6 A MESSAGE FOR CLAIRE

CHAPTER 6 A MESSAGE FOR CLAIRE You can't just mope around the library all day," Claire told Kaz as she packed her bag the next morning. "Come to school with me." "I don't want to," Kaz said. "We'll look for Little John after school," Claire said. "We should go over to the fire station and look for that ghost again, too." "I said no!" Kaz snapped. The last thing he wanted to do was search for the ghost at the fire station. That was how they'd lost Little John in the first place. "Kaz," Beckett said, closing the book in his

hand. "You should go to school with the solid. This isn't the first time you and Little John have been apart. I'm sure your brother is fine." They didn't understand. They couldn't understand. Beckett didn't have a family. And Claire had never been separated from hers. They didn't know how it felt to lose someone, then find them, and then get separated again. It felt worse than being apart the first time. "I know you think I don't understand," Beckett said. "But I do. I lost my family years ago." "You have a family?" Claire said with surprise. Beckett scowled. "Of course I have a family. Everyone has a family." "Where are they? What happened to them?" Kaz asked. "They blew away. Just like your family," Beckett said. "But I didn't search for them. I didn't make friends with a solid girl who wanted to form a ghost detective agency and help ghosts. I stayed here in the library and felt sorry for

myself." Claire walked over to Beckett. "It's not too late," she said softly. "You can make friends with me right now. You could even join C & K Ghost Detectives if you want." "I don't think so," Beckett said. "Not at my age. But, Kaz, you should go with Claire." It was the first time Kaz had heard Beckett call Claire by her name. Kaz had to admit that sitting around the library feeling sorry for himself wasn't going to accomplish anything. He and Claire still had a case to solve. He didn't want Sparky to be afraid of a room just because he'd seen a ghost in there. Kaz wanted to find that ghost and tell him to be nice to Sparky. It's what Little John would want him to do. "Okay, I'll come to school with you, Claire. And then we can go over to the fire station after that," Kaz said. He shrank down... down... down... and swam into the water bottle.

该页暂无翻译

"Good," Claire said, hoisting the strap from the bottle onto her shoulder. "See you later, Beckett." When they got to school, Brynlee and RJ were waiting for Claire by her locker. "Guess what?" Brynlee said. "What?" Claire asked as she opened her locker. She set her water bottle on the shelf inside. Brynlee and RJ glanced over their shoulders, then put their heads close to Claire's. "Last night our dad slept over at the fire station," Brynlee said in a low voice. "When he came home for breakfast, he said he saw the ghost during the night. It even talked to him." "What did the ghost say?" Claire asked. "It said, 'Tell RJ and Brynlee to bring Claire to the fire station. Tell her to come as soon as possible,'" RJ said. Kaz passed through the side of the water bottle and swam into the middle of their circle. "Why would the ghost ask for you?" he asked Claire.

"How does he or she even know your name?" "Did your dad say anything else about the ghost?" Claire asked the twins. "Just that it was a young boy," RJ said. Kaz blinked. A young boy? "We'll check it out after school," Claire said as she closed her locker door. Kaz swam next to Claire's ear. "Little John is a young boy. The ghost must be Little John. That's how he knows your name," he said. "The ghost is Little John!" Claire veered into the girls' bathroom. She motioned for Kaz to follow. Kaz felt a little funny about that. He wasn't a girl. But Claire clearly wanted him to come, so he darted in behind her just before the door closed.