Night at the Museum Shop

1. NarratorPriya's aunt ran the gift shop at the city museum. On Saturdays, Priya and her friend Sam helped to fold paper bags, tidy the shelves and sell postcards.
2. NarratorAt five o'clock, the museum closed. The visitors left, the lights in the big halls went dim, and the shop became very quiet.
3. SamI like it when it is empty. It feels like the dinosaurs are waking up.
4. PriyaDo not say that. I am about to count the cash.
5. NarratorShe stopped. A small sound came from the front of the shop, a soft rustle. Both friends froze.
6. SamDid you hear that?
7. PriyaIt is probably the air conditioning.
8. NarratorBut the rustle came again, and this time it was followed by a quiet click. The security guard, Mr Okoro, appeared at the door with a torch.
9. Mr OkoroEverything all right in here?
10. PriyaWe heard a noise near the dinosaur display.
11. Mr OkoroStay behind me.
12. NarratorPriya's heart was beating fast. She had worked in the shop for six months, and she knew every shelf and every box. Nothing here could make a noise on its own.
13. SamMaybe it is a mouse?
14. PriyaMice do not click.
15. NarratorHe walked slowly between the shelves, shining his torch on every corner. The beam stopped on the glass case where the shop kept its fossils.
16. SamLook. There is a coat.
17. NarratorA small brown coat hung from the side of the case. A child's coat, with a hood. The pocket was bulging, and something inside it was moving.
18. Mr OkoroDo not touch it. Back away slowly.
19. NarratorThe pocket twitched again. Priya noticed something, a thin pink string hanging out of one corner.
20. PriyaMr Okoro, wait. I think that is a toy.
21. NarratorShe stepped forward and gently pulled the string. A small toy beetle fell out and crawled across the floor, its legs clicking.
22. SamA toy! It must have come from the shop.
23. Mr OkoroBut whose coat is it?
24. NarratorPriya searched the pockets. There was a ticket stub, a packet of tissues and a school label with a name on the inside collar: Jonah B.
25. PriyaA boy must have left it here after the school trip this afternoon. He bought a pull-string beetle and put it in his pocket with the string hanging out. The draught from the air vent kept swinging the coat, and the string kept tugging at the toy.
26. Mr OkoroThat explains the clicks.
27. Mr OkoroWell done, Priya. Most people would have run away.
28. PriyaI was not brave. I was curious.
29. SamI was sure it was a ghost.
30. PriyaYou were sure it was a dinosaur.
31. NarratorMr Okoro laughed and put the beetle in a box. He wrote a note and attached it to the coat.
32. Mr OkoroWe will put this in lost property. The school can collect it on Monday.
33. NarratorAs they finished closing the shop, Priya's aunt came in with her keys.
34. AuntieWhy are you still here? It is nearly six.
35. PriyaWe solved a mystery, Auntie. Case closed.
36. AuntieA mystery? In my shop?
37. SamOnly a small one. A very small one with six legs.
38. NarratorThe three of them switched off the lights and locked the door. Behind them, in the dark, the museum was silent once more.

Voices: when recorded voices are on this page they play; if not, your own device reads the words aloud in a British voice if it has one. Slow mode plays at 85 per cent speed.