Ghostwriter (2019–…): Season 2, Episode 13 - The Ghost Writer, Part 3 - full transcript
I think these walls
will probably be plastered.
What is he doing?
Jim Sullivan brought his architect today.
I guess to discuss how to rip
this place down and turn it into condos.
We can't just sell the store.
There has to be another way.
Ruben, trust me.
We have tried everything we can think of.
Don't make this harder
than it needs to be.
Who's ready to write? Gross.
-He's here again?
-Yep.
And he brought an architect with him.
I can't believe this guy's gonna turn
my grandparents' building into condos.
Grandma always said how
excited they were the day it opened.
And how about when
we went back to the '50s...
when we saw Sarah
and all the kids from the neighborhood?
This place
is a huge part of people's lives.
Then we need to save it.
Curtis, what are you talking about?
-How?
-I don't know.
But you know how Owen always says how
you need to be persistent to solve cases?
Well, so do we. We can't give up.
Persistence is great and all, but that
doesn't solve our immediate problem.
Grandpa needs money to renovate the store.
I think I know how
we can come up with money.
Finish the book.
How will finishing the book give us money?
Once we find
Mason Briggs' lost manuscript,
publishers will want to pay
big bucks for it.
And think about the press. People will
come to the bookstore to check it out.
We can do this.
Ruben?
Let's go for it.
And no offense, G.W.,
but we're not doing this for you anymore.
We're doing this to save the bookstore.
This is so fun.
Camping out in the bookstore.
It's so eerie.
We should tell ghost stories or something.
Who needs ghost stories
when we have an actual ghost?
Good point.
Plus, we're here for a reason.
Yeah. We have a late night of writing
ahead of us, so let's get going.
Hi, kids!
It's your mom. Hide everything.
I thought you could use some food.
Is that caramel corn?
Thanks... Mom. You can leave.
I get it. You don't want your mom
getting in the way of your special night.
It's really sweet of you all to wanna camp
out here as a way to say bye to the store.
Well, this place means a lot to us.
Yep. This is gonna be great. See ya.
Okay. If you need anything,
I'll be downstairs for a while.
Grandpa and I have
a lot of organizing to do.
Thanks.
Okay.
So, what's our next move with the book?
I think it's time to find Owen.
He didn't answer any of the messages
Ben left him though.
Yeah, because he left them
with Frank who we now know is bad.
Hold on. Are we sure we know he's bad?
We spent time with the guy
when he came out the poem.
He seemed really nice
and not the type to steal a priceless mask
and frame a friend.
I agree, but anything's possible.
The only way we'll know what's
going on for sure is if we find Owen.
Ben's been leaving messages
all over town for him.
Let's hope he answers.
This is a perfect place for a meeting.
A book's gotta have a good setting,
and this one from Trinity
was definitely memorable.
Yeah. Let's hope he shows up.
We've left messages
everywhere we could think of for him.
What do we do if he's a no-show?
Well, fancy seeing you here.
Uncle Owen. We were worried.
You still have the Cobalt Mask?
-Yeah. It's in here.
-Good.
But first, we need some answers.
Frank's bad.
He's as crooked as a fishhook.
He framed me.
-I still can't believe it.
-Why would he do that?
Yeah, Owen?
-Why would I set you up?
-Frank.
You followed us?
It wasn't hard.
You didn't look over your shoulder once.
I think you owe your nephew
and his friends an explanation.
What's going on?
Nothing. Don't worry about it.
Truth is...
I'm nothin' but a good head of hair
and square jaw.
The real brains
behind this whole operation...
has always been Frank.
What?
Wait a minute. So, Frank
is the real private investigator?
Afraid so.
You always had a knack
for finding good cases, didn't you, Frank?
But the times weren't on your side.
People wanted somebody
they felt comfortable with,
and, well, I had the look
folks wanted in a private eye.
Why? Because Frank's black?
Are you serious?
Duh.
But that's racist and so wrong.
Hey, that's the world we live in.
Hopefully it'll change one day.
It was all my idea. I used to manage Frank
when he was a fighter.
We became friends.
Trust me. It can't fail.
That's what you said about
the magical cleaning supplies
and the all-you-can-eat
seafood restaurant--
I know. Some of my ventures
haven't exactly come to fruition.
