Mister Cheaply purposely ignores Puppet’s reference to his first name. He says, “Give me a break, Reginald! Why must you ask if I am going to continue funding our operation? Is that all you think I am worth? A contributor of money? I have more to offer than a few thousand bucks!
“Don’t you forget for one moment how important I am to our operation, Reginald. I am the one who paid thousands of dollars in bribes so we could smuggle all that twine into your jail cell! It was my idea as well! I am the one who paid nearly three hundred clams for those technical gadgets on loan to the school! I have lots of good ideas. I am worth more to our operation than money!”
Mister Cheaply wants to give Puppet more examples of his intellectual worth. However, he doesn’t. He abruptly turns around to look out the windowpane once more.
I need to control my temper. If I am to realize all that I wish to gain from this caper, I best be watching my tongue. This crazy man who refers to himself as Puppet is dangerous. His brother-in-law, Sorrie, is dangerous as well. What’s more, that creepy kid that always seems to hang around Sorrie, like he is Sorrie’s shadow, is even scarier. Also, the way the creepy kid glares at Reginald is nothing short of murderous. His nasty stares give me the heebie-jeebies! Between Reginald and his brother-in-law, Sorrie, along with that creepy kid, something tells me that they really could do me harm if they wanted to. I have to control my temper and watch what I say. I must stay calm, agreeable, and bide my time until I reap what I have sown. The minute I have complete control of this town’s finances, only then should I compete against them.
Puppet says in an agreeable tone, “I get your point, and I wholeheartedly agree. Your money is valuable to us. Thank you for your generous contributions.” Puppet chuckles, and then he says with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, “Additionally, for your unique, marvelous ideas too.”
Mister Cheaply has noticed Puppet’s sarcastic retort. He maintains his cool despite his growing anger. He doesn’t turn around when he says, “What about the boy in the video? You told me that the teenagers are certain that they saw the boy, the boy they refer to as Spaghetti Kid. If they saw him, others must have seen him as well. After all, he madly ran around the cafeteria squirting ketchup and throwing food. We must also assume that the so-called famous star quarterback that received a fistful of spaghetti and meatballs to his chest also saw the boy. I am fairly confident that he saw the boy since he was in line behind the Bower girl. What is the boy’s name anyway, the quarterback? I forget.”
Puppet replies, “The boy’s name is Anthony Marvella. The so-called Spaghetti Kid, as the three teenagers refer to him, did not throw the food at Marvella. It was another boy that threw the spaghetti at him. In my opinion, Marvella doesn’t know Spaghetti Kid’s true identity. Nor do the others. I would suspect, given his inflated ego, Marvella didn’t even give the boy a second thought, but I cannot be entirely certain. I wasn’t there.”
Mister Cheaply turns around. He says, “I think that stupid Anthony Marvella is overrated. He doesn’t even have the arm to throw a Hail Mary pass. I also have serious issues with his offensive decision-making. Heck! We almost lost the championship game because of his ineptitude!”
Puppet rolls his eyes and groans.
“David, are we going to talk about football, or are we going to talk about the obstacles that face us? If you opt to talk about football, well, count me out. I have more important things to do.” He turns toward the door.
“Don’t leave, “ Mister Cheaply says. “I will hold my tongue about football and their so-called star quarterback. I will be darned if I am going to sponsor that sorry group of football players this coming season. Where were we? What were we discussing?”
Puppet says unemotionally, “We were discussing the three, possibly four teenagers involved in the investigation.”
“I can handle the Brown girl,” Mister Cheaply says with certainty. He snaps his fingers. “Just like that.”
“How will you handle her?”
“I am not sure, Reginald, but I will think of something. Maybe I will threaten to fire her brother if she refuses to cooperate with us. She will come around. Besides, she is the team leader of the investigative circus, so if she folds the others will follow suit.” He takes a small black and white notebook out of his breast pocket and jots a few notes in it.
“Then again, I really would hate to fire her brother. He is a good worker.” He grins wickedly. “He is getting to be one of the sneakiest little crooks this side of the Mississippi! It is funny how kids will do anything for money.” He suddenly laughs and claps his hands together.
