The Ghost Light Read online

  “Can we sit and watch my mom?” Juni asked.

  Maggie grinned, feeling a tiny twinge of relief. No spooky nursery today; she would make sure they sat right in front so they would be surrounded by other people. “Of course! You’re pretty lucky having a mom who’s such a good actress. Maybe you’ll be an actress, too, someday.”

  Juniper shrugged out of her sparkly purple backpack and dumped it on the floor. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a coloring book and some crayons. “Look what I brought! Princesses!” Her coloring book featured princesses from all over the world, wearing everything from hijabs to kimonos to long Western gowns.

  Emily looked a little embarrassed. “She’s still really fixated on this whole princess thing. I hope you don’t mind.”

  Maggie’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding? I basically made my parents call me Ariel for almost all of preschool. I’m still not convinced I wasn’t born a mermaid.”

  Emily laughed. “I’m glad you understand. We definitely lucked out when we found you as a babysitter.”

  “Thanks! I feel pretty lucky, too.” Maggie blushed. “I’m already learning so much about acting just from being here.”

  Emily smiled. “That’s great! Don’t forget that you’re welcome at rehearsal anytime, even on the nights that Juniper’s at home with her dad. And if you ever have questions, I’m always happy to help. I used to be a drama teacher, you know.” She winked at Maggie and hurried onstage to join the other actors. Maggie’s heart leaped. Could today get any better?

  Maggie and Juniper settled in, Juniper happily coloring in her princess book while Maggie watched the actors stride across the stage, reciting their lines. The story came alive, and she found herself riveted to find out what would happen to the power-mad Macbeth and his scheming wife.

  The tech crew was working on the lighting cues, and Maggie was amazed at how much atmosphere the moody lighting brought to the story. Emily’s sleepwalking scene was cast in a cool, blue light, and Maggie could barely see the other actors. Then Emily glided on and the theater’s old spotlight followed her as she paced the stage, giving her an unearthly glow.

  The spotlight swung away from Emily. The actors continued the scene in semidarkness, used to the early errors of techs learning the new lighting cues. The pool of light skidded along the curtain and zigzagged wildly along the wall. Maggie giggled. What was going on?

  Next to her, Juniper was tunelessly singing to herself, hard at work coloring in a princess gown. She had worn her red crayon down almost to a nub.

  The spotlight went black, and Maggie heard the director, Irene, sigh in frustration. “Cut,” she cried. She turned and squinted into the lighting catwalk. “What’s going on up there, Oliver?”

  “Sorry, I’m just having trouble with this old light!” a male voice called down. “It looks like the bulb burnt out. I’ll go grab a new one from the storeroom.” Oliver flipped on the other stage lights, and Maggie heard the clang of his heavy boots as he trotted along the catwalk and down the ladder.

  Irene stretched. “Okay, everybody. Take five.” The actors relaxed.

  Kawanna tapped Emily on the shoulder. “Can I grab you for a few minutes? I finished altering your costume, and I want to check it for fit.” The two of them disappeared backstage.

  A moment later Maggie heard cries of dismay coming from the wings. Kawanna and Emily rushed back to the stage, and Kawanna carried a bundle of fabric in her arms. “Irene!” Kawanna cried. “Can you come take a look at this?” Irene hurried over, and the three of them clustered together, their voices tight and hushed.

  “Can I have everyone’s attention for a moment?” The cast and crew gathered around Irene. “Has anyone been near the dressing rooms today?” The actors and crew members shook their heads. “No one was sawing back there, or using any of the carpentry equipment?” The folks onstage gave confused denials, and Maggie wondered what was going on. Why would the director ask that? Irene’s voice grew frustrated. “And nobody saw anyone walking around back there?”

  Dallas’s voice rose above the confused murmurs of his castmates. “Irene, we’re kind of in the dark here. What happened?”

  Kawanna let the bunched-up fabric in her hands drop, and Maggie could see it was a long gown, but something about it looked off. “It’s Emily’s costume.” She stretched out part of the skirt. “Or at least it was. It’s been slashed to ribbons.”

  The room exploded with cries of shock. Everyone started talking at once, their voices growing louder as they pushed forward to get a closer look at the damaged costume. Maggie was stunned. Emily was so nice. Maggie couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to destroy her costume on purpose.

