Andi Unstoppable (9 page)

“I thought the ghost only came out at night,” someone said.

Gregory started laughing. “Oh, Paige, that's a funny joke. You really had us going.”

“I'm not joking,” she said seriously. “I really did see the ghost of Dominika Shalley. She was just as you described, Jim. She wore a long white gauzy robe and had silver hair that cascaded down her back.” She shivered again. “And she seemed to float through the trees. I've never seen a person move like that before, and I never want to see it again.”

“How far away was the ghost?” Colin asked.

“It was pretty far, maybe thirty yards, and there were some trees in the way, but I did see her.”

“How long was she there?” Spooner asked.

Paige grabbed Spooner's hand. “Maybe thirty seconds. It wasn't long, which makes me more convinced that it was a ghost. A person couldn't have moved out
of my line of sight that fast. It would have had to be superhuman or a ghost.”

“How can you be in college and think you saw a ghost?” Ava folded her arms.

Paige jumped out of her chair. “I know what I saw. And if you think I'm going back into those woods again, you're crazy.” She stomped away.

Spooner and Susan went after her.

Gregory shook his head. “Young people are so excitable at times. Don't worry about Paige. She'll be fine. She's one of my best students, but she does have a wild imagination from time to time. Once, she claimed to see a cuckoo in the woods here.” He laughed.

The other birders joined in. I wasn't sure what was so funny about seeing a cuckoo in Shalley Park, but the birders sure thought it was a riot.

I had to talk to Paige, either alone or with Colin. Her description of the ghost sounded a lot like what Colin and I had seen last night, but I wanted more details. Paige was the only person who could supply those.

A shiver ran down my spine. Another sighting of Dominika's ghost. Of course, no one else knew about what Colin and I had seen.

Gregory sighed. “I suppose I should go and check on my student.” He went in the direction Paige and the other two college students had gone.

“Let's break for lunch,” Bergita said. “It's been a long morning of birding.”

I waited a few beats and then went in the direction of Paige and Gregory.

Paige was inside her tent, throwing things into her pack. Susan stood outside of the tent. “Paige, I think you're overreacting.”

“Leave me alone, Susan.”

She folded her arms. “It couldn't be a real ghost.”

“I know what I saw.” She threw a T-shirt into her bag.

“Then, it was someone playing a practical joke,” Susan said.

Paige climbed out of the tent. “It was just so real. I know it's stupid to believe in ghosts, but I was so spooked.”

“But — ”

“Please, stop. If it wasn't a ghost, it was something else, something that didn't want me there. I can take a hint, so I'm leaving.”

“I'm going to stay,” Susan said.

“Fine.” Paige slung her pack over her arm and marched toward the trail that led to the parking lot.

I followed Susan and Paige a few feet until I saw Gregory standing next to the Shalley's crumbling home. I walked up to him. “Paige left.”

“That is unfortunate, but she'll be fine.” The ornithologist held his binoculars to his eyes and searched the house. “Old stone structures are great places to see wrens and other small birds that like to hide in the brush. It's also a good place to see thrushes, which like to root through the thicket for worms and insects.”

I folded my arms. “You don't believe Paige saw a ghost.”

“I didn't say that. I'm a scientist, but I don't claim
to understand everything. I know enough to know that not everything in this world can be explained.”

That was not the answer I expected to hear from a college professor.

“I do know Dominika Shalley's ghost would not have hurt Paige or any of us. She wouldn't have even shown herself unless she felt her sons' resting place was in jeopardy. As long as we stay away from her sons' graves, I think we can coexist with her. That's assuming she's real.”

I squished my eyebrows together. I couldn't tell if Gregory was serious or if he was teasing me.

He lowered his binoculars. “I can see you are trying to sort this out. I always appreciate a scientific mind. If you have to look at this logically, follow the evidence. If Paige's claim doesn't make sense to you, then where doesn't it add up?”

