Ghost Detectors Volume 1 Read online

  A special thanks to Melissa Markham —DE

  For Rebecca —HM

  Copyright © 2013 Scarletta

  Published by Scarletta Junior Readers, an imprint of Scarletta

  This book is a collaborative arrangement between Scarletta and ABDO Publishing Company.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to reality is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, write to Scarletta, 10 South Fifth Street #1105, Minneapolis, MN 55402, U.S.A., www.scarlettapress.com.

  The Lexile Framework for Reading® Lexile measure® 560L

  LEXILE®, LEXILE FRAMEWORK®, LEXILE ANALYZER®, and the LEXILE® logo are trademarks of MetaMetrics, Inc., and are registered in the United States and abroad. The trademarks and names of other companies and products mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

  Copyright © 2011 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Enderle, Dotti, 1954–

  [Short stories. Selections]

  Ghost detectors. Volume 1. Let the specter-detecting begin. Books 1–3 / by Dotti Enderle ; illustrated by Howard McWilliam. — First edition.

  pagescm

  Summary: In this first volume of three stories, ten-year-old best friends Malcom and Dandy thwart a practical-joking poltergeist, rid the Miller house of a ghost, and get to the bottom of some unusual paranormal activity in their elementary school. ISBN 978-1-938063-29-9

  [1. Ghosts—Fiction.2. Poltergeists—Fiction.3. Supernatural—Fiction.I. McWilliam, Howard, 1977– illustrator.II. Title.III. Title: Let the specter-detecting begin.

  PZ7.E69645Gf 2013

  [Fic]—dc23

  2013009115

  Book design by Mighty Media Inc., Minneapolis, MN

  Cover: Colleen Dolphin • Interior: Chris Long

  Distributed by Publishers Group West

  First edition

  10987654321

  CONTENTS

  BOOK 1

  CHAPTER 1:CON-FUSION

  CHAPTER 2:MAIL-ORDER MIRACLE

  CHAPTER 3:THE ECTO-HANDHELD-AUTOMATIC-HEAT-SENSITIVE-LASER-ENHANCED SPECTER DETECTOR

  CHAPTER 4:LIP-SYNCH

  CHAPTER 5:CHECK IT OUT!

  CHAPTER 6:THE FREAKY MCBLEAKY HOUSE

  CHAPTER 7:GRANNY-SITTING

  CHAPTER 8:THE TALE

  CHAPTER 9:SNEAKING OUT—SNEAKING IN

  CHAPTER 10:IT CREEPS!

  CHAPTER 11:WINDING DOWN

  CHAPTER 12:PAYBACK

  BOOK 2

  CHAPTER 1:WAIT . . . WAIT . . . WAIT

  CHAPTER 2:BLACKMAIL

  CHAPTER 3:SUPERWEAPON

  CHAPTER 4:DOGSITTING

  CHAPTER 5:9-1-1!

  CHAPTER 6:I’M GONNA GET YOU!

  CHAPTER 7:BREAKING IN

  CHAPTER 8:COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE

  CHAPTER 9:GHOST HUNT

  CHAPTER 10:GOT YOU!

  CHAPTER 11:SPOOKY

  BOOK 3

  CHAPTER 1:THE DAY BEFORE

  CHAPTER 2:UP AND AT ’EM

  CHAPTER 3:SLOW RIDE

  CHAPTER 4:GRUELING GOOLSBY

  CHAPTER 5:TELL NO ONE!

  CHAPTER 6:A MUDDY EXCUSE

  CHAPTER 7:FISHING FOR ANSWERS

  CHAPTER 8:IN AND OUT

  CHAPTER 9:SOLVING ONE PROBLEM, CREATING ANOTHER$$SOLVING ONE PROBLEM, CREATING ANOTHER

  CHAPTER 10:IDENTIFIED

  CHAPTER 11:HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

  TOP FIFTEEN WAYS TO DETECT A GHOST, SPIRIT, OR POLTERGEIST

  BOOK 1

  IT CREEPS!

  CHAPTER ONE

  CON-FUSION

  “So are you going to help me or not?” Malcolm asked his best friend, Dandy.

  “Help you do what?” Dandy asked.

