Ghost Town (14 page)

“Where? Where?!” Avery demanded.

“In the second window, right?” Maeve asked Charlotte, who nodded.

“Oh, I see them too!” a suddenly excited Avery blurted out. “It's going from the second window to the first window. There. There!”

The group scrambled around a huge snowdrift in the middle of Main Street and raced to the door of the boarding house.

“Hello. Hello?” Mr. Ramsey called into the darkness beyond the open door. He shushed the girls as he listened for a response. “Anyone there?” he called out again.

“I'm sure I saw a light!” Avery insisted. “Maybe it's on a timer or something.”

“This town has never been wired for electricity,” Mr. Ramsey said. “The only way there could be a light is if a person had a flashlight or a lantern, but there doesn't seem to be anyone around. I think with all this ghost talk we're letting our imaginations get the better of us.”

“I don't know, Dad.” Charlotte shook her head. “It's not like we were walking around looking for a ghost.”

“Well, we better leave it for now,” Mr. Ramsey said. “No one's going in there to investigate—it's too dangerous. The stairs look like they're rotting away.”

“I want to check out the jail we saw yesterday,” Avery said, sprinting down the street with Charlotte and Maeve close on her heels. “Come on! It's this way!”

Suddenly the jailhouse door swung open right in front of them. Avery screeched to a halt so fast she almost lost her balance.

Charlotte gulped and Maeve let out a shriek.

“Cool,” Avery shouted. “Let's go in!”

“But why did
this
door randomly blow open?” Maeve asked. “I didn't feel a gust of wind or anything.”

Avery ignored her and zipped into the jail.

“Hey! Get in here!” she shouted. “Guys, you gotta see this place!”

Charlotte felt the temperature drop ten degrees the moment she crossed over the threshold into the small jail. The walls were made of stone and the windows were tiny slits. Two imposing cells stood in front of them, complete with thick iron bars that ran from floor to ceiling. The air was chilly, dank, and damp. “It's creepy in here,” Charlotte whispered to no one in particular. Maybe the ghosts of the jail were about to materialize. She felt the hairs on her arm begin to prickle. Dry Gulch was getting spooky.

“What a cool photo op. Come on, you two, get in there,” Maeve said, ushering Charlotte and Avery into one of the jail cells. “Now try to look tough and lonely like real jailbirds,” Maeve motioned as she backed away, trying to fit the whole cell into her viewfinder.

“Close the door, Avery. That'll make it look real!” Maeve said, gesturing for Avery to shut the cell door.

“NO!” Lissie yelled as Avery pulled hard at the door.

The sound of metal-on-metal reverberated in the small stone jail as the door clanged shut.

“What! What is it?!” Mr. Ramsey asked, rushing into
the jail, clearly alarmed by Lissie's scream. “Is everyone all right there?”

“I'm fine, but they're in a bit of trouble,” Lissie motioned toward Avery and Charlotte, who were trapped inside the cell.

The two had such melancholy expressions on their faces that Mr. Ramsey couldn't help but laugh.

“It's NOT funny,” Charlotte said with desperation, rattling at the iron bars.

“This is perfect! PERFECT!” Maeve proclaimed, snapping pictures from every angle.

“It's NOT perfect, Maeve,” Charlotte cried, her voice rising. “How are we supposed to get out of here?”

“Well, in the movies there's usually a big ring of keys hanging on a hook somewhere. Hmmm. I found a hook, but no keys,” Lissie said, scanning the walls.

“Could you two just grab the bars and give me your best sad look?” Maeve asked. “Closer together. Put your heads together. Now act like you'll never get out of there.”

“Not funny, Maeve,” Avery groaned. “It might be true.”

“What if we never escape,” Charlotte added, sinking to the floor and leaning her head against the wall. As brave as she was, Charlotte did not like small, closed spaces.

“Maybe the keys are in here somewhere,” Lissie suggested as she and Mr. Ramsey frantically opened the desk drawers.

“Don't fear, my little jailbirds,” Mr. Ramsey said in his fake French accent, attempting to lighten the mood. “Vee will bring you blankets to keep you warm.”

“And I will bring you beans,” Maeve crossed her heart. “Promise.”

“Look at these wanted posters!” Lissie pulled the posters out of the drawer and handed them to Maeve.

