Unlocking the Kingdom Read online

  Kate Young was always unpredictable and seemed unfazed by Shep’s bluff of force. Taller than Shep, her height accentuated by her heels, she looked down on him but did not back away. Punky waited for a cue from Kate, but she gave him nothing. He glanced nervously at Jonathan and took a step back.

  Hawk rose to his feet and walked toward the tense activity taking place just inside his doorway. He took the camera out of Jonathan’s hand. With a pat on the back, he stepped past him and handed the device back to Punky.

  “Leave it off for now,” Hawk said, before releasing it into Punky’s clutched hand.

  “Sure,” Punky said, and took another step back toward the door.

  Now Hawk placed a hand on Shep’s shoulder and gently tugged back. Shep got the signal and backed up a full step from where he had been standing facing Kate.

  “Hello, Kate.” Hawk angled himself in between the pair. “What can we do for you?”

  “We were trying to get some moments with you at home.” She looked over Hawk toward Juliette. “This was on the schedule for today.”

  “As you can see, we have been distracted by some unforeseen circumstances.” Juliette motioned across the room. “I hadn’t had a chance to talk with Hawk about the schedule yet.”

  “I still have to get the footage for the show.” Kate tilted her head and shrugged.

  “Kate, this is not a good time,” Hawk said to her.

  “Hawk, that is not how this works,” She replied gently.

  Hawk spun back toward the door. Motioning to Jonathan for help, he pointed toward Punky, who had taken yet another step closer to the exit.

  “Punky, you take your camera and get out now. Wait outside.” Hawk turned toward Kate. “And you, follow me.”

  Kate nodded toward Punky. “I’ll be fine here. Go back to the resort. I’ll call later.” He slid out the door with his camera and was gone.

  He walked through the damaged apartment and realized there was no place to go that was not demolished. Taking the clearest path he could find, he edged into the kitchen, where every cabinet had been gutted and left open. He stepped over the clutter and leaned against the counter, facing her. He tried to read her, and her chin jutted out slightly as if getting ready for battle. Well, he imagined she had been through this type of encounter before.

  “Kate, can you just back off a little bit?” He kept his voice calm and his tone soft. “You have taken some pretty good shots at me today. And tonight I walk into this . . . in my home.”

  Her lips parted, and her gaze softened. “You’re not going to rant and rave, end the agreement, and involve Total Access’s legal team?”

  When she looked like that, he paused, almost wanting to reassure her. He realized then just how good she was at getting her story. “Not just yet. But cut me some slack here, OK?”

  “Hawk, look . . . I am sorry that today got a little rough for you. Like I said, it’s my job. It was not personal, it was never personal. I backed off, and I hope you’re going to continue our agreement and give me total access. That means whatever is happening here, right now, is a part of that.”

  Hawk looked over his shoulder at Juliette, who got up and made her way in their direction. Farren smiled kindly at Hawk, and Jonathan stood with his back against the door like someone was going to break in at any moment.

  Hawk took a deep breath. “You aren’t catching me at my best. This is a mess, and my life is . . .”

  “Your life is exactly what I’m here to see. So far, I’ve seen you preach and teach with a clarity that I’ve never, ever heard in church before. I think you actually believe that you can change the world. I’ve seen you drive into the middle of nowhere into a storm to go digging in a cemetery to find something. Which, by the way, looks a lot like that round package that the older gentleman is holding right over there.” She pointed toward Farren. “Before we can get out of the cemetery, someone attacks you and tries to take what you found. Listen to me: The chief creative architect of the Walt Disney Company is attacked in the middle of the night and someone tries to steal something from him, and I get it on tape. But then it gets even better . . .”

  Kate started pacing the kitchen, trying to avoid the obstacles all over the floor. “You fight back. You go after this guy that attacked you. And you fight pretty well, by the way. My crew tries to help you, and you end up with your discovery. But you don’t ever mention calling the law, you get irritated at me and hint there might be something really big going on, and if I will just play nice, you will let me know ‘off the record’ all about it.”

