When they reached the first-floor lobby, Tyler led Charlie past the front desk and down a broad flight of steps.

At the bottom, they walked through several more corridors and finally came to a huge room with a shiny wooden floor.

“You have a bowling alley down here?” exclaimed Charlie. His voice echoed in the large, empty space.

“Yup,” said Tyler. “With nine lanes. But it’s closed now because of the ghost.”

“Don’t tell me he stole the bowling balls,” said Charlie.

“No, the pins,” Tyler said. “Not all of them. Just nine. One from each alley.”

“This is getting weirder by the minute,” said Charlie.

“And it’s not over,” said Ty.

As he led Charlie back toward the marble steps, they passed another door. Actually, it was a set of double doors. Charlie noticed that the carved wooden doors were each decorated with a face. One face was smiling, and one was frowning.

“What’s that?” Charlie asked.

“Oh, that’s the old theater,” said Tyler, sounding bored.

Charlie darted over and peered inside the doors. It was another huge room, bigger than the bowling alley. Rows of red velvet seats faced a large stage. The stage curtains looked about a mile high. They were pulled to the sides so that the shiny wooden floor of the stage could be clearly seen.

Charlie rubbed his hand along the back of one of the theater chairs. “Cool,” he whispered.

“No one’s used this place for years,” said Tyler. “This is where they used to have the old magic shows. Come on, let’s go.”

He led Charlie back up the stairs and into the hotel’s main floor restaurant, the Top Hat.

Several of the tables and booths were already filled with hungry guests. At the back of the dining area was the kitchen. Warm air and chattering voices greeted the boys as they passed through the kitchen’s swinging doors.

“Hey, Dad!” yelled Ty.

A tall man wearing a tall white chef’s hat hurried over to meet him.

“Tyler, you shouldn’t be back here,” said Mr. Yu. ”Only cooks and waiters.”

“I know, I know,” said Tyler.

“Who’s this?” asked his father, gesturing toward Charlie. “Your friend from school?”

“Yeah, this is Hitch,” said Ty. “He’s here because he’s interested in the ghost.”

“Ah,” said his father, nodding his head. “Our phantom friend.”

Charlie noticed that the older Yu had the same eyes as his son. But his face was much friendlier.

Tyler must get his scowl from his mom, thought Charlie.

“Tell him what the ghost took from your kitchen, Dad,” said Tyler.

“I don’t know if it was a ghost,” said Mr. Yu, smiling. “But someone took a half dozen of my best serving spoons.”

“The big kind,” added Tyler. “You know, for scooping out stuff.”

“We run a tight ship here at the Top Hat,” said Mr. Yu. “Every pot, pan, plate, and utensil is accounted for. I really can’t understand why anyone would want serving spoons.”

“Are they valuable?” asked Charlie.

“Well, they are old,” admitted Mr. Yu. “And I’m sure they’re genuine silver. They came with the original silverware from the hotel’s first restaurant.”

“Think they’re worth a hundred bucks, Dad?” asked Tyler.

“Probably more,” said Mr. Yu, nodding. “Now, I really need to get back to my customers. We’re serving one of my specialties tonight, Flambeau de Chesterton. I have to make sure I don’t set off the fire alarm like I did last time. You boys have fun.”

As they returned to the lobby, Charlie stopped asked, “Why do you think a ghost stole the serving spoons?”

“Not so loud,” whispered Tyler. “I don’t want the guests to hear. It’s bad for business.”

He grabbed Charlie by the collar and pulled him into a shadowy corner, where they were surrounded by potted palms and giant ceramic vases.

“There’s no one around,” said Charlie, readjusting his collar.

“Yeah, but that lobby echoes,” said Tyler. He shrugged. “My family has a reputation to think about here.”

“So tell me why you think —” Charlie began.

“Yeah, yeah, the ghost,” said Tyler. “Definitely took the spoons. And I think so because it all happened the same night. After Mr. Thursday called us upstairs about the shower curtain, that same night, my dad noticed his spoons were gone. And later, my mom got complaints from some of the guests that the bowling pins were missing downstairs.”

“That is weird,” said Charlie.

“No kidding,” said Tyler. “This is why you need to solve the mystery. And it better be quick, before something else disappears.”

Just then, a hand reached out from behind one of the giant vases.