Ghost Hunt: Chilling Tales of the Unknown (5 page)

Grant shook his head. “We’ll probably never know. But it’s time to tell the Briscoes what we
do
know.”

“Right,” Jason said. “Lyssa, you talked to the family first. I think you should make the call.”

“Thank you for coming back,” Janet Briscoe said. “The boys really appreciate it. My husband and I do too.”

“We’re happy to be here,” Lyssa said. “I can’t wait to see the surprise you said you have for us.”

Lyssa had explained the team’s theory about Daniel Flowers several days before. The family thanked them, and Lyssa mailed back the pennies in their jam jar. Then, just yesterday, Janet Briscoe had called. Scott and Jerry had something they wanted to show the team.

“Come see what we did!” Scott said as soon as he saw Jason and Grant.

“Yeah,” Jerry said. “Come on. It’s really cool. You’re going to like it.”

“Okay,” Jason said. “Lead the way.”

The two boys dashed up the stairs, heading for their bedroom. The grown-ups trailed along behind.

“It’s over by the window,” Scott said as the group entered the boys’ bedroom. “Hurry up. Come on.”

Lyssa noticed that the crystals were gone and the jam jar stood on the windowsill. On one side of the jar stood Jerry’s Anakin Skywalker action figure. A Spock action figure stood on the other side.

“We made a spot for Daniel’s pennies,” Jerry said. “Then we added some of our favorite stuff. Because, you know.”

“We thought maybe Daniel might like them,” Scott explained. “It’s sort of his room too, right? And, I mean, he never even got to see
any
of this.”

Lyssa smiled. Trying to imagine a world without
Star Trek
or
Star Wars
was hard!

“Have there been any more pennies?” Grant asked.

Scott shook his head. “No. But that’s okay too, because…” He paused, as if he wasn’t quite sure what to say next. “Because it is, that’s why.”

“I think so too,” Grant said. “What about you, Jay?”

“Me too.” Jason nodded.

“Mom made chocolate chip cookies,” Jerry said. “You guys want some?”

“Absolutely,” Jason said.

“Race you!” Scott cried.

He darted around Grant and Jason and out the bedroom door.

“No fair!” Jerry shouted. “You didn’t say ready, set, go!”

“I’ve been thinking about the Briscoe case,” Lyssa said a couple of days later. Lyssa, Jason, and Grant were the only ones in the office. Everyone else had gone home for the day.

“Good work writing up the case notes,” Jason said. “How does it feel? Your first case?”

“It feels good,” Lyssa said. “And working with the team is awesome. I know I still have a lot to learn, though.”

“Jay and I feel that way all the time,” Grant said with a smile.

“I’ve been thinking about Daniel Flowers,” Lyssa said. “If it
was
Daniel leaving those pennies, I think I understand why he stopped. I think he got what he wanted.”

“What was that?” Jason asked.

“Friends,” Lyssa said.

Grant and Jason smiled.

W
hat was that?

Diana Martin sat straight up in her bunk on her family’s houseboat.

Ba BOOM. Ba BOOM. Ba BOOM.
Her heart pounded. Usually, Diana was a sound sleeper. Her mom always said Diana slept like a rock.

Not tonight.

Tonight, something jolted Diana so wide awake that she knew she couldn’t go back to sleep.

Diana tossed back her covers and got out of bed. She stood for a moment, letting her legs adjust to the motion of the boat. The boat rocked gently from side to side.

The water was calm. Diana liked the calm nights. When a storm came in, things could really rock and roll.

She crossed to the door of her cabin. The cabin was so small that it took only two strides. She carefully stepped over the high threshold and out into the narrow hall.

Diana was twelve. She looked forward to vacation on her family’s houseboat every summer. Her dad piloted the boat wherever they wanted to go. They would put all the places they liked into a hat and then draw them out one by one.

At least, that’s what they used to do, but that changed when Mr. Martin discovered Heron’s Point Dock, on a small island off the coast of Rhode Island. Heron’s Point was her dad’s favorite kind of place; it had one old wooden dock and nothing else. No tourist attractions. No crowds.

From their very first visit, Diana didn’t like Heron’s Point. She thought it was boring. And now… now she found it frightening.

At Heron’s Point, Diana heard things. And saw things. And some of her things were moved or taken. Weird stuff happened every time the family tied up the boat there.

