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    The Thirteenth Mystery
    The Thirteenth Mystery
    The Thirteenth Mystery
    Ebook149 pages1 hour

    The Thirteenth Mystery

    By Michael Dahl and Lisa K. Weber

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    About this ebook

    Abracadabra, the founder of the Hocus Pocus Hotel has vanished! Charlie Hitchcock and Tyler Yu team up again to solve this mystery and find their friend. As the boys continue to search for clues, and as Annie Solo, a desk clerk at the hotel, helps them out, the last thing they expect happens. Tyler vanishes. But Charlie has reason to believe that a mysterious thirteenth floor exists in the old hotel . . .
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCapstone Young Readers
    Release dateJan 1, 2014
    ISBN9781434296269
    The Thirteenth Mystery
    Author

    Michael Dahl

    Michael Dahl is the prolific author of the bestselling Goodnight, Baseball picture book and more than 200 other books for children and young adults. He has won the Association of Educational Publishers Distinguished Achievement Award three times for his nonfiction, a Teachers’ Choice Award from Learning Magazine, and a Seal of Excellence from the Creative Child Awards. Dahl currently lives in Minnesota.

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      Book preview

      The Thirteenth Mystery - Michael Dahl

      Table of Contents

      1: Impossible

      2: Double Emergency

      3: Clues on the Carpet

      4: The Dragonstone Disappearance

      5: The Glass Keyhole

      6: Beard and Mustache

      7: The Stairs Between

      8: Taking Steps

      9: Deadline for Abracadabra

      10: Flowers with a Twist

      11: DeVille’s Trick

      12: Shifting Shadows

      13: The Thirteenth Floor

      14: The Twelve

      15: The Old Magic Returns

      16: The Locked Door

      17: No Way Out

      18: The Third Flower

      19: Shadow Man

      20: Ty and the Trap

      21: Ancestors

      From his desk near the back of Ms. Gimli’s classroom, Charlie Hitchcock stared at the three impossible words.

      ABRACADABRA IS MISSING.

      Abracadabra, master of the impossible, the world’s oldest living magician, missing? The same man who had made other people disappear, along with rabbits, airplanes, school buses, and the occasional elephant. How could he vanish?

      If Abracadabra had disappeared on purpose, he would have let Charlie in on his plans. After all, the great performer — known as Brack to his friends — certainly thought of Charlie as a pal.

      No way. Brack would have told me! Charlie thought. He scrunched up the note. Or he would have told Ty, and Ty would have told me.

      Tyler Yu lived and worked at the world-famous Abracadabra Hotel. And while Charlie didn’t exactly consider Ty his friend, the two boys had often worked together to solve puzzles surrounding the hotel’s mysterious guests. It was Ty who had secretly handed the note to Charlie out in the hall, between classes. Charlie knew better than to say or ask anything at the time. Ty couldn’t afford to let anyone know that he was on speaking terms with Charlie Hitchcock, the smartest kid in Blackstone Middle School, and therefore the school’s biggest nerd.

      If Brack didn’t say anything to me or Ty, thought Charlie, then his disappearance wasn’t planned. An accident?

      Charlie heard an odd tap-tap sound.

      What’s that tapping? asked Ms. Gimli from the front of the classroom.

      Scotter Larson raised his hand. I believe, he began without being called on, it’s Morse Code, Ms. Gimli.

      Morse Code? Ms. Gimli repeated. Well, whoever is doing it should stop.

      It’s not me, Ms. Gimli, said Scotter. The blond boy sat up straighter in his desk. Even though I was the youngest Scout in the tri-state area to receive a badge for Morse Code.

      Something hit Charlie on the shoulder. He looked up and saw Tyler Yu standing just outside the door of Ms. Gimli’s room.

      The tall boy looked angry. He always looked angry. He tapped harder against the doorframe with a pen.

      Impossible, said Scotter Larson. It doesn’t make sense.

      Ms. Gimli turned from the whiteboard and looked at Scotter. What is impossible?

      The Morse Code message, Scotter said. The Morse message says H-V-R-R-Y-V-P. But that’s not a word.

      Charlie wrote down the letters in his notebook.

      H.V.R.R.Y.V.P.

      Scotter may think it’s not a word, he thought, but it is. Two words, actually.

      Charlie knew that in order to solve a puzzle you sometimes needed to take into account unpredictable factors. And the most unpredictable factors were personalities.

      In this case, the personality of the person actually sending the Morse Code message: Tyler Wu. Ty knew a lot about secrets and strategy. But he wasn’t the best speller.

      Tyler’s making a mistake, thought Charlie. He’s using three dots instead of two to spell a Morse letter. He doesn’t mean V, he means U. He’s telling me to hurry up!

      Charlie looked at Tyler. The tall boy’s face was turning red. His eyes were glowing.

      Charlie rushed up to Ms. Gimli. Uh, may I go to the lavatory? he whispered.

      Can’t you wait until lunch?

      I don’t think so.

      Then hurry up, said the teacher.

      Hurry up? said Scotter to himself.

      He’s figuring it out, thought Charlie. He gathered up his things and left the room.

      What took you so long? Ty spat out. You saw the note! He turned and headed down the hall. And before you say anything, yeah, I know the Morse Code was spelled wrong. I did that on purpose so no one else would figure it out.

      Wait! said Charlie, running alongside. Where are you going?

      Tyler stopped. He fixed Charlie with a steely look, as if he were pinning the boy to the wall. I thought you figured that out, too. Aren’t you the smartest kid in school?

      Charlie said, You’re going to the hotel? Now? In the middle of the day?

      Tyler smiled, but it was a cold smile. "Wrong, Brainiac. We’re going to the hotel. Now. In the middle of the day. Our friend needs us."

      And that was all Charlie needed to hear.

      It was raining by the time Charlie and Ty reached the Abracadabra Hotel in an old section of downtown Blackstone.

      The ancient building — known to its residents as the Hocus Pocus Hotel, but officially named for its founder, Abracadabra — raised its towers toward the dark churning clouds.

      When the boys walked through the glass double doors, they passed from rain, gloom, and thunder to bright lights, laughter, and excited voices. The vast lobby was completely stuffed with people.

      What’s going on? asked Charlie. Is it a party?

      Tyler! yelled a voice. The boys saw a young girl elbowing her way through the crowd. It was Annie Solo, who worked at the front desk.

      Tyler, she repeated, trying to catch her breath. I’m so glad to see you. You got my text!

      Text? Ty said, frowning. Uh, nope. No text. I don’t have a phone. You must have had the wrong number or something.

      I beeped you, too, Annie said. Twice. Maybe three times.

      Annie, you know I can’t have my beeper on at school, Tyler said.

      Charlie guessed

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