D. MacHale - The Merchant of Death

“I gotta be honest,” said D’Angelo as he led them through the station. “I thought you two were pulling a number on me until I spoke with Captain Hirsch.”

“What did he say?” Mark asked.

“Ask him yourself,” said the sergeant as he opened a door and motioned for Mark and Courtney to enter. The two walked into a conference room with a large metal table surrounded by eight chairs. It was a plain room with a huge mirror that covered most of one wall. Sitting at the head of the table was a pleasant-looking man wearing a suit. When the kids entered he stood up and smiled, but both kids sensed that he was troubled. Good. He should be. There were troubling things going down.

“Hi, guys. I’m Captain Hirsch,” the man said. “Thanks for coming back.”

Courtney went right up to the mirror and stuck her nose to the glass while cupping her eyes to block out the light.

“This a two-way mirror?” she asked. “Who’s back there? You interrogating us?”

Hirsch looked to D’Angelo and the two chuckled. “Yes, it’s a two-way mirror,” said Hirsch. “But nobody’s back there and we’re not interrogating you.”

Courtney kept trying to look through the mirror. She didn’t believe him.

“Why don’t you two sit down and relax,” said the sergeant.

Mark and Courtney took seats next to each other at the table. D’Angelo stood by the door. Hirsch sat down and looked at the kids. The kids looked back at Hirsch. Hirsch nervously pulled at his eyebrow. It seemed as if he didn’t know where to begin, so Courtney being Courtney, decided to kick things off herself.

“So how come you suddenly believe us about the Pendragons?” she asked Hirsch.

“Mr. and Mrs. Pendragon are good friends of mine,” he said.

“My son Jimmy plays basketball with Bobby.”

“Jimmy Hirsch!” shouted Mark. “I know him. Strong forward.”

Captain Hirsch nodded. This was good. Now they had an adult on their side. And he was a cop. A captain, no less. Now things were going to start happening.

“When was the last time you saw Bobby?” he asked them.

Mark knew the answer, but it was up to Courtney to give it.

“Last night at his house,” she answered. “About an hour before the game.”

“Did he say anything that would make you think he was going away?” came the next question.

Courtney and Mark looked at each other. They knew exactly where Bobby had gone. If the story on the parchment were true, then they knew how Uncle Press had taken him on the back of his motorcycle and left for a place on the far side of the universe called Denduron. But neither of them were sure if the outlandish story was really true, and they didn’t want to sound totally insane. Besides, the pages didn’t explain what had happened to the Pendragons’ house. Mark and Courtney had decided before going to the police that they’d stick to the facts that could be proved. And it was pretty easy to prove that the house was gone. So without discussing it again, they both decided to stick with the original plan.

“I was talking to Bobby at his house,” answered Courtney. “His uncle Press came in and I left. That’s the last I saw him.”

Captain Hirsch looked down at a piece of paper where he had written some notes.

“Right. Uncle Press,” he said out loud, though it seemed like he was thinking it more than saying it. Hirsch looked like he wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure if it was a good idea or not. He looked to Sergeant D’Angelo for guidance.

“I think you should tell them, Captain,” said the sergeant.

“T-Tell us what?” asked Mark.

Obviously these policemen had some disturbing information. Captain Hirsch stood up and paced nervously.

“After you spoke with Sergeant D’Angelo, he told me about your visit,” began Hirsch. “Frankly, he didn’t believe you because he couldn’t find any information on the Pendragons.”

“But you know them,” interjected Courtney.

“Yes, I know them,” said Hirsch. “I’ve been to their house many times.”

“And the house is gone!” added Mark.

Hirsch didn’t continue right away. He looked at the two kids, then to Sergeant D’Angelo. Finally he said, “Yeah. The house is gone. This may be a small police department in a small town, but we have access to pretty much any piece of information that’s part of the public record,” he said. “After you came in here, we did a computer search for the Pendragons…and found nothing.”

“What do you mean ‘nothing’?” asked Courtney. “No police record?”

“No, I mean absolutely nothing,” said Hirsch. A hint of frustration was creeping into his voice. “No birth certificates, no driver’s licenses, no social security numbers, no bank accounts, no deeds, no electric bills, no school records, no credit cards, no nothing! The Pendragons didn’t just disappear-it’s like they never even existed!”

Hirsch paced faster. He was getting upset because what he was saying didn’t make sense, yet it was true.

Finally Mark said, “B-But they do exist, don’t they? I mean, we know them.”

“I know!” snapped Hirsch. “I’ve had dinner at their house. I’ve driven Bobby to Boy Scouts. Here’s another one for you: We scanned back copies of the newspaper where Mr. Pendragon works and couldn’t find a single article he had written. But I remember reading them. I’ve discussed some of those articles with him.”

This was getting stranger by the second. Disappearing is one thing. But having someone’s whole history vanish seemed downright impossible.

“W-What about Uncle Press?” asked Mark nervously.

“Again, nothing,” answered Hirsch. “There is nothing we can find to prove that any of these people ever existed….”

“Except in our memories,” added Courtney.

That was a chilling thought. If what the captain said were true, the only thing left of Bobby and his family were the memories they all held…and the parchment papers in Mark’s bag. Captain Hirsch sat back down at the table and looked to the kids with pleading eyes. This had turned his orderly policeman’s mind inside out.

“Kids,” he said with a touch of desperation. “Help me out here. If there is anything you can add, anything that might help us figure out what happened to the Pendragons, please tell us.”

Mark and Courtney had plenty to add. It was all sitting in Mark’s backpack on the table in front of them. All they had to do was slide it over to Captain Hirsch. He would read the pages and take over. That’s what adults did. They took over and fixed things. It wasn’t Courtney’s call-the letters were to Mark. If they were going to tell the police about the pages, it would have to be Mark’s decision.

Courtney saw that he was staring at the pack. She knew exactly what was going through his mind. He was debating whether or not to give over the pages. He then looked to her and they made eye contact. Courtney wished that she had some way of helping him make the decision, but she honestly didn’t know the right thing to do. So she gave him a slight, helpless shrug that said, “You’re on your own.”

“Well?” asked Hirsch. “Can you guys think of anything else?”

Mark took a deep breath, turned to Hirsch and said, “No. We’re just as confused as you are.”

Decision made. Courtney picked up on Mark’s lead and added, “Yeah. We’re pretty freaked out.”

Hirsch took a deep, tired sigh and stood up saying, “Okay, we’re going to start an investigation. Tell your parents, tell your friends, tell anybody who’ll listen. If they hear anything about the Pendragons, have them call me. Okay?”

Courtney and Mark nodded. Hirsch then gave each of them a business card with his phone number on it. Mark grabbed his pack and they headed out.