The Key To the Kingdom (37 page)

“Relax,” Al tried to calm him, “I know that. Hawk is my friend too. But I did find out one of our investigators has been trying to get in touch with him.”

“Hawk was trying to avoid that conversation,” Jonathan reluctantly admitted.

“Of course he was. I would have done the same. As a matter of fact, curiosity alone would have had me doing most of the things Hawk has been doing.”

“Do you think Juliette is okay?” Tim sat upright.

“I don’t know, because I don’t know what we’re dealing with here.” Al shrugged. “Shep and Jonathan found her car in the parking lot, so she didn’t drive away. As far as we know, Hawk never left the Magic Kingdom. We can’t reach either of them on their cell phones, which means they might not be getting a signal or they’re unable to answer.”

“What do we do?” Shep stood up eagerly at the promise of a plan of action.

“For starters we keep trying to reach them on their phones.” As Gann completed that line both Tim and Shep began punching the keypads of their cell phones. “I have a contact that works in Disney security. I’ll wake him up and see if he’s aware of anything happening on property out of the ordinary. I also am going to have to get some of the sheriff’s department involved. We can low-key it, but there’s too much going on now not to have them included.”

“Juliette’s phone went straight to voice mail,” Tim informed Al.

“So did Hawk’s,” Shep added.

“Keep trying.” Mike picked up his own phone and began searching through the electronic phone book for a number. “If Hawk is going to figure out his puzzle, he’s running out of time. By morning we’ll have a whole new wave of people involved.”

C
HAPTER
T
HIRTY
-E
IGHT

Day Seven Early Morning

I
IMAGINE THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE
chasing us by now, and that can be a huge problem. But don’t worry, I once got seven with one blow, I’ll be here to help you, pal
.

The huge problem could be a giant problem. At least that is what Hawk was thinking as he continued to stare toward the entrance to Sir Mickey’s. He had nearly been spotted by a two-person team moving through the area with a power washer blowing grit and grime off the walkway. Scurrying backward, the preacher disappeared into a dark alcove and waited until they were gone.

The sound of the power washer faded around the corner and Hawk crept back to view the entrance of Sir Mickey’s again.

But don’t worry, I once got seven with one blow, I’ll be here to help you, pal
.

As Hawk stared at the vine-entwined sign on the building it came to him. Mickey, in
The Brave Little Tailor
, was bragging about killing seven flies with one blow, and it was misinterpreted by the people of the village. They thought he meant giants; as a result he was expected to go giant hunting. The huge problem was a giant and the clue was designed to draw him to Sir Mickey’s. Smiling, he realized how lucky he had been. A huge giant had gotten him moving in the right direction; what should have been relatively simple Mickey Mouse trivia had confused him. This had to be the right place and should bring him another step closer to solving the puzzle.

Racing across the open walkway, he paused at the front door of the shop. He firmly turned the doorknob. It gave but did not open. It was locked. Crouching down he looked in the window and saw his favorite detail of the gift shop. The roof was being lifted off by the giant just like in the cartoon. Looking to his left and then back to his right he saw no other access into the building. Studying the door, he decided to try the key that Farren had given him. The key reluctantly slid inside the lock mechanism. In one quick twist the key loudly released the lock and the door swung open into the gift shop. Swinging the door shut behind him, he crouched and looked out the window to see if anyone had been watching him. Seeing no one, he turned his attention to the interior of the shop.

Willie the Giant lifted the roof to the shop and could be seen peering in toward the far corner. In that corner a statue of Mickey Mouse stood on a piece of wildly grown beanstalk. Over his shoulder were the supplies needed by the brave tailor, a variety of cloths and threads all neatly placed on the shelf behind him. Hawk decided to get a closer look. Climbing awkwardly up onto the display and grabbing the beanstalk he pulled himself up toward the shelf behind the mouse. Keeping one foot resting on the shelf, using one arm to hold on to the beanstalk, he rifled through the spindles of multicolored threads. Using his hand to search he found a shape similar to the other clues previously discovered. Gripping it with his fingertips he lifted it up and watched it emerge from the threads that had hidden it. With a swing of his arm he began his descent from this makeshift perch when his foot slipped. Wildly off balance he tumbled to the ground and the fourth silver bar clamored across the floor. He righted himself and crawled on his hands and knees to retrieve the bar. Engraved into the stunning silver bar was another phrase.

“If you can dream it you can do it.”

This was perhaps one of the most recognizable Walt Disney quotes of all time. Mr. Disney was known as a dreamer and the words adorned posters, paperweights, and almost anything else that marketing companies could make a profit on. Seated in the center of Sir Mickey’s, Hawk removed the silver box from his pocket and opened it. Glistening in the dim light of the shop the three previously discovered silver bars were cradled in the box waiting for the set to be completed. Gently the preacher placed the final piece of sterling into the box. Finally the four bars were in place, each one bearing a thought spoken by Walt Disney.

