Chapter 10

Chapter 10 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