Death of the Mad Hatter (17 page)

C
HAPTER
T
HIRTY-
O
NE

(
Ryley: Present Time)

Growing up I
’d always been told that I looked like my dad. I used to love it, but when his mind began to deteriorate, I stopped finding the comment to be so enjoyable. Leaning against the far wall of the activities room of the West Harbour Psychiatric Treatment Facility, I tried to not think about the fact that even Alice Mae had said that I look like my dad.
He
looked like a crazy person, but
I
was the one who was going to bring up the topic of alternative worlds or realms.

I walked over to his table. He glanced at me and then
stared off into space, like he was pondering life and death questions.

I set up a chess board. I made my first move and waited. He didn
’t even glance at the board. Minutes droned on. Finally, I took out a mint. At the sound of the wrapper, my dad jerked his head toward me.

“
May I have one?” he asked.

“
If you make a move.”

He moved his pawn. I handed him
a regular piece of candy. Pocket dust clung to the wrapper. He inspected it like a scientist would a Petri dish. He slowly unwrapped it and then licked the mint.

He sighed heavily.
“It’s not the right kind.”

“
The right kind of candy?” I asked.

“
It’s just ordinary,” he said. “I don’t suppose you have any
extra
ordinary ones? They help me think clearly and so I don’t see the creatures that shouldn’t be allowed here. Maybe the nurse has some. They really don’t have the power to keep them from me. I just let them think they have me trapped here.”

A nurse came over after my
dad frantically waved his hands in the air. “Is something wrong?”

“
I would like my medication, the special kind,” my dad said.

She smiled and patted his shoulder.
“I can bring the pills your doctor prescribed.”

He shook his head viciously and dismissed her. After she left, I moved my piece on the chess board. He watched my movement like a snake tracking its prey.

“Do you want the kind of candy that keeps you from seeing?” I asked, thinking about Alice Mae’s candies. “If I got you some, do you think you could tell me about Wonderland? Could you explain the nonsense about it?”

“
Nothing good comes from Wonderland,” he said in a hushed voice. He cupped his hand around my ear and pulled me close. “If there is a rabbit hole nearby, then you are already doomed.”

“I’m screwed because
a few bunnies are around?”

“Rumperbabbits work for
her
, which means that Hearts is close. Did the white rabbit accompany you again? He’s listening to everything you say, a glorified spy and messenger. He reports everything back to her.”

Right on cue,
Dad snatched Mr. Ruth from my coat pocket. He tried to rip the bunny’s head off. Alice Mae would have a heart attack if I brought back the stuffed animal with the fluff on the outside and a separated head. So, I jerked it from my father’s hand. The soft tearing sound of its stitches warned me that it wouldn’t be long before it was in two pieces, so I swung at Dad. My fist collided into his nose. Any questions I asked after that were met with a blank stare and incoherent mumbling.

C
HAPTER
T
HIRTY-
T
WO

(
Alice Mae: Present Time)

A
single, red rose leaned against the bottom of my locker. The stem was covered with black thorns. I stroked a petal, smoothing it between my fingers. I half expected the red paint to rub away…

In Wonderland, I wasn’t beheaded after the queen found me hiding in her closet. The laws were clear. Children are not to be beheaded, even if they are not protected by the Rightdoing Law.

Every creature in Wonderland
was protected by the Rightdoing Law, until they commit a crime. Thus, on their first offense, they cannot be beheaded. The Wrongdoing Law stated that no beheadings shall be conducted until a second crime has been proven. Yet, punishments could still be rendered, and Hearts found quite a punishment for me.

M.H. and I
leaned on her balcony rail that overlooked her rose garden, while Hearts stood behind me. The rose bushes that surrounded her castle were covered with silver thorns that were coated with black gel.

“
One prick will
allegedly
put you on your death bed so I don’t often get unexpected guests. No one has been stupid enough to prune them, so the lethal black poison has never been proven,” Hearts said, handing me a paint brush. “M.H, it would be lovely if you’d show her to the garden shed. Al’s punishment for trespassing is to paint all the white roses red.”

So as the story went,
M.H. led me to the shed where the paint was stored. Inside the lopsided shack were loads of chemicals.
 

“
That was a very brave and stupid thing you said to the queen.” M.H. picked up a bucket of red paint and a brush. “To suggest that Eddie died in any other way besides accident was quite bold.”

“
Well who is clumsy enough to accidentally trip on a guillotine?” 
 

“
You’ll live longer if you refrain from making such comments to the queen,” M.H. warned.

I grabbed a pair of working gloves, knocking over a few bottles in the process. I quickly picked them up, but stopped suddenly when I grabbed one
with a skull and crossbones etched on the side.

“Why is this here?” I asked holding up the bottle.

“I told you, remember? It acts like a snake repellent,” M.H. said. “Hearts doesn’t like creepy-crawlies near unless she can control them.”

I set the bottle down and picked up a
jug of pesticide. “I wonder what would happen if all the antidotes and repellent were to mysteriously disappear or be replaced with something lethal.”

“
What are you thinking, Al?”

I looked around to make sure that no one was listening.
“Remember the day you told me about your candy operation?”

“
My memory is not at a loss,” he said in a hushed tone. “I asked you to make a decision to help me and Robby create a delicious poison. You left me hanging for an answer.”

“
It seems like you are creating all of the potions, so what does Robby do?” I asked, unscrewing the top of the pesticide jug.

“
One day will come when I create a tonic that smells and tastes like tea but is fatal from one drop.” M.H. set the paint bucket down and sat on it. He took off his goggles and tucked them inside his suit pocket. “Robby is a dear friend and plans to do what no other creature in Wonderland will.”

