Ghost at the Drive-In Movie

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  “It really did look like one,” Jessie said. The other children agreed.

  “But we never meant to scare anyone for real,” said Amy. “We’re so sorry about that.”

  Joey looked down at his feet. “And we’re sorry we haven’t been keeping a better eye on things. If I hadn’t been here painting stuff maybe the snack bar wouldn’t have been vandalized.”

  “It’s not your fault, Joey,” said Uncle Flick. He didn’t look angry now. He had a wistful smile. “I just wished you’d told me about your ideas. All along I thought you weren’t interested in helping run the Diamond Drive-in. I wish I’d known before I decided to sell it.” He sighed. “But this ‘Haunted House Days’ is a fine idea. It’ll be a good thing to do at the end of the season. It’ll be a great way to say good-bye to the theater.”

  Joey and Amy looked at each other, and then at the Aldens. They were wistful, too.

  “Yes,” said Joey. “It will.”

  CHAPTER 8

  Speedy Deals

  It was Monday morning, the last fall day of the Aldens’ visit. Tomorrow morning they would return to Greenfield. Since the Diamond Drive-in was closed on Mondays, they had the day all to themselves.

  “I’m going over to Dan Brinker’s auto store this morning,” said Grandfather at breakfast. “Would you kids like to come along?”

  “Are we going to get a new car?” Benny asked.

  “No, not this year,” Grandfather said. “But sometimes it’s fun to look at the latest models.”

  “Good idea,” said Jessie. The other children nodded.

  So they all went across the road to the car dealership. It was in a big glass building surrounded by rows and rows of shiny cars. It seemed more like a circus than a store. There were balloons everywhere, and bright painted signs that said Great Deals! All the salespeople wore red jackets. There was a huge showroom with cars on display. The Aldens liked getting into each one and smelling the new car smell.

  Dan Brinker seemed very glad to see them. “So! Are you looking for a family car? I love families!”

  “Oh, we can’t buy anything right now,” Grandfather said. “We’re happy with the car we have now. But I just like to see the new models! Please don’t mind us—we’re just looking.”

  “Ah, yes, it’s good to plan ahead,” said Dan. He was very friendly. But he also followed Grandfather all around the showroom.

  “This is the hottest style around,” he told Grandfather, pointing to a bright yellow car. “We’ve got two left. I’ll give you a special low price so you can drive it home today! “

  Grandfather shook his head. “As I said before, I’m not interested in buying today. Or even this year.”

  “I know you don’t need a car now,” Dan replied. “But you might need one next year. And if you get it now, you’ll be planning ahead!”

  “No, thank you,” Grandfather said firmly.

  Dan turned to the children. “I bet you kids want a new car, don’t you?”

  “No, that’s okay,” said Jessie. “But speaking of buying, is it true you’re going to buy the Diamond Drive-In Theater?”

  “Yes, indeed!” said the car salesman. “I love the Diamond!”

  “So you’re going to keep the place open as a drive-in theater?” Henry asked.

  Dan smiled. “I promised Flick Fletcher that the screen would always stay standing,” he said.

  The children wanted to ask Dan Brinker more questions. But one of his employees walked up and handed him a cordless phone.

  “It’s the bank,” the man said.

  “Sorry, kids,” Dan told the Aldens. “I’ve been waiting for this important call.” He leaned against one of the cars and started to talk on the phone.

  Grandfather wanted to look at some of the new cars in the lot outside, so the Aldens walked towards the door. As they were leaving, Dan started to shout into the phone.

  “What do you mean he wants a little more time? I want to buy it now! No … I’ve planned ahead for this deal! I want it to be speedy!” He sounded upset. The children didn’t hear the rest, though. It would have been rude to listen in. But they couldn’t help but wonder if he was talking about the Diamond Drive-in Theater.

  “Why is he in such a hurry?” Jessie wondered.

  “Maybe he just likes to do everything fast,” Violet said. “He sure talks fast.”

  As the Aldens got back into the minivan, a saleswoman in a red jacket waved good-bye.

