her face.
“Investigate?” said Viola.
They held hands as they made their way toward the boiler room door. The last time they’d walked this way, they’d been surrounded by their classmates. Now, however, everyone else had apparently gone upstairs to the stage. Being alone was much creepier. When they reached the door, Viola paused, then with a deep sigh, she reachedout and turned the knob. The door swung inward, and the girls peered into the darkness.
The sound came at them again, bouncing off the cinder-block walls in long echoes. Whatever was growling at them sounded as though it was just a few feet away. The girls clutched at each other, but managed not to run. “Tall Ted isn’t real,” Viola whispered. “So this sound can’t be him.”
“Then what is it?” Rosie asked.
“I have an idea. Come on. Let’s see.”
Rosie nearly dragged her heels as Viola pulled her through the dark doorway. This time, Viola had her key chain light in her pocket. She flicked it on. The growl rumbled again, and now that they were inside the boiler room, the girls had a better sense of where it was coming from: the great big metal furnace near the far wall.
“Is it the boiler itself making the sound?” asked Rosie. “Maybe the pipes are expanding or something?”
Viola answered by shining her light into the space between the wall and the boiler. “Aha!” she said, reaching forward to grasp the object that was lying there. “I think we’ve found our culprit.”
“A walkie-talkie?” said Sylvester, feeling the weight of the device as Woodrow handed it to him. The group sat at the Harts’ small kitchen table, passing the walkie-talkie around.
It had been two hours since the girls had left the boiler room. Mrs. Hart had made some lemonade earlier in the day, and Viola poured everyone a glass.
“But who was on the other end?” Woodrow asked.
“That’s the big question,” said Rosie.
“As soon as we found it,” said Viola, “I picked it up and pressed the talk button. I growled back. Grrr.”
“You did not!” said Woodrow, laughing.
“She did too!” said Rosie. “But we got no answer. In fact, the static sound that had been coming from the speaker went silent. Whoever had the other walkie-talkie must have turned it off.”
“So they know they’ve been found out,” said Sylvester. “The walkie-talkie is our proof that Tall Ted actually
is
fake. You guys, we won the contest!”
“Not quite,” said Viola, taking the device back from him. “We may have proof that someone wants the students at Moon Hollow Middle School to believe we’re being tormented by a monster, but we still don’t know who it is.
That’s
the mystery we need to solve.”
Sylvester took a large swig of his lemonade. After wiping his mouth, he said, “Maybe we can have the walkie-talkie dusted for prints. If that escaped convict is the one pretending to be themonster, his fingerprints are probably on file in some sort of police database. Woodrow, doesn’t your dad have connections?”
“He does,” said Woodrow. “But I doubt the police will be able to pull a print off of this thing. I mean, we’ve been passing it around, so
our
fingerprints are all over it. Plus, Sylvester, you just wiped it on your sleeve.”
“I did?” said Sylvester. “Oops.”
“We’re closer than ever,” said Viola. “More important, we’re closer than Clea. We only have a little bit further to go. We just need to figure out the next step. Speaking of which, my mom hasn’t had time to look into a list of local crimes. As soon as she does that, we can look for connections between them.”
“I have an idea,” said Woodrow. “Kyle Krupnik mentioned that a bunch of kids from our class are meeting at the school tomorrow morning and riding their bikes up to Purgatory Chasm. They think that if they return the stones they took, all of this monster nonsense will stop. Maybe we should tag along with them and see if we come across any more
“Investigate?” said Viola.
They held hands as they made their way toward the boiler room door. The last time they’d walked this way, they’d been surrounded by their classmates. Now, however, everyone else had apparently gone upstairs to the stage. Being alone was much creepier. When they reached the door, Viola paused, then with a deep sigh, she reachedout and turned the knob. The door swung inward, and the girls peered into the darkness.
The sound came at them again, bouncing off the cinder-block walls in long echoes. Whatever was growling at them sounded as though it was just a few feet away. The girls clutched at each other, but managed not to run. “Tall Ted isn’t real,” Viola whispered. “So this sound can’t be him.”
“Then what is it?” Rosie asked.
“I have an idea. Come on. Let’s see.”
Rosie nearly dragged her heels as Viola pulled her through the dark doorway. This time, Viola had her key chain light in her pocket. She flicked it on. The growl rumbled again, and now that they were inside the boiler room, the girls had a better sense of where it was coming from: the great big metal furnace near the far wall.
“Is it the boiler itself making the sound?” asked Rosie. “Maybe the pipes are expanding or something?”
Viola answered by shining her light into the space between the wall and the boiler. “Aha!” she said, reaching forward to grasp the object that was lying there. “I think we’ve found our culprit.”
“A walkie-talkie?” said Sylvester, feeling the weight of the device as Woodrow handed it to him. The group sat at the Harts’ small kitchen table, passing the walkie-talkie around.
It had been two hours since the girls had left the boiler room. Mrs. Hart had made some lemonade earlier in the day, and Viola poured everyone a glass.
“But who was on the other end?” Woodrow asked.
“That’s the big question,” said Rosie.
“As soon as we found it,” said Viola, “I picked it up and pressed the talk button. I growled back. Grrr.”
“You did not!” said Woodrow, laughing.
“She did too!” said Rosie. “But we got no answer. In fact, the static sound that had been coming from the speaker went silent. Whoever had the other walkie-talkie must have turned it off.”
“So they know they’ve been found out,” said Sylvester. “The walkie-talkie is our proof that Tall Ted actually
is
fake. You guys, we won the contest!”
“Not quite,” said Viola, taking the device back from him. “We may have proof that someone wants the students at Moon Hollow Middle School to believe we’re being tormented by a monster, but we still don’t know who it is.
That’s
the mystery we need to solve.”
Sylvester took a large swig of his lemonade. After wiping his mouth, he said, “Maybe we can have the walkie-talkie dusted for prints. If that escaped convict is the one pretending to be themonster, his fingerprints are probably on file in some sort of police database. Woodrow, doesn’t your dad have connections?”
“He does,” said Woodrow. “But I doubt the police will be able to pull a print off of this thing. I mean, we’ve been passing it around, so
our
fingerprints are all over it. Plus, Sylvester, you just wiped it on your sleeve.”
“I did?” said Sylvester. “Oops.”
“We’re closer than ever,” said Viola. “More important, we’re closer than Clea. We only have a little bit further to go. We just need to figure out the next step. Speaking of which, my mom hasn’t had time to look into a list of local crimes. As soon as she does that, we can look for connections between them.”
“I have an idea,” said Woodrow. “Kyle Krupnik mentioned that a bunch of kids from our class are meeting at the school tomorrow morning and riding their bikes up to Purgatory Chasm. They think that if they return the stones they took, all of this monster nonsense will stop. Maybe we should tag along with them and see if we come across any more
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