A Golden Opportunity

"All I'm saying is that it's unfair," said Frank.
"It's not unfair, they uncovered a pretty serious crime, too," replied Kelly.
"Oh? A serious crime? They found some circus clown gone wrong and
people are raving about them like they're the next Sherlock."
"First, it wasn't a clown, it was a hypnotist, and he was using his
powers to steal the land the circus was on so he could search for the
legendary Aztec Gold that's said to be hidden there. Second, what's
the big deal? We were in the paper too."
"On page eight!" yelled Frank. "We expose a cocaine smuggling
operation and get page eight; they uncover some real-estate scam and
are on the front page!"
"You guys' arguing is really making it hard to sleep," said Sammy.
"Yeah," said Valerie. "Let's just forget about crimes and mysteries
and enjoy this vacation. Some skiing should help you relax, Frank."
"It better," he muttered.
"Slippery Slope Ski and Snow Resort, here we come!" said Sammy.
"Woof!" barked Spot.
       Frank pushed harder on the gas pedal and they listened to the
Sportvan's engine struggle at the high speed. The four teenagers and
their dog sped off along the highway watching the scenery zip by.
Slowly, the buildings became trees and the roads became white with
snow as they began climbing higher and higher into the mountains.
"Hey, look! We're almost there!" said Frank, distinctly more happy
than he had been only a few hours ago. A sign by the side of the road
told them they were only two miles from the resort. Everybody began to
perk up with excitement; Sammy even awoke from his slumber to watch
the gently falling snow hit the trees. Frank was weary from driving
and his eyes were aching from the strain..
Suddenly, something leapt from the forest and stopped dead in front of
the van. Adrenaline rushed through Frank's body and he slammed his
foot hard on the brakes. The wheels locked up, but the car sped
forward, sliding along the ice. Kelly screamed and Sammy covered his
eyes, but Frank stared at the creature in horror. That's not just some
animal, it's a person, he thought. I'm going to hit a person! The
figure in the road began to cackle and the car smashed through him,
finally coming to a rest a few yards behind where he had been
standing. Kelly kept screaming and Sammy uncovered his eyes to check
on Spot. Frank quickly hopped out of the car.
"That poor little deer!" sobbed Kelly. "We killed an adorable little deer!"
"That was no deer, it was a person! And I don't think we even hit it!"
called Frank. The passengers of the van came to see what Frank was
talking about. "See? There's not a scratch on the car and there's no
sign of that man anywhere."
"What makes you think it was person?" asked Valerie.
"I looked him right in the eyes. He was huge, but bending over, and
was wearing some sort of dark cape around his body. His skin looked
almost blue but his eyes were jet black," said Frank.
"I think you've been driving a little too long, man," said Sammy. "You
want me to take over?"
       "Leave this place!" called a bodiless voice, "turn around now!"
       "Up there!" called Kelly, pointing to a dark blue figure with a black
cape floating above their heads.
       "Leave this place, now!" it called again. "Or you shall suffer my wrath!"
       "He's disappeared!" gasped Sammy as the figure evaporated into the sky.
       "Come on gang, let's get to that lodge. There's something fishy about
this place," said Frank.
       "Gang? Fishy? For somebody who hates Fred, he sure does try to talk
like him," Valerie whispered to Kelly.
* * *
Frank pulled the Sportvan into the snowy driveway and shut off the
ignition. White flakes were pouring down onto the small, wooden resort
with relentless effort. Valerie peered through the glass at a small
wooden sign in front of the lodge, barely legible through the falling
snow.
"This is it, alright," she said. "Slipper Slope Ski and Snow Resort."
Kelly squinted through the snow at the pathetic structure. "This place
looks terrible," she said. "Who in their right mind would ever come
here?"
"Look, funds are a little tight, and this is the best place we could
afford," said Valerie. "Besides, you can't judge a book by its cover;
the interior is probably lovely."
"Well, let's get inside quick," said Sammy. "I'm gonna be a popsicle
in a few minutes."
"Woof!" said Spot.
"That van in front of us sure looks familiar," said Frank as he stared
through the windshield at a tall van that had been completely covered
by snow.
"Like, yeah," said Sammy. "It looks like us in five minutes!"
"I agree with Sammy," said Kelly. "Let's get inside before we freeze to death."
"Fine," said Frank, though he was reluctant to enter without
identifying the ominous van in front of them.
The four teenagers climbed out of the car and braved the freezing
temperatures as they marched into the resort. The lobby was dimly lit
with the only light coming from a large fire in the fire place and a
few small candles. There were thick red chairs surrounding the fire
place that looked dangerously comfortable. The room was dark and
dusty, but otherwise quite nice and relaxing. Frank walked to the
front desk and rang the bell loudly twice. A man promptly appeared
from the darkness and switched on a small gas lamp by the desk.
