normal for once.’
‘I bet.’ Olivia touched his arm sympathetically with her free hand. ‘But it’s not going to help us outwit that Ghost Grabber man, is it?’
Before Jackson could answer, a sudden murmur of excitement rippled across the Food Mart. As Olivia watched, shoppers from all across the store started racing towards the front door.
‘Uh-oh.’ Olivia hurried after them, pulling Jackson with her.
Shoppers lined the glass windows at the front of the store, chattering excitedly and snapping pictures with their phones. Olivia wriggled her way to the front of the crowd just as a crimson
hearse rolled past the store at a funereally slow pace. Plastered on the side of the hearse, painted three times larger than life, was . . .
‘Looks like the Grabber’s here,’ Jackson murmured into her ear.
Olivia winced as she watched the picture of Gregor Gleka’s face – his eyes wide in mock horror – roll past on the side of the hearse. There was no way that anybody in Franklin
Grove was going to miss the Ghost Grabber’s arrival.
Jackson nudged her as more camera flashes exploded around them. ‘It sure looks like people are excited about
this
!’ He let out a low whistle. ‘I don’t know how
good he is with ghosts, but this old guy is definitely “grabbing” my
thunder
.’
Olivia wanted to laugh along with him, but she couldn’t. ‘This is a disaster! He’s going all out. That means he really is going to devote a whole episode of his show to
Franklin Grove. Everyone will know about it! People are going to be
interested
, and then they’ll start asking
questions
, and . . .’ She cut herself off with a gasp as
she suddenly realised what she’d been saying.
Jackson was frowning at her, his gaze intent. ‘Who cares if people ask questions?’ he asked. ‘Seriously, what are you so worried about?’
‘Um . . .’ Olivia’s head went blank as she stared back at him. ‘Uh . . .’
‘It’s not like there’s anything you’re trying to hide,’ Jackson said slowly, ‘ . . . is there?’
Uh-oh.
With a gulp, Olivia forced herself to think fast. ‘Of course not!’ she said. Her words rattled out too quickly, and she could hear her voice turning high-pitched and
squeaky, but she forced herself onwards anyway. ‘I just hate the idea of ghosts, you know? And this is such a small town. If a whole TV crew shows up, it’ll be a nightmare zone for
days. People won’t stop griping about it for months!’ She forced a tinkling laugh that sounded super-fake even to her own ears. ‘I mean, who wants that hassle, right?’
She could hear her own heartbeat thumping in her ears as she stared at Jackson, waiting for his response.
He just peered at her. ‘It didn’t bother you when
The Groves
was being filmed here.’
‘I know!’ Olivia replied. Excuses chased explanations in her brain. ‘But that was . . . different.’
‘How so?’ Jackson’s eyes narrowed.
He’s totally suspecting something now,
Olivia thought, wishing there was a button she could push that would divert the rushing blood away from her face.
‘Well,’ she said at last. ‘
You
were working on
The Groves.
If you were co-hosting the Ghost Grabber’s show, then I might be more excited!’
Jackson stared at her a moment longer. Then he smiled. ‘O . . . K,’ he said.
But she could sense his thoughtful frown even as she turned away.
Anyone would think this was a military operation,
Ivy thought, as she stood opposite the Meat and Greet, scowling at the chaos in front of her. A whole battalion of TV
production trucks were lined up in front of the diner, surrounded by a swarm of busy-looking people yelling into handsets and cell phones.
‘Apparently, this is just the pre-production phase,’ Sophia said, reading the stream of updates on her slim black phone, ‘Gleka’s commandeering the whole diner for his
show. It’s going to be the site of an impromptu “Ghost Chat”’ – she made finger-quotes as she
‘I bet.’ Olivia touched his arm sympathetically with her free hand. ‘But it’s not going to help us outwit that Ghost Grabber man, is it?’
Before Jackson could answer, a sudden murmur of excitement rippled across the Food Mart. As Olivia watched, shoppers from all across the store started racing towards the front door.
‘Uh-oh.’ Olivia hurried after them, pulling Jackson with her.
Shoppers lined the glass windows at the front of the store, chattering excitedly and snapping pictures with their phones. Olivia wriggled her way to the front of the crowd just as a crimson
hearse rolled past the store at a funereally slow pace. Plastered on the side of the hearse, painted three times larger than life, was . . .
‘Looks like the Grabber’s here,’ Jackson murmured into her ear.
Olivia winced as she watched the picture of Gregor Gleka’s face – his eyes wide in mock horror – roll past on the side of the hearse. There was no way that anybody in Franklin
Grove was going to miss the Ghost Grabber’s arrival.
Jackson nudged her as more camera flashes exploded around them. ‘It sure looks like people are excited about
this
!’ He let out a low whistle. ‘I don’t know how
good he is with ghosts, but this old guy is definitely “grabbing” my
thunder
.’
Olivia wanted to laugh along with him, but she couldn’t. ‘This is a disaster! He’s going all out. That means he really is going to devote a whole episode of his show to
Franklin Grove. Everyone will know about it! People are going to be
interested
, and then they’ll start asking
questions
, and . . .’ She cut herself off with a gasp as
she suddenly realised what she’d been saying.
Jackson was frowning at her, his gaze intent. ‘Who cares if people ask questions?’ he asked. ‘Seriously, what are you so worried about?’
‘Um . . .’ Olivia’s head went blank as she stared back at him. ‘Uh . . .’
‘It’s not like there’s anything you’re trying to hide,’ Jackson said slowly, ‘ . . . is there?’
Uh-oh.
With a gulp, Olivia forced herself to think fast. ‘Of course not!’ she said. Her words rattled out too quickly, and she could hear her voice turning high-pitched and
squeaky, but she forced herself onwards anyway. ‘I just hate the idea of ghosts, you know? And this is such a small town. If a whole TV crew shows up, it’ll be a nightmare zone for
days. People won’t stop griping about it for months!’ She forced a tinkling laugh that sounded super-fake even to her own ears. ‘I mean, who wants that hassle, right?’
She could hear her own heartbeat thumping in her ears as she stared at Jackson, waiting for his response.
He just peered at her. ‘It didn’t bother you when
The Groves
was being filmed here.’
‘I know!’ Olivia replied. Excuses chased explanations in her brain. ‘But that was . . . different.’
‘How so?’ Jackson’s eyes narrowed.
He’s totally suspecting something now,
Olivia thought, wishing there was a button she could push that would divert the rushing blood away from her face.
‘Well,’ she said at last. ‘
You
were working on
The Groves.
If you were co-hosting the Ghost Grabber’s show, then I might be more excited!’
Jackson stared at her a moment longer. Then he smiled. ‘O . . . K,’ he said.
But she could sense his thoughtful frown even as she turned away.
Anyone would think this was a military operation,
Ivy thought, as she stood opposite the Meat and Greet, scowling at the chaos in front of her. A whole battalion of TV
production trucks were lined up in front of the diner, surrounded by a swarm of busy-looking people yelling into handsets and cell phones.
‘Apparently, this is just the pre-production phase,’ Sophia said, reading the stream of updates on her slim black phone, ‘Gleka’s commandeering the whole diner for his
show. It’s going to be the site of an impromptu “Ghost Chat”’ – she made finger-quotes as she
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