"Leonard Stromwell"
The attic door opened. Slowly, Kevin exited the attic and headed for the stairs.
After the agents had confessed about how they really felt about their jobs, Kevin had told them as much as he knew about the ghost, which wasn't much. According to Katie, the ghost's name was Doctor Stromwell. That was all the agents needed to know, but Kevin added that he had a hunch that he'd have to double-check online. The agents also needed to use the Internet as well, to send an urgent e-mail to their boss explaining that everything was alright. So, Kevin had agreed to use Courage's computer while the agents could use Kevin's laptop. However, Kevin's laptop was downstairs, so he had offered to go get it.
"Just make sure you don't bring any people back up with you," Agent R had warned.
So now, Kevin descended the stairs trying to remember where he had put his laptop. He discovered his parents watching TV with Eustace and Muriel. Carl and Diane watched their son as he remembered that his laptop was in the basement. Kevin walked over to the basement door and walked carefully down the stairs. Halfway down, Kevin stopped.
Sitting in the middle of the room was Katie, who was holding Mr. Furry in her lap. Katie looked up as Kevin descended the rest of the stairs. He could see his laptop in the corner of the basement, but Kevin felt like he should say something to Katie now that her focus was on him instead of Mr. Furry.
"So," said Kevin, who scooped up his laptop in his arms. "Did he…y'know, say anything to you yet?"
"Why?" asked Katie.
"Just curious. Honest," said Kevin truthfully.
"Well," said Katie. "He said that he was going to 'make some people sleep',"
"Sleep?"
"Yeah, but he stopped when you came in."
"And he didn't say who?"
"Mmm…no."
Kevin stood up and thought for a second. "Well, just be careful, okay?"
"Okay," said Katie as Kevin walked back up the stairs with his computer. Despite his brother's word, Katie was still not convinced that Doctor Stromwell, the ghost inside Mr. Furry, was evil.
Kevin came back into the living room just as he heard his father's voice speak up. "Son, are you okay?"
Kevin looked at the concerned faces of his parents. Eustace and Muriel were getting some snacks in the kitchen. On the muted TV, a news report was describing a "strange craft" that had appeared in the town of Nowhere. Kevin would've taken considerable interest in the report, but his attention was currently focused on Carl and Diane.
"Yeah, I'm sorry I freaked out about it," said Kevin quickly. He wanted to get upstairs as quickly as possible.
"It's hard for anyone to lose a home, and…" began Diane.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm over it. Really," interrupted Kevin.
"Well, we just wanted you to know that whatever happens, we will always be here for you, because we love you, son," said Carl.
Kevin didn't know what to say. He was able to utter a "Thanks," before dashing up to the attic. Along the way, he ran into Courage and Sandy who had been watching the night sky in Eustace and Muriel's bedroom.
"What's going on?" asked Sandy.
"Yeah," added Courage.
"C'mon," said Kevin to the dogs. "The agents are gonna help us figure out who the ghost is."
Courage and Sandy were very surprised to hear that news. They didn't expect the agents to switch sides. But they didn't argue with Kevin as they followed him up to the attic.
The agents had already turned on Courage's computer when Kevin entered the room.
"I've got the laptop," announced Kevin.
"Great. Hook it up," said Agent R. Then he caught sight of Courage and Sandy, and he turned to Kevin. "I thought I told you not to bring in anyone with you."
"You said not to bring any PEOPLE back with me, but you didn't say anything about dogs," responded Kevin.
Agent R sighed. "Alright, the dogs can stay. Now, c'mere and help us find that ghost."
"Hey, Courage," said Gammon, who was seated in front of Courage's computer. "Could you c'mere and type in your password?"
So, eventually both computers were up and running. Agent R sat down on the floor with Kevin's computer in his lap while Kevin sat at Courage's computer. Everyone else stood behind them to watch.
As Agent R was typing an e-mail message to his boss, Kevin was on a search engine looking at San Francisco cemeteries.
"What are you looking for?" asked Agent Darkest Moon.
Kevin glanced over his shoulder. "I'm trying to find the website of the cemetery my family visited when we were at San Fran."
"Why?" asked Agent Barsby.
