When he got affirmations from everyone, he tilted his tired head and called for the portal once again. His three companions watched in fascinated silence as the sky immediately lit and the water became agitated. With the arrow still in place and the body of Daniel Crain hefted over his shoulder, the irritated Wolf waded into the River and disappeared in a fury of pink sparkles.
Knowing what had just happened, but still watching in awe and with a common shudder, all three were glad they weren’t going with Wolf again. Giving a silent nod to Wals, Claude waited for the very last ripple of water to calm before he set one foot into the green water. After seeing what happened when Private Crain suddenly reappeared, he wasn’t taking any chances.
“That was fast,” Claude commented as they walked along.
Wolf grumbled a little before he answered. “There’s too much to do here to linger. I made sure Mato saw Crain, and I was able to jump back into the vortex before it collapsed.” He paused and frowned as he thought. “I’ve never done that before. Hope I never have to do it again.”
The doctor in Doctor Houser came to the fore. “Oh? Any side effects?”
“You mean besides the vertigo, dizziness, disorientation, a blazing headache and being soaking wet? No, nothing unusual.”
Claude smiled and kept silent.
Since Wolf was dressed in his Security uniform and the doctor was attired in an outfit similar to the ride operators who worked Big Thunder, there was no need to get the doctor out of sight backstage to get him over to Pirates. They merely walked the main path through Critter Country, taking time to show Claude some of the changes the Park had undergone since he was last there. Splash Mountain was of interest to him, but not as much as the Haunted Mansion. He came to a complete stop once they reached the wrought iron railing around the attraction.
“Master Gracey’s house! It’s completed. Those four Doric columns in front. I saw them being erected….” He broke off as he thought back. “I met the man while I was living in New Orleans. I…I was a guest at a few of their dinner parties.” He shook his head in disbelief. “How can his house be here, as well? This is all so confusing.”
Wolf just nodded, thinking of his father at the encampment and his brother sitting on a pinto watching the River. “What happens here has a profound effect on what happens back there in the past. And you are one of the very few individuals who have lived to see the truth of that. What do you remember about Master Gracey? I never met him.”
Choosing not to comment on the dubious honor Wolf just mentioned, the doctor glanced at his companion for a moment, remembering him in the shape of a wolf. Does he mean knowing Master Gracey in this time period or in the past? Claude shrugged as he looked back at the beautiful, finished mansion. “I know Edward was a retired sea captain. Opinionated, of course, like most wealthy men of his time. I didn’t see him again after the war once I went to live in the Fort. I heard rumors.” He shrugged again. “But, the soldiers were known for exaggeration. They said something about him being murdered by his wife and she took another husband to live in the house—with a similar ending, if you can believe that! He was rather strong in some of his views of religion and politics, I recall, but was very hospitable. I was sorry I lost track of him.”
“If you like, we can go in the house. I’d be interested to see if any of the interiors are the same as you knew.”
“Is there a reason it is called the ‘Haunted’ Mansion? It looks so handsome on the outside.”
Wolf gave him a small smile. “Shall we go see?”
Claude looked at the white hearse sitting on the front lawn. The rigging for the horse was in place—only there was no horse. A row of small gravestones lined the winding pathway. He shook his head. “Perhaps another time. I’d rather go see Walt.”
“As you wish.”
Deep under the Treasure Room in the Pirates of the Caribbean, Doctor Houser stared at the refrigerator-like box in front of him. He had built the contraption himself and had gone over it time after time. Now, forty-two years later, here it was, hissing vapor into the still air of the cavern, humming and flashing lights. It worked, he excitedly exclaimed to himself, his heart pounding in his chest. It worked! He had forgotten all about his silent companion in the room. Wolf, knowing what the doctor was feeling, hung back in the darkness and gave Claude the time he needed.
We did it, Walt! Claude slowly walked around the chamber, his eyes examining every fitting, every tube. He went over to the canisters leaning against the wall and began some mental calculations.
