J

inx literally shook with excitement all the way to Emily’s. Her dad kept asking her questions, but Jinx could hardly think above the pounding of her heart. Sure, she hated Emily with the passion of a thousand white-hot suns—and she thought there was a chance the girl was lying about everything—but the idea of a real ghost hunt had her bouncing off the walls.

She sprinted out of the van with bag full of equipment bouncing against her hip, and barely heard her dad yell, “Have a good time, sweetie!” He hadn’t even asked why she was going over so late. Her parents were just so happy that she had a friend that they would have let her do about anything. She flopped her hand at her dad, and he drove away.

Jinx stared at the list of tenants on the outside door. Did she remember Emily’s last name? Was Jackson inside already? Just as she had the thought, someone grabbed her sides and squeezed. A loud “boo!” echoed in her ear, and she heard a girly scream come out of her mouth.

Whirling around, Jinx saw Jackson doubled over with laughter. She was furious—she hadn’t known her scream was so girly. She pushed him, and he barely kept his balance.

Straightening up, he wiped his eyes. “Sorry, Jinx, it’s just I thought I heard a girl for a second with that scream.”

“Come on,” Jinx snapped. “Let’s go.”

They turned around, and both of them jumped back. Staring at them through the glass door to the building was an impossibly skinny man in a janitor’s uniform. His sunken cheeks and the dark circles under his eyes gave Jinx a shiver. The man was just creepy.

He opened the door slowly, and the creak echoed off the brick walls. Staring at them, he asked, “Well, are you coming in?”

Jinx and Jackson looked at each other. “Are you Emily’s dad?” Jinx said.

“Who?” the skinny man replied. “No, I’m the caretaker. Which apartment you going to?”

Jackson answered, “Apartment 101.”

The man almost let the door shut, like he’d been shocked, but caught it just in time. With a big swallow, he said, “I wouldn’t go in there, if I were you.”

Jinx said, “Why?”

The man waved them in, and Jinx and Jackson walked through the door.

Visibly shaking, the man answered Jinx: “No reason. Faulty pipes.” With that, he ran down the stairs to the basement.

After a beat, Jackson said, “Whoa.”

Jinx nodded and looked at him with huge eyes. “I know. This is awesome!” They walked up the stairs and reached the apartment.

“Well, this is it,” Jackson said, then knocked.

Emily answered the door as if she’d been standing right behind it. Her hair was even stringier, and the dark circles under her eyes had grown. “Thank god you’re here. It’s gotten worse.”

With fresh tears in her eyes, she slid her sleeve up. An angry red cut darkened her pale skin.