"Because I know that the ghost must've come from that cemetery, since it was shortly afterwards that Katie starting acting differently."
"So, now you're trying to find a background on this Stromwell ghost, correct?" asked Agent Gammon.
"Precisely," answered Kevin.
"Can't you just type in Stromwell's name in the search engine instead?" asked D.M.
"It would take too long to search through all the entries. Ahh, here we go. The North San Francisco National Cemetery." Kevin clicked on the link.
As the site loaded up, Courage wondered why his computer wasn't making any wisecracks at Kevin. Looking at the monitor, Courage suddenly caught sight of a small "sound icon" in the top-right corner of the screen. It had a slash through it, which meant that the mute button was on. Courage knew about the button that turned it on, and he wondered why he didn't mute his computer more often.
"Okay," said Agent R. "I bought us some time by telling Boss that we're still investigating the town and that everything's alright. How are we doing?"
Every person and dog was behind Kevin now. Gammon and D.M. were holding Courage and Sandy in their arms respectively, so the dogs could see the screen better. The cemetery's website was fully loaded by now, so Kevin clicked on the directory link.
"This must be the listings of all the people buried in the cemetery," said Kevin.
The following page posted listings from A-G, H-R, and S-Z. Kevin clicked on 'S-Z' and the next page showed rows of photographed tombstones listed alphabetically. Kevin slowly scrolled down until the name Stromwell appeared.
"There it is," he said as he pointed to the photo. He immediately clicked on it to get a better look.
The tombstone was exactly the same as when Kevin had last seen it. The same grey color. The same elaborate angel on top. The same strands of weeds that poked out of the ground nearby. And right there, in big bold letters: "STROMWELL, LEO"
"What's the website?" asked Agent R, who ran back to the laptop on the ground. Kevin said the website out loud, letter by letter, as Agent R typed it into the address bar and pressed enter.
Kevin scrolled down the page. "Hey, look!" he said. Below the photo was a bunch of personal information about Leo Stromwell (height, weight, etc. at time of death) as well as his last taken photograph. As Kevin clicked on the photo, Agent R did the same on the laptop.
"Interesting fellow," said D.M. as the photo came into view.
Leo Stromwell looked the same as when Katz saw him, only more alive…a short old man with an Einstein-like hairdo, whiskers, and a thick white beard. When Courage saw the man, he thought he looked vaguely familiar.
"Yeah, he could probably make a good Santa Claus," joked Barsby.
"Or Richard Attenborough," added Gammon.
D.M. meanwhile was busy calculating Leo's age. "It says that Leo was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1845."
"Five years before Joseph killed Reginald," whispered Kevin to himself.
"What?" asked Agent R.
"Nothing," said Kevin out loud. "And, uh, it says he died in 1907."
"That would make him," D.M. thought for a second. "…sixty-two years old when he died."
"Hey, if you scroll down farther, you can read his entire biography!" announced Agent R.
"Perfect," said Kevin. "I should print it out, right?"
"You read my mind, Kev," said Agent R.
Kevin immediately highlighted the biography and pressed the print command. As the bio was printing, everyone took the opportunity to read about Leo Stromwell's life on Courage's computer. Here was what the biography/obituary said:
Professor Leonard Quincy Stromwell, born Feb. 24, 1845 in Kansas City, Missouri, was a well-known medical professor during the late eighteen-hundreds. He died in an auto accident on June 23, 1907 in San Francisco, California. He was 62.
Leonard was educated in grammar school before attending the university in St. Louis. He graduated with a PhD in medicine and was a professor at the university for ten years. In 1881, he quit teaching at the university and became interested in parapsychology. Working part-time as a doctor in the rural town of Nowhere, Kansas (everyone's jaw dropped upon reading that), he became a respected member of the community, despite his hobby of gathering information about ghosts and other paranormal phenomenon. He had even set up an underground laboratory where he would unsuccessfully attempt to conjure up spirits of the dead.
In 1890, at the age of 45, Leonard married Abigail Lewis, age 28, and in 1896, bore a son, who's last known photo (2002) can be seen here (with the word 'here' being a link to the actual photo.)
