Ghost at the Drive-In Movie Read Online Free PDF Page A

and got out of the car to talk to them.
    “Hello, kids!” Dan said. “Did you like Pirate Spy? ”
    “We sure did,” said Benny. “My favorite part was when the captain found the buried treasure chest.”
    “And he found the gold coins!” said Dan. “I loved that part! I love movies! It’s been quite a night!”
    “Actually,” Henry said. “We want to hear about last night. And the ghost.”
    Dan Brinker’s face went pale.
    “There have been a lot of pranks here at the theater lately,” Jessie said. “Do you think the ghost could have been another trick?”
    “You mean … someone wants to make the theater seem haunted?” said Dan Brinker. “Why … yes. Why didn’t I think of that?”
    “We’re just trying to figure out who is causing problems at the theater,” said Jessie.
    “We solve mysteries,” said Benny. “And we’re good at them!”
    “Well, if you ask me,” Dan said in a low voice, “I think that Mr. Duke is up to no good. Maybe he’s causing all the trouble. He sure doesn’t like Uncle Flick.”
    “Thank you,” said Jessie. She was writing things down in her notebook. “That’s very helpful.”
    “Would you like some popcorn, Mr. Brinker?” Benny asked. He held out his bag. He remembered how much the car salesman had liked popcorn the night before.
    “I would love some—” Dan said. He started to reach for the bag but stopped himself. “—but I’d better not.” He kept his hands in his pockets.
    Benny wondered why a man who loved popcorn as much as he did could turn it down. Jessie saw, and wondered, too.
    “Maybe his hands are just dirty,” she explained to Benny, as they walked back to their car.
    “Bye, kids!” Dan Brinker called after them. “Good luck solving the mystery.”
    There was plenty for the children to talk about at bedtime.
    “Do you think what Dan Brinker said about Mr. Duke is true?” Violet asked her sister and brothers. “Do you think he’s causing the problems?”
    “I don’t know,” said Henry. “The problem that happened tonight was with his sign. Whoever was playing a prank played it on him.”
    “There are so many things going on right now!” Jessie said. “Uncle Flick and Mr. Duke don’t like each other. Amy and Joey are always in the wrong places at the wrong times. And then we have to figure out where this ghost is coming from.”
    “I think the ghost comes from the haunted house,” Benny said.
    “What on earth are you talking about, Benny?” Violet said. “What haunted house?”
    “I mean, a haunted house,” Benny replied. “Just a haunted house somewhere. Because that’s where ghosts live.” He wanted to tell them about something he’d seen in the storage shed. But he knew he couldn’t, since he wasn’t supposed to look in the shed in the first place.
    “Benny, what have we told you about ghosts?” Henry said. “There’s no such thing. Right, Jessie?”
    But Jessie wasn’t listening. She was looking at something out the window of their guest room. Her eyes were getting wider and wider.
    “There’s … there’s something out there,” she said. “Something walking around.”
    “What?” cried Violet. “Where?” She rushed to the window where Jessie was seated. There was another window next to it and Henry and Benny pressed their faces against the glass to peer out.
    “It’s over by the fence next to the screen,” said Jessie. “Do you see it?”
    The other three Aldens looked where Jessie had told them. They all saw an eerie figure all in white walking along the fence. The figure seemed to walk and float at the same time.
    “It’s the ghost!” Benny said, amazed.
    “What should we do?” Violet asked.
    “Let’s tell Uncle Flick!” Jessie said.
    A few moments later they were all hurrying down the front steps of the Fletcher house. They ran across the lot towards the front of the theater.
    “Wait a minute,” Uncle Flick called. He went to the side of the house and opened a metal box that