Free The Ghost and Mrs. Hobbs by Cynthia DeFelice Page A

‘playing with fire,’ are you? First the chief, and now this . . .” His voice drifted off, and he lifted Allie’s chin so he could look into her eyes.
    Allie saw the worry there and said quickly, to reassure him, “No, Dad. Honest.” She had a sudden urge to tell her father everything. He always tried to be fair. He tried to understand her. But asking him to understand about a ghost, and about her suspicions concerning Mrs. Hobbs, and about her reasons for looking up fires in the library—it was too much.
    â€œWhy would she write this?” he asked.
    Allie shook her head, looking at the note as if it might yet reveal its meaning.
    Mr. Nichols stood up. “Well, I don’t like it. Youheard the chief. She’s had a tough life. It could be she’s mentally unbalanced.” He thought for a moment and added, “I want you to stay away from her, Allie. Meanwhile, I think I should tell Chief Rasmussen about this note.”
    Allie put the note in her father’s outstretched hand and watched while he looked up a number in the phone book and dialed. “Hello, this is Bill Nichols calling. I’d like to speak to Chief Rasmussen, please. Oh, he’s not? Well, would you have him call me as soon as he comes in. It’s important. Thank you.”
    Mr. Nichols gave their home phone number and hung up. Turning back to Allie, he said, “Are you okay, Allie-Cat?”
    â€œYeah, I guess.”
    Her father read the note again. “At first it sounds like a threat,” he said slowly. “But if you read it a different way, it seems like a warning. Do you have any idea what the danger she’s talking about might be?”
    Allie shook her head. But she was thinking, Yes,
she’s
the danger! She’s telling me to stop trying to find out about her—or else.
    Or else what? Allie wondered with a shiver.
    â€œWell, threat or warning, it’s a very peculiar thing to do, to leave a message like this for a kid.” Mr. Nichols appeared to be thinking out loud as he said, “Especially for someone who works at the school.You know, I think I’d better report this to Ms. Gillespie.”
    â€œYou’re going to tell the principal?” Allie said with surprise. Everything was happening so fast all of a sudden, and it felt way out of her control.
    â€œI think she ought to know. In the meantime, stay away from Mrs. Hobbs.”
    â€œI was thinking I might still try to interview her for my project,” Allie said hesitantly.
    Her father looked at her in astonishment. “I think it’s pretty evident that you need to find a new subject, don’t you?”
    â€œBut I already told Mr. Henry and everybody I was interviewing Mrs. Hobbs,” Allie protested.
    â€œI’m sure Mr. Henry will understand.”
    Her father was right: Mr. Henry would understand. Besides, Allie had no idea how she’d go about finishing the interview, anyway, not to mention getting up the guts to do it. Still, she imagined Karen gloating with satisfaction: “I knew you’d never go through with it, Allie.” Even worse was imagining the reaction of her ghost: “
I thought I could count on you, Allie. You promised you wouldn’t let me down.
”
    â€œMaybe I’m making too much of this,” Mr. Nichols went on. “I certainly felt sorry for Mrs. Hobbs when I saw the way her face is scarred.”
    You wouldn’t feel so sorry for her if you knew how she got those scars, Allie thought.
    â€œBut we have no way to know what’s going on in her mind. Until we find out more, I want you to stay away from her.”
    â€œOkay, Dad,” Allie said quietly.
    â€œAnd give the subject of fires a rest, too, while you’re at it, okay?” Mr. Nichols said with a touch of a smile.
    â€œOkay.” Allie tried to return his smile, but didn’t feel as if she was very successful.
    â€œI’m going to make