by Ron Roy
“So why did she go to the hotel without us?” Josh asked.
“She didn’t know we’d be going to the river,” Dink said.
“Well, let’s go meet her,” Josh said, heading for the kitchen. “Before the vampire gets her!”
Dink shook his head. “We can’t leave your brothers alone,” he said.
The twins had finished their juice and cookies. Josh looked out the window over the sink. “Come on, Mom,” he said.
“Can we go out and play?” Bradley asked.
“After you put your glasses in the sink,” Josh told the twins.
Just then Josh’s mom pulled into the backyard and parked the car. Josh waved to her as Brian and Bradley shot out the back door.
“What did you bring us?” they yelled at their mother.
“Come on, out the front!” Josh whispered to Dink.
He and Dink left by the front door and headed for Main Street. They cut through the high school grounds, then waved to Howard in his barbershop when they reached Main.
As they passed the Book Nook, Dink noticed that the shade was pulled down. A CLOSED sign was stuck in the window.
“Huh,” Josh said, nodding toward the sign. “Mr. Paskey never closes in the middle of the afternoon.”
Dink remembered that little, round Band-Aid on Mr. Paskey’s neck. Then he shook his head. No, he thought. There are no vampires in Green Lawn!
A few minutes later, Dink and Josh walked into the lobby of the Shangri-la Hotel. Mr. Linkletter was standing behind his counter, staring at the door.
“Hi, Mr. Linkletter,” Josh said. “Ruth Rose said to meet her here. Have you seen her?”
Mr. Linkletter nodded. “Yes, I saw her about twenty minutes ago, with Dr. Cula.”
Dink’s eyes went to the little, round Band-Aid on Mr. Linkletter’s neck. “Do you know where they went?” he asked.
“No, I didn’t notice,” Mr. Linkletter said. “They sat and talked here in the lobby. When I looked up again, they had disappeared.”
Dink remembered how the myste-rious man in black “disappeared” from Ellie’s Diner and the Book Nook.
“Of course,” Mr. Linkletter went on, “Dr. Cula could be up in his room. He likes to nap during the day.”
Josh snuck a glance at Dink.
“Um, can you tell us which room he has?” Josh asked.
“That would be room 202,” he said. “Feel free to go up and check.”
Dink grabbed Josh by the arm and tugged him toward the elevators.
Dink pushed the UP button, and the boys waited. Seconds later, one of the two elevators arrived with a ping. Dink and Josh stepped inside.
“Did you see that?” Dink asked. “Mr. Linkletter didn’t even check his register. How did he know which room Dr. Cula had?”
“Yeah, and he never gives out room numbers,” Josh said. “He always says guests at the Shangri-la pay for privacy.”
“And did you notice how nervous he looked?” Dink said.
Josh nodded. “His mustache was practically doing a dance on his lip!”
The elevator pinged, and the doors slid open. Dink and Josh stepped into the long corridor and stood, listening. No one was in the hallway, and it was very quiet. The small wall lights cast a dim glow onto the carpet.
“This is creeping me out,” Josh whispered. “What if that guy is in his room, just waiting for us?”
“Right now we have to find Ruth Rose,” Dink said. He pointed to room 202. “Let’s go.”
They tiptoed toward the door. Dink got ready to knock, then noticed that the door was already partly open.
He raised his eyebrows at Josh, who was staring back at him.
Dink pushed the door open a few more inches. “Dr. Cula?” he called through the crack. “Anyone here?”
No answer came. Josh nudged the door fully open with the toe of his sneaker.
There was no one in the room. The boys saw a TV set, a desk, an armchair, and night tables with lamps on both sides of a neatly made bed.
“It looks like no one is staying here,” Dink said. “Mr. Linkletter did say room 202, right?”
Josh nodded. The boys tiptoed into the room for a better look.
Dink felt goose bumps marching up his arms and legs. Then he noticed a loud hum.
“The air conditioner is blasting,” he said to Josh with a shiver.
