Free The Ghost of Grey Fox Inn by Carolyn Keene

she recognized the subtle difference in tone. “It’s . . . hollow!”
    I grinned. “Bingo. I think we’ve found our hidden entrance. Now, all we have to do is figure out how to open it.”
    I peered closely at the wooden paneling, tracing around its edges with my fingertips, searching for some kind of release button. Sure enough, I found a circular knot in the wood on the right-hand side that wasn’t flush with the rest of the wall. I pushed against it with my thumb, and it sank into the wall with a muted click. I took a step back as the whole panel swung inward, revealing a dark passage within.
    â€œThe plot thickens . . . ,” George muttered.
    â€œDo you have a flashlight?” I asked.
    George whipped her smartphone out of her pocket and tapped its screen twice. A blinding beam of light shot out of the back and illuminated the first few dusty feet of the secret passageway. A mouse caught in the beam skittered across the wooden floor and out of sight.
    â€œEek!” Bess shrieked.
    â€œThe answers are in there, I just know it,” I said. “Are you guys coming?”
    â€œWouldn’t miss it!” George answered.
    Bess sighed and nodded in agreement. “Maybe that’s the only mouse in there,” she said hopefully.
    I doubted it, but that was what made Bess so great. I could always count on my friends to follow me into adventure—even if it was infested with mice!
    With George’s glowing smartphone in hand, I took the lead, with Bess following and George bringing up the rear. We walked silently, trying to avoid having the bare wooden planks squeak beneath our feet. About fifteen feet ahead of us, I saw a tiny circle of light shining on the left wall of the passage. I crept up to the little hole in the wall and set my eye against it. It gave me a full view of a very familiar room—the bridal suite! Charlotte herself was curled up in bed, reading a book by her bedside lamp. Then I noticed a panel similar to the one in my room that I presumed opened into Charlotte’s room. “This is definitely how our ghost got in and out of the rooms unnoticed!” I whispered to the girls.
    George sighed. “Too bad. ‘Ghostly haunting’ is so much more fun than ‘peeping Tom.’ ”
    We continued down the dark hallway. The passage seemed to follow a circuitous path through the inn, providing entrance into quite a few of the guest rooms,including Piper and Morgan’s room, Alicia’s room, and others who had been victims of the inn’s “ghost” the night before. At the end of the passage, a final peephole revealed a glimpse of Tucker Matthews sitting in an armchair with a drink in his hand. He was leaning back, a smartphone pressed to his ear.
    â€œYou should have seen the look on his face,” Tucker was saying, the side of his mouth lifted in a smirk. “His fiancée pulls a knife out of this pretty little box, and his whole ‘Good evening, I’m Parker Hill’ poise goes right out the window. I swear he looked like someone just ran over his dog.” He chuckled, listening to the person on the other end. “I know, right? Parker thinks he’s an angel without wings, but it looks like not everybody in this town agrees.” Another pause. “Who sent the knife? Well, I—”
    At that very moment, a scream broke the silence. I whirled to see Bess, her hands clamped over her mouth, trembling all over, staring with horror at a little gray mouse clinging to the front of her shirt.
    â€œWhat was that?” Tucker exclaimed, dropping thephone to his side and glancing around his room. The three of us froze, afraid to move or even breathe. After what seemed like an eternity, Tucker relaxed back into his chair and resumed his conversation. “Huh? Oh, I just thought I heard a weird noise coming from the walls. This is such an old place, it was probably just a