"GHOULS NIGHT OUT"
HALLOWEEN 2007 HARDY BOYS FAN FICTION CONTEST ENTRY
THE GHOST OF VANDERBEEK MANOR
by
Author A
Chapter 6
The Chapters
Two police cars skidded to a stop. Con Riley jumped out of one of the patrol cars as a dark blue sedan came to sudden stop behind one of the police cars. Fenton Hardy got out of the sedan and saw Sgt. Riley.
“Mr. Hardy, did Vanessa call you too?”
“Yes she did, and from what she said I don’t think the men are armed.”
The two men ran up to the front door with the other officers following, when the door suddenly opened to reveal a smiling Vanessa Bender.
“Hi! Are you here to join in the fun?”
Con glanced over at Fenton. “Why do I get the feeling Frank and Joe already have everything under control?”
Fenton held back his laughter as he put an arm around the tall man.
“Don’t worry Con, one of these days my boys will let us have some of the fun!”
Vanessa led the officers inside and into the library where they found Callie wrapping a handkerchief around Mr. Pumpernickel’s wrist. Nigel Spencer was on the floor, his hands tied with Joe’s belt. Frank stood by Mr. Spencer, making sure the man didn’t try and get away while Joe was calming Poopsie down.
“Okay, will someone please tell me what this is about? Vanessa said something about missing persons and coffins in the basement?”
Frank quickly explained about Vanessa being named in a will and the stipulations of the will.
“Mr. Pumpernickel and Mr. Spencer here have been scaring everyone out of the house so that they would be the only ones left to inherit,” Frank finished explaining.
“We also found some coffins in the basement – they had replicas of Mr. and Miss Vanderbeek, Mr. Spitz and...” Joe paused, swallowing a lump in his throat. “And of Vanessa.”
“Well, we only saw Mr. Vanderbeek’s double,” said Callie with a shudder.
“And Vanessa’s double,” corrected Frank.
“How did you get into the basement?” Con asked curiously.
Frank and Joe blushed, not wanting to tell how they accidentally found the opening.
“Um…well, we kind of fell into the basement!” Frank finally said.
“More like slid down!” Joe laughed.
“Is there another way to the basement without taking a fall?” Fenton looked over at Mr. Pumpernickel and Nigel who remained silent.
“The bookcase!” Callie yelled out. “Mr. Pumpernickel and Mr. Spencer came out from behind the bookcase! I bet there’s a secret entrance there!”
Mr. Pumpernickel let out a defeated sigh. “Pull the candle holder down to make the bookcase open.”
Joe’s eyes lit up as he ran over and pulled the candle holder. “Cool – this is just like ‘Young Frankenstein’!”
“Dad, you have to stop letting Joe stay up and watch that classic movie channel!” Frank moaned.
*****
One of the officers had gotten a first aid kit out of a patrol car and bandaged Mr. Pumpernickel’s wrist. Nigel Spencer was handcuffed and taken to the police station while Mr. Pumpernickel showed Con and Fenton the basement. Frank and Callie went with them while Joe and Vanessa stayed in the library. The younger Hardy didn’t want to see the faux Vanessa lying in the coffin.
Con left one of his officers with Vanessa and Joe so they could give their statements. Poopsie was enjoying some leftover goose pâté – a treat that Joe found for her.
“I hope everyone is okay,” said a worried Vanessa.
“I’m sure they are.” Joe tried to reassure her.
“Do you think that was Mr. Spencer we saw in the mirror?” Vanessa turned to look at Joe.
“I hadn’t thought of that – it could have been him. I’m sure that’s how they scared Mr. Vanderbeek.”
“Man, it’s cold in here!” said the police officer.
Vanessa and Joe shivered and moved closer together. They slowly turned their heads to stare at the portrait of Sebastian Vanderbeek. For some odd reason both Vanessa and Joe thought that the portrait seemed to be smiling at them.
“Uh…Joe...” Vanessa whispered with fright.
“Yeah…I know…I see it,” he whispered back.