“Which is?”

“Find a way to stop time and then take the first drink,” M.H. said. “Hearts never takes a sip of tea until someone else does first. Robby volunteered to be the one who samples the poisoned tea.”

“But then he’ll die
too!”

“I’ve pointed out such consequences to him as well.
Even so, he says that it is his responsibility to ensure the creatures of Wonderland are safe from her Reign of Terror. Hearts killed his brother, runs a dictatorship in the Red Court, tortures the seamstress, and has
dismantled
everyone who stands in her way. Even if he has to die, he’ll do so because it will end her reign.” 

“Surely there is another way! If everyone in the court hates her, why do they allow her to rule? I’m surprised more creatures aren’t plotting an assassination.”

“Hearts has an army of soldiers and a loyal escort of women who will abide by her every order,” M.H. said. “Besides, Robby would rather spare the creatures from a bloody war.”

“
And then who will rule if Hearts and Robby both die?”

M.H. shrugged his shoulders.
“The rumperbabbit clan? There will always be a ruler and sometimes that creature is most unexpected.”

“
Oh, which reminds me, Mr. Ruth really doesn’t like being considered just a messenger.”

“
I’m aware, but sometimes we have to be called names we don’t like, for our own protection.”

“
So why do you need me?”

“
Robby needs candies to keep his head on straight while he’s in the Otherworld. The queen is watching the rumperbabbits more closely because of the
Bleeding Heart Prophecy
, and the Jack has warned me that the queen will discover all my comings and goings.”

“So you need me to be a deliverer?”

“You’ve come to a crossroads. You must choose sides. So, I will ask once more,
will you help us kill the queen?”

“Why does it matter if my ultimate decision will be
Wrong?”

“Because not everything you do will be wrong.”
M.H. nodded at the pesticide in my hand. “What are you going to do with that?”

“I hope I make some good decisions, bu
t since the Wrongdoing laws protect me from death, I’m going to enjoy committing a crime worthy of this punishment.” I unscrewed the lid and poured the liquid into the paint bucket.
“I’m going to do exactly what the queen wanted—paint the roses red and hope she enjoys my unconventional way of expressing myself.”

Ryley pulled me out of my thoughts when he plucked the red rose from my hands.
 
“Is there another guy that is pining for your attention?” 

Another guy
pining for my attention? Was he
still
gunning for that role? I thought my plan had failed when he figured out that Courtney mysteriously got sick on their date because of me. “You’re not mad at me anymore?”

He stood as still as a statue, yet, I could almost hear the wheels turning in his mind. He was weighing his options.
And then—for the first time—I thought that he might be trying to manipulate me. Work me like I had been working him. However, my job description had been “Liar” for much longer, so I was seasoned at outsmarting the amateurs.

I said,
“When you figure out an answer—”

“
Why did you want her sick?”

The truth flew out of my mouth before I could silence it
. “I wanted to be on that date instead of her.”

“
That is the least amount of information you’d dare to give me,” he said. “You’re playing with my emotions. You’re toying with me, and believe me, you are a good at it. I shouldn’t even say this… But, I think you are telling me the truth, at least the part where you admit to liking me, which makes the lies you tell harder to decipher. So, you do actually like me, don’t you?”

My cheeks burned
. How did he figure that out? I’d excelled at being confusing and speaking in riddles. Instead of answering, I acted like he hadn’t just frazzled me by getting on with my day. I opened my locker door. A spew of my novels tumbled out with my school books, along with an array of toys that I’d pillaged
from the Joker over the years. If the madman knew I’d been behind the mysterious disappearances he wouldn’t wait for the queen’s order to execute me now that the Wrongdoing Laws no longer protected me and the Rightdoing Laws didn’t keep me safe because of my past crimes. One more offense and I’d hear the queen yell, “Off with her head!”

“
You’re quite the reader,” Ryley said, eyeing my books.

“
I’d live in a library if I weren’t keeping my aunts company,” I said, glad to talk about anything besides Wonderland and my deceitful ways.

Reading the titles of my books, h
e sniffed the flower. “Why does this rose smell like pesticide?” 
 

The corners of my mouth went up.
“All the red roses in Wonderland smell like that because of an old prank I played on the queen before….before I knew better. Consequently, all red roses carry that scent now.”

“
You’re not the sweet, innocent girl you try to make yourself out to be.” Ryley examined the flower like it had otherworldly value that I wasn’t telling him. “Who sent you the flower?”

“
Hearts,” I said. “It’s a reminder.”

“
A reminder for what?”

I thought about lying to him. But I wanted to see what he would do if I told him the truth, even if I had to make it
seem like a lie. I picked one of the dying petals off of the rose. “That I have a job to do no matter what the consequence.”

“
I know Hearts wanted something from my dad. That’s clear. And, my dad is hell-bent on keeping me and my mom a secret, so I can’t help but think that Hearts wants something from me as well.”

“
Hearts wants something from all of us.”

“
What do
you
want?”

His brown eyes turned so dark, I swore they stole the color of the night sky. He took my hand and pulled me up off the floor. Standing in the middle of some very dangerous toys, he kissed me on my cheek
so lightly that I could have been made to believe it hadn’t really happened. But there was no convincing my heart it hadn’t. My plan backfired… How was I to lure him into the Red Court now?

“
What do you want, Alice Mae?”

My confession came out air
ily. “Freedom.”

“
Hearts has something on you, doesn’t she?”

Something?
No. Try
someone.
“Yes.”

“
What?”

Pressing my lips into a thin line, I smiled weakly. I stepped away from him and shook my head. For being so smart, he sure was
dim-witted. “What do you think, Ryley?”