by Dixon, Jeff
“Is the clue the statue, something hidden beneath the statue, or something around the statue?” Kiran asked eagerly.
“There’s nothing different about the statue, is there?” Hawk asked.
“Not that I see.” She studied it more closely. “Do you think something has been changed?”
“No, but I just want to be sure.” Hawk was thinking aloud, trying to reason out the clue. “I would imagine the clue is something on the statue that could never be noticed without the information we have.”
“I’m not sure what the information is, Hawk.”
“Think through it with me,” he invited. “Mickey called me his partner, the statue is called Partners, Walt called me his partner in the message, and twice in his message he said that his brother Roy was his partner. The clue has to be right here.”
“Roy was Walt’s partner, Mickey is Walt’s partner, and now you’re Walt’s partner, and we’re right here with Walt and Mickey,” Kiran tried to reason out the solution.
“So all of Walt’s partners are here except—”
“Roy,” Kiran finished the thought. “There’s a statue of Roy in Town Square at the other end of Main Street USA, but we can’t move it. How else can we get Roy here?”
“I don’t think we’re supposed to move Roy’s statue. The clue has to be here.” Hawk continued to study the statue closely. “Kiran, what does STR mean?”
Hawk’s gaze had come to rest on the tie Walt Disney was wearing. The tiepin on the center of his tie was made up of three letters: STR. Although he had seen the statue on many different occasions he had never really noticed these letters. They seemed to stand out a little too much and perhaps were too noticeable. The creator of the statue wanted these letters to be clearly seen by those who viewed it.
“STR means Smoke Tree Ranch,” Kiran answered, her gaze following his to the letters on the tie. “Walt Disney had a cottage there in Palm Springs, California. When he moved in, the community wasn’t thrilled with a Hollywood type becoming their neighbor, so Walt spent a lot of time investing himself in the community. He loved his home there and would often be seen wearing the pin with the initials.”
“Smoke Tree Ranch,” Hawk repeated. “STR, Smoke Tree Ranch, STR, I wonder . . .”
“Wonder?”
“I wonder if it could mean something else.” He turned toward Kiran. “Doesn’t it seem odd that these three letters that very few people would identify with Walt Disney be featured as boldly as they are on this statue?”
“I suppose, but he did wear a pin like that one.”
“Sure, but whoever designed this statue made sure the three letter details really stand out. Maybe Disney did wear that kind of pin all the time, but I never remember seeing it in pictures of him, except one time.
“So Smoke Tree Ranch is the clue?”
“No, the clue isn’t Smoke Tree Ranch,” Hawk concluded. “Maybe it means something else. Maybe the STR is our clue.”
“I’m lost,” Kiran admitted.
“In the message Walt left me he said a couple of things about Roy. The film had Walt dressed pretty much like the statue has portrayed him. Believe it or not, he was wearing the STR pin, I remember noticing it. On two different occasions he said the same phrase. He said he would go straight to Roy when he was in trouble, and he would go straight to Roy to keep him on track.”
“And that’s the clue?”
“Couldn’t STR mean Straight To Roy?” Hawk looked back at the statue intently. “After all, we’re in a little bit of trouble and we could use some help getting out of it, and we definitely need someone to help keep us on track . . . and Roy is the only one of the partners who isn’t here.”
Kiran looked at the statue of Walt and Mickey and then slowly turned her gaze down the length of Main Street USA. Pausing she allowed her eyes to return to the Partners statue. Hawk had done the same thing Kiran had but had walked around to the back of the statue. Kiran saw the movement and followed him, giving them a view down the length of Main Street toward the Town Square and the Railroad Station at the far end.
“STR, straight to Roy.” Hawk smiled. “And notice his hand; he’s pointing the way . . . straight to Roy.”
“So we need to go down Main Street to the statue of Roy Disney?”
“Because that is what Walt would do, it’s what he told us to do, it’s where the next clue is.”
“You’re sure?” Kiran didn’t sound convinced.
“Remember what Mickey said?” He looked away from Main Street toward Kiran. “‘The best thing about being partners is you always have someone that will point you in the right direction.’”
Without giving her time to answer he grabbed Kiran by the hand and took off down Main Street USA. Bobbing and weaving through groups of people, Hawk and Kiran eventually got to the end of the street next to the Emporium. Stepping off the curb under the covering of the Emporium they moved across the street to the statue of Roy Disney.
Unlike the statue of his brother, Walt, the life-sized statue of Roy was much less dramatic in its design. Roy is seated on a bench, legs casually crossed, holding hands gently with Minnie Mouse. In life where Walt was the charismatic and powerful point man of the company, Roy was working behind the scenes and content to stay out of the spotlight. In many ways this statue managed to capture the difference. Farren had described to Hawk how Roy had come out of retirement to complete Walt’s dream and make sure that Walt’s plans stayed alive. Sharing the Magic was the name of the statue, dedicated twenty-eight years after Roy had dedicated the Magic Kingdom. It was an unassuming tribute to the lesser-known partner and brother of Walt Disney.
