by Ron Roy
Here’s what kids, parents,
and teachers have to say
to Ron Roy, author of the
series:
“I really enjoy reading your books. They are filled with fun, excitement, and joy.”
—Olivia S.
“I wish I could spend time with Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose to help them solve crimes.”
—Jonathan G.
“I love your A to Z Mystery books. They are exciting, and they have good solutions, because they never turn out the way you think they will.”
—Bridget L.
“Keep on writing! I’d be soooooooooooo sad if you quit!”
—Lesley S.
“[My son] loves that Josh is so funny, Dink is so understanding, and Ruth Rose is so smart. Thank you for writing these wonderful books that have so captured Richard’s interest.”
—Claire V.
“My class and I love your books! It is refreshing to have a series of books that contain many teachable elements.”
—Angela E.
This book is for all my readers who have sent me letters
and e-mails. Thank you!
—R.R.
To the immortal Bela Lugosi
—J.S.G.
CHAPTER 1
“Careful going over the curb, or you’ll spill the whole pile,” Dink cautioned his friend Josh.
“You and Ruth Rose are supposed to be holding on to it!” Josh answered.
“We are holding, Josh,” Ruth Rose said. “But you’re pulling the wagon too fast!”
An hour before, Dink and Josh had helped Ruth Rose clean some old news-papers out of her basement. Now they were hauling the papers to the recycling bin at the supermarket. For the job, Ruth Rose borrowed her little brother Nate’s wagon.
It was early August and the sky was filled with cotton candy clouds. The kids wore shorts and T-shirts. Ruth Rose liked to dress all in one color. Her shorts and shirt were sky blue. They matched her eyes, headband, and sneakers.
The kids crossed Main Street in front of the supermarket. “Almost there,” Dink said, struggling to keep the tower of papers from toppling. A drop of sweat fell from the tip of his nose.
Dink’s real name was Donald David Duncan. Most people called him Dink, except his mother when she was annoyed with him.
The kids tugged the wagon to a row of tall wooden bins at the side of the supermarket. Each bin was labeled according to what was being recycled, and one was for newspapers.
Dink pulled open the door, and the kids began tossing bundles of papers inside.
“Boy, was that hard work,” Josh announced when they were finished. He grabbed the wagon handle. “Let’s go inside and get something to drink!”
Dink and Ruth Rose followed Josh into the supermarket. The automatic door swooshed open, and they were immediately bathed in cool air.
They found a machine in the frozen-foods section and each bought a cold soda.
“Guys, look!” Josh whispered. He tipped his soda can toward the meat counter. A few customers waited while a butcher sliced steaks.
“Why are we looking at steaks?” Dink asked.
“You’re always thinking of your next meal, Josh,” said Ruth Rose.
“No, I mean the guy standing there,” Josh said. He pointed at a man dressed completely in black. His slicked-back hair was also black. His skin was ghostly pale. Dark sunglasses were perched above his long nose.
“I wonder who he is,” Josh said. “I’ve never seen him in Green Lawn before.”
“I haven’t, either,” Dink said. “But so what? I don’t know everybody in town.”
Ruth Rose peeked over a display of frozen chickens to get a better look. “Something about him looks familiar,” she said.
“Do you know what he looks like to me?” Josh asked.
“A man buying meat?” Dink said.
Josh shook his head. “No. He looks like a vampire!”
Dink grinned at Josh. “Have you ever seen a vampire, Josh?” he asked.
“No, but I know what they look like.” Josh pointed toward the man. “Vampires have skinny lips and really pale skin, like him!”
Ruth Rose laughed. “Your skin is pale. Are you a vampire?” she asked.
“I am not pale,” Josh said. “I have freckles.”
The man strolled away from the meat counter.
“Let’s follow him!” Josh said.
“Why?” Dink asked.
“Because he’s weird!” Josh said. “Who wears sunglasses inside a store?”
“Lots of people do, Josh,” Dink said.
“Guys, we have to go home for more newspapers,” Ruth Rose said. “My mom is paying us, remember?”
