Читать книгу Ghost Detectors Volume 1 - Dotti Enderle - Страница 12

Malcolm sat with his family at dinner that evening, but his mind was on ghost detecting. Everyone was unusually quiet. Dad had the TV blaring from the living room so he could hear the six o’clock news. Malcolm saw his chance to launch Step One of his ghost-hunting plan.

“Mom, can Dandy spend the night?”

“Of course,” Mom said. “He can keep you company while you watch Grandma Eunice.”

The spaghetti in Malcolm’s mouth suddenly tasted like lead. “I’m watching Grandma Eunice tonight?”

“It’s just for a few hours,” Mom said.

“Why can’t Cocoa watch her?”

Mom laid down her fork. “Because Cocoa is going with me.”

“Why can’t I go?” Malcolm asked. He didn’t really want to go anywhere with them, but he wanted to protest.

Mom sighed and lifted her fork again. “You can go if you think you’ll enjoy shopping for Cocoa’s new dress.”

Cocoa wrinkled her nose and smirked at him.

Malcolm wouldn’t give up. “Why can’t Dad watch Grandma?”

“Bowling night,” Dad said, shoveling spaghetti into his mouth.

Malcolm sank in his chair. It was useless. He looked over at Grandma Eunice, who didn’t seem to notice they were talking about her. She had a large napkin tucked in her collar, and there appeared to be more spaghetti on her chin and fingers than on her plate.

He spoke to her in a defeated voice. “I’m staying with you tonight, Grandma Eunice.”

She gave him a tomatoey grin. “That’s nice.”

His plan to sneak back to the McBleaky house might not work after all.

That evening, Grandma Eunice sat on the edge of the sofa, watching an old black-and-white TV show. Dandy was lying on the floor, using Cocoa’s blow-dryer to balance a ping-pong ball. The ball floated on the steady jet of warm air—a trick Malcolm had shown him a few weeks ago.

Malcolm was stretched out on the other end of the couch, tapping the toes of his sneakers together out of pure boredom. He looked at his watch. Eight thirty. What time did the mall close, anyway? Knowing Mom and Cocoa, they’d stop off for a soda or ice cream afterward. And Dad wouldn’t be home until after eleven o’clock.

Dandy shut off the blow-dryer and let the ping-pong ball drop. It dribbled across the floor, then rolled into the corner. “When can we go?” he asked.

Malcolm sat up. “We may not be able to go at all tonight. I don’t think I can sneak out if it’s very late.”

Grandma Eunice threw her head back and laughed at something on TV.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be talking about this in front of your great-grandmother,” Dandy whispered, pointing her way.

“It’s okay,” Malcolm said. “She doesn’t know what’s going on.”

“Oh well,” Dandy said. “I don’t want to go to that house at night anyway. That place was scary enough in the daylight.”

“I just have to go,” Malcolm said. “And I’m taking my camera. If my specter detector can really detect a ghost, I might be able to capture it on film.”

Grandma Eunice laughed again, this time slapping her leg. A bit of drool rolled down the corner of her face.

“Maybe there’s another house we could test it out on,” Dandy suggested.

Malcolm shook his head furiously. “No, it has to be the McBleaky house!”

Suddenly the television shut off. Malcolm looked over at Grandma Eunice. She sat with the remote still extended in her hand. Her face looked young and bright, and her eyes were lit like someone half her age. “You don’t want to go there,” she said.

Malcolm leaned toward her and looked her in the eyes. “Grandma?”

“You don’t want to go to the McBleaky house,” Grandma Eunice warned. “It’s not fit for any living soul, especially little boys.”

Malcolm couldn’t believe it. His great-grandmother had some wits about her after all. “How do you know about the McBleaky house?” he asked, still not convinced she was totally all there.

“Because I knew Old Man McBleaky himself. And I know what happened in that house.”

“What?” Malcolm and Dandy asked, huddling together.

Grandma Eunice moved in closer to the boys. “It all started about 80 years ago . . .”