  Malcolm narrowed his eyes like a real scientist. “The experiment I’m about to undertake in my lab. Are you going to help me?”

  Dandy, whose real name was Daniel Dee, shrugged. “What kind of experiment?”

  “Fusion,” Malcolm answered. He was more eager to start than to explain.

  Dandy scratched his head. “Fusion? Is that a real word?”

  “I don’t make up words,” Malcolm said. “It’s real.”

  “Will we have to sneak your sister’s blow-dryer again?” Dandy asked, grinning.

  Malcolm grinned back. “Maybe.” He’d say anything to get Dandy’s help, except make up words.

  “Count me in!”

  The boys bounced down the creaky steps into Malcolm’s lab. Only it was really just the basement. Malcolm had shoved most everything stored there in the corner. On a long counter he kept his chemistry set, gizmos, and gadgets. The rotten-egg odor of last week’s stink bomb still hung in the air.

  “Hey, Malcolm. What are we going to fu—fu—uh—fusion?”

  “Money,” Malcolm said. “I have an idea that I think will help the economy.”

  Dandy scratched his head. “What’s the economy?”

  Dandy was a great best friend, but for a ten-year-old, he sure didn’t know much. Malcolm sighed and patiently explained, “The economy has to do with earning and spending money.”

  Dandy picked his nose. “Doesn’t sound very scientific.”

  “Wait ’til you see what I’m going to do. You know when something costs 97¢, and you have to dig in your pocket to find three quarters, two dimes, and two pennies?”

  Dandy silently counted on his fingers to double-check.

  “Well, most people hate having change jingling around in their pockets, so they have to give the clerk a dollar bill. Then they get back three pennies, which means they still have change jingling around in their pockets.”

  “Okay,” Dandy said with a blank face.

  “Well, why should change be separate? Wouldn’t it be easier to buy something for 97¢ if the three quarters, two dimes, and two pennies were stuck together?”

  Dandy nodded his head. “Oh yeah, I get it. Like with superglue?”

  “No,” Malcolm said, rolling his eyes. “We’ll fuse it together. Then we’ll present our idea to the government and win a medal from the president.”

  “Cool,” Dandy said, picking his nose again. “So, do you want me to sneak your sister’s blow-dryer?”

  “No. I want you to loan me 97¢.”

  “Will I get it back?” Dandy asked.

  Malcolm grinned. “All in one piece.”

  Dandy stood with his mouth wide open as Malcolm brought out his newest prize.

  “Wow! Is that your mom’s curling iron?” Dandy asked.

  “No,” Malcolm said. “It’s my latest find. And close your mouth before you swallow a fly.”

  Dandy snapped his mouth shut—for a moment. “Where’d you find it?”

  “In the back of one of my magazines,” Malcolm answered. “It’s made especially for fusing metal. When I turn it on, a red-hot laser will melt the money together. Are you ready?”

  Malcolm stacked the coins on the counter, biggest on the bottom. He pointed his fusion wand, then flipped the switch.

  No humming. No buzzing. No whirring. Just a click.

  A thin stream of white light shone down on the coins.

  “I thought the laser would be red,” Dandy said.

  “Shhhh,” Malcolm snapped, giving Dandy a warning look. “It’s hot. Like a white flame.”

  The boys stared at the money. Dandy sniffled. “
If it’s that hot, wouldn’t it burn a hole in the counter?”

  Malcolm didn’t answer, even though it was a good question. “Time’s up,” he finally said, clicking off the fusion wand.

  Both boys inched slowly toward the table.

  “Shouldn’t there be smoke?” Dandy asked.

  “Gosh, Dandy, don’t you know anything? Lasers heat differently than fire.”

  They leaned forward, their noses just inches from the coins.

  “Shouldn’t it smell hot?” Dandy asked.

  Malcolm reached his pointer finger toward the money. Slowly . . . slowly . . . slowly . . .

  Dandy wiggled impatiently. “Well? Did the change . . . uh . . . change?”

  Malcolm’s finger touched the stack, and it came toppling down. He picked up one of the pennies. It wasn’t even warm.

  “What went wrong?” he muttered.

  “Did you read the instructions?” Dandy asked.

  “I couldn’t. They were in Japanese.”

