Sometimes Dead Men DO Tell Tales!

by David W. Smith

  Adam dropped into the chair opposite Lance, leaned his head back against the rail, and tried to get his heart rate back to normal. He became irritated when Lance adjusted his chair. Apparently he was blocking Lance’s view of the stage.

  “Enjoying the show?” The sarcasm was obvious as he used one of the napkins to wipe his forehead.

  The room exploded in hoots and applause as the song finished with Lance heartily joining them. “These guys are hilarious! You would have liked the sing-a-long.”

  Adam just glared at him.

  “The Orangeblossom Special” turned out to be the last song of the show. Billy and his troop said their good-byes to a thunderous applause. The main lights of the room came on, wooden chairs squeaked as they were pushed back and the audience surged toward the exit doors. Lance offered Adam the four French fries that were left in the paper basket. Adam just sat there and stared at him.

  Lance relaxed in silence until there were only a few tables occupied around the room. Some guests were still up in the balcony. Only when the majority of people were gone, did he speak. “Where’s your jacket?”

  “With my hat.”

  “And that would be....”

  “Probably either taken to Lost and Found by now, or being trampled on in Critter Country.”

  “Or Security,” Lance suggested with a half grin.

  Adam closed his eyes and groaned.

  By now they were almost alone. A few of the Golden Horseshoe hostesses were busy as they wiped tables and picked up some of the litter left behind.

  “Now that the place is empty…did you find anything?” Lance spoke low enough so he wouldn’t be heard by the cast members who worked around the floor.

  Adam realized why Lance had been waiting. “Sorry. I guess I’d make a terrible spy. My heart is still pounding. But, yes, I did. It’s in my pants pocket. It’s a little bigger than the other capsules.”

  Lance gave a half grin. “I thought you were just happy to see me.”

  Adam made a rude noise. “I don’t want to open it here. Let’s go back to my place. I need a shower….and a stiff drink.”

  Lance opened the gray capsule while Adam showered. A heavy piece of gold fell out first. It looked like some kind of coin that had been inexpertly cut in half. The jagged cut obscured what was left of the embossing. The back of the coin was mostly smooth with some almost illegible writing in what could have been Spanish or Latin. After admiring the weighty coin, he dug out the paper wedged inside the capsule. It was the same kind of paper as all the other clues—pages torn out of the old diary.

  The clue read: “Ride the cab to see the cup and walk 20 paces N. Sometimes my heart is like an island. Look for Jeremy B. He has the other half.”

  Lance was pondering the message when Adam came out, a pair of shorts carelessly pulled on. Adam headed for the kitchen and his bottle of 15-year Glenlivet Scotch. Not finding a clean tumbler, he used a water glass and dropped in some ice before returning to his living room. His offer to Lance met with a negative shake of his head. Lance held out the clue as he again looked over the half-coin. Taking the piece of paper, Adam dropped heavily onto his sofa.

  After taking a healthy swallow of the smooth scotch, Adam read the clue a couple of times. His mind still on his narrow escape from the tunnel, he found he couldn’t concentrate. Another swallow and some of the edge wore away as the scotch warmed its way down his throat. “What’s that?” He spied the coin Lance was still studying.

  “It’s fascinating, actually.” Lance felt along the ragged edge and around a small hole pierced in the top. “Somebody was in a hurry when this was cut. What do you think about the hole at the top?” Knowing it was probably solid gold and wouldn’t shatter, Lance tossed it to Adam. Lance was excited about this find, very excited. It fit in with what he had thought all along—that there’s more to the picture than some stock certificates and souvenir buttons. His face, though, was a blank mask. But his eyes…his eyes were bright and alert as he watched Adam with the gold.

  Silently examining the coin, Adam felt the hole. “Yeah, that wasn’t there originally, I’ll bet. The sharp points out the back show it was done with some kind of an awl. I have one in the shop that would do about the same job. This seems pretty old to me. You know anything about gold coins? Any idea what these markings are?”

