Ghost in the First Row (2 page)

“You’re not throwing your money away on tickets, are you?” Everyone whirled around as a middle-aged man with a mustache walked towards them. He was wearing a business suit, and his dark hair was slicked back.

“Hello, Gil,” Aunt Jane greeted him. “We were just checking out the theater.” She introduced the children to Gil Diggs, the owner of the local movie theater.

“If you ask me, Alice wasted her money on this place.”

Aunt Jane stared at Gil in surprise. “I think the Trap-Door Theater does the town proud.”

“It’s just a matter of time before they close it down again,” Gil said, shaking his head. As he walked away, he called back over his shoulder, “Mark my words!”

“He doesn’t seem very happy about the theater,” said Benny.

“Gil has a lot on his mind these days,” Aunt Jane explained. “It makes him seem a bit grumpy sometimes. You see, his movie theater hasn’t been doing well lately.”

Violet asked, “Why’s that, Aunt Jane?”

“They opened a huge movie complex on the highway, Violet. Some of Gil’s customers go there now. And on top of that, a lot of people would rather rent movies and watch them at home these days.”

“That’s true,” said Henry. “We do that, too.”

Aunt Jane nodded. “I imagine Gil thinks the Trap-Door Theater will take away even more business. He doesn’t seem to understand,” she said, “that a successful theater will bring tourists into town.”

“And that would be good for everyone’s business,” finished Henry, remembering what Grandfather had said.

“Exactly,” said Aunt Jane. “But it’ll take time for Gil to realize that, I’m afraid. Speaking of time,” she added, “I’d better take Uncle Andy’s watch to the jewelry store for repairs. I’ll be right back.”

While the children were waiting, they noticed a young woman in a hooded white top and track pants step out of the theater. She was wearing sunglasses, and her coppery red hair was pulled back into a ponytail. A tall man appeared seconds later, the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up above his elbows, and a pencil stuck behind his ear.

From where they were standing, the Aldens couldn’t help overhearing their conversation.

“Hold on a minute,” the young man was saying. “You’re getting upset over nothing, Fern.”

“How can you call it nothing? I have a good mind to walk out on—”

The man broke in, “I’m sure it’s just somebody’s idea of a joke.”

“Well, if it’s a joke,” the woman shot back, “it’s not a very funny one!”

“Her name is Fern,” Henry whispered to the others. “She must be the actress starring in the play.”

Jessie felt uncomfortable listening to the conversation. “Maybe we should walk over to the jewelry store,” she suggested in a low voice. “It isn’t nice to eavesdrop.”

“Oh, here comes Aunt Jane now,” said Violet.

“Jane Bean!” The young man waved a hand in the air as Aunt Jane approached. “You’re just the person I wanted to see.”

Aunt Jane introduced the children to Ray Shaw. He was the director of the Trap-Door Theater. Then she said, “What can I do for you, Ray?”

“I was hoping I could stop by tonight,” said Ray, “to pick up a few things from your shed.”

“Of course!” Aunt Jane nodded. Then she turned to the children. “Alice left most of her belongings to the theater,” she explained. “We’re keeping them in the old shed out back.”

“The workmen should be finished in the basement soon,” said Ray. “Then we’ll have a dry place to keep all the stage props.”

“That’s good,” Aunt Jane told him. “As you know, the lock’s been broken on that shed for years.”

Ray laughed. “I don’t think anybody would be interested in stealing old furniture,” he told her.

“By the way,” Aunt Jane added, “how are rehearsals going?”

“Don’t ask!” The woman with the coppery red hair came over and joined their group. “I’m at the end of my rope.”

Ray introduced everyone to Fern Robson who was playing the lead in Lady Chadwick’s Riddle.

“This theater makes my hair stand on end,” Fern went on, shivering a little. “I’m a bundle of nerves!”

Henry and Jessie exchanged glances. Why was Fern so upset?

“I have an idea,” said Aunt Jane. “Why don’t you both join us for dinner this evening? How does a barbecue sound?”

