Brittany hugging Ava in the Crystal Cauldron.
"Oh, that's awesome!" Brittany laughed, "But my witch sponsor, Hannah Hawthorne, is taking me there on Friday for a séance. I've never been to one before, and I can't wait to go!"
"That sounds spooky," Emma remarked.
"I know!" Brittany cried excitedly. "Hey! Why don't you three come with me? I'm sure I could talk Hannah into letting you come along, especially since Kacey is Garth's cousin!"
Ava looked at the other two. Emma's face displayed her uncertainty, and Kacey shook her head.
"Maybe some other time," said Kacey.
"Oh, please! You've got to come! It's going to be so cool! It's in a real castle! And Garth would love to meet you--his cousin!"
Kacey hesitated, but Ava said, "You know, I think you're right, Brittany. We should go. Let's do it!"
"Oh, great!" Brittany exclaimed, "It'll be fun! Come here to the shop on Friday about six o'clock. That's when we close. We're going over to the island by boat. Wear something dark, like black or brown because the spirits prefer a dark environment. And I should get your phone number--just in case our plans change."
Emma and Kacey looked at each other in surprise as Ava said, "Great! We'll see you at six on Friday!"
Brittany and Kacey exchanged phone numbers, and as soon as they were done, Ava quickly said, "Well, we've got to go and finish our errands for Kacey's Aunt. Bye, Brittany! See you on Friday!"
She quickly hustled the other two girls out of the shop as Brittany bid them goodbye.
Once outside, Kacey asked, "What's that all about?"
"Yeah, how come you said we'd go to her séance? I don't want to go to a séance!" Emma declared.
"Neither do I," Ava explained patiently in a low voice, "But we do want to get inside that castle and look around, don't we? We may get some clue as to where Garth keeps the fake deed to his castle."
"Oh, I imagine he has it locked in a safe where we'd never find it," Emma replied.
"Maybe," Ava admitted, "But maybe it's not. Some people keep things in desk drawers or filing cabinets. We might find out where it is if we do a little snooping."
"No! Bad idea!" Emma declared, "Every time you get these crazy ideas, we end up in trouble."
"It's no big deal!" Ava insisted, "If it gets too risky, we just skip it and stick with the séance."
Then Kacey said, "Well, I'd like to see the inside of the castle, but I'm not participating in any séances. It goes against my faith in God."
"What do you mean?" Emma asked.
Kacey explained, "It says in the Bible that we're not to consult witches or fortune tellers or any kind of magic stuff. We're supposed to trust in God and seek His will, not turn to others for help. I mean, just pretending about believing in spooky things, like on Halloween, is okay, but not when it's treated as something real."
"Believe me, I don't think it's real," Ava assured her, "You can just watch, but I'm curious about what goes on in a séance. I know they try to raise the spirits of dead people and talk to them, but I also know it's all fake. It'll be interesting to see how they try to pull it off," Ava reasoned.
"Okay, so I guess we're going to a séance on Friday night!" Kacey announced.
"What I don't get is how Brittany got involved in magic," Ava said, "I mean, she was so cool in high school, and now she has quit school and she's becoming a witch? Where's that going to get her?"
"Nowhere, I'm afraid," Kacey admitted.
"She was such a talented artist," Ava recalled, "I thought she'd get her degree in art and really go places someday."
"If she thinks that being a witch will pay the bills, she's deluding herself," Emma remarked.
"Yeah," Kacey admitted, "I hate to see her go down that path, for a lot a reasons. Maybe we can talk some sense into her and get her to quit magic."
Ava and Emma agreed.
"Which is another good reason why we should go to the séance with her," Ava said, "We can prove to her that this spiritualism thing is all fake."
"Yeah?" Emma challenged, "Well, what about ghosts, huh? Your Aunt Mary saw a ghost at the castle."
Kacey smiled, "I don't think she really saw a ghost because ghosts are not real. I think she saw something that made her think she saw a ghost."
"Well, I watch this show on TV where they take cameras into haunted places and they show real ghosts. They even measure their energy," Emma insisted.
"Oh, yeah, I think I saw that one, too," Ava teased, "I think it was Ghostbusters!"
"Ha-ha, very funny," Emma replied, "But this was real."
"Emma, they use special effects to pretend that there are real ghosts," Kacey told her.
"Why would they do that?" Emma asked.
"To sell the show, silly!" Ava replied, "Who's going to watch a TV show about haunted places if there are no ghosts to see? So they do a bunch of camera tricks to make it look real because some people want to believe in ghosts."
"Well, I don't!" Emma insisted.
"Then don't!" Ava replied.
Kacey sensed the tension between them and interjected, "Let's focus on Brittany, shall we? We need to show her that these spirit mediums like Garth Simms are just frauds."
"How are we going to do that?" Emma asked.
"We'll think of something," Kacey said, and Ava agreed.
When they arrived home, the girls brought all of Aunt Mary's things into the house, and she was thrilled that the girls had found everything she needed. They helped put things away for her and then told her about their friend, Brittany, and the séance they had been invited to attend.
"Oh, my!" Aunt Mary exclaimed, looking worried, "Perhaps you shouldn't go."
"Why not?" asked Ava.
"Oh, I've been to séances before and they are very frightening! Very frightening indeed!"
"But Aunt Mary, there's nothing to be afraid of," Kacey told her.
"Oh, you may think that way now, but once you see what goes on, it's very frightening!" Aunt Mary insisted.
