Sofia smiled at her friend. She could always tell when something bugged Iggy. She changed the subject.

  “Speaking of cookies,” she said, opening her messenger bag, “Abuelo baked us some!”

  Sofia’s grandfather had owned a bakery in their neighborhood for many years. La Panaderia de la Magnolia was the best bakery around. He was retired now, but he still baked for Sofia and her friends.

  “My folks left some food for us, too,” Iggy said.

  He popped out of his chair and left the room. A moment later, he came back with a tray of food and glasses of lemonade.

  “I’ve got questions!” said Ada Twist, reaching for some grapes.

  “Me too!” said Sofia.

  “Me three!” said Rosie.

  Iggy said nothing. He was too busy thinking.

  CHAPTER 13

  Rosie pulled her notebook from her pocket and the pencil from behind her ear and took notes as they talked.

  They chatted and chomped and made notes.

  “What about Aunt Bernice?” asked Ada.

  Rosie stopped writing and looked up at her friend. Ada frowned and tapped her chin.

  “Aunt Bernice loves the house,” said Ada. “But she doesn’t have enough money to fix it up. We’re going to help her keep it!”

  “Let’s make a machine to scare away the ghost!” said Rosie. “If there is a ghost. How can we tell if there’s really a ghost?”

  “We can do an experiment!” said Ada. “But what kind of experiment?”

  She reached for another cookie. They were gone.

  And so was Iggy.

  They found Iggy in the kitchen. The refrigerator door and all the cabinets were flung open. Crackers, slices of bread, chunks of cheese, ice cream cones, and loose fruit were scattered over the floor.

  “Zowie,” said Ada.

  Rising out of the mess was a model of the Mysterious Mansion.

  “Looks beautiful!” said Rosie.

  “Looks delicious,” said Ada.

  “It’s all wrong,” said Iggy.

  “No, Iggy,” said Sofia. “It looks amazing!”

  Iggy looked at her oddly. Then he looked at the model and back at his friends.

  “Oh,” he said. “The model looks right. But the mansion is all wrong. We need to find out why, and I have an idea.”

  They cleaned up and made a plan. Then, they went outside. Sofia and Ada ran toward City Hall and the library. Rosie and Iggy ran to Rosie’s house and climbed into the heli-o-cheese-copter.

  “Fueled up and ready to fly!” said Rosie. “Helmets on!”

  They buckled into the cockpit and Rosie hit the switch. The cheese-copter sputtered and twitched and off they flew! They zoomed past Iggy Peck Bridge to the woods. The Mysterious Mansion rose from the surrounding forest.

  Iggy motioned for Rosie to circle the property. She hit the throttle and expertly flew around the mansion three times. From the air, they could see new details.

  “Look at the ornaments!” shouted Iggy, pointing to the fancy decorations on the two giant chimneys that rose from either end of the mansion.

  “Gargoyles!” he yelled, pointing at the downspouts shaped like faces.

  “Can we go over the top?” Iggy asked.

  “Hold on!” yelled Rosie.

  She pulled back on the throttle, and the cheese-copter zoomed up, up, up, and over the midsection of the mansion.

  “Look!” yelled Iggy, pointing to the roof of the mansion.

  The cheese-copter hovered over the roof.

  “Yahoo!” yelled Iggy, pointing at the roof. “I knew it would be like that!”

  Rosie grinned and nodded.

  “You were right!” she said.

  Iggy gave the thumbs-up sign, and Rosie Revere turned the cheese-copter toward City Hall.

  CHAPTER 14

  They landed with a THUMP on the grass next to Blue River Creek City Hall. Iggy and Rosie hopped out and sat down on the City Hall steps. Iggy pulled out his notebook and started sketching.

  A few minutes later, Sofia called to them as she ran down the wide stone steps. She waved a handful of papers.

  “Hey!” called Sofia. “Look what I found! Clerk Clark knew exactly where to look.”

  Sofia knew her way around City Hall. She had gone often when she was working to get a new park built in Blue River Creek. She’d made a lot of friends there, including Clara Clark, the city clerk.

  “Look at these building permits for the mansion!” said Sofia. “The first one is from 1875. That’s when they built the original house.

