The lights turned back on. Louie shuddered. What the heck had just happened?

He looked around. Everything seemed normal, except Feathry was missing. "Uh, guys?" He frowned at his brothers.

Huey's eyes were wide and Dewey's helmet had a shocked expression. Louie noticed the coin had fallen back to the ground. He put it into his pocket for safe keeping, then turned to the other guests. They all looked frightened. "Uh... We are experiencing some technical difficulties! Staff meeting!"

Grabbing his brothers by the wrists, he dragged them to the room Huey had taken them to earlier. After closing the current doors, he turned to them.

"I think we have a problem."

"Yeah, no kidding!" Huey threw his hands in the air and began pacing. "You were supposed to make the coin disappear, not our cousin!"

"I have no clue what just happened!" Louie's heart began racing, worry and confusion filling his mind.

"You don't think he was kidnapped, do you?" Dewey said quietly.

"By one of the guests?" Louie put his hands on his hips. "Ridiculous, I know most of them personally."

"Louie, who exactly did you invite to this party?" Huey asked, raising an eyebrow.

Louie turned pink. If he told them that, he would have to tell them why too, something he didn't feel like sharing. "Well, you know, a couple people from here and there- Anyways, it isn't important!" He shook his head. "There's only one thing we can do."

"Keep this party going."

"Call the police."

Huey and Louie exchanged a glance after talking over each other. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" Louie raised an eyebrow.

"Keep this party going! We can't let people know something's wrong. We have all the suspects in there, what if we took the opportunity to make them think... it's a murder mystery party!" He smiled at Louie.

"Emphasis on the murder part!" Dewey said, waving his hands.

"That's a horrible idea, we should call the police."

"Please, I can figure out who it is! Just give me a chance..."

Louie raised his hands defensively. "I would but this is serious." Huey glanced around the room, frowning. Something tugged at Louie inside. I mean, could Louie really deny his brother the opportunity to prove himself? What kind of brother would he be if he said no? Just look at that face! The precious face of his baby brother. Louie sighed. "Alright let's solve a mystery."

"Thank you Louie!" Huey smiled at his oldest brother before leaving Dewey and Louie in the room.

"Boooooo!" Dewey pressed the button repeatedly on the keyboard.

Louie glanced between the blue triplet and the one who had just left. He face palmed. "Aww, he just tricked me again, didn't he?"

"Oh yeah," the keyboard said.

Louie rolled his eyes. "You'd think by now I'd be able to see through it. Come on, I guess." He waved for his brother to follow out the room.

...

Dewey was really sweaty. This helmet was really sweaty. This whole situation was really sweaty. Everything was just sweaty.

"Alright, everything's fine, people," Louie said to the guests. He waved his hands, trying to calm all of them. But they still seemed on edge.

"THERE'S BEEN A MURDER!" Dewey looked to see Huey standing on top of the mantle above the fireplace. The guests gasped and turned their attention to the red triplet. Dewey mentally face palmed. "In Savanna!" Huey threw his hands up in the air.

Louie moved in front of the guests. "No! No there hasn't. No murder. No one died. I mean, someone in the world probably died, but no one here died. Well, actually, Duckburg is kind of a big town, so it's possible someone might've died, but no one in this mansion has. I think. I hope. Oh, gosh, wait a minute-"

Dewey rolled his eyes and pressed the air horn button. At least this keyboard was good for something. And despite how claustrophobic it was, the helmet helped hide his eye rolls and sighs and mumbles that he would otherwise be too scared to do in public.

Louie shook himself. "Anyways, the point is, we think someone might've kidnapped our cousin Feathry." There was another gasp from the crowd.

"And our prime suspect, her!" Huey pointed dramatically at the beagle. She took a step back. "She was standing closest to Feathry when in happened!"

I mean, sure, why not just start accusing everyone? Dewey interrupted the thought. That was sarcastic and mean.

"I would never kidnap anyone," she said. Dewey liked her country accent. "I promise it on my dear papa Beagle's grave!"

Huey jumped down from the mantle and started circling the woman. "Uh huh, sure. Am I to believe that you, Miss- wait a minute who are you?" Dewey also had the same question. Louie hadn't been too open about who he invited.

The woman took off her mask, revealing her light brown fur and dark eyes. "I'm Bethany Beagle, but most people call me Ma, on account of the orphanage I run." She put a hand on her hip and smiled. "And I have no reason to kidnap Feathry."