  “Come back to Brinker’s Auto Store soon! “she said. “We’re the biggest place in town to buy a car. And we’re getting even bigger!”

  They had just finished lunch at Uncle Flick’s house when there was an urgent knock on the door. It was Mr. Duke.

  “Flick! I heard a rumor that you’re selling the theater to Dan Brinker!” he said as he marched into the kitchen where the Aldens were clearing the table.

  “Yes, we’re discussing it,” said Uncle Flick.

  Mr. Duke shook his head. “Are you crazy? Are you sure he’s not planning to shut it down and turn it into another sales lot? He’s just across the street! How do you know he’s going to keep it open?”

  “Well, because he said so,” Uncle Flick replied. “He knows I wouldn’t sell it to him unless he swore that the movie screen would stay standing. And that’s just what he promised.”

  Mr. Duke scratched his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “I just don’t quite trust him. Maybe you should think about this.”

  “I’m not going to rush into this, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He patted Mr. Duke on the back.

  “That’s good to know,” said Mr. Duke. “Because if you change your mind about selling the theater to Dan Brinker, you can always sell it to me.”

  Uncle Flick’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, Duke?” His voice sounded cold.

  Mr. Duke tried to explain. “Nothing! I … I mean … I wish you weren’t selling the theater in the first place. But if you need someone trustworthy to buy it, someone who will keep it going … I could buy it. That’s all I’m saying.” He stepped back. The children could see he hadn’t meant to make Uncle Flick angry.

  “Oh, is that what you want?” said Uncle Flick. “To take this place over? Is that why you’ve been playing all those pranks? You’ve been trying to drive me to sell the place, haven’t you?!”

  Now it was Mr. Duke’s turn to get angry. “Now, Flick, you know that wasn’t me. I would never do that! We’ve been working next door to each other for thirty years! We haven’t always gotten along, but how dare you think I’d play tricks!” Mr. Duke turned around and walked out of the kitchen. A moment later everyone heard the door slam.

  Uncle Flick’s face was red. He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I guess we lost our tempers.”

  Grandfather put his hand on his old friend’s shoulder. “Flick, do you want to go for a walk?”

  “We can finish cleaning up here,” Jessie offered.

  Finally Uncle Flick managed a smile. “Thanks, folks. Yes, perhaps I need to take a walk. And think.” He left the room with Grandfather. After a moment the children saw them walking down the road towards the drive-in.

  “We may have solved the mystery of the ghost at the drive-in,” Henry said, “but we still haven’t figured out who’s behind the pranks.”

  The oldest Alden was right. They still hadn’t found out who had switched the movie sound the other night, or broken the Duke’s Dogs sign, or vandalized the snack bar.

  “Someone’s trying to ruin everything,” Benny said.

  “We’ll just have to stop that someone,” Jessie replied.

  CHAPTER 9

  The Truth Unfolds

  Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny sat around the kitchen table. Jessie had her notebook open to a new page. On it was a list of names she’d written:

  AMY

  JOEY

  DAN BRINKER

  MR. DUKE

  One of these people, the children were sure, had been causing the trouble at th
e Diamond Drive-in Theater.

  Violet pointed to Amy’s and Joey’s names. “I don’t think they did it. I think they want to save the theater.”

  Everyone else agreed. So Jessie crossed Amy and Joey off the list.

  “What about that argument we heard today?” Henry asked. “Do you think that Mr. Duke is really trying to force Uncle Flick to sell him the theater?”

  “No,” Jessie said. She tapped her pen, because she was thinking hard.

  “I don’t think so, either,” said Violet. Benny nodded, too.

  Jessie kept tapping her pen. “But … but what if Dan Brinker is? What if he’s the one who’s doing all the pranks?”

  Henry shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense, Jessie. Uncle Flick already likes Dan and wants to sell the theater to him. Dan doesn’t have to make him do anything.”

  “That’s true,” said Jessie. “But there’s something about Dan Brinker that I don’t trust. For one thing, he said he would help us with the popcorn last night. He said he had extra buckets. But then he never brought them!”

