closest hospital is thirty miles away.”
“Was her mother with her?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes.”
I leaned forward. “What was she like?”
“She was a little worried, but none of this was in any way remarkable.”
“What do you think of that article in
The Bee?”
I asked.
Ann sipped her tea. “I think it’s highly inaccurate.” “Could I quote you?” I asked. “Because this could—”
She shook her head. “I want to help, but I’m not surehow the administration would feel about it.” She dipped her tea bag up and down in the mug.
I sure wished Baker was here.
“Your name would help us,” I tried again, “because—”
“I
can’t.”
“We don’t want you to get in trouble,” Elizabeth said gently. “We so appreciate you telling us this much. We want to write the truth and you’re helping us find it.”
I wrote my number down, tore off the sheet, and handed it to her. “If you remember anything else, Ann, would you let us know?”
She looked at the paper, put it in her pocket. “Look, you girls are doing a good thing. I’ve got to get back to work.”
“I think we let her off the hook too easily, Elizabeth!” I backed the truck out of the parking lot fast to make the point.
Elizabeth sat there with her hands folded.
“We’re never going to get to the heart of this thing if people won’t go on the record!”
Elizabeth hung her head and didn’t say anything. It’s hard to fight with a person who doesn’t fight back.
A dark car pulled up alongside ours. Madame Zobek was driving. She smiled at us a little longer than was comfortable. Then she drove off.
“She gives me the creeps,” I said, turning down our street.
“I think she’s interesting. She knows things, Hildy.” Elizabeth’s voice rose. “Jackie told me she’s amazing.”
My antenna went up. Elizabeth and Jackie were spending more time together in and out of school.
“Jackie said her entire psyche was exploding when she went to Madame Zobek,” Elizabeth added.
“I like my psyche in one piece.”
“You would, Hildy.”
I pulled into our driveway. I didn’t like how Elizabeth was sounding. I turned to her.
“Elizabeth, you’re not seeing Madame Zobek, right?”
“Of course not,” she said.
“Good, because that would be really dumb.”
She looked at me sweetly. “I’m not dumb.”
“I know. But sometimes you can be kind of impressionable, and I don’t mean that as—”
“I resent that!” She climbed out of the truck fast, slammed the door, and ran into the house.
Chapter 14
LOCAL GIRL TRAUMATIZED
AFTER SEEING GHOST
CHILD PROCLAIMS,
“I HAVE A TRUE HEART!”
The local girl who was propelled off her bike after seeing a ghostly presence at the Ludlow estate said yesterday, “I can’t sleep at night, I’m so scared. I hope the town will do something about this because children are in danger. I would never lie about something like that. I have a true heart.” The girl was hospitalized after the accident and released to her mother’s care. “I’ve never seen her like this,” the mother said. “I know this all seems crazy, but mydaughter wouldn’t make up something like this up.”
I have a true heart
—that was the chipmunk’s line in Missy Grimes’s book.
And
The Bee
had in-depth coverage of the Ludlow place, including interviews with unidentified sources “too afraid to come forward.”
It’s a funny thing how fear grows. It moves like a virus, infecting person after person.
There wasn’t any medicine to stop the epidemic, either.
Children were having nightmares about the killer ghost; some were afraid to leave their houses and come to school.
One kindergarten teacher stopped taking her students out to recess because several of them said they saw a bad ghost behind a tree on the playground.
I remembered my long year fighting fear in eighth grade after Dad died.
“Everybody’s afraid of something,” Gwen, my therapist, told me back then. “And fear isn’t
“Was her mother with her?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes.”
I leaned forward. “What was she like?”
“She was a little worried, but none of this was in any way remarkable.”
“What do you think of that article in
The Bee?”
I asked.
Ann sipped her tea. “I think it’s highly inaccurate.” “Could I quote you?” I asked. “Because this could—”
She shook her head. “I want to help, but I’m not surehow the administration would feel about it.” She dipped her tea bag up and down in the mug.
I sure wished Baker was here.
“Your name would help us,” I tried again, “because—”
“I
can’t.”
“We don’t want you to get in trouble,” Elizabeth said gently. “We so appreciate you telling us this much. We want to write the truth and you’re helping us find it.”
I wrote my number down, tore off the sheet, and handed it to her. “If you remember anything else, Ann, would you let us know?”
She looked at the paper, put it in her pocket. “Look, you girls are doing a good thing. I’ve got to get back to work.”
“I think we let her off the hook too easily, Elizabeth!” I backed the truck out of the parking lot fast to make the point.
Elizabeth sat there with her hands folded.
“We’re never going to get to the heart of this thing if people won’t go on the record!”
Elizabeth hung her head and didn’t say anything. It’s hard to fight with a person who doesn’t fight back.
A dark car pulled up alongside ours. Madame Zobek was driving. She smiled at us a little longer than was comfortable. Then she drove off.
“She gives me the creeps,” I said, turning down our street.
“I think she’s interesting. She knows things, Hildy.” Elizabeth’s voice rose. “Jackie told me she’s amazing.”
My antenna went up. Elizabeth and Jackie were spending more time together in and out of school.
“Jackie said her entire psyche was exploding when she went to Madame Zobek,” Elizabeth added.
“I like my psyche in one piece.”
“You would, Hildy.”
I pulled into our driveway. I didn’t like how Elizabeth was sounding. I turned to her.
“Elizabeth, you’re not seeing Madame Zobek, right?”
“Of course not,” she said.
“Good, because that would be really dumb.”
She looked at me sweetly. “I’m not dumb.”
“I know. But sometimes you can be kind of impressionable, and I don’t mean that as—”
“I resent that!” She climbed out of the truck fast, slammed the door, and ran into the house.
Chapter 14
LOCAL GIRL TRAUMATIZED
AFTER SEEING GHOST
CHILD PROCLAIMS,
“I HAVE A TRUE HEART!”
The local girl who was propelled off her bike after seeing a ghostly presence at the Ludlow estate said yesterday, “I can’t sleep at night, I’m so scared. I hope the town will do something about this because children are in danger. I would never lie about something like that. I have a true heart.” The girl was hospitalized after the accident and released to her mother’s care. “I’ve never seen her like this,” the mother said. “I know this all seems crazy, but mydaughter wouldn’t make up something like this up.”
I have a true heart
—that was the chipmunk’s line in Missy Grimes’s book.
And
The Bee
had in-depth coverage of the Ludlow place, including interviews with unidentified sources “too afraid to come forward.”
It’s a funny thing how fear grows. It moves like a virus, infecting person after person.
There wasn’t any medicine to stop the epidemic, either.
Children were having nightmares about the killer ghost; some were afraid to leave their houses and come to school.
One kindergarten teacher stopped taking her students out to recess because several of them said they saw a bad ghost behind a tree on the playground.
I remembered my long year fighting fear in eighth grade after Dad died.
“Everybody’s afraid of something,” Gwen, my therapist, told me back then. “And fear isn’t
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