Ghost Boy of Mackenzie House by Patti Larsen

thing is sure. He lived here and that narrows down the possibilities.” His eyes lit up. “I know where we might be able to find him, too!”
    â€œWhere?” Chloe asked.
    â€œThe family graveyard!” He smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Why didn’t I think of it before?”
    Chloe didn’t like the sound of it. She had bad memories of the last graveyard she had been in. “Where is it?”
    Marsh shuddered with a mix of fear and excitement. “That’s the only problem,” he said. “It’s on the other side of the fence, behind Joseph’s cottage.”
    Chloe hesitated. She did not want to have another confrontation with that mean old man. The memory of him yelling at her was still fresh. But, the ghost boy needed her, didn’t he?
    â€œA lot of families had their own plots in the old days,” Marsh told her. “They’re all over the Island. I’m not sure when they stopped using them, but maybe he’s there. If not, we could always check the church down the road. That’s where Gramps is buried.”
    â€œShould we check there first?” She was nervous about risking it.
    â€œThe other one is closer,” he said. “Don’t worry. Joseph is pretty harmless. And we’ll go at night, after dark so he doesn’t see us. He won’t even know we were there. I know how to get to the house without being seen.”
    â€œHow?” Chloe asked.
    He blushed, the red filling in his freckles. “Liam and the twins and I… we sometimes go over there at Halloween and, you know… trick.”
    â€œNo wonder he’s so cranky,” Chloe said. “You guys are mean.”
    â€œNo way!” Marsh defended himself. “He’s been that way forever, honest! Even my dad says so.”
    They both jumped at the sound of the front door banging shut. Chloe heard Aunt Larry calling her name. They scrambled down the stairs and into the main part of the house before she could catch them upstairs.
    â€œI’ll see you at eleven o’clock,” he whispered to her before dashing with a wave past Aunt Larry and out the door.

Chapter Eighteen
    Chloe was so nervous that night she couldn’t eat dinner. Aunt Larry, it turned out, wasn’t hungry either, blaming it on the huge lunch they’d had, so Chloe was off the hook. She said an early good night to her aunt and retreated to her room and the book.
    Chloe set the pencil on her vanity and went to work on the pages of the journal. She was about to give up when the last bit of resistance let go and all the sheets were free.
    Eager to find out more, Chloe started to read.
    December 27, 1941
    M only wants to talk about Angus Morrison all the time. She keeps telling Momma she is in love with him and will die if he goes off to France with the other boys. I think she is being selfish. Those boys are fighting for our country against the evil Nazis. Everyone knows that. Even the Americans are getting in on it, now. I wish I was old enough to go too. I would kill more Nazis than anyone else.
    December 29, 1941
    J is mad at me again. It snowed so much the last few days that everything is covered in white. Poppa had a hard time getting the front door open after the storm. J didn’t want to help even though we had to get a way cleared so we could feed the cows. When I told him so, he told me to shut up and Momma got mad at him. Now he is being punished and he says it is my fault. My teacher, Miss T, told me that twins are supposed to be really close and the very best of friends. Why aren’t J and I?
    Chloe continued to read. As time passed, J wrote less often, but there was at least one entry every week. She was fascinated by his life, living on the farm, helping his parents. They didn’t have electricity yet, being so far from the road.
    March 17, 1941
    Momma was complaining today to Poppa about how he still hasn’t completed the