Ann Martin - Claudia And The Phantom Phone Calls

I shivered. It was strange all right.

Chapter 7.

Poor Kristy. I'm glad she and Watson, her mother's boyfriend, finally get along better. But I guess it is a little frightening to sit at his house. I've never done it, but Mary Anne has. She was spooked, too. And that was a while ago, before we knew anything about the Phantom Caller. For starters, Watson's house is huge, practically a mansion, and the house next door, which is also huge, is gloomy and rambling, with turrets and towers and dark windows everywhere. If that weren't bad enough, little Karen is convinced that Mrs. Porter, who lives there, is a witch named Morbidda Destiny who has put two spells on Boo-Boo, Watson's fat cat. On the night Kristy was baby-sitting, Karen had a new twist on her fears about Mrs. Porter.

Kristy arrived at Watson's at seven. She can't baby-sit very late on week nights, but Watson was only going to Parents' Night at Karen's private school, so he was going to be home early. Usually his kids, Karen and Andrew, don't stay with him during the week, but since his ex-wife had broken her ankle, Watson was taking them more often than usual.

"Hi, Kristy!" Karen cried, when Mrs. Thomas dropped Kristy off at Watson's.

"Hi!" added Andrew happily. Andrew is three.

Andrew and Karen like Kristy so much that not long ago, Kristy promised them she'd be their main baby-sitter at Watson's until she becomes their stepsister.

Watson walked into the front hall. "Well, Kristy," he said warmly, "I'm so glad you could come." (Kristy knew that Watson was really just glad she wasn't such a pill about him and her mother anymore.) "I don't think you'll have any trouble tonight."

Kristy smiled at Watson as Boo-Boo wandered into the hall. "I know one way to avoid trouble," she said. "We'll keep Boo-Boo inside." She turned to Karen and grinned at her, but Karen just stared back solemnly. Uh-oh, thought Kristy. Something's wrong.

"All right," said Watson, "the emergency numbers are in the usual place, and the phone number of Karen's school, plus her classroom number, are taped to the phone, just in case." Kristy nodded. "Seven-thirty-bedtime for Andrew," Watson went on, "and eight o'clock for Karen. By the way, there's peppermint-stick ice cream in the freezer and ... I don't believe Andrew and Karen have had dessert yet."

"Yea! Ice cream!" cried Andrew, jumping up and down.

Karen continued to look solemn.

Kristy began to feel suspicious — and a little nervous.

Watson shrugged into his coat. "Good-bye, pumpkin," he said, kissing the top of Karen's head. "Good-bye, Andy."

He left quickly, calling over his shoulder, "I'll be home before nine, Kristy. Thanks again."

Kristy glanced warily at Andrew and Karen. This was the moment when even the most baby-sat-for children sometimes burst into tears. Jamie Newton, for instance, absolutely hated for his parents to leave him just before bedtime. But Andrew was already on his way into the kitchen after the ice cream. Karen, apparently, had other things on her mind.

"What's the matter?" Kristy finally asked her, taking her hand. She really didn't want to know, yet it was her job to know.

"Morbidda Destiny," whispered Karen.

"What about her?" Kristy whispered back, a little shivery tickle running up her spine. She remembered how strange Mary Anne said Boo-Boo had acted the day she was baby-sitting, when Mrs. Porter had chased him out of her garden with a rake.

"Kristy? Ice cream?" called Andrew from the kitchen.

"Just a sec, Andrew."

"More spells," whispered Karen urgently.

"Really?" asked Kristy, trying to sound unconcerned. "Boo-Boo looks all right."

"Not Boo-Boo. Me," said Karen. She closed her eyes dramatically.

"You!" exclaimed Kristy. "What's she done to you?"

"Given me freckles."

"Karen," said Kristy, hiding a smile, "you already had freckles. You've had freckles since you were two years old. I've seen pictures."

"She's given me more."

"Sometimes they spread."

Karen shook her head.

"Kristy!" called Andrew, sounding impatient.

"Coming! Karen, I really don't think you need to worry. Let's go have some ice cream with Andrew, okay?"

"Okay . . . but I'm warning you. If she squints her eyes and holds one hand in the air, she's putting a spell on you."

"I'll be on the alert," Kristy said.

They walked into the kitchen — and found pink ice cream dripping all over the table and onto the floor. Three bowls and three spoons were sitting stickily in the middle of the mess.

"Andrew!" cried Kristy.

"I helped," he said proudly. "I let Boo-Boo out, too."

Kristy turned pale. "You — you let Boo-Boo out? Andrew, I — "

"I guess he wasn't paying attention," said Karen quickly.

Kristy calmed down. "I guess not. . . . Andrew, thank you very much for helping. But from now on, maybe you should tell me before you help with Boo-Boo, okay? Sometimes we don't let him outside."

Andrew's face fell.

"But," Kristy rushed on, "you did a good job with the ice cream. Thank you. Let's just wipe up the drips and then we can eat."

Kristy, Karen, and Andrew finished their ice cream. Then Kristy put Andrew to bed and helped Karen change into her pajamas.

"Let's read stories until my bedtime," Karen suggested.

"Okay," said Kristy. "You choose."

Karen searched through the shelf in her room, then sat down on her bed. Kristy sat next to her. Karen handed her a book.

"What's this?" exclaimed Kristy. "The Witch Next Door? Where did this come from?"

"It just appeared," said Karen mysteriously.

Kristy looked at her suspiciously. "Are you sure?"

"Well ... it appeared from inside Daddy's briefcase. He bought it for me."

"Aha!" said Kristy. "Listen, tonight we're going to read something funny." She took a fat book from the shelf. "Has your daddy read this to you?"

Karen shook her head. "It's too long."

"Not if you read it a little at a time, and that's what we're going to do. Every time I baby-sit, we'll read some more."

"Okay," agreed Karen. She settled herself against her pillow.

"Now," said Kristy, "this story is all about a girl exactly your age whose name is Ramona Quimby."

"Goody," said Karen. "I like that name."

Kristy began to read. A half an hour later, Karen was asleep. Kristy tiptoed downstairs. As soon as she reached the kitchen, the phone rang. Kristy practically jumped out of her skin.

The caller was Mary Anne. "Just checking," she said. "I wanted to see how you're doing."

"Fine," Kristy replied. "Karen and Andrew are in bed. But Karen thinks Mrs. Porter has put a freckle-spell on her." Kristy giggled nervously.

"You know," said Mary Anne, "I'd be able to laugh, too, if only Mrs. Porter didn't look so ... so. ..."

"So much like a witch?"

"Well, yes. I mean, she goes flapping around her yard in those horrible black robes like some kind of overgrown bat — "

"Mary Anne, stop!"

"Okay. I'm sorry. Look, I'm not supposed to be on the phone at all. I had to tell Dad this was a homework emergency. I'm glad everything's okay."

"Thanks."

"Lock up tight."

"What?"

"The windows. The doors. Lock them. Lock everything — just in case."

"All right."

Kristy and Mary Anne hung up and Kristy started walking through Watson's huge, silent house. All the windows seemed to be locked, but Kristy checked each one anyway. The only problem was that there were so many of them. And the locks on some were hard to reach. Kristy was perched precariously on top of a stepladder in the library when the phone rang again.

"Aughh!" Kristy stumbled down the ladder. She reached for the phone on the big leather desk. Then she drew her hand back, afraid. After three rings, she told herself it was probably just Mary Anne calling back, even though