Death of the Mad Hatter (12 page)

C
HAPTER
E
IGHTEEN

(
Ryley: Present Time)

“
You deserve a makeup date,” I said, pulling the car into her driveway. “Unless your sickness was actually an exit strategy and you want nothing to do with me.”

She looked
like a wreck and needed a bathroom
stat
. But she managed a polite smile. “I heard rumors that you were a good kisser.”

Time
out: How does one respond to that?

“
I’d like very much to see for myself,” she said, and then made a mad dash for the house with her hand over her mouth.

When I pulled into the driveway, Mick and Dax were walking up the front steps. Mick had a stack of papers in his hand. I honked twice, gaining their attention. I met them on the porch.

“
I was just going to drop this off with your mom,” Mick said. “I thought you had a date with Courtney tonight.”

“
She got sick.”

“
She bailed on you, huh?” Dax said.

“
Something like that,” I said, thankful that they hadn’t heard about my accusation yet. I glanced at a stack of papers in Mick’s hand. “What’s that?”

He shoved a
“missing poster” into my hands. Drawn with colored pencils was an animation of Mr. Ruth. Scribbled at the top of the missing poster was Alice Mae Liddell’s phone number as well as her address. Clearly, this girl hadn’t heard of a computer since everything was handwritten.

“
Alice Mae called me today, at six thirty in the morning. She was freaking out because someone had stolen her stuffed bunny,” Mick said. “I thought it was a crank call, until I went to her house to calm her down. She was ballin’ her eyes out and drawing up these posters. She asked me to pass them out.”

Dax leaned
against the porch railing. “And Charming here called me up to hang out—aka, tricked me into helping him.”

“
Alice Mae had your phone number?” I asked.

“
No girl can turn me down, but I will admit that she took more persuading than most,” he said. “But, it’s no longer an exclusive number. Most everyone in town that didn’t slam their door in my face now has her digits.”

“
I’ll let you know if the critter hops into my life,” I said, keeping my back to them since Mr. Ruth was still stuffed in my back pocket. With my hand on the front door, I asked, “Dax, do you want to keep passing out posters for a girl you have no interest in or chill out with me for a few hours?”

“
You have anything to eat?” Dax asked, and pushed past me.

“
You’re just going to let me pass all these out by myself?” Mick asked as the screen door closed.

“
I’m not the one who wants in her pants,” I said. “But if you want to hang out and then tell Alice Mae you passed out all you could, I won’t rat you out.”

For a half a second
, Dax looked hopeful that Mick would agree. The prospect of a video gamer night—a gamers’ dream evening—was an offer that few guys could turn down.

“
Naw, I’ll just drop these off and offer her an arm to cry on,” Mick said and left.

My knuckles cracked. I’d balled up the missing poster without realizing it. I seriously needed to get control of myself! Why did I even care?

Grabbing a bag of spicy potato chips and little weenies, I got the television in my room set up. It’d been far too long since I’d been able to veg out in front of the big screen. I grabbed my staple drink of iced tea and a Coke for Dax.

“
Is this all part of your evil plan to get Alice Mae to tell you how and what she knows about your dad?” Dax said, holding up Mr. Ruth that I had put on my nightstand. “Why are you, and every straight male, fixated on Alice Mae?”

“
I don’t like her,” I stated and grabbed the bunny by the ears and shoved him under my bed sheets. “Why would I bother with Courtney if I was—”

“
Oh, I don’t know,” he said, sarcastically. “Maybe because you’re
madly
in love with her?”

I held the crumpled missing poster and tossed
it into my trash can. It hit the rim and bounced out. He still didn’t look convinced so I pulled out my cell phone and sent Courtney a text, saying that I hoped she felt better and that I’ll be thinking of her tonight. I held up the screen up to Dax before I pressed send.

“Do I have to quote Shakespeare?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“
You protest too much.”

“I don’t like Alice Mae.”

“Then why are you carrying around her rabbit?” he asked, glancing at the bunny ears sticking out of the sheets.

“Leverage.”

“Light bulb!” Dax said, looking up at the metaphorical light above his head. “Instead of kidnapping her things to get her to talk, maybe you should ask your dad what he knows about Alice Mae instead of the other way around.”

C
HAPTER
N
INETEEN

(
Ryley: Present Time)

The
West Harbour Psychiatric Treatment Facility—aka my dad’s home sweet home—might as well have been a lone brick building constructed on top of some hill, with bats flying over the towers, and overgrown grass on the walkways, but it didn’t have any of those psych ward stereotypical characteristics. In fact, crab apple trees lined the road up to the white painted hospital. The grass was manicured like a golf course. Blue birds chirped in the blue sky.