“Perhaps he knows too much,” a wavering, ghostly voice filled the cavern. “He’s seen the cursed treasure. He knows where it be hidden….” The eerie voice trailed off into silence as the startled doctor looked wide-eyed around the darkened room. A booming, resonating voice suddenly sounded all around them. “Dead men tell no….”
“Lance, you’re doing it all wrong,” an amused feminine voice broke in.
“No, I’m not! Listen to this: No fear of evil curses have you?”
“Wolf!” The woman called into the room from the hidden speaker above in the darkness. “Tell him he’s doing it wrong.”
Wolf gave an amused chuckle. “Lance, you’re doing it wrong.”
As the doctor turned to Wolf for an explanation, the first voice came back and leisurely asked, “So, how was your trip?”
“Lance, we didn’t go to Bermuda.”
“Bermuda would be nice about now.” Doctor Houser folded his arms stiffly across his chest as he frowned at his companion.
Wolf thought he had better make introductions. “Dr. Houser, meet Lance and Kimberly Brentwood. Lance, this is Dr. Claude Houser.”
With a disgusted roll of his eyes, Claude decided to ignore whoever they were and went over to the viewing window where the dutiful red light was still blinking on and off. He reached over to clear the condensation from the window so he could see inside.
Just as he reached out, he heard a panicked, “Don’t touch that!” His hand jerked back as if scalded.
Kimberly’s voice scolded over the sound of Lance’s laughter. “Lance, that wasn’t nice.”
“Lance.” Wolf knew it was time to take over when he saw the dark look on the doctor’s face. “We need your services here. Could you bring a car?”
Lance became all business. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“I have a feeling we won’t get along very well.” Irritated, Claude gave a snort.
Wolf gave a half smile, difficult to see in the darkness. “Lance is all right. Just his odd sense of humor. He and Kimberly have done a wonderful job filling in for her father.”
With a small, sad sigh, Dr. Houser turned back to the cryogenic chamber. “I was kind of hoping there would be two chambers when you told me her father was gone, too.”
Wolf nodded in understanding. He had had that same argument a few times over the years. “It wasn’t what he wanted. Some of his ashes are spread on the Island.”
“Hmmm,” was all the response Wolf was given. Claude was looking at the familiar face on the other side of the window. A feeling of pride and accomplishment flowed through him, mixed with his feelings of loss and displacement. “Tell me something, Wolf.” He didn’t look up as he continued to stare at the still, familiar face. “How old am I? Realistically, I should be in my late sixties, but I don’t look or feel that old. Am I going to see all of this through?”
Wolf knew what the doctor meant by ‘this,’ as he took a deep breath. It was difficult to figure it all out. “Well, from what you told me, you were on the other Island only about three years. It was 1814 when I took you to New Orleans. From the condition of the Fort and what was going on in the surrounding areas, it had to have been around 1817 when I came back for you and Rose. Since I was going backward through time, I could have landed at any point in history, at any given year.” Wolf stopped and could tell the doctor was keeping up with him, so he continued. “If, for instance, I had come back in 1830, you would have
been there for sixteen years and you would’ve been forty-seven years old. Since you are aware of only three actual years passing, physically you are only three years older than you were when you left in 1966.”
Dr. Houser just stared at him. “Even though forty-two years have passed in real time?”
Wolf nodded and let it sink in for a few moments. “For us, it was forty-two years. Not for you. You are around thirty-one years old. Time also passes differently back there, as we can now see from the newspaper Wals brought with him from Rainbow Ridge. I actually never know what to expect,” he admitted. “But you, you look exactly as you did that first night I met you in Walt’s apartment. Well, except for the clothes.” He had to grin as he indicated the beat-up miner’s outfit from Rainbow Ridge the doctor still wore.
Claude looked down and smiled. He had finally dried out, but the outfit was still pretty messy.
Wolf indicated the chamber with a tilt of his chin. “You have a lot of work to do. Depending on what you discover when you get back to work, I think you just might see this through. You’re young enough.”