-But you gotta hear me out on this.
-I'm listening.
You have a brilliant mind, Frank.
But people aren't hiring you
because of the color of your skin.
I have the look, and talk
about talkin' the talk, I can talk.
So, I do all the work
and you get the glory?
No, no, no. 50-50 partners.
I'll be the front man. I'll do the sales,
because I'm good at that.
And you will be the brilliant detective.
Well, I hate to say it...
but it sounds like a good plan.
-Partners?
-Partners.
It was all swell at first.
We did good together.
I brought in business.
Frank solved the big cases.
Which you took credit for.
Fast forward to the Cobalt Mask.
What happened there?
About a year or so ago I went to Owen.
Told him I wanted to
change our business arrangement.
Tell the world I was the real private eye,
but Owen wanted to keep things
the way they were.
-I figured it was working.
-Yeah. For you.
It must've been hard
to watch him get the glory.
You have no idea.
When the Cobalt Mask was stolen,
the museum made a big deal
of hiring the great Owen Quinn.
And master salesman that he is,
made a grand show
in front of the press how confident he was
he'd catch the burglar in no time.
Which means you would
have to find the burglar in no time.
Talk about pressure. Did you?
Yeah. I figured it was Jimmy Bones.
He'd just gotten out of jail, and I knew
he couldn't resist a score like that.
No way. I totally believed
he had gone straight.
I've known Jimmy for a long time.
He's a two-bit con man and a thief.
He's not even capable of going straight.
I noticed at the museum gala
he had a pair of wire cutters
concealed under his tray.
And every time
he passed by the suit of armor,
he secretly cut one of the wires.
And when the suit of armor fell,
that was Jimmy's chance.
So Jimmy did take the mask.
-That's actually a smart idea.
-But he got sloppy.
I followed him
and saw where he hid the mask.
And when he wasn't there, I took it back.
I was about to hand it over to Owen so
he could once again get the glory, but...
I just couldn't do it.
Instead of telling him I found it,
I confronted him.
I'm serious. I want credit this time.
There's too much riding
on the return of the mask.
Maybe sometime down the road,
but I'm workin' on some big things.
I'm workin' on getting us some big
international cases. They pay major dough.
You mean getting me
some international cases.
You're not an actual PI,
in case you've forgotten.
Frank. You've taught me a lot
over the years. It's not that hard.
Fine. You wanna be the investigator,
then go ahead
and find the Cobalt Mask without me.
Frank. Frankie.
I put the mask in the hidden compartment
for safekeeping
while Owen ran around town
trying to solve the crime.
I figured after a day or two, once
the museum pressured him to see results,
he would crawl back to me begging
to change our business arrangement.
I'm sorry I let you down, Frank.
I guess I let the fame get to my head.
I promise I'll make things square.
-I'm gonna tell the world the truth.
-That can wait.
The first thing we need to do
is return this mask to the museum.
-Jimmy?
-That's quite a story.
You followed us too?
We gotta get better at this stuff.
I knew you knew something.
You walk into the diner asking
all sorts of questions about Owen here.
Yeah, I knew something was up.
You're the same lowlife
you've always been, Jimmy.
That hurts, cabbie.
Come on. I made one mistake, right?
-I should've hidden the mask better.
-Yeah, you should've.
Yeah, well,
next time I'll be more careful.
Wait!
-Get him!
-Come on, run!
This way!
Go, go, go.
Go, go, go!
I heard something!
Did you hear him?
Get him! Where is he?
Oh, man.
I can't believe it.
Frank's the real private eye.
-Fans of Mason Briggs will be shocked.
-I think it's awesome.
And it's a plot twist
that no one will ever expect.
Obviously Sarah got the idea
from her own life.
Nobody would hire female crime writers, so
she hired someone to pose as Mason Briggs.
Hey. It's Trinity.
-Seems like years ago.
-I'll never forget that lasso battle.
And the Camarillo Kid. "Miss Donna."
I actually thought moving here
would be boring.
Who knew I'd be having conversations
with a talking rabbit,
time traveling with a pirate and his rat,
and running from Frankenstein's monster?
And it all started in this bookstore.
I always loved coming here.
Yeah. When we were younger, our parents
used to take us to get ice cream.
And then we'd stop by the bookstore
on the way back to browse for books.
