A Ghost Story

A GHOST STORY

MISSING TEEN — FAMILY AND POLICE WORRIED FOR HER SAFETY.

Family and police are seeking information about the disappearance of Bernadette George, 16, who vanished from her family home sometime Saturday. Bernadette was last seen by her parents at 3:00 p.m. Saturday when they travelled out of town for the evening, leaving Bernadette alone in the house. Upon their arrival back home at approximately 2:00 a.m., they noticed signs of a struggle in the house, and found Bernadette missing. Her parents, Hilary and Winston George, contacted police, who conducted an unsuccessful ground search for the girl. Police say that foul play is suspected.  

Bernadette is a grade eleven student at Northern High School and is described as quiet and shy. She is five foot five, one hundred and twenty pounds, brown eyes, brown shoulder-length hair, black framed glasses. She was last seen wearing blue jeans, a black hoodie, and black trainers. Anyone with any information about Bernadette’s whereabouts is asked to contact the police or crime stoppers.

Ashley looked up from her phone. She was sitting in the hall with her friends, outside their first period classroom.  

“Do you guys know Bernadette George?” asked Ashley.

“Who?” asked Devin, looking up from his phone.

“Her,” said Ashley, flipping her phone around so that he could see the picture on the screen.

The picture was a girl with straight brown hair, brown eyes, no makeup, a few pimples on her chin, oversized black glasses. She wasn’t smiling, just looking to the left of the camera lens.  Devin looked closely at the picture. It almost seemed that Bernadette George was shrinking away from the camera. Devin was sure he had never seen her before. But he recognized the photo as a school photo because the school name written across the bottom of the picture — exactly the same as his and everyone else’s class photo taken at NHS.

“Nope,” he said, handing the phone back to Ashley. “Don’t know her. Why?”

“There’s an article on the school’s website that says she’s missing.”

“Let me see her picture,” said Kaley, who was sitting beside Devin. Ashley passed the phone to her, and Kaley examined the photo on the screen. “No. I don’t think I know her either. What grade’s she in?” asked Kaley, passing the phone back to Ashley.

“Our grade — eleven,” said Ashley, taking back her phone, looking again at the photo. “I don’t know her, either.”

By then the group all had their phones out, looking at the article and accompanying photo.  

“It says that ‘foul play is suspected.’ That’s disturbing,” said Marshall, Ashley’s unofficial boyfriend.

“Yeah, not kidding” said Kaley. “Should we be worried?” Kaley looked around at her friends. “What if someone’s stalking high school students? And this Bernadette girl is just the first one?” Ashley hugged herself, shivering.

“Uh, isn’t that a little dramatic?” asked Max, the fifth member of their group. “I mean, we don’t even whether her disappearance has anything to do with school. She could have just run away.”

“Maybe,” said Devin, “but they did say ‘foul play is suspected.’ They wouldn’t say that if they thought she was a runaway.”

“True,” agreed Max. “But that still doesn’t mean that it has anything to do with us, or school.”

The bell rang for first period and the five friends stood and walked into their English classroom. Their teacher, Mrs. Watkins was standing at the front of the room with the principal, and a woman and a man no one recognized.

After the national anthem and the morning announcements, Mrs. Watkins turned to the class.  

Kaley leaned over to Ashley and said, “Mrs. Watkins looks really upset.”

“Yeah,” said Ashley, “it looks like she’s been crying.”

“Good morning everyone. I’m sure that you all know Principal Oppenheimer. He would like to have a few words with the class.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Watkins,’ said Oppenheimer, nodding his head in her direction before turning his attention towards the class.

“I’m not sure how many of you read the article on the school’s website today, but your classmate, Bernadette George has been missing since Saturday.”

The friends looked at each other.  

Devin mouthed, “She’s in our class?”

Marshall shrugged his shoulders, not knowing the answer.