It was two o’clock in the morning when Con left the Vanderbeek mansion. Vanessa decided to still stay the rest of the night. Fenton had called Laura to let her know that the boys were safe and that he would be staying with them and the girls. Making sure the house was locked and secure the weary group went upstairs to bed.
At exactly ten a.m. the next morning a representative from the law firm of Mayer, Maxell and Pumpernickel came to the manor. Vanessa was astounded when she found out the amount she was about to inherit. She asked Fenton if there was any way to locate the other family members.
“It’s not fair that they lost their rightful inheritance because they were duped to leave the house.” Vanessa told Mr. Hardy.
A few days later
Joe and Frank were finishing breakfast when the doorbell rang. Fenton went to see who was at the door. The brothers could hear Fenton speaking to someone, then he entered the kitchen.
“You two have company,” he told them with a smile.
Curious, Frank and Joe quickly put their breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and went into the living room. To their surprise they found Vanessa, Callie and Evan Spitz sitting on the couch.
“Evan, good to see you!” Joe said as he shook the young man’s hand.
“We were worried about you – good to see that you’re okay!” Frank shook Evan’s hand and then turned to give Callie a hug. She had gotten up to greet Frank.
“When your dad found me I thought I’d tell you what happened after that night. Plus, I wanted to thank Vanessa.”
Evan smiled at Vanessa; she took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“She didn’t have to share the inheritance but I’m glad she did.”
“I had to! It wasn’t fair that you lost out because of your cousin’s and Mr. Pumpernickel’s greed!” Vanessa returned the smile.
“So what happened to you and your uncle? How is he, by the way?” asked Joe.
“Uncle Adam is fine now! With his share he can move out of that horrible senior home he was in. He moved to Miami and bought a condo there. I think he’s going to spend the rest of his days at the golf course!”
Adam Vanderbeek had invested his fortune poorly and lost quite a bit of money. Pride had kept him from seeking help from his step-sister.
“Cherry is happy too, and wanted me to thank you for letting her keep Poopsie! She grew attached to her after Aunt Gloria left Poopsie in her care when she went to Rosewood. And now Cherry can also go back to college and not live on campus!”
“I can’t believe Mrs. Vanderbeek left Poopsie 12 million dollars!” Joe exclaimed in disbelief.
“Yeah, and you could have handled some of that if you took in Poopsie like I suggested!” Callie teased.
Cherry Vanderbeek may have been born with the Vanderbeek name but not the money. She knew that she had a wealthy aunt but had been reluctant to get in touch with her. She didn’t want her aunt to think that she was just getting in contact with her only for money.
Nigel Spencer had a gambling problem and needed his share to pay off his debts, but he also wanted to live the high life.
“What about you, Evan? What are you going to do now that you’ve come into money?” asked Vanessa.
“Well…first I wanted to make sure that you’re sure that you are willing to give up so much of your share.”
“Oh I’m sure. All I was hoping for was enough to put away for college! Now I have that and enough for a new car! I’m very satisfied!” Vanessa reassured Evan.
“I’ve always wanted to go to film school. I did get a partial scholarship to study at UCLA, so now not only can I afford the university but I’m going to make a documentary about Vanderbeek Manor!”
“If you need any help just give us a call!” Callie’s eyes twinkled with excitement.
“Us too! I want to find out if there really is a ghost!” Joe said.
Frank rolled his eyes and then turned his attention to Evan.
“What happened to Mr. Pumpernickel? Why did he try to cheat you out of your inheritance?” asked Frank.
“Seems Mr. Pumpernickel was dissatisfied with working at Mayer and Maxell, who are the top lawyers of the firm. Mr. Pumpernickel had just become an associate with the company. I guess he didn’t want to wait to make the big bucks!”
“And he would have gotten away with it too,” said Fenton as he joined the group.
“Yeah, if it hadn’t been for these nosy kids!” laughed Evan.
“And don’t forget about Poopsie!” Joe added with a laugh.
As the Hardys and their friends laughed at their little joke…
At Vanderbeek Manor a dark shadow roamed the hallways. The dark shadow glided down the stairs and towards the front window. The curtain parted to reveal the shadowy figure of Sebastian Vanderbeek as he observed his domain.
The End
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The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.