  “The last one is from January 1918,” she said. “They completely changed the inside to be Art Nouveau, and they added a whole new wing in that style.”

  “1918?” said Iggy. “That was the year on the gravestone.”

  “Were there permits after 1918?” asked Rosie.

  “Nothing,” said Sofia.

  Just then, they saw Ada running toward them from the library. She was carrying a big book.

  “Look!” said Ada. “I found a collection of society columns from Blue River Creek! Check out this article.”

  March 10, 1918

  Blue River Creek was at its finest today as families came together to celebrate the seventh birthday of Miss Honey Sherbert. She is, of course, the daughter of Candace and Herbert Sherbert and heiress to their ice cream empire.

  The town’s citizens gathered on the lawn of the Sherbert Mansion for a day of picnics, songs, dances, and tours of the elegant mansion. Entertainment was provided by the traveling French acrobatic group, Le Flip.

  A wonderful time was had by all. Next year’s party is already being planned!

  “That’s why there’s a Honey Festival in town every year?” Iggy said. “I thought it was just because people like bees!”

  “I love bees,” said Ada.

  “What happened to Honey?” asked Sofia.

  Ada flipped to a different page. A sad look crossed her face.

  “It’s awful,” she said.

  Flu Epidemic Returns

  Blue River Creek has been struck by tragedy. The Spanish flu has claimed the life of Candace Sherbert, local leader in the women’s suffrage movement and wife of ice cream creator Herbert Sherbert. Mr. and Mrs. Sherbert lost their only daughter, Honey, to the flu epidemic one month ago.

  Mrs. Sherbert is the twentieth person in Blue River Creek to die from the Spanish Flu this year. The numbers are expected to rise as the flu spreads through the country. Officials warn that millions may perish worldwide due to the disease.

  Iggy gasped.

  “It was their graves in the forest!” he said. “H. Sherbert was Honey, not Herbert! I didn’t know the flu was so dangerous.”

  “People can still die from the flu, but it’s not as common,” said Ada, “because scientists invented new medicines and vaccines. People used to die of all kinds of diseases like measles and flu. Vaccines changed that. Mr. McClintock at the library said that millions of people around the world died from flu in 1918. Millions!”

  “Look at the article date,” said Rosie. “It was just four months after the Honey Festival.”

  “What happened to Herbert after that?” asked Iggy.

  “I don’t know,” said Ada. “I have to read more to find out. What did you and Rosie find, Iggy?”

  “Something we need to show your great-aunt. Now!” said Iggy.

  CHAPTER 15

  The Questioneers ran toward the Can You Dig It? shop a block from City Hall. The shop was packed with everything you could dig from the ground. There were rocks, dinosaur bones, old jewelry, pottery, and a meteorite! There was even a worm farm in the corner. There were also books and papers and maps and hats and all kinds of historical things from Blue River Creek that Aunt Bernice had found as she researched the things she dug up.

  “Aunt Bernice?” called Ada as they stepped into the shop.

  “She’s not here,” said a woman with short red hair and a polka-dot scarf like the one Rosie wore. “I’m watching the shop while she’s gone.”

  It was June, one of Aunt Bernice’s best friends.

  “When will she be back?” asked Rosie.

  “Not until tomorrow,” said June. “She’s gone out of town with Agnes Lu. Oh, Bernice is so worried.”

  “Why?” asked Ada.

  “That Mysterious Mansion, of course,” said June. “She lost her heart to that place but it’s going to cost a fortune to fix up. So she and Agnes took the Treasure to some experts to see how much it’s worth. If it’s worth enough, she can get a loan or sell some treasure to pay for repairs on the mansion.”

  Ada looked at the glass case where Aunt Bernice kept her most valuable items. She knew the contents by heart: eleven golden rings, a cup filled with rare gems, silver antique spoons, a meteorite, six dinosaur bones, and a T. rex tooth. Aunt Bernice called them the Treasure.

  Now, the case was empty.

  “It’s all happening so fast,” said June. “Today, a lady offered to buy the mansion and needs an answer by tomorrow. If she doesn’t get the mansion from Bernice, then she’s going to buy some other property the next day. Bernice has to decide immediately to keep it or sell. That lady is making a great offer. It’s a tough decision!”

