The Day of the Toymaker

by Clay Moore

  Thomas looked down. “Another gadgeteer fell to that thing called human nature.”

  “In your case, it’s made you better. You listen to other people’s thoughts and are willing to incorporate them into your gadgets.”

  “Where do we go from here?”

  “We can take out the metal strip, right?”

  “Yes?”

  “We have some of the best codebreakers in the United States in this building. We tell them what it is from, and what we think about its use.”

  “What if they break the code?”

  “Then it is our job to interpret what the code will let them do. We might want to warn the Director that we should ask all government officials to turn in their Lehrer Dolls.”

  “I don’t think I want to disappoint Johnny. If we’re wrong?”

  “What if we’re right, and we don’t report something we know. We really don’t know what all these ideas could do. With everything you Gadgeteers come up with, there is always one that will climb on the backs of the others to threaten our existence. We have to warn the Director.”

  “No, I think we are precipitous.”

  “Okay here is something that I can do and have some authority over.”

  William walked into the library. He took Rowena in his arms. “There is a situation that may be brewing with the toy Thomas bought for Johnny. Does he still have that toy?”

  “Yes, it’s a favored one.”

  “I’m afraid to say this, but I am going to need that toy, and it won’t be returnable.”

  “What are you going to do to it?”

  “Open it up.”

  “I’ll get it. Johnny is playing ball with some of the maids. Gave up a break to play baseball with a little boy. She opened his door and found the room empty. She saw his Palace Guard doll; She brought it to William. William took it.

  As if it could not bear his touch, the doll came to life. It tried stabbing him with its pike. He tossed it down.

  Rowena said: “What is that thing?”

  “What I feared.”

  The Guard doll got itself together. It aimed its pike at William; William made a gesture with his right hand. A derringer was injected into his hand; He cocked and fired the first bullet. The bullet shredded the body of the doll.

  William toed the carcass to make sure of its demise. He grabbed the parts of the doll and took it to Thomas.

  Thomas saw the parts of the doll in his friend’s hand. “I trust that the doll was particularly frolicsome.”

  William extended the derringer injector. “Once again, your invention saved my life and Rowena’s.”

  “This must be a different model of a doll. I think I found in the murder doll a timer. The timer fired off its murderous rampage.”

  “I wouldn’t call it a murder rampage with only one person dead. Johnny’s doll is different. It only activated when it perceived you, or an operator perceived you.”

  “An operator? How could an operator know what to do?”

  “What if I told you that is it possible to transmit moving picture using the same system as our communicators.”

  “How?”

  “In New York, Paris, and London, there are gadgeteers who have proven the concept. I think our German friend can see things through his doll’s eyes.”

  “Oh, my God. These dolls, in essence, are his spies, and he is the master of them.”

  “Let’s examine what this doll has besides a camera and an angry operator.”

  Thomas put the doll on his table. He was able to slit through the skin. Thomas saw the thin wire that Thomas recognized as one of the materials Thomas thought about using for his antenna. Then he saw a tiny box behind the right eye. This box had a power cord and another box to prepare the moving images for transmission. He used a jeweler’s screwdriver to remove the box from behind the right eye.

  “It’s so small.”

  “The Germans have perfected building small things. That’s why there are so many Germans displaying at our toy expo. How many American Houses have a dollhouse, either bought or made by a loving father for his daughters.”

  “I can see that,” said William.

  “Then, who is this toymaker?”

  “A German spy who uses his toys as methods of getting information. I think that toys have a list of things to do. If murder is ordered. He has come here at the behest of the Confederate government.”

  “That means that the spymaster has his own spymaster.”

  “Could you turn one of these Dolls into a double agent?”

  “Spy on the spymaster?”

  “What do you want? I want to hear what he says. I want to be in on one of these meetings between the toymaker and his master.”

  *****

  Latimer Johnson was a little loud to be a spymaster. He thought that his obviousness would give him enough cover to get the job done. He had four regular spies who reported to him. The fifth one seemed to make a living from doing the impossible. Now he was about to enter the shop and introduce himself. There was something that Richmond wanted. They wanted the plans to a breech-loading naval gun.

  Now they were going to see if the miracle worker could create more miracles. Latimer stepped inside the toy shop. It was empty. He could hear the sounds of tools being used. The toymaker came out in his suspenders, shirt, and pants. He had a pair of glasses with higher magnification that could be swung down and put into the view.

  “I wonder if you might have a macadam?”

  Schmidt looked at the man for a moment, as if he had lost his mind. Then Latimer saw the toymaker get the idea.

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t do roadwork.”

  “Well, then do you do this kind of work.”

  Latimer pushed a folded and sealed piece of paper; Schmidt broke the seal and looked at the writing. It was in code.

  “I’ll have to go out to my workshop and see if I have the part needed.”

  “Go ahead. Send out your daughter. I’ve heard stories from the others about her.”

  Schmidt smiled. He called for Evangeline to come into the shop.”

  “Right away, Papa.”