“And because of that,” Principal Oppenheimer continued, “the police are in the school today.” He pointed to the man and woman standing beside him. “Detectives Waits and Ito would like to interview each of you to find out what you know about Bernadette’s disappearance, as well as anything that you can tell them about her, as a person.”

The five friends looked at each other. As far as anyone could tell, they didn’t know anything about Bernadette George.

The woman with Principal Oppenheimer stepped forward.

“I’m Detective Terry Waits, and this is my partner, Detective Lance Ito.” Ito nodded at the class. “We’ll interview you one-by-one to in the library. It should only take a couple of minutes for each interview. We’d truly appreciate it if you didn’t discuss this amongst yourselves until the interviews are over. Any questions?”

Devin raised his hand. “What if we didn’t know her? Do we still have to be interviewed?”

“Yes,” said Waits, “but if you’d rather have your parents with you, we can do this down at the station, later, when they’re available. Your choice. These interviews are only for information about Bernadette. No one here is in any trouble. We’re just looking for clues as to her whereabouts.”

Devin nodded.

“Okay,” said Waits. “Let’s start with—“ she looked at a paper in her hand, “—Kaley Armstrong.”

Kaley gasped in surprise. She looked around at her friends, and back at the detectives at the front of the room.  

“I don’t want to go first.”

Mrs. Watkins walked over to Kaley, smiling. “How about I walk you over. I’ll be sitting outside the meeting room if you need me. I’m sure Principal Oppenheimer wouldn’t mind watching the class.”  

She smiled at the principal, who replied, “Not at all,” even though his face said otherwise.  

Before she left the class, she assigned them silent reading from the novel that they were working on, To Kill A Mockingbird.

“And no phones!” she reminded them, as she walked out of the classroom with Kaley and the detectives.

*

Once they were in the library, the detectives escorted Kaley into one of the small meeting rooms and shut the door behind them. The walls were glass, so Kaley could see Mrs. Watkins sitting at one of the library carrels, grading a big stack of tests. She looked up and smiled at Kaley.

“Thanks for being the first,” said Detective Ito. “We really appreciate it.”

“No probs,” she answered, a small smile turning up the corners of her mouth.

“So,” Detective Waits said. “How well do you know Bernadette George?”

“I … I don’t know her,” said Kaley, frowning.

“Are you sure? She’s in your class,” said Waits, looking down at a page in front of her. “In fact, she’s in two of your classes this semester. You also have gym together.” Waits looked up at Kaley, scrutinizing her.

“We do?” asked Kaley, confused.

“Yes. You do. She sits two seats behind you in Mrs. Watkins’ class.”

“She does?” More confusion.

“Kaley, are you telling me you didn’t even know that you and Bernadette are in the same class?”

Kaley felt her face heat up, embarrassed. “I didn’t know,” she said. “I usually just hang out with my friends.”

“You never noticed Bernadette in either of your classes?”

Kaley thought about it. She tried to visualize the girl from the photo sitting in class, or in the gym. She came up with nothing.

“Has she always been in this class?” asked Kaley, brows furrowing.

“Yes. Since the beginning of this semester. In fact, she’s always attended Northern High School, since grade nine.”

“Can I see her photo again, please.”

Waits pulled out the school picture of Bernadette, and turned it around so Kaley could get a better look at it. Kaley picked up the photo, and studied it.

“No. I’m sorry. I don’t remember her.” Shaking her head, she put the photo down on the desk and looked from Waits to Ito. “Do you know what happened to her?”

Waits looked frustrated. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”

Waits looked at her notes, changing tactics.

“Okay, Kaley, Bernadette disappeared on Saturday. What did you do on Saturday?”

“Um … there was a school dance, so Ashley and I spent the day getting ready at my house.”

“What time did she come over?”

“About noon, I think.”

“The dance was at 7:00 pm. How long did it take you to get ready?”