  Now standing across the small kitchen from him, she placed her hands on her hips. “Then today I let you know I’ve uncovered some deep dark secret from your past, and you don’t want to answer my questions, but I give you the chance.” Her voice was getting louder. “It broke my heart to watch you squirm in the interview . . . and for just a few moments, I hated doing my job. But I let you off the hook. I still don’t know why . . . but I didn’t show the cemetery footage. I knew you would be spinning and trying to recover from the media coverage of that for months.” She waved a hand at Juliette. “I know you don’t want that, and I don’t want you to have to do that . . .”

  Kate turned back to Hawk. “Then tonight I come here, as I had asked to do, and find your private apartment on Main Street USA in Walt Disney World, in the theme park mind you, has been broken into. And you are mad and irritated at me. Short stuff over there—” She gestured toward Shep. “— acts like he’s going to punch me, and you start shoving around my cameraman . . . who, in case you forgot, helped you last night when you got attacked.” Stepping back, she waved both arms in a grand gesture. “If you haven’t taken inventory of your life lately, Grayson Hawkes . . . it is a mess! I can see it, and I have only known you for two days.”

  Silence spilled over the apartment. Kate was breathing hard. Her gaze was fixed on Hawk, and all eyes in the room were cutting between Kate on one side of the kitchen and Hawk on the other.

  “Well, when you put it that way, I guess it is a mess.” Hawk slowly rolled his eyes and stepped past her, moving back into the living room and taking his seat across from Farren. He watched her from the corners of his eyes.

  Kate placed her hand over her forehead, stretched her fingers across her temples, and started to laugh as though she hadn’t expected him to agree with her. Juliette snickered. Shep rocked up on tiptoe in an attempt to look taller and drifted back toward where they were seated. Jonathan turned the lock on the apartment door and pushed off it to make his way back. Juliette left Kate in the kitchen and joined the circle of friends. Hawk settled in his seat and looked up into the pleasant face of Farren Rales, who was still clutching the package. He had not moved throughout the entire exchange. He once again held out the cylinder for Hawk to take from him.

  “Unlock what never was, to protect what is yet to be,” the old Imagineer said, as Hawk took the wrapped package.

  “What am I going to do about her?” Hawk gestured with a thumb over his shoulder toward Kate, who he could still see watching them from the kitchen.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  * * *

  “COME IN HERE AND JOIN US, MS. YOUNG.” Farren motioned Kate into the living room. “Perhaps we should give her what she really wants . . . the story of a lifetime.” Farren then whispered to Hawk, “Within reason, of course. Some secrets are best left secret.”

  “Agreed,” Hawk said.

  Jonathan pulled another chair from where it had been tossed onto the floor, and Kate sat down next to Hawk. Farren cleared his throat.

  “Let me introduce myself. I am Farren Rales. I am officially an ambassador for the Walt Disney Company. I am an Imagineer. Some consider me a legend. Others, my dear . . . well, they just consider me old.” He smiled. “I am a storyteller and have been around a long, long time. But you are here looking for a story and trying to get the untold story of how a preacher could become the chief creative architect of the Walt Disney Company. So, considering
all that has happened and some of the things you have seen . . . you need some type of explanation to understand it all. Correct?”

  “That would be helpful.” Kate nodded.

  “Because if we don’t help you understand, then you will draw your own conclusions and tell some type of story that might damage the reputation of Hawk or even this company.”

  “I’m not here to do a hatchet job.”

  “But you will.” Farren reached out and patted her arm. “What else could you do with what you have seen? However, it would be mutually beneficial for all of us if we could have a better story told. Better for us, because it would help you understand that our leader is not just the average everyday grave robber; better for you, because the story we have to share is a classic Disney story that is nothing short of fantastic.”

  “I can hardly wait.” Kate smiled at the old Imagineer.

  “There is one request you must grant before we go any further.”

  “There always is . . .” She sat back in her seat expectantly.

  “No cameras. You get to be a part of the story, and then when you have it all . . . then you decide how best to tell it to others.”

  “Total Access is a production. We are visual, and we have made our reputation on the footage we capture and on the way we use it to tell a story.”

