Curiosity Killed the Cat (8 page)

On Monday morning, Hannah woke in a daze. The scratching sound seemed to have gotten louder and more insistent the previous night, and she had barely slept. Madison looked just as tired as Hannah felt as the two girls stumbled to the bus stop together. When the bus pulled up, Madison got on and headed straight for her seat next to Alexis. Hannah slipped into the next empty seat she found and immediately fell into a half-sleep.

A second later, she was jolted awake as someone sat down on the bench next to her.

“Hey,” Ryan said with a crooked grin. “Sorry to wake you.”

Hannah sat up straight and swiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. Had she been drooling?
Please don’t let me have been drooling!
she thought desperately.
That would be
so
embarrassing, and I already have plenty of other things to worry about.

“Uh, that’s okay,” Hannah said. “I was up late last night and didn’t sleep well.”

“I can see that,” Ryan teased. “I just wanted to make sure you knew about the Halloween party Taylor and I are having next weekend. She told me she saw you at the library yesterday and invited you, but I wanted to make sure you were coming.”

Hannah thought she might have been imagining it, but Ryan seemed a little ner vous. He kept jiggling his leg up and down.

“Yeah, that sounds like fun,” Hannah said. She tried to push thoughts of the ghost cat out of her head. A party would be a fun distraction, right?
As long as nothing terrible happens before then
, she thought. She hadn’t even remembered Halloween was coming up so soon until Taylor had brought it up. “Do I have to wear a costume?”

“You don’t
have
to, but isn’t that half the fun?” Ryan replied. “I’m going as a mad scientist. I even have a prop — a beaker full of cola and a bunch of Mentos candies, so I can make the soda bubble over!”

“That sounds awesome,” Hannah said. She was impressed. Boys usually didn’t put much thought into their Halloween costumes, but Ryan obviously had. And his idea was pretty cool. “I guess I’ll have to come up with something fast.”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something,” Ryan said. “There are lots of easy costumes out there. You could wrap yourself in toilet paper and go as a mummy, or you could wear black and put on ears and a tail and go as a cat. Or you could just wear a white sheet and be a ghost!”

Hannah’s breath caught in her throat. Why had Ryan mentioned both cats and ghosts? Did he know something, or had it just been a coincidence? There was an awkward silence between them.

“You okay?” Ryan asked gently. “Did I say something weird?”

Hannah shook her head. “No, no, sorry,” she said apologetically. “I’m just so tired, I’m a little out of it. Those are great ideas — thanks.”

“Sure, anytime,” he said. “Oh, and there’s one other thing — our band, The Headless Horsemen, is playing at the party. If you wanted to play with us, that would be awesome. I’d rather play bass, so we could really use a guitarist. We only know one song
so far, but it’s a pretty good one. I can write down the chords for you if you want.”

Hannah picked ner vously at a patch she’d sewn onto her backpack. “Um, maybe,” she said hesitantly. It sounded like so much fun. She wished she had the confidence to just say yes, but she was still scared of a repeat of the great ballet disaster, especially since so many kids from her school would be there. “I guess you could give me the chords so I can try practicing them and see how it goes. Can I let you know for sure later in the week?”

Ryan grinned again, even more broadly this time. “Definitely! Let me write them down now.”

He pulled a sheet of paper out of his notebook and began scribbling feverishly with a stubby pencil. As the bus pulled up in front of the school, Ryan handed Hannah the scrawled notes. “Here you go,” he said. “If you write down your e-mail address for me, I’ll send you an MP3 of the song, too. We’re going to get together to practice on Saturday before everyone gets to the party, so if you decide you want to play with us, it would be great if you can come over a little early.”

Hannah tore out a sheet of paper from her own notebook and wrote down her e-mail address for
Ryan. “Sounds like a deal,” she agreed as she handed him the paper.

When Hannah got to homeroom, Paisley was nowhere to be found. Even though Hannah wasn’t supposed to use her cell phone in school, she slipped into the girls’ bathroom between her English and bio classes and sent Paisley a quick text:

where r u??? missed u in homeroom!

Hannah didn’t get a reply until lunchtime:

ugh! home sick. :(slept all a.m. will call 2nite.

The rest of the day flew by in a sleepy blur. Hannah managed to stay awake in all of her classes, but she felt like a zombie for most of the day. By the time she got home, she was ready to collapse. She did her homework as quickly as possible and was about to climb into bed when her cell phone chimed. It was a text from Paisley:

can u skype? just woke up from 3rd nap of the day!

sure. just give me a sec.

Hannah logged on and her friend’s face filled the computer screen. Paisley looked pretty miserable — her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were glassy.

“How are you feeling?” Hannah asked. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look, well, you look like you’re sick.”

“Uhhh, I know!” Paisley said. “I slept most of the day.”

“Sorry,” Hannah said sympathetically. “If it makes you feel better, you didn’t miss anything exciting in homeroom this morning. Oh, but I saw Taylor Walsh at the library yesterday, and she invited both of us to her Halloween party on Saturday. Well, her and her brother Ryan’s party.”

