by Ron Roy
Dink pushed the peanut butter and bread toward Josh. “I’m not your servant, your royal highness!”
Josh grinned and began building his sandwich.
“Okay” Dink said, sitting at the table. “How do you get rid of a ghost?”
“First you have to prove that there is one,” Josh said, taking a big bite of his sandwich.
“You still don’t believe there’s a ghost at the hotel?” Ruth Rose asked.
Josh swallowed and shook his head. “Nope.”
He lined up four pretzels on the table. “We talked to Livvy, but she hadn’t seen the ghost,” Josh said. He picked up a pretzel and ate it.
“Then we asked Mr. Linkletter if he’d seen the ghost, but he said he hadn’t.” Josh ate another pretzel.
He picked up the last two pretzels. “Mr. and Mrs. Spivets didn’t see the ghost either, they just heard noises!”
Josh popped the pretzels into his mouth. “Guys,” he said as he chewed, “nobody we talked to saw the ghost. So maybe there is no ghost!”
Dink and Ruth Rose stared at Josh.
“He’s right,” Ruth Rose said after a minute. “Everyone we talked to said someone else had seen the ghost.”
“So what should we do?” Dink asked.
“We have to see the ghost for ourselves,” Ruth Rose said.
Dink blinked. “But how do we do that?” he asked.
Josh licked peanut butter from his fingers. “Well, we could start by finding someone who really did see the ghost.”
“But everyone who saw it checked out of the hotel,” Ruth Rose said.
Dink swallowed the last of his sandwich. “We have to talk to those people,” he said. “Maybe Mr. Linkletter will help us.”
“Good idea,” Ruth Rose said. “Let’s go back to the hotel.”
“No dessert?” Josh asked.
“Wipe off your milk mustache and come on!” Dink said.
The kids hurried back to the hotel. Mr. Linkletter looked up as the kids came in. “I hear you had a chat with my aunt and uncle,” he said.
“They hired us to get rid of the ghost!” Dink informed him.
The corners of Mr. Linkletter’s mouth wiggled. It was almost a smile. “And do you have a plan?”
“Sort of,” Ruth Rose said. “But we need the names and phone numbers of the guests who saw the ghost.”
Mr. Linkletter shook his head. “Sorry. Our guests, even the ones who leave, pay for privacy.”
“Well, are there any guests left at all?” she asked.
Mr. Linkletter pointed to a man and woman reading in a corner of the lobby. “Mr. and Mrs. Jeffers haven’t checked out. But I don’t know if they saw the ghost.”
“Let’s go ask them!” Dink said. He headed across the lobby.
The man was wearing jeans, hiking boots, and a white sweater.
The woman had black hair and wore a dark blue sweater and faded jeans.
“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Jeffers,” Dink said. “My name is Dink. These are my friends Josh and Ruth Rose. We’re investigating the ghost. Did you see it?”
“Why do you want to know?” the man asked.
“Because the hotel owners have hired us to get rid of it!” Ruth Rose said.
“If there really is a ghost,” Josh muttered.
“There is!” Mrs. Jeffers said. “It scared me half to death!”
“So you saw it?” Dink asked.
“We both did,” Mr. Jeffers said, setting down his book. “Last night we played cards down here until about midnight. When we went up to our room, this thing appeared out of nowhere!”
Mrs. Jeffers shuddered. “The hallway seemed to grow cold!” she said.
“What did it look like?” Ruth Rose asked.
Mr. Jeffers closed his eyes. “The ghost kind of shimmered as she walked. She had wild-looking white hair and a long glowing robe.”
“And black holes instead of eyes!” Mrs. Jeffers added.
“You said ‘she.’” Ruth Rose said. “Was it a girl ghost?”
Mr. Jeffers looked at Ruth Rose. “Um, well, I guess so. At least the robe looked like a woman’s.”
“And you said the ghost ‘walked,’” Dink said. “Did it have feet?”
“Feet?” Mr. Jeffers said. “I’m not sure. We hurried right into our room.”
Just then Mr. Linkletter came over to the sofa. “Excuse me, Dink,” he said. “My uncle is on the phone.”
“Mr. Spivets wants to talk to me?” Dink said.