-There's a new horror book I want.
-Forget it, Donna.
Every time you read a scary book,
you make me sleep with the lights on.
And you sleep in my room
'cause you're too afraid to be alone.
And I'll always remember all the times
I hung out with Grandpa.
He never got tired of talking books.
You were right. I loved The Secret Garden.
It was a great book.
If you liked that,
then wait until you read this.
Anne of Green Gables.
How much is it?
Just take good care of it
and return it when you're done.
This isn't a library, Grandpa.
If I've helped you love reading,
then my work is done.
Just don't tell my wife.
She's the one who pays the bills.
I wish I had as many memories
of this place as you do.
Most of mine started when I moved here.
None of us
will ever forget this wild adventure.
Although I doubt we'll be able
to tell many people about it.
When I moved here
I didn't know a single person.
I'm glad we all became friends.
-Who said we were friends?
-Curtis.
I'm kidding.
Yeah. Me too.
What was that? I'll be right back.
Hey.
I heard noises. What are you doing
sitting down here in the dark?
Sorry. I just felt I needed
to be close to Grandma.
She always sat in this chair
when she was troubled.
Are you upset you have to sell the store?
Yeah. This place has been my life.
There are so many memories here.
Like when you were a little boy,
you used to love climbing on Grandma's lap
in this very chair
as she read you story after story.
Do you remember that?
Yeah.
Actually, I do.
"'May we leave?' said Sister.
'Yes,' said Brother,
'let's get outta here.'
And that's how Brother and Sister
got rid of a pretty bad case
of the galloping greedy gimmies."
Can we read one more?
All right. But then it's bed.
Well. This is a good one.
Everything okay?
Everything will be once we finish
this book and get it published.
We're running out of time.
No more reminiscing. We have work to do.
Okay. Let's do this.
Let's see. Jimmy Bones took the mask.
What would he do with it?
I know. He'd try and sell it.
And I know who he'd go to for help.
Genevieve Marcus.
He told Charles he does some work for her.
And she told Yvonne she was having
a big dinner at her mansion.
That's a good opportunity
to try and sell the mask.
She did say she knew some people
who'd pay a fortune for it.
"Follow the money."
This is the perfect ending.
And we have to have Owen and Frank
finally working together as a team.
Remember, everything in this book
has built to this moment.
It needs to be exciting.
Right. It should feel like how it did
in Time Castaways on the ship:
high stakes and full of suspense.
Let's go.
Hey, Mack. Move your cab.
Sorry. I just dropped a fare off to your
party and this piece of junk died on me.
Can I get a hand?
Go, go, go.
Come on.
Nice place.
Come on. Better get a move on.
Okay. Let's split up.
Owen, you wait on that side of the house.
If Genevieve spots you,
it'll be game over.
Once we have the mask,
we'll hand it to you through the window.
Ben and I will search on this floor, while
Yvonne and Charles start on the top floor.
But everyone be careful. If you need me,
anything at all, just holler.
I'll be close by.
All right. Let's go.
That's wonderful. And how is Joan?
It has been ages since Paris, hasn't it?
Let me show you
what we've done here. It's divine.
Here's my tools.
Nice room.
Good place to hide a mask. Come on.
Who wraps the cover of their books
in silver paper?
I like it, but I don't know about silver.
Maybe a floral print or--
A holiday theme, 'cause I love Christmas.
Can we focus?
It's not here.
-Come on.
-Hold on.
Look.
That book is a lot bigger than the others.
You're right.
Bingo.
Excuse me.
I don't wanna knock off another ruby.
So you hold it.
We need to get this to Owen.
But he's at the other side of the house.
Right this way, gentlemen.
Genevieve.
How'd you manage to pull this off?
It's best you don't know.
Let's just say I couldn't have done it
without Jimmy here.
And let's just say I wouldn't have done it
if Genevieve hadn't offered
to split the cash.
Speaking of which...
Let's see it.
First, let's go over
the terms one more time.
You have the cash, I take it?
It's right here. Care to count it?
Let's do this already.
Come here.
They must be here somewhere.
How much do you think this thing is worth?
-Focus.
-Fine.
All right. Let's just make a run for it.
-I think we have a deal.
-Before we hand anything over,
let's count the cash.
What was that?
I heard it too.
It's nothing. It's nothing.
