Hey, Readerland! The Ogre is back with another entry, today being Day 24! It's also Christmas Eve. What a co-ink-ee-dink!
Well, the story is almost completely done. I've done what I think are my last edits, but I'm having it read over one more time tomorrow and then, voila. Done. If things go well, it'll be in the publisher's inbox by Monday morning. Which would be awesome.
Anyway, time to get onto today's challenge, which is:
7. Step into the shoes of a character you despise with the sole exercise of making him readable
and compelling -- but without losing his loathsome qualities.
Hm. First, I need to find a character I despise.
Okay, I know this wouldn't really happen, but I liked the idea.
"Hello." Kyle said. "I would like to volunteer for the search for the missing child, Bradley."
"Hold on just a second." Sheriff McClintock said. "You're Kyle Bannon. You're a registered sex offender who, if I'm not mistaken, is a pedophile. No way we're letting you on this search."
"Then you're making a mistake, Sheriff." Bannon said. "She's been missing for about eighteen hours and you have no clues. I can find her, Sheriff. I know how they think."
"You mean how you think, don't you, Bannon?" McClintock asked.
"You're running out of time, Sheriff." Bannon said.
"Fine. You're coming to help us, but you will be guarded at all times and in handcuffs." McClintock said. "Officer Jepsen here will be your new best friend. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
"Absolutely, Sheriff. I'll be on my best behavior." Bannon smiled.
"I will shoot you if I think you're even looking at a child wrong, Bannon." McClintock said. After a moment of tension, he asked, "Okay. What do we do first?"
"Take me to the crime scene." Bannon said. "I'll be able to figure out how he did it."
They loaded into a police car, Bannon in the back with Jepsen, and McClintock and Officer Seavers in the front. They drove to the house where Bradley was taken. McClintock opened the door for Jepsen and then opened Bannon's door.
"Nice neighborhood." Bannon said. "Which house is Bradley's?"
"That one." Jepsen said, pointing at a blue single-story house.
Bannon began looking around. He squinted off into the distance in both directions. "Officer Jepsen, please walk with me. Sheriff, if you don't mind, please stand on the sidewalk, right about here. I'll be back in a jiffy," he said with a smile.
Without waiting, Bannon started walking off to the south of the house, following the curve of the street. He stopped and turned back to face the sheriff, Jepsen catching up to him. He tilted his head a little and walked further away. Soon, he was out of sight of McClintock.
"What is he doing?" McClintock asked.
"I think he's trying to scope out the house." Seavers said, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
McClintock's radio burst to life.
"Sheriff." Jepsen said. "Bannon thinks that this spot here is where the perp would have staked out the house. We can see you and Maggie, but you can't see us. It's because of the rise at the Hatfield place. We can see by it."
McClintock squinted and looked at the Hatfield house, with it uneven front yard. Just beyond the point where the lawn jutted up, he could barely make out Jepsen's hat.
"I'll be." McClintock said. "Great, Arnie." He said into the radio. "But where do we go from here?"
"Bannon says he needs to look at Bradley's bedroom." Jepsen said hesitantly.
Instead of letting a pedophile into a grieving mother's house, the cops let Bannon look at phots they had taken of Bradley's room, including the bed, the walls, toys and the dresser.
"So, Bradley's a fan of baseball, I see." Bannon said. "That's how this man would have gained his trust."
"How so?" Jepsen asked.
"Asking about scores or the way to the nearest baseball diamond. He may have asked where to buy a paper so he could check the box scores." Bannon said. "Was Bradley a baseball player?"
"Yes." McClintock said.
"He may have watched Bradley play." Bannon said. "That may be how he selected Bradley in the first place. It wouldn't have been hard to find out where he lived."
"That's great and all," McClintock said. "But we need to know where he was taken. Not why."
"Actually, you do need to know why." Bannon said. "If he was taken for ransom, the boy would be in a different place than if he were being tortured or loved."
"Loved? Is that what you call it?" McClintock asked, grabbing Bannon's shirt.
Seaver and Jepsen grabbed the sheriff to get him to let go of Bannon.
"Regardless of my methods," Bannon said. "I love children. All children. Some just more than others." He made sure to keep the smile off of his face. "Anyway, the man would have grabbed Bradley and drove off that direction." Bannon said, pointing north.
"Why north?" Seavers asked.
"He came from that direction, because you want to be as close to the house as possible." Bannon stated matter-of-factly. "That was they feel safer. They're easier pickings that way." Again, no smile. "He drove north, because he came from the south. That's the only direction to observe the house without being seen. When you're trying to avoid the police, you tend to drive toward where you want to go."
The three police officers could only look at each other and shake their heads.
"What's north of here?" Jepsen asked. "There's hardly any neighborhood after about half a mile."
