SCRATCH.
SCRATCH.
SCRATCH.
I should’ve gone upstairs with him to see if I could figure out what was happening, but imagining what might be up there—a four-headed beast with drool coming off his sharp fangs, or a ghost wanting to exact revenge, maybe both!—I was frozen on the couch in fear. Some solo detective I turned out to be.
After a few minutes, Barrymore returned. He scratched his head. “I don’t understand it. There’s nobody there. It’s empty.”
STOMP.
Whoooosh.
STOMP.
Whoooosh.
STOMP.
Whoooosh.
How was that coming from an abandoned unit?
The lights flashed on and off for a few seconds as the howling intensified.
HOOWWWLLL!
HOOOWWWLLL!
We all tensed at the sound. Then the lights went back on and the building fell quiet.
Too quiet.
I should’ve been relieved, but I wasn’t. I didn’t have any answers, and I was absolutely, 100 percent freaked out.
Well, the impossible had happened. Shelby Holmes was wrong.
As much as I couldn’t wait to rub it in her face, I had one major, scary problem.
I was trapped in a building by a creature that couldn’t possibly be from this world.
CHAPTER
5
Sleep that night was pretty much impossible.
Even after the noises from above stopped, every creak in the floor or muffled sound from a TV jolted me wide awake. I also felt this heaviness and paranoia that was hard to explain. At one point a police car drove down the street and the siren practically made my heart leap out of my chest.
“You okay, man?” I asked Bryant as we headed to school. I felt guilty I didn’t have any answers for him. “Last night was intense.”
He gave a small nod. “I feel better knowing that it’s not just in our heads.”
“So, I got to be honest, I’m a little stumped,” I admitted. “I know you have issues with Shelby, but—”
“No!” he protested. “There’s no way I want her involved.”
“Okay, but I’m stuck. Can I just talk to her about it? Get her thoughts? Maybe she has some ideas. As you’re more than aware, she thinks she knows everything.”
Bryant let out a little snort. “No kidding.” He paused for a bit. “She’d make fun of me, and I’d never hear the end of it.”
“Listen, I only want to bounce ideas off her. I promise you I’ll keep her in check and she won’t make fun of you.”
He tilted his head back and forth, and finally sighed. “I guess. As long as she doesn’t give me any grief.”
“Deal.”
Did I just promise Bryant that Shelby would behave and show some restraint?
Yikes.
“Stop it!” I pleaded.
I really should’ve seen this coming.
I clenched my jaw. “Can you please stop? I’m being serious.”
Shelby continued to laugh in response to my detailed description of last night, which was exactly why Bryant didn’t want to get her involved.
Point goes to Bryant.
“But, Shelby, someone had died in the building, in the very unit where the noise is happening. And he had a dog!”
I mean, come on! That alone made this super creepy.
“Who was the person?” she asked.
I stared back at her in reply.
Shelby continued, “And when was this alleged death? The cause? What facts have backed up this claim, or is it simply hearsay?”
“I don’t know!” I snapped. “Why would someone lie about that?”
“People lie about things all the time,” Shelby stated. “I’m disappointed that you haven’t checked your sources, Watson.”
“Okay, I’ll check up on the facts, but if it’s true?”
Shelby snorted. “Watson, people die in homes all the time. Why, I once inquired into the history of 221 Baker Street—”
“STOP!” I held up my hand. “Do not tell me about any deaths in our building. I do not want to know!”
“Knowledge is power,” Shelby said with a shrug. “I prefer to live in reality.”
I had zero patience for her dismissive behavior because I was exhausted. “Do you really think I’d make this up?”
“No, you clearly believe there’s some human and/or dog ghost lurking in Bryant’s apartment building.” Shelby gestured at me. “Your physical posturing indicates you accept you’re telling the truth. But as I explained yesterday, there is no such thing as ghosts. There’s a logical explanation for everything.”
“That’s what I thought, too.” I did, I really did. Until I heard it. And felt it. “But I couldn’t come up with a why or how any of that was happening.”
“Oh well, if you couldn’t,” Shelby said with a roll of her eyes.
“Give me some credit, Shelby!” I snapped. “And oh, I don’t know, maybe you could for once acknowledge how much better I’ve gotten. Or do you need me to give you a list of all the clues I’ve figured out before you.”
Okay, yeah, the score of us making deductions was still like a bazillion to five in Shelby’s favor, but still. I knew things. Noise and footsteps coming from an empty apartment where someone had died? Chills with the heat on? A really bad feeling? How could anybody explain that?
I continued, “You can also deduce from my appearance that I’ve had a rough night. So it would be helpful if you could just be nice to me for a change. Or should we have the talk about bullies again?”
Shelby’s smug face fell. Maybe I was being a little harsh.
No. Even on my worst day, I was still a better listener and friend than Shelby.
“All right, Watson,” Shelby said. She reached out her hand and awkwardly patted me on the back. “Yes, you’ve had an uncomfortable evening. You believe that there’s something otherworldly going on. If you couldn’t make any deductions after spending the evening, I must assume that whoever is responsible for this is quite skilled.”