  “Perhaps he just didn’t have any extras after all,” Violet said. “Who’s to say he didn’t want to help us?” She always tried to think the best about people.

  Henry looked thoughtful. “Well, if you think about it, whoever wrecked the snack bar certainly wouldn’t want to help us.”

  “Do you think that ‘whoever’ was Dan?” Jessie asked.

  “Who knows? There’s no way we can prove it,” Henry said. “All we can do is think of reasons why he’d play pranks.”

  “Maybe he just wanted Uncle Flick to sell him the theater faster!” Benny said. “He likes speedy deals! Remember we wrote it down?”

  “Very good, Benny,” Jessie said. Then she flipped back in her notebook to the WHAT EVERYONE WANTS page. “Here’s another note I wrote down other night: ‘Dan Brinker says things that other people like to hear.’”

  “Gosh,” said Violet. “Is that the same thing as lying?”

  “Not always,” said Jessie. “But sometimes, yes it is.”

  Suddenly Henry leapt up, the way he always did when he had a big idea. He snapped his fingers. “That’s it! I think Dan is lying to Uncle Flick!”

  “Lying about what?” Violet asked.

  “Lying about keeping the drive-in theater open!” said Jessie. Her eyes got wide. “Yes, it makes perfect sense.”

  Henry went on. “Dan has been telling Uncle Flick he’ll keep running the theater, but really, he doesn’t. Because—”

  Benny finished for him. “Because he wants to tear it down and make his car store bigger! Just like the lady there said today. Remember?”

  Violet repeated the words. “‘We’re the biggest place in town to buy a car. And we’re getting even bigger.’ Oh, no.”

  The children didn’t say anything for a moment. And then Jessie sighed a heavy sigh.

  “Maybe we’re right about Dan Brinker, but we won’t know for sure until it’s too late. Because we don’t have any proof,” she said.

  “Why don’t we just tell Uncle Flick that we don’t trust Dan?” Henry suggested.

  Jessie threw up her hands. “Mr. Duke just tried to do the same thing. And look what happened! Uncle Flick got angry.” She paced around the kitchen. “If only we could catch him doing something … making trouble at the theater. But I don’t think we will.”

  The others knew what Jessie meant. The theater was closed that day, and all the other pranks had happened on days it was open. There didn’t seem to be anything they could do. They all slumped in their chairs. Benny fidgeted and played with a scrap of broken balloon he’d found in his pocket. He stretched it and snapped it with his fingers.

  “Benny, where’d you find that?” Jessie asked.

  “Behind the screen the other day,” said Benny as he stretched and snapped some more.

  “That looks like it came off of one of Dan Brinker’s cars,” Henry pointed out. “It’s white, like some of the balloons on his car that very first night. The night he saw the ghost.”

  “And we figured out there had been a car parked behind the screen,” said Jessie. “He must have driven it back there. But why?”

  Violet was remembering the thing she’d seen behind the screen the night before. She had forgotten about it until now, and she wondered if it was important. She glanced at Jessie’s notebook and at the list they’d made. Dan Brinker—Wants to sell cars … wants to put ads all over town. She remembered hearing him on the phone. I’ve planned ahead for this deal, he said. What did that mean?

  “You guys?” she said. “We have to go look at something right now.”

  A few minutes later the four children were standing behind the movie screen.

  “Jessie, remember that strange bundle you said you saw back here the other day?” Violet asked her sister.

  “Yes, but I told you, it’s gone now,” said Jessie.

  Violet pointed upwards. “Is that it up there?” she asked.

  Jessie looked up, and there, way up along the top of the screen, was something that looked like a very big soft rolled-up blind. It was up so high that it was hard to notice, and since it was in back of the screen, it couldn’t be seen from the theater lot.

  “Oh, my gosh, I think it is!” Jessie said. “It’s the same color and everything.”

  Uncle Flick and Grandfather heard the children’s voices while they were on their walk. They came behind the screen and joined them. Soon Uncle Flick was peering up at the strange rolled-up thing.

  “What on Earth is that? I didn’t put that up there!” he said.

