Skin and Bones by Franklin W. Dixon Page B

monster basements. All had been reproduced. When the setup was finished, everyone got in costume.
    â€œSo, what do you think?” Joe asked, flashing his werewolf fangs and stroking his hair-covered face. “Pretty scary, hmm?” He was dressed in his own T-shirt and jeans, but mats of hair hung out from under the long sleeves.
    â€œAwesome,” Frank agreed. He wore a neon blue jumpsuit. A pale green skullcap matched his alien makeup.
    â€œSo, when are you going to get in costume, Deb?” Cody asked as she emerged from the dressing room. She was an apparition in ghostly blue-white with pale fluorescent makeup.
    â€œVery funny,” she said with a crooked smile.
    â€œBe careful or I’ll make you walk the plank.” Cody whipped off his large plumed pirate hat and made a courtly bow.
    â€œWhat about you?” Cody said to Dave. “Did Jennifer decide you are so scary as Dave Cloud that you don’t need a costume or makeup?”
    â€œYou are funny,” Dave responded. “I was too late to be a character—I’ll take tickets or something like that. But for the dress rehearsal, Jennifer is going to have some of us pretend to be visitors. We’ll walk through the gauntlet to make sure you guys are scary enough to be fun, but not enough to cause permanent damage.”
    Jennifer also had choreographed surprising confrontationsbetween some of the characters, which would take place on the stage in the corner.
    The dress rehearsal filled the room with a jumble of howls, moans, screams, and cackles. Jennifer finally took the microphone. “Okay, everyone, time to stop. I want you to have plenty of spooky spirit left for tomorrow. Report here at four o’clock. But right now, let’s party!”
    Jennifer had planned a party with lots of food, music, and fun for the volunteers. The deejay fired up his sound system, and the music was deafening.
    Frank, Cody, and Deb met up near Jennifer’s office. “Have you seen Joe?” Frank asked.
    â€œNot yet,” Cody answered.
    â€œHe’s still rehearsing with the vampire,” Deb said. Werewolf Joe was locked in a wrestling match on the stage. He was acting out the skit Jennifer had cooked up, pitting the two most famous biters in horror history against each other.
    â€œOkay,” Frank said. “Jennifer’s pretty distracted as it is. But you two keep an eye on her and keep her away from her office. I want to look around. When you see Joe, send him here.”
    Deb and Cody wove through the noisy crowd. Frank stood in the office door, but he couldn’t take hiseyes off the stage. “Come on, Joe,” he muttered. “Get it over with. You can take him.”
    For a minute he was dazzled by what seemed like a thousand lights dancing around the room. He looked up to see a mirrored ball dangling and revolving from the ceiling. He thought of the piece of mirror that Joe had found on Cody’s roof.
    Then he remembered all the sports and fitness photos, awards, and certificates he had seen in Jennifer’s office. He raced to the wall and scanned it eagerly. His eyes rested on one framed display, and he felt his pulse stop and then quicken. Hanging on the wall was a certificate attesting to Jennifer’s championship karate skills.
    â€œExcuse me,” a young man said, coming into the office. Frank could hardly hear him over the noise. “Are you Jennifer’s manager?”
    â€œNo, I just—”
    â€œTell her someone stole my costume,” the young man said. “I was in the dressing room getting ready to change, and someone took it off the counter. It was the vampire costume she had made special for the fight with the werewolf, so she’s not going to be happy about it. Had a full head mask and everything.” He gave Frank a little wave and then rejoined the loud party.
    Frank felt a wave of foreboding cascade throughhim. “Joe!” he yelled as he left