I thought about this for a moment before saying, “You were the one who proved that Claudette misidentified a Kirtland's warbler in Magee Marsh. The triplets told me.”

He grinned. “That was a long time ago. It's time we all forget and forgive Claudette for her mistake.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Then why do you keep needling her about it?”

The grin fell from his face for a moment, but as soon as I blinked it was back in place. “You had better get back to Bergita and your friends. They'll wonder what happened to you.”

I left the professor more confused about him and his relationship to Claudette than ever.

CASE FILE NO. 11

By late afternoon, most of the birders had
either returned to the camping area where they would camp another night or gone home. Colin, Ava, and I struggled to force our tents back into their nylon cases while Bergita and Claudette argued a few feet from us. Although most of the campers were back, I noticed that Gregory and his three remaining students weren't wandering the campground. Their campsite was still up, so I knew they hadn't left the park. Could Gregory be seeing the Kirtland's at that very moment? We still hadn't seen it, but I was too tired to find out. After three long hikes with Claudette, I knew the seventy-some year-old woman could out-walk me any day.

Bergita rolled up her sleeping bag. “I wish you would come back to the house with us instead of
spending another night in the woods, Claudette. I don't like the idea of you being here alone.”

“I'll be fine. There are plenty of birders still staying here, and I've camped in much worse places by myself. I remember one particularly difficult night in the Galapagos.”

Bergita tucked her silver braid under her ball cap. “I suppose I'm nervous after what happened to Paige.”

Claudette opened a granola bar and took a bite. After she took a swig from her water bottle, she said, “The girl has an overactive imagination. I knew it wasn't a good idea for the triplets to tell that ridiculous tall tale about the Shalley ghost.”

Bergita lifted her backpack off the ground. “All right, but if you get tired of sleeping on the ground, just come to the house at any hour.”

“I'm sure your son and daughter-in-law would be thrilled to have me.”

Bergita smiled. “They would be. And if you would like to come to church with us tomorrow, you are more than welcome.”

Claudette took another bite of her granola bar and said nothing.

When Bergita, Ava, Colin, and I emerged from the woods, Ava's brother, Romero, was in the park's parking lot. Ava didn't exactly smile, but she did say, “I'll see you at school on Monday.” She ran to the truck.

“Great!” Colin called after her. “Bye!”

I sighed. “I was hoping that we could bird some tomorrow after church. I guess Ava's not interested.”

Bergita lifted our tents into the back of her station
wagon. “Andi, Ava has a lot more to worry about than school.”

I added my pack to the back of the station wagon. “What does that mean? What else does she have to worry about?”

Bergita pursed her lips. “I think Ava will tell you when she is ready.”

“What if she's never ready?” I asked and stepped out of the way as Colin added his pack to the pile of luggage in the car.

“I think she will be,” Bergita said and walked to the driver's side door.

I stared at Colin. He shrugged and climbed into the backseat of the station wagon. I crawled in after him.

It was dark by the time we got home, and I was exhausted. Amelie flung open the front door as soon as Bergita turned her station wagon into the Carters' driveway.

“Finally, you're home. I was about to send out a search party,” she said as soon as we were out of the car. Her delicate features broke into a smile. “Not that I didn't know Andi was in great hands with you, Bergita.” She gave me a squeeze. “But I missed her.”

My face squished into my aunt's armpit, and I had to wriggle free. Despite nearly being suffocated, I was happy that Amelie missed me even though I had only been gone one night.

Bergita laughed. “We had a great time. Andi was a treat as always, and I think there were some bridges built between her and Ava. The girls hardly argued.”

Because we hardly spoke except for talking about the assignment or Ava accusing me of believing the ghost story.

“Where's your sister?” Amelie asked Bergita.

Bergita shook her head. “We didn't see the Kirtland's warbler, so she's spending another night in the woods. My sister is nothing if not determined.” She stretched, then wrapped her arm around Colin's shoulders. “I'm beat. Come on, kid. Let's get cleaned up.” She pointed at Amelie. “Church tomorrow. Don't forget. I'll come and pull you out of bed myself if necessary.”

