by D. S. Butler
“Elizabeth, they found your body in the apple bobbing barrel.”
Elizabeth stared blankly at me for a few moments. I didn’t know whether she was processing the information, or simply shocked into silence, but after a moment, she said, “Me in the barrel? Don’t be so ridiculous, Harper. If it was me, how can I be standing here now having a conversation with you?”
“I don’t suppose you noticed,” I said. “But you’re not exactly standing. You’re hovering about a foot off the ground.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened, and she looked down at the floor and gave a little gasp when she saw her feet were not in contact with the floor.
“What? What have you done?”
“I haven’t done anything, Elizabeth. You’re a ghost. You’ve been killed. I’m ever so sorry.”
“No! I can’t have been killed.”
I took that as evidence Elizabeth didn’t remember being killed, which meant she wouldn’t remember her killer either, which gave us a problem.
“You’re talking utter rubbish, Harper Grant. You shouldn’t joke about such horrible things.” And with that, Elizabeth hovered off.
I followed her as she floated around, talking to people. When none of them responded, I saw that the cold, hard truth was slowly sinking in.
Eventually, she returned to my side. “So, you’re the only one who can see me?”
I nodded sadly. “I’m afraid so.”
I heard Jess’s voice behind me. “Who are you talking to?”
“I found her,” I told Jess, looking pointedly at Elizabeth.
Jess’s mouth formed a silent oh as she looked at the spot where Elizabeth was, even though I knew Jess couldn’t really see her.
“Can you see me?” Elizabeth asked anxiously, looking at Jess.
I shook my head. “She can’t see you or hear you.”
Elizabeth’s shoulders slumped.
And then suddenly she seemed to find a wealth of energy from somewhere.
“Hang on a minute. Who killed me? Who had the audacity to dare…?” She spun around in a circle as if her killer would suddenly appear, and she could give them a good telling off.
“We don’t know that yet. I was hoping you might remember.”
Elizabeth’s forehead puckered up in a frown as she thought hard. “I don’t remember.”
“What’s the last thing you do remember?”
“Well, I remember eating that horrible lunch at the diner,” she said.
I rolled my eyes. Since I was the only human who could actually see her, I had thought she might try and be a little nicer to me. Obviously, I’d been mistaken.
“I remember going home and talking to Robert and Robert Jr, but after that, it’s a bit hazy.”
I felt that same tingling sensation I’d experienced earlier and looked up. Standing a few feet away, Joe McGrady was staring at me.
My cheeks grew hot, and I stared down at the ground. I was going to have to be careful with him. He had clearly worked out that there was something different about us, and I could tell it wouldn’t be easy to hide things from him.
“I think we can go now we’ve been questioned,” I said to Jess. “Come on, Elizabeth, you’d better come home with us.”
When I spoke, I kept my eyes fixed on Jess, so that Joe, or anybody else watching, would think I was just talking to her.
“Well, I don’t want to come back with you,” Elizabeth said, folding her arms across her chest. “I want to go back to my own house.”
I sighed. This was not going to be easy.
Chapter Eight
“You should be ashamed of yourself, Harper Grant!” Elizabeth snapped. “This is nothing but a mean trick. I don’t know how you’ve managed to persuade everybody to play along with your little game, but I will not stand for it.”
Elizabeth whirled around in mid-air and floated away.
I groaned. That was all I needed. A ghost with attitude. I should have guessed that Elizabeth Naggington would make a terrible ghost.
I’d started to move after her when Jess put a hand on my arm. “What’s wrong?”
I leaned closer to my sister. “Elizabeth doesn’t believe she’s a ghost. She thinks I’m trying to trick her.”
“Give her a chance to think things through. It can’t be easy being told something like that.”
My sister had always been the kind, understanding one. I was the one who liked to charge ahead and get everything organized, but in this case, Jess was definitely right.
Elizabeth didn’t trust me, and she needed to think things through herself. I needed to give her space.
