8 Eek!

CHAPTER 8 EEK! Claire wiggled the key in the lock, and the attic door popped open. Mrs. Beesley hurried out and quickly slammed the door closed behind her. "Did you see the ghost this time?" Claire asked. "No." Mrs. Beesley shook her head, her back pressed firmly against the door. "But I heard it. I think that ghost is angry with us for disturbing it." "Why do you think it's angry?" Claire asked. "Because it was making a lot of noise, more than before, like it was trying to scare me away,"

Mrs. Beesley said with a shiver. Her face had grown very pale. "I didn't hear any noise after you left the attic," Kaz told Claire. "But I was swimming around down here looking for you." "What did you hear?" Claire asked. "Thumping, scratching, and a sort of reH-reH- REE noise," Mrs. Beesley replied. ReH-reH-REE? "Like a dog?" Kaz asked, though reH-reH-REE wasn't really a sound Cosmo made. "Did it sound like a dog?" Claire asked. "No," Mrs. Beesley said. "It sounded like a ghost!"

"ReH-reH-REE doesn't sound like a ghost wail at all," Kaz said. "Do you want me to go check it out?" Claire asked. "No!" Mrs. Beesley shook her head. "Whatever is up there, it's too much for the two of us to handle by ourselves. I think I should call someone." She strode down the hall. Claire followed. "Who?" she asked as Mrs. Beesley picked up her phone. "Who are you going

to call?" "I-I don't know," Mrs. Beesley said. She put the phone down and sank into her chair. "Who would believe that I've got a ghost in my attic? None of my neighbors believe me. They all think I'm crazy." Claire touched Mrs. Beesley's arm. "I believe you," she said. "You do?" Kaz gaped at Claire. "You really think there's a ghost in Mrs. Beesley's attic?" Kaz wasn't so sure. "Please, let me go up and look around one more time," Claire begged. "If there's really a ghost in your attic, I can talk to him and see what he wants." "I don't know." Mrs. Beesley scratched her head. "I don't think it's a good idea." "I really don't think he wants to hurt anyone," Claire said. "Most ghosts don't." "Well...," Mrs. Beesley said. "I don't think I want to go back up there. But if you really want to

look around one more time, you have my permission. Let's make sure the attic door is propped open this time, though. Okay?" "Okay," Claire said. She and Mrs. Beesley headed back down the hall. Claire opened the attic door, and Mrs. Beesley set a box in front of the door to hold it open. Kaz drifted behind Claire as she marched up the attic stairs. When they reached the top, they stopped and listened. All they heard was a gentle breeze through the leaves outside the open window.

Claire closed the window. They listened some more. The attic was quiet. "I don't think there are any ghosts up here," Kaz said, breaking the silence. "I don't, either," Claire admitted. "But we're detectives, remember?" "What does that mean?" Kaz asked. When Claire said they should start a detective agency to find his family, Kaz thought that meant they would simply go over to someone's house and look for ghosts. He didn't know how to be a real detective like Claire's parents. Did Claire? Claire sat down on an old trunk. "All I know is that Mrs. Beesley hired us to do a job," she said. "Ghost or not, she hired us to find whatever is haunting her attic. So that's what I think we should do." "Okay," Kaz said. "How do we do that?" "Maybe we should start by making a list of all