The Pike River Phantom by Betty Ren Wright Page A

Then he rushed back to the living room and whipped the pillow off the couch. The terrified mouse took off toward the dining room. With a quick sweep of the broom Charlie sent it flying into the hall, then ran behind it all the way to the open door at the end. He closed the door, and was back in the living room when Rachel appeared with the tea tray. Mrs. Koch followed her carrying a plate of cookies.
    Rachel looked at the couch, then at Charlie, who gave her a thumbs-up sign.
    â€œThis tea was a lovely idea,” Mrs. Koch said. “So relaxing. You’re good children, both of you.”
    Charlie smiled modestly. He was panting hard, but Mrs. Koch didn’t notice.
    â€œNow you can finish your story.” Rachel helped herself to a cookie. “About what happened to poor Katya Torin.”
    â€œI think we’ve talked about that long enough,” Mrs. Koch said. “Such a depressing business. Besides, there’s nothing more to tell.”
    â€œYes, there is,” Rachel persisted. “Do you think Katya went insane just because she didn’t win the contest?”
    â€œI’m sure there were other much more important reasons for her breakdown,” Mrs. Koch said primly. “She was an extremely odd girl to begin with. And there were rumors that her parents treated her badly.”
    â€œWhere did she live?” Charlie asked. “When she was in Pike River, I mean.”
    â€œI never saw the house,” Mrs. Koch replied. “I did think it might be the same one you told us about, Charlie, when you said an old lady stole a candy bar from you. It gave me a real start, your saying she sent a message to Will ‘from the real Sunbonnet Queen.’ But I knew there couldn’t possibly be any connection with Katya Torin.”
    â€œWhy not?” Charlie and Rachel asked together. “Maybe—”
    But Mrs. Koch shook her head firmly. “No connection at all,” she said. “Katya died in the mental hospital four months ago. My nurse friend sent me the obituary from the Madison paper.” She set her teacup down with a clink. “And that’s enough about that subject, I’m sure. You should be getting home—your family will be worried—and I must go to bed. Though I wonder if I’ll be able to sleep, thinking about that mouse. I’m scared to death of ’em. If I ever got really close to one, I’d surely die!”

CHAPTER 13
    They stood in a moonlit backyard halfway between Mrs. Koch’s house and Grandpa Will’s. A mosquito whined around Charlie’s head, loud as a buzzsaw in the hot June night.
    â€œI never believed in ghosts till now,” Charlie complained. “I liked to read about them, but I never believed in them. I don’t even want to believe in them.”
    Rachel didn’t answer right away, and he had a weird feeling that she might no longer be there beside him. Then her fingers touched his wrist.
    â€œYou don’t have to believe in just any ghost, but how can we not believe in Katya, Charlie? We’ve seen her. We’ve talked to her. You tried to take her picture. And now we know why she’s here. She’s the ghost of a poor lady who died in an insane asylum, and she’s come back to Pike River to get even for a rotten thing that happened more than fifty years ago.”
    Charlie swatted at the mosquito. “Well, then, we’d better tell somebody,” he muttered. “If she’s going to try to—”
    â€œShe hates me because I look like Grandma Lou,” Rachel went on, not listening. “She has the two of us mixed up. Losing the contest must have been the worst thing that ever happened to her. I want to be the queen myself, but I can’t imagine caring that much.”
    Charlie surprised himself. “I can,” he said. He felt a surge of admiration for strange, wild Katya. Without friends, without a family who cared about her, she’d