“But what if she gets into trouble?” I said, staring after Elizabeth’s disappearing form.
Jess shrugged. “How much trouble can she get in? She’s a ghost.”
I nodded. “Good point.”
“She knows where we live. Once she realizes that you were telling her the truth and that you’re actually the only one she can talk to, I’m sure she’ll come and find us.”
I nodded again. Jess was right. Elizabeth would come and find me when she was good and ready.
Until then, we had a murderer on the loose in our tiny town.
I shivered and linked arms with Jess as we set off in search of Grandma Grant. We caught sight of her talking to Chief Wickham.
“But what are we going to do about the pumpkins? I spent ever such a long time growing mine. They don’t get to that size and quality on their own, you know. It takes a special kind of talent to get them that big.”
Poor Chief Wickham looked thoroughly worn out. I was sure it had more to do with Grandma Grant chewing his ear off than having to deal with the first murder case of his career.
“Come on, Grandma,” I said, reaching out and slipping my arm under hers. “Let’s go home and let Chief Wickham get on with his job.”
I couldn’t see Joe, but I didn’t look too hard. Every time I saw him, I did something awkward or silly and made a fool of myself.
Chief Wickham looked very glad to see me. “Oh, Harper and Jess! Make sure your grandmother gets home safe.”
“Do you have any idea who was responsible yet?” I asked.
Chief Wickham shook his head. “Not yet, but you girls don’t have to worry. Joe and I will soon have whoever is responsible locked up.”
Together the three of us trudged back to Grandma Grant’s house.
The fall breeze was sharp today. The sky was blue, and the leaves on the trees were bright orange. Leaves crunched under our feet as we walked.
“I do hope Elizabeth is going to be all right,” I said.
Grandma Grant turned to me and raised an eyebrow. “You’ve changed your tune. Before we got to the festival, you were begging us to put a spell on her.”
I gave a little huff of annoyance. “I wanted a spell to make the festival finish quickly. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to Elizabeth. And I certainly didn’t want anyone to murder her.”
“Well,” Grandma Grant said, raising an eyebrow. “You didn’t try to put a spell on her yourself, did you?”
My jaw dropped open, and I slipped my arm from hers, turning to her in disgust. “How could you even ask such a thing? Do you really think I wanted her dead?”
Grandma Grant shook her head. “No, of course not, but you’ve never been very good with spells. It wouldn’t surprise me if you’d messed one up.”
I was rendered speechless, which was probably a good thing. Otherwise, I would have said something I regretted later.
Jess stepped in between us, grabbing our hands and pulling us up the hill. “Now, come on. Let’s not argue. Of course, Harper didn’t put a spell on Elizabeth.”
“Thank you, Jess,” I said, looking pointedly at Grandma Grant. “At least one of you has faith in me.”
“Oh, it’s not that,” Jess said breezily. “I just know you wouldn’t have the first idea where to start if you wanted to cast a spell on Elizabeth.”
I stared at Jess in disbelief. Honestly, t
here was nothing like a supportive family was there? And my family was nothing like a supportive one.
Once inside the house, we sat around the kitchen table with mugs of chamomile tea, one of Grandma Grant’s specialties. She may have been a bad cook, but she was fantastic at making herbal teas and tinctures.
The chamomile tea was calming, and my urge to murder Grandma Grant and Jess had just about passed. Athena jumped onto my lap and curled up as I stroked her soft, black fur.
I was just starting to relax when Elizabeth Naggington floated in through the kitchen wall.
You might think I would be used to that sort of thing by now, but it’s not really something you ever get used to.
I jolted in my chair, spilling the chamomile tea and burning my fingers as the liquid sloshed onto the table. Athena gave a yelp and jumped off of my lap.
“Careful, Harper!” Grandma Grant said, leaning over with a cloth to mop up the mess.
But my eyes were fixed on the spot above Grandma Grant’s head where Elizabeth was floating high above us.
