To Catch a Ghost

by Michael Dahl

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  1: Zombie Eyes

  2: Haunted Bathtubs

  3: Mr. Ken

  4: The Missing

  5: Finding the Key

  6: The Echo

  7: Behind the Boilers

  8: Mr. Thursday

  9: The Final Mysteries

  10: The Penthouse

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Discussion Questions

  Writing Prompts

  Glossary

  Message from a Ghost Magic Trick

  Copyright

  Back Cover

  Charlie Hitchcock was the smartest kid at Blackstone Middle School.

  Tyler Yu was the most feared, because of his temper, his muscles, and the scowl he always wore.

  Although they were both in the seventh grade, they had never spoken to each other at school. But together, they had solved an impossible mystery a few days ago.

  This afternoon, they stood once more in the vast, shadowy lobby of the Abracadabra Hotel, where Tyler lived with his parents. They were back at the Abracadabra to solve another mystery: Tyler was sure the hotel was being haunted by a ghost.

  Outside the building, an October thunderstorm crashed and boomed. Lighting flashed, lighting up the giant painting that hung on the lobby wall. The man in the painting was a magician, Abracadabra himself, the founder of the hotel. He was tall and skinny, with a thin black mustache ending in two enormous spirals. The lightning reflected off his dark shiny eyes.

  Zombie eyes, thought Charlie.

  Tyler glanced over and asked, “You’re not spooked, are you, Hitch?”

  Charlie put his hands in his pockets. “Oh no,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I’m standing in an empty lobby in a creepy hotel in the middle of a thunderstorm, and you just told me that there’s a ghost floating around here. Why should I be spooked?” he said, rolling his eyes.

  He turned and looked out the hotel’s glass doors. Sheets of rain fell on the street and sidewalk. “I’m going to get soaked when I go home,” he said.

  “When did you tell your parents you’d be home?” asked Tyler.

  “Uh, I didn’t say,” Charlie said.

  “Good,” said Tyler. “Come on. I’ll show you the room where the ghost struck first.”

  “But why do you think it’s a ghost?” asked Charlie. “I mean, did someone see a spirit or something?”

  “It’s because of the voice,” said Tyler.

  “Voice?” Charlie repeated. Without meaning to, he shivered. He hoped Tyler didn’t notice.

  “And because of stuff disappearing,” said Ty. “And because of what Mr. Thursday said.”

  Why did I let myself get dragged into another mystery with Ty? wondered Charlie. Because it was another puzzle? Because he was afraid Tyler would pound him into the dirt if he didn’t help him?

  “My mom doesn’t believe in ghosts,” said Ty. “She thinks I’m making up excuses for not wanting to go up to the ninth floor. And she says if I don’t find the missing stuff, it will come out of my pay.”

  Charlie knew what no pay would mean. If Tyler didn’t get paid, he couldn’t buy the dirt bike he was saving up for. A Tezuki Slamhammer 750, Edition 6, in cherry-pop lightning red.

  Tyler had once shown Charlie a picture of the bike. It was super cool, if you were into that sort of thing. But making you pay for things that had disappeared, when it wasn’t your fault — that didn’t seem fair.

  “What does your dad think about the ghost?” Charlie asked.

  “He doesn’t go up to the ninth floor either,” said Ty. “Especially since he heard the voice.”

  Thunder crashed and Charlie jumped. Tyler noticed, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t even grin. Instead, he simply said, “Come on, Hitch.”

  The taller, dark-haired boy led the way across the lobby, past tall marble columns and tall potted palm trees. A row of elevators lined the back wall. Their shiny metal doors shone like gold.

  The elevator car on the far left was open. Inside stood a thin, elderly man in a maroon-and-black uniform. He smiled a wrinkly smile and waved his hand at the boys.

  “Dang!” said Ty. “Wait here. I have to grab the passkey.” He spun around and sprinted toward the lobby desk.

  “Hey, take my backpack and put it behind the counter,” said Charlie.