  “Look, there are cords attached to it,” Henry pointed out. “They’re tied to the ladders on either side. They must keep it from unrolling.”

  “Well, why don’t we unroll it then, and see what it is?” said Uncle Flick. “Where’s Joey? He can help us.”

  Before long, Henry and Joey were carefully climbing the two metal ladders that ran down the back of the screen. Henry held on tight while he worked to untie the cord and grab it. Joey did the same. Finally they were both holding the cords taut. The rolled-up thing wavered in the wind a little bit, and they could see it was some kind of nylon fabric, the kind used to make parachutes or flags. What was it?

  “On the count of three, we’ll let go of the cords,” shouted Joey. “One, two—three!”

  They let go, and the fabric unrolled.

  It was an enormous banner, almost as large as the screen! There were words on it:

  THE DIAMOND DRIVE-IN IS CLOSED.

  COMING SOON—

  BRINKER’S AUTO STORE’S EAST LOT!

  BIGGER AND BETTER! DRIVE OUT

  WITH A DIAMOND DEAL!

  The banner had turned the back of the movie screen into a giant billboard that faced the road.

  Everyone stared at it in surprise.

  “Closed? Is that what Dan means to do?” Uncle Flick shouted.

  “He’s got some nerve,” said Grandfather. “To put up that banner even before the place was sold.”

  “Oh, my goodness,” Violet said. “We were right. Dan Brinker really was lying about keeping the drive-in theater open.”

  Jessie nodded. “He promised the screen would stay standing. Only he wasn’t telling the whole truth.”

  “He’s in big trouble!” said Benny. “That’s the whole truth now.”

  CHAPTER 10

  The Diamond Is Forever

  The giant banner on the movie screen could be seen from all around. Cars on the road slowed down to get a better look. A small crowd gathered in front of Duke’s Dogs to stare at it. They all wondered about the sign—would the Diamond Drive-in Theater really close down?

  “Wait! Stop!” someone called across the road. It was Dan Brinker. He had seen the banner unfurl, too. Now he was hurrying across the road to reach Uncle Flick and the Aldens. “No, no, it’s too early!” he shouted as he reached them. He panted as he tried to catch his breath. “No … nobody was supposed to see that yet!”
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  “Is that so, Dan?” Uncle Flick said. He glared at Dan. “Just what were you trying to do?”

  Dan’s forehead was sweaty. He stammered, “I … I had that banner ready so I could display it as soon as the papers were signed! I wanted this theater closed the first chance I got!”

  “You were trying to trick me, Dan!” Uncle Flick growled. “You knew I’d never sell this place to you if it meant closing down the theater, so you said you were going to keep it open! But you lied! You weren’t even going to wait until the end of the season!”

  “And you were the one who caused all the trouble around here!” Joey added bitterly. “Why? We trusted you!”

  “I think I know one reason why,” Jessie said to Dan. “You had to sneak around the theater to put that banner in place! You brought it over in your car on Thursday night. Then on Friday you broke Duke’s sign so you could climb up the back of the screen!”

  “And the ladder made your hands dirty,” said Benny “That’s why you didn’t take any of my popcorn on Friday night! “

  Dan Brinker had lowered his head. “Yes,” he said, “You figured it out. I did some of the pranks to create a distraction. And so Flick Fletcher would sell me the place faster.”

  “You were also trying to make Uncle Flick and Mr. Duke mad at each other, weren’t you?” Violet asked.

  Dan hung his head even lower. “Yes. That, too. I’m sorry.”

  Uncle Flick folded his arms. “Dan, you’ll have to pay for the damages to the snack bar kitchen. You’ve done things that are against the law, so I’m going to have to call the police. And, just to be clear, the deal is off!”

  “I know,” said Dan. “What I did was wrong. All along I knew, deep down, that it was wrong. I should have stopped when I saw the ghost the other night.”

  “What do you mean?” Jessie asked.

  “I know the ghost wasn’t real,” Dan said. “But I’ll tell you, I was so scared when I saw it! I thought it was some kind of message, telling me I had to stop cheating people, that I had to slow down.” He looked thoughtful. “I wish I had.”