"Hello," he said. "Welcome to Slippery Slope Ski and Snow Resort, I'm
Mr. Hurland. Do you have a reservation?"
"Yes, my name is Frank."
"Ah, here we are," said Mr. Hurland. "You are in rooms five and six,
here are your keys, is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Yes," said Frank, "have you noticed anything strange going on here?"
"Sir?"
"On our drive up the mountain a strange figure appeared in front of
our car, I thought I hit it, but it just disappeared. When we got out
of the car, it reappeared and began screaming at us."
"Oh dear," said Mr. Hurland, his tone gravely serious. "Sounds like
you kids had a run-in with The Count."
"The who?" gasped Kelly.
"The Count," said Mr. Hurland. "A long time ago this land belonged to
a very powerful man named Count Drakev. He lived by himself in the
mansion up the road for many years. He never let anybody onto his
property and kept huge gates up all around the mountain. He could be
seen walking through the snow from the town below every night at ten
o'clock. Then, one day, there was a huge storm and the villagers
stopped seeing him on his nightly walk. When police went up to
investigate, they found he had disappeared. They say he froze to
death, but his body was never found to confirm the rumor. Legends said
that his ghost still roamed the mountain, but it had never been a
problem until a few years ago."
"What do you mean?" asked Frank.
"His ghost began attacking 'intruders' on this property. I've had
hardly a customer in years. If it weren't for those other kids, I'd be
out of business."
"What other kids?" asked Valerie.
"The kids from the T.V. set come up here regularly. They call
themselves Mystery Inc."
"I knew I recognized that van outside!" said Frank.
"Wait a minute, they haven't solved your case?" asked Valerie,
cautiously enthusiastic.
"Sure haven't. That's why they never bring their camera crew with them
up here. They say they just can't figure it out."
"YES!" yelled Frank. "Finally, a chance for us to prove ourselves."
"I recommend you kids just mind your own business and then get out of
here quick, don't go poking around in things you don't know." he said
darkly, it almost sounded like a threat.
No way, Mr. Hurland, we are going to solve this case, once and for all."
"Looks like another ruined vacation," groaned Sammy.
***
The four teenagers and their dog stood silently before the tall
mansion. The paint had long since peeled off and many of the windows
were broken. The stairs looked incapable of withstanding even the
slightest breeze and the setting sun did not encourage the children to
take the first step forward.
"Well, go on Sammy," said Kelly. "Go knock on the door."
"Like, no way, man, that place gives me the creeps."
"Ugh, what a turkey," said Valerie.
"Then why don't you go up?" said Sammy.
"I wish we could just send Spot up there to knock," said Kelly.
"And put him in harm's way?" asked Sammy as he scratched Spot's head.
"No way. Besides, he doesn't speak English like dumb old Scooby-Doo."
"Yeah," said Valerie as she rolled her eyes. "Scooby-Doo sure is dumb
for knowing how to speak two languages."
"Oh, whatever. He can't even pronounce his L's. Everything he says
starts with an R."
"Come on," said Frank. "We're all going up there at once, I'll knock
on the door." With that, the kids cautiously climbed the rickety
wooden steps and approached the towering entrance. Frank extended his
fist and banged once against the peeling paint. The door slowly swung
open to reveal a large, circular hallway with a huge cage-shaped
chandelier dangling ominously from the ceiling.  There were two stair
cases along the wall that led to the second floor and large double
doors beneath the top of the staircases that appeared to lead to the
rest of the first floor.  The dark setting was vacant and frightening,
and this wasn't helped by the deep cold from outside crawling under
their clothes. Spot whimpered noisily until Frank silenced him with a
threatening look.
"We need to split up and search this place for clues," said Frank
authoritatively. His hands shook with anticipation. I'm about to solve
another mystery, he thought. He could feel the hairs on the back of
his neck perking with anticipation as he stared around the room, his
eyes ablaze with excitement. "Sammy, Valerie, take Spot and search for
clues on this floor. Kelly and I will look around the upper floors."
"Like, no way, man," said Sammy. "Everybody knows that ghosts always
hide on the first floor."
"Fine," said Frank, eager to begin his search. "You look upstairs and
we'll look downstairs."
Frank and Kelly began down the long, dark hallway together. Sammy
turned to march up the stairs alongside Valerie, with Spot and his
wildly wagging tail close behind. The stairs creaked loudly as the
three moved cautiously up the steps. When they reached the top they
faced a long hallway with several doors on either side.
