R. L. Stine_Mostly Ghostly 07 Read Online Free Page B

wires and cables on the ceiling.”
    She tugged at her dangling plastic earrings. She always pulled them when she was thinking hard or trying to remember something.
    “We were here, Nicky,” she said. “I know we were. Why can't I remember it better?”
    Dr. Smollet leaned on the table with his hands. “That's what we're here to find out,” he said.
    He pointed to the machines against the wall. “Your parents and I worked here, capturing evil ghosts. Your parents were on a mission. They believed that a lot of the evil in the world was caused by these spirits. Your parents found a way to capture them and keep them prisoner here.”
    Dr. Smollet sighed. “But one evil ghost—a man named Phears—escaped. I tried to fight him off. But he was too powerful for me. He injured me. He knocked me out. When I came to,
all
the evil ghosts had escaped. Phears had freed them all.”
    “We—we've run into Phears,” Nicky said.
    Dr. Smollet's blue eyes grew wide. “You andyour sister were here in the lab on that awful day. Don't you remember? Don't you understand?”
    Nicky and Tara froze. They stared at him. Speechless.
    “We … didn't know,” Tara said finally.
    “You were visiting your parents here,” Dr. Smollet said. “When Phears escaped, he did something to your family. To all four of you.”
    “You were here,” I said. “Didn't you see what happened to them?”
    Dr. Smollet shook his head. “No. I didn't see anything. I was out cold.”
    He took a deep breath and smoothed back his white hair. “But I have someone here who saw everything,” he said. “I have a witness. I told you his name. Mr. Harvey.”
    “Where is he?” Tara asked.
    Nicky strode up to Dr. Smollet. “Can we talk to him? Is he here now?”
    Dr. Smollet nodded. “Mr. Harvey is the only one who saw everything that happened that day. He saw Phears escape. He saw Phears free the other ghosts. And he saw what Phears did to you and your parents.”
    The scientist loosened his tie. It was cool in the lab, but beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
    “Mr. Harvey
may
know the secret. He may know how to bring your family back to life,” he said, gazing intently at my two ghost friends.
    “Please—can we see him?” Tara cried. “Can we talk to him now?”
    Dr. Smollet cleared his throat. He tugged at his tie again. “Well … there's a small problem. I'll show you.”
    He swung away from the table and walked quickly out of the lab. The door closed behind him.
    Nicky and Tara stared at each other. Then they turned to me.
    “I … I don't know what to say,” Tara confessed. “I'm shaking!”
    “Me too,” Nicky said, his voice cracking. He pumped his fists in the air. “This is too good to be true. Do you think Mr. Harvey really can bring us back to life? And tell us what happened to us?”
    The lab door swung open.
    Dr. Smollet stepped in, followed by another figure.
    “This is Mr. Harvey,” Dr. Smollet said.
    Tara's mouth dropped open.
    Nicky gasped.
    I stared hard at Mr. Harvey. My brain felt as if it was spinning in my head. “But … but …,” I stammered. “Mr. Harvey is a
chimp!”

D R . S MOLLET LED THE chimp by the hand.
    Mr. Harvey loped into the room, bouncing as he walked. He kept shaking his head, his lips moving silently. Then he pulled back his lips and gave us a toothy grin.
    The chimp was about three feet tall. He wore bright red spandex bike shorts. He had a red baseball cap on his head. But as he crossed the room toward us, he pulled the cap off and tossed it across the lab.
    “Hoo hoo hoo.” He made chimp noises and bobbed up and down, his hands on his hairy knees.
    Tara stormed up to Dr. Smollet angrily. “Is this some kind of stupid joke?” she demanded.
    Nicky pulled Tara back. “Let's go,” he muttered. “This is totally insane.”
    “No, wait—” the scientist said. He petted the back of the chimp's head. Mr. Harvey flashed us another grin.
    “I told you there was a problem,” Dr. Smollet