  “I understand how to tell a story. This is a story that you will discover is worth doing differently.” Farren glanced to Hawk, who was listening, puzzled. “Trust me, what you will find will amaze you.”

  “But no cameras?” She looked skeptically at the people seated around her. “What happens if I don’t agree to this new arrangement?”

  “Then I am sure that Total Access and Juliette can argue about what happens next, but I can promise you this, you will miss out on the story of a lifetime.” Farren’s eyes sparkled. “But if you are willing to take a chance, you might just find a story that is . . . beyond belief.”

  Silence drifted across the room as Kate pondered her options. Hawk knew she was intrigued by the invitation Farren had just placed before her. His mind whirled, rooting through the information circling his brain as he processed the old Imagineer’s strategy . Hawk understood they were in a mess. Total Access could not realistically back away from the story it had stumbled into by following him to the cemetery. Added to that was the information about his past—tragic and embarrassing, the story would become a feeding frenzy for scandal nuts and haters. Then the footage of him jumping from boat to boat in Pirates of the Caribbean with the hint that something was wrong in the theme parks, and now a break-in at his private residence right on Main Street USA. Sadly, in a matter of hours, Hawk had generated enough bad news to leave the media talking heads with their tongues wagging and shareholders of the company more than a little jittery.

  If Kate Young could be an ally and not an adversary, it would make this new mystery easier to solve, because he wouldn’t be distracted by trying to keep Total Access from gaining access. Hawk realized that Farren was taking a chance that might just backfire, but the risk at this point had to be worth it. In just a couple of days, his magical eighteen-month run at the helm of this company that he loved had begun cracking around the edges.

  As the soundtrack for the evening parade began to play, a tremor shook the room. The parade began in the alley right outside the Fire Station. The route looped through Town Square, past the Train Station, and past the Town Square Theater, before it went straight down Main Street USA toward Cinderella Castle. The window of Hawk’s apartment provided a unique view of the parade that few ever had the chance to see. The lights of the parade floats shone through the window and sparkled off objects in the room. On this night it improved the disastrous condition of the Hawk’s Nest. With the parade providing the background music, the group waited for Kate to make a decision.

  “I’m in.” Kate glanced at Hawk and then looked back toward Farren. “Tell me a story.”

  “Our friend Grayson Hawkes was chosen by Walt Disney himself to lead this company,” Farren said with a huge grin.

  Kate sat back in her chair and crossed her legs. She tilted her head. “So Hawk got the job because Walt Disney wanted him to have it?”

  “Ultimately, yes.” Farren leaned forward and lowered his voice. “But the selection process was left to me.”

  “You’ve got me.” She clasped her hands in her lap. “I suppose you can convince me of this, right?”

  “Of course I can. I will be happy to fill in the details for you. But for now, you are going to have to learn as you go, I’m afraid.” He nodded toward Hawk to open the package. “For right now, we have work to do.”

  Hawk, taking the signal from Farren, began to unwrap the discovery he had made in the cemetery the night before. Slowly unwinding the rope that encased the burlap, he freed the last wrapping. Then, gingerly peeling back the layers of burlap, he released the prize inside.

  It was a figurine. Approximately eleven inches in height. An intricately detailed figure of a cowboy; shirt, jeans, and scarf, with his left arm extended to hoist his cowboy hat in the air in celebration. It was a work of art, displaying a high level of craftsmanship. Hawk raised his eyebrows and turned it over in his hands, studying it. The rest of the group leaned in closer, and Hawk held the figure up in front of them so they could get a better view.

  “That was the special delivery from Aunt Jessie?” Shep asked.

  “Aunt Jessie is Walt Disney’s aunt,” Hawk said, for Kate’s information, as he slowly maneuvered the figure, looking at it with a 360-degree perspective. “Aunt Jessie was the postmaster of Paisley, Florida. She’s buried in the cemetery. Actually, in the family plot where I found this.”

  Hawk continued to study the figure, as he quickly rattled off details about Walt’s grandparents, the picture, the words written on it, and how he had figured out where to look for the special delivery. He noticed Kate would get a curious look on her face and want to ask something but refrained. He continued to explain how he’d ended up in the cemetery, hoping it would keep her intrigued in the mystery.