"Like the orphanage we usually pass on the way to school?" Dewey asked. Louie nodded.

Huey put a finger to his chin. "I don't know all that much about you to make a fair judgement on whether or not you did it."

"She probably didn't." Louie crossed his arms. "Most people don't kidnap people."

"Well it has to be someone in this room!" Huey threw up his hands, frowning. "And there's only six of us!"

"Six? Are you implying that Dewey or I did it?" Louie crossed his arms.

"I'm just making sure we know all the options."

Huey and Louie started arguing. It seemed like a lot of that was happening lately. Dewey sighed and frowned. Sure, living in the trailer was terrible, but at least they didn't fight so much. They had had bigger problems to deal with than petty arguments.

Like where they would get their next meal from. Or if they would make it to school on time without anyone asking questions. Or when Donald's next outburst would be.

The thought of Donald made Dewey's arms hurt. He rubbed his arms, reminiscing the scars. He'd tried to get used to the pain over the years. Thankfully, his injuries were covered so no one else could see.

Those scars came from Donald.

Jerk.

Once he realized he did it, he froze. What was it about the helmet that made him feel such freedoms to think such things?

He shook himself back to reality. Huey and Louie were still debating. The blue triplet took matters into his own hands. He stood between his brothers and separated them with his hands. Then he pointed upward. His brothers followed the direction with their eyes. To the chandelier.

"Hey, the lights went out. That's our first clue!" Louie smiled.

Huey tilted his head. "Buh?"

"If we could figure out how the lights work, we could figure out how someone disabled them."

Huey nodded. "Buh."

Louie had a curious look. "Now to find out how to figure out what type of system runs the lights."

Huey smiled. "I got ya bro."

Louie and Dewey had been turned away from their brother. When they turned to face him, he was no longer there. There was a moment of confusion before they found him.

He was on top of the chandelier.

Dewey's helmet made a sound of alarm and his heart jumped. Oh my gosh! Huey get down from there!

"The Blackout!" Huey grinned and waved one hand dramatically (he held onto the chandelier with his other hand).

"Hue- H- How did you get up there?" Louie tilted his head, raising an eyebrow.

Huey ignored him. "It was mysteriously caused during Louie's magic trick. But if we follow the power source..." He jumped, grabbing the power cord to the chandelier. It almost hurt Dewey to watch. Huey slid down the cord, giving the blue triplet a heart attack. He finally landed on the mantle.

Why couldn't you have just climbed up there! Dewey's brain shouted. This helmet was doing something to him.

Louie glanced up at the ceiling, which was now partially broken. "That's gonna take a pretty penny to fix."

"What about a haunted penny?"

Louie smirked at Dewey. "Ha ha, very funny."

They turned back to the youngest duckling. "The power's coming from this painting." He pulled open a painting hung up above the mantle. The painting was of Feathry winning an Emmy award or something, Dewey didn't really care.

Wow. He needed to get this helmet off as soon as possible. He was being a little too honest with himself.

Behind the painting was an elaborate system of switches and lights. A branding plate was on top. It read "DT-17."

Ma Beagle let out a whistle. "Wow, a DT-17. That's one of the nicest security systems around."

A short duck stepped forward. "Is that one better than the DT-87?"

The third guest spoke up. "Eh, it's debatable, but some things are better in one and some things are better in the other," she said.

Dewey was surprised at all the guests random knowledge of security systems. Interesting.

"Whoever could've disabled this would have to be some sort of master hacker," Huey said, pacing.

The third guest stepped closer to the painting and smiled. "Like spelt with a Z and with cool gadgets!"

Huey snapped his fingers and pointed. "Yes, exactly!"

Dewey and Louie exchanged a look.

"Bruh, that's like top tier hacker."

"I know right?"

Dewey cleared his throat. "Excuse me, but who are you?"

The guest pushed her hair back out of her face. "Why, I'm glad you asked helmet kid. I am, that's right, THE master hacker spelt with a Z in question!"

"Wait, did you just admit to-"

"Zan Owlson, the one and only!" She threw off her party mask, then smirked, hand on her hip. "Shabam!"

Dewey raised an eyebrow and turned to his oldest brother. "Hang on, I thought you said she almost got you killed a while ago."

"Well, I tried to invite Mark, but he was busy, so she came instead," Louie said.

Huey smiled, high-fiving Owlson. "Wow, you're so cool."

