anyone,” said the ever-skeptical Maybeck, “but this drawing…he could be anywhere.”
“Check out his jacket,” said Finn.
Maybeck took the diary out of Charlene’s hands without asking. He leaned in close to the page. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“It’s a shield,” Willa said, leaning over Maybeck’s arm to look.
“It’s an EC shield,” Finn said. “An Epcot Center windbreaker. Old guys get cold. My grandpop shakes like a leaf when it dips below eighty.”
“Give me a break!” exclaimed Maybeck. “That logo is tiny! You can’t see a thing. It could be anything.”
Finn passed Maybeck his phone. “I went on eBay,” he said. “Check out the black stripes on the arms.” The image on the phone—an Epcot windbreaker for sale—matched what Jess had sketched exactly.
Maybeck said under his breath, “You’re dreaming.”
But he no longer sounded so sure of himself.
“The point is,” Finn said, “we won’t know until we find him. Okay? And what about those horses? They could be a carousel.”
“A carousel in a room?” Maybeck snapped cynically.
“We have to start somewhere,” Finn said. “Jess got…I don’t know…a signal …when she was at Epcot. Then she got more last night in a dream.”
“It’s some gibberish on a wall, some horses, and an old guy in a chair,” Maybeck complained.
“It’s a place to start,” said Charlene. “We have to start somewhere. Right? We wasted enough time in the Magic Kingdom these past couple weeks. What’s wrong with trying Epcot?”
“But our tickets—our passes—were pulled,” Amanda reminded them. “Every girl in Mrs. Nash’s house was given a year’s pass for free. But they took ours. And it’s not like we can afford to buy tickets.”
“Which is why I’m going to suggest something radical,” Finn said. “I’ve thought about this a lot, so before you go shooting it down”—this was aimed directly at Maybeck—“at least think about it a minute. Okay? Give it a chance.”
“That’s some setup,” said Philby.
“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy,” Finn said. “And I know that we can make all sorts of arguments against it, but I also know that when you look at it from every side, as I have, it makes total sense. It may seem random, but it’s not. I promise.”
He had everyone’s undivided attention, especially as he lowered his voice so that it wouldn’t carry.
“The point is, Jess will tell you that she hasn’t completed the sketch. Amanda said she saw her go into kind of a trance when they were in Epcot. I think that’s because she can feel Wayne there. She dreamed about him later, but the inspiration for that dream came from what had happened at Epcot. Now they’ve both been told they can’t go back in any of the parks. Security will be watching for them: they’re on the list. They certainly can’t get in with us, at night—because we aren’t exactly ourselves then, are we? As it is, we’re going to need to get our DHIs from MK over to Epcot. And even if we figured out a way to get Jess and Amanda inside the center with us, since they’re human, they could be caught. If we’re chased, we can zap the remote—cross back over and be in our beds at home—like we did the other night. They can’t do that.”
“Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?” Philby asked.
“Do you see any other choice?” Finn asked him right back.
“Will someone clue me in?” said Charlene.
“Yeah, me too,” said Willa.
Maybeck sat up and stared across the table at Finn intently. If anyone was going to make a fuss, it was going to be Maybeck. He nodded slowly. “Okay, I get it. I see where you’re coming from.”
“Well, I don’t!” Charlene announced.
All eyes found Finn as a moment of expectation overcame them all. The buzz of the conversation in the room swirled around them. Spoons clinked against dishes. As the door came open, sounds of traffic out on the street could be
“Check out his jacket,” said Finn.
Maybeck took the diary out of Charlene’s hands without asking. He leaned in close to the page. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“It’s a shield,” Willa said, leaning over Maybeck’s arm to look.
“It’s an EC shield,” Finn said. “An Epcot Center windbreaker. Old guys get cold. My grandpop shakes like a leaf when it dips below eighty.”
“Give me a break!” exclaimed Maybeck. “That logo is tiny! You can’t see a thing. It could be anything.”
Finn passed Maybeck his phone. “I went on eBay,” he said. “Check out the black stripes on the arms.” The image on the phone—an Epcot windbreaker for sale—matched what Jess had sketched exactly.
Maybeck said under his breath, “You’re dreaming.”
But he no longer sounded so sure of himself.
“The point is,” Finn said, “we won’t know until we find him. Okay? And what about those horses? They could be a carousel.”
“A carousel in a room?” Maybeck snapped cynically.
“We have to start somewhere,” Finn said. “Jess got…I don’t know…a signal …when she was at Epcot. Then she got more last night in a dream.”
“It’s some gibberish on a wall, some horses, and an old guy in a chair,” Maybeck complained.
“It’s a place to start,” said Charlene. “We have to start somewhere. Right? We wasted enough time in the Magic Kingdom these past couple weeks. What’s wrong with trying Epcot?”
“But our tickets—our passes—were pulled,” Amanda reminded them. “Every girl in Mrs. Nash’s house was given a year’s pass for free. But they took ours. And it’s not like we can afford to buy tickets.”
“Which is why I’m going to suggest something radical,” Finn said. “I’ve thought about this a lot, so before you go shooting it down”—this was aimed directly at Maybeck—“at least think about it a minute. Okay? Give it a chance.”
“That’s some setup,” said Philby.
“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy,” Finn said. “And I know that we can make all sorts of arguments against it, but I also know that when you look at it from every side, as I have, it makes total sense. It may seem random, but it’s not. I promise.”
He had everyone’s undivided attention, especially as he lowered his voice so that it wouldn’t carry.
“The point is, Jess will tell you that she hasn’t completed the sketch. Amanda said she saw her go into kind of a trance when they were in Epcot. I think that’s because she can feel Wayne there. She dreamed about him later, but the inspiration for that dream came from what had happened at Epcot. Now they’ve both been told they can’t go back in any of the parks. Security will be watching for them: they’re on the list. They certainly can’t get in with us, at night—because we aren’t exactly ourselves then, are we? As it is, we’re going to need to get our DHIs from MK over to Epcot. And even if we figured out a way to get Jess and Amanda inside the center with us, since they’re human, they could be caught. If we’re chased, we can zap the remote—cross back over and be in our beds at home—like we did the other night. They can’t do that.”
“Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?” Philby asked.
“Do you see any other choice?” Finn asked him right back.
“Will someone clue me in?” said Charlene.
“Yeah, me too,” said Willa.
Maybeck sat up and stared across the table at Finn intently. If anyone was going to make a fuss, it was going to be Maybeck. He nodded slowly. “Okay, I get it. I see where you’re coming from.”
“Well, I don’t!” Charlene announced.
All eyes found Finn as a moment of expectation overcame them all. The buzz of the conversation in the room swirled around them. Spoons clinked against dishes. As the door came open, sounds of traffic out on the street could be
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