Free All Dressed Up and No Place to Haunt by Rose Pressey Page A

where I saw her,” I whispered as if I was supposed to be quiet.
    â€œWhy are you whispering?” Alice asked.
    â€œI don’t know. It seems like the right thing to do.” I inched closer to the water.
    I had to admit I was a little afraid to get too close. What if I actually fell in? I wasn’t that great of a swimmer. I could probably get out in a pinch, but it wouldn’t be pretty. I’d wanted to erase the scene from my mind, but here I was back again. That definitely wasn’t going to make me forget. When I turned to leave, I spotted something shiny in the oleander bushes up ahead.
    â€œWhat is that?” I asked.
    Charlotte and Alice peered across the lawn, but I knew they hadn’t spotted the same gleaming item. I moved over to the shrub. When I peeked in, I spotted a cell phone. I reached down and picked it up.
    â€œWhat did you find?” Alice asked as she leaned over my shoulder.
    â€œSomeone’s cell phone,” I said.
    â€œThat’s odd,” Charlotte said.
    â€œThe police couldn’t have missed a clue like that,” I said.
    I looked back to gauge the distance between the water and the bush. It was probably about one hundred feet.
    â€œIt must have been lost recently,” Charlotte added.
    â€œYes, it had to be. Dylan wouldn’t have missed this.” I pressed the button, and the phone turned on. “It’s still charged.”
    â€œMaybe it belongs to another visitor,” Alice said. “It probably has nothing to do with the murder.”
    â€œYou’re probably right,” I said.
    The phone lit up. I clicked a few buttons to check the ID.
    â€œThere’s just one problem,” I said.
    â€œWhat’s that?” Charlotte asked.
    â€œThe phone is Nicole’s.”
    Charlotte’s eyes widened, and Alice released a small gasp.
    â€œHow do you think it got there?” Alice asked.
    â€œI don’t know, but I still don’t think the police would have missed it. And wouldn’t the phone’s battery have died by now?” I asked.
    â€œHow do you know it’s hers?” Charlotte asked.
    â€œIt has her name and info saved in it.”
    Charlotte nodded. “That’s a good sign that’s it’s hers, then.”
    â€œI don’t know what to do with it,” I said.
    â€œThat is quite the dilemma,” Alice said.
    I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.
    â€œSomeone is coming,” I whispered.
    I darted behind the nearest tree and pressed my body as close as possible to the trunk. My heart beat fast. Why was I worried? It was probably just some tourist. I was being too jumpy. But I was holding Nicole’s phone in my hand. How would I explain that I’d found it? I would have to think of a good way to tell Dylan about this.
    â€œDo you see anyone?” I whispered to the ghosts.
    Alice rolled her eyes. “It’s one of Sugar Creek’s finest, sweetest residents walking around the area. None other than Vera the Lemon.”
    â€œYou’re kidding. What is she doing here?” I asked.
    â€œI can’t go ask her or I would,” Charlotte said.
    That was the bad part. It looked as if I was all alone out there. I needed to try to escape without her seeing me.
    â€œI’m not on her land, am I?”
    â€œNo, far from it. But what is she doing here?” Alice asked.
    â€œThat’s what I’d like to know,” I said.
    â€œI still can’t believe she was so angry at you the other day,” Charlotte said.
    â€œWhat is she doing?” I whispered.
    Alice and Charlotte watched from just beyond the tree. It was nice to have invisible spies. I didn’t have to risk being caught because they could look for me.
    â€œShe’s walking toward the pond,” Alice said.
    â€œI hope someone tells her to get lost,” Charlotte said.
    â€œShe’s down by the water now,” Alice reported. “It looks like