  “Oh, your mom’s poor costume! I wonder how it happened.”

  Juniper barely raised her eyes from her coloring page. “She did it.”

  “What? Who did it?”

  Juniper finally lifted her head to stare at one of the balcony boxes above them. Maggie followed her eyes.

  Someone stood in the balcony box, her arms raised in triumph. Maggie felt her body go cold. It was the woman in red, and something silvery gleamed in her grip. The woman moved, and Maggie could finally see what she held that had caught the light. It was the long, sharp blade of a butcher knife.

  CHAPTER

  9

  MAGGIE GASPED AND gripped the arms of her chair. The cast and crew were still in a flurry of concerned activity onstage. Had anyone else seen the woman in red?

  Oliver returned with the spot bulb and flicked on the house lights. The balcony box was empty now, and the cast and crew were clearing the stage to rehearse the scene again. Emily stood near the wings while Kawanna retook her measurements. Nobody was talking about the mysterious figure in the balcony.

  Juniper went back to coloring in her book. She still sang to herself as she colored, and Maggie could finally understand the words. “Lady, lady, lady. A lady all in red,” Juniper sang. Her princess wore a red dress, and Juni had scribbled over her face in red crayon, too. Like a veil.

  “Juni,” Maggie said quietly. “Tell me about what you’re coloring.”

  Juniper dropped the red crayon and picked up a dark-blue one. She colored the background in long sweeps. “You saw her.”

  Maggie swallowed thickly. “I did.” She looked around at the other actors and lowered her voice. “Does anyone else see her? Where is she now?”

  Juniper shrugged. “She’s always here.” Juniper danced her blue crayon in the air. “Always watching,” she sang.

  Maggie felt an icicle of true fear pierce her heart. None of the adults seemed able to see the mysterious visitor. Could the woman in red be a ghost? Or even the Night Queen? Maggie tried to make her voice sound light and unconcerned. “Who is she watching, Juni?”

  Juniper picked up a silver crayon and made jagged dots on the dark-blue background, pressing hard. “Mostly she watches Mommy.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I don’t think she likes Mommy very much.”

  “Because she cut up your mom’s dress?” Maggie asked.

  Juniper nodded and pointed down at the coloring book page. She had drawn a knife in one hand of the red princess and a black bag in the other. “And she cuts up Mommy’s other things, too.”

  Maggie remembered Emily’s missing tote. “Did she cut up your mom’s bag?”

  Juniper nodded. She held up her fingers and ticked off items one by one. “And her scarf. Her sweatshirt. Her furry white coat.”

  Maggie’s skin crawled, imagining the woman in red gleefully slashing up Emily’s things. “Why would she do that?”

  Juniper shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  Maggie tried to question her further, but Juniper ignored her, coloring silently. Maggie found herself peering over her shoulder and jumping at every sound, afraid to leave her seat until rehearsal ended and Emily came down from the stage, her face and shoulders tight with tension. Emily forced a smile and tried to make her voice sound cheerful when she greeted her daughter. “Hi, Junebug.”
She looked at Maggie. “How was she today?”

  Maggie wasn’t sure what to say. “Uhhh, quiet, I guess. She was really into coloring in her book.” Should she tell Emily what Juniper had said about the woman in red? Maggie opened the book to the page that Juniper colored that evening. “She was pretty busy making this. Isn’t it interesting?” She watched Emily’s eyes, looking for some sign that she understood.

  Emily barely glanced at the coloring page. “What a terrific princess. She looks very brave and strong.” She kissed the top of Juniper’s head. “Just like you!”

  “Juniper, don’t you want to tell your mom about your princess?” Maggie asked.

  “No,” Juniper said simply.

  This was going nowhere fast. “It’s awful about your dress,” Maggie said. “What happened?”

  Emily shrugged. “Who knows? I’m sure it was just an accident.”

  Maggie sighed inwardly. Great, she thought. Another adult who has paranormal stuff happening right under her nose and can’t even see it. Thank goodness Clio’s aunt was at the theater, too. She would know what to do.

  Emily looked back at the stage. “I just feel so bad for Kawanna, having to make a new costume when she’s already so overworked now that she’s the assistant director, too.”

