4 SOLID OR GHOSTLY

CHAPTER 4 SOLID OR GHOSTLY? You still have the doll," Claire said when she opened the box, and Kaz, Little John, and the doll floated out into the library. "Didn't your friend want it back?" "It wasn't hers," Little John said. "But guess what?" Kaz floated beside Claire. "Little John's ghost friends know about transformation!" Beckett looked up from the book he was reading. "Transformation?" "That's what it's called when a ghost takes a solid object and turns it into a ghostly object," Kaz said. "It isn't something any ghost can do," Little

John explained. "Chester said, 'A ghost is either born with the ability to transform an object or he's not.'" "Who's Chester?" Beckett asked with a scowl. "He's Kiley's dad," Little John said. "Chester also said that you can tell if a ghostly object was ever solid because it won't shrink," Kaz said. "Let's see if it's true." He wafted over to the ghostly lamp that floated above the table, grabbed hold of it, then shrank down... down... down... The lamp did not shrink with him. "Wow!" Claire said. She took her detective's book out of her bag and opened it to Kaz's page. Then she wrote: He can transform objects.

"I'm not sure it counts if he can't do it on purpose," Beckett grumbled as he read over her shoulder. Claire wrinkled her nose at him. "You're just jealous that Kaz can do something you can't." "Hmph," Beckett grunted. "Chester says it's a very rare skill," Kaz told Beckett. "Very few ghosts have it. Chester only knew about it because his sister Molly had it." Kaz could hardly believe he had it. He just had to figure out how it worked.

Other ghosts, most ghosts, simply didn't have the skill to begin with. "So, once a solid object is transformed into a ghostly object, can it be transformed back to solid form?" Claire asked as she turned a page in her notebook. Kaz and Little John looked at each other. "I don't know," Kaz replied. It wasn't a question either of them had thought to ask the other ghost family. "Chester might not know, either," Little John said. "His sister, Molly, blew away a long time ago. When they were kids. I don't think he knows a lot about transformation." "I wonder if I'll ever meet a ghost who can teach me about it," Kaz moaned. "I think you will," Little John said. "We know there's another ghost around who has that skill, too. Unless this doll just floated in by itself one day." He raised the ghostly doll above his head. "I don't think that doll floated in by itself,"

Claire said. "Otherwise, how did it end up in the secret room? The ghost who transformed it must have put it there. But who transformed it?" "And why did they transform it?" Kaz asked. "Did they do it on purpose or was it an accident? Like when I transformed the lamp?" "Maybe it's not such a rare skill after all," Little John said. "Are you sure you've never met another ghost who could transform solid objects?" Claire asked Beckett. "If I did, they didn't tell me about it," Beckett said. "And you don't remember when that doll got here?" Kaz asked. "Was it here when you moved in?" "I've been here for twenty years, Kaz," Beckett said. "Do you really expect me to remember what was here then and what wasn't?" "I would remember," Claire said. "Because I would write it down." She raised her notebook.

"Hmph," Beckett replied. "Maybe we should take a closer look at some of the other objects in the secret room," Kaz suggested. "We could try shrinking them and see if any more of them were ever solid." Claire nodded. "That's a good idea, Kaz. In fact, you could start with that jack-in-the-box over there." She pointed at the ghostly box that floated in the corner of the room, right where Little John had left it. "Let me try! Let me try!" Little John swam over, picked up the jack-in-the-box, and shrank down... down... down... The box did not shrink with him. Little John expanded back to his usual size. "This was solid, too!" he cried, glowing with excitement. The glow in his body spread through the jack-in-the-box.