him, Tony replied, “He was just thanking me again,” and then he quickly changed the subject. He was too embarrassed to tell Mara what he had really said to him.
After the Mendoza family left, Mrs. Louis hugged Mara tightly and started to cry. Mara had never seen her fall apart like that. “Mara, you could have been killed today. I couldn’t have gone on living without you.”
At that instant, Mara knew how her mother felt. It was the same helpless feeling that she had in her dreams, when she knew Gisela was in danger, but she was unable to help her. “I’m so sorry, Mom” said Mara. “I was not thinking. It will not happen again”. Then, Mara started crying as well.
That day, Mara grew up a little bit more. She realized that her gift did not make her invincible. It was at that moment, that Mara left childhood behind forever.
While Mara was sitting on the couch, still crying, Tony sat down beside her, put his arm around her and she put her head on his shoulder. Tony told Mara what a remarkable woman she was. “I hope that we can always be good friends, Mara,” he said.
Over the next few days, Mara, Tony, and Mara’s parents spent a lot of time with CJ and Johnnie and their families, as they saw the rest of the city. Before Mara and her family flew back to Baltimore, she and Tony exchanged phone numbers and addresses with CJ and Johnnie and Tony and Mara gave them their email addresses as well, so that when CJ and Johnnie did get computers, they could stay in touch.
Within two months, both CJ and Johnnie did receive new computers, and their families moved into new houses. Mr. Mendoza gave their parents jobs within the companies that he owned. CJ and Johnnie were soon added to Mara’s growing list of Facebook friends.
The day after Tony and Mara returned to Baltimore, they called Scott and Betsy and agreed to meet at the White House. After they had been together for less than five minutes, Scott looked at Mara and said, “I can’t put my finger on it, but you’re different somehow. Did you cut your hair or something?”
“No” said Mara, “I’m still the same old Mara, just a little bit older and a little bit wiser.” Then, Mara winked at Tony and he winked back.
Neither Tony nor Mara wanted to say goodbye when it was time for Tony to fly back to Philadelphia. At the airport, Mara put her arms around Tony and the two of them just stood there hugging for a long time.
“I’m really going to miss you, Mara,” said Tony. With misty eyes, Mara replied, “Not half as much as I’m going to miss you.” Then she kissed him on the cheek, and this time, Tony returned the kiss.
On the ride back home, Mara asked her mother, “Mom, How did you know that you were in love, the very first time?” Mrs. Louis and her husband looked at each other and then Mrs. Louis said, “When we get home, why don’t you and I go out for ladies only afternoon and we can have a long talk?”
Mara smiled and said, “I’d like that. I’d really like that.”
The Mystery of the Restless Spirits
In September, Mara started high school. She was once again attending the same school as Scott. Even though he was a year older that her, they had become good friends. Because of all of the mysteries that Mara had solved, she had made new friends from around the nation. Each time she went on vacation, it seemed that she was solving a new mystery or two and making new friends. She stayed in touch with all of them through Facebook.
As the school year progressed, Mara continued to make more new friends in high school, but Scott was definitely, her closest friend in the school.
One day in early October while Mara was eating her lunch in the cafeteria, Scott and a girl that Mara did not know, walked up and sat down with Mara. Scott introduced his friend to Mara. Her name was Jordan Travers and she had recently moved to Baltimore from Idaho. Scott told Mara that he thought she could help Jordan.
Jordan explained that she had twin cousins who lived in Cincinnati. Her cousins, Brenda and Kenny Jackson were both thirteen and had begun having strange dreams. Recently they had also begun seeing and hearing strange things in their house.
“Scott told me that you have solved quite a few mysteries and I was wondering if you could help my cousins,” said Jordan.
Mara was intrigued. Fall break was coming up and she had never been to Ohio before.
Jordan gave Mara the phone number of her cousins’ house and Mara told her and Scott that she would let them know what she could find out.