Come on. I have guests
to tend to out there.
Help.
You better not be trying
to pull something, Genevieve.
We have to help them.
No! I have a better idea. Stay here.
I assure you, everything is fine.
Jimmy here likes to worry, that's all.
What happened? Is anyone hurt?
It's not an accident. It's been
tampered with. Someone pried this off.
What are you talking about?
Why on earth would someone do--
-Hey!
-Get them!
Oh, no!
You need to work on your aim.
Owen Quinn. Now why am I not surprised?
I didn't take it, Belson.
It was Genevieve,
with a little help from Jimmy Bones.
I got a tip it was gonna be here.
Yeah. That was from me.
I believe you're lookin' for this.
How'd you know
Genevieve and Jimmy took it?
It's my job to know.
Actually,
I don't deserve any of the credit.
No, all of that should... go to Frank.
What? The cabbie?
His name is Frank Clemmons...
and he's the real private investigator.
Nice to meet you, Sergeant.
So you're the one
who's been solving all my cases?
Indeed. From now on,
I hope we can work together.
"His name... is Frank Clemmons...
and he's the real private investigator."
Yes. Come on.
Come on.
-Yes!
-Yes! Let's go.
We did it.
I love the ending.
Especially the way Charles saved the day.
Like how we outsmarted Dajie
in The Magic Paintbrush.
Charles got the idea from Jimmy Bones.
Just like how he made a distraction
to steal the mask
in the beginning of the book.
-What are you doing?
-There's still one more thing to write.
"The Cobalt Mask."
"Written by..."
What are you waiting for?
It feels weird writing
"written by Mason Briggs"
when it's actually Sarah Weaver
who's the real author.
I agree, but it's her secret to keep.
It's not up to us.
Hey, G.W.? If you're listening,
what do we type?
"Written by Sarah Weaver."
Grandma would be proud.
Sullivan. He's here to sign the papers
for the bookstore.
Everything's in order, Ernesto.
It'll be okay, Dad.
Gonna miss this place.
Stop!
Put down that pen, Grandpa.
Yeah. This bookstore's not for sale.
Here you go. It's one of my favorites.
Hey.
Here you are. You're welcome.
Wow. This place looks amazing.
Thanks to your dad's help.
And the big finder's fee
the publisher gave your grandfather.
Look at this turnout. It's huge.
Well, it is the grand reopening.
Not just that. It's also because of this.
Hey, everyone.
Can you believe it? They just found
the manuscript while cleaning up.
It's hard to imagine
no one saw it after all those years.
Yeah, it was weird. It was just
wedged between some floorboards.
Guess Sarah Weaver hid it there years ago.
And they're sure
it's an authentic Mason Briggs?
Yeah. It's the same typewriter
used for all the other books.
Can you believe she used to work here
in the 1950s? My dad even remembers her.
It's the best book in the series.
I won't spoil the ending
in case you kids ever wanna read it,
but it's a real surprise.
All good stories are full of 'em.
I heard there was one
really cool character named Charles.
Okay. Who's ready for a story?
-I am, I am!
-Come. Come this way. Come on.
Yeah, take a seat. Take a seat.
Today I'm going to read
from one of my favorite books of all time,
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
"Chapter one. Down the Rabbit Hole."
You know what? We've helped
G.W. with her unfinished business,
but it turns out
she has helped us just as much.
Yeah. If it weren't for her,
my grandpa would've sold the store,
and nobody would be enjoying
story time or browsing books.
Speaking of books, could you imagine
if we wrote one about our experience?
Nobody would believe it.
We'd have to say it was a work of fiction.
Ghost Writer.
Come on.
-"Thanks for everything."
-"Your friend..."
"S."
You're welcome, Sarah.
Thank you. Good night.
What a day.
What an adventure.
I can't believe it's actually over.
I know. It's weird.
What do we do now?
Homework, piano, debate.
Gotta reorganize my filing system.
I have stuff to do.
But it won't be anything as great as this.
I'll tell you one thing I'm going to do:
read more books.
What? I like books now.
Good for you, Curtis.
Well... guess that's it.
We'll see you at school.
Wait.
Maybe we can
all do something this weekend.
Like... go get something to eat or...
go bowling.
Maybe see a movie?
As long as it's not a mystery.
