The Lucky Elephant Restaurant

Friday, October 23
Chapter 15

LANE WAS AT least fifteen minutes ahead of the morning rush hour traffic when his cellphone rang. He reached into his pocket, flipped the phone open, and pressed the talk button.

“Lane?” Lisa said.

“Good morning.”

“I phoned Arthur but you had already left,” Lisa said.

“What’s up?” Lane thought, Don’t forget to ask her about Loraine.

“Some more information’s been passed on to me. Dr. Fibre couldn’t find any matches from the scene except those from the cushion Kaylie was lying on,”

Lisa said.

“Do you mean that Kaylie was placed in the camper and not moved?” Lane watched the traffic ahead of him and checked his rear-view mirrors. He was all alone for the moment.

“Looks like. And there’s more. Kaylie died from Shaken Baby Syndrome. Beyond that, there is evidence of past childhood injuries. The coroner is checking with the family doctor to see if there might be a history of abuse.”

“That is supported by another source,” Lane said.

“Are you holding out on me?” Lisa asked.

“A little,” Lane said.

“The physical evidence is saying two very distinct things. Kaylie died before her father, and her body was transported to the crime scene,” Lisa said.

“I’ve got some canine samples waiting at the lab to determine if we’ve got a match for the dog hairs found on her clothes.”

“That would be a good start, but we’ll need more,”

Lisa said.

Lane said, “And there’s something else. Does Loraine have any experience working with kids who survive this kind of trauma?”

“I’ll ask her. I’ve hardly seen her the last few days, it’s been so busy. I’ll get back to you.” Lisa hung up.

Five minutes later, Lane was driving east along Memorial Drive. A light fog hung over the river. The lights near the Louise Bridge turned red, and the phone rang.

“Lane,” he said while stopping short of the crosswalk. “It’s me,” Harper said. “Still haven’t found this Jay character. Put out some flags. So if he shows up on our doorstep, we should hear about it. May have a line on his employer, though. How about you?”

“Lisa just called. Looks like Kaylie died elsewhere and was transported to the campsite. I keep remembering how clean the soles of her running shoes were. Anyway, she died before her father, but we figured that anyway,” Lane said. The light turned green, and he was able to turn right over the bridge. “I’ll be there in ten or fifteen minutes.”

“You can tell me all about the hockey game,” Harper said.

“You’re too well informed for my own good.”

BOBBIE: Good afternoon. It’s Bobbie on the ride home. They say God never hands me more than I can handle. I want to wrap up the week with your stories of surviving the tragedies in our lives. It’s Bobbie, speak to me.

“Where are they?” Tony asked. Jay and Tony stood, leaning on the round metal railing, looking down at the volleyball match. The floor of the gymnasium was two storeys below them. It looked like this game might end at any moment.

“This is huge,” Jay said. The fans in the stands sat in rows of red plastic chairs descending to the court below. Not one of the seats was empty. The crowd went silent when the server leapt and arched his back to pound the ball over the net.

“This is a big deal. That’s the point. We can make Rex look like a fool in front of thousands of fans,”

Tony said.

The opposition bumped the ball back over to the Dinos’ side of the court. One of the Dino players spiked the ball onto the floor. The ball bounced up into the stands. The crowd roared. The referee raised an index finger and pointed at the Dinos. “One more point, and this one’s over,” Tony said.

Jay looked around the court, “There are cameras everywhere.”

“When we put our masks on, we look like presidents. No one will know it’s us. Don’t worry,” Tony smiled. “The toboggan is over there behind the pillar. We’ll change as soon as-”

“Here they come,” Jay said.

Rex followed a young woman wearing a pale yellow dress reaching from her throat to her ankles. As she moved, the dress flowed behind. She held one of Rex’s hands. Jay was pretty sure the mascot was drooling.

“Hurry!” Tony moved back away from the railing.

They ducked behind the pillar. Presidential masks were pulled out of a backpack. Tear-away sweatpants and shirts were stuffed into the pack. Jay reached behind the pillar and pulled out a two-metre wooden toboggan they’d stashed earlier in the day. They moved in behind Rex.

Up ahead, a procession of young women turned heads as they crossed the open area on the upper level of the gymnasium. They moved toward the stairway leading down to the volleyball court. The women were dressed like the one wearing pale yellow. They were, however, wearing shades of orange and purple. Rosie was in the lead, wearing red. All of the women wore their black hair in single braids reaching down to the gentle curves at the small of their backs.

