gotta be a record.”

  “Relax, Ames. Len’s the one who makes scenes. Not us, remember? We just figured we’d come out and see what all this is about. Same as you, I’m sure. You’ve never struck me as the ghost hunter type. You’re too smart for that.”

  I fixed them both with a warning look, as intimidating as I could muster, which probably wasn’t even a little bit.

  “It’s good to see you, by the way. You’re looking lovely as ever. Everything going well with work?”

  The words could give the impression of being insincere, but I’d been privy to Len’s complicated family dynamics for years. The brothers, including Len, were expert at belittling one another, but they weren’t all bad. Despite their love of tormenting Len, they had always been very nice to me. Over time, they’d become like brothers to me too.

  “Thanks. Yes, everything’s going well, but you’re making me miss Len’s introduction. Get over here, be quiet, and behave.”

  Carlisle pretended to zip his lips and we joined the fringe of the group just as Len stopped talking. I couldn’t suppress a frustrated sigh.

  Len flashed a sympathetic glance at me. Missing his instruction was doing nothing to soothe my nerves.

  “I’ve got these three in my group,” Len gestured to me and his brothers. “So I can take seven more with me.”

  Emlynne and one of the other team members nodded and assembled their own ten person groups, so I’d apparently missed that we were splitting into three groups.

  While people were moving around, Len came over to us.

  “What are you guys doing here?” he aimed his question at Sterling. “This is serious. These people paid money for an experience—”

  Sterling held up his hand for quiet.

  “Chill, bro. We already got a scolding from your girlfriend here. We just wanted to see what it’s all about.”

  “Yeah,” Carlisle chimed in. “We’re not going to mess up your freakshow.”

  The rest of our group was huddling in so they had to stop bickering and let Len get on with it.

  “Watch it guys,” Len warned his brothers under his breath before turning his attention back to our new group.

  “Welcome everyone. As I said, I’m Lennox and I’ll be your guide into the unknown tonight.” He said it in a campy tone, which made it clear he was having a little fun with us.

  Sterling and Carlisle rolled their eyes at each other but kept their mouths shut.

  “Do we have any first timers with us tonight?”

  Most of us, including me and Len’s brothers, raised our hands. Len’s face broke into a mischievous grin.

  “Awesome! Well, thank you for coming out for your first ghost hunt. While I can’t guarantee paranormal activity from our friends on the other side, I can guarantee that you’re going to have a fantastic night.”

  “Does anyone at these things ever see a ghost?” Sterling asked.

  I tensed beside him even though his tone was neutral rather than sarcastic.

  Len turned to him as if Sterling was just an unknown member of the crowd, although, if anyone bothered to look they would see that all three of the brothers had the same hazel eyes and identical curves in their noses.

  “Sometimes, yes,” Len admitted. “I encourage everyone to stay alert and look around. You never know where something might manifest and often it’s very subtle. Usually, we don’t know a spirit was in the room until we play back audio or video recordings. It can be difficult to detect unaided, but some spirits have more energy than others and make their presence known.”

  A lady to my side linked her arm through her male companion’s and squeezed. At least I wasn’t the only nervous Nelly in the group.

  “What if we do see something?” she asked.

  “I’m glad you asked! If any of you see, hear, or feel anything unusual, please notify a member of our team. Depending on what you experience, we may be able to verify with our equipment right away. Don’t be shy.”

  Carlisle looked skeptical.

  “You’ve been here before, right? What experiences have happened right here in this theater?”

  Even though Carlisle didn’t seem entirely genuine, Len answered with enthusiasm.

  “Most commonly, people see shadows moving across the wall, and since there’s no light source once we get settled, that really stands out. Some people report feeling cold spots or like someone is playing with their hair when no one’s around them. At this particular location, you might even hear whispering near your ear. It’s pretty cool!”

  All of what he said made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. If it was anyone other than Len, I would have quietly excused myself to use the bathroom and not come back, but Len was so happy about his big night, I just couldn’t do that to him.

  “Okay!” Len clapped his hands together and made me jump. Sterling snickered at my foolishness, but no one else seemed to have noticed.

  “As I said, we keep the lights off in the actual theaters where we’ll be observing to limit interference. I’ll be leading us in with a flashlight, but please watch your step. Take a seat wherever you want. Ready to go?”

  The group mumbled a quiet assent. I don’t know what my face looked like, but Len reached out and gave my hand a quick squeeze.

  This little exchange wasn’t missed by Carlisle, who nudged me with his shoulder.

  “What’s the matter, Ames? You’re not scared of Len’s ghost stories are you?”

  Sterling tilted closer, eager to join in. “Don’t worry. If a make-believe ghost tries to make-believe hurt you, I’ll knock it back to the underworld faster than you can say, ‘Sterling, save me!’”

  It was definitely going to be a long night.

  Len moved to the head of our group and led us off into the theater where we’d begin our journey.

  Once I crossed from the well-lit lobby into the surprisingly intense darkness of the theater, things got real fast.

  Len stood about halfway down the aisle and shone the weak beam of orange light onto the ground so we wouldn’t run into the chairs.

  As everyone filed in and found seats, the whispering of the participants stopped, including Sterling and Carlisle.

  I’d never been in a theater without the brightness of a movie playing. Of course, there were still the red exit signs but their light only illuminated their own letters and not the surrounding area. It was like a nightlight in a stadium.

  Thanks to Len’s advice to look everywhere, I scanned the darkness wondering if I’d notice some sort of apparition. Not that I wanted to, but the atmosphere ripened my already fertile imagination.