"You know it," she said, leaning against the mantle.

"She just admitted to hacking the lights," Dewey said quietly. It was probably even quieter to everyone else because of the helmet. Dewey hated this thing.

"Yeah, Owlson's now out number one suspect," Louie said stepping forward. "Why'd you hack the lights?"

Owlson looked down and fidgeted. "Well, I wasn't trying to hack the lights. A master hacker would probably be able to hit their target, heh."

"You're telling me you accidentally hacked a state-of-the-art security system? I don't buy it." Louie crossed his arms and frowned.

"Yes, believe or not, I did!" She put her hands on her hips. The two glared at each other a moment before she continued. "I was trying to get to the security camera footage."

Dewey's eyes widened. Wait a minute, the mansion had security cameras? He didn't really like the thought of being watched.

"Why?" Louie asked.

"For footage like this!" She held up her phone for the triplets and other guests to see. The video started with Bradford cleaning a sliding glass door. Then he left, followed by Dewey entering the space. He walked straight into the door, getting knocked back. He was startled for a moment, but shook it off.

Dewey's cheeks turned hot red, adding to his claustrophobia. Good thing no one could see how embarrassed he was.

Owlson started laughing. "Ha! He thought the door- hehe- was- ha- open! But then it wasn't! Haha!" She smirked and started scrolling on her phone. "This vid will viral in a heartbeat, XD."

Besides the fact that she had just said XD out loud, Dewey was concerned that she would actually post the video. Before she had a chance, he jumped up, snatched the phone, and threw it away.

Owlson shrugged and grabbed a second phone from her pocket. She started heading towards the door. "Anywho, hope you find your cousin, but I'm out! Peace!" She chuckled to herself, walking backwards. When she spun around, she walked smack into the door and fell back.

Dewey snickered under the helmet.

"Hehe, no one was recording that, right?"

Huey picked up Owlson's phone that she had dropped. "Hey, she took a selfie when it was dark." He squinted at the device.

"That was probably what the flash was." Louie moved toward the door Owlson had just walked into. He checked the handle. "Huh. Locked. Why would someone lock us in here?"

"BUM BUM BUMMMMM!" Dewey pressed a button. If the door was locked, that meant they were locked in with a kidnapper, possibly a murderer. He gulped.

"Maybe the picture has a clue. Enhance." Louie moved to stand next to Huey. The red triplet shook the phone. "Enhance!"

"Dude, just use your fingers," Louie said, reaching over and doing it himself.

"Right. I still don't know how this thing works."

...

Huey narrowed his eyes, noticing a second figure in the picture besides Owlson. The third guest next to the door. "Whoever that is probably locked the door." The three boys looked up to the last guest. A roundish duck.

The guest put up his hands defensively.

"Louie, who is this?"

"Uh... Flintheart Glomgold... of Glomgold industries..." Louie fidgeted his hands nervously.

Huey and Dewey shot Louie a look. Noted: Next time Louie does NOT make the guest list.

"Why would you invite him! He's Cousin Feathry's greatest rival!" Huey threw his hands up dramatically.

Glomgold tilted his head, taking off his mask. "Is that really what he calls me when I'm not around? Wow."

Owlson leaned on Glomgold's shoulder. "Huh. A woman who runs an orphanarium, Waddle's CEO, and the richest duck in the world." She twisted her beak. "Wonder what we've all got in common."

"Yeah, that's a good question." Huey raised an eyebrow at his oldest brother. It was an odd pick, especially since they really only knew one of them. "Louie?"

"Uh... better question!" Louie put his hands on his hips, turning to Glomgold. "Why were you trying to leave?"

Huey had almost forgotten about Glomgold. "Yeah! Did you kidnap our cousin!"

"No, what? Why would I do that?" The older duck shook his head. "Nah, I was going to get my present out of the car because I left it in there."

Huey waddled over to the man and stood on his tippy toes to be at eye level. "A present? Like the present of MURDER???"

"No, when the green kiddo invited me, I knew I had to find the perfect gift for Feathry." He waved his hands as he spoke. "Sure, I don't like him, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to treat him well. I couldn't find anything worthy of him, so in the end I just shoved a gift card into and envelope and came over."

Huey narrowed his eyes at him. For all he knew, they could've all done it. "Uh-huh, sure. What's up with your voice? Are you covering up something?"

Louie sighed and face palmed. "Huey, he has a South African accent. It's not a cover up for anything."

