Bailey’s Estes Park Excitement (6 page)

The boys didn't see the girls until Bailey poked Justin's arm.

“What'ja do that for?” Justin snarled.

“We wanted to surprise you.” Bailey flashed her sweetest smile.

“Are you guys okay?” Kate asked. “We saw you running from the elk.”

“Yeah, we're okay.” Justin studied his tennis shoes.

“How was your hike?” Bailey asked.

“Hike?” Joe said.

“I thought you hiked here,” Bailey said. “Oh yeah, we did,” Joe said. “But we're taking the shuttle back.”

“Where's your hiking stick?” Kate noticed Justin's jacket was unzipped all the way down and hanging open.

“Hiking stick?” Justin's eyebrows descended like dark clouds on a mountain, confusion filling his eyes.

“Yeah, you said the long thing you were carrying in your coat at the hotel was your hiking stick.” Bailey crossed her arms and waited for an answer.

“Oh, that!” Justin laughed as if he'd just been told the world's funniest joke. “We left it on our way down from the hill. Got tired of carrying it.”

“Hmm,” Bailey said, hardly convinced. “Here comes the shuttle.”

Back at the room, Bailey sat on the floor with her suitcase and sorted through her clothes looking for just the right outfit for her “Hollywood Moment.” A pile of rejected items surrounded her as she pulled out another shirt. “Mom, would you let Kate and me go hiking on one of the trails by ourselves?”

Trina strolled by her and rolled her eyes but held her tongue.

“Only if you promise to stay on the trail,” Mrs. Chang replied.

“We will, won't we, Kate?” Bailey tossed a tie-dyed shirt on the floor.

Kate nodded her approval. “And Biscuit could be our guide dog.”

“Let's try it tomorrow!” Bailey said, suddenly feeling she'd just been set free.

“Tomorrow's the Elkfest,” Kate reminded her. “We'll have to go the next day.”

“Shucks,” Bailey whispered, her voice registering her dismay. “I wanted to look for that ‘hiking stick' Justin left behind.”

“Exactly what I was thinking,” Kate said with a nod. “We'll just have to pray it's still there when we go.”

“There!” Bailey said, holding up a red long-sleeved T-shirt with rhinestones that spelled “sweet,” and a pair of new jeans with flowered embroidery down the leg. “I have my Hollywood outfit figured out for wearing to the Elkfest tomorrow. You never know, there may be a talent scout there for the film festival, too!”

That night, Bailey could hardly wait for lights-out in their room. “Hurry up, Trina!” she ordered. “How long can it take for you to brush your teeth and wash your face?”

Trina stuck her head out from the bathroom, growling with her foamy, white mouth.

“Patience, Bales, patience,” Mr. Chang said calmly from behind a business report.

“We never hear the children of the night until the lights are out and everyone's quiet,” Bailey tried to explain. “We need to get to bed so we can listen.”

Kate was already beneath the covers, which she'd tucked snugly under her chin. Biscuit puttered around her feet, making his bed just right. He plopped down with a giant sigh just as Trina finally emerged fresh-faced and ready for bed.

“Okay, lights out!” Bailey said. Mrs. Chang flipped the switch and the room went dark. Silence flooded the room like billowing smoke, filling every corner until Bailey could hardly breathe. “I don't hear anything, do you?” she whispered to Kate.

“Uh-uh.”

“Maybe no one's out there to trip the switch.” Sweat beaded on Bailey's upper lip. A door in the hallway creaked then slammed. Bailey raised her head to listen even harder, if that was possible.

“We'll just have to wait it out,” Kate whispered.

Bailey nodded in the dark and lay perfectly still. Then she heard it.

A muffled, high-pitched giggle seeped into the room. Bailey and Kate sprang from their bed like jack-in-the-boxes.

“We'll be back in a few,” Bailey said breathlessly. She grabbed her robe, then her cell phone for light. Biscuit let out a yip but then settled back into his cozy blanket.

“He must be getting used to us jumping out of bed,” Kate said softly.