"Might as well start with the first one," said Valerie, straightening
her glasses and tightening the string that kept them from slipping off
her head. She repeated this ritual every time she began searching for
clues. She had terrible eyesight and nothing annoyed her more than her
glasses slipping out of place when she was trying to focus on a
mystery.
She stepped forward and slowly twisted the knob on the dark-wood door,
listening intently for the slightest sound of movement inside. When
the door was open enough for her to fit through, she silently stuck
her head in and flipped the switch. To her surprise, she found a quite
pleasant area. The room was bright orange and everything inside it was
neatly placed in perfect order, a stark contrast to the dreary
hallways of the mansion. There was a cleverly organized bookshelf, a
clean, wooden desk, an orange bean-bag chair and a small dresser to
the side. The walls were adorned with black-and-white posters of the
world's greatest thinkers: Einstein, Freud, Mozart and many others.
There was no bed, but to Valerie's astonishment, the room sharply
reminded her of her own bedroom. She wouldn't have picked such a tacky
orange, but otherwise the furnishings were quite similar to those of
Valerie's room. Turning her focus back to her hunt for clues, Valerie
crossed the room to the desk, Sammy and Spot close behind. She sat
down and began rifling through the neat and tidy objects that rest on
top of it. There were notes, ideas, quotes and many other scribblings
Valerie did not bother to identify. Along the side of the desk were
two drawers. She opened the top one first; it held a Rubik's Cube, a
calculator, and nothing else. The second held piles of glasses repair
kits and lenses. Somebody needs to start using a string like I do,
thought Valerie. She stuck her hand towards the back of the
compartment and came across a peculiarly shaped object. When she
pulled it out, she discovered it was a magnifying glass. She stopped
dead. A spark erupted in her mind. A solution to the puzzle was
forming in her head; she had taken the first step to solving the
mystery.  But I'll need more evidence than this, she thought. She
hopped up to find Sammy and Spot playing on the bean-bag chair.
"Come on, you two," she said, only slightly sternly. "Let's go." Sammy
reluctantly got up and Spot followed. The trio continued down the
hallway, poking their noses in doors and looking around as they went.
Most of the rooms were empty; others held strange artifacts and
obscure relics: tribal masks and eerie contraptions, strange talismans
and tall statues, frightening costumes and peculiar machines. One room
had nothing but keys with city names attached to them. Another was
packed wall to wall with various types of projectors (Valerie stared
at that room for particularly long). Finally, they came to an ordinary
room: a bathroom. Determined to find more clues, Valerie ordered Sammy
and Spot to help in the search.
"Like, nothing over here," said Sammy, jokingly staring down the toilet.
"Be serious, you two," ordered Valerie.
"Come on, Valerie, this is ridiculous. It's a bathroom for crying out
loud! There's just a bunch of soap and, like, fifty hair products,"
said Sammy.
"Fifty?" asked Valerie, suddenly intrigued.
"No, not actually fifty," retorted Sammy frustrated, "I didn't count
them!" Valerie spun around to look at the sink alongside Sammy. He was
still fuming at her but she didn't notice. The sink had countless
bottles balancing on its rim, and Sammy's estimate of fifty had not
been far off. There were tall green ones and baby pink ones. Some had
English on them, some had other languages. There were gels, shampoos,
conditioners, lotions, and things even Valerie couldn't identify.
After staring at them for some time, she grabbed a smaller red one
with what appeared to be French on it and put it in her pocket.
"YES!" she screamed. "Sammy, you're a genius!"
"What?" asked Sammy, perplexed at what had just happened.
"No time to explain, we've got to go find Frank and Kelly," she called
over her shoulder as she burst out of the bathroom.
***
Frank and Kelly walked through the large double doors to face a
sternly foreboding corridor that was so long and dark they could not
see its end. The familiar sound of Spot's panting faded away as the
heavy doors slammed shut behind them. Frank grabbed a lantern from the
side of the corridor and lit it quickly. The meager light didn't do
much, but it successfully illuminated the couple's next steps so they
held it high and started down the corridor.
"Some vacation, huh?" asked Frank sarcastically as a rat scurried from
the lantern's light and the teenager's footsteps. The two walked down
the hallway, looking in the rooms they passed along the way but
finding nothing. Room after room was either empty of void of any clues
pointing to a suspect. Finally, they reached the end of the hallway
and faced the final door.
"Well, mathematically, this room must have thousands of clues," said Frank.