A whistle blew. The crowd roared. “Dinos win!”

the announcer said.

Rosie led the women to the top of the stairs then stepped down.

Jay and Tony trailed an oblivious Rex.

One by one, people turned to watch the procession of young women until everyone had their eyes on the ten who moved with uniform precision. Each step was preceded by a pause. The women appeared to move as one person. Jay had to force himself to take his eyes away from Rosie.

The crowd became completely silent.

Even the announcer was quiet as the women in the flowing dresses swept down toward the court.

Jay thought, Everyone thinks this is part of the show.

At court level, Rosie pushed triangular barriers aside and stepped out. Players, who’d gone to their benches, turned to watch. All around the court, cameras focussed on the procession.

The ten women broke into two groups of five facing one other. In one graceful motion, they raised their arms to point up the stairway to Rex who stood at the top.

The woman in yellow stepped away from Rex.

Tony and Jay grabbed either side of the toboggan and hit Rex behind the knees with the toboggan’s round-wooden nose. Rex fell backward onto the wood. Tony and Jay aimed Rex, then shoved him forward, and down the stairs.

“SHIT!” Rex’s toboggan skipped and clattered, gathering speed as it rushed to court level.

The crowd’s laughter started somewhere to Jay’s left and grew until it deafened him.

The toboggan carried Rex right to the bottom of the steps and slithered sideways across the polished wooden floor. The deceleration-when the toboggan hit the court-was terrific. Rex rolled sideways and ended up at Rosie’s feet. Jay watched as Rosie bent down to say something to Rex.

“Bitch!” Rex said.

It was as if this was the signal for the procession to scatter. The young women raced for exits on either side of the court.

“Let’s go!” Tony ran for the change room where they’d stashed spare clothing.

Jay looked down.

Rex had grabbed hold of Rosie’s arm and raised his fist.

Jay stopped, backtracked and, before he could think to run away, headed for the stairs. He rushed down, taking the steps two at a time.

Rex struck Rosie across the face.

“Hey!” a woman in the crowd said.

The rest of the crowd remained silent.

Jay’s knees buckled when he jumped off the last step and hit the court. He rolled. Back up on his feet, he headed for Rex. The mascot raised his fist to strike for a third time. Jay jumped, grabbed the raised arm, and pulled Rex sideways. Rosie fell free.

Rosie grabbed Jay’s arm to help him up. They ran along behind the the stands, into the hallway, and toward the skating oval. She pulled up her dress and ran next to him. Jay saw that she was wearing running shoes. He was having trouble keeping up with her. They shoved open a pair of metal doors. An underground hallway took a blind turn to the right.

Rosie looked back over her shoulder. “Hurry!

Security’s after us!”

“No sense being in a rush now,” a woman’s voice said. Two police officers turned the corner and faced the fugitives.

“Shit!” Rosie skidded, stopped, regained her balance, and found she’d stuck her nose between the breasts of one police officer.

“We’d like a word with the pair of you,” the male officer said.

Jay looked at Rosie. Rosie backed away from the female officer.

Rosie smiled. “Not a problem, officers.”

The male officer spoke into his radio, “Got them.”

“Lane? It’s Harper. We’ve got a line on Jay Krocker. It has to be now.”

Lane looked across the dinner table at Arthur and Matt. He sighed and spoke into the phone. “Where?”

Jay was in the room next to Rosie’s. They were in a couple of offices just beyond the courtyard next to the fitness centre. The female officer took her time getting Jay’s name and other particulars. She even managed to hunt him down a Hemi T-shirt to cover his naked torso. He was sitting alone at a round table, when two men stepped in. Right away, he recognized them as the two cops who had come to his psychology class.

“I’m Harper and this is Lane,” the larger of the two said.

Jay watched Lane, who was dressed in a shirt and sports jacket. Lane’s eyes were sizing him up. It seemed to Jay that Lane was more curious than anything else.

“We’re here to ask you some questions,” Lane said.

“What am I being charged with?” Jay was certain he was about to be kicked out of university. There goes the scholarship, he thought.

“We’re not here to charge you with anything.” Lane sat down next to Jay. The wheels on his chair squeaked. “We’re here on an entirely separate matter.”

Harper sat down on the other side of the table, effectively eliminating any hope of Jay’s escaping.

Man, here it comes, Jay thought. They’re gonna ask about the Toyota pickup.

