The Poe Estate by Polly Shulman

Mansion?” I asked. “Why did it go to Beedie and Japhet?”
    â€œJaphet had connections. He got his magistrate friend to declare Phinny dead on the strength of the hand and Tom Tempest’s account. Besides, Phinny was a pirate, an outlaw. If he ever did come home, he never showed his face.”
    â€œWhat happened to his treasure?” asked Cole.
    â€œNobody knows anything for sure,” said my cousin. “Just rumors.”
    â€œWhat’s the treasure supposed to be? Jewels? Pieces of eight?”
    She shrugged. “All I know is the story: There’s supposed to be hidden treasure,” said my cousin. “Maybe even a map.Nobody’s ever found either one, though.”
    â€œCan we look?” Cole flashed his magic smile at Cousin Hepzibah.
    â€œPlease do—I hope you find it. Sukie, dear, why don’t you show Cole around?”
    â€œRight now? It’s almost dinnertime, and I have a lot of homework,” I said.
    â€œNext time, then,” said my cousin, holding out her hand to Cole. “It was lovely to meet you, child. Come again soon.”
    â€œThanks, I will. I can’t wait to see more of this house. I always knew it would be cool in here, but I had no idea
how
cool.”
    â€œI’ll show you out,” I said.
    â€¢Â â€¢Â â€¢
    â€œWhat are you doing here
really
, Cole?” I asked as soon as we were out of the room. “Are you after Cousin Hepzibah’s treasure?”
    â€œDepends what you mean by
after
. You said your family needed money. If we find it, you could get a phone and we could text each other like normal people. Maybe you could even buy back your old house.”
    The thought made me ache with longing, as if someone was squeezing formaldehyde through my own heart. “Except it’s
Cousin Hepzibah’s
treasure, if it even exists.”
    â€œI bet she would use it to help you, though. She seems really nice. You sure we don’t have time for a little look around before I go?”
    â€œSorry.”
    â€œAll right, see you in the morning, then. Oh, wait.” He dugin his book bag and pulled out my lab notebook. “Better take care of this. Ms. Pitch would kill us if we lose all that data—we only get one heart.”
    â€¢Â â€¢Â â€¢
    â€œI like your friend,” said Cousin Hepzibah when I came back. “What a thoughtful young man. Handsome, too, and so fond of you.”
    â€œFond of
me
?”
    â€œOf course. Didn’t he come out of his way to return your notebook? He says he’s been making better grades in science since you became his lab partner.”
    â€œHe told you that? I don’t know, Cousin Hepzibah. I’m not sure I trust him. He and his friends used to call me names and throw food at me in the cafeteria. They didn’t stop until Kitty gave them food poisoning. She really doesn’t like him.”
    Cousin Hepzibah shrugged. “Well, that’s ghosts. They can’t change, so they don’t understand when the living do.”

CHAPTER TWELVE
    The Thorne Mansion Library
    I spent the next few afternoons after school searching the Thorne Mansion library for clues to Hepzibah Toogood’s treasure.
    The library was a large, dark room that was lined floor to ceiling with bookcases. Ladders rolled along a railing so you could reach the upper shelves. A pair of old armchairs covered in cracked green leather flanked the fireplace, and inlaid cabinets guarded the windows, making deep nooks for window seats. With a few more lamps and a lot less dust, I thought, I could make it into a very inviting room.
    I found a pair of table lamps made from Chinese vases in the attic and brought them downstairs. They threw cozy circles of light.
    My Thorne ancestors loved to read everything, apparently: sermons, essays, and poetry, but especially fiction. They favored American writers. Their shelves were crammed with multivolume sets of Hawthorne,