3 Mrs. Beesley's Closet

CHAPTER 3 MRS. BEESLEY'S CLOSET "I wouldn't knock on that door if I were you," called a voice from next door. Kaz and Claire looked over and saw a redheaded boy about their age. He held an orange ball in the crook of his arm and watched Claire curiously. Kaz was pretty sure the boy couldn't see him. Claire walked over to the edge of the porch. "Why not?" she asked, leaning on the railing. "Because the lady who lives in that house is weird," the boy said. "She's been telling the whole neighborhood that her house is haunted."

“如果我是你，我就不会敲那扇门。”隔壁传来一个声音。 卡兹和克莱尔看了看，看到一个和他们年龄相仿的红发男孩。 他在臂弯里抱着一个橙色的球，好奇地看着克莱尔。 卡兹很确定男孩看不见他。 克莱尔走到门廊的边缘。 “为什么不呢？”她靠在栏杆上问道。 “因为住在那所房子里的女士很奇怪，”男孩说。 “她一直跟邻居说她家闹鬼。”

"I'm not afraid of weird people or haunted houses," Claire said. The boy shrugged. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he said. He turned and bounced his ball on the driveway. Claire went over to the door and knocked crisply three times. A lady around Grandma Karen's age came to the door. She wore a purple housedress and a yellow band with a flower in her hair. "Yes?" she said, peering down at Claire. "Hello," Claire said cheerfully. "Are you Mrs. Beesley? I'm Claire Kendall. I'm here to find your ghost." Mrs. Beesley tilted her glasses to get a better look at Claire. "You're the detective?"

“我不怕奇怪的人或鬼屋，”克莱尔说。 男孩耸耸肩。“别说我没警告过你，”他说。 他转过身，在车道上把球弹了起来。 克莱尔走到门口，干脆地敲了三下。 一位和凯伦奶奶年纪相仿的女士来到门口。 她穿着一件紫色的家居服，戴着一条黄色的腰带，头上别着一朵花。 “什么事？”她低头看着克莱尔说。 “你好，”克莱尔高兴地说。 “你是比斯利太太吗？”我是克莱尔·肯德尔。 我是来找你的鬼魂的。” 比斯利太太歪了歪眼镜，好把克莱尔看得更清楚。 “你就是那个侦探？”

"Yes," Claire said. "Aren't you a little young to be a detective?" "No." Claire stood up a little taller. "I'm older than I look. Plus, sometimes kids are better at finding ghosts than adults are." Mrs. Beesley didn't invite Claire inside. But she hadn't closed her door yet, either. "I'm also cheaper than most detectives," Claire

“是的，”克莱尔说。“你当侦探是不是太年轻了？”“没有。” 克莱尔站得更高了一点。 “我比看上去要老。另外，有时候孩子们比成年人更擅长找鬼。” 比斯利太太没有邀请克莱尔进去。 但她也没有关上她的门。 “我也比大多数侦探便宜，”克莱尔

went on. "Five bucks. That's all I charge. And if I don't solve your case, you don't have to pay me anything. Where are you going to find a better deal than that?" Claire smiled politely. "Well," Mrs. Beesley said. "I certainly haven't been able to take care of this ghost problem myself. Most people don't even believe me when I say I have a ghost in my house. It couldn't hurt to try a child detective." She opened her screen door, and Claire stepped inside. Kaz swam all around the inside of the bottle, trying to get a good look around Mrs. Beesley's house. He didn't have much of a view. "Won't you sit down?" Mrs. Beesley led Claire to a flowered sofa. "Don't forget to let me out," Kaz said. He was eager to find the ghost in Mrs. Beesley's house. Claire dropped her detective bag on the sofa and plopped down beside it. "So," she said as she sloooowly twisted the top off her water bottle. "What makes you think that there's a ghost in your

继续说。“五块钱。这就是我的全部收费。 如果我解决不了你的案子，你一分钱都不用付给我。 你还能在哪里找到比这更好的交易呢？”克莱尔礼貌地笑了。 “嗯，”比斯利太太说。 “我自己当然没能解决这个鬼的问题。 当我说我的房子里有鬼时，大多数人都不相信我。 试试儿童侦探也无妨。” 她打开纱门，克莱尔走了进去。 卡兹在瓶子里游来游去，想好好看看比斯利太太的房子。 他没有什么视野。 “你不坐下吗？”比斯利太太把克莱尔领到一张花沙发前。 “别忘了放我出去。”卡兹说。 他急切地想找到比斯利太太家的鬼魂。 克莱尔把她的侦探包丢在沙发上，扑通一声坐在沙发旁边。 “所以，”她边说边慢慢拧开水瓶的盖子。 “你凭什么认为你的

house?" As soon as the top was off, Kaz shot out of the bottle. He expanded to full size right in front of Mrs. Beesley. She couldn't see him. "Hello? Mom? Dad?" Kaz called. "Are you here?" "I hear it," Mrs. Beesley said. "I hear it moving around in the attic almost every day." Claire reached into her bag and pulled out a notebook and a green pen. "What do you hear?" Claire asked, opening the notebook. As he wafted around the living room, Kaz felt a strong breeze push him toward an open window. "Aaaaah!" he shrieked, windmilling his arms and kicking his legs. Claire jumped to her feet, but somehow Kaz managed to escape the pull of the wind and swim up along the ceiling. "What?" Mrs. Beesley asked, turning toward Kaz. "What's the matter?"

房子?”瓶盖一打开，和子就从瓶子里钻了出来。 他就在比斯利太太面前变大了。 她看不见他。“喂? 妈妈?爸爸?”Kaz调用。“你在这儿吗？”“我听到了，”比斯利太太说。 “我几乎每天都能听到它在阁楼上走来走去。” 克莱尔把手伸进包里，拿出一本笔记本和一支绿笔。 “你听到了什么？”克莱尔打开笔记本问道。 当他在客厅里飘来飘去时，和子感到一阵强风把他推向一扇开着的窗户。 “啊啊！”他尖叫着，挥舞着手臂，踢着腿。 克莱尔跳了起来，但卡兹设法逃脱了风的牵引，沿着天花板游了上去。 “什么?”比斯利太太转向卡兹问道。 “怎么啦？”

"Nothing," Claire said, sitting back down. There were a lot of open windows in this house, Kaz noticed. Two in the living room and one in the dining room. He would have to be careful. Claire picked up her notebook. "So, tell me about this ghost," she said to Mrs. Beesley as she crossed one leg over the other. "What do you hear?" "Oh, all kinds of sounds. Rustling... thumping... scratching... something that sounds like marbles rolling all around the attic floor, even though I gave away the children's toys years ago." There had been a marble in Kaz's old haunt. Even though the marble was solid, Little John could make it roll along the floor. It was one of his

“没什么，”克莱尔说着又坐了下来。 这所房子里有很多开着的窗户，卡兹注意到。 两个在客厅，一个在餐厅。 他必须小心。 克莱尔拿起她的笔记本。 “那么，给我讲讲这个鬼吧，”她把一条腿搭在另一条腿上，对比斯利太太说。 “你听到了什么？”“哦，各种各样的声音。 沙沙……巨大的……抓…… 听起来像是弹珠在阁楼地板上滚来滚去的声音，尽管我几年前就把孩子们的玩具送人了。” 在和子常去的地方有一块大理石。 尽管大理石是实心的，小约翰还是能让它在地板上滚动。 这是他的一个