“Do you believe I’m the ghost of WCXZ?” DeeDee asked him.
Benny frowned. “Ghosts aren’t real. But somebody is stealing stuff from the radio station.”
Henry spoke up. “DeeDee, I think you like having people believe the ghost of Daphne Owens is haunting the station. In a way, it’s like you’re the star you always wanted to be.”
“You’re very smart,” DeeDee said. “And you’re right, Henry. I do like the attention.
I guess that’s why I kept saying Daphne’s ghost was back. I like it that people here remember me.”
“But you’re not the one causing the trouble at the station,” Jessie stated.
DeeDee shook her head. “I’ve never stolen anything in my life. And I never dreamed I would cause the whole cast to quit. I guess I just got carried away. I really like doing the radio show. I hope I can go back.”
“Then why don’t you tell my grandmother?” Gwen said. “And talk to the others here at the diner so they’ll come back, too. If the show goes off the air, my grandmother will be crushed.”
“The station may not be haunted, but spooky things are happening,” said DeeDee. “Until the real ‘ghost’ is caught, the cast won’t come back, no matter what I tell them.”
“We’ll find the ghost,” Violet said.
As they gathered their things, Jessie mused, “It seems like everyone wants to be a star. Frances wants to be a famous movie writer. DeeDee — Daphne — wanted to be a famous radio actress.”
Gwen smiled sheepishly. “And I wanted to be a famous detective — or, at least, to figure out this mystery.”
“Let’s go over the facts again,” said Henry. “We know that the ghost must be someone who knows the station well. He knows where to find the light switches and fuse box and exactly what to take.”
“Right,” said Jessie. “And it’s probably someone who is around the station a lot anyway — if it were an outsider, like DeeDee, how would she get in and out without anyone seeing her?”
“But if it’s an insider, like Avery or Frances, how is the ‘ghost’ getting the stolen stuff out?” said Violet.
Gwen was looking out the window. “There goes Avery on his evening run,” she said. “I wonder why he’s carrying that duffel bag.”
“Gwen!” Jessie exclaimed. “That’s it!”
“What’s it?” said Benny
“The solution to the mystery,” Jessie said.
“We keep thinking the thief leaves the station, like when we were looking for Frances’s script. What if he comes and goes, carrying something we see every day?”
“Of course!” said Gwen, smiling. “The duffel bag! That must be it.”
Henry was smiling, too. “It’s just like your best sound effects, Gwen — very simple.”
As they walked home from the diner, the Aldens and Gwen figured out a plan to catch the ghost.
The next day, Grandfather and Jocelyn drove the kids to the station. On the way, they stopped at the diner to pick up a dozen doughnuts. “To celebrate the final episode,” Jocelyn said.
When they reached the station, Earl Biggs was already inside, pacing back and forth in the lobby.
“I’m glad you made it,” Jocelyn said to him.
Earl held open the door for them. “I was glad to come.”
The Aldens and Gwen went into the breakroom.
“I am so nervous,” Frances said, handing out the scripts. “I never thought I’d be so nervous about a kiddie show. But this has turned out to be one of the best stories I’ve ever written. The final episode has to go perfectly today!”
“It will,” Jessie reassured her.
Avery walked into the breakroom. “You guys brought doughnuts, too.”
“You can have one if you want.” Benny selected one with chocolate icing.
“No, thanks. I brought my own, as usual.” Avery rinsed his coffee mug.
Because the kids had helped rewrite the final script, they already knew the story. It didn’t take them long to go over their parts. Benny helped Gwen sort through her sound tapes. After they had set aside all the tapes they would need during the broadcast, Gwen took out a blank tape. Then she and Benny recorded one more sound effect they would need for the show.
“Perfect,” Benny said to Gwen. “Now we have everything we need to catch the ghost.”
Gwen placed the tape to one side of the cassette player. She looked up at Henry, Jessie, and Violet and nodded. Everything for their plan was set.
At last it was show time.
“Ready, everyone?” Frances called. The kids nodded. “Places, everyone! One, two, three! You’re on the air!”
The red ON AIR light blinked on.
Frances read the introduction. “In part three,” she said into Jessie’s mike, “our characters were trapped in the old mine. Will the mysterious dog help them again? We’ll find out today in the final episode of ‘The Ghost Dog.’”
Violet had the first line. “Don’t move, anyone, or the rocks will come down!”
“My leg is stuck,” said Henry with a groan. “I can’t get it free.”
“Oh, no!” cried Jessie. “Watch out —!”
Gwen shook a metal box with a few pebbles inside. It sounded just like rocks falling down the mine shaft.
Moments into the broadcast, the lights went out. The soundstage was completely dark. This time the kids didn’t click on their flashlights. They had memorized their parts so they wouldn’t need them.
Screeeeeeeeeeeeee! A horrible, loud screeching filled the radio station.
The Aldens continued to recite their lines, pretending the screaming was part of the show.
In the darkness, Gwen picked up the cassette she and Benny had made earlier and slid it into the cassette player.
“Is that the ghost dog?” Violet said loud enough to be heard over the screeching.
Gwen pushed the PLAY button on the cassette player. The howls of a dog — Benny’s character of the ghost dog — competed with the screaming.
“Go, Benny!” Gwen whispered to him.
“Wish me luck!” he whispered back, then crept around the back of the soundstage.
The plan relied on him. He couldn’t fail.
The ON AIR light cast an eerie glow as Benny edged out the door of the soundstage. He waited a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the dim red light.
Holding on to the wall, Benny shuffled down the hall that connected the soundstage to the rest of the studio. He could hear Grandfather and Jocelyn coming out of the breakroom.
“What’s going on?” Jocelyn yelled. “Somebody stop that noise!”
“We have to get the lights back on!” Grandfather told her.
The fuse box was near the side door, Benny knew. They would head in that direction.
Then Benny saw a dark shape ahead of him.
Taking the flashlight out of his pocket, Benny clicked the button to the ON position and aimed the beam straight at the “ghost.”
“Stop right there,” Benny said. |