While Kiran stood guard, Hawk stepped in front of the statue and crouched down in front of where the bronzed Roy was seated. Studying Roy and then looking over at Minnie he examined the intricacies of the creation. Hawk moved in closer to the statue of Roy Disney and looked directly in the spectacled face.
“You find something, Hawk?”
“Just noticing something,” he replied, not looking back at her.
“What is it?”
“Not sure.” Hawk rose to his feet and stepped back away from the statue until he’d put eight feet between himself and the seated figure. The preacher gazed into the face of the less famous of the Disney brothers and again knelt down, never breaking eye contact with the crafted eyes of the statue. He rose to his feet once again and stepped in toward the face of the statue, maintaining eye contact.
“Check his eyes.” Hawk stepped away so she could see.
“He’s looking at Minnie,” she said as she began to examine the statue.
“Not really,” Hawk said, leaning back in. “He’s sort of looking at her, but his gaze is somewhere else.”
“Hawk, it’s a nice, sweet statue.” She stood and now studied the preacher. “It’s a well-crafted piece of art. So his gaze might be off a little, what does that mean?”
“Don’t know.” Hawk moved away from Kiran and the statue and circled behind it. “It might mean nothing or it might mean a lot.”
Hawk now was standing behind the iron railing that encircled the landscaped garden of flowers and shrubbery that fanned out behind the statues seated on the bench. He stood up straight and then crouched down once again. She stepped over and placed herself directly in Hawk’s line of sight just on the other side of the statue.
“Will you move?” Hawk raised his palms in frustration.
“You’re not doing a very good job of blending into the crowd,” she warned him. “You’re stalking the statue.”
“Come over here, please,” he said politely.
“Have you found something?” Kiran quickly moved toward him.
“No, not yet, but I did get you to move out of my way.” He smiled, satisfied.
“Dork!”
Now they both stood behind the statue, looking over the head of Roy back toward the entrance to the Exposition Hall. The Victorian building was a single structure with three separate entrances
. The first entrance featured a ramp that went up to a set of entry doors. The next entrance was the main doors to Exposition Hall, and the last set of doors was an entrance to Tony’s Restaurant. The long porch, dotted with rocking chairs under the cover of shade, was already collecting a smattering of tourists needing a place to rest.
“Let me ask you something.” Hawk gazed over Roy’s head. “What do you think ol’ Roy here is looking at?”
“Minnie Mouse?” Kiran said, looking over the statue’s head.
“No, he really is not,” Hawk corrected. “Sure, for the sake of the statue it looks that way, but this is Walt Disney World, the details matter.”
“Okay,” she tried again. “The direction of his head is really pointed more to the corner of the building. I guess he’s looking to the south side of it.”
Hawk realigned his gaze to match the direction Roy’s head was tilted. Directly over the statue’s top he saw a long, garden-flanked entrance area with a set of four steps that connected it to the corner of Main Street USA.
He pointed toward the steps as Kiran moved in closely next to him to align her sights to match his direction.
“The steps?”
“Yes.” He nodded with satisfaction. “The steps, Roy is actually facing the steps. His head is facing in that direction. His gaze seems to be looking down toward the ground, but he is facing that way.”
“So he’s really not looking at Minnie?” Kiran asked. “And this is important?”
“For all practical purposes he’s looking at Minnie, but when you look at the details of the creation, maybe he’s looking at something else.”
“Keep going.” She quit looking toward the steps and turned to Hawk.
“In Walt’s message, along with his telling me that he always went straight to Roy, he said something else. ‘We’ve done a lot of things together and um . . . he is always watching over me, trying to take care of me, keeping us safe.’ I think that’s a clue.”
“Roy is watching over Walt keeping him safe?”
“No,” Hawk corrected her. “Details, Kiran. Walt said Roy was always watching over him, trying to take care of him, keeping us safe. I think the statue, placed here on the anniversary of Roy’s keeping Walt’s dream alive when he dedicated the Magic Kingdom, is somehow symbolic of Roy’s keeping Walt and the dreams they had as partners safe.”
“You’ve lost me.” She shook her head.
“Put on your tour guide hat for a minute,” he encouraged. “What is Roy looking toward?”
“The edge of the building?”
“Yes, but what’s in the building?”
“The main area of Exposition Hall is a gift area. You can enter Tony’s and can find the exit to the character greeting area.”
“Wow,” he playfully complimented her, “you know your stuff.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“But what was there before?”
“Before?”
“Before the character greeting area.” He raised an eyebrow.
“The last attraction that was there was the . . . Walt Disney Story!” Kiran remembered with a brilliant smile.
“Right,” Hawk said. “I remember seeing that first as a kid. If my memory is serving me correctly, that was the first and only attraction ever in this building.”
“It was open nearly twenty years off and on,” Kiran added.
Hawk’s memories of the place came flooding back through the recesses of his mind. He remembered walking down a long hallway with his father that was loaded with Walt memorabilia. There were letters from famous people, pictures of Walt taken around the world, models from the movies and the actual submarine from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. He remembered the attraction ended with a film about Walt Disney’s life. Walt himself provided the narration. His dad had told him that one day he could bring his children here and introduce them to the dreams created by Walt Disney. The memories grew darker; Hawk had never gotten the opportunity to do what his dad had suggested.
