“I think it’s loose!” Alex tossed aside the battered tool and tried his hardest to turn the stubborn end cap. “Wait, there it goes!” As the cap turned off its threaded home of over fifty years, all the occupants of the attic eagerly leaned forward to see what was hidden inside. Alex looked disappointed when only a small gold key and a piece of paper fell out of the upended canister. “That’s all?” He held up the key and looked at it. “What good is that? What does it go to?”
Peter’s voice was almost a whisper. “Maybe you need to read what it says on the…the paper.” He had almost called it a page out of Walt’s diary.
Margaret threw another quick glance at Peter. He had become more and more strained. With a quick snag of the paper before one of the kids could get it, she read it through one time to herself. A look of recognition came across her face and she broke out into a broad smile. “Oh, now I remember this! I did open it. Now I remember. It was just as hard to get open the first time, too. Almost gave up…. Here, listen to this. I don’t know who wrote it, but it says:
“Past the redhead in Atlantis you sail.
“Use this key to unlock the Mermaid’s Tale.”
At the words redhead and mermaid, Catie and Peter shot a look at each other and gave a quick shake of their heads. They would hold onto their secret for a while longer until they found out what Margaret knew.
The note was passed around as Margaret took the key from Alex. “At the time I thought I knew what this poem meant. You guys never saw it, but the original Submarine Voyage had mermaids way back in the show building.”
“You mean the part of the ride that was under the Autopia track?”
“That’s right, Peter. It’s still that way with the Nemo ride today.” She was glad to see his color had returned to normal and he acted more like himself. “One part I liked was supposed to be the ruins of the ancient city Atlantis after it was destroyed by an earthquake or something. But first you had to sail past the polar ice cap and dive deeper under the ocean. There was this huge squid that had captured a whale and you could see them struggling. Anyway, just after that was the scene with all the mermaids and the sunken treasure they were playing with. One of the mermaids—the one that was smaller to make it look like it was farther way—had bright red hair and I thought that must be the answer to the riddle. But, I never did find out.”
“Why not? What happened?” All ears, Peter looked up from the page torn out of Walt’s diary. He didn’t seem to want to let go of it.
“Well, I knew to check out my theory, I would have to do it while I was in my mermaid costume.” At the questioning looks she received, she had to explain. “You see, everyone knew that I was hired just to be a mermaid. I wouldn’t have been allowed to wander around through the show building for no apparent reason and, at the time, I didn’t want to show anyone else what I had found.” She gave them a wide smile. “Who knows? Maybe it would have led to a big treasure!” With an unbelieving laugh, Margaret shook her head. “Hey, I was only eighteen! What can I say? Anyway, I knew I would have to swim through the show building—and time it so I wouldn’t be there when the next submarine went by. That gave me about fifteen minutes to get in and out. Now, the guests in the subs might have enjoyed seeing me swim by again, but the captain would have known I shouldn’t be in there. I didn’t want to get reported and maybe lose my job.”
Catie sat with her mouth open slightly, all caught up in the story as she was. Amazed that this was her grandmother of all people who was telling this tale she failed to recognize the similarities to what she and Peter had gone through. “What did you do, Grandma?”
“I sank like a rock and died.”
“What?!”
“Just kidding. I told the other girl, Omah if I remember correctly, that I wanted to check something out and would be gone for a while. She got all nosey and wanted to know what I was doing and I had to tell her about the note.”
Alex got all defensive. “It wasn’t any of her business. She shoulda butted out.”
Margaret gave a small smile. It was a long time ago, Alex! “Yes, her name was different. Can’t recall her last name, but she did say she was originally from Alberta, Canada. Don’t know why I remember that…. I thought she was kind of pushy, too, but had to show her so she wouldn’t tell on me. Since she had red hair like that mermaid, she thought it sounded pretty neat and finally said she’d cover for me if I’d show her what I found.”
“Nosey.” They all heard Alex mutter again.
“Well, when I saw submarine 308—the Ethan Allen—go under the entry waterfall and sub 304—the Skipjack—come out to the unload dock, I knew it was my chance. Pretending I was swimming back to our entry chamber, I cut across the back of the lagoon, right behind the octopus fighting with the shark.” She gave a laugh. “Now that I think about it, anyone standing on the Monorail platform probably had a bird’s-eye view of me going under the waterfall! I followed behind the Ethan Allen at a good distance. You know how the captain has to stand in the conning tower to drive the sub?” At the answering nods, she continued her story. “Well, if he had turned around, he would’ve seen me back there. I followed the track so I didn’t get caught up in all the wires holding the effects in place, keeping my distance from the propellers. But, thankfully, he didn’t turn around. I decided to check out the first redheaded mermaid on the starboard side of the sub….” She broke off there and backed up a bit. “Did you know there are two identical scenes? One for each side of the sub?”
Three voices droned in unison. “Yes.”
“Boy. Can’t slip anything by you guys. Well, I found the weirdest thing. Both redheaded mermaids were gone! I found the wires that held them in place, but they were just on the floor of the lagoon. Knowing I had come to a dead end, all I could do was follow the sub back outside and go back to the rock.”