  Evangeline walked out with a long blonde braid down her back. She wore a dirndl style of clothing; The bodice was cut to just below her breasts. Her blouse was cut with a deep décolletage; Her eyes were a stunning blue. Latimer touched her chin fondly. Schmidt saw that his daughter had things well at hand.

  He took out his copy of a bible in German. Using the code he received and the key that was the Bible. He received his instruction in German, which was another layer of code.

  His superiors in Richmond wanted him to steal or reproduce the plans in their entirety. Then send it to Richmond in the usual way. They knew that it was being carried around by the Director of the Secret Service. That meant a surreptitious insertion of a couple of his dolls. That would keep him from being suspected. Wouldn’t it?

  Latimer Johnson had lured the young girl toward the back of the display area. He rubbed the side of her cheek and made clucking noises in his throat.

  “What a beauty you are.”

  “A beauty, Really?”

  “Don’t you know that you are beautiful? Come and look at yourself in the full-length mirror. You have wonderful Breasts.”

  He cupped them and squeezed them gently. They were more substantial than the ones of other women. He put that up to the virtual cloister that she lived in with her father.

  “Don’t you wish to see more of the world. Wear different clothes. Don’t you yearn for the love of a man?”

  “I know of no such things. You are trying to confuse me. People only confuse when they are trying to take things. You are trying to take something from me. That makes you are a thief. DIE, THIEF!”

  Evangeline thrust her hand into the chest of Latimer. She withdrew her hand, holding his heart. She stood over his body, slowly breathing. Some of his blood splattered on her braid.

  Schmidt ran into the display place. He took in the tableau wi
th Evangeline and the late Latimer Johnson. He did not take Schmidt long to realize what happened. Latimer made some sort of romantic proposal. Love was something that Evangeline did not and could not understand.

  Schmidt takes the heart from Evangeline, who just stood there; He cleaned her hands of the blood. He tossed the heart on the body.

  “Evangeline, go to your room and take off all your clothes. Wait for me there. You will let me wash you?”

  “Yes, father.”

  Woodenly she walked off to do her father’s bidding. Schmidt knew that he had to work fast to get rid of the body. He knew a man of the underworld, but they would be worried to carry such a burden on their wagons. Schmidt would have to do it himself. The first thing he would have to do is close the shop for the day.

  He went to the front door and locked it. He pulled down the shades of all of the display windows. He looked around for something to put the man in. He saw a packing crate that all of his parts came in. He dragged the body to the box and managed to roll the body up and in the container.

  Using the hammer he wore on his apron, he hammered home the remaining nails. He backed his wagon up to the dock and engaged the brake. Then he maneuvered the crate onto his cart.

  Schmidt then secured all entry into his shop and residence. Then he went to the Potomac and shoved the crate into the river. Schmidt watched the container gather speed and moved along the river’s middle current. He drove home with a slight pain in his left arm. He ignored it as he did before.

  He stabled his house and put the wagon next to his building. Then he entered their shop and residence. There was that pain in his left arm. He picked up a freshly washed towel and went up to Evangeline’s room.

  “Evie?”

  “Yes, father.”

  “I’m coming in to clean you.”

  “I will permit you.”

  Schmidt opened the door. Evangeline stood naked. She was standing in her room with the window open, which made the room unbearably cold. Schmidt closed the windows. He put a few more pieces of wood into the old Franklin stove. Soon the fire was going, and heat permeated the air in Evangeline’s room.

  With the towel, Schmidt wiped off the blood. He stood back and looked. Evangeline had not aged a day since he created her along with his wife. They had built a daughter to replace the one she could not bear, Schmidt.

  They had worked on her hard. Schmidt’s control system had to be increased to include the ability to simulate thought. When that was completed as well as he could. She made the body and the skin from that new plastic.

  After five years of work, Evangeline was completed. She was their child. She certainly looked very much like her mother. Between them, Evangeline was the daughter his wife wanted. Something akin to love was growing between them. Then five years ago, a tragedy happened.

  Edwina started to complain about pain in her chest. She no longer wanted to go on the outings she once had. Then one morning, she could not be roused from her bed. He had checked her carotid artery. There was no life in her body. He buried his wife, but he forgot to monitor his daughter, Evangeline,

  Evangeline was one of the most complex automata ever built. He had not put in a coping mechanism for grief and loss. He could not fathom his love being taken away and how Evangeline depended on her mother to cope.

  The loss of her mother took away the one that was guiding her through the pseudo-childhood. Schmidt was a craftsman. His wife was intellectual. He barely understood what his wife designed. She took his system for making the automata move around and did something incredible. She made automata that can think, and remember.

  The thing was that Evangeline worked on her own project. She was putting them in some of his automata. They were able to hear what was happening to the automata. When he had video cameras as their eyes, he could use recorded on metal tape.

  Schmidt had the satisfaction of being a proud papa when she developed this new technology. He was now using it. The problem was still how to get at the plans.

