Tyler jumped as the hand grabbed him.

“Where’s my key?” came a voice.

The mysterious hand grabbed Tyler’s shirt even tighter.

Charlie saw that it was attached to an arm, then a shoulder, then an entire body of a teenage boy with long blond hair.

The older boy was wearing a dark maroon suit and a gold name badge.

“Don’t do that!” said Tyler. He shook the guy’s hand away.

“Sorry, man,” said the teenager. “I need my passkey back.” He turned and looked at Charlie. “Who are you?”

Charlie began, “I’m —”

“He’s Hitch,” said Tyler. “And here’s your stupid passkey.” He handed it to the blond guy, who shoved it in his pocket.

“Your mom was looking for it,” said the blond guy. “And I don’t want to lose it like last time.”

“You lost it?” Charlie asked.

The blond guy turned to Tyler. “Who is this kid?” he asked. “And why does he care about my stupid passkey?”

“I’m, uh, writing a report on the hotel for school,” said Charlie. “Who are you?”

“Rocky,” said the guy. “I work the front desk.”

“He and Annie switch off,” explained Tyler.

“When did you lose the key?” Charlie asked.

“I didn’t really lose it,” said Rocky. “I just misplaced it. I was checking people in and I had a lot on my mind. I couldn’t find the key, but when I looked again a little later, there it was on the floor. Must have dropped it. Anyway, why do you care when I lost it?”

“Don’t you have work to do?” asked Tyler.

“Nice talking to you too, Ty,” said Rocky. He pushed his long hair behind his ears and walked back toward the desk.

“Well, that could explain our ghost,” said Charlie.

“What could explain the ghost? Rocky?” asked Tyler.

“No, not Rocky. The passkey,” said Charlie. “Rocky said he was missing it for a little while, right? So while it was gone, someone could have used it to get into the rooms on the ninth floor and steal the shower curtains.”

“You’re right,” said Tyler.

“And does the passkey let you into the bowling alley and the kitchen?” asked Charlie.

“Yeah. It unlocks every door in the hotel,” said Tyler.

“So that’s how the thief did it,” said Charlie.

“But how could you steal a key right in front of someone?” asked Tyler. “Rocky’s not that smart, but he does notice things. He knew you and I were over here behind these plants and vases.”

“Right,” Charlie said. “That’s why I think it had to be a magician.”

“Why?” Tyler asked.

“Magicians use the trick I’m thinking of all the time,” said Charlie. “It’s called palming. It’s how they can hide an object in their hands, right under your nose. Or they distract you, make you look at something else, while they put the object in their pocket.”

“Hmm,” said Tyler.

He strode across the lobby and stopped at the front desk. Rocky was busy working at a computer.

“Hey, Rock,” said Tyler. “The day you couldn’t find that key, were there lots of people checking in?”

“I’m busy here, Ty,” said Rocky.

“Just tell me what you dropped on the floor that day,” said Tyler.

“Just someone’s credit card and… hey, how did you know I dropped something?” Rocky asked, turning from the computer.

“Elementary,” said Tyler, with a smirk. “Whose card was it?’

“And when did all this happen?” added Charlie.

Rocky thought for a moment. He brushed the hair out of his eyes and said, “It was Thursday.”

Then Charlie asked, “And were any of those people you checked in named Ken?”

“You’re starting to bug me, kid,” said Rocky.

“Hey, can you answer his question or not?” said Tyler.

Rocky frowned and looked quickly at his computer screen. “Nope, no Ken. Hey, no Ken do. Get it? You asked if I could answer his question, and I said, ‘No Ken do.’ Ha.”

“You’re a comedian,” said Tyler. “Come on,” he told Charlie.

The two boys walked away from the counter. Tyler shook his head and shoved his hands into the back pockets of his jeans.

“What a weirdo,” he mumbled. “Well, now what do we do?”

This puzzle was more bizarre than the last one Charlie had helped Tyler solve. A ghost, a wavering voice, missing bowling pins, spoons, and shower curtains.

Or maybe not exactly shower curtains, Charlie thought. There was something he had seen in Mr. Thursday’s bathroom that he hadn’t seen in the others Tyler had showed him.

And there was something else. The weirdest thing was that Charlie was sure there was a phantom cleaner in the hotel. Things were being cleaned without anyone else realizing it.

Suddenly, grunts echoed through the lobby. Charlie turned and saw a couple of men walk toward the counter where Rocky was working. Rain dripped from their clothes and their shoes.

The men had thick necks and broad shoulders, but they were struggling with two huge suitcases. They set them down by Rocky, then took out handkerchiefs and wiped their foreheads.

“We got one more,” said one of the men. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder toward the front door. Charlie could see an empty taxi sitting by the curb.

Charlie looked at the suitcases again. Things were starting to make sense to him.

“I think we need to go back up to the ninth floor,” said Charlie. “There’s something else missing from the bathroom in Room 909.”