Puppet

by Ed Kightlinger

  Robert says crossly, “That’s better, Bre. Furthermore, do yourself a favor and quit wasting your time trying to find me on the internet. Replace your cellphone inside your back pocket! I was adopted. Naturally, I do not have the same last name as my deceased parents. Even if I were to give you my last name I am sure you would not find me on the internet. As I alluded to a few moments ago when I spoke to Colette, I am hundreds of years old.

  “While my early life is somewhat unworthy as far as my importance is concerned, I was a wee bit celebrated in my own right. As you and your friends soon will discover, someday I will be more famous than all the infamous humans that have walked the earth. Oh, I am rambling yet again, aren’t I? I am afraid it is a bad habit of mine. Please everyone, except for you, Bre, excuse my apparent lack of etiquette.”

  Brenae sticks her tongue out at Chloe’s phone once more. To the relief of her teammates, Robert does not seem to notice.

  “My dear Septet investigators,” Robert says in a stern tone, “here are the rules going forward. I will start by telling you a bit about myself and a few things about my beloved adopted mother, my uncle, and my awful father. Let there be no lying if you please. Moreover, do not lecture or raise your voices to me. If you fail to abide by these simple rules, I will hang up. I will begin by telling you how I came to be.”

  Robert tells a drawn-out, stirring story of how he came to life as a puppet. He talks excitedly about his performance in Duke Edward’s puppety play John of Bordeaux. He goes to great length to describe some of the more notable scenes and how some of the other puppets performed. His summation is very descriptive and is relatively impressive.

  He describes how the Hall family treated him. He proudly mentions sitting at the long table opposite Harold Hall. He explains in great detail how he miraculously came to be after Mary Hall, who he lovingly calls his Creator, had made her wish and kissed his cheek.

  A few of the Septet member’s eyes quietly sob when Robert describes how boys used him for target practice. Finally, Robert explains in great detail how his adopted mother nurtured him and saved him from certain death. He summarizes his story.

  “There you have it. I am very old. What is more, for some unknown reason, I haven’t aged a day since Harold Hall created me. I owe my living self to the child, Mary. As I said, her sincere wish and her affectionate kiss brought me to life. Now, I will entertain your questions. Please be polite and remember the rules.”

  Chloe is the first to speak.

  “Robert, I think the first question that probably is on all of our minds is this. Are you magical? Do you have magical powers? After all, you expertly described our seating arrangements. You knew that Bre was on her phone and that she had silently mouthed some of her words.” She glares at Brenae. “You also knew she had stuck her tongue out at the phone, at you. Furthermore, you appeared to have a conversation with her thoughts. Did you read her mind?”

  Robert replies, “Yes, I know your seating arrangements, and yes, I sensed everything that Bre did to include sticking her tongue out at me two times. I read her thoughts.” His tone of voice turns annoyed when he suddenly shouts, “Bre, I am warning you. Be nice or else!”

  Brenae sticks out her tongue once more. In spite of their nervousness, the others cannot help but chuckle at Brenae’s continued lack of respect for Robert’s threats.

  Robert retorts in an angry tone, “Goodness, Bre, you are a royal pain.” After a few moments of silence, Robert finally begins to answer Chloe’s questions.

  “Yes, I am magical but not in the manner you would typically describe magic. I do not have visual acuities like humans and animals. Instead, Chloe, I sense phenomena in the central part of my being.

  “Even though I have eyes, they do not see. They may move from side to side and up and down like yours, and they may even seem to stare. Their eyelids may blink, and yes, my sad eyes reflect the sorrow I have felt in the central part of my being for centuries. Despite these external human characteristics, I am sightless.

  “Although I have ears, they do not hear. Although I have lips, they do not taste. I do not need to drink or eat. I do not need rest or relaxation. In sum, I am incapable of performing or experiencing physical things comparable to human beings. I do not have a heart. Nor do I have a brain. I do not have blood traveling through my core.