Hannah felt her cheeks get hotter when she said Ryan’s name.

“Are you blushing?” Paisley teased. “Oh my gosh! You like him! You totally have a crush on Ryan Walsh!”

“No, I do not,” Hannah said halfheartedly. She wanted to deny it, but she suddenly realized it was true. She
did
like Ryan. In fact, hanging out with him had been one of the only good things that had happened to her lately. She sighed. Then she smiled. “Okay, maybe I do. But just a little bit!”

“Eeeeek!” Paisley shrieked. “He’s really cute. And nice. I approve one hundred ercent.”

Hannah blushed again. It felt good to talk about boys with her friend. For a few minutes, she had
forgotten all about the ghost cat. But then suddenly, she heard the scratching sound.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

Hannah stopped smiling immediately, and her face paled. The mild dread she had been feeling in the pit of her stomach since her trip to the library intensified. She glanced behind her, but of course there was nothing there.

“Hannah?” Paisley asked. “You okay?”

“Um, yeah, I’m fine,” Hannah said a little too quickly. Paisley looked at her suspiciously. Again, Hannah considered confessing every thing to her friend. Paisley would believe her, right? She wouldn’t think Hannah was making it all up, would she? Hannah honestly didn’t know how Paisley would respond, but she knew if Paisley didn’t believe her, it could be the end of their friendship. Things had been rocky enough since their fight, and Hannah realized that wasn’t a risk she was willing to take.

“I — um, I’m just still sad about Icky,” Hannah told Paisley.
At least that’s not a lie
, she thought.

“Still no word?” Paisley replied, her brow wrinkled in concern. “I’ve been keeping an eye out for him around here, you know. I keep hoping I’ll find him hiding in our bushes when I take out the trash.”

Hannah sighed. It was nice to know that her friend had been thinking of Icky and looking for him, too. “Thanks, Pais,” she said softly. “You’re a great friend.”

Suddenly, Paisley was overcome by a fit of coughing. When she finally stopped, she looked exhausted from the effort.

“I think I’d better go,” she said with a smile. “Time for some cough medicine and more sleep.”

“Yeah, I should go to sleep, too,” Hannah replied, even though she doubted she would be able to sleep much that night. Now in addition to worrying about the ghost cat, she was thinking about Icky, too. Hannah had a feeling it was going to be a very long night.

As the week dragged on and Halloween approached, Hannah slept less and less. The scratching sound intensified at night, but was gone each morning, and nothing else suspicious happened. Hannah spent a lot of time practicing her guitar along with the MP3 Ryan had sent and researching curses and ghosts online. For every story she read about a menacing spirit, there was at least one story about a benevolent and kind ghost who was only haunting someone out of boredom or for fun.

Seriously?
Hannah thought.
Ghosts haunt people for fun?
She vowed that should she ever become a ghost in her own afterlife, she would never,
ever
haunt someone just because she found it entertaining.

The only time Hannah seemed to be able to relax enough to think things over was when she was playing her guitar. By Wednesday night, she had mastered The Headless Horsemen’s one and only song, “Skeleton Riot.”

As she strummed easily through the chords, Hannah thought about the ghost cat. She desperately wanted to believe the ghost was the good kind of spirit — after all, it was a cat, and she loved cats. But how would she ever know for sure? The more Hannah thought about it, the more confused she was about every thing. If the ghost
wasn’t
trying to do her harm, then what was it after? Could the haunting have something to do with Icky’s disappearance? If not, then what in the world would the ghost of an old cat want from Hannah?

She didn’t have a clue.

And as Hannah packed her guitar in its case on Wednesday night, just two days before Halloween, she had a feeling she was going to have to wait until Friday to find out.

Hannah woke on Thursday feeling as confused as ever about the ghost. She also hadn’t made any progress on her plans for a Halloween costume
or
decided whether or not she was going to play with The Headless Horsemen. And, of course, Icky was still missing. Her stomach was a bundle of knotted nerves.

As she brushed her teeth and got ready for school, she made a silent vow to herself. By the end of the day, she was determined to have at least two of those issues resolved — she had to let Ryan know whether she was going to play with The Headless Horsemen, and she had to find something to wear to the party.

Surprisingly, the costume issue resolved itself over breakfast. Hannah walked into the kitchen to
find Madison and Allison in the middle of an argument.

“Mom, I
told
you I already had a costume,” Madison snapped at Allison through a mouthful of cereal. “Alexis, Katie, and I got vintage twenties-style dresses at the thrift store, and we’re going to be flappers.”

Allison sighed. She picked up a shopping bag and pulled out a black vest with a skull-and-crossbones patch on it and a red-and-black striped skirt. Hannah also caught a glimpse of a glittery black eye patch.

“But this pirate costume is so
adorable
!” Allison insisted. “And it was such a great deal. When I saw it on the sale rack, I couldn’t resist. Now it’s going to go to waste.”

“Ugh, a pirate?” Madison countered, her voice dripping with disdain. “Seriously, Mom, no girl wants to be a pirate. It’s so
not
cute. There was totally a reason it was on sale.”

