Chapter 4

Chapter 4 "How are we gonna get rid of a ghost?" Josh asked in the elevator. "Even if I did believe in it." "I don't know yet," Dink answered. "But we can't let those real estate guys tear down the Shangri-la!" The elevator door slid open. Mr. Linkletter was standing behind his desk, just staring into space.

"Let's go to my house," Dink whispered. "We can make a plan while we eat." "Yes!" Josh said. "Those cookies weren't big enough to fill up a flea!" Dink laughed. "Not everyone has a stomach like the Grand Canyon, Josh!" They headed up Main Street, then followed Silver Circle around the school to Dink's house. Dink got out the peanut butter and bread. Josh found a bag of pretzels. Ruth Rose poured milk for everyone. "Make my sandwich extra fat," Josh ordered. "I'm fainting from hunger!" Dink pushed the peanut butter and bread toward Josh. "I'm not your servant, your royal highness!" Josh grinned and began building his sandwich. "Okay" Dink said, sitting at the table. "How do you get rid of a ghost?" "First you have to prove that there is one," Josh said, taking a big bite of his sandwich. "You still don't believe there's a ghost at the hotel?" Ruth Rose asked. Josh swallowed and shook his head. "Nope."

He lined up four pretzels on the table. "We talked to Livvy, but she hadn't seen the ghost," Josh said. He picked up a pretzel and ate it. "Then we asked Mr. Linkletter if he'd seen the ghost, but he said he hadn't." Josh ate another pretzel. He picked up the last two pretzels. "Mr. and Mrs. Spivets didn't see the ghost either, they just heard noises!" Josh popped the pretzels into his mouth. "Guys," he said as he chewed, "nobody we talked to saw the ghost. So maybe there is no ghost!" Dink and Ruth Rose stared at Josh. "He's right," Ruth Rose said after a minute. "Everyone we talked to said someone else had seen the ghost." "So what should we do?" Dink asked.

"We have to see the ghost for ourselves," Ruth Rose said. Dink blinked. "But how do we do that?" he asked. Josh licked peanut butter from his fingers. "Well, we could start by finding someone who really did see the ghost." "But everyone who saw it checked out of the hotel," Ruth Rose said. Dink swallowed the last of his sandwich. "We have to talk to those people," he said. "Maybe Mr. Linkletter will help us." "Good idea," Ruth Rose said. "Let's go back to the hotel." "No dessert?" Josh asked. "Wipe off your milk mustache and come on!" Dink said. The kids hurried back to the hotel. Mr. Linkletter looked up as the kids came in. "I hear you had a chat with my aunt and uncle," he said. "They hired us to get rid of the ghost!" Dink informed him. The corners of Mr. Linkletter's mouth wiggled. It was almost a smile. "And do you have a plan?"

"Sort of," Ruth Rose said. "But we need the names and phone numbers of the guests who saw the ghost." Mr. Linkletter shook his head. "Sorry. Our guests, even the ones who leave, pay for privacy." "Well, are there any guests left at all?" she asked. Mr. Linkletter pointed to a man and woman reading in a corner of the lobby. "Mr. and Mrs. Jeffers haven't checked out. But I don't know if they saw the ghost." "Let's go ask them!" Dink said. He headed across the lobby. The man was wearing jeans, hiking boots, and a white sweater. The woman had black hair and wore a dark blue sweater and faded jeans. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Jeffers," Dink said. "My name is Dink. These are my friends Josh and Ruth Rose. We're investigating the ghost. Did you see it?" "Why do you want to know?" the man asked. "Because the hotel owners have hired us to get rid of it!" Ruth Rose said. "If there really is a ghost," Josh muttered.

"There is!" Mrs. Jeffers said. "It scared me half to death!" "So you saw it?" Dink asked. "We both did," Mr. Jeffers said, setting down his book. "Last night we played cards down here until about midnight. When we went up to our room, this thing appeared out of nowhere!" Mrs. Jeffers shuddered. "The hallway seemed to grow cold!" she said. "What did it look like?" Ruth Rose asked. Mr. Jeffers closed his eyes. "The ghost kind of shimmered as she walked. She had wild-looking white hair and a long glowing robe."