  Maggie watched Kawanna onstage, writing feverishly on a clipboard as she spoke to the director. Maggie realized they had barely spoken at rehearsals because Kawanna was always rushing around somewhere. Her usually perfect nails were chipped, and she wasn’t wearing a single accessory. The Kawanna that Maggie knew and loved was lively and fun, fashionably dressed and quick with a joke. This Kawanna looked frazzled, with bags under her eyes. And she hadn’t played a single prank on the girls since she started working on the Twilight renovation. Poor Kawanna. She must be really stressed. What would she do if Maggie dumped yet another problem in her lap? Nice work on the play, Kawanna. Oh, by the way, the theater’s haunted by an angry ghost that keeps ripping up Emily’s stuff. There was no way she could tell her. Maggie would just have to keep going it alone.

  * * *

  Maggie was intentionally late to school the next morning so she would have an excuse to avoid her friends. Seeing the woman in red wave a knife around had scared her more than ever, especially when she thought about Emily’s clothes. But Maggie still didn’t feel ready to ask for help. Telling them about her fears felt like saying This is too hard for me. It felt like giving up, and it would only prove everything they probably already thought about her.

  On the way to the library at lunch, she texted Tanya.

  Maggie stared at Tanya’s reply. It would feel so good just to tell them the truth, to know that she didn’t have to try to fix this by herself. She started to type Y-E-S, but she deleted the letters before she sent them.

  She slid the phone back in her bag without looking at the reply and paused at the library door. She was tired of thinking about the Twilight, and the drama club petition was the perfect distraction. She squared her shoulders and walked into the library, waving to Mr. Gallaher. He wore a green bow tie with an orange striped shirt and greeted Maggie with a big smile. “Welcome back! You look a little happier today.”

  Maggie smiled back. “Is Val back there already?”

  Mr. Gallaher nodded. “She used the copier this morning for your petition. I think she’s already gotten some signatures.”

  Maggie brightened. “Yay! I can’t wait to see!” She hurried back to the table, where Val, Nobi, and some of the other kids crowded around a stack of papers.

  Val looked up and grinned. “Nobi and I got about forty signatures each this morning!”

  Maggie’s eyes widened. “Each? Wow! That many kids want to join drama club?”

  Nobi laughed. “No. I think they just like the idea of sticking it to Dr. Gujadhur. We’re always having to listen to him, and it’s pretty cool to make him listen to us for a change.”

  Alice, a petite girl with blue eyes and curly blond hair, picked up a stack of empty signature pages. “We should take these to the cafeteria. We can get a lot during lunch!”

  Maggie hesitated. What if her friends noticed something was wrong? Then it would all come spilling out. Wait a minute, she thought. I’m an actress. She tossed back her hair and held out her arms for a pile of petitions. “Let’s do this!”

  By the end of lunch, they had a stack of signature pages tall enough to impress the strictest principal. Maggie had even gotten Trent Conrad to sign! She smiled down at her friends’ names signed in purple glitter gel pen: Rebecca Chin, Clio Carter-Peterson, and Tanya Martinez. They hadn’t noticed a thing. She had been amazing. Maggie’s smile faltered. But she hadn’t liked not telling them about the Twilight. It felt too much like lying. Maggie pushed the thought away and picked up the sheaf of papers. She turned to Val. “Ready?” Val grinned and followed her to Dr. Gujadhur’s office.

  “Dr. Gujadhur, we have a petition to start an after-school drama club here at Sanger Middle, and we have over two hundred signatures.” Maggie plopped the petition onto the principal’s desk with a flourish. She felt like a character in a movie.

  The principal sighed. “Ah, it’s Miss Anderson again.” He looked at Valerie. “And Miss Leo.” He made no move to touch the pile of papers.

  “Well?” Maggie said. “Aren’t you going to look at it?”

  Dr. Gujadhur looked tired. “As I’ve already explained, we simply don’t have the resources to add a drama club. A petition isn’t going to change that.”

  Maggie felt a rising frustration. “Why not? Before you said that there weren’t enough kids interested.” She pointed to the signatures. “But look. Lots of kids would join!”