That evening, after doing her homework, Mara got permission to call Brenda and Kenny. After Mara had introduced herself, Brenda got very excited. “I know all about you, Mara,” she said. “I’ve read about all of the mysteries that you have solved.”
As the two girls talked, Mara took many notes. After an hour or so, Mara told Brenda that she would do some research and then email her with what she had found out. The two girls exchanged email addresses and Mara gave Brenda her phone number.
After Mara hung up the phone, she began reading through the notes that she had written down in her notebook.
Six months earlier, both Brenda and Kenny had begun having very unusual dreams. Brenda dreamed about a man in a funny looking uniform. She later located the same uniform in a book about the Revolutionary War. In her dreams, the soldier looked very sad and Brenda got the impression that he was asking her for help, though he never said a word.
On the morning following her first of many dreams, Brenda told Kenny about her strange dream. Kenny was taking a drink of milk the time and when he heard about Brenda’s dream, he spit milk all over her.After he helped her clean up the spilled milk, he told Brenda that he had a very similar dream, but the soldier in his dream was wearing a Civil War uniform. He also got the feeling that the man was asking for help, but did not speak in the dream, either.
Over the next several nights, they both had the same dreams. Soon afterwards, strange things began to happen when they were wide-awake as well. They both heard noises and began seeing people that would disappear into thin air. Brenda and Kenny recognized two of the apparitions as people from their dreams.
According to Brenda, her ancestors built the house in the early 1830’s and told Mara that several generations of her family were the only people who had ever lived there.
Brenda also mentioned that she and her brother were extremely close and as young children, they discovered that they could sometimes communicate without talking, sort of like twin telepathy. They did not tell anyone about the dreams and the ghosts, except for Jordan, because they did not want their family to think they were crazy.
Mara was very intrigued by the case and she asked her parents if they could go to Cincinnati over fall break. Her dad informed her that he would be out of town on business and that Mara’s mother would be at educational conferences at the school for most of the four-day weekend.
At school the next day, Mara told Scott and Morgan that both of her parents had to work during fall break. She told them that if she could go to Cincinnati, she might be able to figure what was going on in the old house.
“My family is going to Cincinnati to see my relatives during fall break,” said Jordan. “I’ll ask my parents if you can come along with us.”
“I’d like to go too” said Scott, “If that’s okay with your parents. I would love to help Mara solve another mystery.”
Mara tried to contain her enthusiasm. “Call me as soon as you can, so that I can get my parents’ permission to go,” she said.
That evening, when the phone rang, Mara ran to it and answered it before the second ring. Jordan told Mara that her parents said it was okay for Mara and Scott to Cincinnati. While Jordan waited on the phone, Mara asked her parents if she could go to Cincinnati with a friend and her family. “Scott is going too”, she said.
After Jordan’s mom and Mara’s mom talked on the phone for a while, Mara’s mom gave Mara permission to go to Cincinnati.
Mrs. Louis
called the airlines and was able to get Mara a seat on the same flight as Jordan’s family and Scott.
After Mara called Scott and told him the good news, she called Brenda and told her that she would see her in a few days.
Over the next few days, Mara did some research on the history of Cincinnati, as well as the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.
Fall break started on the second Thursday of October. On Wednesday evening, Morgan’s family drove up in an SUV to pick up Mara. Scott was already onboard. Mara hugged her mom goodbye and got into the SUV and then they headed for the airport.
On the flight to Ohio, Mara sat between Scott and Jordan. Scott told Mara that Betsy was very upset that she could not go with them. She expected a full report when they returned.
After they landed in Cincinnati, the Travers family and guests claimed their luggage and rented a car. Soon, the five of them were headed to the Jackson ancestral home.
When they arrived, Mara got her first glimpse of the house. It was nothing like she had imagined. It looked like a mansion to Mara. It was a three story white house with brown shutters. There were tall white columns in front of the house. The house sat on twenty acres of land.
Brenda and Kenny came running out when they heard the car pull up. Their parents; Kyle and Lori Jackson came out as well. After introductions were made, everybody went into the