“Hey, that is it! I will tell his dumb sister that I am going to turn her brother over to the juvenile authorities for jilting my customers and my vendors. I might even accuse her father, Jimbo, for doing,” he laughs nastily, “fraudulent things with the school’s athletic funds – my athletic sponsorship funds! Am I a genius or what?”
Puppet replies in a sarcastic tone, “Yeah, you are a genius, an indisputable Einstein. Nonetheless, I have to admit that your plan might work. What do we do about the two other girls, Woodbine and Bower, and, if she joins the team, the Campbell senior? That Woodbine girl, Brenae is her first name, she is a hard one. She is super intelligent, curious, and she thinks on her feet. The Bower girl, Diana Jane, also has the same qualities except she is not as outspoken as her friend Brenae. As I said, their intelligence is but one of the main reasons that woman, the principal, selected them. In addition to your employee’s sister, Chloe Brown, the others are going to be a problem. We need to eliminate them, continue to manipulate their minds. The same applies to the Campbell girl, the one with the funny British accent.”
Mister Cheaply says indifferently, “The Campbell girl isn’t British. She is Scottish. Her mother was in my shop last week. The family lives at the end of Hill Street in the old Johnson place. She and her husband have six brats, five boys and the girl. Anyway, her mother told me they originally were from Scotland.”
“British, Scottish, who cares? It is all the same to me,” Puppet says coldly. He stretches his arms out wide and yawns. “The Campbell girl comes from the same island as those Irish folks. Same-same.”
“I do not know the three other girls very well,” Mister Cheaply says. He jots some more notes in his notebook and mutters, “In addition to Chloe Brown I have to try and work on Diana Jane Bower, Brenae Woodbine, and Colette Campbell if I can.” He looks up from his notepad. “Give me some time to think on it. As far as the Brown girl goes, well, she is toast. It only is a matter of time before she sees things my way.”
“We have one more obstacle,” Puppet says, “and that is the woman, the principal. What is her name?”
Mister Cheaply replies, “Her name is Marie Davenhill. I think I can get her thinking our way as well. I sponsor just about all of her school’s athletic and extracurricular programs. Money talks. As they say, it’s all about the money, especially when it comes to extracurricular programs.” He suddenly snaps his fingers.
“That is it, Reginald! What do you know about the other girls? Are they involved in sports or after-school programs like the choir, chess club, band, drama club, those sorts of things?”
Puppet’s eyes widen as an eager look appears on his face.
“You may have something there, David, and yes, I do believe that they are. Let me see if I can remember what my brother told me.” He pauses for a few moments, and then he says excitedly, “Yes, that is it! All three girls are actively involved in after-school programs. If my memory serves me correctly, my brother said that you should work on Chloe Brown and her dad, Jimbo as well.” He grins. “Just like you said you would. Chloe is on the volleyball team. Her father, Jimbo, is involved with the team. You do know that you sponsor that team, am I correct?”
Once more, Mister Cheaply is offended by Puppet’s sarcasm and derisive innuendos.
Just because your brother-in-law is the school’s vice principal doesn’t make you anything special, Reginald! Stup
id smart aleck moron!
Mister Cheaply replies in a sarcastic tone, “Yes, of course, I know Chloe Brown is on the volleyball team. Do you think I am stupid or something? As you would expect, I know that her father, Jimbo, is actively involved in the team as well. Yes, and I think I would know if I sponsor the volleyball team. I sponsor one hundred percent of it.” He rolls his eyes as he says in a smart-alecky tone, “See, Reginald, I know things too. See? I am worth more than money to you.” He shakes his head. “Okay, now that you and I are on the same page, do you know in what activities the other girls are involved?”
Puppet replies, “Neville told me the four of them are in the future Peter Pan play. The senior, Colette Campbell, plays a musical instrument called the hammered dulcimer. I would imagine she is involved with the band and orchestra as well. Also, so that you know, Neville told me there is one other teenager of whom we have to worry. He goes by the nickname Jay, but his full name is James Michael Lightlighter. He is an inline speed skater.”
