Dipper didn't sleep well that night. Not because the ghost encounter had frightened him too much – although it was worse than he expected - but rather because it had given him so much to think about. He had been lying awake, pondering about strategies and theories, wondering what to tell Pacifica. He couldn't believe he made such an effort for her. Pacifica had been right about him – he couldn't resist a mystery.
But she still owed them at least one answer.
When Dipper and Mabel had finished breakfast the next morning, Stan was already in the store, as per usual checking the register before opening to make sure nothing had somehow disappeared overnight.
He looked up as he noticed the entering "So, I hear ya kids went on another wild ghost chase last night", he commented.
"Yeah, and it was gross!" Mabel exclaimed. The fact that she looked rather excited while saying this didn't really surprise either her brother or her Grunkle Stan. Dipper just nodded.
Not really interested in any details, Stan moved towards the door and prepared to turn the "closed" sign. "Wendy has an afternoon shift", he casually explained. "So I need ya to look after the store in about an hour..."
To his surprise, the door opened the very same moment that he turned the "closed" sign to "open" It was Pacifica. "Oh it's you", Stan muttered in disappointment. He suspected that the rich girl wasn't here to buy anything.
"Did you sleep well?" Mabel promptly asked her. She didn't look that way. In fact, she looked more fatigued than Dipper. He couldn't tell if Mabel asked this question out of concern or to taunt Pacifica. It was more likely to be the former, considering this was Mabel, but you never know.
"No." she growled in response. "And that's what I wanted to talk to you about…" She looked around for a moment. "Pines", she said, addressing Grunkle Stan, "Don't you have anywhere to go?"
"I've got a guided tour scheduled in an hour, but nothing before that", he replied. Then he added with a frown: "Not that it's any of your business."
"It is." The blonde produced a fifty dollar note. "Fifty bucks if you leave right away."
Stan stared at her for a moment, as if he briefly considered reclining the offer out of pride. Naturally, he didn't.
"Kids", he said to Dipper and Mabel as he snapped the bill out of Pacifica's hand, "mind the store, will ya?"
"Gee, thanks!" Mabel complained, "Now we have to stay here for an hour extra."
"You didn't look like you were in a hurry to go anywhere", Pacifica replied bluntly, pressing her hands against her hips.
"You could've just asked us to talk with you outside, you know", Dipper pointed out
"I needed to show that I'm still in charge." She rubbed her forehead. "That I haven't lost it." The dull voice revealed the fatigue that was evident in her eyes.
"Did Henry return last night?" Mabel suddenly asked.
Pacifica hesitated before she replied. "No."
Dipper thought this over. The last sighting of Henry might have scared Pacifica even more than they realized. She looked as if she wanted to say that Henry had returned last night. But the truth, most likely, was that the very graphic reminders of her croquet accident had upset her more than she was willing to admit. The memory alone had probably caused her a sleepless night.
"He didn't have to", she continued, which was at least close to being a confession. "Let's talk…business."
Dipper sat down behind the counter, folded his hands and tried to look business-like.
"Yeah, let's. I have another question for you, Pacifica."
The blonde winced, but after a pause, just nodded.
"That musical box isn't really the Northwest's old family heirloom, is it?"
Their "client" hesitated again. The she looked down and sighed. "No. It's the Hamilton-Smythe's old family heirloom. Apparently, it was Henry's last wish that I should have it. You can understand why I didn't want to tell you that part at first, right?" She raised her head again. "But how did you know?"
"Qualified guess", Dipper replied. "Ghosts will often appear through an object that has great symbolic value to them."
Pacifica looked as if she was pondering about this for a moment. "So if I destroy the musical box, does it mean that Henry will disappear as well? That would be convenient. My folks will be upset, but I can make it look like an accident…"
"I don't recommend that", Dipper commented. "There are stories of people who have tried destroying the object, but were stuck with the ghost. Henry's spirit might have travelled with the musical box, but that doesn't mean he's bound to it."
Pacifica clenched her fists.
"Great! Are you saying I'm stuck with him?"
Dipper looked her up and down. Even now, Pacifica didn't seem as quarrelsome or arrogant as usual. Sure, she was hardly being friendly, but that would be an unreasonable, considering what she had just been through. The important thing was, she seemed willing to listen to reason and as much as she would probably try to deny it, she was actually treating him and Mabel as equals for the moment. This made what he was going to suggest much easier.
Dipper shook his head. "You have to understand, Pacifica, ghosts always have a special reason for staying around, they don't hang around just out of spite. I don't think Henry is looking for revenge. I think he did that trick with the croquet mallet to make you feel guilty. It's just puppy love. We just have to wait for him to get over it."
Pacifica grimaced. "Wait? For how long?"
A/N Hi there! Sorry, this chapter is a bit shorter than the rest. It was originally going to be the finale, but I decided to split it in two and make it five chapters instead of four. Besides, I spent most of last week working on an article, so this installment would've been way delayed if I didn't cut it short.