  “I’m not your assistant,” said Tyler. As he rushed away, his shoes made wet prints in the thick, blood-red carpet.

  “Master Yu is always in a hurry,” said the old man. His name was Brack, and he was the hotel’s only elevator operator.

  “He knows I can’t stay that long,” said Charlie.

  “Are you helping him solve another mystery?” asked Brack.

  Charlie swung his backpack onto one shoulder. “I like puzzles,” he said. “Well, actually, I hate puzzles. They bug me until I figure out the answer.”

  Brack nodded thoughtfully. “Then prepare to be bugged,” he said. “Our hotel is full of puzzles. Riddles and mysteries are built in the walls.”

  No kidding, Charlie thought.

  Just then, Tyler appeared back at the elevator, breathing hard. “Got it,” he said, holding up the key. “Ninth floor, Brack.”

  Thunder shook the building. “Hey, Mr. Brack,” said Charlie. “You don’t believe in ghosts, right?”

  “Believe in them?” replied Brack. “Of course I do. Why, I’ve seen them.” He pushed a button, the golden doors shut, and the elevator car shot upward.

  The boys were stunned. “You saw a ghost?” said Tyler.

  Brack nodded. The elevator car hummed and shuddered as it rose toward the ninth floor.

  “Where did you see it?” asked Charlie.

  “In the elevator,” answered Brack. He pointed a finger toward the shining gold doors. “I had just dropped off a customer on twelve, and was coming back down to the lobby. And then I saw Abracadabra the magician standing right there, staring at me.”

  The magician from the painting, thought Charlie. Abracadabra, the founder of the building, had lived there long ago.

  “Did he say anything?” asked Charlie in a whisper.

  “Not a syllable,” said Brack sadly. “And when I reached the lobby, he disappeared.”

  “Wow,” said Tyler.

  “But I’ve seen him many times since,” added Brack.

  “On the ninth floor?” asked Ty.

  “On many floors,” said the elevator operator.

  The elevator stopped. Charlie watched his and Ty’s reflections, with their mouths hanging open, disappear as the doors slid open. A dark hallway lay beyond.

  “You don’t have to leave right away, Brack,” said Ty. “We won’t be long.”

  “I’ll wait as long as I can, Master Yu,” said the older man. “But if I hear someone else ring the bell, I’ll have to go.”

  Tyler nodded. He and Charlie started down the hallway, leaving the elevator operator behind. “It’s Mr. Thursday’s room,” said Ty. “Just around the corner: 909.”

  At the first door around the corner, Tyler shoved the passkey into the lock.

  “Don’t you knock first?” asked Charlie.

  “Relax,” said Tyler. “We moved him to a different room after the ghost thing happened. It was easy since he didn’t have any luggage. The airline lost it or something.”

  “Oh,” said Charlie.

  After stepping inside, Tyler flipped on a light. ”The bathroom’s over here,” he said.

  The bathroom was as big as Cha
rlie’s bedroom. Marble counters, fancy mirrors, a shaggy white rug, and a huge bathtub fit inside, and there was plenty of room left over.

  “Notice anything missing?” asked Tyler, crossing his arms.

  “Yes,” said Charlie. He stared at the bare curtain rod that hung around the clawfoot tub. “The shower curtain. That’s what’s missing.”

  “Exactly,” said Tyler. “The same night Mr. Thursday checked in, he heard a noise in the middle of the night.”

  “What kind of noise?” Charlie asked.

  Tyler shrugged. “He wasn’t sure, really,” he said. “He said that at first he thought it was a fire. Then as he listened some more, he said it sounded like someone crumpling up paper. And it was coming from the bathroom.”

  Creepy, thought Charlie.

  “Creepy, huh?” said Tyler. “And when he got up to look, he switched on the light, but no one was there. And the shower curtain was gone.”

  “The room door was locked?” asked Charlie.

  Tyler nodded. “From the inside.”

  “Had he seen the curtain before he went to bed?” asked Charlie.

