Free The Ghost of Fossil Glen by Cynthia DeFelice Page A

creepy-looking,” Dub said. “I wonder why she never sold it.”
    â€œIt had been in her husband’s family for generations,” Mr. Henry answered. “Maybe she couldn’t part with it for that reason.”
    Allie was struck by a sudden perplexing thought. “Hey!” she exclaimed. “The newspaper said Lucy was going to be buried in Fossil Glen Cemetery. Dub and I saw her grave. But if they never found her body…” Her voice trailed off in bewilderment. “Who’s buried there?”
    â€œIt’s—what would you call it?—a symbolic grave, I guess. Since there was no body, the family buried a box of mementos. The students in my class all wrote letters saying their goodbyes to Lucy. Other people added things, too,” said Mr. Henry.
    Allie and Dub thought about that for a moment. Mr. Henry glanced around the library and saw that Joey’s hand was raised, indicating that he needed help with his research. “Well, you two,” he said with a sigh, “I guess you’ve learned a bitter truth: Fossil Glen is beautiful and interesting and peaceful at times. But it can be plenty dangerous, too.”
    Dub and Allie looked at each other as Mr. Henry walked away.
    â€œPoor Mr. Henry,” said Allie. “It must have been awful for him.”
    Dub nodded. “Think about Mrs. Stiles,” he added.
    â€œWhat about Lucy ?” Allie said. “No wonder her spirit can’t rest.”
    â€œDo you mean what I think you mean?” asked Dub, his eyebrows lifting with excitement.
    â€œYes!” said Allie. For she was sure now. “‘L’ is Lucy. She’s the ghost. I saw her falling in a dream last night, just the way it says in the newspaper! Dub, she looks exactly like that picture!”
    â€œWow!” said Dub. “So what does she want from you?”
    â€œI don’t know,” said Allie. “But I hope I’ll find out soon.”

Fifteen
    On her way home from school, Allie noticed a FOR SALE sign stuck in the lawn in front of the Stiles house. A bit farther down the street, another sign caught her eye. Large and freshly painted, it stood at the edge of the meadow that led to Fossil Glen:
    Â 
    COMING SOON
GLEN VIEW ACRES
AN EXCLUSIVE COMMUNITY. 50 LUXURY HOMES,
COMPLETE WITH WATER, SEWER, AND ELECTRIC
    Â 
    There was more writing in smaller print, and a phone number to call, but Allie didn’t read any further. She was too stunned by the idea of houses filling the lovely meadow that bordered Fossil Glen. She wondered if Mr. Henry knew about it and, if so, what he would say.
    That evening, Allie and her family discussed the news as they sat at the dinner table.
    â€œIs Mrs. Stiles the developer?” asked Mr. Nichols.
    â€œNo, the developer is Mr. Curtis’s boss. Mrs. Stiles must have sold the property to him, or given her permission for the project,” said Mrs. Nichols. “Mr. Curtis came back today, and told me that his boss has been planning to sell the house and develop the land for a long time, but there was some sort of delay. I feel sick about it.”
    â€œIt’ll be gross to have all those houses there,” said Allie. “Will it mean we won’t be able to go to the glen anymore?”
    â€œI imagine so,” said Mr. Nichols. “The Stileses used to let people come and go, but now that the land is being developed, well, who knows? The meadow and the glen itself are both private property.”
    â€œSo, anyway,” Mrs. Nichols went on, “as I was saying, Mr. Curtis came back today.”
    â€œDid he have more furniture to sell?” asked Allie’s father.
    â€œNo,” said Mrs. Nichols, looking pointedly at Allie. “He came back to ask if I remembered seeing a red leather-bound book in with the things he’d sold me.”
    At that, Allie’s hand, which had been lifting a forkful of mashed potatoes to her mouth, stopped in