“Sounds great!” said Ray. “Count me in.”

“Me, too,” said Fern. “I could use a break from the ghost world.” The actress shivered a little.

The Aldens looked at one another.
The ghost world?
What on earth was Fern Robson talking about?

“Fern is such a pretty name,” Aunt Jane was saying, as they sat around the picnic table in the backyard.

“Oh, do you like it?” Fern’s face broke into a smile. “You know, I couldn’t make up my mind between Fern and Cassandra. But I decided to go with Fern.”

Benny wrinkled up his forehead. “You named yourself?”

“Well, I’m really Susan. But I wanted a name with more pizzazz. Something that would look good up in lights.”

“I think you made a great choice,” Violet said.

“Thank you, Violet,” said Fern. “Lots of people in show business change their names, you know. Even the winner of the play-writing contest changed her name. Isn’t that true, Ray?”

Ray wiped some mustard from the corner of his mouth. “Well, she changed her nickname, at least.”

“I was hoping to see my name first on the billboard,” Fern went on. “Above the title of the play, I mean.” She shot the director a look. “But I suppose that was hoping for too much.”

Ray rolled his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he dished up another helping of potato salad.

Jessie couldn’t help noticing that the Fern had hardly eaten a bite. She was only poking at her food with a fork.

The actress caught Jessie’s look. “I’m afraid I have a nervous stomach,” she said. “I can’t stop thinking about all the strange things that have been happening at the theater.”

Aunt Jane looked up in surprise. “What’s been happening?”

Fern leaned forward and whispered, “The ghosts have been acting up.”

“This isn’t the time or the place—” Ray began.

Fern waved that away. “They’ve been using it for years, you know. It gives me goose bumps just to think about it!”

“What do you mean?” Benny’s big eyes were round.

“I’m talking about the ghosts.” Fern replied. “They’ve been using the theater to perform their plays.”

The Aldens looked at one another. They were too stunned to speak.

“The ghosts aren’t happy about the theater opening up again,” Fern went on. “They don’t want to share it with the public.”

“You don’t really believe that,” said Henry. “Do you, Fern?”

“Take a look at the facts,” Fern said.

Jessie stared at the actress. “What facts?”

“Well, for starters, things keep disappearing.” Fern looked slowly around the table. “Then they show up in the oddest places.”

“That’s weird,” said Benny. He was so interested in the conversation that he still hadn’t taken a bite of his hamburger.

“Remember Lady Chadwick’s hat?” Fern turned to look at Ray. “The one with the yellow marigolds on it?”

“I remember,” said Ray. “We found it hanging from the chandelier in the lobby.”

“What’s a chandelier?” Benny wanted to know.

“It’s a fancy ceiling light,” Henry explained.

Violet giggled. She couldn’t help it—it seemed so funny. “Well, if it’s a ghost,” she said, “it’s a ghost with a sense of humor.”

Everyone laughed—except Fern. “This isn’t a laughing matter,” she said with a frown. “The ghosts aren’t happy.”

“Now, Fern—” Ray started to say.

“It’s no use shaking your head, Ray. You know it’s true. And now Alice Duncan has joined the ghostly audience.”

“What?”
Aunt Jane almost choked on her lemonade.

“What makes you say that?” Jessie asked.

Fern leaned forward again. “One morning, we found a ball of yarn and some knitting needles on a seat in the first row.”

Ray added, “We even found some popcorn on the floor.”

“And as everybody knows,” Fern said, “Alice always brought her knitting and a bag of popcorn to the theater with her. It was mentioned in all the newspaper articles after she died.”

“But Alice wanted the theater opened up to the public again,” Jessie pointed out. “Didn’t she?”

Violet nodded. “That’s why she left her money to the town.”

“I guess she changed her mind.” Fern suddenly pushed her plate away. “My stomach is too upset to eat. I’d better go home and lie down.”

