Curiosity Killed the Cat (10 page)

There was a rush of cold air from inside the tomb. Hannah and Madison waited, collectively holding their breath to see what would happen next.

Out of the corner of her eye, Hannah saw a black shadow slip inside the tomb. She glanced at Madison to see if she had noticed, but Madison’s eyes were glazed over in terror.

There was a rustling sound inside the tomb. Even though Hannah was no longer holding on to the handle, the door creaked open even wider. Hannah gasped and stumbled backward, bumping into Madison and grabbing her arm.

Both girls watched in horror as a shimmery, white ghost stepped out of the tomb. Hannah felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her. She
couldn’t move, and she couldn’t breathe. Her eyes widened as she took in the ghost, a girl about her own age, wearing an old-fashioned dress. She wore her hair in braids tied with pink ribbons.

Madison’s teeth were chattering so loudly, Hannah was sure she was going to wake every ghost in the cemetery. And Madison was clutching Hannah’s arm so tightly, Hannah was losing feeling in her right hand.

The ghost smiled. “Do not be afraid,” she said softly.

Hannah glanced down to see that the girl was holding a small black cat in her arms. The cat was wearing a pink ribbon around its neck that matched the girl’s hair bows. Hannah almost laughed, the bow looked so ridiculous. The cat was purring loudly and was clearly not Icky — there was a splash of white on its tail, but all four paws were a sleek, smooth black.

“I am sorry if I frightened you,” the ghost continued in a soft, sweet voice. “I do not mean to harm you. I want to thank you so much for opening my tomb. You let my Shadow back inside, and I am forever grateful to you both.”

Madison glanced at Hannah in surprise.

“See?” Hannah whispered to Madison. “I told you what I read at the library. This must be Molly!”

The ghost nodded politely at the girls. Then she began to tell her story.

“My name is Molly Straub. I’ve been living inside this tomb for a very long time, trapped between this world and the next,” she explained. “I have been unable to move on without my dear cat, Shadow. He has been haunting this cemetery for more than a hundred years, trying to find a way into my tomb so that we could be reunited.”

She sighed softly. “I know all about the terrible stories people told after I drowned,” she continued. “The people in this town never liked Shadow. They thought he was the reason I died, but that is not the truth. I was a spoiled girl who always had to get my own way. I wanted to go for a picnic, but Father was too busy to go with me. I was forbidden to take my little rowboat out on the river alone, but I was so angry with Father that I did anyway. Usually, Shadow came out in the boat with me, but I left in such an angry rush, he was left behind on the shore.”

Hannah and Madison listened to the girl, their eyes wide.

“It was a lovely, warm day, but as soon as I rowed out to the middle of the river, the wind changed. Dark storm clouds blew in, and it began to rain. I was
so far from the shore, and the boat began to rock back and forth violently. The entire time, I could see Shadow pacing on the riverbank, and I could hear him meowing to me. Then a huge wave washed over the boat, and it tipped over. I tried to swim to the shore, but I couldn’t do it — the waves were too big, and my dress weighed me down. Through the rain, I could see Shadow trying to swim out to reach me, but then every thing went black.”

Hannah glanced at Madison and saw that she was wiping away tears.

“All Shadow wanted was to get back to me,” Molly explained simply. “But I couldn’t open the door to the tomb from the inside — I was trapped in there alone. The door had to be opened from the outside by another child. So, thank you both. Now Shadow and I can rest in peace together … forever.”

“But what about my cat, Icky?” Hannah asked softly. “I thought I was following him out here tonight. Have you seen him?”

Molly shook her head. “No, I haven’t. But I hope you find your cat. Thanks to you, I have finally found mine. I will never forget what you both did for me.”

With that, Molly stepped back into the tomb.
Shadow gave one last
meow
before the door to the tomb closed with a gentle
click
.

Hannah turned to Madison, who was still looking about as pale as Molly had been.

“Did that really just happen?” Madison asked, incredulous. “Was that a real ghost?”

Hannah nodded silently. “Yeah,” she whispered. “I think it was.”