A lady at the front desk asked me to sign the facility
’s register. I adjusted my North Carolina hat so that my eyes barely showed. I kept my head down and waited in silence for the staff to let me in. I was forbidden access into his personal room. So, when the nurse led me into a large recreation room, I wasn’t surprised that I barely recognized my dad.

His gray hair stuck out in every possible direction. His
brown eyes were hidden under the mop that was his hair. His leathery skin was sagging and more wrinkled than most fifty year olds. He wore a white t-shirt that had a grid drawn on it with paint. In the center of the grid, there was a black circle. It looked similar to Einstein’s theory of relativity. He used to be a profound physicist, back in the day, which was possibly why I wanted to go into that area of expertise. It would give me some way to connect to the man who fathered me until his schizophrenia stole him from my mom and me. But then again, his drawing could just be a botched tic-tac-toe board.

Rocking back and forth on a wooden chair, he reached out to the nurse.
“I must speak with M.H! Urgent business. Tick tock, time is running out! Unless I find a way to stop it, and stop her—stop them. I must find a way! It’s the only way! I have to stop her and Hearts! Where is she? Where is Al? She will know where M.H. is hiding!”

“
Al isn’t your visitor today, Robert,” the nurse said in a calm, passive voice.

“
Robby! How many times do I have to tell you to address me as Robby? Only one despicable person calls me Robert, so I don’t want to be reminded of
her
.” My dad scanned the room. “If Al isn’t visiting me, then who?”

“
Ryley is your visitor,” the nurse said.

“
I have a son named Ryley,” my dad said, looking straight at me. “Or was it a girl? Girls have boy names, boys have girl names. It’s all somewhat confusing. Fetch me the girl with the boy’s name, my young lad.”

Young lad?
I wondered what century or geographical location he thought he was in, talking like that.

I
sat down in the chair beside him. He stared at me before his eyes drifted to the floor. Mr. Ruth rested on his shoe. I hadn’t even realized it had fallen out of my pocket. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear it hopped out; but that would be absurd. I snatched it up and shoved it in my coat pocket. Staring at the stuffed animal, Dad mumbled a word that sounded too much like rumperbabbit to be coincidental. Mom was right. He knew something; the same something that Alice Mae knew. Secrets were locked in his mind; I just had to find a way to retrieve them.

I
kept my hand in my pocket with a tight grip on Mr. Ruth, I said, “Dad, there’s this girl—”

“That belongs to my son!”

He grabbed my wrist that had the watch and jerked it. Keeping a tight grip on Mr. Ruth’s ears while my father pried at the watch, I tried to gently push my father away.

“
Give it back! It’s his! That belongs to my boy!”

“
Dad, I’m your son. I’m Ryley. I need you to concentrate. Do you know an Alice Mae or her two aunts? Vida Maud—”

“
Get your hands off me, you heathen!”

The nurse pulled me a
side. When we were out of hearing range, she said, “I am really sorry, Ryley. He’s showed few signs of improvement of late.”

“
Who is Hearts?” I asked.

“I’ll have the doctor explain.”

She escorted me to a private conference room and told me that a doctor would be in soon to explain my dad’s deterioration. A crusty old man entered about thirty minutes later. He pulled up my dad’s records on the computer. From the notes, he told me that Hearts was some sort of royalty.

“
A queen?” I asked.

“
That is the conclusion we had come to.”

“
Who is Al? And why is he visiting my dad?”

“
Al is actually a young girl.” The doctor paused a moment to let me absorb the information. “A young, blonde haired girl.”

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY

(
Alice Mae: Fourth visit to Wonderland)

The white rabbit—an unsuspecting curious creature in the Otherworld—was the animal at the bottom of the Wonderland totem pole. That
piqued my interest, if I dismissed that it was my favorite animal. Nonetheless, the white rabbit, along with every other rumperbabbit, was regarded as a lower class citizen. M.H. acted like the animal was just a messenger of sorts, but I was beginning to think the creature was a much bigger role in the story than M.H. had led me to believe.

So when the white rabbit showed up in my veggie garden for the
fourth time, I decided not to chase it. “What’s your name?” I asked.

The white rabbit made no indication that it understood a lick of what I was saying. It just stared at me with its
two little eyes and twitched its nose.

“
I won’t hurt you,” I said, pushing a carrot toward it. “I just want to know why M.H. thinks you to be only a messenger.”

The rabbit
’s nose stopped twitching—for a half a beat. Then, it took off running. And so the chase quickly ended with me falling down the rabbit hole that was next to my aunts’ apple tree.

