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from the effects of global warming to various health issues. Why not paranormal activities?”
    “What branch of the government?” Gage asked again.
    “Various ones, Gage. That’s not important right now. EPAC, if anyone is wondering, stands for Experimental Paranormal Activity Coalition.”
    Bryan laughed. “Paranormal activity. Like the movie?”
    “No. This is nothing like Hollywood,” Dr. Brandt responded. “Speaking of funding, each of you agreed to the same compensation, so there’s no need to discuss the amount. You’ll be here for one month. We’ll go over the history of Siler House and how it affects our experiment. As for the house itself, you’re free to wander except for the few rooms that are locked, and after ten p.m. you should stay in your rooms unless we’re all together conducting our experiments. Also, you’ll be expected to join the rest of us for meals at the times specified in your paperwork. Please be on time. We wouldn’t want Mrs. Hirsch to have to go looking for you.”
    This brought on a short bout of laughter between the boys.
    “No doubt you’ve already met her,” Dr. Brandt said. “The estate once belonged to her family, and she has recently taken on the position of overseeing Siler House. We will meet in the Great Room at eight-thirty every night. During your stay, I will be observing each of you. Also, as explained in your paperwork, there will be no television, no internet, and phone calls are limited. You’ll be allowed to make calls twice a week. You can return calls as needed, but no more than once a day. Tonight’s agenda is to get to know one another better—including what brings each of you here. Then, we’ll move on to the specifics.”
    “Dinner is served,” Mrs. Hirsch said as she entered the room. “The cook has set up a buffet in the kitchen.” She narrowed her eyes as she looked at everyone except Dr. Brandt. “You are expected to clean up after yourselves, as the cook has already left for the day. The entire staff has left. Except for me. I stay on full time. But I’m not your mother, so I don’t clean up after you.”
    Her eyes shifted to each of them again, then she walked steadily out of the dining room.
    “She’s a charmer,” Gage said as they made their way to the kitchen. “In a dour sort of way.”
    “More like Lizzy Borden,” Bryan scoffed. “Maybe at night she carries an axe instead of a key ring.”
    Jess noticed that Dr. Brandt watched and listened, but did not join in their conversation. Part of the whole observation thing, she supposed.
    “There are worse things here,” Allison told them once they’d all loaded their plates, filled their glasses and sat down to eat. The cook had prepared homemade Southern food at its best: fried chicken, buttery corn on the cob, sautéed green beans with onions, and biscuits—no pizza here.
    “Is that so?” Gage asked. “So, what spooks you, Allison? Spiders? Mice? It can’t be anything supernatural, right?”
    A moment of silence went by as each of them waited for the other to speak, to say what they might be afraid of. Jess cut her eyes to Allison, who had apparently decided not to say another word.
    Gage seemed to take the hint, so maybe he wasn’t trying to be a jerk, after all. “Maybe we all need a history lesson or something, right, Doc? To put us in the mood.”
    “Perhaps after dinner,” Dr. Brandt said, spreading preserves onto his biscuit. “We’ll learn a little about Siler House every day. But before we begin, I’d like for us to talk about what brings us here, and what we think of Siler House thus far.”
    “It’s haunted, right?” Jess asked.
    “Tell us about the ghosts and how they got to be ghosts,” Bryan chimed in.
    “We could have a séance,” Gage suggested. He winked at Jess. “Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?”
    Oh yeah , Jess thought. Gage was definitely the kind of guy who knew he was eye candy. She returned her focus to Dr. Brandt, who was