“We can do that later,” Josh said, finishing his drink. “Come on, the guy’s leaving!”
Shaking their heads, Dink and Ruth Rose followed Josh, who took off after the man in black.
Suddenly the man stopped in the doorway. He turned and seemed to stare right at the three kids. The store lights reflected off his glasses like tiny lightning bolts. The man smiled and nodded at the kids.
Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose froze. The man in black shoved the door open and walked out.
“Oh my gosh,” Josh whispered. “He saw us following him!”
“No, he saw you following him,” Ruth Rose said. “I’m going home to help my mom.”
“The guy is pretty strange,” Dink said. “I got goose bumps when he looked at us.”
“That’s because it’s air-conditioned in here,” Ruth Rose said. “Can we go now?”
“I want to see where he’s going,” Josh said. Crouching, he pulled the wagon through the door. Dink and Ruth Rose were right behind him, laughing.
The stranger made his way down Main Street. The kids stayed behind him. Suddenly he disappeared inside a doorway.
“He’s gone into Ellie’s!” Josh said.
“Gee, I didn’t know vampires ate real food,” Dink cracked. “Don’t they just drink blood?”
Josh ignored Dink. “We’re going in, too,” Josh said. “But let’s wait a couple of minutes. We don’t want to look like we’re following him.”
“But we are!” Ruth Rose pointed out.
“Well, we don’t have to advertise it!” Josh said. “Let’s just get ice cream, like we usually do.”
The kids left the wagon outside and pushed through the door to Ellie’s Diner. Ellie had her back to them. The kids glanced around at all the seats. The man in black was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’d he go?” Josh whispered.
“Are you sure he came in here?” Dink asked. “Maybe he went into the pet shop next door.”
“I know he came in here,” Josh said. He peeked under a booth. “Let’s ask Ellie.”
“Ask me what?” Ellie asked.
She turned around just as she fin-ished sticking a small, round Band-Aid on the side of her neck.
“Did a guy all dressed in black come in?” Josh asked.
Ellie looked confused. “In my diner? When?”
“Just a minute ago. He had black hair and pale skin,” Dink said.
Ellie shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “He might have. I was out back getting supplies.”
“I saw him walk in here,” Josh said, peering over the counter.
“Well, he’s not here now,” Dink said. “Let’s get some ice cream.”
Ellie followed them to a booth. “Cones all around?” she asked the kids. “Your usual flavors?”
The kids all nodded, and a few minutes later, Ellie brought three cones. Butter crunch for Dink, pistachio for Josh, and strawberry for Ruth Rose. As they licked their cones, Josh stared through the window.
“What’re you looking for?” Dink aske
d.
“The vampire guy,” Josh said.
“He’s not a vampire, Josh,” Ruth Rose said. “Everyone knows vampires sleep during the day and come out at night. They hate the sun.”
“Maybe this one’s on vacation,” Josh said.
Dink started to laugh and nearly choked. “Josh, why would a vampire pick Green Lawn for his vacation?” he asked.
But Josh wasn’t listening. He had his nose against the window. “There he is again!” Josh shrieked.
Dink and Ruth Rose craned their necks to look. Ellie walked over to see what the commotion was about.
The man in black was crossing Main Street near the swan pond.
“Doesn’t he look like a vampire to you?” Josh asked Ellie.
Ellie didn’t answer. When Dink glanced at her, Ellie seemed afraid. She backed away from the window and walked behind her counter.
Josh crunched the last of his cone, then pushed his way out of the booth. “He’s heading down Main Street. I’m following him,” he announced. “You guys coming?”
“Sure, why not?” Ruth Rose said. “I want to be there when the vacationing vampire grabs you!”
“Can I at least finish my cone?” Dink asked. He and Ruth Rose followed Josh out to the street.
“He’s going into the Book Nook,” Dink told Josh.
“I wonder what vampires read when they’re on vacation,” Ruth Rose said, taking the last bite of her cone.