My entrance to Wonderland didn’t open to a vast forest, or to M.H.’s mushroom house. I peered out of a grandfather clock. The dials turned forward very slowly. Springs and screws were laying all around the clock. Climbing out of the clock, I was knocked on the head by the second hand, and then stumbled to a floor. It was composed of white marble and black granite. I was in a hallway fit for a king. Red drapes hung from the windows, blowing with the night wind. Gold trim framed the hallway.

Entranced by the sparkling black chandelier hanging below a ceiling painting of an abstract winter scene, I screamed out when a gigantic white monster hopped up beside me and stepped on the hem of my dress. I swallowed a scream. When my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the closet, I
noticed that it was the white rabbit, only that it was the same size as me—or rather, I was the same size as it.

“
My name is Rutherford but I will terrorize your garden if I ever hear you call me that, and I have good hearing,” the rabbit said and pointed to its long ears.

“
What shall I call you then? The white rabbit?”

“
Mr. Ruth,” the white rabbit spat. “Everyone else might know me simply as the white rabbit—like I’m not important enough to have a name. But it doesn’t mean I don’t have a name… Just because bunnies lost the queen’s popularity contest it doesn’t mean we are insignificant.”

“
It’s nice to meet you,” I said, holding out my hand.

The rabbit
gaped at my hand like I had sneezed onto it. My palm was dirty—I was dirty. Covered in the stuff actually. Water and mud dripped from my clothing and gathered on the floor, creating quite a sopping mess.

“
If you keep sticking your arms and legs out like you are going to slow your descent, all you’ll do is get dirty and quite bruised, stupid girl,” Mr. Ruth said.

Why did everyone insist that I was stupid?
“Tell you what little bunny; I will never address you by the white rabbit if you agree never to call me names again. I don’t appreciate being called stupid.”

“
Fine,” the rabbit said. “M.H. said I was only a messenger? Calling me a messenger is a demotion that I will not allow! If he thinks that I will hop around doing his bidding just because he’s buds with Robby, he’s got another think coming!”

“
What is the big deal with this Robby fellow?”

The rabbit
’s mouth dropped. “You seriously don’t know anything, about anything, do you stupid—do you Al?”

“
It’s becoming quite obvious I know little about Wonderland,” I stated, trying to keep my frustration under wraps.

“
Robby is the only living member of the Edgar family…” he said, and then added. “Or so we thought.”

Footsteps sounded. The white rabbit took
off; hopping like its fluffy tail was on fire. I raced after him, leaving a trail of tiny footprints on the checkered tile. Unable to keep up with the rabbit, I made a beeline for the window, planning to hide behind the drapes.

“
Moon burn is a real threat, Al!” the rabbit said from behind a closet door. “In here, with me!”

I darted behind a door along the hallway. Just as we pulled the humongous door shut, I heard the queen. If I hadn
’t spent an afternoon trapped in a tea pot listening to her, I might not have believed that she was the queen. Her voice was high and shrill. She had the body of a child, but the face of an adult. And the curly red hair of a doll I played with in the Otherworld.

Behind her was a boy my age, being dragged by M.H. If I hadn
’t known better, I would have thought that he was a loyal servant of the queen—a double agent. The boy had wild brown hair and eyes that looked like russet chocolates. The boy’s eyes changed darker, which was an indication of the Wonderland creatures.

“
I knew Robert’s child would stumble down a rabbit hole, M.H.” Hearts said, pleased with the good fortune.

“
You’re working for the queen, Mr. Ruth? You dig holes for her?”

“
There is more than one rabbit in Wonderland, so don’t go making accusations that I sided with the queen. She’d just as quickly behead me as help me in a pinch.”

“
I’d help you in a pinch.”

The rabbit
scrutinized me, like he was trying to find the lie in my statement. “I heard a rumor from Alfred that you said you’d prefer the company of a rabbit than to a spider.”

“
I did.”

The rabbit
’s nose twitched. “You… you actually like rumperbabbits?”

“
What’s not to love?”

He shook his
head in confusion. But, he did scoot a little closer to me, even though he didn’t answer my question.

“
Do you really think Robby Edgar would take the chance of coming back to Wonderland?” M.H. asked, looking at the boy.

“
My dad knows this place?” the boy asked. His voice squeaked at the end.

The queen walked over to him
. Every floor tile she stepped on flashed and then quickly dimmed. Following her was the old man, Jack, and a younger version of him. A man wearing a dunce hat and striped black and white leggings sat on the floor beside the table. He had the same beady black eyes as the butler. The family genetics were uncanny. He looked like a much younger version of the butler. Judging from the playing cards that he shuffled in his hands, I assumed him to be the Joker.