  Kate reached out to take the figure from Hawk, but he pulled it away from her and handed it to Farren.

  “Hold on,” Kate blurted. “So you have this puzzle you are trying to solve and you find that? What is that? A cowboy doll?”

  “A clue. Come on, Kate, you’re going to have to keep up,” Hawk chided, as he waited for Farren to finish examining it. “A clue that I hope will help me find whatever it is that Walt Disney is trying to tell me.”

  Kate’s mouth dropped open slightly. Juliette touched her sleeve to get her attention.

  “Now, didn’t we tell you this would be a story almost beyond belief?” Juliette smiled brightly at her.

  “I haven’t seen this in . . . well . . . since 1975.” Farren smiled, and his eyes grew misty. “Isn’t it a work of art? This was a model designed by Imagineering legend Marc Davis. It is a model piece from the Western River Expedition attraction.”

  “The Western River Expedition that was the main attraction in Thunder Mesa? The same one that George Colmes worked on or stopped from being built?” Hawk leaned forward.

  “One and the same.”

  “Who is George Colmes?” Kate asked.

  “A ghost,” Shep answered.

  “Is not.” Juliette folded her arms. “He is another seasoned Imagineer, but I don’t know what he has to do with anything yet. Just hang on. Listen to the story.”

  “You can learn a lot by paying attention and getting the real story,” Hawk said to Kate without looking at her.

  “If this is what I think it is . . . it hasn’t been seen since 1975.” Farren passed the figure to Kate. “Thunder Mesa was a heavily advertised area being developed at Walt Disney World. The main attraction was the Western River Expedition. It was to be a better version of Pirates of the Caribbean. Created especially for Florida. It was going to have other rides as well, but it would have been an expensive development, and it was put on hold so ot
her attractions would be ready for opening day in 1971. Still, in the books that explained the Magic Kingdom to people when it opened, Thunder Mesa and the Western River Expedition were heavily promoted as a coming attraction.”

  “Why hasn’t this been seen since 1975?” Jonathan asked.

  “Eventually, officially, the plans were delayed indefinitely because it was too expensive to build. People in Florida wanted the Pirates attraction, so it was built, then Space Mountain came along and became the first roller coaster in the park. However, one of the ideas for Thunder Mesa was a mine train, and then eventually Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was built. The plan kept getting pushed back, and finally it seemed like nothing more than a dream. George Colmes was an Imagineer who, like me, was close to the Disney brothers. George was extremely close to Roy, who, of course, pushed the Disney World project to completion. After Roy passed away, George disappeared, and the hope of Thunder Mesa and the Western River Expedition became the stuff of legend and Disney folklore.”

  Farren paused, shrugged his shoulders. “Most people didn’t realize that the entire area had been created in a model. After the project was finally axed, the model was stolen from WED Enterprises.”

  “WED stood for Walter Elias Disney Enterprises?” Kate asked.

  “Very good.” Farren clapped. “I believe this is one of the original pieces from that model. It is . . . it is priceless.”

  “Hold on.” Hawk raised a hand. “I think I have seen something similar to this figure before, haven’t I?”

  “Yes, you have.” Farren was caught up in the story. “You and I viewed it once together in the Imagineering Research Library at WDI in California. There was a second model, a partial model, right here in Walt Disney World that was on display in the post-show area of the Walt Disney Story attraction right here in Town Square. When the 1981 rehab was being done, the workmen decided it was too much trouble to take down the elaborate display. There was a talking owl named Hoot Gibson that was an animatronic host. He introduced people to the coming attraction, and the preview featured a model of what a portion of the show would look like. The workmen decided to put a wall up over the display. They just covered it up and left the lights on in the windows and lanterns of the model. Thirteen years later, when we were getting ready to reuse the area for the twenty-fifth anniversary celebration, the wall was opened up and the model found. Since the original model had disappeared in ’75, these pieces were treated like gold. The owl must have flown away, because to this day there is no Hoot Gibson . . . but this cowboy that you found . . . it is one of the originals. George Colmes must have had it.”