       
The way to get started is to stop talking and begin doing.

       
All of our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.

       
Its kind of fun to do the impossible.

       
If you can dream it you can do it.

Each quote was a powerful reminder of both the genius and insight the founder of the Walt Disney Company had left as a legacy to the dreamers and doers that followed. Hawk reflectively thought of his missing friend Farren, his missing friend Juliette, and wished a little bit of the genius and insight Walt possessed would inspire him to figure out whatever he was supposed to understand. He closed the mirrored lid on the box. It clicked shut.

“Ha-ha!”

Anxiously he reached down and in one motion had retrieved the stuffed wonder and given it a firm squeeze to activate the next message. Holding up the small creature as if it were real, the preacher looked into the face of Mickey Mouse, waiting for him to speak. He didn’t have to wait long.

“I knew you could do it, pal! Let’s fly to where it is always past my bedtime. Gosh, even though it’s late and I should be asleep, I’m sure Mr. Disney wouldn’t mind. Oh, ha-ha, I almost forgot . . . remember the pixie dust!”

Another clue! Hoping the last silver bar was the final piece of the puzzle, Hawk had convinced himself that his latest discovery would bring clarity to the entire mystery. Now he was presented with another piece of information. Something else to be figured out, somewhere else to go, something still to find; and having no clear-cut answers stirred a wave of frustration within the usually steady preacher.

He fell to his knees and slammed the Pal Mickey to the ground. Tightening his hands into fists around the toy he let out a subdued groan born of disappointment. Angrily exhaling he wrestled with the reality that he still had more to find.

The mental journey ended abruptly as tapping on the glass of the door startled him. Rolling on his side and shoving Pal Mickey back to his hip, he spun in the direction of the light tap. Kiran’s inquisitive face stared at him through the glass. Staying low, Hawk crawled to the door and cracked it open enough for her to enter. He reached up and grabbed her hand, pulling her down out of the sight line of the windows as he closed the door behind her. They sat with their backs against the wall.

“Are you okay?” Kiran leaned close. “I was coming through Cinderella Castle and I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was you, falling off a beanstalk, I think.”

Hawk laughed softly. “That was me.”

“You’re all right?”

“Sure. I got away before the giant got me.”

“Funny.” She waited a moment. “Did you find another clue?”

“I did. I found the last silver bar. It was another quote from Walt Disney.”

“And?”

“When I put it in the box my Pal Mickey gave me another clue.”

“So finding the last silver bar wasn’t the end?” Kiran’s disappointment was palpable.

“No, I have to go to where it’s always past Mickey’s bedtime.”

“That’s the next clue?” Kiran slid away from the wall and turned toward him.

“And I’m supposed to remember the pixie dust.”

“Well, pixie dust is important I guess.”

“It must be.” Hawk was shaking his head and smiling in spite of the circumstances. How silly this conversation would be on a normal day. Falling off a beanstalk, following the clues of a stuffed mouse, and remembering pixie dust were pretty indicative that this was anything but a normal day.

“So what do we do?” Kiran rose to her knees.

“I haven’t had time to figure that out.”

“Then you’re going to have to follow me.” She peered out of the glass into the streets of Fantasyland.

“Follow you where?”

“While you were trying to get away from our visitor in Liberty Square, it dawned on me we needed a safe place to hide and think. I found the perfect place.”

Hawk joined Kiran looking out the window. The isolated streets glowed, the nighttime lighting casting eerie shadows.

“Are you going to tell me where this perfect place to hide is?”

“Cinderella Castle!” Kiran beamed as she pulled out a plain white key card with a stark black magnetic strip crossing it. “I found out there were no guests staying in the Cinderella Castle Suite tonight. No one will ever look there, and I got us a fresh set of clothes to change into.”

“Clothes?”

“Have you looked at yourself lately?” She was laughing as Hawk took inventory and for the first time noticed how grimy he was after his evening of adventure. “I think I guessed right on the sizes. We can clean up, and you can figure out where we go next.”

“Won’t someone know we’re there?”

“I don’t see how. This is a master key. It’s not in the system. There’s no concierge assigned to the suite tonight because we have no guests there. I picked up the clothing from wardrobe and have already put it in the room. It gets us off the streets where we can be seen easily and—”

“You’ve convinced me,” Hawk interrupted. “Let’s go.”

Carefully the pair cracked opened the door. Seeing nothing, they moved from the safety of Sir Mickey’s back into Fantasyland. Kiran stepped out and led them to a route that veered off the back of the castle. Ahead they would find a path to the secluded unmarked doorway that would carry them to their hiding place.

She froze in her tracks.

An instant later Hawk stared in horror as he saw the unmistakable Reginald Cambridge approaching them on the path that wound toward the back of the castle. Moments after being spotted by the pair, he saw them.

For a few painful seconds no one moved. Finally Hawk grabbed Kiran’s arm and pulled her back away from Cambridge’s direction.