The fact that Shelby was listening to me and even gave me a rare compliment made me feel just a little bit better. Although anything was better than her taunts.
“Watson, let me inquire: Now that you’re not in the apartment is that heavy feeling you described gone?”
“Yeah.” It took a few blocks of fresh air, but the farther away from Baskerville Estates I got, the less agitated I felt. I was still tired, but that was understandable.
Shelby looked thoughtful for a moment. Like she was really going to help me with this. “One reasonable explanation could be someone using infrasound to elicit these responses from you.”
“Using what?”
“Infrasound. It’s a sound that falls below the audible twenty hertz frequency. There are theories it can cause physiological discomfort.”
I stared blankly back at Shelby.
“Ah, could you explain?”
She perked up. “I’d be more than delighted! Most humans have a hearing range from approximately twenty hertz to approximately twenty thousand hertz, or waves per second. Anything below that is considered infrasound. It doesn’t register to us as a sound, but our bodies register it unconsciously. People who experience it can have feelings of panic, changes in heart rate, even chills down one’s spine. One noted astrophysicist has stated people can even have visual hallucinations at eighteen point nine-eight hertz.”
Um, okaaaaay. Seriously. How did she know this stuff?
Although this would at least explain the feeling.
“What causes these, ah, sounds?”
“Many things, like severe weather and humpback whales, but it can be replicated with engines and fans. You can buy infrasound generators on the internet.”
So that was it? A machine? It seemed too easy.
“But you’re missing the most important question,” Shelby stated.
“What was that?”
“If this indeed is due to in
frasound, why would someone be doing this to the residents of Bryant’s building?”
Of course! One of the most important questions in trying to solve a mystery was the why, because that often would lead to the who. Who would be doing this?
“Is that why we heard the footsteps, clawing, and growling from an empty apartment and why we thought the lights went off?” No way could some low sound waves do that. I will never forget the howling of that . . . beast.
Shelby shook her head. “No. That I need to think on.”
Wait. What? Was I still asleep? Was this a dream?
Shelby didn’t have an immediate answer for something.
Well, I was certainly awake now.
CHAPTER
6
Poor Bryant.
He had three sleepless nights with whatever was going on in his apartment. I only had one, and I could barely get through my morning classes, despite the shock of Shelby’s confession. At least tonight I’d get to sleep in the comfort of my own home with hopefully no nightmares.
Dad and I would have to skip watching another so-bad-it’s-good horror movie tonight.
Oh no. I was going to have to tell Mom about this, wasn’t I? There was only so much I could get away with, and the fact that I’d probably be jumpy for a few days was going to be slightly suspicious.
But wait. Shelby had a logical answer for the weird feeling we had in the apartment. Although I didn’t see any fans. And how could everybody else in the building feel it?
And the creature? And the footsteps . . . And! And! And!
Ugh.
I dragged my feet to our lunch table. Carlos, Jason, and John Wu were already in the thick of some discussion. I sat down and started unpacking my lunch. Bryant wasn’t that far behind and sat next to me. He and I picked at our food in silence, while the rest of the guys talked about classes and homework and things I wished I could think about.
But nope. Even with that infrasound information, it still didn’t sit well with me.
“Okay, so zombies for Halloween?” Carlos said loudly, not noticing that Bryant and I recoiled at the mention of zombies.
“Zombies are played out,” Jason replied. “We need to be creative.”
Bryant looked like he was going to be sick. I hadn’t had a chance to tell him about Shelby’s theory, but I doubted it was going to give him much comfort. There were still a lot of unanswered questions.
“Um, guys, can we talk about something else?” I suggested.
Carlos looked between Bryant and me. “What’s going on with you two? Have you seen a zombie?”
The rest of the guys laughed. I leaned over to Bryant and said, “Maybe we should just tell them?” Then they would know better than to tease us.
“They wouldn’t believe me,” Bryant said in a quiet voice.
“That’s not true.”
Bryant gave me a look because I didn’t truly believe him until I experienced it myself.
Before I had a chance to respond our entire lunch table began to rattle. I could see the hands of all five of us on the table. The shaking intensified. Bryant froze next to me.
“What’s going on?” Carlos asked. “Ooooh, haunted!”
Tap, tap, tap . . .
Tap, tap, tap . . .
I needed to get up from the table, but couldn’t move. John Wu, Carlos, and Jason looked around like this was fun. Like it was some kind of joke.
The table rose about an inch off the ground, and then I heard it.
The beast. The growl.
Grrrrrrrr.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
No, no, NO!
This couldn’t be happening right now. Not during lunch. Not in front of the whole school. Did the creature follow us here?
Was I dreaming?
That was it. I was dreaming because there was no way Shelby would ever admit to not knowing something.
Bryant pushed his chair away with a scream.
I could hardly breathe. After one last loud growl, the table slammed down and a familiar puff of red hair emerged from under the table.
Shelby!!!
She had a smug look on her face as she held up her phone. “Well, Watson, I think I have an explanation for the noises.”
