The Vampire's Vacation (2 page)

“Did a guy all dressed in black come in?” Josh asked.

Ellie looked confused. “In my diner? When?”

“Just a minute ago. He had black hair and pale skin,” Dink said.

Ellie shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “He might have. I was out back getting supplies.”

“I saw him walk in here,” Josh said, peering over the counter.

“Well, he’s not here now,” Dink said. “Let’s get some ice cream.”

Ellie followed them to a booth. “Cones all around?” she asked the kids. “Your usual flavors?”

The kids all nodded, and a few minutes later, Ellie brought three cones. Butter crunch for Dink, pistachio for Josh, and strawberry for Ruth Rose. As they licked their cones, Josh stared through the window.

“What’re you looking for?” Dink asked.

“The vampire guy,” Josh said.

“He’s not a vampire, Josh,” Ruth Rose said. “Everyone knows vampires sleep during the day and come out at night. They hate the sun.”

“Maybe this one’s on vacation,” Josh said.

Dink started to laugh and nearly choked. “Josh, why would a vampire pick Green Lawn for his vacation?” he asked.

But Josh wasn’t listening. He had his
nose against the window. “There he is again!” Josh shrieked.

Dink and Ruth Rose craned their necks to look. Ellie walked over to see what the commotion was about.

The man in black was crossing Main Street near the swan pond.

“Doesn’t he look like a vampire to you?” Josh asked Ellie.

Ellie didn’t answer. When Dink glanced at her, Ellie seemed afraid. She backed away from the window and walked behind her counter.

Josh crunched the last of his cone, then pushed his way out of the booth. “He’s heading down Main Street. I’m following him,” he announced. “You guys coming?”

“Sure, why not?” Ruth Rose said. “I want to be there when the vacationing vampire grabs you!”

“Can I at least finish my cone?” Dink asked. He and Ruth Rose followed Josh out to the street.

“He’s going into the Book Nook,” Dink told Josh.

“I wonder what vampires read when they’re on vacation,” Ruth Rose said,
taking the last bite of her cone.

“Let’s find out,” Josh said, heading for the bookstore. They stopped in front of Howard’s Barbershop while Dink finished his ice cream.

Josh kept an eye on the Book Nook door. “Okay, let’s go,” he said as Dink wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

Dink and Ruth Rose followed him into the Book Nook.

A bell tinkled, and Mr. Paskey looked up from behind his counter. He smiled and waved at the kids.

Two teenagers were reading magazines. The only other person in the store was Mr. Paskey.

“He’s not here,” Dink whispered.

“I don’t believe this!” Josh choked out. “The guy keeps disappearing! What does he do, walk through walls?”

“Hi, kids. Can I help you?” Mr. Paskey asked.

“Hi, Mr. Paskey,” Dink said. “Did a
man wearing black just come in here?”

Mr. Paskey rubbed his neck. “No, I don’t think so. But I was in the store-room for a minute or two. I suppose he could have come in, then left again.”

Josh shook his head. “I was watching. He came in, but he didn’t come out,” he said.

“Sorry,” Mr. Paskey said. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

“Did you kids leave this?” asked Mr. Paskey, reaching toward the cash reg-ister. He held up a twenty-dollar bill.

The kids shook their heads.

“How odd,” Mr. Paskey said. “Someone left this bill on the counter.” He looked at the money for a second, then shrugged again.

“Do you have any books about vam-pires?” Josh asked.

“I think there’s one over in non-fiction,” Mr. Paskey answered. “It’s called
Vampires Among Us
, by Dan Starch.”

The kids found the nonfiction books, then looked for
Starch
.

They found a book by Wanda Star, then one written by Peter Starkey. The space between them was empty.

“Mr. Paskey?” said Josh. “We found where the book should be, but it’s gone.”

Mr. Paskey walked over to the shelf. He put his finger in the space between the two books. “Now, that is peculiar,” he muttered, crouching lower. “It was here an hour ago when I dusted this shelf.”

When Mr. Paskey leaned over, his neck was level with Dink’s eyes. As usual, Mr. Paskey wore a crisp white shirt, a necktie, and a suit jacket.

Dink smiled.
Even in this hot weather, Mr. Paskey dresses up
, he thought.

And then Dink noticed a small, round Band-Aid right above Mr. Paskey’s shirt collar.

The kids thanked Mr. Paskey and left his shop.

“I wonder who left that twenty-dollar bill on Mr. Paskey’s counter,” Ruth Rose said.

“I bet it was that guy! I know he went in there!” Josh griped. “People don’t just vanish.”

“But maybe vampires vanish,” Ruth Rose said, grinning at Josh.

Dink laughed. He pretended to read a newspaper headline: “VACATIONING VAMPIRE VANISHES.”

“Laugh, you guys,” Josh said. “But I think that guy is definitely weird. And did you notice how Mr. Paskey didn’t even think it was strange that some guy disappeared inside his shop?”

Dink thought for a minute. “Mr. Paskey’s not the only one who’s not acting like himself. When we saw that guy through the window in Ellie’s Diner, Ellie looked afraid of something,” he said.

“She was probably afraid Josh would choke because he was gobbling his ice cream so fast,” Ruth Rose said. “Now can we go home? We can have lunch at my house.”

A few minutes later, they reached Ruth Rose’s house. They walked to the backyard with the wagon.

Ruth Rose’s brother, Nate, was sit-ting at the picnic table. In front of him were a box of plastic action figures, some crayons, and drawing paper.