"Just open the door," said Kelly, obviously disturbed by the insects
and rats in every corner of the house. Frank turned the handle and
pressed against the wood, the door swung open easily. The room was
empty and a frustrated Frank began to close the door to leave the
room.
"Wait," said Kelly, putting her hand on the wood to stop him.
"What?" asked Frank. "It's just another empty room."
"Look," replied Kelly, "There's a hook on the wall."
"So?"
"None of the other empty rooms had hooks, and this one looks kind of
new. Everything else in this house looks a hundred years old," Kelly
paused for a second in thought, staring at the lantern. "Except for
the other hook!" she announced. "The two hooks are new! Search this
room, there's definitely something going on in here."
The two teenagers walked in and began searching the floor for clues.
Frank decided to hang the lantern up so the light would spread across
the whole room and they could finish more quickly. As he set the
handle down on the hook, the hook sank with the weight of the lantern.
At first he thought the lantern was too heavy, and that it was
breaking the hook. But then the ground shook and the wall itself
seemed to move. No, it was moving. The wall rotated ninety degrees to
reveal a room sparkling bright with treasure. Frank and Kelly covered
their eyes to let them adjust to the new light. There was fine China
and goblets, bright crowns and sparkling rings, silver bracelets and
diamond earrings, jewels of every color and shape, and piles of gold
as tall as Frank. For several seconds, the two kids stared in awe at
the pile of treasure. Finally Kelly broke the silence.
"What is all this?" she asked.
Frank tried to form an answer but his brain could barely function,
then it stopped dead completely: something had burst through the door
behind them. Frank and Kelly turned in unison to see Count Drakev's
ghost standing tall and menacing in the doorway. His black cape furled
around his back and his eyes were black with hatred.
"I warned you to leave this place!" screamed The Count, his voice was
high and his words trembled violently. "Now you shall suffer my
wrath!" With that he flung himself at Frank and Kelly, charging full
speed towards the two teenagers. Frank could feel his heart pounding
so violently in his chest he thought it might burst. Kelly fought
panic and searched for an escape route.
"Frank!" yelled Kelly. "There's a staircase on the other side of the
treasure room!" Frank turned and galloped into the room, sprinting
around the piles of jewels and over mounds of gold. Kelly was several
steps in front of him and had just made it to the foot of the
staircase. Frank looked behind himself and saw that The Count was not
far behind. While he was looking backwards, an impressively large
diamond tiara caught his ankle and sent him flying into a pile of
shiny coins. The metal smashed into his face and his eye was only
inches from the gold. He stared at it for a second before he began to
stand up, putting a few pieces in his pocket as he made his escape. He
flew up the stairs to find Kelly waiting for him at the top and the
two began charging down another corridor.
"What took you so long?" she panted.
"I fell. Where are we?"
"I think we're on the second floor," Kelly said as she glanced out a
window they were passing.
"We've gotta find the others and get out of here."
"I think we found them!" shrieked Kelly. Valerie had just burst out of
a room with Sammy and Spot and collided head on with Frank and Kelly.
The four teenagers and their dog ended up in a heap on the floor.
"Where did you come from?" asked a shocked Valerie.
"We were running from The Count," said Kelly.
"I think you lost him," said Sammy, peering in the direction they had
just come from.
"Me, too," said Frank. "He sure moves pretty slow for a ghost that can fly."
"And he sure had loud footsteps," added Kelly.
"I think I've got a pretty good idea of what's going on," said Valerie.
"Yeah, me, too," said Frank. "But we still gotta get our hands on the criminal."
"Sounds like it's time for another one of Sammy's Special Specter
Seizing Snares," said Sammy.
"Oh, brother," moaned Valerie.
"Woof!" barked Spot.
***
 "Okay," said Sammy, standing in the middle of the front hallway and
running over the plan one last time, "I'm the fastest, so I'm gonna go
out and lure Count Drakev to you guys. Frank and Valerie will hide
behind these double doors and pull this rope tight and hold it low to
the ground. When the 'ghost' comes chasing me through the doors, he'll
trip and go flying into that orange beanbag over there. Once he lands
on it, Kelly will let go of that rope holding the chandelier and it
will fall down around The Count and trap him. Now, does everybody know
what to do?" The other teens nodded in unison with enough confidence
to reassure a doubtful Sammy. His ideas had been known to fail
miserably in the past, and he was worried this one may do the same.
***
"Hello!" yelled Sammy. "I'm a mean, loud tourist looking for a place
to stay and this seemed like a nice place to visit! I'm gonna invite
all my friends here and we're all gonna hang out and be loud because
nobody lives here!"
"You have been warned twice!" screamed Count Drakev from behind Sammy.