“It’s freezing!” Josh answered. He walked across the room and stopped at the closet door. He looked at Dink. “Should I open it?”
Dink nodded.
Josh pulled the closet door open, then gasped.
“What?” Dink said, hurrying over for a look.
On the floor sat a black leather suitcase. Hanging above the suitcase on a hanger was a long black cape.
“He disappeared again,” Josh whispered.
“Let’s get out of here,” Dink said. “We have to find Ruth Rose.”
“Maybe she went back home,” Josh suggested.
“Maybe,” Dink said as they walked toward the door.
Against the wall to the right of the door was a small table they hadn’t noticed when they entered the room.
On it was a sheet of paper. A box of Band-Aids sat on top of the paper.
Dink picked up the Band-Aid box. “The little, round kind,” he said, reading the words on the box.
“Oh my gosh!” Josh said, pointing to some writing on the paper.
Dink picked up the paper. “It’s a list of names,” he said.
He read the list out loud:
The names were written in purple. The first three names had purple check marks next to them.
“The vampire checked off the names of the people he bit on the neck!” Josh wailed. “And our names are next! I think I’m gonna be sick.”
Dink studied the list. He was espe-cially interested in the purple writing. Where had he seen that color before?
Then Dink remembered. He brought the paper up to his nose and took a deep sniff. He smiled.
“What do you smell?” Josh asked.
Dink grinned at his friend. “Jelly- beans,” he said.
“Jellybeans? What are you talking about?” Josh asked.
“I think Ruth Rose wrote this list,” Dink said. “And she used Nate’s Party Purple crayon.”
“Oh, yeah, now I remember,” Josh said. “But why would she make the list?”
“I don’t know,” Dink said. “And why did Mr. Linkletter let us come up here without giving us a hard time? Why was the door left partly open?”
“Unless Mr. Linkletter and this vam-pire guy are trying to pull something,” Josh said.
Suddenly Josh grabbed Dink’s arm. “Maybe Dr. Cula captured Ruth Rose and forced her to write this list!”
“I suppose that could have happened,” Dink said. He picked up the Band-Aid box and emptied it onto the table. Each Band-Aid was wrapped in thin paper, but Dink could see the round shapes through the paper.
“You know what I think?” Dink asked.
Josh shook his head. “I can’t think at all,” he said. “My brain feels fried.”
“I think these Band-Aids belong to Dr. Cula,” Dink said. “And I think he gave one to Ellie. Then he gave Mr. Paskey and Mr. Linkletter theirs, too.”
“After he bit their necks?” asked Josh.
“I don’t think he bit anybody,” Dink said.
“Then why would he give them Band-Aids?”
“Good question,” Dink said. He set the box on top of the purple list. “And I think we’ll get the answer when we find Ruth Rose.”
Josh scratched his head. “But … that doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “How could Ruth Rose know anything? She’s just as confused as we are about what’s going on.”
Dink shook his head. “No, her phone message said she’d figured it out,” he said.
“So where is she?” Josh asked. “And where’s the guy who checked into this room, whoever he is?”
“Well, they’re not here,” Dink said, glancing
around the room. “Let’s see if we can get any more information from Mr. Linkletter.”
Just as the boys stepped through the door, they heard the ping of the elevator.
Dink yanked Josh back into the room. He shut the door, and they bolted toward the closet. The two boys jumped into the closet and pulled the door closed.
Inside the dark closet, Dink hid behind the cape, tugging Josh with him.
With their backs to the wall, they listened. Next to him, Dink felt Josh shaking.
Dink could hardly hear anything other than his own racing heartbeat. Then he heard a door open and close. Feet whispered across carpet. Something creaked, a chair or the bed. Then only silence.
“They’re not here,” Dink heard a voice whisper.
“Unless they’re hiding in the closet,” a different voice responded.
Dink tried to push through the wall behind him. He tried to shrink. He closed his eyes and willed himself to become invisible. Nothing worked.
Suddenly the door was yanked open.
“Come on out, you two,” said a familiar voice.
Dink opened his eyes and peeked from behind the vampire’s cape.