  “I cannot shed tears or shed blood. I cannot experience cold sweats, or turn pale and red in the face, those sorts of things. I do not undergo the mental feelings of love, hate, jealousy, compassion, or anger. All the same, I can sense a similarity to these human emotions in the central part of my being. After all, Chloe, I was created by a human even though I am not human. I am a puppet. Does that help to answer your questions?”

  “Yes, to a small degree,” Chloe replies. She looks up at the rafters. “I understand you are not human. You are a puppet. If I understand you correctly, you do not have feelings in your heart and brain – because you are a puppet. You can experience feelings in the central part of your being. If you are not here, how can you see, or should I say, how can you visualize us?”

  Robert says, “I can visualize anything and anybody from anywhere. All I have to do is focus on what or who I want to visualize and, to use a common, human term, I can see. It doesn’t matter if I am nearby or thousands of miles away. I can visualize anything I desire to perceive.”

  “Therefore, you are magical,” Chloe says, “at least from a visual standpoint. Am I correct?”

  “Yes, I am magical from that perspective and many other ways as well,” Robert says. “Moreover, as you have already witnessed, when I am visualizing a certain person, I can read his or her thoughts.”

  Chloe says, “I imagine the others want to ask you some questions. Thank you for your time.”

  Robert says, “You are welcome, Chloe. It is your turn, James. I sense you are itching to ask me some questions.”

  James says, “Robert, let’s you and I get to square one. Why did you pull a knife on me? Why did you place me in a whirlwind that landed me in the emergency room? Finally, did you kill and injure those other people on Grider Street?”

  Robert replies unhappily, “Jay, you must believe me when I say I did not intend to kill or injure those people. I did not intend to harm you as well. I sensed you were going to confront me in a less than amicable manner. That is why I pulled my knife out of my pocket. I wanted you to leave me alone, to leave me with my thoughts. I thought by threatening you with my knife you would have stopped bothering me. I was wrong.

  “You persisted to ask me questions, to insult me, calling me Spaghetti Kid. Pulling my knife out of my pocket was a ruse. If I had wanted to harm you, I would not have used a knife. I possess much greater weapons. You know that better than anyone else that is sitting around in your foolish circle.”

  James exclaims in an irritated tone, “I wasn’t going to hurt you, Robert. If you can read minds, you should know that! In spite of this, even though threatening me with your knife was a ruse – your words, not mine – why do it in the first place? You were not fearful of me. Given what you did to me, I know that for a fact. You were angry at someone or something else. You struck out at me not because of what I had said or asked. You struck out at me because you could not control your anger. What you just said is absurd. It is a lie!”

  Robert yells, “Jay, I must warn you! Do not raise your voice, okay?” Jay nods his head. “Good, I can tell you agree with me about not raising your voice. Please allow me to explain. Yes, you are correct. I was angry when you confronted me. I was angry with my father. He had abused me unmercifully since he and my beloved mother and uncle discovered me centuries ago. He had cut me, James. He had kicked and punched and slapped me. When you said his name, that day you and I met on Grider Street, I lost all control over my core’s emotions. Thus, I placed you in a whirlwind.”

  “Why would you do that?” James barks. “What kind of person, or puppet, if that is what you truly are, does that to innocent people?”

/>   “I honestly do not know, Jay,” Robert replies. “When I lose it, figuratively speaking, I lose all control just as I had in your case. As far as the others who were injured and those that I killed, I regret doing that. You must believe me when I say this.” Jay does not respond.

  Robert says, “I can sense you are angry with me, Jay. That is unfortunate. I can sense you do not believe me. That too is unfortunate. I would like for you to believe me.”

  “I do not believe you,” James says in a nasty tone. “Why in the world should I? It is too much of a coincidence that Anthony Marvella died along with four extended family members of the Marvella’s. What is next, Robert? Are you going to place me in a whirlwind once more if I make you angry enough?”

  “No, Jay, I am not going to do that for two reasons. One, I must be close to my intended victim to affect my whirlwind powers, and two, as I already mentioned, I would never hurt you or the others of your Septet team. You have my word on that.”

  “Why should we believe you?” Sophia shouts. “After all, a few seconds ago you admitted to killing five people and injuring many others. Why should we believe you when you say you would never hurt the seven of us?”