Madison breathed a sigh of relief. “We’d better get home before our parents,” she reminded Hannah.

“Yeah, let’s go,” Hannah replied. She felt an odd combination of relief and disappointment. While she was glad the ghost mystery had been solved, she was upset that she had been so close to finding Icky and yet he had somehow slipped away again.

She followed the beam of Madison’s flashlight as they walked back toward the house. When the cemetery gate was just a few steps away, Hannah suddenly heard a soft
meow
.

She glanced at Madison, and it was clear she had heard it, too. Madison rolled her eyes. She no longer seemed scared — now she was just annoyed.

“I thought we were done with this ghost cat,” she said with a sigh. But when Hannah turned to follow the meowing sound, Madison followed without arguing.

Hannah headed toward the arbor with the stone bench, where the sound had come from. As she moved closer, she heard it again. Hannah pulled back the branches of the shrubs next to the arbor and stepped forward. Madison shined the light on the stone bench.

“Icky!” Hannah shouted. He was curled up on a soft blanket. Hannah scooped the cat and the blanket up and hugged Icky close. “I finally found you! What are you doing all the way over here?”

Icky just purred loudly in reply. Hannah glanced down at the blanket and realized it was the one she had lost in the cemetery the previous week.

Madison smiled and reached out to pet Icky on the head.

“So this is your cat?” she asked. “He’s kind of cute, for a cat. I’m more of a dog person myself.”

“Figures,” Hannah replied as the girls headed for home. To her surprise, Madison laughed at the jab.

“Thanks for coming with me, Madison,” Hannah said. “That was really, um, nice.”

Madison seemed flustered by the compliment.

“Yeah, well, sorry for being kind of mean to you,” she said grudgingly. “I guess I could have been a little nicer.”

Hannah couldn’t believe it. Madison Van Meter was apologizing to her? It was pretty amazing. She wondered how long it would last. Could it be that they had some sort of truce now?

“You were pretty brave, going out into the cemetery alone and opening Molly’s tomb and all that,” Madison continued. “I never would have even gone out there if you hadn’t gone first.”

“Thanks.” Hannah blushed. She hadn’t felt brave — it had just been something she needed to do.

The girls snuck back into the kitchen through the back door. Hannah fed Icky a can of tuna fish while Madison checked the driveway. Luckily, their parents were still out.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you in the morning,” Madison said.

“Good night,” Hannah replied. She waited for Icky to finish his tuna before she scooped him up and headed upstairs to bed.

Hannah slipped under the covers, and Icky curled up right next to her. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been this happy. As she stroked Icky’s soft fur, Hannah drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The next morning, Hannah woke to the smell of blueberry pancakes. She rushed downstairs to find her dad wearing his “I play banjo better than I cook” apron. She always laughed when she saw the apron, because it was true. Also, her dad wasn’t a very good banjo player.

“Good morning!” she said happily.

“Wow, someone’s in a good mood today,” her dad said as he handed her a plate full of pancakes.

“Thanks,” Hannah said as she accepted the plate and sat down. Icky brushed up against her legs under the table.

“You’ll never guess what the cat dragged in last night,” she joked.

Her dad raised an eyebrow. “I have no idea.”

“Well, I guess it’s more what
I
dragged in — Icky!” Hannah couldn’t hide her smile. She picked him up and held him so her dad could see him.

“Well, I’ll be,” her dad said, a look of wonder on his face. “How on earth did he make it all the way across town? And how did he know where you were?”

Hannah shrugged innocently. “I have no idea,” she said. “I just heard a meowing sound outside my window last night, and there he was. So I ran downstairs to let him in. Crazy, huh?”

“Will wonders never cease?” her dad muttered, mostly to himself. “That’s great news, and I have even more. The renovations are officially complete!”

“Wow,” Hannah replied. “That’s great.” She didn’t care all that much about the renovations, but her dad seemed excited about it.

“I know,” he agreed. “It means I have my weekends back. Speaking of, I’m free for a hike today if you like. What do you say? The Blue Ridge trail at noon?”