  Dandy picked up the fusion wand and turned it over. In tiny letters near the handle he read: Mr. Laser Fun Flashlight—Galactic Toy Co.

  “I think I found the problem,” he said, handing the flashlight to Malcolm.

  Malcolm plunked himself down on an old beanbag chair. “Ripped off again! What do I do now?”

  Dandy picked his nose and suggested, “Superglue?”

  CHAPTER TWO

  MAIL-ORDER MIRACLE

  Malcolm dragged himself to breakfast the next morning. His pajamas were drooping and his hair was spiked from bed head.

  His sister, Cocoa, and Grandma Eunice were already at the table. Cocoa was wearing blinding neon lip gloss that made her mouth look radioactive. Grandma Eunice just sat and ate her bran flakes and prunes. She was actually Malcolm’s great-grandmother, and he thought she was probably older than electricity.

  “Hey, coconut,” Malcolm grunted.

  “Mom! Malcolm called me coconut again!” Cocoa pouted.

  Mom flipped a pancake. “Malcolm, don’t call your sister ‘coconut.’”

  “It’s your fault, Mom,” Cocoa whined. “If you’d given me a real name, I wouldn’t have this problem.”

  “But sweetie,” Mom said. “Your grandmother’s name was Cocoa. Aren’t you honored to be named after your grandmother?”

  Malcolm gave Cocoa a wicked grin. “She could have named you after a different grandmother. How about we start calling you Eunice?”

  Grandma Eunice looked up from her cereal and smiled. “That’s nice.”

  Cocoa shot Malcolm a piercing look. “How about we call you nerd? Or do you prefer geek?”

  Mom set the pancakes on the table. “I prefer quiet.” She turned to Grandma Eunice, patted her shoulder, and adjusted the cereal spoon in her hand. “Can I get you something else to eat?” she asked.

  Malcolm looked away. He hated the way everyone babied Grandma Eunice. They treated her more like a pet than a family member.

  Grandma Eunice shook her head no, milk dripping down her chin.

  Malcolm scarfed down his food and retreated to his lab to fiddle with his scientific gadgets. At midmorning he looked up through the basement window and saw feet coming up the walk. He’d know those shoes anywhere. Mail Carrier Nancy.

  Malcolm dashed to the mailbox and grabbed the stack of mail. He dropped the bills, flyers, and samples on the kitchen counter. Then, he ran back to his lab, holding his magazines.

  This was the time of month Malcolm loved best. His magazines always arrived on the same day, just like Christmas presents. He sorted through them.

  Junior Scientist. Weird Worlds. Beyond Belief. They were all here. But he rarely read the articles. Instead he’d jump to the ads in the back. That’s where he found the cool inventions. He especially liked the ones that advertised as, Originally developed in a secret government lab.

  Malcolm thumbed through the back of Beyond Belief. Most of the ads were the same, month after month.

  But a new ad caught Malcolm’s eye. He practically drooled when he read it. Then, he circled it so he wouldn’t forget it later.

  Malcolm, who had a drawer full of batteries, leapt in the air. “Yes!”

  His hands trembled as he stuffed the money into an envelope and licked it shut. He stuck on a stamp and ran to the corner mailbox. And then the waiting began.

  CHAPTER THREE

  THE ECTO-HANDHELD-AUTOMATIC-HEAT-SENSITIVE-LASER-ENHANCED SPECTER DETECTOR

  Malcolm didn’t do the things that other kids did during the summer. While they were swimming and playing ball, Malcolm watched science programs and monster movies and conducted experiments in his lab. But this summer, he mostly waited . . . and waited . . . and waited.

  Every day he’d sit on the front stoop, watching for Mail Carrier Nancy to approach. And every day she’d say the same thing.

  “Sorry, Malcolm. No packages.” He hated those words.

  Then finally, after two long weeks (which felt like two eternities to Malcolm), Mail Carrier Nancy walked up, wearing a grin bigger than her face.

  “I believe this is for you,” she said, handing Malcolm a heavily taped box.

  Malcolm wanted to jump up and hug her, but he didn’t think it would be appropriate. So instead, he thanked her and ran inside the house.

  He rushed past Grandma Eunice as she sat watching her favorite soap opera. “Wheeeeeee!” she sang as he sped by.

