Free The Empty Desk by Steve Lockley Page B

“What’s the oldest thing in your shop?” to “What’s the most expensive?” and “Do you have any dinosaur bones?” It seemed that Aiden was far from unique in his thoughts about what constituted an antique. Some of the questions brought laughter from the rest of the class and indignation from the questioner. Melinda did her best to answer then all with a smile, taking each one seriously, until eventually the last of the hands had been lowered, their question dealt with.
    â€œAny more?” Dana asked when the class had finally fallen silent and the fidgeting had started again. She thanked Melinda for coming in, and the children chimed in with their appreciation just as the bell rang for lunch.
    â€œIf anyone wants to take another look at the comic books or the sampler, I’ll stay a little longer,” Melinda offered, and a couple of the boys paused for a moment to glance through the comics she had left out for them to examine. When the last of them had left, full of action and chatter, Melinda was disappointed to discover that the ghost had left with them.
    â€œShe’s gone,” she said, without even realizing that the words had left her lips.
    â€œShe was here?” Dana asked. “You saw her?”
    â€œShe was here when I arrived, but she slipped away with the rest of the class. I was really hoping that I’d get the chance to talk to her. She was a really unhappy child, and if I had to guess, I would say that she died quite a few years ago.”
    â€œThat doesn’t really help, does it? We’re still not even sure what her name is.”
    Melinda walked toward the desk where the ghost of the little girl had been sitting and saw the roughly scratched name in a childish hand. “Alice,” she said. “I don’t have any doubt that that’s her name.”
    â€œWhat’s she like?” Dana asked.
    â€œLike? She’s a sad little girl who is missing a mother’s love.”
    â€œBut do you think you can help her?” Dana asked.
    â€œI can only help her if she wants to be helped, and I can only find that out if she decides to talk to me.”
    From outside the classroom came the sound of a scuffle and raised voices. Two boys were having a disagreement that was threatening to go beyond a little pushing and shoving and erupt into schoolboy violence.
    â€œExcuse me a moment,” Dana said and in an instant she was in motion, opening the door and raising her voice to stop the fracas. She didn’t shout, and there was no lack of control—she just increased the volume sufficiently to make herself heard above the noise. Melinda’s heart leapt for a moment, worrying that Aiden was caught up in the disruption somehow, but she soon realized that this was a pair of older boys. There was no sign of Aiden in the corridor. It was clear though that Dana was in control of the situation, that she was more than capable of restoring order quickly. Teaching was more than just about filling the children’s heads with facts or encouraging them to think for themselves; it was also about establishing boundaries and setting rules that they had to abide by.
    Melinda retrieved the box from Dana’s desk at the front of the class and took one last glance at the desk where the ghost had been sitting. There was still an empty place where the spirit had been. Melinda knew that she would almost certainly have to come back again if she was going to help her.

Chapter Sixteen
    â€œThat’s quite a long shot,” Eli said as he poured coffee from the filter machine on top of a filing cabinet. “Have you really thought this through?”
    Ned had decided that if he was going to help Melinda find out who this Alice was, it would help to run it by someone in the department at the university, and Eli James was the obvious choice. He had poured out the story in the lecturer’s office while the man had sat and listened in