  “Yes,” said Ty. “He said he took a shower when he first got in. Then he went downstairs and had dinner.”

  “Ah, and that’s when the curtain was stolen!” said Charlie. “While he was at dinner!”

  “Uh, no,” said Tyler. “When he got back to the room, he brushed his teeth before he went to bed. The curtain was still there.”

  “Why would someone want a shower curtain?” said Charlie.

  “Especially a ghost,” added Tyler. “They don’t need to take showers.”

  “He didn’t take a shower,” said Charlie, “he took a shower curtain. And I still don’t see why you think it’s a ghost.”

  “Who else could get into a locked room?” Tyler asked, throwing up his hands. “Who else could remove a solid shower curtain without opening the door?”

  “Hmm. Maybe Mr. Thursday did it himself and he’s lying,” said Charlie.

  “I thought of that,” said Tyler. “I’m not stupid. I searched the room. I even looked everywhere. It wasn’t here.”

  Maybe he threw it out the window, Charlie thought. But that doesn’t make sense. Why would anyone do that?

  “And he couldn’t have thrown it out the window, because the room windows don’t open,” said Tyler.

  Charlie stared at him. “How did you know I was thinking about that?” he asked.

  “I saw you glance at the window with a funny look on your mug,” said Tyler.

  “Oh,” Charlie said, blushing.

  Ty went on, “And the first time I came in here, that’s what I thought too.” A smirk spread across his face. “I’m not so dumb after all, am I?”

  “I never said you were,” said Charlie. In fact, he thought Tyler was pretty smart. Tyler just never showed he had brains at school. He only showed off his big arms and fists.

  Tyler ran a hand through his spiky black hair. “It’s crazy,” he said. “I just don’t get it. Oh, and by the way, this isn’t the only room where the shower curtain disappeared.”

  Tyler led Charlie to five more rooms on the same floor, opening each one with the hotel’s passkey. In each one, the shower curtain was missing. Only the metal rings that once held them in place still dangled on the curtain rods.

  “The maids found these,” said Tyler. “They always check out the rooms even if no one has used them. Just to make sure everything is in place. And, get this, none of these rooms has had a guest in it for over a week. They’ve all been empty. And the cleaning people swore the shower curtains were still there when they cleaned the rooms.”

  “They couldn’t have made a mistake?” asked Charlie.

  “No way,” said Tyler. “The cleaning crew has a checklist for each room. If anything is missing, they have to report it. My mom’s a real stickler for being organized and clean.”

  “Six rooms without shower curtains,” said Charlie.

  “There’s other stuff missing too,” said Tyler. “Okay, come on. Now we need to go downstairs.”

  “There could be more than one ghost,” said Charlie.

  Suddenly, they both froze. A moan echoed through the dim hallway.

  “There it is!” whispered Tyler. “The voice.”

  A name was being called out over and over. “Mister Ken… Mister Ken…”

  The voice was soft, but clear. “See what I mean?” said Tyler quietly.

  He motioned for Charlie to walk down the corridor with him. Even as they tiptoed past door after door, the voice seemed to follow them.

  Charlie tapped Ty’s back and whispered, “Where’s it coming from?”

  Tyler shook his head. “I can’t tell. I’ve put my ears to the doors on this floor, but it isn’t coming from inside anywhere. It’s out here, in the hall.”

  “Mister Ken… Mister Ken…” The voice sounded angry. When it wasn’t speaking the man’s name, it was merely moaning.

  “You go down that hall,” said Tyler, pointing. “I’ll go down this way.”

  Charlie nodded and headed down the hallway. He wished he had a flashlight. Even with flashes of lightning through the hall windows, it was hard to see.

  The ancient wallpaper was decorated with big black flowers.

  Lilies? wondered Charlie.

  The carpet was a deep green. The hall lamps were small and old-fashioned, dim and covered with thick red shades.