  “Who is she?” asked Iggy.

  “Head over to your folks’ gallery and find out!” said June. “She’s there now!”

  CHAPTER 16

  Iggy’s parents, Marcia Hunt and Fred Peck, helped people in Blue River Creek buy and sell property and art. Their gallery was around the corner from Aunt Bernice’s shop.

  The Questioneers ran to the Hunt and Peck Gallery and burst through the door. A short jolly woman was chatting happily with Iggy’s parents.

  “Iggy!” said his father. “This is Miss Weatherbee. She just put in an offer on the Sherbert House.”

  “But …” sputtered Iggy.

  “You must be the young architect I’ve heard so much about,” said Miss Weatherbee. “I think you’ll love the new apartments I plan to build.”

  “But it belongs to Aunt Bernice,” said Ada.

  “Of course! She has to sell it first,” said Miss Weatherbee cheerily. “I hope she does. Then I’ll clear the land and knock down the current structures and build a wonderful, new, modern living community.”

  Iggy gasped.

  “Do what?” he asked in disbelief.

  Miss Weatherbee did not notice.

  “Just imagine,” she continued, “a ten-building apartment complex with each building looking just like the others! It will be something to see!”

  Iggy’s eyes got wide. His mouth fell open, but no sound came out. His face turned bright red and the room began to spin.

  “I think he’s going to faint!” said Ada. “Sit down, Iggy!”

  “Oh my. Does he always do that?” asked Miss Weatherbee. “Well, I’ll see you all at the Sherbert place tomorrow.”

  She waved cheerily and left the gallery.

  “Good gracious, Ignatius,” said Iggy’s mom. “Are you all right?”

  “She can’t tear down the mansion!” said Iggy. “Think of the marble floors! Think of the iron staircase! Think of the gargoyles!”

  “Hopefully Bernice will be able to keep it,” said Mr. Peck. “We’ll know more tomorrow.”

  “Iggy, you go home and take it easy,” said Iggy’s mother. “That was a pretty big shock.”

  The Questioneers headed back to the heli-o-cheese-copter. They sat down on the grass.

  “Are you feeling any better?” asked Sofia.

  “No,” said Iggy. “She’s going to tear down the mansion!”

  “I know that’s scary for you,” said Sofia.

  They sat silently for a moment. Suddenly, Iggy jumped up.

  “That’s it!” he said.

  “What’s it?” asked Sofia.

  “Scary!” said Iggy. “It’s so SCARY!”

  He grinned.

  “I don’t get it,” said Ada.

  “Booooooooo!” said Iggy.

  He waited a moment. Then, one by one, they got it.

  “Oh my,” said Sofia.

  “Oh my,” said Rosie.

  “Zowie!” said Ada.

  CHAPTER 17

  The next afternoon, Iggy and his parents stood on the front porch of the Sherbert Mansion with Miss Weatherbee. Iggy listened nervously as she pointed at the forest.

  “If we take out those trees,” she said, “I could add three more apartment buildings! All in a perfect line!”

  Iggy groaned. How could anyone want to knock down an architectural masterpiece like the Mysterious Mansion?

  “But we need this place! It’s important,” said Iggy. “Architecture is important! It lets us show who we are. It lets us show where we’ve been and lets us decide where we want to go! Architecture is one way we show the world what’s important to us! We can’t just tear down old places like this. We need them!”

  “Oh my,” said Miss Weatherbee. “That is an interesting view. But just imagine having lots and lots of nice simple places for people to live. Nice square places. That sounds so neat and tidy.”

  Iggy felt woozy and was about to plop onto the steps when he heard the sound.

  BEEP! BEEP!

  An old military jeep zoomed up the driveway.

  BEEP! BEEP!

  It was Aunt Bernice and Agnes Lu.

  “They’re here!” yelled Iggy.

  His excitement faded when he saw the grim expressions on their faces. Aunt Bernice had not found the money to keep the Mysterious Mansion.

  “Hello, Miss Weatherbee,” said Aunt Bernice, climbing the steps to the porch. “Hi, Fred. Hi, Marcia.”

  “Any luck?” asked Iggy’s mom.

  “Not enough. I guess I won’t be keeping this marvelous place,” said Aunt Bernice. “Let’s sign the sales contract and be done.”

