Chapter 9

Chapter 9 "So you really are the ghost?" Ruth Rose asked. Mr. Jeffers nodded. "That was me last night," he said. "Cindy here was the ghost the first two nights." He looked at the kids. "Weren't you asleep in your rooms when I came by?"

"We hid in a smelly closet and saw you!" Josh said. Mr. Jeffers smiled. "Do I make a good ghost?" "You sure scared me!" Josh said. "But why did you do it?" Ruth Rose asked. "We're both actors, and we're broke," Mrs. Jeffers said. "A few weeks ago, three men came up to us after a rehearsal and asked if we wanted a job." "So we told them sure!" her husband said. "The men told us to check into the Shangri-la and scare the guests away. We came up with the ghost costume ourselves." "How do you make it glow?" Josh asked. "I glued a string of tiny lights inside the gown," Mrs. Jeffers said. "The battery was under the wig." Her husband smiled. "And I thought of hiding the tape recorder in the basement dumbwaiter. The noise went all through the hotel walls!" "But that's so mean!" Ruth Rose said. "If the hotel closes, what will happen to Mr. Linkletter and Livvy and Mr. and Mrs. Spivets?" Mr. Jeffers put up his hands. "Who said anything about the hotel closing?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Spivets did," Dink said. "They're selling the hotel because of you!" "What?" Mrs. Jeffers said. "But Mr. and Mrs. Spivets are supposed to know all about the ghost act. So is Mr. Linkletter." "Look," said Mr. Jeffers. "The three guys who hired us told us that the hotel is going to be used in a horror movie. Scaring guests away is supposed to be great publicity. All the guests are going to get their money back, plus free passes to the movie." "And we're supposed to get starring parts in the movie!" his wife said. "It's a big break for us!" The kids looked at each other. "But Mr. and Mrs. Spivets don't know anything about any movie," Ruth Rose said. "Neither does Mr. Linkletter. They're really upset because they're going to have to sell the hotel. Today!" "Yeah," Josh said. "Mrs. Spivets was crying and everything!" "We even saw the letter from the real estate company," Dink said. "Their names were something like Peach or Roach." "Eatch, Rail, and Roock?" Mr. Jeffers suddenly asked.

"That's them!" Dink said. "They've been trying to buy the hotel for a long time, but Mr. Spivets refused to sell. Until now." Mr. Jeffers looked at his wife. "Oh, no," he said. "Eatch, Rail, and Roock are the men who hired us!"

His wife had gone from happy to sad. "No wonder they told us not to talk to Mr. Linkletter about the movie. There never was one!" Her husband shook his head. "All they wanted was the hotel—and we helped them get it!" "I feel terrible," Mrs. Jeffers said. She turned to her husband. "Todd, isn't there anything we can do?" Mr. Jeffers looked at the kids. "Do you think it's too late?" he asked. "Have they actually sold the hotel yet?" Dink glanced at the clock over the counter. "They're signing the papers at noon," he said. "But I think I know how you can get rid of Eatch, Rail, and Roock and save the hotel at the same time!"