Bettina. And Aurora knows about things like that.” Instead she just shrugged and said, “Yeah. Well, I guess I knew that Bettina was joking. I kind of thought it was just a joke.”
That was all she said out loud, but inside she was thinking a lot of other things. One of the things she was thinking was that she was angry—and getting angrier every minute. She was angry at Bettina for lying to them. And she was angry at Mrs. A. for keeping them there looking at her boring old pictures when they could have been out trick-or-treating. But most of all she was angry at Aurora for not telling her that there wasn’t any Addie ghost, because she must have known all along. Aurora always knew about things like that.
Chapter 14
W HILE KATE AND AURORA were hiding behind the shrubbery and then being caught by Mrs. A., the rest of the Castle Court trick-or-treaters were leaving the cul-de-sac and heading down Beaumont Avenue. And by the time the girls were sitting on Mrs. A.’s sofa looking at old photos, the Castle Court gang were knocking on doors up and down the avenue—and beginning to run into bunches of kids from other neighborhoods. Before long the gang started to look more like a swarm.
Ari couldn’t keep track of everyone. There were now at least three Fred Flintstones in the mob, although he was still the only one in an angora goatskin. There were a couple of new gypsy girls, too, and so many ghosts he lost count.
Halfway down the sidewalk to the third house he stopped and looked around anxiously. He’d just realized he hadn’t seen Kate and Aurora for quite a while. They might still be around, mixed up with the confusing mob of masked and costumed trick-or-treaters. Or they might have already split off from the group and headed for the barn.
He gave up on Kate and Aurora then and started to look for Web and Carson, but for quite a while he couldn’t find them either. Once when he grabbed a ghost and said, “Stay with me, Carson. We have to stay close together,” a girl’s voice said, “Hey, back off, you nerd. My name isn’t Carson.”
The whole mob had straggled up to two or three more houses before Ari finally located the right ghost and astronaut. “We’re going to have to leave,” he whispered urgently. “Right away.”
“I know,” Web whispered back. “We should have gone before this, but I lost you back there. We’re going to have to get going or it will be too late.” He glanced up at the darkening sky. “It’s just about time—right now. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Ari nodded. Grabbing Carson’s arms, they pulled him back behind a fence and waited for the last few trick-or-treaters to move on down the sidewalk. Then they ran back toward Castle Court, dragging Carson between them.
All the way back down the sidewalk and across the court Ari was wondering about Kate and Aurora. They must have left the group some time ago, and by now they had probably reached the barn. And that might be a big problem unless … unless he could get Web and Carson to be very quiet. But Web and Carson might not be quiet enough if they didn’t have a good reason to be. Particularly Web. Web liked to have good reasons for everything he did.
They had crossed the Andersons’ yard and were safely into the deep shadows of the forest before Ari decided what to do. He would tell Web and Carson the truth. Or at least part of it.
“Hey, wait a minute,” he said. “I have to tell you something before we go in the barn.”
Web stopped. “Okay. What?” he said.
“Well, somebody else might be there already. I mean, it might be Kate and Aurora. They were planning to come here tonight too.”
“Kate?” Carson sounded horrified. “She won’t let me. Kate won’t let me do it.”
“Yeah, I suppose not. But don’t worry, I’ve got it all figured out so she won’t see us. At least not until we’re all finished. If we don’t have to climb up the ladder they won’t even know we’re there
That was all she said out loud, but inside she was thinking a lot of other things. One of the things she was thinking was that she was angry—and getting angrier every minute. She was angry at Bettina for lying to them. And she was angry at Mrs. A. for keeping them there looking at her boring old pictures when they could have been out trick-or-treating. But most of all she was angry at Aurora for not telling her that there wasn’t any Addie ghost, because she must have known all along. Aurora always knew about things like that.
Chapter 14
W HILE KATE AND AURORA were hiding behind the shrubbery and then being caught by Mrs. A., the rest of the Castle Court trick-or-treaters were leaving the cul-de-sac and heading down Beaumont Avenue. And by the time the girls were sitting on Mrs. A.’s sofa looking at old photos, the Castle Court gang were knocking on doors up and down the avenue—and beginning to run into bunches of kids from other neighborhoods. Before long the gang started to look more like a swarm.
Ari couldn’t keep track of everyone. There were now at least three Fred Flintstones in the mob, although he was still the only one in an angora goatskin. There were a couple of new gypsy girls, too, and so many ghosts he lost count.
Halfway down the sidewalk to the third house he stopped and looked around anxiously. He’d just realized he hadn’t seen Kate and Aurora for quite a while. They might still be around, mixed up with the confusing mob of masked and costumed trick-or-treaters. Or they might have already split off from the group and headed for the barn.
He gave up on Kate and Aurora then and started to look for Web and Carson, but for quite a while he couldn’t find them either. Once when he grabbed a ghost and said, “Stay with me, Carson. We have to stay close together,” a girl’s voice said, “Hey, back off, you nerd. My name isn’t Carson.”
The whole mob had straggled up to two or three more houses before Ari finally located the right ghost and astronaut. “We’re going to have to leave,” he whispered urgently. “Right away.”
“I know,” Web whispered back. “We should have gone before this, but I lost you back there. We’re going to have to get going or it will be too late.” He glanced up at the darkening sky. “It’s just about time—right now. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Ari nodded. Grabbing Carson’s arms, they pulled him back behind a fence and waited for the last few trick-or-treaters to move on down the sidewalk. Then they ran back toward Castle Court, dragging Carson between them.
All the way back down the sidewalk and across the court Ari was wondering about Kate and Aurora. They must have left the group some time ago, and by now they had probably reached the barn. And that might be a big problem unless … unless he could get Web and Carson to be very quiet. But Web and Carson might not be quiet enough if they didn’t have a good reason to be. Particularly Web. Web liked to have good reasons for everything he did.
They had crossed the Andersons’ yard and were safely into the deep shadows of the forest before Ari decided what to do. He would tell Web and Carson the truth. Or at least part of it.
“Hey, wait a minute,” he said. “I have to tell you something before we go in the barn.”
Web stopped. “Okay. What?” he said.
“Well, somebody else might be there already. I mean, it might be Kate and Aurora. They were planning to come here tonight too.”
“Kate?” Carson sounded horrified. “She won’t let me. Kate won’t let me do it.”
“Yeah, I suppose not. But don’t worry, I’ve got it all figured out so she won’t see us. At least not until we’re all finished. If we don’t have to climb up the ladder they won’t even know we’re there
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