Figured out the syrup situation. My brother knocked the bottle over when he was doing the dishes last night, and it sat sideways for about 10 minutes, but nothing spilled.
BUT – that ended up getting air in the pump and that air must have forced out the syrup as it was trying to escape. (There were still a few air bubbles in the pump when I made my coffee this morning and I thought that may have been it later, but couldn’t figure out how.)
So, no coffee drinking ghosts.
Musings of a marginally sane feline-appreciating female. 
I was eagerly looking forward to an update on this! “Nancy Drew and the Sign of the Syrup.”
LOL!!! My brother swore up and down that nothing had spilled, and I believe him, cause there wasn’t a single sticky spot anywhere on the bottle itself. Just some interesting (if slightly messy) air pressure/fluid dynamics.