By Ed Staskus

   Mandrake the Magician wasn’t as big as his sidekick Lothar but was bigger than he looked in comic books and newspapers. He looked like a man from another time. He wore a tuxedo, a cape, and a top hat. Oliver had met him once and wasn’t deceived by his get-up or unfashionable pencil lip mustache. 

   Donnie had never met him and was merry with disdain about the mustache. “What is that dead caterpillar doing on your face?” he said and laughed at his own joke. Nobody else laughed. Lothar glowered. Emma was appalled. Oliver was worried about what Mandrake might do. What the magician did was wave a hand and Donnie was instantly hypnotized.

   “Repeat after me,” Mandrake said. “I like Mandrake’s mustache.” The magic man snapped his fingers and Donnie came out of his trance.

   “I like your mustache, Mr. Mandrake,” he said.

   “Thank you, young man,” Mandrake said.

   Donnie reached for a Ho-Ho. He always had one within easy reach. He bit into the cylindrical morsel. It tasted better than ever.

   “Yum,” he murmured, his voice soft as a mourning dove.

   “Can you hypnotize Donnie about Ho-Ho’s, so he doesn’t eat them anymore, so he can lose some weight?” Oliver asked.

   “It’s the least I can do,” Mandrake said. He waved his hand again and Donnie again fell under his spell. The Ho-Ho in his hand fell limply to the ground. When he looked at it, it looked lonely on the ground/

   “From this moment, whenever you see a Ho-Ho, you will throw it to the ground and walk away. Do you understand?”

   “Yes, master,” Donnie said.

   Mandrake the Magician snapped his fingers and Donnie came to his senses, He reached into his pockets and began throwing Ho-Ho’s in all directions until he didn’t have anymore. He hung his head and let out a sigh.

   “About what we discussed on the phone,” Mandrake said to Oliver. “You say you suspect the Clay Camel and the Brass Monkey are in these environs committing thievery?”

   Oliver showed him the clay camel Donnie had found.

   “Once more the world’s cleverest thief and the world’s greatest master of disguise has left his clay camel at a crime scene,” Mandrake said. He handed the figurine to Lothar, who said something nobody but Mandrake understood. Lothar was one of the strongest men in the world but his English was horrible. Mandrake and he were best friends. One time, when an imposter claiming to be Lothar tried to take over his African homeland, Mandrake and Lothar went back to the Dark Continent to apprehend the imposters and restore order. They didn’t hold back. They got the job done. They were Number One when it came to getting it done.

   “What is this penguin going to do about my mom’s diamonds?” Donnie asked. The Ho-Ho sugar bombs were wearing off and he was feeling petulant. “He looks like he’s going to a fancy party.”

   “Mandrake stopped the Cobra from stealing the Crystal Cubes and taking over the world,” Oliver said. “He stopped Baron Kord from using his brain-washing chemicals to turn everybody into Kordies, mindless men and women whose only purpose would have been to follow orders. When his father Theron and the Magic School were attacked by invaders, he and Lothar came to the rescue and threw the invaders out of Tibet. He saved his girlfriend Princess Narda from the Mirror World. He went to the Netherworld and arrested the Mole. He stopped his twin brother Derek from using his powers for evil and when he tried again, he stripped Derek of his powers for good. If anybody can find your mom’s diamonds, it’s Mandrake.”

   ”I need a Ho-Ho,” Donnie complained in spite of himself.

   Mandrake had heard enough. He waved his hand and Donnie fell into a deep sleep. He waved his hand again and Donnie was teleported into his bed at home, where he spent the rest of the afternoon snoring, dreaming, and building chocolate castles in the air.

   “Where were we?” Mandrake asked.

   “The Clay Camel and the Brass Monkey,” Emma said helpfully.

   “Right you are, young lady,” Mandrake said. “Finding them isn’t going to be a problem. What is going to be a problem is getting our hands on them. The second we reach for him he will change his appearance and melt away. He is slippery as an eel. The Brass Monkey isn’t as slippery, but if she holds on to the Camel’s coattails, she will melt away just like him.”

   “How are you going to find him?”

   “I will find him with my Fortune Globe.”

   The Fortune Globe was the size of a billiard ball, clear and glossy. Lotar rubbed it vigorously and held it in the palms of his open hands. Mandrake the Magician leaned over his friend’s hands, studying it intently.

   “The Camel and the Monkey are hiding in the tower of the Kirtland Temple, which means they are ready to fall into our hands.” 

   “What do you mean?” Oliver asked.

   “From up in the tower, there is only one way for them to go, and that is down. On top of that, since the Temple closes soon, no matter what they disguise themselves as, there will only be the two of them. There isn’t anybody else there. We won’t have to pick them out of a crowd.” All the Mormons had gone to Utah long since.

   The church was 15 minutes away by car, but nobody in the crew knew how to drive. None of them had a car, anyway, even if they took driving lessons immediately. Mandrake had his own mode of travel. He and Lothar, Oliver and Emma, made a tight circle, holding hands. Mandrake softly spoke an incantation and the next second they were in the parking lot of the Kirtland Temple. 

   It was on a bluff overlooking the Chagrin Valley. It was built in the 1830s and dedicated in 1836 as a House of Prayer, Learning, and Order. It was the first Mormon Temple in the United States. The two-story church was white as white ever was, although it hadn’t always been. The Latter Day Saints had painted it blue gray back in the day. The roof had been red and the doors green. A thousand faithful gathered on the morning the doors opened, singing “The Spirit of God Like a Fire is Burning.” The preacher said a prayer, gave a speech, and was visited by Adam, Abraham, and several angels. Church leaders spoke in tongues in case anybody in the audience didn’t understand English.

   The lantern tower was on top of the roof, at the front of the church. There was a widow’s walk where the Camel and Brass Monkey were lurking, looking down on them. The Camel’s mouth was twisted with malice. The Brass Monkey’s mouth was red with lipstick. She sneered and flipped Mandrake the bird. The magician gave the bird the back of his hand and it flew away.

   “Watch the back door,” Mandrake told Oliver and Emma. The children took up their post. Mandrake spoke to his enemies, both father and daughter alike. “I am coming up to cut you down to size,” he said.

   “We have our rights,” the Camel shot back.

   “You have the right to remain silent,” Mandrake the Magician said, striding purposefully towards the front door, Lothar hard on his heels. Right and wrong was going to have it out.

Previously: Making Up Mandrake

Next: Mandrake and the Camel

Ed Staskus posts monthly on 147 Stanley Street http://www.147stanleystreet.com, Made in Cleveland http://www.clevelandohiodaybook.com, Atlantic Canada http://www.redroadpei.com, and Lithuanian Journal http://www.lithuanianjournal.com. 

A New Thriller by Ed Staskus

“Cross Walk“

“A once upon a crime whodunit.” Barron Cannon, Adventure Books

“Captures the vibe of mid-century NYC.” Sam Winchell, Beyond Fiction

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Late summer and early autumn. New York City. A Hell’s Kitchen private eye. The 1956 World Series. President Eisenhower at the opening game. A killer in the dugout.