‘Look, I’m having second thoughts about the Exorcists’ Club,’ I confessed. ‘I don’t know if it’s a good idea. This one was a bit close to the bone, for me, and anyway, what good does it do? Really?’
‘Are you kidding?’ Peter’s tone was almost horrified. ‘It’s a terrific idea!’
‘But it’s so depressing, Peter –’
‘No, it’s not! It’s – it’s …’ He seemed to be searching for an impressive and convincing term. ‘It’s liberating,’ he finally said. ‘Look how good Bettina’s feeling now! We’ve solved her problem for her!’
I started to shake my head, even though he couldn’t see me. ‘No we didn’t. It solved itself,’ I pointed out.
‘But she knows why she was fat, now. She knows it wasn’t her fault. And she’s excited about getting back to normal, and having friends …’ Peter faltered, suddenly; I wondered if he had remembered what he’d said to me, once, in the bus line. ‘She’s not dumb, you know,’ he admitted. ‘You were right about that, as well. I reckon you’re right about everything. You’re so smart, Allie.’
And embarrassed, too. My face grew hot. ‘Yeah, right,’ I mumbled.
‘It’s true. You can’t resign from the Exorcists’ Club. How would we be able to help people without you? It’s important that you stay. It’s – like – community service.’
I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t have been flattered by praise like this. It made me relax, for some reason; I felt much better, as if I’d been promised a week at Disney World.
‘You reckon?’ I said.
‘Absolutely.’
‘And you still believe in the Exorcists’ Club?’
‘Totally,’ said Peter.
I thought for a moment. ‘And does that mean you’ll sit with us on the bus, from now on?’ I queried, unable to stop myself, though I knew that I was being a bit unfair. I was teasing him, actually, in a funny sort of way.
When he didn’t immediately reply, I got anxious, and gabbled: ‘It’s okay, I don’t mind or anything, I just didn’t know if we should hold proper meetings –’
‘Actually,’ Peter broke in, with a hint of defiance, ‘I do think we should hold meetings on the bus. Why not? We’re all there. We’ve got plenty to talk about. Why bother holding meetings at each other’s houses when we don’t have to?’
‘Right. Okay.’ I was very pleased. ‘Good!’
‘Uh, which isn’t to say we can’t go to each other’s houses,’ Peter quickly amended. I could hear him breathing heavily, as if he was struggling with shoelaces. ‘In fact my mum was asking if you wanted to come around, some time. I said I’d ask you.’
‘Sure. Great,’ I replied awkwardly. ‘If you don’t mind.’
‘I don’t mind.’
‘Okay. Um … when?’
‘Tomorrow?’
‘Okay. I’ll ask Mum.’
‘Okay.’
I felt exhausted, like someone who had just run an enormous race. But it was happy exhausted. Sense-of-achievement exhausted. When I said goodbye, and hung up, I realised that the world was looking a lot brighter than it had half an hour before.
He’s a very good friend, is Peter. So is Michelle, of course. When I told her about my dad the next day, she advised me not to worry about him. If I played my cards right, she said, I’d have him eating out of my hand.
‘If you don’t like him, let him know it. Then he’ll be running around buying you things. Taking you out places. It’ll be great.’
‘He’s already taken us out,’ I replied doubtfully. ‘To that Egyptian restaurant.’
‘No, no, I’m talking about good places. Allie, I know what I’m talking about. Believe me.’ Michelle laid a hand on my arm. She gazed into my eyes. ‘This could be very good for you. He’s been away all this time – he owes you everything you can get out of him. Just remember: the ruder you are, the guiltier he’ll feel.’
I thanked her, because she was trying to help me, but I didn’t take her advice. It seemed to me that she was talking about her own family, rather than mine. And anyway, as Bettina pointed out, I was really quite lucky that my dad was interested enough to return to Australia. Bettina’s father wasn’t. He was more interested in his new family, on the other side of the world.
‘At least your dad cares,’ she said wistfully. ‘At least you can see him, now. I haven’t seen my dad for five years.’
Poor Bettina. I can’t help feeling sorry for her, even though she does laugh and talk more, these days. Ever since she joined the Exorcists’ Club, she’s been a lot happier. Oh, yes, the Exorcists’ Club is still going. There are still only four members, and we still haven’t exorcised anything, yet. Not officially. We certainly didn’t have anything to do with the disappearance of Eloise, which was just a stroke of luck. In fact, I wasn’t thoroughly convinced that she had disappeared for good, until something happened at Bettina’s house the other day.
The rest of us were on the bus when we heard. It was the usual morning update. Bettina wanted to talk about it as soon as we appeared, but Michelle and I made her wait for Peter. We always do that, now. We’ve drawn up rules about it.
‘So,’ I said, after Peter had finally joined us. ‘What’s the big news?’
‘Oh, it’s not big,’ Bettina admitted. She was knitting her brows. ‘At least, I don’t know. It’s funny …’
‘What’s funny?’ Michelle said impatiently. ‘Don’t tell me Eloise is back?’
‘Oh, no. No. It’s just that … well, yesterday Mum was looking for this rag that used to be in the laundry. But it’s disappeared. And we don’t know how.’
Peter and Michelle and I rolled our eyes at each other.
‘So you’ve got a missing rag,’ Peter drawled. ‘I see.’ If you think he was being too sarcastic, I should tell you that Bettina has gotten very jumpy about ghosts and things. She seems to think that the school library is haunted, nowadays.
‘Yes, but it wasn’t just any rag,’ Bettina insisted. ‘We were talking to Astra about it, and she said it was a baby’s blanket. A dirty old baby’s blanket, with pink rabbits on it. And no one’s seen it since Eloise vanished. Even though we always lock the laundry, because of the boys next door. They used to get in and pee on the washing machine.’
‘Yuk!’ Michelle exclaimed. ‘How revolting.’
‘So what do you think, Allie?’ Bettina fixed her earnest brown gaze on my face. ‘Do you think – do you think Eloise might have taken that blanket with her, when she left?’
I thought about it. I thought about Eloise and Eglantine. I thought about all the people living in Bettina’s house. Finally, I thought about Delora, and her views on my instincts.
‘It’s possible,’ I said. ‘Anything’s possible.’
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, after dealing with so many ghosts, it’s that anything – but anything – is possible.
CATHERINE JINKS was born in Brisbane in 1963 and grew up in Sydney and Papua New Guinea. She studied medieval history at university, and her love of reading led her to become a writer. She lives in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales with her Canadian husband, Peter, and her daughter, Hannah.
Catherine Jinks is the author of over twenty books for children and adults, including the award-winning Pagan series.
PRAISE FOR ALLIE’S GHOST HUNTERS:
‘[Eloise] is a very addictive book, and I recommend it to anyone who wants an original mystery story.’ Ambrose, Year 8, YARA
‘[Eglantine] is a delightful spine-tingler and a great read …’ Sunday Tasmanian
‘An original twist on an old, old theme …’ Sunday Age on Eglantine
‘Full of mystery, ghost-busting and humour …’ Townsville Bulletin on Eloise
‘[Eloise is] gripping, creepy and unputdownable.’ Queensland Times
‘Anyone who says they don’t believe in ghosts just might be encouraged to think again.’ Reading Time
Catherine Jinks, Eloise
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