"The Wishmonger", Episode 48, Links to previous episodes

markrmorrisjr (70)in #writing • 6 years ago

Today on The Wishmonger, a rescue mission is mounted for Roger and he finds out more about his uncle.###

Roger woke up some time later with a gag in his mouth. Light filtered through cracks in the walls of wherever he was and a lantern had been hung inches from his head, the heat from it making him sweat. He wondered where he was. He turned his head as far as he could and saw no one. He sat very still while counting to a hundred and heard no one. He must be alone. Roger began to tip his chair back and forth in the hope of tipping it over, breaking it into a hundred pieces, and making his escape. He succeeded in tipping the chair only to find that he’d been much more comfortable with it upright. It didn’t seem any the worse for wear.

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James really had no idea where his brother might be hiding, but he had a pretty good idea of where to start the search. Mulberry Drive was empty and he took the turnoff onto the park road on two wheels. As they approached the gate he prayed for his wife’s forgiveness and punched the gas. The rusted iron fence was no match for the minivan and gave way with surprisingly little damage. They skidded to a halt twenty yards from the fountain and James hit the ground running. Even in these circumstances the first sight of the fountain was stirring and he regretted not having the time to enjoy it properly.

The kids were just catching their breath when he climbed back into the driver’s seat ordering them to hold on. There was one other place on his mental list. If he wasn’t there they would have to wait for a call and pray for a miracle. The van bounced along the dusty road. The best he could do was fifty miles an hour on the turning road up Wish Mountain where Jeremish had built his original mansion. The driveway was right where he’d remembered it. It had been sixteen years since his mother-adopted, he reminded himself- had died of cancer, but the place still looked as if she’d never left.

As with everything in life Benedict had gotten the lion’s share, taking the house, and leaving his brother with the park. He’d always wondered why the park was in the family anyway, now he knew, it was a Wish thing.There was no limousine in the driveway and as far as James could see there hadn’t been anybody here for quite some time. He ran up to the front door, it was locked. He made his way around the house, trying every window he could reach.

“Okay guys, we can’t just sit here. Thomas, grab that wheelchair and let’s go check out the garage,” Leslie ordered.

They approached the garage with caution Crunch wielding the heavy, foot long flashlight he had found in the back of the van,

“You guys stay close, if I have to start swinging I don’t want to hit you by mistake.” there was no mistaking that at least a part of the old Crunch had survived and on this occasion they were glad of it.
Joey shoved the door open and Leslie reached inside and found a light switch.

James was in side the house in less than a minute. He had found the leaded, glass paned, solarium doors unlatched. The brass handle was cool in his palm as he pressed it down and felt the latch give way. He opened the door and stepped through into what he remembered as the parlor of the old house. He pictured the room in his head before turning around. Nothing had changed. The terrazzo tile floors were still just as beautiful as ever and the huge carved marble figures on either side of the fireplace at the end of the room were still vaguely creepy. He could remember spending countless hours running toy cars across the smooth floor with Benedict, how he wished things were different now.

He shook is head to clear the memory and moved on into the house. He made quick work of the seven large downstairs rooms, which were mostly empty, and closet free. Then he headed for the second floor. The wide staircase ran straight to a landing halfway up, turned to the left, underneath a massive window, and climbed the rest of the way to the next level. On the right were three doors leading into bedrooms. The first had been his and Ben’s. He checked them, nothing. At the end of the open hall was a small bathroom, a quick glance was enough to tellhim it was empty. To his left was the final remaining room on this floor, the master suite.

The dark oak door was closed and James suddenly remembered the night he had crashed into it in a hurry to find his mom. He rattled the knob and found it locked. He quickly stepped into the bathroom and opened the medicine chest. Good old Mom, there it was, a box of bobby pins, right where he knew they would be.

As Roger lay pondering his next move, a pair of highly polished black shoes entered his vision. He looked up to see his uncle standing there. He wanted so badly for his hands to be free so he could grab the man’s ankles and take him down onto the hard wooden floor. The next thing he knew, hands grabbed the back of the chair and drug it back into an upright position. They undid the gag in his mouth. His uncle wanted to talk, “So, are you ready to do business now?”

An involuntary shiver ran down Roger’s spine. The evil in this room went deeper than his uncle. He swallowed to clear his throat, “ What do you want? I don’t have the key.”

“Is that all you can think about, your precious fountain? This is so much bigger than that. You think you can make a couple of amateur wishes and derail my plan? I’ve been waiting for this moment for thirty years. Ever since that stupid doctor let it slip that I was adopted. I guess he thought because I had bandages on my eyes I couldn’t hear, either.” Benedict said.

“ So that’s it. My father said your adopted parents felt guilty, but it was blackmail, wasn’t it?” Roger asked. He thought to himself, just keep him talking, buy some time, they’re already looking for you.

Benedict twisted his face in a mocking grin, “Very good, bravo! Figure that out all by yourself? What do you want?! A medal?! Now, back to the issue at hand. You have something I want very badly! The book! I’ll make you a deal, you give me the book and the deed to the park, which should have been mine, and I’ll let your friends keep their little shops and houses, what do you say?”

He must mean the diary, but why was it so important, Roger wondered? He wished now that he’d taken the time to read it, “What do you want that for? The fountain has the real power.”

“Ha! You haven’t read it yet, have you? Well, no bother, I don’t see the harm in telling you now since I intend to trade your life to get it. Once I have the book the fountain will be mine, you see, Jeremish Wish was a very wealthy man, but when he died he left nothing to his children except his house and the park. My loving stepmother hated him for that, leaving Ishmael out. So, she shuffled us off to the Pine’s. My father gave specific instructions; the park was your father’s, the house was mine. My stepmother delayed it, by granting the Pine’s power of attorney. When my ‘mother’ died and I inherited this house I came back to complete my revenge.”

“Then a few years ago a dying man, who was once a boy watching unseen from a tree, told me that he watched Jeremish hide his fortune under one of the structures in Wishful. He also said the secret was in the book, right before I unplugged his oxygen, oops! I think you might have known this man, does the name Winters ring a bell?” Benedict leaned in close, “Seems your friend Joey wasn’t the only one having tests run at Wishful general the night old man Winters kicked it, huh?”

Roger knew the man was taunting him, but he couldn’t help himself, he gathered spittle in his mouth and let it fly. The back of Benedicts left hand had three rings and Roger felt every one as his uncle struck him in the face. He rocked backward with a smile. It hurt, but he was getting to him.

“Bring me a telephone,” His uncle mopped sweat and saliva from his face with a pocket handkerchief. He took the phone from the unseen helper and dialed, “Hello, my dear, I’m sure you know who this is. I have young Roger here and he’s putting up quite a fight. Perhaps you can help me. Bring me the small leather book that your husband left with you and the deed to the Fountain Park and I will return your son mostly unharmed. The box is probably in the freezer, if I know my brother. What was that? He spat on me and I had to teach him a lesson, he’ll recover. But he might not the next time. There are twenty-two hours remaining in our little game. I trust you have caller Id so I won’t need to give you the number.” He hung up the phone, and handed it back to his henchman, “gag him, and make it tight.”