Mr. Linkletter nodded. Dink followed him to the phone.
“Hello?” Dink said. He listened for a few minutes, then hung up and walked back to Josh and Ruth Rose.
“You’re not gonna believe this,” he said.
“Don’t tell me they saw the ghost!” Josh said.
“Nope, but now we might,” Dink said. “Mr. Spivets wants us to sleep in the hotel tonight!”
Josh and Ruth Rose stared at Dink.
“Honest,” Dink said.
“But why?” Ruth Rose asked.
“Since the hotel is almost empty, he said we’d be doing him a favor,” Dink said. “If people see us here, they might think the ghost was just a joke.”
“Let’s do it!” Josh said. “I need a night away from the twins!”
Dink grinned. “Mr. Spivets invited our families, too. And he wants us to investigate the ghost while we’re here!”
Josh laughed. “When my little brothers get here, that ghost better watch out!”
By suppertime it was all arranged. The three families would spend the night at the Shangri-la.
Ruth Rose’s little brother, Nate, wanted to meet the ghost.
“He’ll be my friend!” Nate said. “We can play with my dinosaurs together!”
Dink’s family and Ruth Rose’s family rode together in one car.
The Pintos’ car was already in the parking lot when they arrived. Josh was holding on to his twin brothers, Brian and Bradley. The boys hugged twin teddy bears.
After locking the cars, all twelve of them trooped into the Shangri-la. Mr. and Mrs. Spivets were waiting in the lobby. They were all dressed up, as if it was a special occasion.
“Good evening, all!” Mr. Spivets said. “Welcome to the Shangri-la!”
The adults shook hands.
“This is very nice of you,” Dink’s mom told them.
Mrs. Spivets smiled at the kids. “It’s the least we can do. These three detectives are going to get to the bottom of this ghost business tonight!”
Dink’s father grinned. “As long as they do it before bedtime!”
“Dad,” Dink said, rolling his eyes.
Just then Mr. Linkletter joined them. “Where’s Casper?” Nate asked him. “I wanna see the ghost!”
Mr. Linkletter blinked at Nate, then handed room keys to Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose.
“I think you’ll find the rooms comfortable,” he said. “I had rollaway beds brought in for the little ones.”
Dink led them all to the elevator.
“What number do you guys have?” Josh asked. “We’re in Room 203.”
“I’m across the hall,” Ruth Rose said, “in 204.”
“Me too,” Dink said. “202.”
Five minutes later, all three families were in their rooms. Dink dumped his backpack on a narrow rollaway bed.
The room was pretty big, with a color TV and a miniature refrigerator. Dink opened the door and found a bunch of soft drinks and snacks.
“Can we eat this stuff?” Dink asked.
His father gave him a look. “You just finished supper, Dinko!”
Dink grinned. “Yeah, I know. How late can I stay up?”
“Nine o’clock,” his mother said. “Remember, tomorrow is Monday.”
“Mom, tomorrow’s Columbus Day!” Dink said, grinning. “No school!”
“Okay, ten o’clock, but not a minute later!”
Dink left the room and knocked on Josh’s door. “Come in!” one of the twins yelled.
&nbs
p; Dink opened the door. The Pintos’ room was even bigger than his. Three small beds were lined up opposite one big one.
Brian and Bradley wore matching Batman jammies and were coloring in their coloring books.
Josh was standing in front of their little fridge, tossing down peanuts.
“Can Josh come out and play?” Dink said, grinning.
Josh’s dad said, “Sure, just be back by breakfast time.”
Josh laughed. “Let’s get Ruth Rose,” he said to Dink.
They walked to Room 204 and knocked. Ruth Rose opened the door and stepped out. “My folks are trying to get Nate to go to bed,” she whispered.
“Let’s go down to the lobby and think of a plan,” Dink suggested.
“I already have one!” Ruth Rose announced.
“You do?” Dink said.
Ruth Rose nodded. “Mr. Linkletter told us the ghost showed up at midnight, right? Mr. and Mrs. Jeffers said the same thing.”
Josh snorted. “So what’s your plan, to hang out and say hi to the ghost when the clock strikes twelve?”
Ruth Rose grinned. “Exactly!”