“What happened to the mermaids? Did you ever find out?”
Margaret gave a laugh. “That’s just about what Omah said. She seemed kinda upset that something she knew nothing about was gone!”
“Did you report it?”
“That was my first thought.” Margaret held out her hand to Peter for the paper with the riddle. He seemed reluctant to give it back. “But, how would I explain how I knew it was missing? I couldn’t just tell them. What if they asked how I found out? So, I devised a brilliant plan!” Her pause to build suspense failed as the three kids started telling each other what they would have done.
“I would have found the cutest captain and asked him.” Catie’s solution was met with derision from the two boys.
“I would have searched the area for clues to see who took it.”
“It’s underwater, Alex. How would you find clues and be gone by the time the next sub came?”
“Well, that’s better than smooching up to a cute captain!”
“I didn’t say I was going to smooch anybody!”
“Hey!” Margaret’s loud voice echoed through the small attic. “Gosh, before you all come to blows, would you like to hear what I did?” She could tell by the looks on their faces that they didn’t seem too concerned at this point about what she did. They seemed intent on topping each other. “Well?”
The three knew what was expected of them. “Yes, ma’am.” Their lips were pressed together and they collectively stared at her to finish her story so they could continue their argument.
“Now that I have your attention….” Forced as it is…. “I’ll tell you. After my shift was over and I got my hair dry, I rode the submarines. That way, when I got off, I could mention to the supervisor of the ride that the mermaids were missing.” She finished with a flourish and was met with silence and blank stares. “Okay, fine, go ahead and finish what you were doing.” With a shake of her head, she got up from her sitting position and left the attic. Behind her, the kids immediately started in again.
“I would have used a special key and gone in late at night.”
“Catie would have been too busy smooching the c
aptain.”
“Maybe whatever was used to cut the wire was dropped on the floor and was covered with fingerprints!”
“I am not going to smooch the captain! Quit saying that, Alex!”
The argument thankfully became fainter as Margaret walked off. Moments later she was surprised when Peter showed up next to her, the key and poem in his hand.
“Aren’t you going to get your two cents worth in, Peter? What would you have done?”
He looked up from the paper. “I liked what you did. It made sense. You never said what happened after you reported it.”
Pleased he was interested, she motioned for him to join her on the back deck.
John came around the side of the house and motioned toward the garage. “What are the twins arguing about? I can hear them all the way outside.”
“Don’t ask. It’s something that happened over fifty years ago!” Margaret motioned him over. “Come sit with us. It’s quieter out here. Anyway, Peter, I never did hear what happened to the mermaids. They were listed as being stolen and replaced within a couple of days.” She gave a shrug. “After that, the poem and the key basically became worthless. I put them back in the capsule that John told me was electrical conduit, and forgot all about it until today. I suppose there’s no answer to the riddle if that mermaid is never found. Or, perhaps it was just a joke from one of the other girls. Or one of the sub captains. Some of them were always pulling pranks on us girls.”
Peter didn’t respond to her suggestion of a prank. That usually would have elicited some kind of interest. Instead, he looked up at her with a very serious expression on his face. “Would you care if I took the key and the poem?”
“I guess it would be all right. Why do you want them?”
Because I know who wrote this and where the key mightfit. “I…I’d like to do some research on the mermaids and see if anything ever came up. You know, on the Internet.”
“Well, after fifty years, good luck with that! Adam and Beth and your mom and dad should be back from Long Beach pretty soon. Did you want to go swimming one last time before they pick you up?”
Peter noticed Catie had come around the side of the house with a photo in her hand. By the look on her face, he knew something bothered her. “Uh, no, thank you. I’m good. May I be excused?”
“Sure, honey. And no more arguing.” Margaret threw out that last comment even though she knew full well it would do no good. “Did our kids ever argue like that?”
“All the time, sweetheart. All the time.” John leaned back in the sun and closed his eyes.
“Peter! You have to see this!” Catie had motioned Peter to come around near the garage, out of sight of her grandparents.
He glanced at the photograph in her hand and knew it was one from the attic. “What did you find? Something about the mermaid?”
With a shaky finger Catie pointed at the woman on the far right. Dressed in their mermaid tails, the four girls were relaxing alongside the pool at the Disneyland Hotel. “Is that who I think it is?”
Peter peered closer at the picture. His mouth opened to say something but just clamped shut again. It was unbelievable if it was true. “Is that her mother?” His eyes darted up to Catie’s pale face.
“I don’t think that’s her mother. I think that’s the woman who attacked us in the Haunted Mansion. That’s her, Peter!”
“It can’t be, Catie. Look how long it’s been since that was taken. Look how old….well, you know what I mean….look at your grandma. She kinda looks like this photo, but she was young here. It just can’t be her,” he repeated even though his mind told him Catie was right. She looked just like the woman from the Haunted Mansion. For the first time Peter wished his parents would hurry up and get there to take him home. He wanted some time to himself to sort through all this. “Your grandma agreed to let me take the key and the note from you-know-who. Maybe she can tell us this girl’s name and let me have the picture.”
“She’s used to me asking her all kinds of questions. I’ll ask her and get the photograph for you. Do you think this has something to do with our mermaid?”