“Let’s find out,” Josh said, heading for the bookstore. They stopped in front of Howard’s Barbershop while Dink finished his ice cream.
Josh kept an eye on the Book Nook door. “Okay, let’s go,” he said as Dink wiped his mouth on his sleeve.
Dink and Ruth Rose followed him into the Book Nook.
A bell tinkled, and Mr. Paskey looked up from behind his counter. He smiled and waved at the kids.
Two teenagers were reading magazines. The only other person in the store was Mr. Paskey.
“He’s not here,” Dink whispered.
“I don’t believe this!” Josh choked out. “The guy keeps disappearing! What does he do, walk through walls?”
“Hi, kids. Can I help you?” Mr. Paskey asked.
“Hi, Mr. Paskey,” Dink said. “Did a man wearing black just come in here?”
Mr. Paskey rubbed his neck. “No, I don’t think so. But I was in the store-room for a minute or two. I suppose he could have come in, then left again.”
Josh shook his head. “I was watching. He came in, but he didn’t come out,” he said.
“Sorry,” Mr. Paskey said. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged.
“Did you kids leave this?” asked Mr. Paskey, reaching toward the cash reg-ister. He held up a twenty-dollar bill.
The kids shook their heads.
“How odd,” Mr. Paskey said. “Someone left this bill on the counter.” He looked at the money for a second, then shrugged again.
“Do you have any books about vam-pires?” Josh asked.
“I think there’s one over in non-fiction,” Mr. Paskey answered. “It’s called Vampires Among Us, by Dan Starch.”
The kids found the nonfiction books, then looked for Starch.
They found a book by Wanda Star, then one written by Peter Starkey. The space between them was empty.
“Mr. Paskey?” said Josh. “We found where the book should be, but it’s gone.”
Mr. Paskey walked over to the shelf. He put his finger in the space between the two books. “Now, that is peculiar,” he muttered, crouching lower. “It was here an hour ago when I dusted this shelf.”
When Mr. Paskey leaned over, his neck was level with Dink’s eyes. As usual, Mr. Paskey wore a crisp white shirt, a necktie, and a suit jacket.
Dink smiled. Even in this hot weather, Mr. Paskey dresses up, he thought.
And then Dink noticed a small, round Band-Aid right above Mr. Paskey’s shirt collar.
The kids thanked Mr. Paskey and left his shop.
“I wonder who left that twenty-dollar bill on Mr. Paskey’s counter,” Ruth Rose said.
“I bet it was that guy! I know he went in there!” Josh griped. “People don’t just vanish.”
“But maybe vampires vanish,” Ruth Rose said, grinning at Josh.
Dink laughed. He pretended to read a newspaper headline: “VACATIONING VAMPIRE VANISHES.”
“Laugh, you guys,” Josh said. “But I think that guy is definitely weird. And did you notice how Mr. Paskey didn’t even think it was strange that some guy disappeared inside his shop?”
Dink thought for a minute. “Mr. Paskey’s not the only one who’s not acting like himself. When we saw that guy through the window in Ellie’s Diner, Ellie looked afraid of something,” he said.
“She was probably afraid Josh would choke because he was gobbling his ice cream so fast,” Ruth Rose said. “Now can we go home? We can have lunch at my house.”
A few minutes later, they reached Ruth Rose’s house. They walked to the backyard with the wagon.
Ruth Rose’s brother, Nate, was sit-ting at the picnic table. In front of him were a box of plastic action figures, some crayons, and drawing paper.
“Hey, Nate, what’re you doing?” Dink asked.
“Drawing my guys,” Nate said, holding up a picture. It showed Spider-Man and Superman fighting a purple monster.
“Where’s Mommy?” Ruth Rose asked her brother.
“Here I am!” her mother said, pop-ping up from the open cellar hatchway. “Thanks for taking those newspapers away,” she said. “There are plenty more down here when you feel like working. I left sandwiches and lemonade in the fridge for you.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Ruth Rose said. “We’ll take more papers later.”