Hannah was startled. It had been so long since she and her dad had spent any time together she thought it might never happen again. But as much as she wanted to go hiking with him, she had to get to Ryan and Taylor’s house before the party to practice.
As soon as she thought of the party, she realized she had never asked her dad for permission to go.

“A hike sounds fun, Dad, but I can’t today,” Hannah explained. “My friend Taylor and her brother, Ryan, invited me to a Halloween party tonight. And I’m playing guitar in their band, The Headless Horsemen, so I have to go over there early to practice.”

Her dad looked impressed. “A band, eh? Well, that’s great. I can give you a ride to the party if you like.”

“Thanks,” Hannah said. “Maybe we can go for a hike tomorrow if the weather’s nice.”

“It’s a deal,” her dad replied.

Later that afternoon, Hannah was in her room getting ready. Madison and her friends were going to a party that night at Katie’s cousin’s place, so Madison was at Katie’s getting her flapper costume together. Hannah was thrilled to have the bathroom all to herself.

She put on a black long-sleeved T-shirt and sparkly red tights. Then she added the pirate vest, the red-and-black striped skirt, and her black boots. In addition to the sequin-covered eye patch, the costume came with a glittery silver sword in a rhinestone-studded
sheath. Hannah strapped it around her waist and put on the eye patch.

As soon as Hannah’s dad dropped her off at Ryan and Taylor’s, her anxiety about performing came flooding back. But then Hannah remembered the previous night, and how Madison had told her how brave she had been. If she could follow a ghost cat into a cemetery at midnight, then she could do anything.

“Hey, Hannah,” Ryan said as he opened the door to let her in. “Great costume.”

“Thanks,” Hannah replied, taking in Ryan’s mad scientist lab coat, nerdy red bow tie, and geeky glasses. “Yours too.”

“How is every thing?” Ryan whispered as he led Hannah to the basement. “Is the ghost gone for good?”

Hannah grinned. “Definitely.”

Hannah met Jake, the drummer, and then they rehearsed the song a few times. Finally, they put their instruments away and headed over to the snack table. The plan was to enjoy most of the party and then play their song toward the end.

Guests started to arrive, and Hannah was thrilled to see Paisley show up in her soccer uniform.

“Is that your costume?” Hannah asked.

Paisley grimaced. “I know it’s lame, but I didn’t have time to come up with anything else. Plus, I just came from my game.”

“I think it’s awesome,” Hannah told her friend.

Paisley sighed. “I don’t,” she said. “I wish I had time to come up with something, but my schedule’s been so busy I can barely think straight. And I definitely haven’t had any time for my friends.” She looked pointedly at Hannah. “I know I haven’t been the best friend lately, and I’m really sorry. But I’m going to have more room in my schedule soon, I promise.”

“That’s great,” Hannah said. “How come?”

“I decided to drop clarinet,” Paisley replied. “Now that we’re in seventh grade, I have a lot more school-work, and it’s just been too much. I don’t want to quit soccer, and I really like student council, so clarinet has to go.”

“That’s a bummer,” Hannah said, thinking of how much it would stink to have to give up guitar. But then again, guitar was her only hobby, while Paisley had two others.

“Actually, I’m okay with it,” Paisley said with a smile. “It means we’ll be able to hang out more.”

“That sounds great,” Hannah agreed. “And I have a confession to make myself. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve been a little distracted lately.”

She bit her lip. For some reason, this seemed like the right time to tell Paisley. Hannah felt braver about every thing since she and Madison had confronted the ghost the previous night.

“Yeah, I noticed,” Paisley said with a shrug. “I figured you were just missing Icky and adjusting to living with Madison and with your dad.”

“That’s true,” Hannah agreed. “But it was a little more than just that.” She took a deep breath. Then she told Paisley every thing.

Paisley listened in shock, her mouth hanging open the entire time. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this sooner?” she asked Hannah, incredulous. “I can’t believe you were dealing with all of this on your own!”

“Well, I —” Hannah looked down, ashamed that she hadn’t trusted her friend. “I thought maybe you wouldn’t believe me. Remember that time when I lied to you about Ellie? When we made up, you said you didn’t want to be friends with a liar. If you thought I was making up the stuff about the ghost, maybe you wouldn’t want to be my friend anymore.”

