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As he sat at the table playing solitaire, his muscles
bulging, Packer Brad grinned mischievously in my
direction. “Have you ever seen a ghost?”
“Only the one of my brother in his pajamas on the way to
the bathroom in the middle of the night,” I said. “Talk
about scary.”
“Schafer has its own ghost, you know, and it hangs out a
lot at the ranger’s house.”
Pulling her hair away from her face and tucking loose
ends into her hair band, Mandy dismissed Packer Brad
with a wave of her hand. “Oh give me a break. There’s no
ghost here. Don’t listen to him, Jessie.”
Packer Brad flipped over three cards and set them in a
pile. “There is too a ghost. I’ve been here three years
now and every year someone sees it.”
“Oh, yeah, what does it look like?”
“I’ve heard it’s a man who appears to people at night
and sometimes calls out. I’ve also heard it’s a woman
who walks at night carrying a candle. But don’t ask me.
Ask someone who’s seen the ghost.” Packer Brad picked up
a two of clubs and set it on a three of diamonds. “Like
Pete.”
My jaw dropped. “Did you really see the ghost, Pete?” As
Oriole’s rescuer and my friend, I trusted Pete to tell
the truth, and it was hard to imagine that he would
believe such a fantasy.
Pete, drinking coffee at the table, shifted uneasily in
his chair. He pushed his mug away and sat still for a
second. Then he shrugged his shoulders.
“First, let me say that normally I wouldn’t believe in
such a thing. But yep—I’ve seen the ghost. At least
that’s what it appeared to be.”
“This is too cool!” Jed said, leaning over so he could
see Pete, who sat two seats away on the same side of the
table. “What happened?”
Pete was silent again. Then he said, “Which time?”
“WHICH TIME?” Mom, Dad, and Cody shouted in unison. He
had everybody’s attention now.
“Well, the first time I only heard him. The second time
I saw him.”
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Pete walked to the coffee pot, poured himself another
cup, and sat back down at the table, scraping his chair
on the wood floor as he pulled it in with one hand. He
took a sip of coffee, wrapping his large hands around
the mug.
“Guess I’d better start at the beginning.”
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