Ghost in the First Row Read Free Page B

prop for the play,” Ray said, as he poured half of the white powder into an empty container. “We need a plaster cast of a footprint.” Then he added, “That’s how Lady Chadwick proves the butler did it.”
    “You make the cast with powder?” asked Benny.
    Ray nodded. “You mix plaster of Paris with water to form a paste,” he said. “The paste hardens as it dries.”
    After helping Ray load up his pick-up truck, the Aldens said good-bye, then headed back to the house.
    “I wish we could figure out what’s going on with the ghosts,” said Violet.
    “We’ll get to the bottom of it,” Benny said. “Right, Henry?”
    “I hope so,” said Henry. “I’m just not sure how.”

CHAPTER 4
In the Spotlight
    It was after midnight when Benny awoke to the sound of thunder. He slid out of bed and tiptoed across the room to shut the window. As he peered out into the rainy night, something caught his eye. Was that the beam of a flashlight sweeping back and forth across the backyard?
    Henry stirred. “Benny?” he asked sleepily. “What’s going on?”
    “Somebody’s out there,” Benny answered in a hushed voice.
    Henry came up behind him. “Your eyes must be sharper than mine,” he said. “I can’t see anybody.”
    Benny looked at his brother. “Someone just went into the shed.”
    “I doubt there’s anyone out there, Benny.”
    “But I saw something moving, Henry.”
    Henry put an arm around his brother. “It’s easy to imagine all kinds of things on a dark and stormy night.”
    Benny shivered in his pajamas. “Don’t you think—”
    “I think we should get back into our warm beds,” said Henry.
    Benny nodded. But he knew he had seen someone.
    “Ray says putting up posters is hard work,” Benny said the next morning. He was cracking eggs into a bowl. “We’ll need a big breakfast.”
    “Well, you do have a big appetite, Benny,” teased Henry, who was keeping an eye on the bacon sizzling on the stove.
    “Something sure smells good,” Aunt Jane said, as she came into the kitchen.
    “We’re making breakfast.” Jessie placed a platter of toast on the table. “We wanted to surprise you, Aunt Jane.”
    “Speaking of surprises,” said Henry, “we forgot all about Alice’s appointment book.”
    “Alice’s what?” asked Aunt Jane.
    “Ray came across Alice’s appointment book in the shed,” Jessie explained as Henry raced outside. “He thought you should have it as a keepsake.”
    Henry was back in a flash, waving the appointment book in the air. While he was removing his muddy shoes, Violet noticed something slip from the pages and flutter to the floor. She hurried to pick it up.
    “Looks like an ad torn from a newspaper,” she said.
    “Oh?” Aunt Jane raised an eyebrow. “What does it say, Violet?”
    Violet read the ad aloud: Typist available. Reasonable rates. Ask for Patty at 894-8884.
    Aunt Jane nodded. “Patty must be the college student Alice hired.”
    “To type the plays she recorded, right?” said Benny.
    “Exactly!” said Aunt Jane, surprised that Benny knew this.
    “You’re mentioned in here a lot,” Henry told his aunt, handing her the appointment book. “At least, that’s what Ray says.”
    “Alice and I often got together for a cup of tea.” Aunt Jane smiled a little. “She always had a pot of yellow marigolds on the table. Alice loved yellow marigolds, you know. She was always putting them in her plays.”
    “Lady Chadwick loves marigolds, too,” said Benny.
    “What do you mean?” Aunt Jane asked.
    “Remember the hat they found hanging from the chandelier?” said Benny. “Lady Chadwick’s hat, I mean. Fern said it had yellow marigolds on it.”
    “Hmm.” Aunt Jane was only half-listening. She was busy leafing through the appointment book.
    “Know what else, Aunt Jane?” Benny went on, as he swallowed a mouthful of eggs. “Alice got a new pair of shoes, but they didn’t fit. She wanted P.J. to take them back. Whoever that is.”
    “I