See you tomorrow, Ruben.
-Bye.
-Later.
will probably be plastered.
What is he doing?
Jim Sullivan brought his architect today.
I guess to discuss how to rip
this place down and turn it into condos.
We can't just sell the store.
There has to be another way.
Ruben, trust me.
We have tried everything we can think of.
Don't make this harder
than it needs to be.
Who's ready to write? Gross.
-He's here again?
-Yep.
And he brought an architect with him.
I can't believe this guy's gonna turn
my grandparents' building into condos.
Grandma always said how
excited they were the day it opened.
And how about when
we went back to the '50s...
when we saw Sarah
and all the kids from the neighborhood?
This place
is a huge part of people's lives.
Then we need to save it.
Curtis, what are you talking about?
-How?
-I don't know.
But you know how Owen always says how
you need to be persistent to solve cases?
Well, so do we. We can't give up.
Persistence is great and all, but that
doesn't solve our immediate problem.
Grandpa needs money to renovate the store.
I think I know how
we can come up with money.
Finish the book.
How will finishing the book give us money?
Once we find
Mason Briggs' lost manuscript,
publishers will want to pay
big bucks for it.
And think about the press. People will
come to the bookstore to check it out.
We can do this.
Ruben?
Let's go for it.
And no offense, G.W.,
but we're not doing this for you anymore.
We're doing this to save the bookstore.
This is so fun.
Camping out in the bookstore.
It's so eerie.
We should tell ghost stories or something.
Who needs ghost stories
when we have an actual ghost?
Good point.
Plus, we're here for a reason.
Yeah. We have a late night of writing
ahead of us, so let's get going.
Hi, kids!
It's your mom. Hide everything.
I thought you could use some food.
Is that caramel corn?
Thanks... Mom. You can leave.
I get it. You don't want your mom
getting in the way of your special night.
It's really sweet of you all to wanna camp
out here as a way to say bye to the store.
Well, this place means a lot to us.
Yep. This is gonna be great. See ya.
Okay. If you need anything,
I'll be downstairs for a while.
Grandpa and I have
a lot of organizing to do.
Thanks.
Okay.
So, what's our next move with the book?
I think it's time to find Owen.
He didn't answer any of the messages
Ben left him though.
Yeah, because he left them
with Frank who we now know is bad.
Hold on. Are we sure we know he's bad?
We spent time with the guy
when he came out the poem.
He seemed really nice
and not the type to steal a priceless mask
and frame a friend.
I agree, but anything's possible.
The only way we'll know what's
going on for sure is if we find Owen.
Ben's been leaving messages
all over town for him.
Let's hope he answers.
This is a perfect place for a meeting.
A book's gotta have a good setting,
and this one from Trinity
was definitely memorable.
Yeah. Let's hope he shows up.
We've left messages
everywhere we could think of for him.
What do we do if he's a no-show?
Well, fancy seeing you here.
Uncle Owen. We were worried.
You still have the Cobalt Mask?
-Yeah. It's in here.
-Good.
But first, we need some answers.
Frank's bad.
He's as crooked as a fishhook.
He framed me.
-I still can't believe it.
-Why would he do that?
Yeah, Owen?
-Why would I set you up?
-Frank.
You followed us?
It wasn't hard.
You didn't look over your shoulder once.
I think you owe your nephew
and his friends an explanation.
What's going on?
Nothing. Don't worry about it.
Truth is...
I'm nothin' but a good head of hair
and square jaw.
The real brains
behind this whole operation...
has always been Frank.
What?
Wait a minute. So, Frank
is the real private investigator?
Afraid so.
You always had a knack
for finding good cases, didn't you, Frank?
But the times weren't on your side.
People wanted somebody
they felt comfortable with,
and, well, I had the look
folks wanted in a private eye.
Why? Because Frank's black?
Are you serious?
Duh.
But that's racist and so wrong.
Hey, that's the world we live in.
Hopefully it'll change one day.
It was all my idea. I used to manage Frank
when he was a fighter.
We became friends.
Trust me. It can't fail.
That's what you said about
the magical cleaning supplies
and the all-you-can-eat
seafood restaurant--
I know. Some of my ventures
haven't exactly come to fruition.
-But you gotta hear me out on this.
-I'm listening.
You have a brilliant mind, Frank.