“Well, we had lunch in my room. My mom bought Ash and I home facials, so we did those. Then we gave each other mani-pedis.”  Kaley wiggled her fingers, looking down at her navy blue nails.  “Then we did our hair — you know, shampoo, conditioner, then a hot deep conditioning oil, then more shampoo and more conditioner.” 

Waits did not know, but nodded anyways, encouraging Kaley to keep talking.

“Then we watched a couple of episodes of Squid Game, had dinner, and my dad drove us to the dance. He picked us up at eleven o’clock, and Ashley slept over.”

“Did you see Bernadette at the dance.”

“No.”

“You’re sure?”

“I might have seen her. But I don’t know her, so it wouldn’t register. There were a lot of people at the dance that I didn’t know. Our school’s pretty big, like fifteen hundred students. I don’t know a lot of them.”

“Okay, Kaley, thanks.  That’s all for now. Can you send in Ashley Wainwright, please?”

*

Ashley arrived about two minutes later. She looked nervous, but not nearly as nervous as her friend Kaley had been.

Waits covered the same ground with Ashley: Did you know Bernadette George? No. Did you know she was in your class?  No. What did you do on Saturday? Lunch, facial, mani-pedi, hair, Squid Game, dinner, dance, sleep over.

“So, you’re sure you don’t know Bernadette?” pressed Waits.

Ashley stared at Detective Waits, nodding her head slowly. “I’m sure.”

“Okay, Ashley. The reason that I’m asking is because Bernadette’s mom, Hilary George, said that the reason Bernadette stayed home on Saturday instead of going to visit friends with her parents, was because she told her parents she was going to the dance with you.”

Ashley looked genuinely confused.

“With me?” she said, pulling her head back in astonishment. “I honestly don’t know her. Why would she say that?” She paused.  “Maybe it was another Ashley. There are a lot of Ashley’s in the school.”

“No, her mom said ‘Ashley Wainwright,’ and you’re the only Ashley Wainwright in the school.”

Ashley was stunned. The missing girl had said she was going to the dance with her. It was a lie, obviously.

“I didn’t know her, Detective Waits. Honestly.” She was beginning to worry. “Why would she say she was going to the dance with me when I don’t even know her?” She looked at Waits, confusion in her eyes. 

“I don’t know why she would say that, Ashley. That’s what we’re trying to find out.”

*

“Devin Spooner?” asked Ito. They had decided he would interview the males — man to man, sort of thing. Sometimes it was easier to a talk to a guy when you were a guy.  It was the same reason Waits interviewed the females.

Ito smiled “You’re the student who asked about the interview in class, right?”

“Yeah.” He sat down in the chair across from the detectives.  

“You’re okay with us interviewing you?”

“Sure.”

“You don’t want your parents here?”

“No, I’m good. I don’t know her, so …” he shrugged his shoulders, letting the statement hang there.

“So, Devin, you’re sure you don’t know Bernadette?”

“One hundred percent. I didn’t even know that she was in our English class.”

“Okay, Devin,” said Ito, looking down at his notes, then back up at Devin. “Bernadette disappeared sometime Saturday. What did you do on Saturday?”

He thought for a second. “That was the night of the dance, right?”

“Yes.”

“Right,” he said. “I work at my parents’ restaurant, Mac’s Cafe, every weekend. It’s over on Creighton Street. I worked breakfast and lunch, six a.m. ’til about three p.m. Then I went home with my Mom, had a nap, ate dinner, then drove to the dance.”

“What time did you get home Saturday night, after the dance?”

“We all hung out at the dance; Marshall and Ash — they’re dating — Kaley, Max, and me. After the dance, Kaley and Ash went home with Kaley’s dad. Marsh, Max, and I went out for pizza, and then I dropped them off at their house, and then I went home.”

“Marsh and Max live together?”

“Yeah, they’re step-brothers. Marsh’s dad married Max’s mom.”

“What time did you drop them off?”

“Before 12:30 — that’s my curfew. Ask my parents, they’re really strict about curfew.”