  “Why Sophia? I say it for the same reasons that you do not want to use your amazing martial arts skills offensively. Needlessly killing and hurting others are criminal acts. Since Chloe formed her team, I have come to admire and respect all of you. As far as Jay’s injuries are concerned, I regret doing those things to him.”

  Brenae suddenly shouts angrily, “That is outright garbage, Robert, and you know it! You are incapable of remorse. Your regretful words ring hollow. Besides, you knew Jay was a member of our team when you injured him. How do you expect us to believe you now when you say you will not hurt us?” Before Robert can reply, Brenae is shouting once more.

  “I have one more question for you, Robert. This question is critical, so I want you to consider it carefully. Why did you kill four people who had ties to the Marvella family? Why did you kill Anthony Marvella? For crying out loud, Anthony was one of our finest students! He was a superstar who was beloved and admired by thousands! Darn you, Robert, Anthony was somebody’s son! More importantly, he didn’t do anything to you! The Gazette said that Anthony bled out. How could your nastiness, your magic cause him to bleed out, Robert? Why did you selectively kill those four other people, the Marvella’s? Do you not know how much pain you have caused Mister and Missus Marvella? Darn you, Robert! They lost five loved ones in one day!”

  Robert screams, “Bre, I must warn you. Do not accuse me of anything, and do not raise your voice! I will not tolerate it. Do you understand what I am saying?”

  “No, I do not understand,” Brenae replies, “and I could care less about your degree of tolerance. I could care less about the unhuman sensations in the central part of your evil being as well. I demand answers, Robert. All of us demand and deserve answers – truthful ones! You are blowing smoke at us, lying through your teeth! I can feel it in my heart. Now, fess up and tell us the darned truth! Besides, you know what I am thinking, don’t you, Robert?”

  Chloe whispers, “He has hung up! Goodness, Bre, what did you do? We have lost him.”

  Brenae says casually, “Don’t worry. He will call back.”

  Colette says, “Nay, I doubt he will call back. He did say that we should abide by his rules.”

  “His rules?” Lindsey declares. “He and his collaborators, Puppet, Sorrie, Cheaply, Officer Bennett, and the fantastic six caused this mess! They started it. We didn’t. Therefore, we make the rules going forward, not Robert or anyone else with whom he cooperates!”

  Chloe’s phone rings. She quickly answers it. “Robert?”

  “Yes, Chloe. Please put me on speaker.”

  Chloe says, “Done. I am glad you called us back.” Robert does not reply.

  After a few seconds of silence, Robert says, “Okay, Bre. Leave it to you to call me on some things. Congratulations. First, I will not harm any of you. You have my word on that. Whether you believe me or not is up to you. Two, I admit that I killed the Marvella’s, at least those who were on Grider Street the day I met Jay.

  “I murdered them because one of their ancestors killed my mother. The murderer’s name was George Lincoln Marvella. The authorities accused him of killing my mother. Surprisingly, the authorities released him before he even went to trial. Why the authorities released him, I will never know. I suspect someone bribed the prosecutors. In spite of this, this much I understand. George Lincoln was a close friend of my father. Consequently, there is no doubt in my mind that my father collaborated with George Lincoln to murder my beloved mother.”

  Robert pauses for a few seconds. Thinking that he has hung up once more, Chloe checks her phone.

  “I am still here, Chloe,” Robert says politely. “Please give me a few moments to consider what I am going to say.” After a minute or more he resumes talking.

  “Your fellow student, Anthony Marvella, passed by me while I was walking on Grider Street. It was shortly after Jay and I had our confrontation. He was jogging in the bicycle lane. Having him hit by a car was too good for him. Therefore, I spun his body so fast that every molecule of blood slowly discharged through all of his orifices. The molecules disappeared into thin air without a trace. I hurled his body high in the air, and then I caused it to freefall head over heels to the pavement. He was barely alive, more reflexes than anything when they rushed him to the hospital. Perhaps he still had a heartbeat. I do not know, and I could care less. Yes, Bre, you are correct. I bled him out. It is too bad. At least he died quickly.”