But people aren't hiring you
because of the color of your skin.
I have the look, and talk
about talkin' the talk, I can talk.
So, I do all the work
and you get the glory?
No, no, no. 50-50 partners.
I'll be the front man. I'll do the sales,
because I'm good at that.
And you will be the brilliant detective.
Well, I hate to say it...
but it sounds like a good plan.
-Partners?
-Partners.
It was all swell at first.
We did good together.
I brought in business.
Frank solved the big cases.
Which you took credit for.
Fast forward to the Cobalt Mask.
What happened there?
About a year or so ago I went to Owen.
Told him I wanted to
change our business arrangement.
Tell the world I was the real private eye,
but Owen wanted to keep things
the way they were.
-I figured it was working.
-Yeah. For you.
It must've been hard
to watch him get the glory.
You have no idea.
When the Cobalt Mask was stolen,
the museum made a big deal
of hiring the great Owen Quinn.
And master salesman that he is,
made a grand show
in front of the press how confident he was
he'd catch the burglar in no time.
Which means you would
have to find the burglar in no time.
Talk about pressure. Did you?
Yeah. I figured it was Jimmy Bones.
He'd just gotten out of jail, and I knew
he couldn't resist a score like that.
No way. I totally believed
he had gone straight.
I've known Jimmy for a long time.
He's a two-bit con man and a thief.
He's not even capable of going straight.
I noticed at the museum gala
he had a pair of wire cutters
concealed under his tray.
And every time
he passed by the suit of armor,
he secretly cut one of the wires.
And when the suit of armor fell,
that was Jimmy's chance.
So Jimmy did take the mask.
-That's actually a smart idea.
-But he got sloppy.
I followed him
and saw where he hid the mask.
And when he wasn't there, I took it back.
I was about to hand it over to Owen so
he could once again get the glory, but...
I just couldn't do it.
Instead of telling him I found it,
I confronted him.
I'm serious. I want credit this time.
There's too much riding
on the return of the mask.
Maybe sometime down the road,
but I'm workin' on some big things.
I'm workin' on getting us some big
international cases. They pay major dough.
You mean getting me
some international cases.
You're not an actual PI,
in case you've forgotten.
Frank. You've taught me a lot
over the years. It's not that hard.
Fine. You wanna be the investigator,
then go ahead
and find the Cobalt Mask without me.
Frank. Frankie.
I put the mask in the hidden compartment
for safekeeping
while Owen ran around town
trying to solve the crime.
I figured after a day or two, once
the museum pressured him to see results,
he would crawl back to me begging
to change our business arrangement.
I'm sorry I let you down, Frank.
I guess I let the fame get to my head.
I promise I'll make things square.
-I'm gonna tell the world the truth.
-That can wait.
The first thing we need to do
is return this mask to the museum.
-Jimmy?
-That's quite a story.
You followed us too?
We gotta get better at this stuff.
I knew you knew something.
You walk into the diner asking
all sorts of questions about Owen here.
Yeah, I knew something was up.
You're the same lowlife
you've always been, Jimmy.
That hurts, cabbie.
Come on. I made one mistake, right?
-I should've hidden the mask better.
-Yeah, you should've.
Yeah, well,
next time I'll be more careful.
Wait!
-Get him!
-Come on, run!
This way!
Go, go, go.
Go, go, go!
I heard something!
Did you hear him?
Get him! Where is he?
Oh, man.
I can't believe it.
Frank's the real private eye.
-Fans of Mason Briggs will be shocked.
-I think it's awesome.
And it's a plot twist
that no one will ever expect.
Obviously Sarah got the idea
from her own life.
Nobody would hire female crime writers, so
she hired someone to pose as Mason Briggs.
Hey. It's Trinity.
-Seems like years ago.
-I'll never forget that lasso battle.
And the Camarillo Kid. "Miss Donna."
I actually thought moving here
would be boring.
Who knew I'd be having conversations
with a talking rabbit,
time traveling with a pirate and his rat,
and running from Frankenstein's monster?
And it all started in this bookstore.
I always loved coming here.
Yeah. When we were younger, our parents
used to take us to get ice cream.
And then we'd stop by the bookstore
on the way back to browse for books.
-There's a new horror book I want.
-Forget it, Donna.