“Amazing,” was all the doctor could mutter, slowly shaking his head.
“And, if my super hearing powers are correct, Lance is here. Let’s get you to the mansion in Fullerton.”
At the name of the familiar city and house, Claude relaxed. Maybe he could go home again. As Lance entered and greeted his security partner, the doctor said a silent good-bye to his boss and followed the two friends out of the hidden chamber.
As soon as he stepped into the familiar mansion, Claude heard a different woman’s voice than the one he heard in the cavern. Oddly enough, she yelled out, “Stick!”
Lance got a big grin on his face. “Shrew!”
“Slacker.”
“Fish-wife.”
“Rounder.”
“Harpie.”
Claude saw a pretty, petite brunette come out of the library and laugh as she gave Lance a hug.
Lance, all smiles, ignored his guest and hugged her back. “When did you get here, Beth?”
“Must’ve been right after you left. I finished my shift at the Park and it was time to pick up the twins, not that they want to go home. Peter’s been teaching them more Lakota,” she explained, looking pointedly over at Wolf. “Not that he’s telling me what the words mean.”
“I’ll find out for you.” Wolf wisely hid his feeling of pride in Peter’s learning ability. The boy absorbed like a sponge. Wolf would have liked to take Peter back to meet his father, but doubted Kimberly would ever allow it.
Beth glanced at her watch. “I’ve got to go. Adam is going to be back from his business trip any minute and I’d like for all of us to be there when he gets home. He’s finishing up the blueprints for that low-income housing development we told you about and he had some final meetings with the other investors.” She gave a friendly smile to the doctor, running a quick eye over his unusual attire. “Hi, I’m Beth Michaels. Friend of the family. Lance here has forgotten whatever manners he once might have had.”
Lance, unabashed, finished the introductions. “This is Doctor Claude Houser. He was a good friend of Kimberly’s father and is here for a visit,” he told her, going with their prearranged story.
Beth looked at the smooth complexion of the doctor and politely said nothing about what must have been a vast disparity between the ages of the two men. “Well, it is nice to meet you, Doctor. I hope you have a nice visit. Oh, Kimberly, there you are. Have you seen Alexander? I think he’s hiding from me.”
Claude looked over at the stunning blond who just entered and gave Lance a light hug. He could immediately see the resemblance to her father in her coloring and high cheekbones. Feeling a tug of emotion steal over him, he said nothing as he watched the family scene work itself out.
Kimberly flashed the doctor a wide smile of apology as she left with Beth to round up the missing children.
As the women left the room, Wolf told Doctor Houser in a low voice, “Beth doesn’t know about your work or the chamber under Pirates.”
Nodding in understanding, Claude followed Lance and Wolf when they motioned him into Lance’s private study to allow him some needed time to sort through his feelings of loss and displacement. As Claude looked around, he knew the study used to be Kimberly’s father’s room. The familiarity of the room settled into Claude and helped him. Not much had been altered since he had been there last. At least these two have respect for the past, he thought. That’s good.
Kimberly joined them after seeing Beth off. “Sorry,” she said lightly as she came into the room. “It’s a little premature since we just found out, but Beth wants to throw me a baby shower in about four or five months.” Resting a light hand on her stomach, she smiled over at Claude, a little of the joy radiating out of her fading. “I wish my father could have known his grandsons.”
Lance took her hand in his and patted it. “Maybe someday we can all go back with Wolf and introduce them.”
At the look of fright that briefly crossed her eyes, Wolf stepped in and changed the subject of the conversation. They needed to get into the serious discussion of what to do with the doctor.