Her ghostly face was streaked with tears, and she was sobbing.
Jess followed my gaze and frowned. “Is she back?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Well, that didn’t take long. I thought she’d flounce around for a few hours before finally coming to her senses,” Grandma Grant said, which made Elizabeth stop crying and shoot her an angry glare.
“How dare she!” Elizabeth said. “Do you not have any respect for the dead?”
“She can’t hear you, Elizabeth,” I reminded her.
Athena had cautiously returned to her spot on my lap and looked up at the exact spot where Elizabeth was hovering. I guessed animals were a little more perceptive than humans when it came to ghosts.
Elizabeth pursed her lips in annoyance and looked back at me.
“So, you are right. I am a ghost. I hope that makes you happy. I tried to talk to Robert, and he just walked right through me.”
Although she was trying to sound angry, I could see the sadness in Elizabeth’s eyes and felt sorry for her.
“So,” Elizabeth said with a shrug. “What do I do now?”
“I’m not exactly an expert,” I said. “But in my experience, people who are ghosts hang around for a reason. Usually, they have some unfinished business, sometimes an unrequited love, or a very strong attachment to family, so they don’t want to let go. In your case, Elizabeth, I think it’s because somebody killed you, and until we find out who was responsible, and they’re appropriately punished, I think you’re going to remain here as a ghost.”
“And what happens afterward? If we do find out who killed me, what happens to me then?”
I shook my head. “That, I don’t know. But I think you pass on to the other side.”
Elizabeth was silent as she pondered on that for a moment and then said, “Right. First things, first. We need to find out who killed me. So, where do we start?”
I was a little taken aback at Elizabeth’s quick change in mood. She’d gone from a crying mess to possessing a businesslike, brisk efficiency, and it made my head spin.
“Well,” I began tentatively. “I suppose we look for some clues, and try and find out who would have benefited from your death.”
Jess, who was sitting beside me, and keeping up with my side of the conversation, piped up, “Yes, did she have a will? Maybe Elizabeth’s husband inherits a fortune.”
Elizabeth’s jaw hung open. And she opened and shut her mouth a couple of times like a goldfish. “Of all the rude things to say! Robert adored me. He couldn’t be the one who killed me.”
I didn’t say anything. I’m not quite sure adored would be the right word to describe Robert’s feelings towards his wife.
From the way I’d seen him treated over the last few years at the diner, I imagined at times he was quite frustrated by his wife.
Still, there was no need to be unkind, so instead of pointing that out, I just said, “Can you think of anybody else who might have benefited from your death, or anybody else who would want to kill you?”
Elizabeth’s face creased up in concentration, and then she held up a finger, and her face lit up, “I know! I know exactly who did it.”
I thought she’d remembered something, so I leaned forward eagerly and said, “Who? Who did it?”
Elizabeth folded her arms over her chest and nodded. “Yes, of course, it all makes sense now.”
“What does?” I asked, growing exasperated.
As she was a ghost, I couldn’t exactly shake the information out of her, even though I would have liked to.
“Well, think about it,” she said. “Who did I annoy today? Through absolutely no fault of my own, of course. I was just telling the truth.”
I frowned. “Who?”
“Archie, of course. Did you see his face when I criticized the food at the diner?”
I leaned back in my seat and sighed. For a moment, I had really believed Elizabeth had remembered something.
I shook my head. “That’s ridiculous. Archie is not a killer.”
“Archie?” Grandma Grant repeated and then snorted with laughter. “Honestly, I never heard something so ridiculous. That man couldn’t hurt a fly.”
Elizabeth looked quite put out. “If you’re just going to laugh at me, then I won’t say anything at all.”
She pursed her lips as if to show she was determined to live up to her promise to keep silent.
But I wasn’t really worried. I knew she couldn’t keep it up. Elizabeth Naggington wasn’t the type to stay quiet for long.