Ruth Rose was standing in the open closet doorway with a big grin on her face.
Ruth Rose backed up as Dink and Josh stepped out of the closet. Behind her, five other people were in the room.
Ellie was leaning against the wall, wearing her uniform and apron.
Mr. Paskey and Mr. Linkletter were sitting on the edge of the bed.
Officer Fallon was sitting in the big chair in the corner.
The fifth person was Dr. A. Cula, dressed all in black. He had taken off his dark glasses and was sitting on the floor, leaning against the desk.
Everyone was smiling at Dink and Josh and watching their faces.
“What’s going on?” Josh asked.
The man in black stood up and stuck out his hand. “I’m Jimmy Jett,” he said. “Hi, Dink. Hi, Josh.”
Confused, Dink and Josh shook the man’s hand.
“He’s an actor, not a vampire,” Ruth Rose said. She held up a magazine. It showed a picture of Jimmy Jett wearing the same black clothes. A caption read: JIMMY JETT JUMPS AT CHANCE TO PLAY DRACULA.
“I have a new movie coming out,” Jimmy Jett said. “I play Dracula.”
“Remember I said he looked famil-iar?” Ruth Rose asked. “I saw this when we were helping my mom with the old newspapers. I totally forgot until I saw Jimmy on TV when I went home after we talked to Officer Fallon.”
Dink had a hundred questions, but he didn’t know which one to ask first. He did ask, “Can we sit down? I don’t know about Josh, but my legs feel all wobbly.”
Mr. Linkletter made room on the bed. “Sit here,” he said.
After Dink and Josh were comfortable, Officer Fallon took over from Ruth Rose.
“When you kids left me, I came over here to meet this mysterious man in black.” He waved at Jimmy Jett, who grinned. “I found him and Mr. Linkletter together, chatting like old friends. That’s when I learned that your ‘vampire’ was an actor from New York.”
Jimmy made a little bow. “I’m sorry if I scared you kids,” he said. “I was on my way to Vermont for a little vacation. Green Lawn looked like a nice place to stop, so I did. I went into the super-market to buy a few things. When I saw you following me, I decided to have some fun.”
“You knew we were following you?” Dink asked.
Jimmy grinned. “Oh, yes. I thought you recognized me and that you knew about my new Dracula movie.”
“But we didn’t know,” Josh said. “I thought you were a real vampire biting people’s necks. We saw the Band-Aids!”
Jimmy nodded. “I always pack Band-Aids when I travel, in case I nick myself shaving,” he said. “When I spotted you following me, I got an idea. That’s why I went into Ellie’s Diner.”
Jimmy looked at Ellie. “You want to take over?” he asked.
Ellie smiled. “There I was, polishing my glass case,” she said. “I looked up, and Jimmy Jett was standing in my diner! I recognized him right away and asked for his autograph.”
“Instead, I handed her a Band-Aid,” Jimmy said, cutting into Ellie’s story. “I told her three kids were following me and I wanted to play a prank about being a vampire.”
Ellie laughed. “I let Jimmy leave through the back of the diner, and I stuck on the Band-Aid just as you kids walked in.”
“The same thing happened to you, right, Mr. Paskey?” Dink asked.
Everyone looked at Mr. Paskey.
“That’s right, Dink,” he said. “Jimmy came in, explained who he was, and handed me a Band-Aid to put on my neck. He left through my back door just as you kids came in through the front.”
Josh laughed. “Boy, were we fooled,” he said to Jimmy.
“What about that book, Vampires Among Us?” Dink asked.
“I thought that would be a nice touch,” Mr. Paskey said. “I lent the book to Jimmy, making it look as if he had taken it off my shelf and left the money for it.”
“You guys are awesome!” Josh said.
Jimmy made a little bow. “The last step was when I got back to my hotel,” he said. “Mr. Linkletter already knew who I was. I had signed in as Dr. A. Cula because I use that name in the movie.”
Dink looked at Ruth Rose. “What about that list?” he asked. “And Nate’s purple crayon?”