“Hey, guys, it could be worse. You could be in the cell with Bad Bart here or Lester Grinch,” Maeve said, showing the girls the yellowed wanted posters. “EWWWW! Those guys look like they wouldn't smell too good either.”

“Come on, guys. This is soooo not funny anymore,” Charlotte groaned.

“It wasn't funny to begin with. DO something! I don't want to spend the rest of my life locked up in this place,” Avery pouted. “And Maeve. STOP IT with the pictures!”

“Okay,” Maeve said. “But just one more!” The flash lit up the dark cell one last time.

“Wait a minute . . . look at this.” Lissie held up a wooden box.

“It's just a box,” Mr. Ramsey said.

“But listen to this,” Lissie shook the box. “Maybe there are keys inside.”

“So, open it already!” Avery shouted.

“It's locked,” Lissie said, fiddling with the lock.

“You're kidding me.” Avery sounded exasperated. “Now we have to find the key for the box that MIGHT have the keys to the cell? We are NEVER getting out of here!”

“Be right back.” Mr. Ramsey darted out the door.

“Dad, don't leave me here!” a shaking Charlotte called after him.

“Silence, prisoners,” Maeve said in a stern warden tone. “It's exercise time. Ready, march!”

“March where?” Avery asked.

“In a circle, of course,” Maeve said, trying to look as tough as she sounded.

“In a circle?” Charlotte looked skeptical.

“Attention, soldiers. A-TEN-SHUN!” Maeve bellowed.

“Soldiers?” Avery asked quizzically. “I thought we were prisoners.”

“Okay, whatever. A-TEN-SHUN, prisoners!” Maeve shouted again.

“Found it!” Mr. Ramsey cried as he came back into the jail.

“You found the keys?” Maeve asked.

“No, a crowbar,” Mr. Ramsey said, brandishing the tool in front of him. “Let's get that box open and break you two outta jail!”

Sure enough, they found a rusty ring of keys in the box. A trembling Charlotte was relieved beyond belief when the iron-barred door creaked open and she could escape from beyond the dark, dank stone cell. Charlotte promised herself that she would never ever get into trouble because she never ever wanted to be in a jail cell again. Not even for fun!

“Okay, girls. Now that the jailbird crisis is over, maybe you'll realize that you have to be careful around here! Watch where you walk, stay together, and DON'T get locked in anywhere,” Mr. Ramsey warned them. “This town is old and rickety and you can't mess around or somebody might get hurt.”

His words fell on deaf ears as Avery and Charlotte, like true jailbirds, flew the coop and went sliding down the big snowdrift in the middle of the street.

“Jailbreak! Jailbreak!” Maeve called, rushing after them. “Criminals at large! Criminals at large!”

Charlotte locked eyes with Avery and they both nodded in silent agreement.

“Let's do it,” Avery determined. The two girls rushed forward, each grabbing one of Maeve's arms. They hustled Maeve down the street and tossed her into a snow bank.

“Quick! Where's the camera?” Charlotte asked. “Say cheese, Maeve!”

Maeve stuck out her tongue, shaking the snow out of her curls.

Avery broke into uncontrollable giggles. “Wait!” she gasped, trying to catch her breath. “I have the perfect caption: ‘Abominable Snowgirl Terrorizes Ghost Town!'”

Lissie helped Maeve to her feet and the whole group laughed all the way down the street to the General Store.

“Look!” Lissie exclaimed, pointing out the dates on the newspapers strewn behind the counter. The newspapers were yellowed and faded, but still readable.

“Whoa!” Charlotte exclaimed. “1944?! Right before the end of World War II. These newspapers are ancient!”

“Good,” Avery said, gathering up a stack. “Old news. We can use them to help start a fire.”

“Are you crazy?!” Charlotte shouted, snatching the stack of papers out of Avery's hand. “We can't burn these.
They're history. Plus, now I have something to read!” Charlotte said, gazing lovingly at the delicate newspapers in her hands.

“I agree, Charlotte. I was a history major in college. Sometimes I think I'm more interested in the lives of people in the past than I am of people I meet in my day-to-day life,” Lissie said.

Charlotte wasn't impressed. She knew that Lissie was just making conversation or whatever, but for some reason it didn't feel that way. It seemed like Lissie was trying to show off or something.

