Kayla Perrin - Blurb - The Disappearance of Allison Jones

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The Disappearance of Allison Jones
July , 2000 A Middle Grade Mystery, Genesis Press, Inc ISBN: 1-58571-022-9
Sarah and Karen love to read mysteries. Sarah, though, is eager to start solving REAL mysteries in her own neighborhood, and this leads to imaginations running wild. Everyone at Red Creek School has long been suspicious of their classmate Tracy, who lives in Whistlethorn Manor with her ancient grandmother, whom the kids have declared "the witch of Whistlethorn Manor." When Allison Jones, a new girl in town, fails to show up for school after last being seen going into Tracy's house, Sarah, Karen, and their band of "Red Creek Truth Seekers" go into action solving their first REAL mystery--the disappearance of Allison Jones.
Prologue Sarah Williams closed the book she was reading with a big smile on her face. "I knew the gardener did it," she said to herself. "I'm so good at solving mysteries." It was reading period, and Sarah loved to read mysteries. She was always the first one in her class to finish reading a book. Naturally. She was far ahead of the class in everything. Sarah was a pretty girl with shoulder length black hair and smooth dark skin. She had been born in Jamaica, but had moved to the small town of Red Creek in Ontario when she was only a baby. Sarah's best friend, Karen Murphy, was just as pretty, but had long brown hair and light brown skin. Karen had been born in England, but like Sarah, had come to Red Creek when she was only a baby. Sarah and Karen became best friends in the first grade when they discovered they had many things in common. They liked to dress alike, rollerblade together, act in school plays, and read the same kinds of books. Today, they both had their hair in ponytails. They liked to think of themselves as almost sisters. Karen sat at the desk in front of Sarah. Since grade one, they had always been in the same class, and they always sat close to each other. Sarah leaned forward and pulled gently on Karen's ponytail. Karen turned around. "What are you reading?" Sarah whispered. "I'm still reading the book I borrowed yesterday," Karen answered softly. "The one about the haunted house?" Sarah pretended to be shocked. "You haven't finished that yet?" She read faster than Karen, and she liked it. "No," Karen said quickly, then frowned. She shook her head, and then kept reading her book. She knew that Sarah was only trying to tease her because she couldn't read as fast as she could. "I'll bet I can figure out the ending," Sarah bragged. "And I haven't even read the book." "Sarah." Mrs. Morrison looked at her sternly. "It's reading time. That means you should be reading, not talking. If you're not quiet, you'll have to sit in the hall and read." Sarah put her head down on her desk, and covered her face. She was so embarrassed! She hated when the teacher got her in trouble. Especially in front of everybody else. She just couldn't resist bragging to Karen. Sarah hated sitting in class just reading mysteries. She wanted to be out solving them! And the big mystery she wanted to solve was about Whistlethorn Manor, the big old house on the end of her street. She was sure it was haunted! Everybody knew that weird things went on in that house-things that were not natural. And Sarah was going to find out exactly what was going on there! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The bell rang. Sarah and Karen quickly followed the line of students out of the classroom to their lockers, which were side by side. Sarah took out her jacket and slipped into it. "What are you doing now?" Sarah asked Karen. "I'm going home," Karen answered. She put her backpack over one shoulder. "Why? Did you want to do something?" "I was thinking that we could take a walk by Whistlethorn." Whistlethorn Manor. That place really scared Karen. But she didn't want to tell Sarah that she was a little bit afraid to go there. "I don't know. I really should work on my math problems." "Can't your homework wait?" Karen shook her head. Sarah sighed. "All right. We can go tomorrow." "The last time we went there, it was kinda scary," Karen admitted. "That's because we weren't very well prepared," Sarah told her. The last time Sarah and Karen had gone to Whistlethorn Manor, they didn't have a flashlight. They had gone at night, and could hardly see anything. But Sarah was sure she had seen some bones! And Karen was sure she had seen a see-through person sitting in the tree above them. The two had run from Whistlethorn Manor screaming. Michael Kurtz came up to Sarah at her locker. He wore square glasses, and pants that must have belonged to his older brother when he was his age. Everyone called him the class nerd. He was pathetic. "Hi, Sarah," Michael said, smiling. Sarah rolled her eyes and frowned. She didn't want to be seen talking to Michael. "What do you want?" "Why do bees have sticky hair?" Michael asked. "I don't know," Sarah answered, annoyed. "Because they have honey in their combs!" Michael laughed. "That's so stupid!" Karen said. Sarah closed her locker. "Is that all you wanted?" Sarah asked. "To tell me a dumb joke?" "I thought we could walk home together," Michael suggested. "Not in this lifetime, buddy." Sarah looked at Karen, and the two girls laughed. "But I wanted to talk to you about something," Michael said to Sarah. "Go home and talk to your turtle," Sarah told Michael. She liked to make fun of Michael. Everybody did. Michael shrugged, then turned and walked down the hall. He looked sad. "He likes you, Sarah," Karen said. Then she laughed. "Don't say that!" Sarah held her stomach and pretended to feel sick. "Ew! Yuck!" Both Sarah and Karen giggled. They loved being best friends. They always had a good time together. Sarah and Karen walked to the exit doors and stepped outside. Karen lived in a different neighborhood from Sarah, so they couldn't walk home together. "I'll see you tomorrow," Karen said. "Don't forget to bring your flashlight," Sarah told Karen. Karen sighed, then slowly nodded her head. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Karen's mom made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. It was Karen's favorite dinner in the whole world. Karen's whole family was gathered for dinner, her father, her mother, and her younger sister. Karen reached over and helped Denise cut up the meatball that had fallen off her fork. Denise was only two, so she always had trouble eating by herself. Karen liked helping Denise. She was a sweet little sister. After dinner, Karen gave Denise a bath. She splashed a lot, and played with her bath toys. Denise loved to take baths. It was always hard for Karen to get Denise out of the water. They laughed and Karen pretended to be mad. "What will you do if anything happens to me?" Karen asked out loud. Denise looked at her and giggled. She didn't understand what Karen was talking about. Then Karen really thought about it. Karen was getting scared. She liked mysteries just like Sarah did, but the mystery about Whistlethorn Manor was just too scary! She didn't really want to go there after school tomorrow. But she knew that Sarah would never take no for an answer. Karen tried to do her math homework, but she couldn't really concentrate. Normally, she could answer math questions easily. But tonight, she was having a hard time. She kept remembering the dark figure she had seen in the tree in the backyard of Whistlethorn Manor. She was sure it was a ghost. What would happen when they went back? When she went to bed that night, all she could dream about was the ghost of Whistlethorn Manor!