Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Back on Main Street, Dink adjusted his backpack and led the way to the Shangri-la Hotel. "Maureen Higgins said she dropped him off at the hotel last night," he told the others, "so that's our next stop." "What if she didn't?" Josh said, catching up to Dink. "What do you mean?"

"I mean maybe Maureen Higgins wasn't telling the truth. Maybe she kidnapped him!" "And she's hiding him in her lunch-box!" Ruth Rose said. "Very funny, Ruth Rose," Josh said. "Maureen Higgins said she drove Wallis Wallace to the hotel. But what if she drove him somewhere else?" "You could be right," Dink said. "That's why we're going to the hotel." With Dink in the lead, the four approached the check-in counter in the hotel lobby. "Excuse me," Dink said to the man behind the counter. "May we help you?" He was the saddestlooking man Dink had ever seen. He had thin black hair and droopy eyebrows. His skinny mustache looked like a sleeping centipede. A name tag on his suit coat said MR. LINKLETTER. "We're looking for someone." Mr. Linkletter stared at Dink. "He's supposed to be staying in this hotel," Josh said. The man twitched his mustache at Josh. "His name is Wallis Wallace," Dink explained. "Can you tell us if he checked in last night?"

Mr. Linkletter patted his mustache. "Young sir, if we had such a guest, we wouldn't give out any information. We have rules at the Shangri-la," he added in a deep, sad voice. "But he's missing!" Ruth Rose said. "He was supposed to be at the Book Nook this morning and he never showed up!" Dink pulled out the itinerary. "See, he was coming here from the airport. The taxi driver said she saw him walk into this lobby." "And he's famous!" Ruth Rose said. She placed her book on the counter in front of Mr. Linkletter. "He wrote this!" Sighing, Mr. Linkletter looked down at Ruth Rose. "We are quite aware of who Mr. Wallace is, young miss." Mr. Linkletter turned his sad eyes back on Dink. He flipped through the hotel register, glanced at it, then quickly shut the book. "Yes, Mr. Wallace checked in," he said. "He arrived at 8:05." "He did? What happened after that?" Dink asked. Mr. Linkletter pointed toward a bank of elevators. "He went to his room. We offered to

have his suitcase carried, but he preferred to do it himself." "Have you seen Mr. Wallace yet today?" Mavis asked. "No, madam, I haven't seen him. Mr. Wallace is still in his room." Still in his room! Suddenly Dink felt relieved. He felt a little foolish, too. Wallis Wallace hadn't been kidnapped after all. He was probably in his room right now! "Can you call him?" Dink asked. Mr. Linkletter tapped his fingers on the closed hotel register. He patted his mustache and squinted his eyes at Dink. "Please?" Dink said. "We just want to make sure he's okay." Finally Mr. Linkletter turned around. He stepped a few feet away and picked up a red telephone. As soon as his back was turned, Josh grabbed the hotel register. He quickly found yesterday's page. Dink and the others crowded around Josh for a peek. Dink immediately recognized Wallis Wallace's signature, scrawled in big loopy letters. He had

checked in to Room 303 at five after eight last night. Dink pulled out his letter from Wallis Wallace and compared the two signatures. They were exactly the same. Josh dug his elbow into Dink's side. "Look!" he whispered. Josh was pointing at the next line in the register, room 302 had been printed there. Check-in time was 8:15.

"Someone else checked in right after Wallis Wallace!" Ruth Rose whispered. "But the signature is all smudged," Dink said. "I can't read the name." When Mr. Linkletter hung up the phone, Josh shoved the register away. As Mr. Linkletter turned back around, Dink shut the register. He looked up innocently. "Is he in his room?" Dink asked. "I don't know." Mr. Linkletter tapped his fingers on his mustache. "There was no answer." Dink's stomach dropped. His mind raced. If Wallis Wallace had checked into his room last night, why hadn't he shown up at the Book Nook today? And why wasn't he answering his phone? Maybe Wallis Wallace had been kidnapped after all!