1 MEETING CLAIRE’S DAD

BY EDGAR AWARD WINNER DORI HILLESTAD BUTLER The HAUNTED LIBRARY FIRE DEPT. THE GHOST AT THE FIRE STATION

埃德加奖得主多里·希勒斯塔德·巴特勒著《闹鬼的图书馆消防局》。 消防站的鬼魂

CHAPTER 1 MEETING CLAIRE'S DAD Claire's phone buzzed during dinner, interrupting a big conversation her parents were having. Kaz, Little John, Beckett, and Cosmo hovered around the dining-room table. "No, Claire," her mom said as Claire reached for her phone. "You know the rule. No phones at the dinner table." "But it could be a case," Claire said. "It can wait," Claire's mom said. "Your dad and I don't take cases during dinner. You don't need to, either." She held out her hand. Claire's parents ran a detective agency out of their home

晚餐时，克莱尔的电话响了起来，打断了父母正在进行的一场大谈话。 卡兹、小约翰、贝克特和科斯莫围着餐桌徘徊。 “不，克莱尔，”她妈妈说，克莱尔伸手去拿手机。 “你知道规矩。饭桌上不能用手机。” “但这可能是一个案例，”克莱尔说。 “可以等一下，”克莱尔的妈妈说。 “你爸爸和我吃饭时不接案子。 你也不需要。” 她伸出手来。克莱尔的父母在家里开了一家侦探事务所

above the library, and held a strict "no work during dinner" policy. Claire groaned and gave the phone to her mother. "You'll get it back after dinner," her mom promised. She laid the phone in her lap, then turned to Claire's dad. "Now, where were we?" "You were telling me that you used to see ghosts when you were a kid?" he said. "Real, live ghosts." Kaz could tell he didn't quite believe it. "Oh, yes. That's right." Claire's mom twirled spaghetti noodles around her fork. "I started seeing them when I was around nine. Like Claire." "And you saw ghosts when you were that age, too?" Claire's dad asked Grandma Karen. Grandma Karen was Claire's mom's mother. "Yes," Grandma Karen replied. "I don't remember if I was eight or nine. Somewhere in there." She took another bite of pasta. "But neither of you sees ghosts now." Claire's dad's eyes shifted back and forth between the two

在图书馆上面，实行严格的“吃饭时不准工作”的政策。 克莱尔呻吟了一声，把电话递给了母亲。 “晚饭后还给你，”她妈妈保证说。 她把手机放在腿上，然后转向克莱尔的爸爸。 “现在，我们说到哪儿了？”“你告诉我，你小时候经常看到鬼？”他说。 “真的，活生生的鬼。”卡兹看得出他不太相信。 “哦,是的。这是正确的。”克莱尔的妈妈在她的叉子上旋转着意大利面。 “我九岁左右就开始看到它们了。 像克莱尔。”“你在那么大的时候也见过鬼吗？”克莱尔的爸爸问卡伦奶奶。 凯伦奶奶是克莱尔妈妈的妈妈。 “是的，”凯伦奶奶回答。 “我不记得我是八岁还是九岁。 就在那里。”她又吃了一口意大利面。 “可你们俩现在都看不见鬼了。” 克莱尔爸爸的目光在两人之间来回移动

women. "No," they said at the same time. "Not unless they're glowing," Grandma Karen added. "That's what ghosts do when they want us to see them." "I can see ghosts when they're not glowing!" Claire piped in. "I'm the only one in the family who can." No one knew why Claire could see and hear ghosts when they weren't glowing or wailing. It was a mystery! And no one knew why Claire's mom and grandma couldn't see or hear ghosts anymore. Kaz hated to think that one day Claire might not be able to see or hear him. It made him want to work harder on his glowing and wailing skills.

