They were heading down a corridor. A crewman approached with a look of disapproval on his sunbaked face.
“You there!” the man called.
“Stay with me,” Finn whispered, taking Charlene by the hand.
“We’re the Kingdom Keepers,” Finn said proudly.
The crewman stopped and appraised them. “So you are! Good to meet you!”
“And you.”
Finn shook the man’s hand. Charlene offered one of her dazzling smiles. Maybeck and Willa arrived behind them.
“Having fun so far?” the man asked.
“A blast.”
“It only gets better from here,” the man said. “You’re going to love tomorrow.”
“We can hardly wait,” said Willa.
When Finn returned to his room, there was a card waiting with his name on it.
The Keepers woke up exhausted in their own beds at six thirty. Philby had returned them once they’d all congregated on board the ship. None of them had had more than four hours of sleep; Philby even less because of nerves.
The shore party excursion and entertainment crew leaders met in a bar called Pink. The Keepers all wore the shorts and golf shirts from their Magic Kingdom DHI identities. Max served as team leader. He informed the thirty people gathered for their assignments that they would cover all sorts of beach and island activities. Minnie, Mickey, Chip, and Dale were also in attendance; they wore their beach clothing and looked adorable. Minnie put her hands on her nose and mouth in astonishment as Max explained in detail how the two would arrive by golf cart and be interacting with the beach crowd just prior to lunch being served.
After posing with guests departing the ship for the beach they would have the rest of the morning off. Then they were to arrive by Jet Ski at two o’clock and lead a crab race before serving as referees for a volleyball tournament.
Each had his or her assignment, previously explained by Finn and Philby. Given recent developments, there were a good number of questions to answer before the all-aboard on the Dream at five o’clock. Chief among them: what was Tia Dalma doing on Castaway Cay, and why had the crew tried to take her aboard the Dream?
Philby had earlier explained their situation: “Until we locate Maleficent, or whatever Overtaker is running things on this ship, our chances of finding the missing journal are zilch. Because of this, we’ll each tail a different person. Hopefully someone leads us back to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”
“Please!” Willa had said. “Lose the metaphors. This is hard enough to swallow. Running around in the heat and sun trying to look all innocent.”
Collectively and individually they posed for forty-five minutes in the glare of hot sunshine, taking photos with guests by a Castaway Cay sign with the Dream in the background. Everyone smelled of suntan lotion. The little kids couldn’t contain themselves in the company of celebrities.
Finn enjoyed such moments, but was also glad when it was over. Willa and Charlene awaited the dismissal of two girl crew members, each suspected of being the Asian girl who’d been spying on Philby and Finn at the Radio Studio. Maybeck was to change into a crew member’s white shorts and pale blue polo shirt and infiltrate the island staff, while Finn had a secret appointment. Philby would serve as roamer—first retrieving and distributing the Wave Phones left behind on the island the night before and then serving as backup in the event anyone called for help.
Things had not gone well aboard ship. They needed to put the odds in their favor.
“You want to see something strange?” one crew photographer said to another, who’d been shooting pictures of the DHIs with guests.
“Sure,” she answered.
The other Keepers had already left. Only Finn lingered behind.
“Never seen anything exactly like it,” he said. With his huge Nikon camera strapped around his neck, he aimed its LCD display so the woman could view it.
“So?” the woman photographer said. “What’s the big deal, Victor? You’re always messing up the focus and exposure!” She bumped her shoulder to his.
“But that’s the thing. The two of them there are in focus. It’s that third one looks like a ghost.”
Finn’s ears perked.
“Victor, you need help. Just because you can’t take a decent photograph, don’t go blaming it on the guests.”
“There were three kids in the shot. Centered. Focused. This third kid’s gone all digital on me.”
Finn found it hard to breathe. He was familiar with this particular photographic problem. He desperately wanted a look at the camera’s display.
The woman studied the display. “Could be glare off the water, I suppose. You should have shot toward the island.”