“It smells awful in here,” Josh muttered.
“Josh, this closet is filled with cleaning stuff,” Dink told him. “It’s supposed to smell awful.”
“Could you guys whisper?” Ruth Rose said. “You want our parents to wake up and find us gone?”
It was nearly midnight. Ten minutes before, the kids had snuck out of their rooms and hidden in the closet.
Josh yawned. “I should be asleep, having a great dream,” he said. “Instead, I’m squashed in here like a sardine, waiting for a dumb ghost who isn’t even real!”
Dink grinned in the dark. “I heard that ghosts hate kids with red hair,” he whispered.
“Yeah? Well, I heard that ghosts eat blond-haired kids for breakfast!”
Suddenly Ruth Rose put out both hands. “Shh, I think I heard something,” she said.
Josh snorted. “Nice try, Ruth Rose, but…”
“Shh!” whispered Dink. “I heard something, too!”
He pushed the closet door open a crack. All three kids peered out into the hallway.
Dink heard a groan, like the wind howling through a cave.
Suddenly a tall white figure appeared at the end of the hall. It gave off a shimmery white light and seemed to float above the floor.
“Oh my gosh!” Josh croaked. “I wanna go back to bed!”
The ghost wore a long white gown. Its hair was white and stuck up in spikes. And there were just black, empty holes where the eyes should have been!
Josh grabbed Dink’s arm. It hurt, but Dink was too scared to say anything.
The figure drifted slowly toward the kids’ hiding place. It was carrying a long silver sword.
“It knows we’re in here!” Josh squeaked.
The ghost paused at each door, then stopped in front of Room 202.
That’s our room! Dink thought.
“Diiiiinnnnk,” the ghost moaned. “Goooo hooooome! Thiiiis plaaace is daaaangerous!”
Every hair on Dink’s head stood up. He felt cold, as if someone had opened a window.
The ghost floated to the next room.
This time it moaned, “Josssh, go hooome. Leave before it’s toooo laaate!”
Outside Room 204, the ghost moaned its final message: “Ruth Rose, take your faaamily and leave nooow!”
Then the ghost drifted back the way it had come. Seconds later, the hallway was empty.
Ruth Rose jumped up and shoved the door open. “Come on, let’s see where it went!” she said.
“Who cares where it went!” Josh said. “I’m outta here!”
“Come on, Josh,” Dink said. “I promised Mr. and Mrs. Spivets we’d get rid of the ghost. And we only have till morning!”
“But what if it gets rid of us instead!”
Dink grabbed Josh’s arm and started down the hall. He stopped and listened at Room 202. He heard his father snoring, and grinned.
Suddenly Josh stuck his nose in the air. “What’s that smell?” he said.
Dink shrugged and kept walking.
Ruth Rose had reached the end of the hall. “It disappeared,” she said when they were standing together.
“I smell it here, too,” Josh said.
“Smell what?” Ruth Rose asked.
“I don’t know,” Josh said. “But it reminds me of something,”
Around the corner, the kids found a gray metal door. A red sign on the door read FIRE EXIT.
“Maybe it went through there!” Ruth Rose whispered, pointing at the door.
Dink held his breath, then slowly pushed the door open. The kids peered into the stairwell. They saw dark steps going up and down.
“Should we split up and check it out?” Dink asked.
“No way!” Josh said. “We stick together!”
Dink grinned at his friend. “Still think the ghost is a joke?”
Josh made a face at Dink.
“Guys,” Ruth Rose said. “How did the ghost know our names and which rooms we were in?”
“Maybe it has supernatural powers!” Josh said.
“Or maybe the ghost is really someone in the hotel,” Dink added. “Someone who knows us!”
Ruth Rose nodded. “I think the ghost came out tonight looking just for us.”
“You mean to scare us away, like it did the other people?” Dink asked.
Ruth Rose nodded again.
“Well, it worked!” Josh said. “Let’s hit the trail!”
“Hey, what’s this?” Ruth Rose asked. She plucked a white hair off the doorframe.
Dink examined the hair. “The ghost had white hair like this,” he said.
“Yeah,” Ruth Rose said, “but ghosts don’t lose hair, people do!”