Every time you read a scary book,
you make me sleep with the lights on.
And you sleep in my room
'cause you're too afraid to be alone.
And I'll always remember all the times
I hung out with Grandpa.
He never got tired of talking books.
You were right. I loved The Secret Garden.
It was a great book.
If you liked that,
then wait until you read this.
Anne of Green Gables.
How much is it?
Just take good care of it
and return it when you're done.
This isn't a library, Grandpa.
If I've helped you love reading,
then my work is done.
Just don't tell my wife.
She's the one who pays the bills.
I wish I had as many memories
of this place as you do.
Most of mine started when I moved here.
None of us
will ever forget this wild adventure.
Although I doubt we'll be able
to tell many people about it.
When I moved here
I didn't know a single person.
I'm glad we all became friends.
-Who said we were friends?
-Curtis.
I'm kidding.
Yeah. Me too.
What was that? I'll be right back.
Hey.
I heard noises. What are you doing
sitting down here in the dark?
Sorry. I just felt I needed
to be close to Grandma.
She always sat in this chair
when she was troubled.
Are you upset you have to sell the store?
Yeah. This place has been my life.
There are so many memories here.
Like when you were a little boy,
you used to love climbing on Grandma's lap
in this very chair
as she read you story after story.
Do you remember that?
Yeah.
Actually, I do.
"'May we leave?' said Sister.
'Yes,' said Brother,
'let's get outta here.'
And that's how Brother and Sister
got rid of a pretty bad case
of the galloping greedy gimmies."
Can we read one more?
All right. But then it's bed.
Well. This is a good one.
Everything okay?
Everything will be once we finish
this book and get it published.
We're running out of time.
No more reminiscing. We have work to do.
Okay. Let's do this.
Let's see. Jimmy Bones took the mask.
What would he do with it?
I know. He'd try and sell it.
And I know who he'd go to for help.
Genevieve Marcus.
He told Charles he does some work for her.
And she told Yvonne she was having
a big dinner at her mansion.
That's a good opportunity
to try and sell the mask.
She did say she knew some people
who'd pay a fortune for it.
"Follow the money."
This is the perfect ending.
And we have to have Owen and Frank
finally working together as a team.
Remember, everything in this book
has built to this moment.
It needs to be exciting.
Right. It should feel like how it did
in Time Castaways on the ship:
high stakes and full of suspense.
Let's go.
Hey, Mack. Move your cab.
Sorry. I just dropped a fare off to your
party and this piece of junk died on me.
Can I get a hand?
Go, go, go.
Come on.
Nice place.
Come on. Better get a move on.
Okay. Let's split up.
Owen, you wait on that side of the house.
If Genevieve spots you,
it'll be game over.
Once we have the mask,
we'll hand it to you through the window.
Ben and I will search on this floor, while
Yvonne and Charles start on the top floor.
But everyone be careful. If you need me,
anything at all, just holler.
I'll be close by.
All right. Let's go.
That's wonderful. And how is Joan?
It has been ages since Paris, hasn't it?
Let me show you
what we've done here. It's divine.
Here's my tools.
Nice room.
Good place to hide a mask. Come on.
Who wraps the cover of their books
in silver paper?
I like it, but I don't know about silver.
Maybe a floral print or--
A holiday theme, 'cause I love Christmas.
Can we focus?
It's not here.
-Come on.
-Hold on.
Look.
That book is a lot bigger than the others.
You're right.
Bingo.
Excuse me.
I don't wanna knock off another ruby.
So you hold it.
We need to get this to Owen.
But he's at the other side of the house.
Right this way, gentlemen.
Genevieve.
How'd you manage to pull this off?
It's best you don't know.
Let's just say I couldn't have done it
without Jimmy here.
And let's just say I wouldn't have done it
if Genevieve hadn't offered
to split the cash.
Speaking of which...
Let's see it.
First, let's go over
the terms one more time.
You have the cash, I take it?
It's right here. Care to count it?
Let's do this already.
Come here.
They must be here somewhere.
How much do you think this thing is worth?
-Focus.
-Fine.
All right. Let's just make a run for it.
-I think we have a deal.
-Before we hand anything over,
let's count the cash.
What was that?
I heard it too.
It's nothing. It's nothing.
Come on. I have guests
to tend to out there.
Help.
