The Case of the Haunted Haunted House Read Online Free Page A

school.

    â€œBathroom!” Jazz gasped as they squeezed past the startled recess monitor. They raced down the hall.
    The bag was still in the back of the closet, right where Milo had left it. They dumped it out on the floor.
    Milo scanned the mess. Which item could be important enough to make somebody sneak into the learning cottage after dark—twice?
    Not the kitty poster, that was for sure. Not the jigsaw puzzle, even if it wasn’t missing pieces. Definitely not a sheet of dopey stickers saying Super-Duper Reader!
    He picked up a spiral notebook and leafed through it, but all it had in it were math problems. Unless they were a secret code . . .
    Then Jazz held up a DVD in a blank case. “What’s this?”
    They ran over to the classroom computer.
    Jazz slid in the DVD and they waited, breathless, until a video started playing onscreen.
    A girl stood on a stage. As the camera moved in, Milo saw that she wore a pink fuzzy romper, like a baby. On her head was a pink bonnet, and over the romper . . .
    â€œOh, no. Please tell me that’s not a
bib
!” Jazz said.
    Music started: “
Baby face. You’ve got the cutest little baby face.
. . .”
    The girl began to tap dance.
    Who was she? If only the camera would zoom in a little closer.
    Wrapped up in watching, Milo and Jazz didn’t notice footsteps coming up behind them.
    The song was just ending. With a final tap and twirl, the girl stopped and the camera zoomed in on her face.

    â€œEmily!”
said a voice behind them.
    Milo and Jazz spun around. Brooke and the Emilies stood in the doorway, staring at the screen.
    Milo looked at Emily S. “It was you, wasn’t it? You were the one who sneaked into the learning cottage. You were searching for this DVD you dropped.”
    Emily didn’t answer.
    â€œThe light in the window—that was your flashlight. And the moaning . . .” He frowned. “Well, I guess you must have been upset when you couldn’t find what you were looking for.”
    Emily S. burst into tears. “I tried so hard to find that DVD before anyone else did! I knew if it got out, the whole school would make fun of me.”
    Milo glanced at Jazz.
    Did Dash feel sorry for the people he caught?

    Then Brooke said, “Oh, Emily, stop crying.
Nobody
in this school is going to make fun of any friend of mine. Besides, I happen to think tap dancing is totally cool.”
    Sniffling, Emily S. stared at her. “You do?”
    â€œSure,” Brooke said. “And you’re really good! But the baby thing . . .”
    Emily S. smiled through her tears. “My mom made me dress up that way. Yuck.”
    She turned to Milo and Jazz. “Are you going to tell?”
    The two detectives looked at each other. Then Jazz popped the DVD out of the computer and handed it to Emily S.
    â€œOf course not,” Jazz said. “It’s over, right? No more haunting in the haunted house.”
    Emily S. wiped her eyes and took the DVD. Then, to Milo’s surprise, Brooke smiled at Jazz. A real smile—not even a snaky one!
    Of course, as soon as Brooke smiled, Emily B. smiled too.
    She still looked like a squirrel.

Milo pushed aside the tattered gauze and peered out through the window of the learning cottage.
    â€œCheck out that crowd!” he said to Jazz. “Our haunted house is definitely the most popular booth at the fair. Chris hasn’t got a chance.”
    â€œActually, we agreed to drop the bet.”
    â€œYou did? Why?”
    â€œMom is on one of her health kicks.” Jazz sighed. “When dessert is spinach smoothies, who wants seconds?”
    Too bad about the bet, Milo thought. But at least they had solved their case! He couldn’t wait to report to Dash.
    Bang!
Behind him, the coffin lid flew open. A zombie sat up and looked at Jazz.
    â€œWill you get away from that window!” it ordered in Gordy’s voice. “You’re supposed to be kneeling