“No ghost?” asked Zoe. “But . . . we heard it!”

I shook my head. “We heard Fang on the coins. That was what was making the scratching noise, and the clanking.”

“But what about the whistling? And the cupboard? And the lights going out?”

I didn’t have an answer to that. “I don’t know,” I said. “Some mysteries aren’t meant to be solved.” That’s what Captain Jane says whenever Spaceman Jack asks her a question about the universe she doesn’t know the answer to. “And,” said Bernard, “who let Fang out?”

“I don’t know,” I said again, putting my face in my hands. Not only was I NOT a ghost hunter, or a snake wrangler, but I was an awful detective. The would be so disappointed in me.

“Maybe the ghost let Fang out and then left,” suggested Zoe.

“Maybe,” I said. “But if there is a ghost in the house, I don’t know how we’ll ever catch it. Na-Na was right — we don’t know what we’re doing.”

Just then the door creaked open. But nobody appeared! Bernard gasped, and Zoe covered her eyes. I kept mine open. I wasn’t going to miss the ghost again.

Butterbutt sauntered in and pounced on me.

“Ugh,” I said, pushing him off. “It’s just Butterbutt. Get out of here, you evil cat.”

But Butterbutt wasn’t listening to me. He had his hunting face on. He crouched down low, his eyes alight.

“Maybe Butterbutt sees the ghost!” said Lucy. “Can’t cats see ghosts?”

Without warning, Butterbutt leaped up into the air and landed on my dresser.

We all watched as he went up to Fang’s tank and PULLED THE LID OPEN with his paws!

“Butterbutt is the ghost!” I said.

“I can’t decide if that’s the smartest cat I’ve ever seen, or the stupidest,” said Bernard.

Lucy stepped forwards and scooped up Butterbutt. “Bad kitty!” she said. She turned to me. “You should get a lock for the top of that.”

“You should watch your cat,” I muttered. But she was right — Fang was already trying to slither up the side of the glass enclosure and escape . . . again!

“NOT today, buddy,” I said, closing the lid, careful NOT to touch Fang.

Although I had to admit, after all of this, Fang didn’t seem so scary any more.