Andi Unstoppable (13 page)

Across the room, Colin and I shared a look and I rolled my eyes. He turned away and covered his mouth.

Gregory advanced the board to the next photograph. This one was of a Golden finch. “But there is more to birding than seeing one rare bird. Even the most common birds are amazing and truly wonderful.
We saw a number of species at Shalley Park this weekend.”

“What about the ghost?” a boy at the back of the room asked. “Did you see the ghost?”

Gregory laughed. “I was wondering if someone would ask me about that. In fact, I hoped that someone would.”

Mr. McCone laughed. “Now Dr. Sparrow, you know it's not very scientific to encourage children's flight of fancy when it comes to this ghost story.”

Gregory grinned. “I know, and I would have agreed with you before this weekend. Now, I'm not so sure. There may be some truth to the story about Dominika Shalley's ghost.”

Ava's hand shot up. “At the park, you acted like you didn't believe Paige. What changed your mind?”

“Who's Paige?” the boy in the back of the room asked.

Ava spun around in her seat to face the other student. “She's a college student who was there with Dr. Sparrow. She saw the ghost and came running into camp screaming about it. I've never seen someone so scared before.”

The class took a collective gasp.

“I know, and I shouldn't have doubted Paige,” the professor said. “I suppose as a scientist, I don't believe in something until I can see it with my own two eyes.”

“You saw the ghost?” Colin blurted out.

“I did.” Gregory lowered his voice. “I saw her. I was in the woods Sunday evening at dusk. Only a few
birders remained at camp. Most had left for home hours before. I stayed behind because I wanted to go on one more solo bird walk before the weekend was over. I was in the trees near the Shalley family cemetery. Maybe I went that way out of curiosity. My student Paige had been so terrified by what she had seen there I thought I could find an explanation that would put her mind at ease. There had to be an explanation, or so I thought.”

The classroom was so quiet I could hear the overhead lights hum.

Gregory waited for a moment longer. “Then, I saw her.”

The kids in the class gasped.

“What did she look like?” a girl asked.

Gregory went on to describe the exact same figure that Colin and I had seen and that Paige had described when she came running into camp on Saturday.

Mr. McCone cleared his throat. “Dr. Sparrow, that is an interesting story, but it is just a story. We wouldn't want to put any fear into all these future scientists.”

“I'm being perfectly honest. I saw the ghost.”

When the bell rang that signified the end of the school day, kids from all over the classroom rushed up to Dr. Sparrow and shouted questions at him.

I gathered up my books and found Ava and Colin standing on either side of me. We were the only ones who didn't want to talk to the college professor.

“Ava,” I said. “Romero said you weren't coming to school today.”

“Well, I'm here. He told me that he drove your sister to school.” She stepped closer to me. “Keep her away from him. She is a distraction we don't need right now.”

My mouth fell open. “I can't control what my sister does any more than you can control your brother.”

She scowled at me.

“We need to discuss when we can go out again and look for the Kirtland's warbler.” Colin gripped the straps of his backpack.

Ava shook her head. “We don't need to go out again. I'm done. We've already seen more birds than everyone else in the class, and we will get an ‘A'.” She turned to go.

Ava wasn't trying to earn every last point of extra credit? It was like I didn't even know her.

I grabbed my backpack off the floor and followed her into the hallway. “Hey Ava, is something wrong?”

She turned around and I was surprised to see tears in her eyes.

“Tell us what is going on. Maybe we can help,” I said.

“No one can help, especially not you.” She wove through the students pouring from the classrooms and into the hallway until I couldn't see her any more.

CASE FILE NO. 16

Michael Pike University was only six
blocks from the middle school and high school. Colin had called Bergita on his cell phone after lunch and told her we were going to the university to visit Amelie. She'd said it was all right but warned us to stay out of trouble.

As we walked under the brick archway that led onto campus, it still seemed weird to me to see so many students around. Bethany and I moved to Killdeer in the summer when there were only a few college students in town. Now there were over three thousand and the campus was buzzing with activity.

“Should we go see Amelie first?” Colin asked.

I shook my head. “Let's find Paige.”

“You never told me how you plan to find her.”

I smiled. “We'll ask Dr. Comfrey.”

“Great idea!”

We headed to the science building. Dr. Comfrey was the chemistry professor who had taught us during Discovery Camp. Since Colin and I had helped her find out who was sabotaging her lab over the summer, she owed us a favor. I just hoped she hadn't gone home for the night.

We walked into the lab, and Dr. Comfrey sat at a lab table writing on a notepad. She looked up. “Andi, Colin, I haven't seen you guys in months. How are you?”

Colin grinned. “Great.”

“Are you getting good grades?”

We both nodded.

“Excellent.” She sat back on her stool. “What can I do for you?”

“We're looking for someone,” I said.

“Ahh,” the professor replied and hopped off her stool. She was a petite woman and her white lab coat nearly reached the floor. “Are you two solving another mystery?”

I ignored her question. “We met her last weekend. She was at Shalley Park with Dr. Sparrow. We thought you must know her because she's a science major. Her name is Paige.”

“You must mean Paige Bingham,” the chemistry professor said. “She's a biology major. I have her in biochem this semester. She's a double major actually. A very bright student. I have high hopes for her.” A sad look passed over Dr. Comfrey's face. She had had trouble with brilliant chemistry students in the past.

“What's her other major?” Colin asked.