“Why don’t you take the morning off tomorrow, Fern,” Ray suggested. “We’ll postpone the rehearsal until after lunch.”

“I just might take you up on that,” Fern said. “I need my beauty sleep.” With that, she said good-bye and left.

Ray apologized for Fern’s behavior. “She can be a handful sometimes. But she really is a wonderful actress.”

“I can understand why Fern would be upset with so many strange things happening at the theater,” said Aunt Jane. “I wonder who’s responsible for all those pranks.”

Jessie asked, “Did you notice anyone hanging around, Ray?”

“Only the actors and the stagehands.” The director shook his head. “Nobody else.”

“Are you sure?” Henry looked uncertain.

“Quite sure, Henry,” said Ray. “We don’t want anyone to see the theater until opening night.”

Jessie had a thought. “What if somebody got in after everybody went home?”

Ray shook his head again. “I’m the only one with a key, Jessie.”

“Maybe they didn’t use a key,” Benny suggested.

“I checked it out, Benny,” Ray said. “It doesn’t look like anyone broke in.”

“Fern’s right about one thing,” said Violet. “If it’s a joke, it’s not a very funny one.”

“No, it’s not,” Ray agreed. “It’s making everyone in the cast and crew very nervous. Nobody wants to stay late anymore. They’re all afraid of ghosts.”

“You’ve sure got your work cut out for you, Ray,” said Aunt Jane.

“You can say that again.” Ray nodded. “I hired some high school kids to help with the posters, but they were a no-show. I have a hunch they were scared away by the rumors of ghosts.”

“Maybe we could lend a hand,” volunteered Henry.

“Of course,” agreed Jessie, while Violet and Benny nodded.

“Really?” Ray looked surprised—and pleased.

“We’d like to help,” Violet said shyly.

Ray looked at the Aldens’ eager faces.” Putting up posters around town is hard work,” he warned them.

Aunt Jane laughed. “Oh, you don’t know these children, Ray. There’s nothing they like better than hard work.”

“Well, I’d be very grateful for your help,” Ray told them. “We need all the advertising we can get. I’ve been trying to get someone from the local paper to do a write-up. But … they’re not interested unless it’ll grab the readers’ attention.”

“Well, we’ll help for sure,” promised Benny. “When do we start?”

Ray was all smiles. “How does first thing in the morning sound?”

The Aldens thought it sounded just fine. After dinner, they walked over to the shed with Ray. Stepping inside, they found it overflowing with tables, chairs, trunks, and wooden boxes.

“Alice sure had lots of stuff,” Benny said, looking around.

“She sure did,” said Ray. “And we plan to make good use of it on stage.”

Violet was taking a close look at an old typewriter. “Grandfather has one just like this in the attic.”

“The keys stick and it won’t print
w
at all,” Ray told her. “But Alice used that old typewriter for years and years.”

“She never used a computer?” Henry asked.

“Never. Not even when her fingers got weaker as she got older,” said Ray. “She couldn’t peck away at the typewriter keys anymore, but she still refused to use a computer. Instead, she recorded her plays on tape and hired a college student to type them up for her.” Ray lifted the lid of a wooden box. “See? Alice’s tapes are right here.”

“The box is almost full,” Benny noted.

Just then, Ray spotted a book on the windowsill. Reaching for it, he began to flip through the pages. “Looks like Alice’s appointment book,” he said. “Your aunt Jane’s mentioned in here quite a bit.”

“They were good friends,” Jessie said.

“Alice’s last entry seems to be about shoes.” Ray read the words aloud:
Shoe won’t fit. Tell P.J. to make change.

“I guess Alice bought a pair of shoes that were too small,” Henry figured.

“I think your aunt Jane might like this book,” said Ray. “It would be a nice keepsake.”

“We’ll make sure she gets it,” Jessie promised.

Ray glanced around. “Now, there’s something I can use!” He reached a bag down from a shelf. The label read:
Plaster of Paris.

“What will you use it for?” Benny wanted to know.

“A 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.