  “Girls, I appreciate all your hard work, but my hands are tied.” He reached into a tray on his desk and slid a goldenrod-yellow flyer toward the girls. “Perhaps you’d consider joining the chess club instead.” Maggie and Val stared at it in disbelief. Dr. Gujadhur slowly slid a second flyer over the first one, this one a dull baby blue. “Or volleyball? I believe Mrs. Hitchings is hosting tryouts next week.”

  If she were in a movie Maggie would have crumpled up the flyers and thrown them back in his face with some impressive insult before flouncing out. But she wasn’t in a movie, and Maggie didn’t want to get into trouble. Besides, she couldn’t think of any impressive insults. Instead Maggie and Val filed slowly out of the office, leaving the petition on his desk, untouched. “Don’t forget, girls, there’s always high school!” Dr. Gujadhur called after them.

  Maggie was so disappointed she couldn’t even look at Val. “Don’t worry,” Val said. “We’ll figure something out.” But it didn’t sound like her heart was in it. The two girls shouldered their backpacks and headed to class.

  Maggie didn’t think she had ever felt so miserable. She had been thrilled about the new theater company and her first babysitting job, but instead of being wonderful everything was just one big disaster. The theater was cursed, her babysitting gig was scary instead of exciting, and she couldn’t even tell her friends about any of it. And now her dream of starting a drama club had just swirled down the toilet, too. She felt tears welling up in her eyes. Could things get any worse?

  CHAPTER

  10

  THAT NIGHT AT rehearsal Maggie could barely concentrate. Her eyes scanned every shadow, wondering where the woman in red would strike next. Juniper begged her to play in the nursery again, but Maggie made up an excuse, afraid to leave the safety of the stage and the first few rows of seats. She pulled out some board games and an activity book, managing to keep the little girl busy almost the entire evening. But after a while Juniper wriggled in her seat. “I have to go to the bathroom.”

  Maggie looked fearfully around the theater. “Rehearsal is almost finished. Are you sure you can’t hold it?”

  Juniper squirmed out of her seat and hopped up and down. “No! I have to go now!”

  Maggie stood up and held out her hand. “Okay, but let’s make it quick so we can get back here to w
atch your mom.” As they walked down the steps to the ladies’ lounge, Maggie found herself looking over her shoulder, cringing at the thought that she would see the woman in red following them. The phantom woman seemed mostly focused on the theater company, but that didn’t make her any less frightening. The attack on Emily’s things seemed so vicious. So … personal.

  “Ow! Why are you squeezing my hand so hard?” Juniper slithered out of Maggie’s grip.

  Maggie dropped her hand. “Sorry.” She pushed open the door to the lounge, keeping her eyes on the patterned carpet and not on the gilded mirrors along the walls. “Let’s hurry up and go back upstairs.” Maggie found two stalls next to each other and closed the doors.

  A few moments later she heard Juniper’s door open and her mouse shoes squeak across the marble floor. “Juni? Where are you going?” The little girl didn’t answer. “Wait for me, okay? And we’ll wash our hands together.” Maggie heard only silence.

  “Juniper?” Maggie opened the door and walked along the other stalls, searching each one. They were all empty. “Juniper!” Feeling a rising panic, she hurried into the washroom, but she wasn’t at the sinks, either.

  “The mirrors,” Maggie said to herself. Juniper loved playing in there. Maggie ran through the doorway to the lounge. Juniper wasn’t dancing in front of the mirrors. Could she be hiding under one of the vanities? Maggie dropped to her hands and knees and peered behind each chair. Nothing. Where else could she be?

  The nursery.

  Maggie ran toward the nursery. “Juni! Where are you?” She noticed a doll on the hall floor outside the doorway, and a wave of relief washed over her. Juniper must have wandered in here to play. Maggie rushed into the room expecting to see the little girl crouched in front of the dollhouse, but the room was empty. Her stomach twisted with fear.

  She had lost Juniper.

  Maggie’s heart pounded in her chest. Where would Juniper go? She picked up the doll at her feet. Could Juni have taken the dolls from the nursery to another place? Wherever it was, she couldn’t have gotten far. Maggie walked farther down the hall and noticed another doll on the floor in front of a thick metal door at the end of the hallway. A big sign said KEEP FIRE DOOR CLOSED AT ALL TIMES. The door was slightly ajar.