  It reminded Charlie of walking through a funhouse. Or a creepy hotel in a scary movie. He half expected to see ghostly kids each time he turned a corner. But, except for Tyler, he was the only other person walking the halls.

  Neither of them saw a ghost or a moving shadow or a floating orb of light. Separately, they made a circuit of all the halls on the ninth floor.

  They passed the row of elevators twice (Mr. Brack was gone by then). And though the voice was equally clear throughout the hallways, they still couldn’t tell where it was coming from.

  For a while, Charlie thought that Ty was playing a trick on him.

  Firstly, Charlie didn’t believe in ghosts, so he had a hard time believing that the biggest bully in school did.

  Secondly, he could easily imagine Tyler telling his buddies how he had pranked Charlie and freaked him out.

  But after several minutes of prowling the halls, Charlie could tell that Ty was nervous too. Every time they passed each other, Tyler would ask, “Anything?”

  Charlie would shake his head and say, “You?” Tyler would shake his head. And the two would keep walking.

  Charlie did notice that the voice seemed to change volume as he walked. It would grow softer and then louder as he walked down a hall. If he retraced his steps to where the sound had been soft, it grew softer once more.

  Weird, thought Charlie.

  Charlie noticed something else. A second sound. It was softer than the mysterious voice, but always there in the background. A tinkling sound, like a tiny silver bell.

  Suddenly, the voice grew rougher, heavier. There was a loud bang.

  The voice cried out one more time, and then — silence.

  “Wow,” said Tyler, walking up to Charlie.

  “So, who’s this Mister Ken guy?” asked Charlie.

  “Beats me,” said Ty. “A magician, maybe? They always call themselves Mister this or Mister that. I wonder if he used to live here a long time ago and maybe died in the hotel.”

  “Or maybe it’s the ghost of Abracadabra,” added Charlie.

  “It would make sense for him to haunt the hotel he built,” said Ty. “Let’s ask Brack. He knows everything about this place.”

  “Maybe there’s a record of accidents that happened here,” said Charlie. “We could Google it, I bet.”

  He pushed the button for an elevator, but when the next one came,
it was not Brack’s. “No problem,” said Tyler. “We need to go back downstairs anyway.”

  As they stepped inside the elevator, Charlie thought about the ghost that had shown itself to the elderly operator. Something about Brack’s story didn’t sound right.

  When they reached the first-floor lobby, Tyler led Charlie past the front desk and down a broad flight of steps.

  At the bottom, they walked through several more corridors and finally came to a huge room with a shiny wooden floor.

  “You have a bowling alley down here?” exclaimed Charlie. His voice echoed in the large, empty space.

  “Yup,” said Tyler. “With nine lanes. But it’s closed now because of the ghost.”

  “Don’t tell me he stole the bowling balls,” said Charlie.

  “No, the pins,” Tyler said. “Not all of them. Just nine. One from each alley.”

  “This is getting weirder by the minute,” said Charlie.

  “And it’s not over,” said Ty.

  As he led Charlie back toward the marble steps, they passed another door. Actually, it was a set of double doors. Charlie noticed that the carved wooden doors were each decorated with a face. One face was smiling, and one was frowning.

  “What’s that?” Charlie asked.

  “Oh, that’s the old theater,” said Tyler, sounding bored.

  Charlie darted over and peered inside the doors. It was another huge room, bigger than the bowling alley. Rows of red velvet seats faced a large stage. The stage curtains looked about a mile high. They were pulled to the sides so that the shiny wooden floor of the stage could be clearly seen.

  Charlie rubbed his hand along the back of one of the theater chairs. “Cool,” he whispered.

  “No one’s used this place for years,” said Tyler. “This is where they used to have the old magic shows. Come on, let’s go.”

  He led Charlie back up the stairs and into the hotel’s main floor restaurant, the Top Hat.

  Several of the tables and booths were already filled with hungry guests. At the back of the dining area was the kitchen. Warm air and chattering voices greeted the boys as they passed through the kitchen’s swinging doors.