“Are you related to Bobbie Reddie?” Lane asked.

Jay sat back. He thought, Of all the questions they could have asked, of all the questions I prepared for, not this one. “She’s my sister.”

“When was the last time you saw her?” Harper asked.

“My niece’s birthday party,” Jay said.

“Your niece’s name?” Lane asked.

“Kaylie,” Jay said.

“When was this birthday party?” Harper asked.

“May.”

“Does Cole have a dog?” Lane asked.

“Eddie,” Jay said.

“You’re sure the dog’s name is Eddie?” Harper pulled out a folding keyboard with a tiny screen. When it was assembled, Harper began to type.

“Yep,” Jay said, finally.

Lane looked at Harper who typed and nodded once.

“Are you aware that Kaylie and Charles Reddie are dead?” Lane asked.

“What?” Jay felt numb. “What did you say?”

“Kaylie and Charles are dead,” Harper said.

“No way!” Jay sat back, then leaned forward. His chin touched his chest. Not again, he thought. This can’t be happening, again.

Lane said, “Their bodies were found in a camper.

Were you not contacted about the funeral?”

“I live in my car,” Jay said without thinking. “I don’t have a phone, don’t watch the news, don’t listen to the radio.” He looked up. “Is Cole dead too?”

“No. Cole is alive,” Harper said.

“Was there a fire?” Jay asked.

“Fire?” Lane concentrated on Jay’s reaction.

“You heard me. Was there a fire?” Jay asked.

Lane studied Jay. So far, Jay was telling the truth. He watched the young man in the black T-shirt put his head on his palm. Jay’s hair was a tangled mess from the mask he’d been wearing. Lane tried to remember all he had been told outside the room. The officers had briefed them on the prank the Presidential Brothers and Rosie had pulled off earlier in the evening. Apparently, the young woman down the hall had decided to charm all who came in contact with her. Rex, on the other hand had offended nearly everyone. No one was impressed by the marks he had left on Rosie’s face.

“There was a burned-out cigarette butt. It didn’t ignite the cushion’s fabric,” Lane said.

Jay sat and scratched his head. It sounded like he was going to break the skin. “Cole’s a smart kid. He’s too bright for his own good.”

“What are you saying?” Lane asked.

“If Cole’s still alive, he’s a witness. He knows what happened. He’s a threat,” Jay said.

“A threat?” Lane asked.

“To my sister! Jesus, are you listening? The first chance she gets, she’ll get rid of the threat!” Jay glared at Lane.

“Explain,” Lane said.

“When I was fifteen, my sister was in debt. She’d gambled away whatever she could get her hands on. She and Charles were gonna lose their house. Bobbie came to my parents and demanded money. For the first time in their lives, they said no. The next night, the house burned down. My parents died. I was put in the hospital. My sister came to visit me. She brought Cole. You know what she said to me?”

Lane waited.

Harper looked up.

Jay closed his eyes. “‘I’m so afraid Cole will die in his sleep.’ That’s what she said to me. It’s how my sister makes threats. ‘I’m so afraid you’ll fall down the stairs’ is what she said before she pushed me down the basement steps, when I was eight. When she said she was afraid Cole would die in his sleep, it was a warning. If I didn’t keep my mouth shut, Cole would die.”

“So, what did you do?” Lane asked.

“I disappeared so she couldn’t trace me. Lived with different friends. Got a job. Bought a car and lived in it. Nearly froze to death a couple of times the first winter. Made sure I never missed the kids’ birthdays. That way my sister would know I was still around. I thought that way it might mean the kids would be safe. Shit! I was so stupid.”

“What happens now that Bobbie’s broken the agreement?” Lane asked.

“No one’s gonna believe me. I mean my sister is Bobbie Reddie. She’s on the radio. She goes to church. Some people think she’s a saint. She can make anyone believe anything she wants. Who would believe what a homeless jerk like me has to say?” Jay asked.

There was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Harper said.

The door opened. The female officer said, “Tommy Pham is here. Says he’s Jay’s lawyer.”

“We were mining gold until the lawyer showed up,”

Harper said after Jay left.

“Still we have a lot more than we had before we talked with him.” Lane put his hands behind his head, leaned back, and stretched.

“You know, we had him for less than an hour and a lawyer shows up. That’s pretty fast,” Harper said. “Especially since Jay was more surprised than we were when the lawyer arrived.”

“I was thinking the same thing. Can we find out who the lawyer works for?” Lane asked.