“That is an odd surname,” Mister Cheaply says with a chuckle. “I bet folks purposely mispronounce his surname all the time. Better yet, maybe they replace the first letter of his surname with an N.” He laughs loudly. “Nightlighter, one who lights up the night as he skates! That is hilarious!”
“No, it is not hilarious!” Puppet snaps. “It is troublesome despite your witticisms.”
Mister Cheaply growls, “Reginald, don’t get so bent out of shape. Where’s your sense of humor? He’s just another teenager.”
Puppet replies irritably, “No, he is not just another teenager as you say! He is smart, and he knows things.” Puppet briefly pauses as he gathers his thoughts. “There is one other thing I need to tell you.”
Mister Cheaply seems to ignore what Puppet has said. He says, “So? I do not consider this James kid to be a big deal. Besides, what could he know that the others do not know except,” he laughs loudly, “to light up the night?”
Puppet says, “For starters, according to my brother, the James kid says he knows Spaghetti Kid’s identity. He insists he has seen Spaghetti Kid with his father in town. Neville also told me the James kid marched right into the principal’s office and told her everything that he had witnessed during the food fight! He also informed her he knows Spaghetti Kid’s identity!
“We have to do everything in our power to make certain that they do not find out the identity of Spaghetti Kid. Their knowing who he is could hurt us. Also, if it is the last thing we do, we cannot have the James Lightlighter kid join Chloe Brown’s stupid investigative team!”
Mister Cheaply says, “So he knows Spaghetti Kid’s identity. It’s not like it is the end of the world. If you were to ask me, it seems like it is no big deal.”
“I am not asking you, and it is a big deal!” Puppet scolds passionately. “I suspect that the boy knows who I am as it relates to the Spaghetti Kid!”
Mister Cheaply says, “How in the world would the James kid know that? Sure, everyone around town knows you from your reputation. You have been handing out coils of twine for, how long has it been, two decades? Even though you are a wanted man, I seriously doubt anyone will find you. Besides, it is not like you committed treason, held up a bank, or assaulted someone. What you allegedly did was unimportant at best, a trivial misdemeanor.” Mister Cheaply crosses his arms over his chest.
“I hate to make it sound inconsequential, but I must say this, Reginald. No one cares whether you turn yourself in or remain missing for the rest of your life. Just like me, and everyone else in this miserable town, your life is nothing more than a period in the annals of Claymore’s history.”
Puppet suddenly glares at Mister Cheaply. He screams at the top of his lungs.
“Spaghetti Kid is my adopted son!”
CHAPTER SEVEN
ROBERT
“There is vicious hatred in your soul!”
Part I: Feelings or not?
“Father, I do not want to do this anymore! I do not want to be unkind to people, to pull tricks on them. I do not want to do things that are unpleasant merely to further your goals and ambitions. All I want to do is to be alone. I want to go home to the place where the Hall’s used to live. I was loved by the Hall’s, and I desire to experience their memories! Please!”
Even with his pleading words, the owner of these declarations is asserting enraged feelings of intense hatred within the center of his being. What he doesn’t say aloud is bursting with uncertainty and hostility.
I am tired of your bullying and your abuse! I am tired of your tactics! I am fed up with your self-serving, rudeness toward others and your condescending attitude toward me! Either you allow me to be free so that I can escape this madness, or I swear that I will cause you and others so much agony you will wish you were dead!
The preceding, beseeching words and opposing, menacing, unspoken words belong to Robert der Däiwel. Robert is Puppet’s adopted son aka Spaghetti Kid.
Robert is an incredibly antediluvian, life-sized puppet. His humanlike, physical features and handsomeness are striking and incredibly natural. He effortlessly passes as a normal human being. Unless you were acquainted with Robert’s fascinating personal history, how he came to be in the world of humans, you would never suspect he is a puppet.
