Ben blinked in surprise as he looked from the gold jewelry to Dr. Bones.
The guards rushed toward her.
"Where's the rest of the loot?" Hazel demanded. "Confess!"
Dr. Bones scowled. "This is ridiculous.
Why would I steal from my own museum?"
"Maybe the museum isn't paying you enough," Bob suggested.
"Maybe she's trying to make monsters look bad!" Mr. Freaky snapped.
"This is absurd!" Dr. Bones said, sighing.
"I'm going to call the police. They'll find the real culprit."
"Stay right there!" ordered Bob.
He pushed Dr. Bones into a chair.
Ben watched the two guards huddle, listening as they whispered back and forth.
"It's too soon to call the police."
"If we can find the rest of the loot, the mayor will probably give us a reward!"
Mr. Freaky's face was turning redder and redder.
"Call the police right now!" he demanded.
"If you don't, I'm going to take all the students back to Monsterville!"
"You're not going anywhere, buddy!" Hazel snarled.
"We have a plan," the other guard said.
"We'll call the police if we don't find the jewels by morning."
"You can't hold us here all night!" Dr. Bones complained.
"Yes, we can." Bob grinned.
"We'll lock you in the Old West jail exhibit."
"What about those zombies?" Ben said.
Hazel shrugged. "The only zombies I see are the ones in your group."
"Grr!" Ben growled with frustration.
"This is an outrage!" Mr. Freaky stamped a foot.
"Wait till Mayor Hubbletree hears how we've been treated.
He said people would be friendly and kind.
But instead we've been treated like—"
"Monsters!" Bob snapped.
The guards left Ben and Dr. Bones in the director's office.
They locked the rest of the monsters in the classrooms and then grabbed Ben and Dr. Bones.
"We're taking you to jail!" Hazel said.
They dragged their prisoners to the Old West exhibit, and then hurried off to search for Egyptian treasure.
Dr. Bones had been very quiet.
"Your guards aren't very smart," Ben said.
"I'm a ghost. I can float out of this fake jail cell whenever I want."
Dr. Bones sighed. "This is the mayor's fault.
He's the one who cut the museum's budget last year.
We couldn't afford real security guards, so I had to hire those two."
"Did you steal the jewels?" Ben blurted out.
"Of course not!" Dr. Bones snapped.
"Why would I leave one in my coat? And where are the rest of them?"
Ben rested his chin in his hands, thinking.
"We'll just have to wait for the police," Dr. Bones said.
"If we wait for the police," Ben said, "the real crooks might get away.
The real thieves could even be working with those guards!"
Dr. Bones' eyes went wide. "You're right! Uh-oh.
They could all escape while we're stuck in here. We have to do something."
Ben had an idea.
"When the alarm went off, did you see any zombies run through the construction site?"
Dr. Bones shook her head. "No."
"Well, then the real thieves must still be in the museum."
Ben floated through the bars of the jail cell. "Don't worry. I'll be back soon."
"I'm not sure this is a good idea!" Dr. Bones called.
But Ben was already floating through the museum to the lobby.
"The thieves went into the construction area," he murmured.
"But they didn't come out in the education wing.
Maybe they're hiding inside the construction area."
Ben drifted into the construction area, searching among the tools and scaffolding for clues.
He spotted some old clothes and masks in a trash bucket.
"Whoa!" he cried. "Those are zombie costumes!"
"Ben?" someone called.
Ben looked up. Winnie and Cleo were hurrying toward him.
Behind them was Waldo, hobbling on his sore ankle.
"I zapped the door locks open," Waldo explained.
"We went to the Old West exhibit," said Winnie.
"Dr. Bones told us you were searching the museum."
Ben pointed to the trash can.
"I found some disguises. The zombies are people!"
"Those creeps!" Cleo said.
"The two security guards are looking around the museum too," Ben said.
"They think they can get a reward, or a—"
"Shh!" Winnie hushed him. "Do you hear voices?"
Ben nodded.
"How long do we have to wait here?" a man was complaining.
"Until tomorrow morning," said another voice.
"Then we show up like it's a regular workday.
When no one is looking, we'll sneak out and never come back."
"Ha-ha! We'll never have to see that snooty Dr. Bones or ask for a raise again!"
"Because she'll be in jail!" said the second voice.
Ben looked around.
The voices seemed to be coming from inside a newly built wall.
Were the thieves hiding inside?