When Bailey opened the door, Trina groaned and pulled the covers over her eyes as the wedge of light poured in from the hall. Kate followed Bailey to the door but then took the lead once it closed behind them. They hurried to the speaker they'd seen in the hall earlier and waited. Nothing.

“Something has to be tripping this thing to set it off.” Kate looked around.

A ding alerted the girls that someone was about to get off the elevator. The doors opened, and a middle-aged couple emerged and went to their room at the far end of the hall in the opposite direction from the girls. Their door closed with a bang.

Hee-hee-heeeeee!

Bailey saw Kate's eyes widen and a grin spread across her friend's face. The laugh had come from the speaker above them. The two jogged down the hall. Bailey looked in all the potted plants in the hallway for a switch of some kind that the couple might have brushed against. Kate got on all fours and felt the carpet from the elevator to the couple's room.

“I found something!” she said in a loud whisper. “Feel right here.”

Bailey joined Kate on her hands and knees and ran her hand along the carpet. “A bump!” she said.

“I think it's the switch that turns on the ghost children's laughter. It comes on when someone steps on it.”

“Let's try it.” Bailey scrunched up her shoulders. “I can't wait to tell Alex about this since she's the one who told us to look for a switch.” She stood and stepped on the bump.

Almost a full minute of silence passed. “It didn't work!” Bailey moaned.

Hee-hee-heeeeee!

“It's on a delay!”

“Kate! You're a genius!” Bailey hugged her friend.

“They must have delayed the ghost recording so when people hear the children laughing and look out into the hall, whoever tripped the switch would have had enough time to get to their room.”

“Yeah, so no one would be there when they checked!” Bailey gave Kate a high five.

“Well, that solves that one!” Kate said.

“Now if we can just figure out why the elk are going nuts.”

“Yeah, that's a tougher one to pin down.”

Bailey scratched her head. “Maybe Sydney will have discovered some information about elk behavior that will help us. Let's call her tomorrow.”

“We'd better get back,” Kate said.

They returned to their room, the sound of
Hee-hee-heeeeee!
echoing in their heads.

The next morning, Bailey awoke to a deep, reverberating sound that rose quickly to a high-pitched squeal and was followed by a series of low grunts. Biscuit sat up, ears twitching. Bailey rubbed her eyes. “What was
that?”
Mr. and Mrs. Chang were already up and dressed. Trina obviously slept through anything.

“Not another ghost, I hope,” Mrs. Chang said with a smirk.

“Sounds like a wounded elephant,” Kate said, stretching.

“I think it's coming from outside.” Bailey went to the window to investigate. “There's a guy out here blowing some kind of horn.”

“I know what it is,” Mr. Chang said. “I read about it in the newspaper this morning. Today is the start of the Elkfest, and he's bugling like an elk to begin the festivities.”

“Oh yeah!” Bailey said. “We saw a poster about that in town yesterday and we picked up a flyer that told all about it. We thought you should enter the bugling contest, Dad.” She cast a mischievous look his way.

“Sure thing. I'll get right on that,” Mr. Chang teased back. “It would be fun to watch some of it, though,” he admitted.

“Do you have meetings today?” Kate asked.

“Just one. After that, I'm free.” Mr. Chang looked at his watch. “I'd better get going. I hope to be back around ten. We can go into town then if you'd like.”

“Yeah, if Trina ever gets up!” Bailey yelled, hoping to wake her sister.

Mrs. Chang gave her a look. “You didn't make it any too easy for her to sleep last night with your ghost capers,” she said. “Did you figure anything out?”

Bailey and Kate filled Mrs. Chang in on how the ghost children's voices were activated. “Pretty smart of you to figure all that out,” Mrs. Chang said. “I'm impressed.”

“We need to send an e-mail to the other CCGs to let them know.” Bailey turned on the laptop. “Hopefully, they'll have some elk info for us.”

Bailey opened her e-mail and found a note from Sydney. Kate read over her shoulder.

“That's interesting,” Bailey said. “Maybe the elk are catching the scent of someone who's been mean to them and that's what's making them charge.”

“Maybe,” Kate replied. “Anyway, it gives us something to start with. If there's another incident, we'll have to keep our eyes open for any similar circumstances.”