  “Most of the markings seem to be on the other half of the coin that apparently ‘Jeremy B.’ has. The writing might be Latin. I think the first words curving upward are His Majesty. But, the way the hole is punched, do you think we’re supposed to concentrate on the front of the coin?”

  Adam slowly nodded. “What about the clue? Riding in a cab and seeing a cup suggests Disneyland to me. The old Skyway ride and the Mad Party Tea Cups. I don’t think Walt would have us grab a taxi and go somewhere.”

  Lance walked over to the big Disneyland souvenir map Adam had thumb-tacked to the wall a few days ago. “Twenty paces north from the Tea Cups would be the Storybook Land Canal Boats. Even though the Skyway is gone, all three rides were there in Walt’s time. But, what do these have to do with an old coin? It looks more like pirate loot—authentic pirate loot—than something from Fantasyland.”

  “That would be interesting, wouldn’t it? Some pirate stash buried under the Canal Boats!” Adam gave a dismissing chuckle. “No, I think we should concentrate on the island clue and finding somebody named Jeremy who worked for Walt. The coin will probably explain itself once we find him and match the two halves together.”

  Lance’s head had jerked up when Adam jokingly mentioned some kind of loot. You don’t know anything yet, Brentwood, he told himself; pure speculation. “Do you want me to work on the person or the island?”

  “Let’s start with the person. You work on the computer and the Disney records. I’ll go through the books I still have and see what I can find. We might have to go to the Disney Archives.”

  With a new purpose now, the men once again got to work. Lance pulled up countless databases from different times in Walt’s history. Adam searched through the indexes of his reference books. Neither could find anyone with that name. “Should we go to the library?” Hours had passed and the room had gotten dark.

  Frustrated by their fruitless search, Adam rubbed his eyes. “Too late today. How about getting something to eat? I’m starved.”

  “I ate at the Golden Horseshoe.”

  “Yes you did, didn’t you.”

  Lance grabbed up the coin. “I’m going to head home. I’ll see if I can reference this.” Still fascinated by the coin, he held it up in his fingertips. “What time tomorrow? You want to go back to the Park?”

  Adam just nodded, still thinking about the clue. “Maybe we need to ride the Canal Boats.” At Lance’s groan, Adam had to agree. “Hey, it’s not my idea. Seems Walt wants us to.”

  “Well, we’d better do what Walt wanted. He didn’t like to be told no!” With a grin, Lance closed the apartment door behind him.

  “No, he didn’t.” Alone now, Adam found he was talking quietly to himself. “And that’s how he got to be as great as he was. He got an idea in his head and didn’t allow anyone to turn him from it with a no.” He finished his scotch and tried to find something to eat in his barren refrigerator. “Need to go shopping one of these months.” With a grimace, he wondered what that brown thing in the back was.

  “Want to go to Lost and Found and see if they have your jacket?” Lance sounded serious the next day as they rode the tram from the parking structure to the main gate.

  “You’re kidding, right?” Adam wasn’t sure if Lance was joking. “I don’t even know if I can get in the front gate.”

  Lance chuckled. “As long as the pockets were empty, you’ll be fine. You weren’t wearing one of your Michaels Construction hats, were you?”

  “No, it was a Disneyland cap. Cost me $8.”

  “I’ll buy you a new one,” Lance crooned to him, receiving a glare for his efforts. “You remember the route of the Skyway, don’t yo
u? How it left the Chalet near the Casey Jr. Train, went up through the Matterhorn, and then dropped down to the terminal near the Tomorrowland Autopia?”

  “Right. Maybe we should check out the Chalet before riding the Canal Boats—even though I know how anxious you are for that.” It was Adam’s turn for a dig.

  They looked around as they entered the Main Gate turnstiles. “A lot more people here for a Tuesday. The line might take a while for the Boats. For some reason they’re really popular.”

  “Come on, admit it.” Adam had to tease him. “You know you want to ride them.”

  Lance ignored him as they rode the Omnibus down Main Street. He was reading some of the names stenciled on the windows above Main Street. Each window was a tribute for a person singled out in the Disney industry. The ornate lettering would have their full name or just their first initial and last name. Then it would give their department or specialty as if that window advertised their place of business. “Adam, have you checked out these windows and who they represent? There could be a J and a last name starting with a B.”