Kacey smiled and took her hand.
"Actually, I'm just going to observe. If Ava and Emma want to participate, they can. But I don't believe that anyone can communicate with the spirits of the departed. We're hoping to figure out how Garth tricks people into thinking he is a spirit medium. We have to prove to Brittany that these things are not real, so she'll give up the idea of becoming a witch."
Aunt Mary looked at Kacey and the girls closely.
"Make sure you all say a prayer for protection before you start the séance," she told them.
Kacey tried to hide her smile as she nodded, "Okay, Aunt Mary, if you insist."
"And I'll say a prayer for you, too," Aunt Mary promised.
Kacey hugged her, "Aww, you're always so thoughtful. Now, what shall we prepare for dinner?"
Emma's eyes lit up, "Actually, I was just going to suggest that I make you one of my specialties--Taco Casserole. It's really good!"
"I'll make a salad to go with it," Ava said.
"And I'll heat up the rolls we bought," Kacey said, "And pour the drinks. Let's get cooking!"
The girls went into the kitchen and began preparing food while talking. Aunt Mary came in and sat at the kitchen table to watch. Soon, all the girls had finished preparing dinner. When the casserole was placed in the oven to bake, they decided to go for a short walk down the street and back until the casserole was done cooking.
The vivid green front yards of each huge house were shaded by big oak and maple trees in the peak of their autumn colors. Colorful baskets of yellow and orange chrysanthemums and marigolds hung over the porch railings and filled decorative pots. Most houses were decorated for Halloween with jack-o-lanterns, witches, monsters and ghosts.
"Boy, people around here really get into the Halloween spirit," Emma remarked.
"Yeah, because Salem has always celebrated Halloween in a big way, it's just as popular here in Marbleton," Kacey replied.
Emma took out her phone and called her boyfriend.
> "Dave? It's me!" she said, "How are you?"
They chatted for a few moments, and then Emma told him about going to the medieval castle to attend a séance. As she listened to Dave's reply, her face grew into a grin.
"Sorry, Dave, this is by invitation only. But you can come around on Saturday if you like. Maybe we can all go out Saturday night if you can get the other guys to come."
He replied, and Emma asked the others, "Dave says he thinks he can get Joshua and Rick to come here on Saturday with him. What time should I tell them?"
"Why not have them come for dinner, and then we can all go out someplace?" Kacey suggested. The others agreed, and Emma told Dave about their plans. He promised to call the other two guys who were Ava's and Kacey's boyfriends, to see if they could make it.
Emma hung up and the girls discussed some ideas on what to do on Saturday night. Ava suggested going out to a dance club, and Emma suggested taking in a movie.
"Maybe we can do both," Kacey said.
Emma said, "Dave said he wanted to go with us to the séance. Being a magician, he'd love to see it." The other girls knew that Dave performed magic at parties and some special events.
"Does Dave ever tell you how to do the magic tricks?" Ava asked.
"No," Emma shook her head, "He says that a true magician never tells his secrets to anyone."
"It's too bad the guys can't come with us," Kacey said, "Josh would love to see the castle."
"Yeah, so would Rick," Ava agreed. Rick was Ava's new boyfriend who she met in one of her classes. He was an ex-military guy who was now attending Westfield University.
"Well, I'm sure we'll all have fun, no matter what we do," Emma said, "Hey, we should head back. The casserole will be done soon."
On Friday morning the girls came downstairs and made breakfast for Aunt Mary. They talked about the séance that they planned to attend in the evening. Afterwards, they cleaned the kitchen and asked her if there were any other jobs that needed doing.
"Well, if you feel like it, you can bring down the Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations and put them up. I haven't been able to crawl around in the attic since my surgery. Hopefully, by Thanksgiving I'll be back to normal."
The girls told her they would be happy to get the decorations down, and she gave them directions on where to go.
The old house had a third floor attic, which was one long room with a low ceiling and a window at each end. They found a light switch, and soon they were digging among old items and clothing to look for the boxes of decorations.
"I found the Christmas decorations," Emma announced.
"Well, the Halloween and Thanksgiving ones are probably near them," Kacey said.
"Hey, look at this!" Ava exclaimed. The girls navigated through the boxes and things. She stood next to an old, wooden sea chest with a rounded top and wood slats. It had black wrought-iron hinges and latches on the front.
"Can we look inside?" Ava asked.
"I don't think Aunt Mary would mind. It's probably just old clothing."
The heavy wooden top to the chest creaked as Ava lifted it. The inside was filled with old framed photographs, books, and small boxes.
"That's my great-Uncle Charles when he was a World War II pilot," Kacey said, holding up a framed photograph.
"Hey, he was kind'a cute," Emma remarked.
Ava opened one of the small boxes and said, "Look at these war medals! He must have been some kind of hero or something!"
The girls inspected the medals and noticed that one was a bronze cross with an eagle in the center, labeled "Air Force Cross- for extraordinary heroism". The girls were impressed by all the medals that Charles Carlson had received. They hunted through the rest of the items and found many large envelopes with papers in them.
"These must have been some of his important documents," Ava reasoned.
Kacey wanted to see what else was in the chest, so she began to lift out several large, thick manila envelopes. She found some old photo albums and took one out to look at it. The other girls decided to find the decorations and left her to hunt through the papers.
Emma found a door along the long wall and asked, "I wonder what's in this closet?"
She opened the door and leaped back in fright, screaming at the top of her lungs, "Ahhhhh!!!!!!"