9 CLAIRE’S MOM’S SECRET

CHAPTER 9 CLAIRE'S MOM'S SECRET Yes. That's my Sophie," Claire's mom said. She couldn't take her eyes off the doll. "Sophie...?" Little John wailed. "I... call... her... Windy..." He hugged the doll tight and turned to Kaz. "Do I have to give her back?" "Well," Kaz said in a voice that only Claire and the other ghosts could hear. He wasn't sure what to say. As soon as Little John let the doll go, it would stop glowing. Claire's mom wouldn't be able to see it. But it was still hers, not Little John's. "How did you get my doll?" Claire's mom demanded.

"I... found... her... in... the... secret... room..." It took a lot of energy for a ghost to both glow and wail at the same time. Especially when that glow also filled another object. Little John couldn't help it. Eventually his glow went out. Claire's mom blinked. "Where'd he go?" she asked, looking all around. "He's still here," Claire said. "He's just not glowing anymore. There are two other ghosts here, too. My friend Kaz, who can't glow." Kaz waved even though he knew Claire's mom couldn't see him. "And Beckett. I don't know if Beckett can glow. Can you, Beckett?" "I choose not to," Beckett said. "Glowing is what ghosts do when they want us to see them," Claire told her mom. "I know what glowing is," Claire's mom said dismissively. "What I want to know is where is that ghost and what did he do with my doll?" Claire tilted her head. "How do you know

about glowing?" Just then, Grandma Karen came into the library entryway. Cosmo swam behind her. "What's going on out here?" she asked. "Where are you, you ghost?" Claire's mom asked as she walked around the entryway and peered into all the dark corners. "Come out and glow so I can see you!" Little John and the doll glowed again, but not as brightly as before. "It's... hard... to... keep... glowing...," he wailed. Claire's mom's finger shot out. "There!" she cried, right before Little John and the doll stopped glowing again. "Did you see that, Mother? Did you see what that ghost was holding?" Grandma Karen took two steps toward Little John, but she couldn't see him or the doll

anymore, either. "It looked a lot like the doll my mother made for you," she said with surprise. "The one you lost when you were about nine years old." Claire's mom shook her head. "I didn't lose it, Mother," she said. "A ghost took it. And now another ghost has it." Grandma Karen looked even more surprised. She scratched her chin. Kaz could almost see her piecing something together. "Katherine?" she said after a little while. "Did you see ghosts when you were a child?" Claire gasped. "Did you, Mom?" Her mom hesitated for a couple of seconds, then she nodded. "YOU SAW GHOSTS, TOO?" Claire cried at the same time as Grandma Karen said, "Why didn't you ever tell me?" Claire's mom opened her mouth, but no words came out. "Let's sit down," Grandma Karen said as she

led Claire's mom over to the bench. Claire plopped down between them. Kaz, Little John, Beckett, and Cosmo hovered nearby. "I saw ghosts when I was a child, too," Grandma Karen said. "You did?" Claire's mom shifted on the bench. "Why didn't you ever tell me?" Grandma Karen smiled. "I don't know. certainly would have if I'd had any idea you saw them, too."

"I tried to tell you about the ghosts I saw when I first started seeing them in Seattle," Claire said as she hugged her knees to her chest. "I tried to tell you here, too. But you always say, 'no ghost talk.'" "I know, honey," Claire's mom replied. "And maybe that was a mistake. It's not normal to see ghosts. I didn't want the kids at school to tease you. I also don't want you to spend time with ghosts. Ghosts are dangerous!" "Dangerous!" Beckett wailed. "You... solids... are... far... more... dangerous... than... we... are...!" "Who said that?" Claire's mom whirled around. "That's Beckett," Claire said. "Beckett, say hello to my mom and grandma." "Hmph," Beckett said in a voice that Claire's mom and grandma couldn't hear. Claire's mom leaned back against the wall. "Let me tell you about the ghosts I saw when I