Ruth Rose laughed. “When I finally figured out who Dr. Cula really was, I came right here to the hotel,” she said. “I had Nate’s crayon in my pocket.”
“And she forced me to tell all,” the actor said with good humor. “I asked her if she’d like to help me with my prank.”
“That’s when I made that phone call to get you here,” Ruth Rose said. “I wrote the list of names to scare you into thinking we were next!”
“And it worked!” Josh said.
“So you were all in it together,” Dink said, looking at Officer Fallon. “Even you!”
“Only at the very end,” Officer Fallon said. “After Ruth Rose left her message on Josh’s machine, I got Ellie and Mr. Paskey to join us here. Mr. Linkletter hid us all in his office until you’d gone up in the elevator.”
A small smile appeared under Mr. Linkletter’s mustache. “Will you boys forgive me?” he asked.
The long black limo pulled up in front of a theater in New York City. The driver came around and opened the passenger door.
Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose stepped out onto the sidewalk.
“Please wait here for your escort,” the driver told the kids. “I’ll be back after the movie to pick you up.”
The kids thanked the driver and watched him pull the long limo back into traffic.
“This is so cool,” Josh said. All around him people were streaming into the theater. Over their heads a large marquee announced the name of the movie: DRACULA’S DAUGHTER.
“It was nice of Jimmy to invite us,” Ruth Rose said.
“And feed us!” Josh said, patting his stomach. “I never had a picnic in a limo before.”
“Maybe this is our escort,” Dink said as a woman in a red uniform approached them.
“Are you Mr. Jett’s friends from Connecticut?” she asked.
“Yes!” said Ruth Rose.
“Great, then follow me,” the woman said. She led them into the theater and then to a bank of elevators.
“You’ll be sitting in a special viewing box,” the woman said as their elevator rose.
The elevator stopped, and the kids followed the escort down a quiet carpeted hallway to a small door. “Right in here,” she said, and pushed the door open.
The kids walked into a small room with four seats. From here, the kids could see the screen and the rest of the audience.
“Enjoy the movie,” the woman said. She closed the door and left them alone in the box seats.
The kids sat in the comfortable seats and looked around. On both sides, vel-vet drapes separated them from people in o
ther box seats.
“I just can’t believe we’re actually here,” Josh whispered with awe.
“We wouldn’t be if you hadn’t seen Jimmy Jett in the supermarket,” Ruth Rose said.
“Admit it,” Dink said to Josh with a grin. “Did you really think he was a vampire?”
Before Josh could answer, the theater lights dimmed. Down below, the audience became quiet.
The curtain in front of the screen slowly parted, and creepy music began to play.
Behind the kids, the small door opened again. A man in a black cape entered the box. He sat down in the fourth seat, which happened to be next to Josh.
Josh turned. “Is that you, Jimmy?” he asked.
The man smiled, revealing long white fangs.
Dink gasped, and Ruth Rose giggled.
The man took out his fake fangs. “Yeah, it’s me,” Jimmy Jett said. “I brought these for you.” He reached into a pocket and pulled out three sets of vampire fangs.
Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose slipped the fangs into their mouths just as the movie started.
In this book, Josh sees a man dressed in black and assumes he’s a vampire. Have you ever accused a person of being mean or lazy or grumpy or sloppy or dumb or smart or rich or sad or something just because of how the person looked on the outside?
Have you ever heard the expression “You can’t judge a book by its cover”?
That means you should read what’s inside a book to find out what the book is about, not just look at the outside.
The same is true when you look at a person. As Josh found out in this book, the way to really learn about a person is by talking with that person.
In my travels, I am fortunate to meet many different kinds of people. I meet old people, young people, rich and poor people. I meet people of many different religions and many different skin colors. I meet able-bodied people and people who have disabilities. I have met kind people and people not so kind.
The story of The Vampire’s Vacation was meant to be fun, but part of my reason for writing it was to remind us all that a person’s outward appearance has nothing to do with what that person is really like on the inside.
