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“I don’t know. They were here when I came downstairs.”
I contemplated the freshly baked goods on the cooling rack. I really ought to have a healthy meal first.
Sian finished the other half of the cookie. “I licked the dough from the spoon and scraped the bowl. I hope that is acceptable.”
I stared at Sian. The audacity. “Yes, it’s fine,” I said.
His smile evaporated. “Uh oh. It does not seem fine. Have I overstayed my welcome? If it improves your mood, the bed will be finished tomorrow. Ray was a great help.”
It did not improve my mood. He ate my cookie dough, depriving me of one of the greatest joys in life.
I swiped a cookie from the rack and stuffed it into my mouth. There. Pain eased.
“How many Sarahs were you able to rule out?”
I showed him the updated list.
He beamed. “We have both made excellent progress today.”
“Me, too,” Ray interjected. “I’ve been researching your lake monster. I found a few references in the books you brought home from the library that warranted closer scrutiny.”
“Scrutinize to your heart’s content. I need to eat something substantial.”
“Oh, I finished the chili,” Sian said. “I hope that is acceptable.”
I took another cookie from the rack and ate it. I stopped chewing and listened.
“Did you hear that?” I asked, swallowing the lump of cookie.
Ray glanced up from the computer screen. “Hear what?”
“That light tapping sound.”
The ghost looked at me with concern. “You know I’m typing on the keyboard, right?”
Sian listened. “I hear it as well.”
“It isn’t you, Ray.” I listened intently. “It might be a squirrel on the roof.”
“The roof is too far.” Ray drifted over to me. “I doubt that’s what you’re hearing. Maybe if you were in your bedroom.”
“There it is again!” I leaned across the sink to peer through the windowpane and my heart skipped a beat.
“Is that a hand?” Ray asked.
My stomach lurched. “Seems to be.”
The hand was too busy trying to open the window from the outside to notice us.
“It’s like Thing from The Addams Family.” Ray leaned forward. “Except slightly greener and… Are those freckles?”
“Decomposition marks.” I knocked on the glass. The hand froze.
“Too cold outside for you?” I asked.
The hand scrambled down the side of the wall and disappeared from view.
I looked at Ray. “That was a first.”