In 1901, a mysterious occurrence happened that caused Leonard to become mentally unstable. Details are scarce, but authorities claim that a tax error caused Leonard to inherit over five million dollars in federal money. When the government sent officials to confiscate the money, it was learned that Leonard had hidden the money in a secret, underground location under the city of Nowhere. It's unclear as to what occurred after the officials tried to arrest Leonard for resistance against the U.S. government. What is clear is that Leonard and Abigail Stromwell had disappeared from Nowhere, and the money was never found, despite a $500 reward issued to anyone who discovered the money. Their son was adopted by a new family and grew up to become a veterinarian, with interests in space exploration and colonization.
Equally mysterious was that Leonard was discovered five years later working at an animal shelter in San Francisco. His IQ had been lowered considerably and his speech was very enigmatic. However, before authorities could apprehend him, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake occurred, and he was hospitalized for several months. Three days after he was released, in 1907, he was run over by a Model T Ford and was buried in the North San Francisco National Cemetery.
His wife, Abigail, was never found.
Leonard will be sorely missed by the citizens of Nowhere. For twenty years, he would always say the same thing whenever a patient entered his office: "Now what seems to be the problem today, fellow citizen of Nowhere?" People considered it his catchphrase.
A memorial for his wife has been temporarily postponed due to financial difficulties. Visit the homepage to make a donation.
RECENT UPDATE: Following in his family's footsteps, Leonard Stromwell's son has disappeared from Nowhere, Kansas at the age of 106. Authorities assume it had something to do with the experiments he had been conducting, involving illegal space exploration with animal subjects. No news yet on whether he will resurface like his father or disappear for good like his mother.
(Author's note: This wasn't mentioned in the biography, but Leonard also delivered newborn animals at the shelter. The last animal he delivered at the shelter was, believe it or not, Katz's father! He survived the quake somehow, and when Katz was born, his father told him all about Dr. Stromwell and his catchphrase. That was why Katz was so shocked when Stromwell's ghost appeared at his motel in chapter 13. Once Stromwell said his catchphrase, Katz knew exactly who he was.)
As Kevin and the agents read the baffling biography on Courage's computer, Courage and Sandy were doing the same on Kevin's laptop. After reading it, Courage was curious as to who Doctor Stromwell's son was. So, with Sandy looking over his shoulder, Courage clicked on the link that would display a photograph of Leo's son. As the photo started coming into focus, Courage felt a chill go up his spine. Sandy's curiosity was increasing as the picture slowly loaded onto the screen.
When the picture finally came into view, Courage nearly dropped dead from shock.
"What's wrong?" asked Sandy, who saw the stupefied expression on Courage's face. "Who is that?"
Courage lifted a shaking paw and pointed at the old man's long, unkempt, white beard…his ugly yellow teeth…his spotted bald head with single stands of hair sticking out of it…and those tinted goggles and white veterinarian outfit. Courage struggled to speak.
"He…he's the…m-man who…sent my…p-parents…into…space…"
Sandy gasped as her paws flew to her mouth. Leonard Stromwell was the biological father of the evil veterinarian Courage had told her about during her last visit to Nowhere! She whispered an apology in Courage's ear as Courage sighed sadly.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," he muttered as he clicked on the back button on the screen. Deep down, Courage knew that he now had a much stronger grudge against Doctor Stromwell than before.
"Wow," said Barsby, once he finished reading the bio. "That family is messed up!"
"I'll say," said Gammon. "Leo was over fifteen years older than Abigail when he married her."
"And they had a kid," said D.M. "Ick."
At last, the printout was given to Agent R. As he pocketed it in his coat pocket (the agents are wearing their government outfits, remember?), an idea hit him.
"Hey, Kevin," said Agent R as he nudged the dogs aside and sat in front of the laptop. "I'm gonna try and hack into the medical records of Nowhere and see if we can find anymore information about Stromwell."
"Well, I'm a pretty good hacker myself. You should let me do it," said Kevin smugly.
Agent R quirked an eyebrow at Kevin. "Race you," he said.
"Um, Jonathan?" asked Gammon. "Do you think now is a good time to…?"
"GO!" shouted Kevin. Both he and Agent R began typing madly on the computer and laptop. Kevin found the medical website first, but Agent R was the better hacker. He found Stromwell's personal file and hacked into it three seconds before Kevin did.
