Just as I came into the clearing, I froze.
Betty and Lauren were standing next to one of the mounds, whispering to each other. What really stood out were the tinfoil hats they were wearing. Lauren's had been fashioned into an eagle, wings spread as it rose up from the top of her head.
Betty's had been molded to look like a sniper rifle. It had to be three feet tall. I made a mental note to buy more aluminum foil for the lodge before we left.
"What are you doing?" I asked as I joined them. "Mrs. Albers is worried sick!"
Okay, I was too, but they didn't need to know that.
That's when I noticed they were draped in dark fabric that looked suspiciously like the curtains in the lodge.
"Guys! What's all this?"
Betty rolled her eyes at me then wiggled her eyebrows at Lauren. "We are summoning the aliens, of course. What did you think we were doing?"
I looked at my phone. "It's midnight."
Betty sounded exasperated. "That's the best time to summon aliens. Everybody knows that."
I had to ask. "And did they show up?"
Lauren seemed sad. "No. I think they would if you weren't here. They don't like adults."
Well, that seemed a little prejudiced. "How do you know that?"
Betty said simply, "The ghosts told us."
Lauren spoke up, "We've named them. There's Petunia, Violet, Rose, and Tulip."
I looked around carefully. "You've been talking to ghosts?"
"We've only really seen one," Lauren said. "But she already has a name. So we're prepared for any others to show up."
My mouth fell open. "You've seen a ghost? Where? When?"
The girls looked at each other then at me.
"At the lodge. You haven't seen it?" Lauren seemed surprised.
I wasn't sure how to respond. If I said no, they'd think I was an idiot. If I said yes, then they could trap me.
"Yes, of course I have."
Betty looked skeptical. "What did it look like?"
"A floating round, misty ball," I lied.
The girls looked at each other. Then back to me. Did I get the answer right?
Betty narrowed her eyes. "What did it tell you its name was?"
"Why should I tell you?" I countered.
"Because you have to prove it to us," Lauren insisted.
"I don't…hey! You guys aren't supposed to be out here without supervision!"
Betty stomped on the ground. "But the aliens haven't shown up yet."
"Just because," I said, "everyone in town keeps mentioning aliens, doesn't mean there really are aliens."
"You're a septic." Betty glowered.
"Like a tank?" Lauren asked. "My uncle has one of those."
"No, septic," she repeated.
"That's when a wound goes poisonous," I said. "And besides, I'm not here to argue. I'm here to get you back to the lodge."
The two girls shrugged and headed for the path. That was way easier than I thought it would be. I followed them, on alert for them to take off running the wrong way. But they didn't. Both girls removed their hats and, without a word, walked through the door of the lodge.
Kelly asked me when I came in, "What's with the hats?"
"They were calling the aliens," I said breezily.
She looked toward the kitchen. "They needed tinfoil hats for that?"
"Duh," I said. "Everyone knows that."
Kelly ignored the dig. "What made them think aliens were coming?"
"The ghost they didn't name told them," I explained.
"There aren't any ghosts." Kelly folded her arms.
"You're a septic," I said before heading to the bunk room to make sure everyone was where they were supposed to be.
…Again.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I couldn't sleep. Aunt June's murder weighed heavily on my mind. I probably should've been more worried about my girls getting bitten by the bugs in her house or their sneaking off at night to commune with ghosts and aliens.
Everyone had mentioned the aliens in passing. What was with that? Were these people crazy? Well, I mean, of course they were, but crazier than that? Around here? That seemed possible. Or was there another reason?
Finally, I got out of bed and, after making sure the girls were in theirs, quietly got dressed and slipped out to the picnic table right outside. My watch said it was four a.m. A huge, pale moon was starting to sink below the tree line. My eyes followed it.
A flash of something caught my attention. It was near the high ropes course. There was a shadow on one end of a platform. It seemed to be staring back at me, causing a chill to trickle down my spine.
Was it a ghost? An alien? Or was it something else? Should I run in and get Lauren's tinfoil eagle hat?
What was I thinking? There were no ghosts. The girls seemed to buy my description of the orb, but I knew an orb like that could be anything. I didn't believe in ghosts. In all of my travels around the world, I'd never seen any.
I squinted to get a clearer view, but the figure wasn't moving. It was either waiting to see what I'd do, or it was hoping to blend into the surroundings to disappear later. I looked back at the door to the lodge.
When my eyes returned to the platform, the shadow was gone. Of course it was. It was just a shadow. There wasn't anyone there at all. And that's when something fluttered from the platform, down to the ground.
Now that was real, whatever it was. It was probably a leaf, although it looked larger than that. Pulling my cell from my pocket, I turned on the flashlight app and slowly made my way to the ropes course.
I stopped at the pole connecting to that platform. On the ground was a black stocking cap. Someone had been up there. And it wasn't a ghost. The question was, how did they get down without me knowing it? The ropes course consisted of several large poles with a ladder attached. There was no way someone could've climbed down without me seeing them.
Which meant the owner of the stocking cap was still up there.
I could wait here to see who eventually came down. It