"But now you go too far! Prepare to feel my wrath!" Sammy turned and
ran full speed down the corridor, hearing the 'ghost's' footsteps
close behind him. When he reached the double doors he did not
hesitate. Everything seemed in order: the beanbag was there, the
chandelier dangled from the ceiling. Sammy charged through the open
doors at full speed. Unfortunately, his foot caught something rough-
the rope. He flew face-first at the beanbag chair. Kelly reflexively
released the rope holding the chandelier and it came down around
Sammy, caging him in, and its rope followed it slowly to the ground
and laid gently across the hallway floor. The Count jumped over Frank
and Valerie's now pathetic-looking tripwire and stood proudly before
the teens, cackling evilly.
"Hahahahaha! You thought you could capture me? I am Count Drakev the
most fearsome of all the, um, counts! Now you shall feel my wrath!"
Spot grabbed the chandelier's rope in his mouth while The Count basked
in his glory and began to run. He circled the 'ghost' again and again,
tightening the rope around its ankles.
"What are you doing?" yelled Count Drakev. "Get off me, you filthy mutt!"
"He's no mutt," said Frank, now standing tall and close to Count
Drakev, excitement again burning in his eyes. Frank raised his fist
and slammed it into the 'ghost's' blue temple. Count Drakev went down
like a brick.
***
Officer Braddock and Officer Louis stood with a note pad out before
the four teenagers and their dog. Sammy had been freed from the
chandelier, and Count Drakev was now tightly handcuffed to its bars.
The first rays of sunlight were poking up over the horizon as the
police began their questioning.
"The city is awful grateful to you kids," said Officer Braddock. "But
how on earth did you do it?"
"Well," said Frank. "It was really quite simple. Valerie found a room
full of projectors on the second floor. They were all in a very neat
order, but two were missing from the pattern. She could tell one
hadn't been there for a long time because of the indentation in the
floor. The other had been moved recently, so there still wasn't any
dust in its spot on the floor. Mystery, Inc. has been using these
projectors to create the illusion of The Count floating. The one that
had been moved along time ago was set up down the road to project an
image of the ghost in the sky and scare off any easily-frightened
tourists. The one that was recently moved was obviously set up earlier
today to scare us out of this house."
"Then who is the ghost?" asked Officer Louis. Frank crossed the room
proudly and grabbed Count Drakev by the hair.
"Our good friend Count Drakev is none other than Fred of Mystery,
Inc.," said Frank, pulling the mask off The Count to reveal that it
was, indeed, Fred. Finally, thought Frank. The police gasped.
"B-but how did you know?" stuttered Officer Braddock.
"On the second floor," began Valerie, "I found an orange room with
pictures of geniuses on the walls. The desk contained several glasses
repair kits and a very high-quality magnifying glass. This room has no
bed, but is obviously where Velma kept her things. She doesn't need a
bed because she's been sleeping at the hotel, but she keeps extra
clothes, notes and other things here for safekeeping. Then in the
bathroom I found a plethora of hair products. It's common knowledge
that Daphne and Fred are obsessed with their hair, and they must use
these products to keep it so perfect." She took the small pink bottle
from her pocket and showed it to the officers. "'Déplacez jamais' is
Fred's signature brand of hair gel. It's only legal in France because
it's made of the most powerful glue in the world; it's how he keeps
his hair so perfect."
"When me and Kelly were-" started Frank.
"Kelly and I," corrected Kelly.
"That's what I said. When we were down in the basement, we found a
room full of treasure. I knew Mystery, Inc. were the culprits when I
fell on a pile of these," Frank pulled one of the coins he had
pocketed out and showed it to the police. "It's the Aztec Gold that
'hypnotist' they caught last week was searching for on the circus
land."
The police were having trouble keeping up. "Wait a minute," said
Officer Louis, "What does all this mean?"
"Mystery, Inc. has been stealing every jewel they could get their
hands on since they started solving crimes. The thieves wouldn't get
the treasure, but neither would the police. Mystery, Inc. would hide
it in their van and dump it off here. They brought to life the legend
of Count Drakev to scare any unwanted guests off the land," said
Velma.
"That's how they've been funding all their media attention and
affording all this travel," said Frank
"If you go down to the hotel you'll find the rest of their gang hiding
away, hoping we don't figure them out," said Kelly.
"I bet they have loads of stolen things in their van that they were
waiting to unload until after we left," said Sammy.
"And we would've gotten away with it if it weren't for you dumb
losers, and your boring dog!" snarled Fred uncharacteristically.
"Woof!" said Spot.
Everybody laughed, except for Fred.