Later...

Bark was jarred awake by Nack shaking him. "What are you doing?" The polar bear yawned as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He sleepily glanced over at the clock. 3:02 AM was stamped across its surface in bold red. "I've only been sleeping for an hour. Goodnight."

"I've come to wake you." Nack snapped pointedly. "We have a meeting, remember?"

"Isn't that supposed to be tomorrow?" Bark asked as he buried his head in the pillow.

"The Beaver just stopped by to tell us that they rescheduled it to tonight. It was an emergency." Bean quipped from behind Nack. "Him and the others are already down in the courtyard waiting. Come on Bark. Shake a leg!"

Bark yawned again and slid out of the bed. It was the middle of the night and he was hungry. I wonder if they'll be serving donuts at this meeting. He wondered as he followed Bean and Nack out the front door. The three of them started down the dark hallway.

"Boy, this is exciting, huh, Bark?" Bean began, "I've never been to a meeting before. Do you think we'll get to vote? I hope so. I've always wanted to say, 'I abstain!' Do you want to hear my speech?"

"Your what?"

"My speech. In case I get nominated for office."

Bark and Nack exchanged glances. "I don't think-" Bark started to say.

"If elected," Bean burst out excitedly, "I promise to get the job done first and talk about it later. The buck stops here, a chicken in every pot. Motherhood, Mobius, and do you know where your kids are? Sure, my opponent accuses me of-"

"Bean," Bark interrupted, "I don't think there's going to be any elections at this meeting."

"Oh," Bean said, "Well maybe I could be sergeant at arms." Fortunately, they arrived in the courtyard before the discussion could go much further. The others were already there, gathered on the lawn. "I move the meeting be adjourned!" Bean cried as they all gathered in a circle.

"Ignore him." Nack advised the others.

Taking Nack's advice, Natalie spoke up. "I'm sorry, but I'm kind of relieved that this happened. I've been hearing this whimpering and moaning for a while, and I was beginning to think that I had lost my mind."

"Well now we've all heard it!" Nack snapped. "So either we've all lost our minds, or what we've heard is as real as any of us."

"Oh, we heard it all right." Ferra said.

"But what are we going to do?" asked Snyder. "We've got to help, but how? It's not like we can just walk out of the hotel and leave a mystery hanging over this place..."

"We should leave and get professional help." Ferra said.

Natalie shook her head sadly. "No can do. The power box was smashed somehow. All the doors out of here are automatic so they aren't working."

"Could we go through the fence?" The Beaver suggested.

"No, I won't fit." Bark sighed.

Shade Hunter shrugged. "So, we can leave fatso behind."

"No one's getting left behind, Hunter." Ferra growled.

"We could dig under the fence, couldn't we?" Bean asked.

"On the subject of digging," said the Beaver, "I have to point out the fence goes a long way down. I don't want to be discouraging, but-"

"What about the gate?" Bark asked. "Or Bobbie's office? Isn't there some other way out?"

Natalie shrugged. "I don't know. Only Eliah's been into Bobbie's office. She knows everything about this hotel."

"Where is Eliah?" Bark asked the black cat.

"There has to be another way out."

Shade Hunter and Heather exchanged knowing glances, an exchange that was not lost upon Bark.

"You know what we're talking about here, pal?" Shade Hunter asked. Bark shook his head. "Max sec."

"Who's Max Sec?" Bean asked.

"Maximum security," said Heather, pronouncing each syllable individually.

"I...I hate to mention it," The Beaver said haltingly, "but Mandy did seem to imply some urgency. Perhaps we should start digging while some find another way out."

"Done!" Nack snapped, "Bark, the Beaver, and Snyder dig. Me, Heather, Natalie, and Shade Hunter will look."

"Where do I fit in?" Bean asked before Bark and the other diggers could form a union and go on strike.

"That's a question I've been asking myself ever since I met you..." Nack mumbled. "You're not strong enough to dig and not smart enough to figure how to get out... Maybe you could squeeze into tight places. Like Bobbie's office..."

"Okay!" Bean shouted, oblivious to the danger of his assignment.

"There's a rise in the fence by that bush over there." Natalie said, pointing into the darkness. "The fence isn't as deep there. That's where you should dig."

"Good thinking," said Heather. "You three suckers will dig while we try to break into Bobbie's office or open the gate. Is everyone agreed?"

"Let's vote!" Bean shouted.

"We don't need to vote!" Nack yelled at the duck.

"Please!"

"Bean," Nack said, "go work on your acceptance speech."

"You mean I won!" He exclaimed, "Wow, and to think I never kissed a baby or threw mud at my opponent. I was looking forward to that part." And he ambled off.

"I been thinking," Shade Hunter piped up, "It's kind of odd that we ain't heard nothing from them bones this whole time."

"You mean Mandy?" Bark asked.

"Yeah, her. What do you say we ask her some questions? Like for instance, What is the secret of Chateau Royal? She was about to spill the beans just before someone screamed."

"Maybe that was Bobbie who screamed." Natalie said. "Maybe-"

"Maybe there's other bones around here." Ferra interrupted.

"You don't mean to suggest," The Beaver began, "That there were others before Mandy who... never checked out?" A shiver ran down his spine.

"What are we waiting for?" Heather asked, "Let's go ask her."

They all crept over to the spot where the remains of Mandy had hastily been covered. Bark called to her softly. She did not answer. He tried again. And again. And again. "Perhaps she's on another plane of existence?" The Beaver suggested, "and she can't hear us right now."

"Well," Ferra said, "they ought to have answering machines on the Other Side so if they're tied up on another plane of existence, you can leave a message after the beep."

"Great idea," said Snyder.

The Beaver suggested they try again in the morning. "Right," Bark said with a loud yawn, "Nothing's going to happen between now and breakfast."

"I ain't sure I agree with you," Nack remarked as they walked back to their rooms. "Anything can happen, Bark. And it can happen anytime. It's true that we gotta do something, but the only way that we're going to be safe, really safe, is for someone to find out the secret of Chateau Royal. If it ain't going to be Mandy, then it'll take someone else. Someone heroic, someone who dares to go where no one has gone before, someone willing to risk life and limb-"

"Wait a minute Nack," Bark said, "If you're trying to flatter me into this..."

"I was referring to myself." Nack said flatly. "I'm going to find out the secret of Chateau Royal, Bark."

"Why do you want to help?"

"Because I have a feeling that a large amount of money is involved."

Bark turned to face him. His eyes were filled with greed and longing. The polar bear knew that there would be no way to sway Nack, no matter what terrible fate might lie in store. I shiver of dread went through Bark.

Even as he tried to fall asleep, he could not shake the chill. Nor could he shake Bean's ranting from the armchair by the bookshelf: "I will not shirk my responsibilities nor forget the promises I made on my way to being elected. More miles to the gallon, more crunch in every spoonful, and a par-tri-idge in a... pear... tree."