Amelie laughed, but we knew it wasn't an idle threat. Bergita had stormed our house before on Sunday morning, banging pots and pans to wake us up for church.

After waving good night to Bergita and Colin, I slung my pack over my shoulder and followed Amelie up the front steps into the house.

Amelie was in her yoga outfit and as soon as we stepped into the living room, she slid to the floor on her mat.

I dumped my pack on the floor by the front door. I wanted to go upstairs to my room and write down all I had learned that weekend in the casebook, but I was too tired to crawl up the stairs. I fell into my aunt's armchair, and a second later, Mr. Rochester was on my lap, kneading my stomach. I guess he missed me too. “Where's Bethany?”

Amelie grinned and tucked one leg behind her head like it was the most natural position in the world.
“She's at a party tonight at a friend from school's house. Isn't that great? I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but I think your sister is finally making friends in Killdeer. I so want her to be settled and happy.”

“Who's the friend?”

Amelie's brow wrinkled. “Kelly, Katy, Kimmy, I don't know. I think it begins with a K. I was just so happy she said she was going to a party that the details are a little fuzzy.”

“When is she coming home? What's her curfew?”

Amelie lowered her leg and folded her right knee over her left. “Do you think I should make one of those?”

“Probably.” If Bethany had told my parents that she was heading to a party, she would have been interrogated about everyone who would be at the party and if there would be any adults in the house. It was just another example of how living with Amelie was different.

She folded her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “So how was your trip?”

“Interesting.”

She arched her brow. “How's that?”

I bit my lip, but then decided to tell my aunt about the ghost. “Do you know the story of Dominika Shalley?”

“Oh sure, every kid who grew up in Killdeer has heard that story.” She bent into a full body stretch.

“Do you think it could be true? Do you think Dominika Shalley's ghost haunts the woods?”

My aunt looked up from her stretch. “Personally,
I have never seen the ghost, and your dad and I spent a lot of time in Shalley Park when we were children. It became a park when we were kids. Even then, your dad was interested in plants, so he would go into the woods looking for specimens. Most of the time, he would let me tag along and carry his bag. I loved every minute of it because I got to spend time with my big brother.” She looked away for a moment but not before I saw the tears in her eyes.

Mr. Rochester hopped off me and bumped his head against Amelie's knee. He always knew when someone needed him.

I didn't want to start crying, so I asked, “Have you ever seen the graves?”

She stroked Mr. Rochester's orange fur. “Yes, many times. That was your father's favorite place to gather plants. There was less tree cover there, so more varieties of plants were able to grow. We never saw the ghost, but trust me, I looked.” She paused. “I noticed that you took your dad's binoculars with you for the expedition.”

“Maybe I shouldn't use them . . . do you think?” I squeaked. “Something might happen to them.”

“Don't be silly.” She scratched Mr. Rochester under the chin. “I noticed because I knew how much your dad would love it that you were tramping through those woods just like he and I did as kids. It's a great way to honor his memory.” Amelie smiled gently at me.

“Really?” I asked, glad the binoculars were in my backpack.

She grinned. “Absolutely, he would love it. Your
mom would too.” She clapped her hands. “So, did you see it?”

I bit my lip, but finally told my aunt the whole story from Ava and me stumbling onto the graves to Colin and me possibly seeing the ghost in the middle of the night to Paige running out of the woods terrified. “Why would the ghost appear to us and not you?”

“Were you bothering the graves?” She placed Mr. Rochester in her lap, and the tabby curled up and shut his eyes. He would stay there all night if she didn't move.

I shook my head, remembering the holes I saw dug into the graves. “Colin and I didn't, but someone else might have.” I told her about the holes.

“That could be it. What did the ghost look like?”

“She wore a white robe and had long silver hair. She seemed to float through the trees.”