8 WHO'S IN CHARGE

CHAPTER 8 WHO'S IN CHARGE? Your ghost, the woman said. Not a ghost. "She found Dave!" Kaz said as soon as Claire hung up the phone. The other ghosts gathered around. "We're about to find out," Claire said. But then she remembered something. "Oh no. Mom said dinner would be ready in half an hour. She might not let me go now. I should've asked before I told this lady we'd be right over." "Your mom has to let you go," Kaz's mom said. "This could be our chance to find Dave. If you don't go now, he might leave. Or be blown

away. Let me talk to your mother. Mom to Mom." She swam toward the kitchen. Kaz and Claire exchanged a look. "How can that ghost talk to your mom?" Gabriel asked Claire. "You said she saw ghosts when she was a kid, but she doesn't see them anymore." "Duh! Our mom can glow!" Finn said. "Oh. Right," Gabriel said. "Well, if she still says no, I could check it out for you. Let me borrow your water bottle and I'll bring the ghost back here." "When you're the one who blew him outside in the first place?" Finn said. "I don't think so." "I'm not sure a ghost would go with you, son," Pops said. "He might if a couple of you came with me," Gabriel said to Kaz and the other ghosts. "You could show him we're friends." Were they friends? Kaz wondered. Could the ghosts trust that Gabriel wouldn't blow them into

the Outside? Maybe. But still, he would rather travel with Claire than Gabriel. Just to be safe. Claire's mom walked into the room. Kaz's mom drifted beside her, the glow fading from her body. "Kaz's mom and I just had a little talk," Claire's mom said to Claire and Gabriel. "Have you two talked to each other before?" Claire asked. "Oh, yes. Many times," Claire's mom said. Kaz's mom nodded in agreement.

"When?" Kaz and Claire asked at the same time, each one looking at his or her own mother. Kaz's mom hadn't been at the library that long. "When you're not around," Claire's mom said, ruffling her hair. "What do you talk about?" Kaz asked. His mom made a face that said she wasn't going to tell him what they talked about and that he should listen to Claire's mom right now. "I know about that phone call you received a few minutes ago," Claire's mom said. "Kaz's mom thinks there's a possibility her long-lost brother is at this woman's house right now." "That's right," Claire said. "The lady's name is Mrs. Sweet. She doesn't live far from here." Claire held up a scrap of paper where she'd written down the address. "I know it's almost dinnertime. Can I go?" "Yes," Claire's mom replied. "But Kaz's mom will go with you."

Claire tilted her head. "You say that like Kaz's mom is going to be in charge of me." Both moms smiled. "That's because she is," Claire's mom said. Kaz, his mom, and Finn traveled to Mrs. Sweet's house inside Claire's water bottle. Gabriel went with them, too. Little John, Pops, and Beckett stayed at the library with Cosmo. Mrs. Sweet's house was small and white with blue trim. There was no grass in the front yard. Just flowers, bushes, and trees. Claire and Gabriel walked up to the front door and rang the bell. A woman around Claire and Kaz's moms' age came to the door. She wore a white shirt that was splattered with paint, and her jeans were rolled up to her knees. "You must be C & K Detectives," the woman said as she opened the door. "Which one of you is the C and which one is the K?"

"I'm Claire, so I'm the C," Claire said as she stepped inside. She glanced uneasily at Kaz inside her water bottle. "I guess that makes me the K," Gabriel said with a nervous laugh. He did not offer his name and Mrs. Sweet didn't ask. "Come on in," Mrs. Sweet led Claire and Gabriel into the living room. Large sheets of plastic covered the furniture and the floor. Mrs. Sweet had obviously been painting the wall behind the couch. "I like that color," Claire said, gazing at the dark green wall. Mrs. Sweet smiled. "Thank you. I saw your ghost when I was putting the first coat of paint on this wall."