Suddenly the door to Room 204 opened. Ruth Rose’s father popped his head out. “Okay, you guys, time to hit the sack.”
“But, Dad, we just…” Ruth Rose said.
Her father shook his head. “Say good night to the boys, Ruth Rose. Now.”
By nine the next morning, the three families were down in the lobby. Ruth Rose’s parents had treated them all to breakfast at Ellie’s Diner, then they’d walked back to the hotel for their luggage.
While the adults thanked Mr. Linkletter and the Spivetses, the kids huddled on the sofa.asked. “Mr. and Mrs. Spivets are selling the hotel today!”
Ruth Rose pulled the white hair from her pocket. “This proves that someone is just pretending to be the ghost,” she said. “But we don’t know who or why!”
“Maybe one of the guests has white hair,” Josh said.
“Josh, all the guests are gone except Mr. and Mrs. Jeffers, and they both have dark hair,” Ruth Rose reminded him.
“Could the hair be from a wig?” Dink asked. “The ghost could have been wearing a costume and makeup.”
“That’s it!” Josh cried. “Last night I smelled makeup in the hall. I remember the yucky smell from last Halloween!”
Just then Mr. Linkletter walked over to the kids. He looked even more unhappy than he had the day before.
“This is a sad day” Mr. Linkletter said. “Eatch, Rail, and Roock will be here at noon with the papers.”
“NOON!” Ruth Rose jumped up. “Then we still have three hours!”
Mr. Linkletter gazed down at her. “I’m afraid it’s too late.” He shook his head and walked away.
“We have to find out who’s pretending to be the ghost,” Ruth Rose said. “If we don’t, Livvy and Mr. Linkletter will lose their jobs!”
“And Mr. and Mrs. Spivets will lose their home!” Dink added.
“Guys, I think I know who the ghost is,” Josh said.
Dink and Ruth Rose stared at him.
“Well,” Dink said. “Who?”
“The only people left in the hotel are Livvy, Mr. Linkletter, and his aunt and uncle, right?”
“Right,” Ruth Rose said.
“And we know that none of
them want the hotel to be torn down,” Josh continued.
“You forgot about Mr. and Mrs. Jeffers,” Dink said. “They’re still here.”
Josh grinned. “Bingo!”
“The Jefferses?” Ruth Rose said. “But they said they saw the ghost outside their room.”
“Sure they saw the ghost,” Josh said. “One of them is the ghost!”
“I know how we can find out,” Dink said. “We have to search their room.”
“Mr. Linkletter will never let us do that,” Josh said.
“Well, maybe he won’t let us, but I know someone who might,” Ruth Rose said.
“Who?” asked Dink.
“Livvy!”
The kids said good-bye to their families, then hurried to the door that led to the basement.
They found Livvy in a cozy room, drinking a cup of tea. She was wearing her maid’s uniform. “’Morning, kids,” she said. “What brings you down here?”
“We saw the ghost last night!” Ruth Rose said.
Livvy’s eyes widened. “Really? Where? Tell me!”
The kids explained about spending the night in the hotel and hiding in the cleaning closet.
“It was so creepy!” Josh said. “First we heard all these weird noises, then this thing came out of nowhere!”
“It glowed!” Ruth Rose said. She showed Livvy the white hair. “And we found this!”
“We think the ghost is one of the guests wearing a costume and wig,” Dink explained.
Suddenly Livvy let out a gasp. “It was a wig!” she cried.
“What was?” Ruth Rose asked.
“I just remembered,” Livvy said. “Yesterday I was in 301 getting ready to vacuum. When I looked under the bed for shoes and stuff, I saw this hairy white thing. I thought it was a rat. But it could have been a white wig!”
“Who’s in Room 301?” Dink asked.
Livvy shrugged. “I don’t know their name, but they’re a nice couple from New York.”
“Could you let us in so we could check the room for clues?” Ruth Rose asked.
Livvy shook her head. “Sorry, but you know how Mr. Linkletter is about the guests’ privacy.”
“But Mr. and Mrs. Spivets hired us to get rid of the ghost!” Dink said. “Besides, if they have to sell the hotel, you and Mr. Linkletter will lose your jobs!”