“I tell you what,” I said. “This evening, we’ll take a little walk around town and see if anything jogs your memory.”
Elizabeth nodded. “I suppose we could do that. But what am I going to do in the meantime?”
“Hang around here, I guess.”
“Why can’t we go now?”
“Because I’m going to go with you, and I can’t talk to you with other people around. I don’t need the rest of the town thinking I’m completely off my rocker. We’ll go tonight when it’s dark.”
Elizabeth huffed out a breath, and then she floated downwards and tried to sit down beside Grandma Grant. Unfortunately, she hadn’t quite gotten the hang of it yet and slipped right through the chair.
I put a hand against my mouth and smothered my laughter, earning me a glare from Elizabeth.
“Honestly,” she said. “Out of all the people in this town, I can’t believe I can only talk to you.”
Chapter Nine
I decided to go outside into the yard and try and tackle some of the weeds in the flower bed beside the greenhouse, but Elizabeth wasn’t content to wait until later. She made herself bothersome, hovering over my shoulder until I finally relented.
It didn’t seem as if I was going to get any peace.
“Fine! We’ll go and look for some clues now,” I said. “We’ll go back to the field and see if anything there triggers your memory. How’s that?”
Elizabeth gave me a smug smile. “I’m glad you finally got your priorities straight. Finding my killer really is a great deal more important than pulling up a few dandelions, after all.”
After I’d washed up, we headed back down to the school field.
It was abandoned, but most of the stalls were still in place and covered with crime scene tape so we couldn’t get too close.
Keith Tucker, who worked part-time for the police department, was standing beside the gate to the field entrance. He looked ever so pleased with himself.
“Hello, Harper. I’m afraid I can’t let you go any closer. This is a crime scene.” He puffed himself up self-importantly.
“Hello, Keith, do you know if the police have discovered anything else yet?”
Keith looked very happy to be asked. “I’m afraid I can’t possibly talk about the case to a civilian.” He tucked his thumbs in his belt hoops.
“That boy needs taking down a peg or two,” Elizabeth said.
> I looked meaningfully in the direction of the field, hoping that Elizabeth would get my hint and go off by herself to have a look and see if anything triggered her memory.
Just because I couldn’t go, didn’t mean Elizabeth couldn’t. Keith Tucker couldn’t see Elizabeth, after all.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth didn’t take the hint. So I widened my eyes as I looked at her and then nodded towards the field.
She looked at me blankly.
“Are you okay there, Harper?” Keith said, frowning, obviously concerned at the fact I was nodding towards what looked like a blank space.
“Yes, fine. I thought I’d just stay here and have a little chat with you. It must get ever so boring standing guard like this.”
I jerked my thumb, and finally, Elizabeth seemed to get the hint.
“Oh, why didn’t you say so, Harper,” she said. “I’ll go over to the field, and see if I can see anything while you keep this annoying young man busy.”
Finally.
Keith was still looking at me suspiciously.
“So, no leads yet then, Keith?”
Keith opened his mouth as if to answer, and then grinned and shook his head. He wagged a finger at me. “Nice try. You almost got me there, but I can’t talk—”
“—to a civilian, I know,” I said. “How long have you been standing here? You must be cold.”
“Oh, I don’t mind. It’s a very important job, after all. They wouldn’t trust just anybody to do it.”
I nodded “True. It’s obviously a reflection of how much Chief Wickham trusts you.”
Elizabeth hovered back over to us. “Nothing,” she said miserably.
That was fast. Although I couldn’t say I was actually enjoying my conversation with Keith Tucker and was pretty glad we could leave.
“Right, I’d better leave you to it. I don’t want to distract you from the job.” I smiled at Keith.
He beamed back at me happily.
After we had walked a safe distance away, and I could talk to Elizabeth without anyone overhearing and thinking I was crazy, I turned to her and said, “You didn’t spend very long looking. You were so eager to leave the house, and then you spent less than a minute looking around the field.”
