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spinning.
    â€œI felt it,” Gavin replied.
    Paige shrugged. So did Spencer.
    Kelly shook her head. “No way. It’s all in our heads. Come on. One more time.” Suddenly, for some unexplained reason, she wanted to show her friends that it had just been a weird group hallucination. That it couldn’t be true. She would do something the next time that would scare them—the fake growl, perhaps—and then they would know it wasn’t real and—
    The melody sounded again. Louder this time.
    The same eight sinister notes. A haunting tune.
    â€œWhat’s that song?” Paige asked. “Kel, did you put music on?”
    â€œNo.”
    Everyone listened as the tune repeated twice more. So loud. As if right outside her door.
    â€œProbably something Ryan is watching,” Kelly guessed. “I’m going to check. Be right back. Don’t do anything without me, okay?”
    She walked across her room and rested her hand on the door handle. Straining her ears, she listened for the melody. The low buzz of garbled TV voices was the only noise she could make out from downstairs. The musichad stopped. She pushed open her door and poked her head into the darkened hallway.
    The smell immediately overwhelmed her.
    Inhaling, she felt weightless, spiraling back in time. To a farmhouse in the snow. To a party filled with cheer . . . and despair. The scent surrounded her. Made her dizzy. She grasped the door handle to anchor herself.
    She drew her breath in again, just be sure. The smell was undeniable. Peppermint.
    The icy mint aroma filled her nostrils. And she knew: Miss Mary is here.

CHAPTER 7
    She froze in the doorway, unsure of where to go or what to do. Her eyes darted about the hallway and over her shoulder, into her room. She had no idea what to look for. Her heart beat rapidly.
    Peppermint. She smelled peppermint.
    Would a ghost leave behind an odor? she wondered. Did it mean Mary’s spirit was here? Now?
    She wanted to run to her computer and tell her friends about the peppermint smell. She could hear the murmuring of their voices coming from her computer speakers. June’s high-pitched giggle. The lower tone of Gavin. A sudden overwhelming wave of logic and disbelief prevented her from turning back.
    She shook her head, trying to straighten out herthoughts. Get a grip. There is no ghost, she reminded herself. I told the story from the newspaper to scare everyone else. Not to scare myself.
    She inhaled again. The crisp scent of mint wafted around her.
    Then it hit her. Chrissie must be baking something with peppermint in it, she thought. Maybe chocolate mint cookies or hot chocolate with peppermint oil.
    Much relieved, Kelly padded down the stairs in her fuzzy socks. She stopped midway, her hand resting on the oak banister. Drawing in another breath, she noticed that the peppermint was no longer as overpowering. The farther down the stairs she moved, the more the scent weakened. At the bottom, it was almost nonexistent.
    She glanced out the front window, watching as the wind swirled the flurries in crazy circles. Under the glow of the streetlamps, the snow appeared as a magical coating decorating the walkway. It reminded her of the silver glitter she used to pour onto school projects. Mounds of shiny flecks piled on gobs of white glue.
    She turned toward the back of the house. To her left, she could hear the TV in the family room. Two men arguing on the screen. She continued into the kitchen,expecting to see Chrissie by the oven or stove.
    â€œWhatcha baking?” Kelly called out.
    She was met with silence. The lights were on, but the kitchen was empty.
    She could detect the slight smell of the pepperoni from tonight’s pizza. No peppermint. No aroma even vaguely like peppermint.
    The large chrome stove and double oven on the far left wall of the farm-style kitchen was dark and cold. Nothing cooking. The granite counter on the center island held only today’s