nodded. He and Charlie started down the hallway, leaving the elevator operator behind. âItâs Mr. Thursdayâs room,â said Ty. âJust around the corner, 909.â
At the first door around the corner, Tyler shoved the passkey into the lock.
âDonât you knock first?â asked Charlie.
âRelax,â said Tyler. âWe moved him to a different room after the ghost thing happened. It was easy since he didnât have any luggage. The airline lost it or something.â
âOh,â said Charlie.
After stepping inside, Tyler flipped on a light. âThe bathroomâs over here,â he said.
The bathroom was as big as Charlieâs bedroom. Marble counters, fancy mirrors, a shaggy white rug, and a huge bathtub fit inside with plenty of room left over. âNotice anything missing?â asked Tyler, crossing his arms.
âYes,â said Charlie. He stared at the bare curtain rod that hung across the tub. âThe shower curtain.â
âScore,â said Tyler. âThe same night Mr. Thursday checked in, he heard a noise in the middle of the night. He said that at first he thought it was a fire. Then as he listened some more, he said it sounded like someone crumpling up paper. And it was coming from the bathroom.â
Creepy , thought Charlie.
âCreepy, huh?â said Tyler. âAnd when he got up to look, he switched on the light, but no one was there. And the shower curtain was gone.â
âThe room door was locked?â asked Charlie.
Tyler nodded. âFrom the inside.â
âHad he seen the curtain before he went to bed?â asked Charlie.
âYes,â said Ty. âHe said he took a shower when he first got in. Then he went and had dinner.â
âAh, and thatâs when the curtain was stolen!â said Charlie.
âUh, no,â said Tyler. âHe said that when he got back to the room, he brushed his teeth before he went to bed. The curtain was still there when he was brushing his teeth.â
âWhy would someone want a shower curtain?â said Charlie.
âEspecially a ghost,â added Tyler. âThey donât need to take showers.â
âHe didnât take a shower,â said Charlie, âhe took a shower curtain. And I still donât see why you think itâs a ghost.â
âWho else could get into a locked room?â Tyler asked, throwing up his hands. âWho else could remove a solid shower curtain without opening the door?â
âHmm. Maybe Mr. Thursday did it himself and heâs lying,â said Charlie.
âI thought of that,â said Tyler. âIâm not stupid. I searched the room. It wasnât here.â
Maybe he threw it out the window , Charlie thought. But why would anyone do that?
âAnd he couldnât have thrown it out the window, because the room windows donât open,â said Tyler.
Charlie stared at him. âHow did you know I was thinking about that?â he asked.
âI saw you glance at the window with a funny look on your mug,â said Tyler. âAnd the first time I came in here, thatâs what I thought too.â A smirk spread across his face. âIâm not so dumb after all, am I?â
âI never said you were,â said Charlie. In fact, he was really starting to think that Tyler was pretty smart. It was just that Tyler never showed he had brains while he was in school. At school, Tyler pretty much only showed off his big arms and fists.
Tyler ran a hand through his spiky black hair. âItâs crazy,â he said. âI just donât get it. Oh, and by the way, this isnât the only room where the shower curtain disappeared.â
Tyler led Charlie to five more rooms on the same floor, opening each one with the hotelâs passkey. In each roomâs bathroom, the shower curtain was missing. Only the metal rings that once held the roomâs curtain in place still