You better not be trying
to pull something, Genevieve.
We have to help them.
No! I have a better idea. Stay here.
I assure you, everything is fine.
Jimmy here likes to worry, that's all.
What happened? Is anyone hurt?
It's not an accident. It's been
tampered with. Someone pried this off.
What are you talking about?
Why on earth would someone do--
-Hey!
-Get them!
Oh, no!
You need to work on your aim.
Owen Quinn. Now why am I not surprised?
I didn't take it, Belson.
It was Genevieve,
with a little help from Jimmy Bones.
I got a tip it was gonna be here.
Yeah. That was from me.
I believe you're lookin' for this.
How'd you know
Genevieve and Jimmy took it?
It's my job to know.
Actually,
I don't deserve any of the credit.
No, all of that should... go to Frank.
What? The cabbie?
His name is Frank Clemmons...
and he's the real private investigator.
Nice to meet you, Sergeant.
So you're the one
who's been solving all my cases?
Indeed. From now on,
I hope we can work together.
"His name... is Frank Clemmons...
and he's the real private investigator."
Yes. Come on.
Come on.
-Yes!
-Yes! Let's go.
We did it.
I love the ending.
Especially the way Charles saved the day.
Like how we outsmarted Dajie
in The Magic Paintbrush.
Charles got the idea from Jimmy Bones.
Just like how he made a distraction
to steal the mask
in the beginning of the book.
-What are you doing?
-There's still one more thing to write.
"The Cobalt Mask."
"Written by..."
What are you waiting for?
It feels weird writing
"written by Mason Briggs"
when it's actually Sarah Weaver
who's the real author.
I agree, but it's her secret to keep.
It's not up to us.
Hey, G.W.? If you're listening,
what do we type?
"Written by Sarah Weaver."
Grandma would be proud.
Sullivan. He's here to sign the papers
for the bookstore.
Everything's in order, Ernesto.
It'll be okay, Dad.
Gonna miss this place.
Stop!
Put down that pen, Grandpa.
Yeah. This bookstore's not for sale.
Here you go. It's one of my favorites.
Hey.
Here you are. You're welcome.
Wow. This place looks amazing.
Thanks to your dad's help.
And the big finder's fee
the publisher gave your grandfather.
Look at this turnout. It's huge.
Well, it is the grand reopening.
Not just that. It's also because of this.
Hey, everyone.
Can you believe it? They just found
the manuscript while cleaning up.
It's hard to imagine
no one saw it after all those years.
Yeah, it was weird. It was just
wedged between some floorboards.
Guess Sarah Weaver hid it there years ago.
And they're sure
it's an authentic Mason Briggs?
Yeah. It's the same typewriter
used for all the other books.
Can you believe she used to work here
in the 1950s? My dad even remembers her.
It's the best book in the series.
I won't spoil the ending
in case you kids ever wanna read it,
but it's a real surprise.
All good stories are full of 'em.
I heard there was one
really cool character named Charles.
Okay. Who's ready for a story?
-I am, I am!
-Come. Come this way. Come on.
Yeah, take a seat. Take a seat.
Today I'm going to read
from one of my favorite books of all time,
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
"Chapter one. Down the Rabbit Hole."
You know what? We've helped
G.W. with her unfinished business,
but it turns out
she has helped us just as much.
Yeah. If it weren't for her,
my grandpa would've sold the store,
and nobody would be enjoying
story time or browsing books.
Speaking of books, could you imagine
if we wrote one about our experience?
Nobody would believe it.
We'd have to say it was a work of fiction.
Ghost Writer.
Come on.
-"Thanks for everything."
-"Your friend..."
"S."
You're welcome, Sarah.
Thank you. Good night.
What a day.
What an adventure.
I can't believe it's actually over.
I know. It's weird.
What do we do now?
Homework, piano, debate.
Gotta reorganize my filing system.
I have stuff to do.
But it won't be anything as great as this.
I'll tell you one thing I'm going to do:
read more books.
What? I like books now.
Good for you, Curtis.
Well... guess that's it.
We'll see you at school.
Wait.
Maybe we can
all do something this weekend.
Like... go get something to eat or...
go bowling.
Maybe see a movie?
As long as it's not a mystery.
See you tomorrow, Ruben.
-Bye.
-Later.