“Shelby!” I hissed. I couldn’t believe she hid under the table to scare us. She practically gave me a heart attack! And Bryant looked like he was about to faint. “Bryant, are you okay? I’m really sorry about that.”
“That was cool!” Carlos exclaimed, completely oblivious to how rattled Bryant was (not to mention me). “Hey, Shelby, can you help us with our Halloween costumes?”
“You really should consider being part of the tech group for the plays, Shelby,” John Wu said with admiration in his voice. “You’d kill it with special effects.”
Bryant glared at Shelby. “Is this a joke to you?”
“Oh, you’re fine.” Shelby paused for a moment and took in a red-faced Bryant. “Relatively speaking. I’m simply trying to help.”
“I don’t need your help,” Bryant said through gritted teeth.
Shelby folded her arms. “Your demeanor and lack of explanation for what’s happening with your apartment building say otherwise.”
I pulled Shelby to the side, my hands jittering from nerves. “I can’t believe you did that! You know how unsettled we are. That wasn’t funny, Shelby.”
She shrugged. “It was a little funny.”
“Shelby! It was mean.”
She recoiled slightly at that. “I was merely trying to make a point.”
“You could’ve done that without scaring us half to death,” I scolded her quietly. “Plus, the apartment where the noise was coming from was empty. There wasn’t anybody hiding, playing some mean trick.”
Shelby grimaced. “Okay. I could’ve warned you. My apologies. However, I did it because I wanted to prove that you can fool people into thinking something is haunted. You being privy to that information ahead of time wouldn’t have had the same result, but yes, it was perhaps a bit too dramatic after the night you’ve had. I’ve been thinking about what you experienced, and I believe this case is worthy enough of my talents.”
There was no way Bryant was going to have her help us now. No. Way.
I promised him she wouldn’t make fun of him. Shelby did that on top of causing a scene in front of the entire cafeteria.
This was not cool.
But—and I had to admit it—we needed Shelby’s help.
And she knew it.
“Hold on and just try to not upset anybody for two minutes.” I turned away from Shelby and approached Bryant.
I took a deep breath before I placed my hand lightly on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, man.” Bryant glared at Shelby across from the table where she was eating a cookie like it was a typical Tuesday for her. “That was awful and unacceptable and mean and, well, I told Shelby as much. You have every right to be mad at her, because I am, too.”
“I told you.” Bryant’s face was crimson with fear or anger or embarrassment, or possibly all three.
“I know. She was trying to prove something. Not the way I would’ve done it,” I admitted. “She was able to make us believe that the table was haunted. Listen, you have issues with Shelby—believe me, I do on most days. She may know how this is happening and can help us find the person responsible for this.”
Bryant looked surprised. “What do you mean? You think someone is doing this to mess with us?”
“I don’t know. That’s the problem. I don’t know. I couldn’t explain anything that was happening last night, but Shelby will be able to. We need her.”
Bryant looked down at the floor for a moment. When he finally looked up it was clear he wasn’t happy. But he knew we were in over our heads. “Only if she apologizes for what she did.” Bryant folded his arms.
“Yeah, sure,” I said, even though that was easier said than done. “Shelby, come over here.”
Shelby strolled over. “Yes, can I help with something?”
Aw man, she was going to make this difficult. Of course she would!
“First, you need to say you’re sorry.”
“You’re sorry,” she repeated with a snort.
“Shelby,” I warned her, “remember our talk.”
Shelby sulked for a moment before she pulled her shoulders back. “My sincerest apologies that you frighten so easily, Bryant.”
“Shelby!”
“I realize you’ve been under great strain, so I shouldn’t have done it.” She glared at me the entire time she was giving this so-called apology, but Bryant should have realized this was as good as he was going to get. “Is that all?”
Bryant let out a loud groan. “No, um, Shelby?”
“Yes.” Shelby smiled sweetly at him, which just infuriated Bryant even more.
He looked like he was in physical pain. “Can you come over to my apartment after school?”
“Why, Bryant, I thought you’d never ask.”
CHAPTER
7
Shelby and I had to have the talk.
Again.
“Can you please try to be nice to Bryant?” I begged as we waited for Bryant at my locker after school. “That stunt you pulled in the cafeteria was really mean.”
“So you’ve previously informed me, and I have apologized,” she replied with a dismissive sniff.
“Shelby, please. Bryant is one of our clients now.”
“Watson, I am always professional with our clients. I believe it would be rather impossible to name one client who wasn’t satisfied with my results.” She turned her nose up at me.
Yeah, I’d never argue that our clients weren’t happy when we solved a case, but Shelby could never be considered friendly. Besides, this was the first time one of our clients was one of my friends. A friend, no less, who really, really, really didn’t like Shelby.
Really, really.
Time to try a different approach. If she wasn’t going to do me a favor, at least I could reason with her.
Or so I’d hope.
“You know how I was this morning?”
Shelby tilted her head. “I do recall your abrupt temperament.”
The Great Shelby Holmes and the Haunted Hound Page 3