"Jesse's is up there." Seaver said, naming the town bar. "Probably not there, though."
"Let's see." McClintock said. "Just north of town, there's the Appleton and Jacobs' farms."
"The old MacNamara place is out there." Jepsen said. "Nobody's been there for years."
"Let's go check it out." McClintock said.
They all piled into the car and Seavers drove fast. They decided not to turn the lights or siren on so they would have the element of surprise. Seavers pulled the car into the gravel drive of the MacNamara farm and stopped.
"Okay, listen up." McClintock said. "Maggie and I will check out the house. Arnie, you go check out the barn."
"What about me?" Bannon asked.
"You stay right here." McClintock said.
"Sheriff, please." Bannon said. "I can hardly be trouble with these on," he said, rattling his handcuffs. "and with Officer Jepsen along. Besides, I don't think you'll find anything in the house."
"Why's that?" McClintock asked.
"If the boy starts to scream, you want somewhere further from the road, Sheriff." Bannon said. "Children can scream quite loudly, despite their small size." This time, Bannon allowed himself a small smirk. "Unless there's a basement or something," he said. "The boy will be in the barn."
McClintock looked like he was going to climb into the backseat and strangle Bannon. It took a moment of deep breaths to remember that they were here for Bradley.
"Fine." McClintock said after a moment. "We'll all go check out the barn together."
They made their way to the barn, finding the doors to be in poor shape. Jepsen was able to move one until there was space enough for them to get in.
"What are we looking for?" McClintock whispered.
"Trap doors." Bannon whispered back. "Or maybe something up in the hay loft. Barns have terrible acoustics for this kind of thing."
McClintock shook his head. "Arnie, you and Maggie check the hay loft. I'll stay down here and check for doors." The two deputies moved off. "If it weren't against the law," he said to Bannon. "I would shoot you right here and now." His hand moved to his gun.
"Ah ah, Sheriff." Bannon said. "We need to find the boy. We can deal with each other later."
McClintock said nothing, but turned and began walking slowly through the barn, shifting debris and looking for trap doors.
Bannon smiled and edged his way to the left, where there was an alcove. He was fairly sure Bradley would be inside the alcove. He didn't expect to find Mitch Tanner in there as well.
"Kyle!" Tanner said in a hiss. "What are you doing here? With the police no less!"
"Damn it, Mitch!" Bannon said. "You were sloppy! You were seen taking the boy!"
"I couldn't help it." Mitch said. "I...needed him." Mitch shifted and showed Bannon the boy, tied up and unconscious.
"Have you..." Bannon asked, nodding his head toward Bradley.
"No." Mitch said. "He fought back, so I knocked him out. He's so precious, isn't he?"
"Yes." Bannon said. "Precious."
Without warning, Bannon looped his arms around Tanner's neck and dragged him out of the alcove. Tanner tried to fight back, but Bannon had pulled the handcuff's tight.
"Sheriff!" Bannon yelled. "I found him!"
McClintock came running over and Jepsen and Seavers came hurrying down the stairs. The three of them got Tanner, barely conscious, away from Bannon and hauled him out to the car in handcuffs.
Bannon went back to the alcove and gently lifted Bradley's body. "Yes. Precious." he said.
Bannon carried Bradley out of the alcove and out to the police car, where Jepsen was radioing for an ambulance. He gently set Bradley down on the hood of the car, where Seavers started looking him over.
McClintock walked over to where Bannon stood. "I suppose I should say 'thank you,' he said. "So, thank you." He stuck out his hand and Bannon shook.
"I'm glad I could help, Sheriff." Bannon said. "Now, if you don't mind?" He held up his hands.
McClintock unlocked the handcuffs. "I can't say I trusted you, Bannon, but I'm glad you were here. We might not have gotten here until it was too late."
"My pleasure, Sheriff." Bannon said with a slight bow. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be getting home."
"Have a good night, Mr. Bannon." McClintock said. "Sorry we can't give you a ride home."
"Not a worry, Sheriff." Bannon said. "I have plenty to think about on my walk." Bannon passed the police car and nodded to the deputies before walking down the dirt road. "Such as how to pick up little Bradley the next time." he said with a grin.
Well. I hadn't expected that. Pretty good, though, I think, even if it's unbelievable.
Anyway, let's take a look at what's on deck for tomorrow. And that will be the last exercise that I haven't done before:
17. Get into the head of someone with whom you violently disagree -- whether it's an old ex or
someone on the opposite side of the political fence. Write from their perspective and, drum roll
please, try to make them sympathetic. Then, if it makes you feel better, have them get hit by a
train or violated by an angry golem.
Well, that should turn out interesting.
Anyway, that's going to do it for today. Thank you all for joining me and I will see you tomorrow. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Until tomorrow, take care and be awesome to each other.
#WWWYKI
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