  Brenae is about to ask Robert a question.

  “Not now, Bre. I am the one who is speaking. I do not know if you know this, but I killed the other Marvella’s before I murdered Anthony. They were about to climb into a vehicle. They were laughing and joking. I sensed the two men were giving each other high five’s. I sensed the two females were holding hands. They were excited because they were going to meet their friends for an early dinner. It was a touching moment. You should have been there, Bre. I am sure you would have enjoyed watching their frivolities.

  “Anyway, it is Anthony’s fault that they died. Had I not sensed that he had waved to them, they would be alive today. They happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally, I immediately knew that they were members of Anthony’s extended family, so I acted without delay or hesitation. I enclosed the foursome within a devastating whirlwind, and then I smashed their bodies against a semi-truck that was speeding along the street.” Robert snickers sickeningly.

  “You should have seen the blood, Bre. It was awesome! Regrettably, the driver of the truck was one of those that were injured. He had slammed on his brakes jackknifing his semi. He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. His body soared through the windshield. It was great fun, Bre! I laughed as I sensed that Anthony was watching as his relatives smashed to their nearly unrecognizable deaths. As I said, then I turned my attention to your schoolmate, Anthony. I settled my score with him as I had with the others.

  “I felt elated. I felt released. I felt wonderful. I had killed five members of the Marvella family! I had realized my revenge! Do you know what I did next, Bre? I strode the sidewalk exposing random people to my whirlwinds, although I did not kill any of them. I felt vindicated enough, so I spared their families the funeral expenses. Bre, I have to tell you, it felt good. It felt delicious!” Robert laughs loudly.

  “Are you satisfied now that you know, Bre? Frankly, I could care less whether you are satisfied or not. I am through with you, and I do not want to talk with you anymore. Thank you for your time. Next person? How about you, Diana Jane? Do you want to ask me something?”

  Diana Jane says, “I do not want to talk to you, Robert. You know that. You are a confessed murderer. You are not worthy of my time. Leave me alone.”

  Robert says, “Oh, that is too bad, Diana Jane. I was going to compliment you on your stellar performance during yesterday’s final practi
ce session of the play. I cannot wait for your performance during the four real-life presentations. You will perform with alacrity as a fantastic, convincible Peter Pan. I would tell you, as they say in show business, to break a leg.

  “On the other hand, if I were to tell you that, you actually would suffer a broken leg.” He laughs meanly. “Therefore, I will dispense with the well-wishes and allow you to ponder what I have said. In any event, Diana Jane, as they say, and please do not forget my words, ‘The show is not over until it’s over.’”

  “I have another question,” Brenae says.

  Robert replies, “Tough, Bre. You had your turn. As I said, I no longer wish to converse with you; so shut up!”

  Brenae shouts, “Who killed your father, Robert? Why was your father in Chloe’s house? Who or what demolished the entire block killing fourteen older adults and putting others into the hospital? Did you do it, Robert? Did you kill your father and those innocent people that were sleeping? Did you, you murderous butcher?” Brenae laughs mockingly.

  “That’s right, Robert. As you can tell, like your detestable father, Puppet, aka the Loser, I have a nickname for you as well. After all, you can read my mind, am I correct? Yes, Butcher, you know your nickname, don’t you?”

  Robert shouts, “I said you had your turn, Bre! Shut up!”

  “Answer the questions,” Bre shouts at the phone. “I know that you want to. You alluded to your father abusing you and beating you. Get it off your chest, Butcher. Seek closure! Tell us if you killed your father.”

  “Bre, I am warning you. Do not test me. I will hang up, and I will not call you back!”

  “I do not care if you hang up, Butcher! You are nothing to me, nothing more than a heartless murderer. Like your father, you are a loser! Unlike your loser father, you are a murderous butcher!”

  At first, Chloe and the others have no idea why Brenae is purposely provoking Robert. When they finally realize that she is trying to get them to speak up as well, to get Robert to tell them more, they also begin shouting. Unlike Brenae’s intentionally insulting words, they purposely show respect. In essence, the Septet is undertaking a “good cop/bad cop” routine.