Her dad said the strange noises were harmless. He accused Diana of forgetting where she put things, then claiming someone moved them, but Diana knew the truth. Something was going on—she just couldn’t explain it. Not yet anyhow.

Maybe she could find out tonight.

She reached the starboard steps that went from the sleeping
cabins belowdecks to the main cabin above. She listened for a moment to the gentle, lapping water.

Then she gripped the handrail tightly and started up. There weren’t that many steps, but they were steep and narrow. It was easy to trip and fall.

Slowly, carefully, Diana poked her head up into the main cabin. The white deck gleamed almost as bright as in daylight.
Full moon,
Diana noticed.

Her eyes darted around the boat. Trying to see as much of it as possible. “All clear,” she murmured to herself.

Maybe it was a false alarm. Maybe a raccoon had jumped on the dock. Raccoons were big and fat. They could make a lot of noise. Enough noise to wake her up.

Bam! Bam!

Diana gasped in surprise and her foot slipped off the step.

BAM BAM BAM!

“Ohhh!” she cried out as her head bashed hard against the wall. Pain shot down her body. She clamped her eyes shut, trying to force the pain away.

She held on to the railing. Felt the boat rock from side to side. Slowly she opened her eyes.

There’s something here!
she realized.

Something on the other side of the boat.

An intruder.

NOT a raccoon.

But who is it? WHAT is it?

Diana opened her mouth to call her father. But then she stopped herself. He never believed her stories. She had to get proof on her own. She fought back her fear, took a deep breath, and climbed onto the swaying deck. Staying low, she slithered across the main cabin on her belly like a snake.

The main cabin was the family living room. There were big windows on all sides. It made looking out easy. But it made looking
in
easy too.

Don’t think about that now,
she told herself.

Keeping down, Diana reached the starboard side of the cabin. She was as close to the dock as she could get and still be inside the boat. She was breathing in short, fast gasps. She felt as if she had been running a race. Her head still throbbed from her fall. She was determined to ignore it. This time she was going to solve the mystery of Heron’s Point.

Diana climbed to her hands and knees and peered out. The full moon made the world outside nearly as bright as day. But the color had all been drained away. And the bluish black shadows were long and creepy.

Nothing looks real,
Diana thought.
It’s like I’m dreaming.

She could see the wooden dock beside the boat. She could see the moonlight sparkling on the water. Diana stuck her head up a little more.

She squinted through the window—

—and her heart stopped.

She wasn’t alone.

Someone was on the dock. Covered in shadow. She saw him only a few feet from her face.

He was staring right at her.

Diana opened her mouth to scream. She couldn’t make a sound. She froze. It was as if her entire body had turned to stone.

She stared at the man. He was dressed in the kind of old clothes her dad wore when they went out in bad weather.

Who is he? How did he get here? Where’s his boat?

Does he live on the island?

What does he WANT?

The figure moved. A strangled sound escaped Diana’s throat. She blinked. She didn’t believe what she was seeing.

The man didn’t walk. His feet didn’t move. He seemed to
glide
.

He moved to the edge of the dock. Close enough for Diana to see clearly.

He wasn’t standing
on
the dock. He was
above
it. Hovering in the air. Floating over the edge.

“Go away,” Diana murmured. Her voice came out in a choked whisper. “Please—go away. Leave us alone.” To her surprise, the floating figure fell back.

“Go away!” Diana repeated. Her voice came out a little stronger this time.

She pulled herself up from her hands and knees. Stood as tall as she could. “Did you hear me? Go away and leave us alone!”

The man began to sway from side to side. As if he wanted to go somewhere but couldn’t decide which direction to take.

“Go
away
!” Diana screamed. “Go away!”

The floating man vanished. Like smoke.

Diana still stared at the gray dock.

Just shadows now. Shadows and moonlight.

Her knees started to shake. She reached out for the nearest chair and dropped into it. With a deep, shuddering breath, she pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs. She rocked from side to side.

“Don’t come back,” she whispered. “Go away. Go away and leave us alone.” Over and over. Rock, rock. Back and forth. From side to side. “Don’t come back. Go away. Go away and leave us alone.”

That’s how her parents found her the next morning.

At least this time they believed her.

They believed her when she said she had seen a ghost.

“I have to ask,” Jen said. “Have we
ever
done anything like this before?”