  Getting out his notepad, Adam wrote down the suggestion. “Worth looking into. Might be a performer, for that matter. Good idea.”

  When the Omnibus deposited them between the entrance of Tomorrowland and the Castle, the men headed up the drawbridge and through the Castle. Lance gladly turned left, away from the dreaded Storybook Land Canal Boats and went toward the far edge of Fantasyland. The Casey Jr. Circus Train was loading passengers in its “Monkeys” and “Wild Animal” cages, getting ready for its trip through the miniature world of Storybook Land. The train saw the same scenes as the Canal Boats but from a different elevation and was a lot faster than the slower-moving boats.

  Above the busy walkway that led to a short-cut between Frontierland and Fantasyland was a profusion of pine trees and flowering vines. This neglected vegetation hid what used to be the Swiss Chalet, the starting point of the popular Skyway to Tomorrowland ride. The brown railings with the multi-colored carved tulip cut-outs were still visible to anyone who thought to look up. The cement steps were also in place up the curved path through the plants and flowers, blocked off only by a drooping rope. A Bavarian-themed souvenir stand and ice cream cart stood in front of the walkway with one busy cast member helping guests with postcard choices. Edging behind the check-out stand, the men waited a moment to see if there was any opposition. Hearing the sale go on and on, they stepped over the rope and walked slowly up the path. “Always act like you know what you’re doing,” Lance had wisely suggested earlier. “More people will tend to believe you have a right to be there.” Once out of sight, they relaxed and walked to the front of the Chalet.

  The opening where the Buckets took to the air had been enclosed and all the ride mechanisms were gone. The huge wheel that had held the cable and allowed passengers on and off before swinging the cab around to the drop-off was gone. The inside was now dirty and filled with dead leaves and a creeping vine. They stood back a ways from the edge, out of sight of anyone who might look up. The pine trees that used to be severely pruned to allow the Skyway Cabs clear sailing had been neglected and now encroached on the view. However, they could still see where the wire would have crossed over the Tea Cups before heading up higher into the Matterhorn.

  Their trip down the wide steps was not so uneventful. Roger, the cast member, was now unoccupied. He spotted them as they stepped over the rope and reached for his walkie-talkie when he stopped them. “Hey! You aren’t supposed to be up there! What do you think you’re doing?”

  Adam’s heart started pounding again. It had been too easy. Lance, though, was all innocence. “Oh? Us? I’m sorry, Roger,” after he checked the nametag. “I thought the men’s room was up there. Didn’t it used to be there?”

  The walkie-talkie lowered. “Uh, no, it’s over there.” Roger pointed to the other side of the walkway.

  Lance looked so surprised. “Oh, gosh, do I feel stupid! Well, what was up there? I wondered what that rope was for.” He looked so sincere Roger felt obligated to tell him the history of the Skyway Ride. “Aww, that sounded fun. Can I get an ice cream from you while we’re here? You want anything, Gary?”

  It took Adam a moment to realize Lance wasn’t using their real names. “Sure, Percy. That sounds good.”

  Lance hated his middle name. When he tossed Adam the frozen-solid fudge bar he had just bought, it hit him in the chest like a rock. “There you go, Gary. Thanks, Roger, you were really helpful.”

  Roger turned to other customers as the guys walked off. Dropping his unwanted ice cream in the first trash can they found, Adam resisted rubbing the sore spot on his chest. He knew there would be a bruise. Standing at the northern edge of the Tea Cup Ride, they looked in each direction. To the east was the Matterhorn with its Bobsled ride. To the south was the Alice in Wonderland ride. West was the Mad Hatter Hat Shop. After checking the distance from the Tea Cups to the Canal Boats, they got in the long line. “That was longer than twenty paces.”

  “Maybe it depends on which part of the ride he meant.” Lance looked over the heads of the others in line. “The canal runs past the walkway for a good ways. The entrance is farther away, yes, but was Walt referring to the entry or the ride itself?”

