10 PARTNERS

CHAPTER 10 PARTNERS Claire grabbed the flashlight, which was still switched off. She flung open the cabinet and tore down the stairs in darkness. Kaz swam behind her. Beckett hovered above the door to the Outside. He wasn't glowing, so Kaz and Claire could see him, but no one else in the library could. Another ghost appeared above the plant. The same place Kaz, Claire, and Beckett had seen it before. Except up close it didn't look much like a ghost. It looked like... a cloud of white fog. A dark solid figure tiptoed away from the "ghost," toward Kaz and Claire.

"Aha! Caught you!" Claire said. She switched her flashlight on, and a bright light shined on... Claire's grandma! "I knew it," Beckett said in a bored voice. "A solid pretending to be a ghost." At that exact moment a small solid boy cried from the children's room, "GHOST! I see the library ghost!" He pointed to the fog behind

Grandma Karen and Claire. Grandma Karen turned. She put her hands to her cheeks. "I see it, too!" she said as several other solids came running. But she was only pretending! There was no ghost. Kaz and Claire knew this, even if the other solids didn't. Grandma Karen shook her head at Claire and put her finger to her lips. The foggy "ghost" disappeared. "Where did he go?" asked a solid boy in a red shirt. He stomped his foot. "Why does that ghost always disappear before I get to see him?" "I don't think the ghost wants too many people to see him," Grandma Karen said. She opened the door under the stairs and flipped a switch. The entryway grew bright again. "Maybe we'll get to see the ghost the next time we're at the library," said a solid girl as she and her mom headed for the door. "Grandma!" Claire said, once everyone had

left the library. "You're the ghost." Grandma Karen blushed. "Yes," she admitted. "I am." "But why?" Claire asked. "Why are you pretending to be a ghost? And how? How did you make the ghost appear? How did you make it wail? How did you make all the lights go out? How did you do it all at the same time?" "Oh my. So many questions," Grandma Karen said with a nervous laugh. "I'll answer your questions if you promise not to tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. Do you promise?" Claire nodded. "Okay," Grandma Karen said, leading Claire over to the plant. "First, there's a fog machine hidden in that pot. That's why I didn't like you poking around here the other day." She pushed some of the dirt aside until a red button appeared. "Here's the button to turn it on." Claire pushed the button and the "ghost" rose up above the plant again.

"What about the lights and the sound?" Claire asked. "How did you make all the lights go out, and how did you make the ghost sound?" Grandma Karen led Claire to her desk in the children's room. Kaz and Beckett floated along behind. "Remote control," Grandma Karen said, opening the top drawer. She pointed. "Don't push this button. That's the one that turns out all the lights. But you can push the other button." Claire did. They all heard the ghostly WOOOOOOOOOO! coming from a box on Grandma Karen's desk. "I told you that didn't sound like a real ghost," Beckett grumbled. Then he swam away. "But why, Grandma? Why are you doing this?" Claire asked. "Aren't you worried about that man closing the library?" Grandma Karen smiled. "No," she said. "I think people like the idea of a ghost in the library.

In fact, they might come to the library more often because they want to catch a glimpse of the ghost. Mr. Argen might complain to the library board, but the board will never vote to close the library." "Are you sure?" Claire asked. "I'm sure," Grandma Karen said. Later, when Kaz and Claire were talking in the turret room, Kaz said, "I guess we solved the case of your haunted library." "I knew we would," Claire said happily. She peered at Kaz. "You don't look very happy that we solved the case." Kaz shrugged. "I'm happy that we solved the case, but I miss my family. And I miss my old haunt." "Well, you can stay here in the library as long as you want," Claire said. "Maybe the library can be your new haunt." "Maybe," Kaz said. "And thank you. That's