THE HOTEL WAS quiet when JJ made his way downstairs. He had that big fat book about the history of the hotel in his backpack (it was heavy).

JJ kind of regretted not bringing Emma along. She probably would’ve known stuff about the passages and rooms, and about Mr. Barclay, that JJ didn’t. But she was also loud. And when you’re ghost hunting, it has to be quiet.

And Penny was too much of a skeptic. JJ was afraid she’d just make fun of him the whole time. He reasoned that a solo expedition was the best way to go.

The library took his breath away. Sure, he’d seen it in the books and photos they compiled on Ghost Catchers, but in person it was a whole different experience. There were shelves on not just one but two levels. JJ couldn’t wait to use the spiral staircase to reach level two.

There were reports that guests smelled floral perfume here at times. JJ sniffed, but he didn’t get a whiff of anything other than old books.

JJ set up his camera on the second level. It was pretty dark but not entirely, because of a large south-facing window. Wait—was that a ghost?

He jumped. “Aaaarghhh!” JJ called.

But it was just his own reflection in the glass. A rookie mistake—he had to focus. All this hunting for a murderer was putting him off his game.

It was after ten o’clock, but that didn’t mean random adults (or murder suspects!) weren’t going to barge in on his ghost hunting session. He had to get a move on.

JJ pulled out his EMF detector. There was no reading (not yet anyway). He set it down on a bookshelf.

“I thought I might find you here,” Penny called from downstairs.

JJ felt his heart sink. “If you’re here to debunk my evidence, you’re going to have to wait a minute, because I haven’t even set up yet.”

Penny climbed the winding staircase. “I’m not. You dropped something earlier. I’m here to give it back.” She handed him the letter that had been in his backpack.

JJ froze. His big secret was out.

Penny looked flustered. “I read the letter. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snoop.”

JJ sat on the edge of the staircase. He opened the letter and read it again.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Jacobson,

This letter is to request your presence at our principal’s office, Friday at four p.m. Your son, JJ Jacobson, is currently failing both his English and his history class. We need to discuss further steps urgently.

Sincerely,

Principal Miller

“I didn’t know what to do, so I hid the letter,” JJ said softly.

Penny nodded, showing she understood. It was a pickle, to keep a secret from your parents. “And then the secret gets bigger and bigger, the longer you hide it.”

“Yes,” JJ said, looking at her. “You get it.”

“What are you going to do?” Penny asked.

“No idea.” JJ sighed. “I guess they’ll find out eventually. I just wanted to come here this weekend and forget about it all for a while.”

“I hide stuff too.” Penny sat next to him. “Everyone thinks that all I want to do is read. That I’m afraid of everything.”

“Why?” JJ asked.

“I went scuba diving with my parents and a tour group last year, and I had a panic attack.” She sighed. “I’m afraid of a lot of stuff, so everyone now just leaves me in a corner with a stack of books.”

“What do you want?” JJ asked.

Penny said in the smallest voice, “I want to be brave.”

JJ nodded. He knew what it was like to want people to see you a certain way. “You were really brave in the elevator.”

“That was nothing.” But maybe Penny was wrong there, we can agree with JJ. She was braver than she gave herself credit for. “And I want to be a detective like my grandpa.”

“You’d be a great detective,” JJ said while he folded the letter. He stuffed it deep inside his bag. “Maybe you can help me detect ghosts.”

“Not that there will be any,” Penny added with a sly grin. “So, show me what equipment you’re using.”

He hesitated for a second, but then figured he could use the help. “Okay. I’ve set up the infrared camera over there.” He pointed to the edge of the balcony.

“That’s pretty cool,” Penny said. “What does it do?”

“It records several hours of data.” JJ adjusted the angle, so it could cover most of the library. “And detects temperature fluctuations too.”

“Cold spots,” Penny said. “I read somewhere that it’s supposed to get cold when a ghost shows up.”

“Sometimes, yeah.” JJ studied her face. “I thought you didn’t believe in ghosts.”

“I don’t.” Penny shrugged. “But reading about them is interesting.”

JJ had to laugh at this very Penny-style logic. She was here, so maybe she could help. JJ opened his logbook to write down any anomalies—those are strange things that happen during the night. And as anyone knows, nighttime is the perfect time for spooky stuff.

He pointed to the EMF detector. “Maybe you can hold the EMF detector.”

“Sure.” Secretly, Penny was having fun. This ghost hunting stuff was pretty exciting, especially when she considered that if the invitation to the Barclay Hotel hadn’t come along, she’d probably be watching Antiques Roadshow with her grandpa.

JJ turned on his voice recorder. “You can catch audio evidence if you ask the ghost questions. Sometimes when you play it back, you’ll be able to hear a ghost’s voice on the recordings.” It was in a staticky way, like when you were tuning in to the radio but the station was out of range. Well, at least if the ghost was a talker.

“Okay,” Penny whispered.

“Is there anyone with us tonight?” JJ asked. That’s what they did on the show. His voice echoed off the tall ceiling. He felt nervous, like he did when he was taking a test at school.

Penny watched the EMF detector’s lights move up. Was there a ghost . . . ?

JJ walked around and asked his question again.

He looked down over the banister. And he saw a shadow. Right there, by the door!

“Penny,” he whispered. “Look!”