The Case of the Haunted Haunted House (7 page)

The skeleton tapped her foot. “I'm nervous. What if I mess up?”

“Are you kidding? Your tap-dancing skeleton act is the best part of the whole haunted house. I'm so glad we found out about your hidden talent!”

Under her skull mask, Emily S. made a face. “I still can't believe I dropped that awful DVD. My mom made me bring it to school that day so I could give it to my grandma when she picked me up.”

“The baby costume
was
pretty bad,” Milo said. “But your tap dancing isn't awful. It's awe
some.
Especially in that skeleton costume.”

Brooke bustled up, holding her makeup kit.

Emily B. trotted behind.

“Milo, you smudged your blood again!” Brooke scolded. He rolled his eyes, but he let her fix it.

Ms. Ali poked her head in. “Ready, everyone?”

“Ready!” they all yelled.

The skeleton clattered. The zombie howled. The mummy moaned.

Baring his fangs, Milo wished for a moment that he wasn't part of the haunted house. He wanted to come in and get scared.

Of course, he'd never
really
be scared by these tricks.

Crossing his arms, Milo blinked and swallowed.

Nope. Never.

A few days after Milo and Jazz wrote to Dash Marlowe, a letter arrived in the mail. . . .

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lewis B. Montgomery is the pen name of a writer whose favorite authors include CSL, EBW, and LMM. Those initials are a clue—but there's another clue, too. Can you figure out their names?

Besides writing the Milo & Jazz mysteries, LBM enjoys eating spicy Thai noodles and blueberry ice cream, riding a bike, and reading. Not all at the same time, of course. At least, not anymore. But that's another story. . . .

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

Amy Wummer has illustrated more than 50 children's books. She uses pencils, watercolors, and ink—but not the invisible kind.

Amy and her husband, who is also an artist, live in Pennsylvania . . . in a mysterious old house which has a secret hidden room in the basement!