"Oh." Huey stood back to his natural height and put a finger to his chin. "Well... he could still be lying!"

"Alright! That's enough of that, little bro," Louie said, taking Huey by the shoulders.

"That's it! I know who it was! Staff Meeting!" Huey wiggled out of his brother's grip and they went back to their "staff room."

Huey shut the curtains behind them.

"Well, who was it?" Louie asked.

"It was... someone." Huey frowned. "Look, I don't actually know, alright!"

"What?"

Dewey's helmet eye rolled and he pressed down on the "booo!" key.

"Hey! Don't you roll your digital eyes at me!" Huey snapped. Dewey raised his hands defensively. "You guys know I'm not the smart one! Why did you trust me with this!"

"BECAUSE YOU ASKED!" Louie crossed his arms, glaring at the youngest. Noted: maybe next time listen to Bradford.

"You should've told me no! You're the responsible one!"

"Huey!"

"Louie!"

"Dewey!"

The boys looked to the middle child and raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, I thought we were just shouting names, heh," Dewey said muffled.

"Well we have to tell the guests something!" Louie began tapping his foot anxiously.

"Alright, I'll tell them Louie died and Dewey and I are mourning, so then they'll leave us alone."

"Wait, that's a bad id-"

Huey was already out the room.

He stepped in front of the guests.

"Well?" Ma Beagle asked.

"Um... Louie has died, and now we are sad, so you guys can all go home now." This plan sounded better in his head.

"What?" the guests said in unison.

Huey nodded, biting his lip. "Yep. He died. Just now. That's the story we're going with." Noted: Next time, just don't. That'll solve a lot of problems.

There was a shuffle behind him, then Louie stood next to him.

Huey laughed awkwardly. "Look at that! He's alive! Back from the dead Louie, that's what we call him."

"No one has ever called me that." Louie deadpanned.

"Is he a ghost?" Zan said. At least someone bought it.

"Yerp. Ghost Louie, that's what we call him." Huey may not have been the sharpest, but he was smart enough to know that this was quickly going down hill.

"Hey, um, speaking of ghost..." Glomgold took a step back, drawing everyone's attention. He was looking straight at Louie.

Huey followed their eyes to see Feathry's penny floating out of Louie's pocket. Dewey's helmet took on a surprised expression. "B-B-B-Bless me bagpipes." Huey chuckled to himself, distracted. Heh. Bagpipes. Funny word.

Right! Floating coin! Pay attention!

Louie yelped and smacked the coin away. It remained buoyant in the air, only bobbing a little. A dark haze emerged from the coin. Soon enough smog poured out and it began surrounding the guests. It circled them quickly before making each of them disappear with a scream.

"My!"

"Yip!"

"Gah!"

The triplets huddled together, watching as the fog began to form a figure.

"I think something's up with Feathry's penny."

"What gave that away?"

"This whole party was a disaster!" Huey began bouncing on his heals. "Feathry disappearing, and then your weird choice in guests, and then now a ghost!"

"My weird guest choice!" Louie glared at his brother. "I'll have you know, I had a very strategic reason in inviting who I did!"

"Strategic? How could-" Huey gasped. "You invited a bunch of business people! Ha! You were using this party for your own personal gain!"

"I was trying to get my foot in the door! And don't try to act like you weren't using this party too!" Louie crossed his arms. "No one wanted this thing except for you!"

"Excuse me!"

"YOU GUYS WE HAVE BIGGER PROBLEMS!" Dewey shouted in the chaos.

They all turned their attention back to the ghost.

"We're gonna die."

"Called it." Huey and Louie shot a look at Dewey. Not the time for snotty but true remarks!

The figure evened out into a the shape of a duck. Its eyes glowed red and he stared down at the triplets.

"Um..." Louie gulped. "What do you want... Mr. Ghost... sir?" He smiled anxiously.

The ghost's voice came out distorted and gravely. But Huey was able to make out, "My... daughter..."

Huey shoved Dewey forward. "Would you settle for my older brother?"

The ghost just growled, narrowing his eyes. He began floating towards them, raising his arms threateningly.

"You know what? We're gonna take that as a no..." Huey and his brothers backed up slowly.

Louie pushed his brothers away from the ghost quickly. "Run!"

Hey guys! Guess what! This now has a Q&A book! Most of y'all already know but whatever. It's on my profile if you wanna check it out. Thanks for reading!