"Aw, man," said Kevin, who collapsed back in his chair and turned to Agent R. "You're really good!"
"Years of experience, my friend. And look what we have here!" Agent R pointed to a document on the screen with handwriting on it. "I betcha that's Stromwell who wrote that. Hmmm," Agent R started typing keys again. "For some reason, I can't zoom into the document. I'm gonna have to download it onto that other computer."
"Okay," said Kevin. He turned to Courage. "You have any blank disks?" Courage shrugged his shoulders. "I guess not," muttered Kevin.
"Don't worry, I got it covered," said Agent R. From one of his pockets, he pulled out a connector cable. He attached one end to the back of the laptop and the other end to the back of Courage's computer. As Agent R was connecting the wire to the Courage's computer, he accidentally pressed the unmute button.
Just as Kevin was about to press 'Enter', a seductive, electronic female voice broke the silence. "Hey there, big boy," it said.
Courage turned to Sandy and gave her an odd look. "Don't look at me. I didn't say anything," she said. Kevin and the agents all turned to D.M. "Hey, that wasn't me, I swear," she said.
Just then, Courage's computer spoke up. "Well, hello there," he said in an amused tone.
It took a moment for everyone to realize that the two computers were talking to each other! Kevin was especially surprised, because this was the first time he had ever heard his laptop talk.
"What's a big, hot guy like you doing in a place like this?" asked the laptop.
"Uh, well, I guess you could say I'm living the high life in the middle of nowhere," answered Courage's computer. Both computers laughed at that remark.
Kevin groaned. "I don't have time for this." He walked over to Courage's computer, but Courage got there first. "We need to download some information into you now, okay?" he typed.
"What…download? Now?!" asked the computer in a surprised tone. "In front of everybody?"
Courage sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, now!!!" he typed.
"Well…alright. How does that sound, darling?" asked the computer.
"I'm waiting," said the laptop seductively. Kevin was beginning to feel sick from all this.
"You'll all have to turn around while we do this," said the computer.
"I don't believe this," mumbled Kevin to himself as he pushed the mute buttons on both computers and pressed 'Enter' on his laptop. "C'mon, guys. We might as well do what the hardware says."
As everyone turned around, Kevin couldn't believe that he was taking orders from a computer, and Sandy was astounded that the computers could come to life like that. On the other hand, Courage and the agents were trying their hardest not to bust out laughing from the ordeal.
"Hey, C-Courage," said Gammon, trying not to laugh. "Looks like your computer leads a better life than we do." Courage, Gammon, and Barsby began guffawing as D.M. turned her amused face to Agent R. "How long will the download take?" she asked in a squeaky voice.
Agent R's grinning red face turned to his watch. "About fifteen seconds tops," he said in a soprano voice.
By the time fifteen seconds were up, the download was complete, and the document was now on Courage's computer. Courage ran to his computer, unmuted it, and typed in, "Feel better?"
"I'll say," gasped the computer's voice.
The agents nearly collapsed with laughter as Courage pushed the mute button again.
"Hey, guys!" shouted an annoyed Kevin to the agents. "Can we take a look at the document now? Or do you wanna continue comedy hour?"
"S-S-Sorry," said Agent R, stifling a laugh. He and the rest of the agents took a moment to calm down.
"That was the weirdest thing I've ever experienced," said Barsby.
"Yeah, well, you guys are the weirdest people I've ever met," said Kevin with a smile. "Now, c'mon, check this out."
Kevin, Sandy, and the agents stood behind Courage as he zoomed in on the handwriting. It said in capital letters: "I've done it! Success at last! The gateway is open!"
"Gateway?" asked Kevin. "What gateway? What's he talking about?"
"I wish I knew," said Agent R.
Suddenly, from downstairs, a girl's scream was heard.
"Katie!" yelled Kevin, who immediately bolted out of the room. He was followed by Courage, Sandy, and the agents. Agent R had just enough time to unplug both computers before following the group in front of him. As he approached the top of the stairs, he heard Kevin scream, "O-MY-GAWD!!!" When Agent R reached the top of the stairs, he looked at where everyone else was staring and was shocked by what he saw.