“Look over there,” Avery said when they ventured out into the street again. “It looks like an old tavern or something. I have me a hankerin' for a steak dinner,” she said in her best western drawl. Avery pushed through the one swinging half-door that was still intact. The other side was hanging by one rusty hinge. The moment Avery entered the musty tavern, brandishing Mr. Ramsey's flashlight, eerie music started playing.

Startled, Avery jumped back and crashed into the swinging door, which clattered to the ground. She stumbled backward across the boardwalk and catapulted into a soft snowdrift. All that could be seen of Avery was her feet sticking up out of the snow.

Charlotte couldn't help cracking up.

“Don't laugh!” Avery commanded as she crawled out of the snowdrift and brushed herself off. “That freaked me out! What WAS that? Is there someone in there?”

“It's just a player piano,” Maeve reported from the door as she peeked into the darkness.

“But what made it start randomly playing like that?” Avery asked.

No one said anything, but they all had the same thought. Maybe Maeve really had seen a ghost.

“Hey, guys! Come here!” Lissie called. She was standing at the other end of the boardwalk. “I was fiddling with my cell phone and I actually got a bar of service! One little bar, but I might be able to make a call,” Lissie said optimistically as she pushed some buttons. “Luckily, I programmed in the number to Big Sky Resort before I left. Wait! It's ringing!”

Lissie handed the phone to Mr. Ramsey. “Here,” she said. “You need to check on the girls.”

“Hello, this is Richard Ramsey. I was supposed to check into the resort yesterday. Some of my party should have arrived already: Isabel Martinez and Katani Summers?”

He glanced at Charlotte, Maeve, and Avery, who were staring up at him with expectant eyes. Mr. Ramsey nodded to let them know that Katani and Isabel had arrived safely.

“Our rental vehicle broke down on the way to the resort. We're safe, but we are stuck in . . . Hello? Hello?”

“Lost the connection?” Lissie asked.

Mr. Ramsey nodded his head slowly and looked at the girls' disappointed faces. “Don't worry. At least we know that Katani and Isabel are safe. And I'm almost positive the Big Sky people were on the line long enough to hear that we're safe, too,” Mr. Ramsey reassured them.

“I'm sure the resort is taking good care of your friends,” Lissie told the girls.

The girls trudged glumly back toward the hotel.

“I bet those guys are having a blast,” Avery said in a downtrodden voice.

“Do you think they're hanging out with Nik and Sam?” Charlotte wondered.

“Nik and Sam!” Maeve groaned and threw up her arms dramatically. “I can't believe I'm stuck in a ghost town while Nik and Sam are only like an hour away. It so figures!”

“If I were them, I'd be relaxing in that gigantic hot tub from the brochure right now,” Charlotte said.

“How great would it be to slip into the hot bubbly water? I can almost feel it now.” Maeve daydreamed with her eyes shut, imagining every bubble.

“I wish I could feel it now,” Avery said as they opened the door to the cold, dry hotel. Mr. Ramsey began poking at the fire to stir it back to life.

I'll meet you in the Missouri ballroom in about five minutes then, okay?” Nik and Sam's mom smiled. “There should be a security guard at the door. Just show him this pass and he'll let you in right away. If he gives you any trouble, tell him to call me.”

“Okay,” Isabel said, taking the pass from her hand. “I'm so excited!” she squealed, turning to Katani as soon as the door to their suite was closed. “I've never been to a real live concert rehearsal before.”

“Me neither,” Katani said with a grin. “This is just plain
awesome
.”

The girls stopped at the front desk on the way to the theater to see if there was any word from Mr. Ramsey and the rest of the BSG. The front desk clerk informed them that Mr. Ramsey had called and said their rental car had broken down.

“Broken down?” Katani asked. They had been hoping that Mr. Ramsey and the girls had stopped at a hotel or
rest stop to wait out the storm. This sounded more serious. “Where
are
they?”

“That's the problem,” the clerk told her. “The phone went dead before we could get a location from them.”

“Dead?” Katani repeated ominously.

“Mr. Ramsey said they were safe,” the clerk assured the girls.

“But where are they?” Isabel wondered aloud.

“The state police have been notified. There's a small search party out looking for them now.”