The Vampire's Vacation (4 page)

“How about if I flip a coin?” Dink asked. He pulled a quarter from his pocket. “Winner gets to choose who rides in front.”

“I’ll take heads,” Brian said.

“So you can have tails,” Dink told Bradley. He flipped the coin in the air and caught it. “It’s tails.”

“Good, I ride in front!” Bradley said. “I get to steer!”

“Riding in back is good, too,” Dink said to Brian. “You get to enjoy the ride but don’t have to do any work!”

“Thanks, Dink,” Josh said. He led
Polly to an upside-down wooden box. Bradley climbed on the box, then Josh boosted him onto Polly’s bare back.

Dink helped Brian up behind his twin brother. “Hold on to Bradley,” Dink said.

“Let’s run fast!” Bradley yelled.

“We’re not running,” Josh said. “We’ll take a nice walk down to the river and back. Don’t fall off, you monkeys!”

“We’re not monkeys!” yelled Brian. “We’re cowboys!”

Holding Polly’s lead, Josh walked her into the meadow behind the barn. Dink walked next to the pony, making sure the boys didn’t lose their seats.

Polly clopped along, dipping her head to munch the tops of weeds. Soon they crossed River Road and stopped on a grassy bank of the Indian River.

“Can we go swimming?” Bradley asked as Polly dipped her muzzle into the water.

“No, we’re going back home as soon as Polly gets her drink,” Josh said.

He and Dink sat on the grass and watched Polly drink.

“I wonder if Officer Fallon found out anything about Dr. Cula,” Josh said, keeping his voice low so the twins wouldn’t hear.

The boys sat and thought about the strange man in black.

“I’ve been thinking about those Band-Aids,” Dink said.

“What about them?” Josh asked.

“They were all the same,” Dink replied. “Why would three different people all have the exact same kind of round Band-Aid on their neck?”

“That
is
weird,” Josh said after a minute. “You’d think one person might choose a round one but someone else would choose a regular strip, right?”

“Right,” Dink said.

“We’re thirsty!” Bradley yelled from Polly’s back.

Josh stood up and gently pulled Polly’s head away from the water. “Let’s go home, girl,” he said.

Soon they were back at the barn. Dink helped Brian and Bradley off Polly’s back, and the twins raced toward the house.

“Let’s go call Ruth Rose and see if she heard from Officer Fallon,” Josh said as he let Polly into the corral.

Dink and Josh walked across the yard to the kitchen door. The twins were standing in front of the open refrigerator fighting over a carton of apple juice.

“Freeze!” Josh yelled.

The boys turned to look at him.

“Okay, now please hand me the juice, wash your hands, and sit,” Josh said.

The twins did as they were told, and Josh poured four glasses of juice. He got a box of cookies from a shelf and gave each boy one.

Josh and Dink took their snacks over to the telephone on the hall table.

The light on the answering machine was blinking. “Maybe it’s a message from Officer Fallon,” Josh said.

He hit the PLAY button. But instead of the police chief’s voice, they heard Ruth Rose. She said, “Guys, I figured it out! Meet me at the Shangri-la!”

Josh looked at Dink. “Figured out what?” he asked.

“Maybe she figured out who your mystery man is,” Dink said. “Remember, she thought he looked familiar.”

“So why did she go to the hotel without us?” Josh asked.

“She didn’t know we’d be going to the river,” Dink said.

“Well, let’s go meet her,” Josh said, heading for the kitchen. “Before the vampire gets her!”

Dink shook his head. “We can’t leave your brothers alone,” he said.

The twins had finished their juice and cookies. Josh looked out the window over the sink. “Come on, Mom,” he said.

“Can we go out and play?” Bradley asked.

“After you put your glasses in the sink,” Josh told the twins.

Just then Josh’s mom pulled into the backyard and parked the car. Josh waved to her as Brian and Bradley shot out the back door.

“What did you bring us?” they yelled at their mother.

“Come on, out the front!” Josh whispered to Dink.

He and Dink left by the front door
and headed for Main Street. They cut through the high school grounds, then waved to Howard in his barbershop when they reached Main.

As they passed the Book Nook, Dink noticed that the shade was pulled down. A CLOSED sign was stuck in the window.

“Huh,” Josh said, nodding toward the sign. “Mr. Paskey never closes in the middle of the afternoon.”