In the living room, Carl, Diane, Eustace, and Muriel were slumped on the furniture and on the floor. Their eyes were closed and they were motionless, which filled Kevin with horror. Next to the basement door, backed up against the wall, was Katie. She looked terrified, but she must've left Mr. Furry in the basement because he was nowhere in sight. Kevin didn't know whether she screamed because of the fallen adults or because of who was at the door.
Standing side by side in the front doorway, with expressions of shock and confusion, was Dr. Zalost and Shirley the Medium!
"Mom! Dad!" shouted Kevin, who ran down the stairs (along with the agents and the dogs) and bolted to his parents. He was very relieved to discover that all four of the adults were still breathing.
"What did you two do to them?" asked Agent R angrily to the two new visitors.
"We didn't do anything," said Dr. Zalost.
"We were just about to knock on the door when we heard a scream," said Shirley. "The door was unlocked, so we let ourselves in."
"Hey, I know you!" Gammon said to Zalost. "You're the guy I interviewed when we went into town!"
"Yeah," said Barsby who turned to Shirley. "And you're Shirley, the medium I interviewed."
"Ah, yes," muttered Shirley. "The stupid government person who kept asking too many questions."
"Hey, now. Let's not be rude, okay?" said D.M. "We're different now than we were before."
"Right," agreed Agent R. "But enough about us. Why are you and Zalost here, Shirley?"
Before Shirley could answer, Kevin shouted, "I can't wake them up! They must be under some sort of sleeping spell or curse or something." Katie ran over and hugged her brother, trying not to cry.
"Spell, yes," said Shirley. "By the looks of it, I'd say the ghost of Doctor Stromwell is behind all this."
"Most definitely," said Zalost.
"Whoa, wait a minute," said Agent R with astonishment. "How do you two know about Stromwell?"
"It's a long story," she said.
Before she could elaborate, Gammon stood up onto the coffee table. "Could I have everyone's attention please?"
"Gammon, what are you doing?" asked Agent R.
"I've got something to say, Jon," said Gammon. "As you all know by now, this case has gone way out of our hands…and paws. We are dealing with stuff here that's beyond anything we can possibly comprehend. But do not fear, because it is the truth that we seek, and…" Gammon let a tiny smile slip onto his face as he took a deep breath and said, "…never forget that…the truth is out there!!!"
Nearly everybody groaned. Agent R was about to comment on Gammon's time-wasting and pointless speech…but he never got the chance.
At that moment, a sound could be heard outside. It sounded like a giant airplane propeller getting louder and louder. Zalost was the first to the door and looked up into the sky.
"Everyone!" he shouted. "Come see this!"
So, naturally, everybody ran out to the front yard (except for the sleeping adults), and stared up at the sky in curiosity.
"Over there!" yelled Agent R, who pointed to the sky over Nowhere. Everyone turned and gasped.
A huge, silver, domed craft was rocketing towards the Earth at a great speed! It was diving straight down towards the ground. Everyone thought it was going to crash, but at the last moment, the alien spacecraft pulled up in time to slam it's underbelly into the dirt. It was heading straight for the house, but it was slowing down.
"The RV!" shouted Agent R. The spaceship was heading in the direction of the camper. Fortunately, the ship missed it by feet, but the RV became covered with mud and dirt. Now the unidentified sliding object was heading straight for the house…and everybody who was standing outside! No one could move as the craft came closer and closer. Finally, the spacecraft stopped about sixty feet from the house. The engine, or whatever was powering the thing, turned itself off. Steam was billowing all around, as the house-sized flying dome-ship sat there in the night.
At a time like this, Agent R could only think of one thing to say. He leaned over to an astonished Agent Gammon, who was mumbling to himself, "Of all the times to quit our jobs, why now? I think this is a sign. I think…"
"Gammon?" interrupted Agent R.
Gammon turned his eyes towards Agent R. "Huh?" he uttered.
"I think you're wrong, Gammon," said Agent R as he turned back to the spacecraft and pointed at it. "I think the truth is right there."
(Next chapter: Both Stromwell and the all-too-familiar-aliens reveal themselves at last.)