“Drama,” Dr. Comfrey said. “I know that sounds like an odd combination. She told me once that her father wanted her to be a doctor and she wanted to be an actress. A double major was their compromise. I don't know what she'll do when it's time to graduate,” she laughed.

I placed a hand on the counter. “She's an actress.”

Dr. Comfrey nodded. “Yes, she had the lead in the school play last year. She's probably at the theater right now, rehearsing.”

I was right. Gregory had put her up to pretending to see a ghost. It was the only explanation.

Colin and I thanked the chemistry professor and headed to the theater.

I had never been in the Creative and Dramatic Arts building, but luckily Colin had been there for the play last year and knew just where to go.

He pushed open the heavy door to the theater. Three students stood on the stage reading lines. One of them was Paige.

“Let's take five,” an older woman at the foot of the stage called. “Troy, you have to enunciate better. I want to understand what you're saying.”

Paige and her friends broke up. Paige sat on the edge of the stage and swung her feet while she read over her lines.

“Now's our chance,” I whispered to Colin.

He nodded, and we walked down the center aisle to where Paige sat.

“Can we talk to you?” I asked.

She tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Hey, you kids were at the park this weekend. What are you doing here?”

“We want to talk to you,” Colin said.

“To me? Why?”

“Because we know you didn't really see a ghost on Saturday. You just pretended that you did.”

She laughed. “Of course I didn't see a ghost. I was acting.”

My mouth fell open. I hadn't expected her just to come right out and admit it. I glanced at Colin and he had the same expression that I did. “So you lied.”

She arched one eyebrow. “It was a joke.”

“A joke?” I asked.

She laughed. “Did you kids think I actually saw a ghost? Spooner dared me to do it just to be funny. I'm glad I was so convincing.” She laughed harder.

“You didn't see a ghost,” Colin said.

“No, there's no such thing as ghosts.” Paige jumped off the edge of the stage and walked down the aisle toward the exit. Colin and I followed her. She placed her hand on the doorknob. “Now, you kids have to leave. I need to get back to rehearsal.”

After she left, Colin dropped his hands to his sides. “That's not what I expected to hear.”

“It still doesn't clear Gregory. I'm not taking him off my suspect list just yet.”

“Good,” Colin agreed. “Neither am I.”

“Let's go find Amelie.”

My aunt was in her tiny office buried behind a stack of papers and manila folders. “Andi and Colin,
thank goodness you're here. This grading is going to be the death of me. I have forty-five papers to grade by Monday.” She blew one of her curls out of her face. “And I thought grad school was hard.” She jumped out of her seat and grabbed the top stack of papers. “Let's get going. I might as well grade at home where I'm more comfortable.”

A half hour later, Amelie turned her car into the driveway. From the front passenger seat, I saw Colin's dad standing on the edge of the driveway with his arms folded across his chest. I winced. “Your dad is home.”

“Yeah,” Colin said glumly from the backseat.

Dr. Carter pursed his lips when we climbed out of the car. “Colin, get in the house.”

“Dad, we were just — ”

“I don't care what you were ‘just'. Get in the house. Now.” A muscle twitched in the doctor's jaw as he spoke.

Colin ran across the yard, and his father refolded his arms. “Amelie, I thought we agreed that Andi and Colin needed some time apart, so that they stay out of trouble.”

“I was giving Colin a ride home.”

“After he spent the afternoon with Andi,” the angry doctor glared at me. “Please don't interfere with how I raise my son.”

Amelie looked as if she wanted to say something in return, but she held her tongue as the doctor walked away.

The next morning, I woke up feeling dizzy. I had felt the same way in the days after my parents died. Of course, I still thought of my parents first when I woke up, I always did, but then I remembered how angry Colin's dad was the day before.

I reached the first floor just as I heard Romero honk the horn of his truck. Bethany flew out of the kitchen, through the living room, and out the front door. Amelie stood in the archway leading into the kitchen and shook her head. “I know I gave her permission to ride in his pickup, but I'm still terrified something will happen to her.”

As soon as my aunt mentioned Romero's pickup, I remembered the duffel bag I saw in the bed of his truck. I ran to the window and watched them drive away. I had to see what was in that bag.

“You're nervous for her too, aren't you?” Amelie said.

Not exactly. I was worried about my sister. I was always worried about my sister. She was the last connection to the life I used to have with my parents. But I wasn't thinking about Bethany's safety at that moment. I was thinking about the duffel bag.

I saw Colin at lunch, but he muttered back one-word answers to my questions. His dad must have been really mad last night. Eventually, I gave up trying to talk to him and ate my lunch in silence.

The last period of the day, Life Science, was an oddly normal class. There was no special guest speaker, and Mr. McCone spent the entire time talking about bird bones.

When school was finally over, Colin came over to my desk. “Bergita is picking me up to take me home. I bet she would give you a ride too.”

I shook my head. “Knowing our luck, your dad would be home again. I don't mind walking.”

Colin and I walked to the front of the school. After spending twenty minutes convincing Bergita that I really did want to walk home, she finally accepted my answer. I waved to them as they drove away, but instead of heading to the sidewalk. I ran back inside and out of the back door of the building into the parking lot.

The middle school and high school shared the same parking lot, and I hoped that Romero's truck was still there. I had to find that duffel bag.

Most of the cars were gone. The high school released fifteen minutes before the middle school did. This used to drive Bethany crazy because she would have to wait for me so we could walk home together. She didn't have to wait anymore now that Romero was her transportation, but since it was Tuesday, I knew Bethany had Art Club. It was the only social group she'd joined at school.