Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls by Ann M. Martin Read Free Book Online

click as the caller hung up. Oh, my gosh. The Phantom Caller was in Stoneybrook. I just knew it.
    I wondered if I should call Stacey and give her our coded message. What was I supposed to ask about? Barrettes? Ribbons.
    â€œClaudia?”
    I jumped a mile as Nina asked, “Who is it?”
    â€œWrong number,” I said. I hung up the phone, put her down, and handed her the milk. “Well, let’s go watch TV,” I suggested.
    â€œI can’t anymore.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œBecause my show is over. I have to go to bed.” Nina was getting a milk mustache.
    â€œSo soon?”
    â€œThat’s my bedtime. After my show.”
    I knew what her bedtime was, but maybe justonce she could stay up a little longer. “How about a special treat?” I said excitedly. “You can stay up until eight o’clock.”
    â€œBut Mommy and Daddy don’t let me. That’s the rule.”
    What was I doing anyway, trying to convince a three-year-old to keep me company? “Okay, then. Upstairs we go.”
    Nina handed me her empty glass. I put it in the sink and we climbed the stairs. I turned on every light I could possibly find. I wondered what kind of jewelry Mrs. Marshall had.
    After Nina was in bed, I tiptoed to Eleanor’s room to check on her. I stood in the doorway and let the light from the hall shine into her bedroom. I stared at her crib.
    It looked empty!
    Oh, my gosh! Maybe the Phantom Caller was in the Marshalls’ house somewhere and he’d taken Eleanor! I dashed over to her crib. There she was, all bunched into a corner. I straightened her out and covered her up again.
    Eleanor sighed in her sleep.
    I sighed, too.
    I turned off the upstairs lights and went back down to the den. I turned the TV on. Then I turned it off. If the TV was on, the Phantom Caller couldsneak up on me too easily. I sat in the silence and flipped through a magazine.
    Crick, crick, crick.
    What was that?
    Just the Marshalls’ cat settling down on a pile of newspapers.
    Plink, plink.
    What was that?
    Water dripping in the sink.
    All the little noises were driving me crazy. I put the TV back on. I tried to watch it, but my gaze kept traveling to the dark windows that faced the backyard. Finally, I couldn’t stand it any longer. I shut the curtains.
    Then I decided to call Stacey.
    â€œClaudia!” Stacey exclaimed when she got on the phone. “Have you been listening to the news?”
    â€œYes!” I said. “What do you think?”
    â€œI was just going to call you because I know you’re baby-sitting. I don’t know
what
to think!”
    â€œOh, it’s so spooky here. Every little noise makes me jump. And you know what? The phone rang a while ago, and
the caller didn’t say a word.
He just hung up.”
    â€œOooh. But you’re … you’re not asking about your hair ribbon,” Stacey said cautiously.
    â€œNo,” I replied. “Not yet.”
    â€œDo you want me to come over?”
    â€œI do, but I don’t want the Marshalls to come home and find you here with me. I don’t want them to think I can’t handle a simple job by myself.”
    â€œWell, do you want to stay on the phone a while?”
    â€œYes. That would be great.”
    â€œSo what’s going on with Trevor?” asked Stacey.
    â€œOh, the usual.”
    â€œNothing?”
    â€œYeah. I wonder if he even knows about the Halloween Hop. Poets are sometimes off in their own worlds. Maybe he hasn’t heard the announcements in school.”
    â€œOh, I bet he has,” said Stacey. “How could anyone miss them?” She put her hand over the receiver to disguise her voice and did a pretty good imitation of Mr. Taylor talking on the intercom. “As you know, children, Halloween falls on October thirty-first this year.”
    I giggled. “Mr. Taylor is so dumb. He thinks we—” I broke off.
    â€œClaudia?” asked