“I’ll wear it,” Hannah said simply. Madison and Allison both looked at her in surprise.

“What?” Hannah asked with a shrug. “I need a costume for Halloween, and I think it’s cute. The eye patch is covered in black sequins.”

Madison snorted into her cereal. “Figures,” she muttered under her breath.

Hannah glared at her in reply.

“What was that?” Allison asked her daughter sharply. For the first time, she seemed aware of the tension between the two girls.

“Nothing,” Madison said sweetly. “I just had a little tickle in my throat.”

Hannah reached out to take the costume from Allison. “Thanks,” she said.

“No problem,” Allison replied. She still seemed surprised, but she smiled warmly at Hannah. “I’m glad someone will get some use out of it.”

Hannah really did like the costume, especially the skull-and-crossbones patch, which was accessorized with red gemstones. And it seemed like the kind of costume The Headless Horsemen would approve of, too, even if she hadn’t yet decided whether she was going to join their band.

One problem down, two to go
, Hannah thought as she grabbed a cereal bar and ran upstairs to get her backpack, guitar, and coat before heading outside to wait for the bus.

As she stepped out the front door, Hannah practically slammed into Madison, who was standing
motionless in the middle of the porch. She was staring at the ground, her face ashen.

“What’s wrong?” Hannah asked as she glanced down. There on the step in front of them was a mangled, bloody dead animal. Hannah gasped.

“Wh-wh-what is it?” Madison whispered. She sounded terrified.

Hannah wanted to run screaming into the house, but like Madison, fear had rooted her in place on the porch. She felt dread return to the pit of her stomach as she gathered up all of her courage and leaned over to get a closer look.

Relief flooded through Hannah in a wave that made her weak in the knees. Even though there was nothing funny about the situation, she let out a little laugh.

“It’s not a real animal — it’s a stuffed toy,” Hannah told Madison as she crouched down to examine the gray ball of fake fur. “See? The red stuff isn’t blood either — it’s paint or something.”

“It’s Mr. Mouse,” Madison said softly, the expression on her face a mixture of fear and nostalgia.

“Mr. Mouse?” Hannah asked. “Who’s that?”

“He was my favorite toy when I was little — a stuffed gray mouse. My mom kept him stored in a box of my old baby things in the garage….”

She trailed off. Hannah realized what she was thinking. The mouse had been in the garage the other day when her dad had fallen off the ladder and spilled the paint because of the ghost cat. And now the toy was covered in paint and looked like it had been attacked by some sort of animal. There was only one way it could have gotten to the porch steps — the ghost cat.

Suddenly, Madison sprang into action. She grabbed the toy and marched down the walkway toward the garbage cans that were lined up neatly at the curb. Then she yanked the lid off one of the cans and threw the toy in before slamming the lid down again. Madison wiped her palms on her jeans and walked purposefully toward the bus stop.

Hannah followed closely behind her, a million thoughts racing through her head. What did the mangled toy mean? Was it some sort of sign? Or had the ghost cat just found a fun toy to play with? Hannah glanced at Madison and noticed that she was furiously wiping away tears.

“Madison, we need to talk about this,” Hannah said desperately. “We have to figure out why all of this stuff keeps happening. I did some research at the library this weekend, and there’s something you should know.”

Madison remained silent as Hannah told her the complete story of Molly Straub and her cat, Shadow. Hannah explained that she was worried something terrible might happen on Halloween since that was the night when Molly Straub had drowned.

By the time Hannah finished, the bus was rounding the corner. “Well, what do you think?” Hannah asked. “Don’t you think we need to figure out why we’re being haunted?”

“If anyone’s being haunted, it’s you,” Madison replied tersely. The bus squealed to a stop and the doors opened. “And I’m not talking about this anymore,” Madison hissed under her breath as she boarded the bus.

Hannah slid into an empty seat and propped her backpack and guitar case next to her. She sighed heavily. She couldn’t believe how ridiculous and selfish Madison was being.
How can she care so much about being popular that she doesn’t even want to figure out what the ghost wants?
Hannah thought. She punched the back of the bus seat in frustration just as Ryan slid into the seat next to her.

“Whoa,” he joked. “Rough morning?”

“You could say that,” Hannah replied glumly.

“What happened?” Ryan asked.

Hannah sighed. “It’s a long story.”

Ryan shrugged. “I’ve got an entire bus ride,” he said. “And there’s lunch, too.”

Hannah hesitated. Had Ryan just asked her to eat lunch with him? Should she tell him what was going on? Madison hadn’t been any help so far, Hannah’s dad wouldn’t believe her even if she had told him the whole story, and Hannah was too afraid of what Paisley might think to tell her what had been happening lately. But maybe telling someone else would lead to some answers. And at this point, she was feeling desperate. Halloween was the next day, and she needed to do something before then.

Hannah took a deep breath and decided to go for it.

She leaned toward Ryan and lowered her voice until it was just a whisper.

“Do you believe in ghosts?”