Robert’s life began well over four hundred years ago. He was created to perform as a marionette in an obscure 16th Century play. The play was a puppet version of the unpublished drama John of Bordeaux. John of Bordeaux, sometimes referred to as The Second Part of Friar Bacon, was written in the Elizabethan era by the dramatist Robert Green.
Despite being over four centuries old, Robert easily passes as a fourteen or fifteen-year-old human teenager. His physical characteristics have changed little during all that time. For that reason, it should come as no surprise that the Claymore High School students did not think twice about Robert’s presence in the cafeteria serving line. In spite of this, as we know, Brenae had asked him if he was a new student because she had never seen Robert in school before that day.
Robert is slightly built. He stands about five-feet-six-inches tall. He has the kind of self-effacing appearance that bears out total innocence. His playful smile, when he is not hanging from his strands of twine under the watchful eyes of his adoptive father, underscores this virtue. He has tousled, sandy hair with a few wisps that almost shroud his enthralling, mysterious, deep blue eyes. He never seems to look at a person squarely in the eye.
Robert’s unimposing appearance and shy demeanor reflect, on the face of it, his wary, reserved, and kind, polite character. Nevertheless, deep inside the central part of his being, his core, there resides the makings of unreal hate and terrible evil.
At this point, Robert is in the attic of his and his father’s residence. He is hanging lopsidedly from taut strands of twine attached to eyelets in the ceiling. Like any other marionette puppet, strands of twine come from either side of his shoulders, wrists, and ankles.
Whenever Robert is in town, he stealthily tucks the strands of twine into his collar, beneath his armpits, and into his socks. He has been doing this for centuries and has become very skillful at hiding the strands of twine and, similarly, his true self. Whenever a strand of twine slips from its hiding spot beneath his clothes, all Robert has to do is move his limb slightly, and the springy twine disappears beneath his clothing.
Robert’s many strands of twine are an integral part of his make-up. Like muscles, bones, and ligaments of human beings, Robert’s strands of twine serve, to a certain degree, the same purpose. Strands of twine function as a rigid structure within his framework and also allow him mobility and to bend his limbs at the seams.
Seeing as Robert is very old, his strands of twine have gradually frayed as he has aged. In that regard, Robert’s puppety substance is no different than an elderly human being whose muscles, bones, and ligaments have weakened as he has advanced in years. Be that as it may, there is one glaring, significant dissimilarity between Robert and an old human bei
ng. Robert is undying. Unless something or someone destroys him, Robert will exist forever.
Robert has lived for many years beyond four centuries, over five times longer than the average human being. Four centuries is a blink of an eye in the life of a supernatural puppet. Furthermore, of all the mystic puppets in the world – there are thousands – Robert is the Supreme Spectral Puppet. He has outlasted all other puppets that came before him.
Robert needs to blend in with humans, so his attire is trendy. He always wears faded, ripped, skinny blue jeans and a green, rounded collar t-shirt. He usually wears Nike tennis socks and Converse running shoes.
Puppet climbs the first two rungs of a stepladder to inspect the strands of twine that are supporting the left side of his adopted son’s body. He says in a harsh voice, “You are at home, lad. Where I am, where you are, that is home. Your friends are dead. Dead I tell you! You are over four hundred years of age, so wake up to the facts of life. Your friends are nothing but dust in the wind.”
Puppet abruptly slaps the left cheek of Robert’s puppety face.
“Stop your whining and focus on what you have to do!” He reaches up with his scissors and cuts a frayed piece of thread dangling from the twine that is supporting Robert’s left forearm.
“You are a mess, Robert. Your twine is fraying more than usual these days. If I did not know better, I would think you are slowly leaving the world of immortal puppets. However, I know that is impossible.” He laughs a nauseating chortle. “You will live forever the same as me.”
Robert says in a disrespectful tone, “Father, you and I both know the reality! I am no longer fulfilling my purpose. I am no longer a plaything, and I am no longer useful for human entertainment on the stage. My real purpose in my puppety life ended long before my darling mother, Uncle Neville, and you were born. It ended two centuries before you and mother found me – before I bestowed everlasting life to the three of you.
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