As his name was mentioned, Claude could feel Kimberly turn and scrutinize his face. He knew he looked about the same age as she. It had to be as trippy for her as it was for him. She hadn’t even been born when he had worked with her father. He also felt he needed to take some control of the discussion. It was his life after all. And, after forty years, it was time to take it back. “You might not realize it, but I did have a life beyond Disneyland and cryogenics. I have, had….” Momentarily confused by the time incongruity, he had to pause. “I had a house on South Woods here in Fullerton, not too many miles from here. It wasn’t huge, but sufficient for my needs. I don’t suppose it would still be in my name. The State probably took it for failure to pay my taxes all these years.” He gave a small sigh. He had been awfully proud of his first home. “If I remember correctly, I paid $18,000 for it. Sometimes it was difficult to make my $170 mortgage payment with what little research money I took in, but when Walt hired me on….” He abruptly stopped when Kimberly leapt to her feet.
“Oh, how can I be so stupid?” She threw him a wide grin. “Doctor Houser! You are Doctor Claude Houser! Oh, for crying out loud. I’ll be right back!” She hurried from the room, leaving the men to look at one another for an explanation. The majority of the looks fell on Lance, who merely shrugged. He had no idea what she meant.
“Should we wait?” Claude asked, still confused. “I was simply stating that I had left some property behind and wondered what might have happened to it. I had a car, too…can’t imagine that it would still be in running order.” He gave a ghost of a smile as he thought about the car that had seen him through medical school. “It was a 1952 MGTF. Bought it used from an older gentleman who wanted to get a more sedate sedan. I think it cost me around $600, if you can believe paying that much for a used car! But, it was in great shape. Loved that little car.” He chuckled at the memory, not seeing the amused looks exchanged by the other two men.
Kimberly breezed back into the room, waving a thick, faded manila envelope in her hand. “Found it!” It was dropped in front of the flustered doctor. “I had to dig it out of Father’s private safe. Forgot all about it in all the excitement of meeting you.”
“What is this?” Claude stared at his name written neatly across the top of the envelope in his friend’s familiar handwriting.
Kimberly smiled kindly at him. “Just some things my father wanted you to have when you came back. Go ahead. Open it.”
Not comprehending the doctor’s wish for some privacy at this poignant moment, the other three eagerly leaned toward the envelope sitting on the coffee table. Lowering his head, he took a moment and let the emotions run through him. He always did think of everything. No wonder he and Walt worked so well together.
When he was ready, Claude pulled out the time-yellowed documents. It was obvious from their
condition that they had not been touched since their placement. The first document was the deed to his house. He saw that his mortgage had been paid off in 1970. There was also a Non-Op Certificate from DMV for his car that had been filed around the same time. His medical license and certificates were also enclosed. The last time he had seen them they had been hanging on the wall of his office. Social Security card. Driver’s license. Money. Bank book. Photos. Everything that had been in his wallet before he had left. His entire life was preserved in that envelope.
When he looked up from the paperwork not knowing what to say, Lance stepped in. “Your house is still waiting for you. There’s been a gardening service that has come by twice a month ever since you left. Covers were put over your furniture to protect it all. And, I think you’ll like what you find in the garage,” he smiled. “All you will have to do is get the registration up-to-date with DMV.”
“My car is still there? After all this time? It would have to be worthless by now.”
Kimberly exchanged a knowing smile with Lance. “Oh, I don’t think it is worthless. My friend Beth who just left? She has a ’57 T-Bird that’s almost as old as your MG. But, believe it or not, those cool-looking cars are now collector items. She keeps her car as original as possible, and takes her Bird to car shows. In fact, I took her over to your house last year when I was checking on a minor landscaping problem that was reported. Not only did she say your car is indeed a collector car, but she added that, since it was in original condition, with such low mileage, she said she’d love to buy it for somewhere around $35,000.”
The doctor was stunned. “What? Do you mean to tell me that my car is worth more than my house?”
Lance leaned forward clearly enjoying himself. “Well,” he drawled, “Real estates values have also changed a little since you were gone. I think, with a little remodeling of the kitchen and bathrooms, your house might bring in around $600,000.”
Wolf! The Legend of Tom Sawyer's Island Page 30
