High Intensity by Dara Joy

their boots made as they traversed the field along the stone wall and then doubed back along the edge of the pine forest.
    Their breaths created moisture trails in the night air.
    "It wasn't that bad, Tyber. In fact, I thought it was kind of interesting. And the food was superb."
    "Mmmm." He squinted, looking at the house in the distance. They had circled around and were facing the back of the property.
    "You have to admit that some of the things that have happened seem strange, and Todd doesn't strike me as the type to make up stories. Neither does Mark."
    "Mmmm." He continued gazing at the house.
    "You know, I think Calendula is fascinating. The stories she told gave me the heebie-jeebies. I just bet—" She slipped on an icy patch.
    Without taking his eyes off the house, Tyber grabbed her arm to steady her. Then he took her hand in his as they continued walking along.
    "Thanks. I just think what she does is so fascinating. Do you think well experience any of the events that Todd spoke of during our stay?"
    "I'd bet on it." He scanned the back of the house.
    "That's good, because—what are you looking at?"
    "Someone's in our room," he murmured in a low voice.
    "What?" Zanita's head whipped around to scan the back facade. It seemed so far away, she wondered how he could tell. "How do you know?"
    "I just saw a flashlight beam glance off the top of the Palladian window. There." He stood behind her and, putting his hands on her shoulders, pointed her in the right direction.
    "Do you think it's Todd, leaving a good night chocolate on our bed?"
    Tyber glanced down at her and shook his head. "Nope."
    "Why would someone be in our room?"
    "Oh, I can think of several reasons."
    Zanita turned halfway around and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, name a few!"
    "For one, I'd say someone was very interested in the type of equipment I brought."
    "But you mentioned what you brought earlier in the parlor."
    "Someone's not very trusting."
    "But why? We're just here to help Todd investigate the ghost."
    "Bingo."
    Zanita glanced back at the room. There was no flicker of light now. Whoever had been in there was gone. She bit her lip. "Are you sure it was a flashlight? Not a candle? Or something else?"
    Tyber ran his index finger over her cool cheek. "It was a flashlight, baby. Whoever was in that room was of this realm. Sorry to disappoint you."
    "I still don't see what possible interest our room could hold for anyone… and why not turn on the light? Everyone knew we were going out for a walk. You said it loudly enough after Hippolito let out that god-awful sound."
    Tyber winced at the memory. Even Hambone had heard enough and exited the room with grand feline dignity. "Whoever came into the room did not want to risk anyone else seeing the light on under the door, and that includes us. Come to think of it, if we had come back sooner than expected, they must have known—Remind me to check the room for other exits when we get back, baby."
    "Secret passages?" Zanita laughed. "Really, Tyber."
    "I'm serious. Something is going on here, and it may not be…"
    "What?" She held her breath and gazed up at him with the look that always turned him to mush. He didn't have the heart to dash her hopes for this ghost story, even though he had been skeptical from the start.
    "It may not be all supernatural, baby."
    Zanita s mouth opened, but nothing came out for a minute as she thought it over. "Why do you say that?"
    "I don't know what's going on here—but it just feels odd—in a lot of ways. That's all I can tell you."

When Tyber got that feeling, he was usually right. He almost sounded like a psychic, but she knew from experience it was pure cognitive process. It was as if his subconscious brain had already seen something and he was starting to store the data for later computation.
    "I know, I've felt it too, but thought it was simply because the place is purportedly haunted."
    "Just in case, let's be careful here. Until I get more info, consider