“I’m guessing you’ve heard the rumors?” I twist my ring around and around my finger. “About the ghost?”

Vee purses her lips. “I’ve heard a little something.”

“Do you think she’s real?”

“What? No way.” She waves her hand. “I don’t believe in that stuff. And for the record, I don’t believe in Bigfoot, aliens, or the Loch Ness Monster either.”

I sigh with relief. “So you don’t feel scared? You don’t want to quit?” I keep thinking about the crowd that had gathered after Amelia’s second sighting. How those kids said they wanted to go home.

Vee laughs. “It’s going to take way more than drama queen Amelia saying she saw a face in the rafters to get me to quit. I love Sadie Solves It. I’m here for the long haul.”

“Okay, good,” I sigh. I start to feel better. It’s good to know that not everyone is taking the rumors seriously.

But as I sit back, the lights in the little room blink on and off. I grip the sides of the chair. “W-What was that?”

Vee looks around. The lights are still flickering. The light bulb buzzes like it’s an angry bee caught in a trap.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Vee says.

She walks over to the switch on the wall and flicks it off. Except… The room doesn’t go dark. The bulb keeps flickering, almost like an invisible hand is turning the switch on and off, on and off.

“Vee?” My heart starts to pound. “I’m scared.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” But Vee doesn’t sound so calm either.

She turns the lights on, and then off again. To my relief, this time, the light actually turns off.

Only, the darkness is scary too. I can feel my heart thumping in my ears. I imagine a spirit drifting around the blackened room, reaching out for me, touching the side of my cheek…

I shriek. Vee flicks the lights on again, and the bulb burns brightly. I look around. No ghost. No spooky fingers, reaching out. But my heart is pounding. My face is sweaty.

Vee rushes over. “Hayley. It’s okay. It wasn’t anything. You’ve gotten yourself all worked up.”

“But…” I point to the light bulb. “Why did it flicker even when you turn the light off?”

“It’s an old building. I lived in an apartment in Hollywood when I first moved to LA, and the same thing would happen. Finally, I got my landlord to fix it. He said the wiring hadn’t been updated since the 1950s! It’s very possible that’s what’s happening here.”

“Y-You think?” I ask.

“Honey.” Vee holds my hands. “Yes. You’re scared because someone put the ghost idea into your head. So now, you’re seeing what you want to see. That’s all.”