“
Where did you think he came from?” the Joker asked, staring at the boy.

The boy crossed his arms and stared at the queen. If his glare was any indication, he was not happy about b
eing regarded as unintelligent. “A stork?” the boy said, mockingly.

The Joker stopped shuffling his cards. Without warning, he thrust his arm in the air and released the cards. Fire lit from each card
as they changed from playing cards to tarot cards. White smoke filled the air. The Jack walked around the boy, observing every single card. He managed to keep watch on each card as it hit the floor. Some sizzled as they made contact. Others burned into ash. But a few others shined brilliantly like blood on a knife.

“
Pick up three cards, child,” the Joker said, speaking pleasantly to the boy.

“
You pick them up!” the boy exclaimed. “
You
made the mess!”

The Jack knelt beside the boy. A word wasn
’t spoken, but after he snapped his fingers the boy carefully chose three cards and handed them to the Joker.

“
What’s your name, boy?” the queen asked.

The boy hesitated. He shifted nervously from foot to foot.
The boy gaped at the queen, like he wasn’t sure of what had just happened.

“
I only ask because I do not know how to address you,” Hearts said and smiled the most trustworthy smile a person could replicate.

“
You may call me Sir Underwear Superpants,” the boy mocked.

Even I knew that wasn
’t his real name.

The Joker showed the queen the cards the boy had chosen.
“The card of death. And…” the queen stopped looking at the cards. “How is this supposed to be an accurate reading when there are still playing cards mixed in with the tarot cards?”

“
What did he choose?” M.H. asked, looking at the Jack like the old man had all the answers.

“
Deuce of hearts,” the Joker said. “A king of spades.”

“Robby favors the spade symbol. This boy is his son,” M.H. said.

“Stop acting like you know anything about prophesying!” Hearts said. “Jack, what do you make of it?”

The Jack walked over to the queen and took the card. He grabbed a pencil from somewhere in his pocket and scribbled on the card. After h
e was done, he tore it in half. One piece he handed to the boy and the other was given to M.H. Without uttering a word, the Jack walked away.

“
What does the prophecy read?” Hearts asked.

“
The HATed fool will die,” the boy said.

The Joker snatched up the card and read the words. “The
HATed fool will die
twice
,” the Joker said, making an amendment to the prophecy. The Joker handed the torn card to M.H. “Another incomprehensible prophecy given by a senile old man. Anyone with a seeing eye knew there was supposed to be a ‘twice’ at the end of that phrase.”

M.H.
read what the Jack wrote on his half of the card. “Before the MADness stops. It’s a
Madmen’s Prophecy
.”

“
So the entire prophecy states that the HATed fool will die twice before the MADness stops,” Chez repeated. “Tell me, Joker, how does someone die twice?”

“How am I to know?” the Joker said. “But I’d love to play with the fool whose death can be repeated. My play dates would last much longer if someone could be killed over and over again.”

“Enough of this rubbish!” Hearts said, rubbing her temples.

Just then, a man
dressed in business clothes ran into the room. An army of card soldiers and two white painted women with red hearts marked on their faces followed. The man looked like an older version of the boy. He exchanged a quick glance with M.H. but neither man spoke a word to the other.

“
Dad!” the boy shouted.

The Joker flung a card in front of the boy. Normally, a thrown card
wouldn’t have given me pause, but the paper card shimmered and glistened as it twirled. From the sparks, dozens of spikes protruded from the paper. The boy stopped before it grazed his face. The card hit the floor with a loud thud. It stuck, unmoving, because one of the spikes jammed into the tile.

The Joker
sneered, “Dare I say that this boy belongs to Robert Edgar—commonly known as Robby the Banished Prince?”

The queen clapped her hands. A door, a fifth the size of the human door, snapped open. Four frogs wearing a
bellhop uniforms raced in, carrying a golden stool.

“
My, my, what a pleasant surprise, Robert,” Hearts said condescendingly as she stepped on the golden stool—still being held by the four frogs. They raised her so she was just high enough to be face to face with the intruder.

The man winced as the frogs
’ legs began to buckle and shake under the queen’s weight. However, he quickly regained his cold, hard composure. “My dear sister-in-law, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen your ugly face.”

“
I was hoping it’d be another decade or two before we met again. Since you accused me of the unspeakable last time we were together.” The queen inspected Robert. “Your eyes aren’t dilated. Someone has been slipping you sweets. Who?”