Dink remembered that little, round Band-Aid on Mr. Paskey’s neck. Then he shook his head.
No
, he thought.
There are no vampires in Green Lawn!

A few minutes later, Dink and Josh walked into the lobby of the Shangri-la Hotel. Mr. Linkletter was standing behind his counter, staring at the door.

“Hi, Mr. Linkletter,” Josh said. “Ruth Rose said to meet her here. Have you seen her?”

Mr. Linkletter nodded. “Yes, I saw her about twenty minutes ago, with Dr. Cula.”

Dink’s eyes went to the little, round Band-Aid on Mr. Linkletter’s neck. “Do you know where they went?” he asked.

“No, I didn’t notice,” Mr. Linkletter said. “They sat and talked here in the lobby. When I looked up again, they had disappeared.”

Dink remembered how the myste-rious man in black “disappeared” from Ellie’s Diner and the Book Nook.

“Of course,” Mr. Linkletter went on, “Dr. Cula could be up in his room. He likes to nap during the day.”

Josh snuck a glance at Dink.

“Um, can you tell us which room he has?” Josh asked.

“That would be room 202,” he said. “Feel free to go up and check.”

Dink grabbed Josh by the arm and tugged him toward the elevators.

Dink pushed the UP button, and the boys waited. Seconds later, one of the two elevators arrived with a ping. Dink and Josh stepped inside.

“Did you see that?” Dink asked. “Mr.
Linkletter didn’t even check his register. How did he know which room Dr. Cula had?”

“Yeah, and he never gives out room numbers,” Josh said. “He always says guests at the Shangri-la pay for privacy.”

“And did you notice how nervous he looked?” Dink said.

Josh nodded. “His mustache was practically doing a dance on his lip!”

The elevator pinged, and the doors slid open. Dink and Josh stepped into the long corridor and stood, listening. No one was in the hallway, and it was very quiet. The small wall lights cast a dim glow onto the carpet.

“This is creeping me out,” Josh whispered. “What if that guy is in his room, just waiting for us?”

“Right now we have to find Ruth Rose,” Dink said. He pointed to room 202. “Let’s go.”

They tiptoed toward the door. Dink
got ready to knock, then noticed that the door was already partly open.

He raised his eyebrows at Josh, who was staring back at him.

Dink pushed the door open a few more inches. “Dr. Cula?” he called through the crack. “Anyone here?”

No answer came. Josh nudged the door fully open with the toe of his sneaker.

There was no one in the room. The boys saw a TV set, a desk, an armchair, and night tables with lamps on both sides of a neatly made bed.

“It looks like no one is staying here,” Dink said. “Mr. Linkletter did say room 202, right?”

Josh nodded. The boys tiptoed into the room for a better look.

Dink felt goose bumps marching up his arms and legs. Then he noticed a loud hum.

“The air conditioner is blasting,” he
said to Josh with a shiver.

“It’s freezing!” Josh answered. He walked across the room and stopped at the closet door. He looked at Dink. “Should I open it?”

Dink nodded.

Josh pulled the closet door open, then gasped.

“What?” Dink said, hurrying over for a look.

On the floor sat a black leather suitcase. Hanging above the suitcase on a hanger was a long black cape.

“He disappeared again,” Josh whispered.

“Let’s get out of here,” Dink said. “We have to find Ruth Rose.”

“Maybe she went back home,” Josh suggested.

“Maybe,” Dink said as they walked toward the door.

Against the wall to the right of the door was a small table they hadn’t
noticed when they entered the room.

On it was a sheet of paper. A box of Band-Aids sat on top of the paper.

Dink picked up the Band-Aid box. “The little, round kind,” he said, reading the words on the box.

“Oh my gosh!” Josh said, pointing to some writing on the paper.

Dink picked up the paper. “It’s a list of names,” he said.

He read the list out loud:

The names were written in purple. The first three names had purple check marks next to them.

“The vampire checked off the names of the people he bit on the neck!” Josh
wailed. “And our names are next! I think I’m gonna be sick.”

Dink studied the list. He was espe-cially interested in the purple writing. Where had he seen that color before?

Then Dink remembered. He brought the paper up to his nose and took a deep sniff. He smiled.

“What do you smell?” Josh asked.

Dink grinned at his friend. “Jelly- beans,” he said.