“Oh, Hannah!” Paisley exclaimed as she threw her arms around her friend. “We were
five
. That was a long time ago. And of course I would have believed you. You’re my best friend.”

Hannah hugged her back happily.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” Hannah admitted. “From now on, whenever something’s bothering me, you’ll be the first to know.”

“And vice versa!” Paisley said with a smile.

For the rest of the party, Hannah and Paisley danced and hung out with Taylor and some of Paisley’s friends from the soccer team. Before Hannah knew it, Ryan came over to tell her they were going to perform soon.

“What’s going on?” Paisley asked. “Who’s performing?”

Hannah felt her cheeks flush. “Oh, that’s one other thing I forgot to tell you,” she squeaked. “I am. Wish me luck!”

Paisley’s eyes widened in surprise, but Hannah didn’t have time to explain. Instead, she just shrugged and followed Taylor and Ryan over to the makeshift stage. As she tuned her guitar, she glanced up to see Madison, Alexis, and Katie gaping at her.

Hannah was surprised to see them. She leaned over to Taylor.

“What are they doing here?” she asked, gesturing toward the three flappers. “I didn’t realize you knew Madison.”

Taylor rolled her eyes. “Ugh,” she groaned. “Katie’s our cousin, so my mom made us invite her. And she asked if she could bring her two friends because, of course, they don’t go anywhere without each other.”

Hannah glanced back at Madison and saw her give Hannah a small wave. It even looked like she mouthed the words “good luck,” but Hannah couldn’t be sure. She shook her head in disbelief as she stepped onto the stage.

Taylor stepped up to the microphone. “Hi, everyone,” she told the crowd. “Thanks for coming to our party. We’re The Headless Horsemen, and we’re going to play our single for you. It’s called ‘Skeleton Riot.’ Hope you like it, and happy Halloween!”

Taylor pounded out a few notes on the keyboard, and Jake and Ryan joined in. Hannah barely even had time for her nerves to set in, because suddenly her fingers were flying across the strings of her guitar.

“
Watch out! Stand back! It’s a skeleton riot
,” Taylor and Ryan sang. “
Watch out! Stand back! We’re gonna get ya.
”

It seemed like only seconds had passed before the song was over. Hannah couldn’t believe it had gone by so quickly. Afterward, lots of the other kids at the party told her how great she had been.

Hannah felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned to see Madison standing there, flanked by Alexis on one side and Katie on the other. For a second, Hannah wasn’t sure what she was going to say. Was she going to be mean and nasty like the old Madison? Or would she be the nicer version of Madison that Hannah had met for the first time the night before?

“Hey,” Madison said. “I just wanted to tell you how great you were.”

“Yeah,” Alexis agreed. “That was awesome.”

“Thanks,” Hannah replied hesitantly, still not quite sure whether they were going to make fun of her or not.

“See you later,” Madison said before the trio turned and headed toward the snack table.

Hannah sat down in a chair for a moment to take it all in. She couldn’t believe every thing that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. She had solved the mystery of the ghost cat, found Icky, somehow become not-quite-friends with her formerly evil stepsister,
and
overcome her stage fright. It was a lot to absorb.

As Hannah sipped a cup of warm apple cider, she thought of how much better things were now than they had been just a few weeks ago. Maybe living in Sleepy Hollow wasn’t going to be so awful after all.

Suddenly, Hannah felt someone grab her free hand and pull her to her feet. She jumped up and found herself face-to-face with Ryan.

“Come on,” he said eagerly. “This is my favorite song. Let’s dance!”

Hannah grinned.

“Okay!” she replied.

Ryan and Hannah headed out onto the dance floor. Over her shoulder, Hannah saw Paisley dancing with Jake. She raised an eyebrow at Paisley, who just gave her an innocent shrug in return. Nearby, Madison, Katie, and Alexis were dancing. As weird as these first few weeks had been, it
was
going to be a great year. Hannah was sure of it.