The Lucky Elephant Restaurant

Sunday, November 1
Chapter 24

POLICE GUN DOWN

LOCAL RADIO PERSONALITY

Bobbie Reddie, the star of a popular afternoon radio show, was shot dead last night by police.

Police claim that Reddie threw a firebomb at the home of a police officer. It is believed to be the home of one of the detectives investigating the deaths of Kaylie and Charles Reddie.

The house was destroyed by the fire. Two of its occupants remain in hospital. The other two occupants were taken to hospital and released…

Lane stopped reading. He looked out Harper’s kitchen window. The snow left a twenty centimetre plateau atop the picnic table. Snow curled over the roof of the garage and hung like a tired dog’s tongue. Harper used a snow shovel to attack the metre high drift running along the sidewalk. He threw snow high into the air where the wind snatched it away.

“Uncle read the article this morning, then he went outside to shovel the walk. He’s pretty pissed off.”

Lane looked over his shoulder at Glenn. Harper’s nephew was about six feet tall and had his blond hair styled to accentuate the features of his face. He wore red sweats and a grey T-shirt. Lane said, “Can’t say I blame your uncle. It’s going to take Amanda a long time to deal with what she had to do. Some officers never recover from a killing. She saved our lives, and her partner’s too. There’s no mention of that. Or that her partner is in the burn unit and will probably need skin grafts.”

“What would have happened if she hadn’t shot Bobbie?” Glenn asked.

“At the very least, Arthur would be dead. If Bobbie had been allowed to throw another firebomb into the house, I wouldn’t have been able to get to Arthur in time.”

“Want some breakfast?”

“Ummm. That would be great,” Lane said.

“You’re lucky you took me up on the offer, I’m the best cook here,” Glenn smiled.

“I heard that! If you weren’t such a good cook, and my favorite nephew, I’d be offended.” Harper’s wife, Erinn came around the corner with one hand atop her belly. She’d cut her red hair short at the start of the pregnancy. “Does that mean I get breakfast too?” She sat down across from Lane. Seeing the newspaper headline, she picked up the paper, folded it and sat it on an empty chair. She looked out the window. “He’s going to be busy with that snow shovel for a while. He’s furious about the coverage. There’s no mention of the fact that Bobbie was tossing Molotov cocktails at people. How are your hands?”

Lane looked at the stitches scattered across his palms and fingers. “Sore.”

“And the knees?” Glenn asked.

“The same,” Lane said.

“Somebody named Loraine called this morning. She wants you to call her back,” Glenn said.

“Glenn, be a dear and hand him the phone.” Erinn looked at Lane. “Want us to leave?”

Lane took the phone, placed it on its back on the table and pressed the buttons. “No. Usually Loraine does all of the talking. I just listen.” He picked up the phone with his fingertips. It rang three times.

“Hello?” Loraine’s familiar voice comforted Lane. He was suddenly glad for old friends and new family.

“It’s me,” Lane said.

“Cole’s up and talking. You want the summary, or do you want to come and hear it for yourself?”

“The summary, for now,” Lane said.

“You okay?” Loraine asked.

“I will be,” Lane said.

“Arthur okay?”

“He’s got a bump on his head and a concussion. We pick him up this afternoon, I think.”

“Good. Listen, I’m sorry about Riley,” Loraine said. Lane couldn’t reply.

Loraine filled the silence. “We told Cole about his mom’s death when he woke up this morning. He started to talk. Apparently, his mother woke him up that night and ordered him to get in the car. When he asked where Kaylie was, Bobbie told him she was in the trunk. His mother drove to the gas station, filled up the car, bought a pack of cigarettes, and filled a thermos with slurpee. He watched her pour amoxil- you know, penicillin-into the slurpee. They drove out to the campsite. Bobbie made Cole stay in the car while she talked with Charles. Cole watched them at the picnic table. She and Charles drank the slurpee. Cole says his dad got red in the face, then had trouble breathing. Bobbie put on some gloves and helped him into the cab of the truck. Then, she opened the trunk, took Kaylie out, pulled a garbage bag up over his sister’s head, and put her in the back of the camper. After that, she taped a hose to the tailpipe of the truck, shoved it through an open window in the cab, and taped it shut. She turned on the truck and went back into the camper. On the way home, she told him what would happen if he said anything to anyone. The kid remembered every detail.”

“How’s he doing?” Lane asked.

“This is going to take a long time, Lane. The kid appears to be okay, but this kind of experience leaves indelible scars,” Loraine said.

“How’s Jay?” Lane asked.

“He’s not saying much. Just sticks close to Cole and listens,” Loraine said.

“Does he know he probably saved Cole’s life?”

Lane asked.

“I’ll tell him you say so. There’s another thing…”

“What’s that?” Lane asked.

“We need you and Harper for a ten o’clock meeting on Tuesday morning. I want you to promise me you’ll be there,” Loraine said.