Ghost of a Chance Read Free Page A

going to bed? Just like that?’
    ‘Well, Hannah Rannah. We can’t do anything tonight. So we have to do lots tomorrow. I’m getting my beauty sleep first—not that I need it.’ He grinned at her.
    ‘Yeah, right,’ said Hannah.
    ‘E.D.’s right, though.’ Angus stood up to leave. ‘Looks like we’ve got lots to find out tomorrow. No use doing anything now; I’m too tired. Come on, E.D.’
    As the boys left the room, Gabby turned to Ling. ‘I can’t believe you didn’t tell me earlier.’
    ‘Sorry, Gabby. I had to think about what I was going to do.’ Ling smiled at her cousin. ‘I hope that was okay.’
    ‘Yeah, it’s okay.’
    But as the girls went to bed, Gabby couldn’t stop thinking about Ling’s story. Ling had always believed in ghosts and spooky things; Gabby wasn’t sure that she did. Long after Hannah had started snoring and Ling’s breathing had deepened into sleep, Gabby lay awake in bed, trying to imagine what she would’ve done if she’d been visited by a ghost.
    She sat up and leaned against the wall so she could look out of the window. The clouds had scattered, letting some moonlight through, and she could see the beach below the house. Someone was walking on the beach; they were moving slowly and pushing hard against the wind. It looks like someone else can’t sleep, either, thought Gabby as she watched the struggling figure. The clouds swept across the sky again and the beach became dark.
    When Gabby finally slept, her dreams were full of shadows.

Chapter 3
    Saturday, 18 December, early morning
    Hannah shoved her pillow over her head, trying to block out the noise of the blind banging gently against the window frame, but it was no good.
    ‘Gabby?’ she said softly, sitting up and looking at her watch. It was just after six thirty and the room was lit with a soft, morning light. Neither Ling nor Gabby stirred. Sighing, Hannah hauled herself out of bed and walked over to the window.
    She looked at the shimmering sea; it was calm and still. The sun, just appearing from behind the land to her left, cast a glow so beautiful that it almost took Hannah’s breath away.
    The white lighthouse shone as if the sun’s rays were bringing it alive.
    Suddenly forgetting the warm bed she’d just left, Hannah pulled on a pair of track pants, a jumper and a pair of sneakers and quietly left the room. She paused briefly outside the boys’ door wondering whether to knock, but she couldn’t hear a sound so she let them sleep.
    Hannah left the building through the back door and walked across a grassy lawn towards a small wooden gate. She was surprised that she could feel the warmth of the sun even at this early hour of the morning. And it was hard for her to believe that being by the sea could be so still and quiet, especially after last night’s wind.
    Turning left, Hannah headed for the lighthouse. It was a long climb up rough and sandy steps, and more than once she had to stop to catch her breath. The sea glittered below her and she had a clear view of the little island in the middle of the bay. When she finally made it to the lighthouse, the beach was a long way down.
    The lighthouse was huge, extending up and up into the sky. Hannah felt giddy as she gazed towards its top. Now that she was close to it, she saw that the lighthouse was quite shabby looking. Cracked and peeling paint coveredmuch of its broad base, and the door was firmly locked with a huge, rusty padlock.
    The wind whipped sand into her face and Hannah shivered. She was a long way from the guesthouse and suddenly she didn’t feel like being alone. The lighthouse, tall and silent, was giving her the creeps, so she started back down the steps again, passing a series of poles with brown woven fishing baskets and round plastic buoys hanging limply from ropes, strung about like some intricate clothesline. An old pier, decorated with a roughly written ‘For Hire’ sign next to a group of row boats, jutted out sharply into the