“Hey, Nate, what’re you doing?” Dink asked.

“Drawing my guys,” Nate said, holding up a picture. It showed Spider-Man and Superman fighting a purple monster.

“Where’s Mommy?” Ruth Rose asked her brother.

“Here I am!” her mother said, pop-ping up from the open cellar hatchway. “Thanks for taking those newspapers away,” she said. “There are plenty more down here when you feel like working. I left sandwiches and lemonade in the fridge for you.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Ruth Rose said. “We’ll take more papers later.”

The kids brought their lunch to the picnic table, and Ruth Rose cleared a space. As they ate, they watched Nate trying to write words on his picture.

“Can I help?” Ruth Rose asked her brother.

“Write
‘I give up,’ said the monster
,”

Nate told Ruth Rose. He handed her a purple crayon.

“That’s a neat color,” Dink said.

“It’s Party Purple,” Nate told him. “And guess what? It smells like jelly- beans!”

Ruth Rose printed the words, then pointed to each one in turn as she read them aloud for her brother.

“Thanks, Ruth Rose!” said Nate. He grabbed the picture and ran to show his mother.

“I wonder if that guy we saw sleeps hanging upside down,” Josh said.

“I hate to spoil your fun,” Dink said. “Bats sleep that way, not people.”

“And vampires aren’t real,” Ruth Rose said.

“Dracula was a real person,” Josh said. “I read about him.”

“But Dracula wasn’t really a vam-pire,” said Ruth Rose. “And he died a long time ago.”

Josh wiggled his eyebrows. “How do we know he’s really dead?”

Ruth Rose laughed. She reached into Nate’s box and pulled out a miniature plastic Count Dracula. “Here he is!” she said.

“See,” Josh said. “He looks just like our guy. All dressed in black.”

“Except this one has long fangs,” Ruth Rose said, standing the vampire on his plastic feet. Painted-on “blood” dripped from the fangs.

“The guy we’re following might have fangs,” Josh said. “We didn’t see his teeth.”

Suddenly Dink remembered something. “Guys, did you notice that Mr. Paskey was wearing a Band-Aid on his neck?” he asked.

“I did,” Ruth Rose said. “A little round one, right here.” She put a finger on the side of her own neck.

“Well, Ellie had one just like it on her neck,” Dink went on.

Josh stopped chewing and his eyes widened.

“Swallow, Josh,” Ruth Rose said.

Josh gulped, then took a swig of lemonade. “Don’t you guys get it?” he asked. “Vampires bite people on their necks to get blood! I’m not kidding around anymore. I think that guy really
is
a vampire!”

“The only vampires are on TV, Joshua,” Ruth Rose said.

“Who says?” Josh argued. “There are a lot of things that people don’t think are real, then they turn out to be.”

Dink was staring at Josh. “Like what?” he said.

Josh stared back. “Like … like giant squids!” he said.

“But giant squids are real,” Ruth Rose said. “Scientists have found their bodies washed up on the shore. No one’s found any vampire bodies that I know of.”

“That doesn’t mean there aren’t any,” Josh said. “There could be a lot of vampires that people don’t know about.”

“And you think that guy in black is one of them, right?” Dink said.

Josh nodded. “I’m starting to.”

“Well, whoever he is, I still think I’ve seen him somewhere,” Ruth Rose said.

“I say we try to find him again,” Josh said.

“Why?” asked Dink.

“For one thing, I want to know how he keeps disappearing,” Josh said. He grinned at Dink. “And I know you’re curious about those Band-Aids on Ellie and Mr. Paskey.”

“Okay, I admit it,” Dink said. “So where do we look?”

Ruth Rose collected the paper plates and cups. “I can’t believe I’m going vampire hunting,” she said.

“If he’s staying in town,” Josh said, standing up, “the first place to check is the Shangri-la Hotel.”

A few minutes later, the kids were on their way to the hotel. They kept their eyes open, but the man in black was nowhere to be seen.

When they walked into the hotel’s cool lobby, Mr. Linkletter was talking on
the phone. He looked up and nodded as the kids approached the counter.

Soon Mr. Linkletter hung up the phone. “Hello there,” he said. “What brings you to the Shangri-la?”

“We saw a stranger in town and wondered if he’s staying here,” Josh plunged in.

Mr. Linkletter raised one eyebrow. “And why are you so curious about this stranger?” he asked.

Ruth Rose came to Josh’s rescue. “Because he looks familiar,” she said. “I’m trying to figure out where I’ve seen him before.”

Mr. Linkletter squinted his eyes and pursed his lips. He tapped a long finger against the countertop. “Describe this person, please.”

“He’s dressed in black,” Dink said.

“Black hair all slicked back,” Josh added. “And his skin is real pale.”

“Ah,” said Mr. Linkletter. “That
would be Dr. Cula.” He looked at his register. “A. Cula, a doctor from New York City.”

“Is he in his room right now?” Ruth Rose asked.

Mr. Linkletter looked down at Ruth Rose. His mustache twitched, as if he might smile. “You know I can’t tell you that,” he said. “Shangri-la guests pay for privacy, and I make sure they get it.”

Mr. Linkletter shut the register with a soft thud. “Was there anything else?”

“No thanks,” Dink said, looking up at Mr. Linkletter. Then his mouth fell open.

Three inches to the right of Mr. Linkletter’s Adam’s apple was a small, round Band-Aid.