Read Online The Ghost and Mrs. Hobbs by Cynthia DeFelice - Free Book Online Page A

firefighters.
    The police had not announced the names of any suspects. However, the old newspaper stated, Mrs. Hobbs was continuing to be questioned at her room in the Seneca Heights Hospital.
    Her hands trembling, Allie raced through the microfilmed pages to the next day’s news. When she reached the first page of the November 9 edition, she eagerly began to scan it for an update of the fire investigation. Nothing on the first page . . . Nothing on the second . . . She was about to move to page 3 when the print began to dissolve.
    Puzzled, she pushed the buttons to move the portion of the film that was under the lens. Immediately that began to dissolve as well. It looked as if it were melting right before her eyes. An acrid smell reached her nostrils, and a thin trickle of smoke rose from the microfilm reader. The film
was
melting! The smoke became thicker and started billowing from the machine.
    Allie jumped up to find Mrs. Harris. But before shewas halfway across the room, a bell began to clang and the lights in the library flashed on and off. For the second time in two days, Allie found herself evacuating a smoky building with the sound of a fire alarm wailing in her ears.

Twelve
    With an odd sense of déjà vu, Allie watched as the fire trucks arrived and firemen swarmed the library. When they emerged shortly afterward, Allie sidled over to listen as Chief Rasmussen reported to Mrs. Harris.
    â€œThere was no actual fire,” he said, “just lots of smoke. It appears there was a meltdown in that microfilm reader. Have you had trouble with it before?”
    Mrs. Harris looked bewildered. “Never,” she replied. “I can’t imagine what could have happened. Those machines don’t even get hot ordinarily.” Just then she spotted Allie. “Oh, here’s Allie Nichols, the young lady who was using it. Are you all right, dear?”
    â€œI’m fine.”
    â€œDo you have any idea what happened?”
    â€œNo,” said Allie. “All of a sudden the plastic started to melt and smoke like crazy. I jumped up to find you, but the alarm was already going off.”
    â€œAllie was doing research on local fires,” Mrs. Harris explained to the chief. Then, with a startled laugh, she added, “What an odd coincidence!”
    The chief raised his eyebrows and gave Allie a long, intent gaze. “What grade did you say you’re in?” he asked finally.
    I didn’t say, Allie thought. Puzzled, she answered, “Sixth.”
    â€œSo you must go to Seneca Heights School,” the chief said thoughtfully.
    She nodded, wondering what he was getting at.
    â€œWere you there yesterday afternoon during the fire?”
    Allie nodded again.
    Mrs. Harris was looking back and forth from the chief to Allie with a baffled expression on her face. “There was a fire at the school, too?” she asked.
    â€œYes,” said the chief, still looking speculatively at Allie. “And you say you came here to get information about fires, is that right?” he asked her.
    â€œFor a school project,” she explained. Would that make the chief stop eyeing her with suspicion?
    â€œOh? Tell me about your project, Allie.”
    Now the chief must be thinking she was some kind of fire-setting weirdo. How was she supposed to explainherself? If she mentioned the ghost, he’d think she was a different kind of weirdo. For just a moment she wished she’d never heard the voice of her ghost, never seen his face. But no! She didn’t really mean that. She simply needed to make the chief understand that she wasn’t a firebug.
    â€œThe project is for Elders Day. We’re supposed to interview somebody old, and I’m doing our cafeteria lady, Mrs. Hobbs.”
    The chief nodded. “I talked with her yesterday, after the fire at school.”
    â€œOh,” said Allie. “Well, I heard there was a fire in her past, too, so I was trying to