Free Gilda Joyce: The Bones of the Holy by JENNIFER ALLISON Page B

started pressuring you about it. I wonder if I’d be as interested in psychic investigations if Mom started urging me to find more ghosts? Gilda mused. I’d like to think that I’d still be just as committed to my work, but you never know.
    â€œAt least Darla was honest when she stopped seeing the ghosts,” Gilda suggested. “I bet a lot of kids would have made up a big story once they had the attention of a television crew.”
    â€œI suppose that’s true,” said Mary Louise.
    Darla crossed her legs and jiggled her foot nervously. She pulled a cell phone from her pocket and looked at it.
    â€œNot now, Darla.” Mary Louise shook her head with exasperation. “These days it’s just constant! Texting on the cell phone, listening to music on her i-pot—”
    â€œiPod, Mom,” Darla corrected.
    â€œWhatever you call it. There’s always some gadget stuck to the girl’s head.”
    â€œMost of the kids I know are the same way,” said Gilda, who often preferred writing letters on her typewriter to sending text messages, partly because she had read somewhere that cell phones can interfere with the ability to perceive ghosts. “Some of my friends have developed radioactive halos around their heads from all their electronic devices,” she joked.
    Mary Louise laughed. “Oh, look,” she said, glancing out the window. “The rain stopped—at least for now. Shall we get something to eat and then do some ghost hunting?”
    â€œSounds perfect!” said Gilda.
    â€œCan’t we just go out for ice cream?” Darla whined.
    â€œMaybe we can do both,” said Mary Louise. “Gilda is visiting from up north, Darla, and we need to be good hosts.”
    â€œWe don’t have to go on the tour if you’d rather not,” said Gilda, secretly hoping that Mary Louise wouldn’t back down.
    â€œIt’s okay, Gilda,” said Mary Louise. “Darla will survive. She hasn’t been dragged out to one of the ghost tours in ages.”
    Gilda, Darla, and Mary Louise headed outside and walked in the direction of the Old City gates. As they approached the entrance to the Old City, Gilda noticed that Darla put on her headphones and sunglasses, as if trying to shield herself from things she might see or hear.

15
    Gossip Girls
    A s Gilda, Mary Louise, and Darla walked through the Old City gates leading to the historic center of St. Augustine, Mary Louise told the story of a girl who died of yellow fever. “Her ghost still stands here by the city gates, waving to people who come into old St. Augustine. Remember when Evelyn told us about her, Darla?”
    â€œMmm.” Darla’s eyes were fixed on her cell phone; she was busily tapping out a text message.
    I’m surprised she hasn’t crashed into a tree or a wall yet, Gilda thought. Darla had scarcely looked up from her phone since they left the house.
    â€œMy friend Evelyn Castle runs one of the ghost-tour companies in the city,” Mary Louise explained. “She’s such a wonderful lady, and a true Minorcan. She’s from one of the oldest St. Augustine families around.”
    â€œShe probably has some great stories,” said Gilda.
    â€œOh, she knows absolutely everything about the history of this place.”
    Maybe she’d be able to tell me whether Eugene’s house might be haunted, Gilda thought. Eugene himself was obviously unwilling to discuss the idea, but someone whose family had been in St. Augustine for generations might know some old secrets or stories about the neighborhood.
    Gilda followed Mary Louise and Darla into a bustling café on St. George Street. “There’s Evelyn in the hat,” said Mary Louise, waving to a middle-aged woman who wore a striking black hat with a broad brim. “Oh good, her daughter Debbie is with her, too!”
    â€œHi, Evelyn!” said Mary Louise, leading Gilda and Darla to