女性。“不，”他们同时说。 “除非它们在发光，”卡伦奶奶补充说。 “当鬼魂想让我们看到它们的时候，它们就是这么做的。” “鬼魂不发光的时候我也能看见！”克莱尔插嘴说。 “我是家里唯一会的人。” 没有人知道为什么克莱尔能看到和听到鬼魂，当他们不发光或哭泣。 这是一个谜！没有人知道为什么克莱尔的妈妈和奶奶再也看不见或听不到鬼魂了。 卡兹不愿意想到有一天克莱尔可能看不见他，听不见他。 这让他想要更加努力地学习他的发光和哀号技能。

"There are three ghosts in this room with us right now," Claire added. "Four, if you count the ghost dog." "Woof! Woof!" Cosmo barked as he swam in a circle around Claire's dad. "I don't know why all the solids who live here need to know about us," Beckett grumbled. "Don't call us solids!" Claire narrowed her eyes at Beckett. Claire's dad looked right through Beckett. "Who are you talking to?" he asked Claire. "Beckett," Claire replied, her mouth full of spaghetti. "He's one of the ghosts here. I don't like it when he calls us solids. That's why he does it." "Hmph," Beckett grunted. Claire swallowed her food. "The other ghosts are Kaz and Little John. Kaz is my age. Little John is his six-year-old brother." "Maybe... it... would... help... if... he... could... see... us," Little John wailed as a bluish glow filled his body. "See,...

“现在这个房间里有三个鬼魂和我们在一起，”克莱尔补充道。 “四个，如果算上那只鬼狗的话。” “汪!汪!”科斯莫围着克莱尔的爸爸游了一圈，汪汪地叫着。 “我不明白为什么住在这里的所有固体都需要知道我们的情况，”贝克特抱怨道。 “别叫我们固体！”克莱尔眯起眼睛看着贝克特。 克莱尔的爸爸一眼就看穿了贝克特 “你在跟谁说话？”他问克莱尔。 “贝克特，”克莱尔回答，嘴里塞满了意大利面。 “他是这里的鬼魂之一。 我不喜欢他说我们是固体。 这就是他这么做的原因。”“嗯，”贝克特哼了一声。 克莱尔吞下了她的食物。 “另外两个鬼魂是卡兹和小约翰。 卡兹和我一样大。小约翰是他六岁的弟弟。” “也许……它……将……帮助…… 如果……他……可以…看到…… 小约翰哭着说，一道蓝光充满了他的身体。 “看,……

Claire's... dad?... Here... I... am!... Over... here!" He waved his arms. Claire's dad's mouth fell open. "Dad, meet Little John." Claire nodded toward Kaz's little brother. Claire's dad blinked, then rubbed his eyes and looked again at Little John. Kaz wished he could glow and wail so Claire's dad could meet him, too. But he couldn't. There was something else he could do to show Claire's dad he was here, though. He dove down to the table and picked up the salt shaker. Claire's dad's eyes opened wider. Since he couldn't see Kaz, it looked like the salt shaker was floating in midair. Kaz had just learned how to pick up solid objects, so he couldn't hang on to the salt shaker for long. He held it carefully between the tip of his thumb and second finger, then transformed it into a ghostly salt shaker. It floated in the air beside Kaz's hand, but Claire's dad couldn't see it

克莱尔的……爸爸?…在这里…… 我…我!…在…在这里!”他挥舞着双臂。 克莱尔的爸爸张大了嘴。 “爸爸，这是小约翰。”克莱尔朝卡兹的弟弟点了点头。 克莱尔的爸爸眨了眨眼睛，揉了揉眼睛，又看了看小约翰。 卡兹希望他能发光和哭泣，这样克莱尔的爸爸也能见到他。 但他做不到。不过他还可以做点别的事让克莱尔的爸爸知道他在这里。 他俯身走到桌子旁，拿起盐瓶。 克莱尔的爸爸睁大了眼睛。 因为他看不见和子，盐瓶看起来就像漂浮在半空中。 卡兹刚刚学会如何捡起固体，所以他不能长时间抓着盐瓶不放。 他小心地用拇指尖和食指尖夹住它，然后把它变成了一个幽灵般的盐瓶。 它漂浮在卡兹的手边，但是克莱尔的爸爸看不见它