The kids brought their lunch to the picnic table, and Ruth Rose cleared a space. As they ate, they watched Nate trying to write words on his picture.
“Can I help?” Ruth Rose asked her brother.
“Write ‘I give up,’ said the monster,”
Nate told Ruth Rose. He handed her a purple crayon.
“That’s a neat color,” Dink said.
“It’s Party Purple,” Nate told him. “And guess what? It smells like jelly- beans!”
Ruth Rose printed the words, then pointed to each one in turn as she read them aloud for her brother.
“Thanks, Ruth Rose!” said Nate. He grabbed the picture and ran to show his mother.
“I wonder if that guy we saw sleeps hanging upside down,” Josh said.
“I hate to spoil your fun,” Dink said. “Bats sleep that way, not people.”
“And vampires aren’t real,” Ruth Rose said.
“Dracula was a real person,” Josh said. “I read about him.”
“But Dracula wasn’t really a vam-pire,” said Ruth Rose. “And he died a long time ago.”
Josh wiggled his eyebrows. “How do we know he’s really dead?”
Ruth Rose laughed. She reached into Nate’s box and pulled out a miniature plastic Count Dracula. “Here he is!” she said.
“See,” Josh said. “He looks just like our guy. All dressed in black.”
“Except this one has long fangs,” Ruth Rose said, standing the vampire on his plastic feet. Painted-on “blood” dripped from the fangs.
“The guy we’re following might have fangs,” Josh said. “We didn’t see his teeth.”
Suddenly Dink remembered something. “Guys, did you notice that Mr. Paskey was wearing a Band-Aid on his neck?” he asked.
“I did,” Ruth Rose said. “A little round one, right here.” She put a finger on the side of her own neck.
“Well, Ellie had one just like it on her neck,” Dink went on.
Josh stopped chewing and his eyes widened.
“Swallow, Josh,” Ruth Rose said.
Josh gulped, then took a swig of lemonade. “Don’t you guys get it?” he asked. “Vampires bite people on their necks to get blood! I’m not kidding around anymore. I think that guy really is a vampire!”
&
nbsp; “The only vampires are on TV, Joshua,” Ruth Rose said.
“Who says?” Josh argued. “There are a lot of things that people don’t think are real, then they turn out to be.”
Dink was staring at Josh. “Like what?” he said.
Josh stared back. “Like … like giant squids!” he said.
“But giant squids are real,” Ruth Rose said. “Scientists have found their bodies washed up on the shore. No one’s found any vampire bodies that I know of.”
“That doesn’t mean there aren’t any,” Josh said. “There could be a lot of vampires that people don’t know about.”
“And you think that guy in black is one of them, right?” Dink said.
Josh nodded. “I’m starting to.”
“Well, whoever he is, I still think I’ve seen him somewhere,” Ruth Rose said.
“I say we try to find him again,” Josh said.
“Why?” asked Dink.
“For one thing, I want to know how he keeps disappearing,” Josh said. He grinned at Dink. “And I know you’re curious about those Band-Aids on Ellie and Mr. Paskey.”
“Okay, I admit it,” Dink said. “So where do we look?”
Ruth Rose collected the paper plates and cups. “I can’t believe I’m going vampire hunting,” she said.
“If he’s staying in town,” Josh said, standing up, “the first place to check is the Shangri-la Hotel.”
A few minutes later, the kids were on their way to the hotel. They kept their eyes open, but the man in black was nowhere to be seen.
When they walked into the hotel’s cool lobby, Mr. Linkletter was talking on the phone. He looked up and nodded as the kids approached the counter.
Soon Mr. Linkletter hung up the phone. “Hello there,” he said. “What brings you to the Shangri-la?”
“We saw a stranger in town and wondered if he’s staying here,” Josh plunged in.
Mr. Linkletter raised one eyebrow. “And why are you so curious about this stranger?” he asked.
Ruth Rose came to Josh’s rescue. “Because he looks familiar,” she said. “I’m trying to figure out where I’ve seen him before.”