  He knew where the plans were. The Secret Service was guarding them in a facility that was a base for agents and offices for some of the more different people like code breakers. He was going to have to make sure that the plans were still there. He would have to work on that.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  A Trip to the Toymaker

  *****

  WHEN WILLIAM WOKE up, his bed was very warm. Laying next to him was Rowena, sleeping in his bed more often than not these days. He had been pressing her to set a date for the wedding in the last few nights. She had her mind full of the Library issues and how to best spend her monthly acquisition budget. The last thing she was thinking about was their wedding.

  Unknown to Rowena, William had begun planning without her. He had everything ready. All William needed to was the date of the wedding. Then he hit on one, April 14, 1861, Johnny’s Birthday.

  He had sent Western Union telegrams to Her mother and younger sister. They had sent back that they would love to come. Rowena’s best Friend also said she would come. William’s Mother and Father also said that they would come. The Secret Service Chaplain agreed to officiate. Now all he had to do now was get her dressed and to the altar.

  He got up. The room was a little chilly; He encouraged the fire with the poker. Soon he had the banked up fire producing light and warmth.

  As he sat on the bed’s edge, he felt thin arms wrap him up in their embrace. Then long delicate fingers ran their hands through his chest hair.

  “Are you recovered, my dear. Is the Lion ready to stalk his prey again?”

  She was still trying to find a term of endearment for him. She always wanted it to be a cat name.

  “This morning? I’m afraid that it is going to be a little bit more Frantic. I tell you what. Close the library at noon, and I’ll give you a nooner you never will forget.”

  “Let’s wait until this evening. We have all the time in the world.”

  William gave her a wan smile. He knew men under his command who were pulled from their marital beds to fight in Mexico. Some came home hale and hearty; some returned missing a limb or two; some were returned from battle in a pine box. He had seen too much of the world. What he was doing now gave him back his zeal for life. He could see Rowena as a librarian in a small midwestern town, and he could be the town sheriff.

  He laughed at that. He and Rowena had grown too big to be comfortable in the small-town setting. Once this war was over, he might be sent to the cities and towns to combat counterfeiting and other money instruments. Rowena would come along. She would rather go home to Chicago if he could manage it.

  “I hear the wheels in your head, turning, William Hazard.”

  “Okay, your Son’s Birthday. Give him the gift of a new Dad. I have it all planned. Agree, and the wedding will be ready for us on that day. It will be the back yard of the house. All the guests know. I can send the telegrams.”

  “Why are you on this kick to get married. I kind of like flaunting my unmarried status to my brother.”

  “You may not have noticed, but he has been thoroughly enjoying Gladys.”

  “My brother is still grasping at the parts of the old way, while the new way sweeps a new custom into general use nearly overnight. He wants me to wear the old-style clothing, while the women he pursues wears the modern clothing.”

  “Yes, your brother is a two-faced man. I got a revelation for you, She-wolf. We all are two faced. We show the face to the woman that increases our chance for instant gratification. There is also the face we wear when we are doing battle in commerce.”

  “What is your battle face?”

  William screwed up his face and stuck out his tongue to the right of his mouth.

  Rowena laughed heartily. “You have done it again, Lion. You have lightened my mood. I need to ask a question. How will you handle Johnny’s last name.”

  “I thought that I would ask if he would like to be adopted by me. That way he could be Johnny Hazard. I think it would end any prop
rietary feeling on the part of your husband’s family.”

  Rowena chuckled a little. “I’d hope that you’d use that option to end their ambitions.”

  “Don’t tell Johnny. I will explain it to him.”

  “Okay. He really does love you.”

  “Got to get down to the Labs. Thomas wants to confront the Toymaker. I’m gonna have to deflect his ire. We could still be wrong about the Toymaker. Wish me luck.”

  “I always do, lion.”

  In the garage while they were getting ready to ride, William decided to speak to Thomas about his plans for the marriage.

  “We’ve set the date, April Fourteenth.”

  Thomas paused for a moment.

  “I asked if the families could come. We are going to use the backyard as the setting. The Chaplain will officiate. What do you think?”

  “Who’s going to be your best man?”

  “You are if you want to.”

  “That is Johnny’s Birthday.”

  “He’d be getting another Dad. I talked with a lawyer. It would be nothing to adopt him.”

  “Then he would be Johnny Hazard. That sounds like one of those action heroes in the boy’s magazines.”

  “I wouldn’t know. My Dad allowed me to see some of his National Police Gazette. I was more interested in that, than in some fiction written by adults down to children.”

  “My sister would be Rowena Hazard.”

  “And I would still be William Hazard.”

  Thomas chuckled at that. He stopped his getting ready.

  “What are we doing?”

  “We want to search the workshop. We can’t get a search warrant because most judges just laughed us out of court. We have to ask to be shown his workshop. Then he can control what we see.”

  “We have to hope that we can see something that would allow us to search his workshop without his permission.”

  William smiled. Rowena took in one of your technical journals as an element of the Library. Read your Article about our Steel Steeds. Thank you for giving me part of the credit.”

  “I also filed for a patent in both our names. One good thing about being in Washington I can ride the invention to the patent office and submit my paperwork. It was approved. There have been some offers that could prove lucrative…”