Peter’s head moved up and down like a bobblehead doll. “Yeah, I do. And I’m going to try and get some answers before Wednesday.”
Catie looked confused. “Why Wednesday? What’s so important about Wednesday?”
“That’s when your family leaves for Marceline, Missouri, and Toonfest.”
“Oh, I forgot about that. I wish you were going with us.”
“Yeah, me, too, but I think I can get more accomplished here.”
They became silent as they contemplated the probable link between this new clue and the mermaid they had already found. What bothered both of them was the mysterious woman who had accosted them in the Mansion. How was she involved with all this and how could she possibly be the woman in the photograph that was dated over fifty years ago?
Peter knew that their next encounter with the redheaded woman would not be pleasant.
Peter spent the three days before Catie and Alex left for Missouri studying the mermaid they had found inside the Haunted Mansion. The extra strand of pearls fastened around her neck had been set aside as he examined the elaborate piece of carving. She couldn’t have been made out of wood as Peter had previously thought. He realized she had to been made out of some kind of material that would stand up to being submerged—possibly for decades—in heavily chlorinated water.
Not overly interested in how she was made, Peter looked in vain for some place to insert that small key Margaret had unknowingly kept hidden all those years. However, there was no visible lock or hinge or even a small enough opening for the key to fit. As closely as he had scrutinized this lovely girl, he began to feel self-conscious and set her back down on his desk. Other options came and went through his mind as he stared at the smiling redhead. After his first fiasco with a treasure hunt, he thought about what his parents had told him and that was to come and talk to them before he jumped into anything. Then there was always Wolf.
Wolf had helped Catie and him before. Wolf had been around forever—a term that carried a lot more meaning now that he had traveled with Wolf and discovered his secret. Wolf knew Disneyland inside out and backward, a lot better than he did.
Peter turned to look out his bedroom window, but his gaze was unseeing. Did he really want to ask Wolf for help? Was that woman from the Mansion still out there somewhere? He had already seen her once. How many times had she been there when he hadn’t seen her? With a startled jerk of his head, Peter’s gaze now became focused. She might be right outside watching the house. As he stood from his chair, Peter went to the side of the window, just out of sight, and let his eyes move slowly across their huge backyard. His thoughts moved to the thief, Todd Raven, and how he had infiltrated their house during a party just a few months ago. Kimberly, his mom, had been tied up and Todd had tried to take him captive. It was Wolf who came to his rescue.
Not seeing any movement in the yard other than their Golden retriever puppy, Dug, living up to her name, Peter made the decision that he should talk to Wolf. The only information he had been able to find on the Internet about any Submarine Voyage artifacts was a 2005 auction that had been held at the Disneyland Resort. The article mentioned a sea serpent like the one Margaret had mentioned, along with a shark fighting an octopus and two fighting lobsters that had been auctioned off. That brief article mentioned something else, though. It seems a “redhead” was supposed to be included in the sale, but had disappeared beforehand. Peter wondered if the redhead in the article could possibly be the mermaid he now had on his desk. Only one way to find out. After a quick glance at his wall clock, Peter realized his dad would leave for his job at Disneyland in just a minute and he had better hurry so he could go along and find Wolf.
“Isn’t this a school night?” Wolf bit back a smile when Peter tried to hide the fact that he just rolled his eyes.
“You sound like my mom.”
“Your mom wouldn’t let
you be here if it was a school night.”
“True. But we have the week off for some parent-teacher thing. Dad has the night-shift so he let me come with him. He just told me to be at the Hungry Bear right before closing time.”
Wolf could see Peter’s eyes continually dart around as he talked. He seemed disconcerted for some reason, uneasy. “Something wrong or are you just trying to pick up girls?”
“Ewww.”
That worked. Peter broke out of his on-edge stance and turned to stare unbelievingly at his friend. Before Peter could get defensive, Wolf stopped him. “You have something you want to tell me.”
“How’d you know?”
Wolf gave a rare smile. “I’ve known you since birth. And I’ve known your dad even longer. You’re just like him.”
“So everybody says….”
“You don’t need to mumble. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Walk with me while I patrol Fantasyland.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot you’re on duty.”
“Peter. I’m in my Security uniform….”
“Wait a sec.” Wolf turned back to see Peter pull off his ever-present backpack. A search through every pocket started slowly but became more frantic the longer it continued. Peter finally heaved a sigh of relief. “Here it is. Thought I put it in the zipper pouch.” A small piece of yellowed paper was handed to Wolf. He nodded when he saw Wolf’s eyes widen. “Yeah, I figured you’d recognize the handwriting.”
“It’s from Walt. Where did you get this?”
“Can we walk while I tell you?” Night hadn’t completely fallen as their steps turned toward the Castle now ablaze in a myriad of colored lights. His voice betrayed his excitement and frustration as Peter proceeded to tell the tale. Beginning with his discovery in the Mansion’s attic, he went up to the point Margaret let Alex open the gray canister. As he described the encounter with the strange woman, he could sense the tension build in Wolf.
HIDDEN MICKEY ADVENTURES 3 Page 4