  “But wait!” said Iggy. “We should go inside!”

  “No point, Iggy,” said Aunt Bernice. “Plus, I don’t have a key. Remember? My keys didn’t open the door.”

  “But …” Iggy started.

  “But what?” asked Mrs. Lu.

  Iggy scooted toward the door.

  “BUT WHAT ABOUT THE GHOSTS?” he said in a very loud voice.

  “Oh my,” said Miss Weatherbee. “I’m not a fan of ghosts.”

  “They’re awful!” said Iggy. “GHOSTS ARE A REAL PROBLEM AROUND HERE!”

  “Why are you yelling?” asked Iggy’s father.

  “JUST KEEPING AWAY THE GHOSTS!” yelled Iggy. “DON’T WANT ANY OF THOSE TO SHOW UP!”

  “Ignatius,” said Iggy’s mother, “are you feeling okay?”

  “Ghosts can show up anytime,” said Iggy. “ANY TIME AT ALL!”

  Suddenly …

  BUMP! THUMP! BUMP! THUMP!

  “What’s going on?” cried Miss Weatherbee. “There’s something wrong with the porch!”

  The boards of the porch bounced up and down.

  BUMP! THUMP! BUMP! THUMP!

  “It’s the ghost of Herbert Sherbert!” said Iggy in his spookiest voice. “He’s back!”

  WHOMP!

  The porch boards slammed down.

  Then …

  CRRRREEEEEAAAK!

  The mansion door swung open.

  “WHOOOOOOOOO! WHOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

  A wailing cry came from the darkness inside.

  “The ghost!” said Iggy.

  A deep rumbling noise rose from the house, and suddenly, there was music. Loud, creepy circus music filled the air.

  “Whooooooo! WHOOOOOOOOO!”

  The willowy, wavy ghost of Herbert Sherbert appeared in the light of the doorway for an instant.

  And then it was gone.

  “A ghost!” yelled Iggy. “It’s haunted! Nobody would rent apartments here!”

  “AHEM!”

  Aunt Bernice cleared her throat loudly and gave Iggy a very stern look.

  “What’s going on?” she asked.

  Iggy waved his hands in the air.

  “It’s the ghost of Herbert Sherbert!” he said. “Whoooooo! He’s back and he doesn’t like apartment buildings!”

  “We shall see,” said Aunt Bernice, heading through the door.

  As she stepped into the Great Hall, the music stopped. Once more, the ghostly howl began again.

  “WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WHOOOOOOOOO-WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

  Aunt Bernice pulled the lever on the wall.

  BAM! BAM! BAM!

  The metal shutters flipped open and light streamed into the Great Hall and onto the ghost of Herbert Sherbert.

  CHAPTER 18

  The ghost of Herbert Sherbert stood on the swirling marble floor with its six feet sticking out from beneath its enormous white body.

  “Whooooooooooooo …”

  “Excuse me,” said Iggy’s father. “We can see your shoes.”

  “Oops,” said the ghost, pulling its feet under the sheet.

  “I’m the ghost of Herbert Sherbert!” said the ghost. “Whooooooooo!”

  “You look like a giant white spider,” said Iggy’s mother.

  “Spiders have eight legs!” said the ghost.

  There were whispers beneath the sheet.

  “… Ghosts don’t care … They would if they studied spiders … Shhhh …”

  Aunt Bernice pulled away the sheet to reveal Rosie, Ada, and Sofia holding sticks to lift up the sheet.

  “Well?” said Aunt Bernice. “What do you have to say?”

  “Boo?” asked Ada.

  “I’m so confused!” said Miss Weatherbee. “Are there ghosts? Or not? I don’t like ghosts! They are terrible for house sales.”

  “It’s just us,” said Ada. “We were trying to help, but maybe we didn’t.”

  “We wanted to scare you away so you wouldn’t tear down this beautiful place!” said Iggy. “It is an important example of Art Nouveau architecture and Victorian architecture—”

  “And Blue River Creek history—” said Sofia.

  “I know you meant well,” Aunt Bernice said kindly, “but this is not how we do things. I only want this place if I can keep it fair and square.”

  “What is going on?” said Iggy’s mother.