Nancy Drew: 2 . The Hidden Staircase

The First Haunting

"My goodness!" exclaimed Flora as Emily and Rosemary helped her off the sofa and got her to the far wall.

Nancy had jumped up as well, her eyes scrutinizing the swinging chandelier. "Which room is above this one?"

"Flora's," said Rosemary. Nancy rushed out of the room and dashed up the stairs.

"Nancy!" called out Helen. She, Ida, and Izzy ran after her. Thinking about it later, Nancy realized that she should have gone quietly, but at that moment she could only think of the importance of time. Besides, she hoped to get some clue as to how the ghost kept getting in and out of the house. She flung open Flora's door and paused, her eyes looking for any sign of the retreating apparition. But none could be seen. She let out a soft growl, so it was going to be a little harder than that. Well she wasn't going to give up. She began a thorough search of the room.

"Helen, take a look through Aunt Flora's closet. Izzy, check every board under the bed thoroughly. Ida, keep an eye out the window, I want to know if you see anyone on the grounds."

"Right!" chorused the girls before they took to their assignments. Nancy went to the spot where she estimated the chandelier was. She glanced at her watch. It took her, what, ten, fifteen seconds tops, to get up the stairs to the room. She figured going out the window would have taken a little longer than that as the ghost had to open and close the window. Plus, Ida was looking rather intently out it right now, she would have seen him by now if he had. Nancy knelt down to peer closer at the floor, hoping to find some clue as to the direction the ghost took. Both the door and the window were obviously out of the question, which could only mean that there had to be a secret passage somewhere. Just, where was it, and how did it open?

Emily came into the room. "Is everything alright? Aunt Flora is getting a little worried."

Nancy nodded. "For now, anyway. The ghost got away before we could get in here."

"But how is that possible?" asked Helen with a huff as she joined Nancy. "You should have caught some glimpse of him when you got up here!"

"That's what I'm wondering," said Nancy. "The only explanation is that there's some secret passage in this room."

Emily shivered. "I don't like the idea of someone coming and going like some ghost, especially in Grandma's room!"

Helen glanced at Emily. "Do you think it's a good idea for you and Aunt Flora to be spending the night here?"

"Has the ghost come at night, though?" asked Nancy. "I need to speak to Aunt Rosemary and Aunt Flora about when they notice the ghostly occurrences." She stood up. "But first, I want to try out something. Let's see which way the ghost could have gone."

"Well I highly doubt it's under the bed," said Izzy as she joined them, dusting herself. "There doesn't seem to be any secret passages under it, definitely no secret doors."

"And I don't think it's the window," said Ida, glancing between the group and the yard. "The window is locked!"

Nancy looked at Helen. "And the closet?"

Helen shook her head. "Nope, definitely nothing in there. I think I was the only person to disturb anything in there besides Aunt Flora and Emily." The girls, besides Ida, took a quick survey of the room. Helen's eyes widened. "Oh, the fireplace!" She quickly rushed over to it, grabbed a poker, and looked up.

"Um, Helen, I don't think anyone besides Santa would go up and down a chimney," said Nancy. No sooner had she spoke than a cloud of ash descended on Helen's head and shoulders, prompting a yelp. Izzy fell over laughing, while Emily dashed to the bathroom and Nancy rushed to Helen. Ida stayed at her post, but she was giggling uncontrollably. "See what I mean? Only Santa!" Helen shot Nancy the stinky eye, Nancy shot her a cheeky grin in reply. Emily came back with a damp washcloth and helped Helen clean up some of the ash.