  Adam just shrugged as they worked their way slowly around the chain maze. This attraction was the only ride just north of the Tea Cups. In thirty minutes, they were ushered onto the Ariel boat along with twelve other passengers. The cast member Tally perched on top of the engine housing of the little boat—designed with Dutch, English and French influences—and spieled with enthusiasm, adding a true storybook accent to her descriptions of the small objects along each side of the boat. The six minute trip included complete descriptions of all the miniature houses and villages, but nothing stood out to the two men. They could see no tie-in to the clue or the coin.

  With a sigh, they got in line again. Their next boat was the Snow White and Suzi motored their boat through Monstro’s gaping mouth. After passing through the twenty-foot tall whale’s jaws, the boat went through a tunnel and back into daylight, finally entering the narrow canals once more. The Casey Jr. Circus Train tooted by overhead and they were all encouraged to wave to the “Wild Animals” in their cages. Miniature trees and closely-pruned shrubs enhanced the manicured lawns. On the back hill, plants of various colors were contained inside square boxes jointed by giant cross-stitches, making it look like a gigantic quilt made of alternating squares of colored flowers. They saw the miniature pumpkin coach on its way up the steep hill to Cinderella’s Castle. They looked through the waterfall at the end of the ride to see Ariel’s Grotto, but the miniature set, like all the other sights along the ride, seemed to hold no secret.

  After lunch at the Redd Rocket Pizza Port in Tomorrowland, the guys rode Space Mountain just to placate Lance so he wouldn’t do anything drastic. Smoothing his wind-blown brown hair back into place after the high-speed roller coaster, Lance himself led the way back to the Canal Boats and silently got in line like a martyr going to the fire.

  There were thirteen different Canal Boats all named after Disney heroines. Lance swore they had ridden all of them at least twice and Adam started taking pictures as the afternoon wore on. The cast members were starting to look at them strangely as the men kept coming back over and over. Even Lance’s charm didn’t hold up to two grown men without kids riding the Canal Boats for over two hours. The women were secretly relieved when the men exited the ride the last time and never came back.

  Adam bought a Cherry Coke at the Refreshment Corner on Main Street. Lance ordered a warm Mickey-shaped pretzel and seemed delighted to bite its head off. Sitting in the white wire-backed chairs, they listened to the Ragtime piano player who was entertaining the diners. The perky music helped lift them out of their ride-induced stupor.

  “I think we need to go home and download these pictures.” Adam got back to the task once the caffeine and sugar hit his system.

  Lance groaned. “You go h
ome and download those pictures. I can’t take another minute of it. You do that and I’ll work on the names in the windows on Main Street.” He finished his pretzel and wiped the salt from his fingers. “How about we meet at your place on Thursday?”

  Adam let out a sigh and frowned. “Yeah, I guess I’m tired, too.” He looked around as he thought for a moment. “I have to get caught up on some work, check on Mrs. Anderson’s remodel, and…I need to get some sleep.”

  Frustrated, they were silent all the way to Adam’s apartment. Lance kept the coin and promised to research it as well. There was nothing more to say.

  They felt like they had run into a brick wall.

  When he came back on Thursday, Lance looked over the clutter in Adam’s living room that now spilled over into the dining room. Most of it, he already knew, consisted of notes. Adam even added a rustic model of Fantasyland that took up most of the kitchen table. “You know, Adam, you’re going to need help with this.”

  Adam didn’t look up from the pictures of the Storybook Land Canal Boats he had taken and was using for reference. He was trying to put them in order of occurrence. “You could start helping me.”

  “I’ve been helping you all along. We rode those blasted Canal Boats a millions times. I think pursuing that idea is a waste of time. It’s not there!” To make his point, Lance spoke in his typical, blunt manner. “But, if you insist on pursuing it, you will need help.”

  “I know.”

  Lance’s seemingly careless shrug went unnoticed. “Help from someone who knows the Park even better than you do.”

  As Adam flipped back a snapshot and wrote something, his reply came out a little strained. He knew where Lance was headed and he didn’t like it. “I know.”