“When you were cruising around after the dance, did you go to Bernadette’s house? Either alone, or with Max and Marshall?”

“Wait! What? No! I don’t know her, so how could I go to her house? I don’t even know where she lives." Devin crossed his arms across his chest defiantly, looking directly at Detective Ito.

“Devon, did you see Bernadette George at any time on Saturday?”

“I told you I don’t know her, so no, I did not see Bernadette George. Not Saturday, not ever.”

*

“Marshall Lacroix?“ Ito asked.

“Yeah. Call me Marsh.” Marshall smiled at Ito and Waits.

“Okay, Marsh, tell me about Bernadette George.”

Marshall shook his head slightly. “I don’t know her, so there’s nothing to tell.”

Ito wrote something in his book. “Bernadette disappeared on Saturday. What did you do Saturday.”

Marshall recounted his day to Detective Ito — he’d worked from noon until five at McDonald’s in town, his step-mom, Marsha, had picked him up after his shift, he had dinner with the family, then he and Max walked to the dance. They only lived a couple of blocks from the school.

“So,” Ito asked, “did you see Bernadette George at any time on Saturday?”

“No, man. I don’t even know her.”

“Did you know that she lives down the street from you?” Marshall looked surprised. “You’re at 15 Court Road, and she and her family live at 43 Court Road, seven houses away.”

“Really?” Marshall looked really confused. “She lives on my street?” 

“Yes, the house with the high hedge around it.”

“Really? She lives there?” He turned serious. “Does that mean that we’re in danger? You know, if something happened to her at her house, and we live so close. I have a little sister. Should I worry?”

“I don’t know what to tell you Marsh. Do you think you should be worried?”

*

The last interview was with Max Webber.

“Max, did you know Bernadette George?” asked Ito.

“Yes.”

Both Ito and Waits looked at him, in surprise. Max Webber was the only person that they had spoken to who actually knew Bernadette George.

“Not well, but we had science together last semester, and the teacher assigned us as lab partners.”

Waits took over the interview. 

“How well do you know her, Max?”

“Not very. I see her in the hall, say hi, you know?”

“Max, can you tell us anything about her? What she’s like? What does she like to do? Any other friends that she has?”

“No, not really. I feel really bad. I should have been nicer to her.”

“What do you mean ‘nicer,’ Max?

“I should have taken more time to talk to her, you know? I’d just say ‘hey’, or smile if I walked past her in the hall. She was always alone.” He paused, “It so sad. She’s in my class, and she lives really close to me. But I hardly knew her.”

“What did you and Bernadette talk about?”

“Not much. She was really super shy. You know, no eye contact, always looking at the floor. She had been home schooled in and only started attending public school in grade nine. I didn’t meet her until last semester.” Max thought for a moment. “I saw her in the library on Thursday, and I asked her if she was going to the dance. She just shook her head, no.”

“What else did you talk to her about.”

Max paused again. “Nothing, really. She didn’t really talk. She’d nod or shake her head, or sometimes mumble something — she talks super quiet. She never answers questions in class, even when Mrs. Watkins calls on her.”

He looked at both Ito and Waits. “It’s so sad. I mean, nobody ever talks to her. It’s like she’s invisible — a ghost in her own life.”

*

As Waits and Ito watched Max walk back towards his classroom, they considered the interviews.

“Okay,” said Waits, ticking points off on her fingers. “We’ve talked to her teachers. Not one of them could tell us anything about her, other than her marks in their class. Two of them had to look at her picture to refresh their memories. Her parents couldn’t even tell us much about her, other than she was shy, stayed in her room a lot, and never gave them any trouble. She did lie, though — she said she was going to the dance with Ashley and her friends, but she wasn't really.”

“As long as Ashley was telling the truth.”

“True. But I’m inclined to believe Ashley. Other than Max, none of them know her. It’s like she's invisible.”

Ito nodded. “Yeah, like Max said, she's a ghost in her own life.”