“The attraction was adapted from time to time,” Kiran said. “Occasionally the film piece was changed to highlight something special, like the opening of Epcot, the Studios, or an anniversary of the park. Hawk, are you with me?”
Kiran’s comment snapped Hawk back from the brink of being overwhelmed by his thoughts.
“Yep.”
“Where were you? What were you thinking?” She placed a concerned hand on his forearm.
“Just remembering what used to be, I’m sorry. I’m listening.”
“But the company closed the attraction for good in the early nineties,” she concluded. “Does it matter?”
“I think it does.” Hawk nodded. “We followed Walt’s directions and went straight to Roy. Here sits Roy doing what he always has done, watching over Walt and keeping their dreams safe. The dreams were placed on display in the Walt Disney Story attraction for the whole world to see.”
“So now Roy is watching over Walt’s dreams,” she summarized.
“I think.”
“Hawk, this statue is fairly new. The Walt Disney Story was closed long before Roy was ever placed here. Most of the things in the old attraction were improved in One Man’s Dream . . . you remember it, right? You broke into Walt’s office, I believe.”
“Never heard of the place.” He deflected the verbal jab. “Maybe the statue was placed here because Walt’s dreams were in danger, or Roy needed to protect or help him again.”
“Seriously? You think this whole mystery is about protecting something that Walt and Roy had dreamed up?”
“Why not?” Hawk explained, “I’ve been given the key to the kingdom by an old, old friend of Walt’s. Walt Disney has left me a message recorded before he died and explained how important this key was.”
“Walt mentioned your key in the message?”
“Yes.” Hawk paused. “He held it in his hand as he was talking about it.”
“You forgot to give me that detail.”
“Sorry,” he continued. “This mysterious adventure we’re on has been loaded with clues that relate to the way Walt Disney told a story, or taught others to tell a story.”
“So we’re going into the Walt Disney Story?”
“Or what’s left of it.”
“Is the secret in there?”
“We’re about to find out.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
* * *
Day Seven
Mid-Morning
KIRAN AND HAWK WALKED UP the steps and entered Exposition Hall just off Main Street USA. Immediately upon stepping inside the door Hawk’s cell phone vibrated, startling him and stopping his forward motion. Kiran continued on for a few more yards before realizing Hawk was no longer beside her. Turning, she watched him open his phone to take the call.
Hawk looked at the caller ID; Shep’s name had appeared. He answered quickly.
“Did Juliette make it out?”
“Sure did. She and Tim headed home.”
“Good.” Hawk took in a deep breath and exhaled.
“We’ve got a problem, boss . . .”
“Problem?” Hawk narrowed his eyes and turned away from Kiran.
“A little while ago Al went into the utilidor with some folks from Disney security.”
“And?”
“There was no one in the Character Zoo.”
“That can’t be!” Hawk exclaimed. He felt Karin’s hand touch his back for a moment and then she drew it away.
“Everything fit the description and details you gave perfectly. There were signs of a huge struggle, piles of clothes, and even a cracked Big Bad Wolf head, but there was no person there.”
“Shep, we left the guy there. He was tazed and tied up.”
“He was gone.”
The deep sound of a man clearing his throat caught Hawk’s ear, and he turned back into Exposition Hall. Kiran’s eyes were open wide and staring straight at him. Standing behind her, with an arm over her shoulder and across her throat, was the man missing from th
e clothes pile in the zoo. Jim had pulled Kiran against his body. His other hand, pressed firmly to Kiran’s side, was holding a small, glistening blade.
“Why don’t you hang up the phone, Dr. Hawkes?” Jim was not making a suggestion, he was uttering a command. “Let’s step inside Tony’s Restaurant, it won’t be open for another hour and we can . . . talk.”
Jabbing his head in the direction of the restaurant, Hawk followed his lead and closed his phone. Walking in front of Jim and Kiran he moved slowly, pausing to look over his shoulder at them. Kiran was rigid, breathing in short shallow bursts of air.
“Don’t worry, Kiran,” Hawk said to her. “It will be all right.”
“Hawk—”
Jim tightened his grip across her throat and pressed the blade against her side for emphasis.
“There is no reason for you to be talking, sweetheart,” he sneered in her ear. “Keep moving.”
They entered the restaurant and Hawk wheeled to face Jim. The assailant had allowed some distance to form between himself and Hawk. The tip of the blade made a deep indentation in Kiran’s blouse. He motioned with his head for Hawk to take a few more steps back. Now Hawk stood opposite Jim and Kiran with two tables between them. It was too far for Hawk to jump across. Hawk noticed Jim’s face for the first time; he was wearing souvenirs from the previous encounter in the character wardrobe area. Slightly bruised and cut, Jim had not gotten the chance to clean up, but still had managed to escape. Someone had helped him; Hawk wondered who that might have been.
“You have caused me considerable inconvenience and . . . pain.”
“That is a shame,” Hawk smartly retorted.
“It has been a long night and I am tired. So, the time for games and negotiating has passed. You will give me what I want.” Jim jerked Kiran back against him, shoving his forearm harder against her neck. “Or I will take from you what you want.”