10 Case Closed

CHAPTER 10 CASE CLOSED Claire led Mrs. Beesley over to the floorboard with the hole and turned on the flashlight. Mrs. Beesley squinted. "Squirrels?" she said. "Those are my ghosts?" Claire nodded. "I think the mother came in over there. See?" She pointed to the attic vent. "Then she found this hole and made a nest in it for her babies." "ReH-reH-REE!"

Mrs. Beesley tipped her head toward the noise. "That's the sound I heard earlier. That, and the crying, and the marbles rolling." "I think the babies make a crying sound when the mother is away," Claire told Mrs. Beesley. "And the marble sound was probably rolling acorns." "Imagine that," Mrs. Beesley said, shaking her head. "I can't thank you enough for solving this mystery for me." So the case was closed. But Cosmo was still

lost. "Let's go downstairs. I'll get my purse so I can pay you," Mrs. Beesley said. Claire grinned at Kaz as she tramped down the stairs after Mrs. Beesley. "We're going to get paid!" she mouthed. "Isn't that great?" Kaz didn't care about getting paid. Ghosts had no use for money. He wanted to find his dog. That was the whole reason he came back to Mrs. Beesley's house today. To find Cosmo. But he had to face facts: Cosmo was gone. Probably for good. "Thank you for believing me when I said I had a ghost in my attic," Mrs. Beesley said as she placed several bills in Claire's hand. "I know what it feels like when people don't believe you," Claire said. "Thank you for the money." She opened her bottle, and Kaz swam inside. It was time to go back to the library.

"Cosmo could still be hiding somewhere in here," Claire said to Kaz as she opened the front door and stepped inside the library entryway. "I doubt it," Kaz grumbled. "Claire? Is that you?" Grandma Karen called from the craft room. "Yes," Claire said. She opened the bottle, and Kaz swam out. "Would you come in here, please? I'd like to talk to you," Grandma Karen said. Claire headed for the craft room. Kaz drifted behind. "Woof! Woof!" Kaz could hardly believe his eyes. Grandma Karen was reading at the table. And there, at her feet, was his dog. "Cosmo!" he cried. "Where have you been, boy?" Cosmo swam up and licked Kaz's face. Had Cosmo been there at the library all along? Where?

Grandma Karen looked up from her book. "I think I know why Thor was behaving so strangely yesterday," she said to Claire in a funny voice. "Oh?" Claire said. Kaz could tell she was trying to "act normal," like she didn't see Kaz or Cosmo. "Tell me, Claire," Grandma Karen said. "Do you see a ghost dog anywhere in this room?" "WHAT?" Claire's voice went high. Grandma Karen smiled. She dropped her hand over the arm of the chair and made a kissing sound. "Here, doggie, doggie!" Cosmo started to GLOW. "Oh no," Kaz said, slapping his hand to his forehead. Tail wagging, Cosmo broke away from Kaz and scampered over to Grandma Karen. "Now do you see him?" Grandma Karen asked as she scratched Cosmo's ears. Her hand passed through his head, but he didn't seem to mind. Claire looked around nervously. "Grandma,"

she hissed. "Everyone can see him now." "Relax, dear," Grandma Karen said. "There's no one here but us." Well... and me, thought Kaz. Grandma Karen stopped scratching Cosmo's ears, and he stopped glowing. "You can still see this little dog, can't you?" Grandma Karen said to Claire. Claire bit her lip and nodded. "How did you know?" "Well, the fact that you talk to yourself so often was a clue. And I just got off the phone with Victoria Beesley. She called to tell me what a help you were in finding her 'ghost.'" Kaz and Claire exchanged a look. They hadn't expected their customers to call Claire's grandma.