  He brushed by Cocoa, nearly knocking her down. “Hey, creep!” she shouted.

  But Malcolm didn’t hear either one. He was already flying down the basement steps, two at a time.

  He knocked some magazines and empty cups off the counter and set the box down. He wished he had X-ray vision because he couldn’t wait to see inside. He quickly took a pair of scissors and sliced through the label that said Ecto Corporation.

  When he popped up the lid, an avalanche of white foam peanuts poured to his feet. After digging through what seemed like a million of those things, including the three that stuck to his arm, Malcolm found his prize! It was wrapped in a mile of Bubble Wrap. Oh well . . . it was better than getting a broken specter detector.

  Malcolm unwound and unwound and unwound until—finally—he glimpsed it. The silver metal gadget shone like a trophy. It resembled a hand drill with three small bubbles on top, one red, one green, and one gold. It was the most beautiful thing Malcolm had ever seen.

  He reached in to lift it out and was surprised at how heavy it was. This was no toy. On the left side of the handle was a small door for the batteries. On the right side was a switch. It looked easy enough. The switch was labeled Off—On—Detect.

  Malcolm eyed the switch, butterflies thumping his belly. He took a deep breath and quickly flipped it on.

  Nothing.

  Then he remembered. *Batteries not included.

  He opened a drawer and selected two C batteries. They popped out three times before he got them installed. Then he tried the switch again. This time, he wasn’t so nervous.

  In the On position, the green light glowed, and the specter detector hummed. Malcolm was thrilled! He switched the gadget off and ran upstairs to the phone.

  “Dandy, get over here quick. You’ve got to see this!”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  LIP-SYNCH

  Malcolm stood in the front yard, waiting for Dandy. He impatiently rocked back and forth—one leg, then the other. Soon Dandy came thumping up the walk, taking his own sweet time.

  “What do you want to show me?” he asked.

  “It’s in the lab. You gotta see it!”

  When they walked into the living room, Grandma Eunice grinned at Dandy. “Hello, Alfred,” she said.

  Dandy looked back to make sure she wasn’t talking to someone behind him. Then, he politely said, “My name is Daniel.”

  “That’s nice,” Grandma Eunice said, looking back at the TV.

  The boys hurried past her and through the kitchen. Malcolm grabbed a box of cheese crackers. Seeing ketchup stains on Dandy
’s shirt reminded him that he’d skipped lunch.

  Before they reached the basement door, Malcolm heard music blaring so loud the walls rattled below. His stomach did a somersault.

  He and Dandy rushed down the steps to an unforgivable sight. There was Cocoa, bopping to the music, snapping her fingers and mouthing the words. Her neon lip gloss had peeled into crusty clumps, looking a lot like the algae in Malcolm’s fish tank.

  Malcolm was thankful that Cocoa wasn’t really singing. Her yowling was ten times worse than her dancing. He reached back and unplugged the CD player.

  “Hey, nerd!” Cocoa hollered. “I need to practice for the lip-synch contest next week. This is important.”

  “You can practice,” Malcolm said. “But not here. Out!”

  “You don’t own this basement!” she said. She planted her hands so firmly on her hips, her knuckles turned white.

  “This is my lab. Get out!”

  Dandy sat on the bottom step, picking his nose. “What did you want to show me?”

  “Not yet,” Malcolm said, staring his sister down.

  “I’m not leaving,” Cocoa said.

  “Are too.”

  “Am not.”

  “Are too.”

  Dandy walked over and took the box of cheese crackers from Malcolm’s hand. He removed his finger from his nose, popped open the lid, and dug in.

  “Ewww, your friend is gross!” Cocoa cried.

  “At least his boogers end up in his mouth and not all over his lips like yours,” Malcolm said.

  Cocoa smacked her lips together, causing the lip gloss to curl even more. “By the way, where’s my blow-dryer?”

  Dandy slowly backed away, looking at the floor. Cocoa gave him a suspicious look. “Where is it?”

  “Why don’t you go upstairs and look for it?” Malcolm suggested.

  “I’m not leaving,” she said, turning around and plugging the music back in.

  “Fine,” Malcolm said.

  He headed over to his chemistry set. Dandy followed.

  Malcolm took the Bubble Wrap from the specter detector and placed it on the floor behind the counter.